The Journeyman's Way

Introduction

Of all the Disciplines available to players, the Journeyman (from Denizens of Earthdawn Volume 1) is unique. Taking advantage of the human's racial talent of Versatility, the Journeyman can learn a remarkable range of talents. In addition, this unique Discipline offers excellent role-playing opportunities. There are several issues that must be considered when creating, playing and gamemastering a Journeyman however that are not immediately apparent. In this article I will attempt to raise these issues, and offer some advice to both players and gamemasters, using my own campaign as a guideline.

This article assumes a familiarity with the Journeyman description in Denizens 1. Refer to that sourcebook for more information.

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The Journeyman Discipline

"The first step in creating an Earthdawn character is to choose that character's Discipline. This is the most important decision you will make about your character, for a Discipline is much more than a character's profession; it is a way of life.... A Discipline colors the character's view of the world... and defines much of what he is."
- Earthdawn Rulebook, pg. 47

The Journeyman's Way. How does this unique Discipline view the world? What distinguishes the Journeyman from the human Beastmaster, Illusionist, or Troubadour who has learned talents through Versatility? What separates one Journeyman from another? Ask a dozen Journeymen (assuming, of course, that you can find that many) and you'll get two dozen answers. One thing, however, will continue to be mentioned - the human racial talent of Versatility.

Unlike other Disciplines, where the list of talents available gives you some idea as to the 'path' of the Discipline, the Journeyman has no obvious 'starting point' for the character concept. The only common element shared among Journeymen is the Versatility talent. So the character's path needs to be defined right from the outset, before anything else is determined.

Why has your character become a Journeyman, and not one of the other, more "traditional" Disciplines? Remember that Journeymen are rare, and it is unlikely that a character would just choose to become one. Legends quite often describe Journeymen as other Disciplines, depending on the individual path and style of the Journeyman. For this reason, the player needs to provide some history describing how the character learned of, and how he became initiated into, the Journeyman Discipline.

Example: Sean is creating a character for a new Earthdawn campaign. Intrigued by the possibilities, he decides to create a Journeyman. After some discussion with his gamemaster, who wisely raises some of the questions above, he sits down to develop his character's concept.

He decides his character, who he Names Bearclaw, is from a small, isolated village in the northwestern spur of the Throal Mountains. The village, which subsists primarily on hunting and limited agriculture, is exclusively human, and has been so since before the Scourge. The village has a tradition of selecting one person from each generation to become the village 'defender,' a tradition passed down through the centuries. This defender is raised to the tenets of the Journeyman Discipline, and then sent into the world to learn as much as he can before returning to the village and assuming his role as village defender and teaching the defender's ways to the next apprentice.

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Starting Attributes

When assigning attribute values to your Journeyman, it is a good idea not to completely ignore any attributes, since the strength of the Journeyman lies in his versatility, and his ability to learn new talents as he needs them. However, you will also want to give some priority to important attributes (like Dexterity and Perception) that are used often for defaults and base attribute checks. I suggest choosing two or three important attributes (like any other Discipline) and try to have them at least Step 6. If possible, make the primary attribute (the one that the majority of your talents will be based on) Step 7. If at all possible, try not to have any attributes at step 4 or lower. If you feel you must, then buy it as high as you can and make it a priority to increase later. The attributes you give priority to will be dependant primarily on your Journeyman's concept.

Example: Sean has purchased his attributes, putting emphasis on Dexterity, Strength, and Toughness, keeping with the 'defender' concept of Bearclaw. His Perception ends up fairly low, but because of the concept, Sean decides that it is a small price to pay to be able to rock-and-roll in combat.

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Starting Talents

This is the most crucial decision when creating a Journeyman. A Journeyman is much more restricted than other Disciplines when purchasing his starting talents. Half of his eight starting talent points go to purchasing four Versatility ranks, and the fifth point should go towards purchasing the Karma Ritual talent (although this is not required, it is highly suggested). This leaves only three points with which to purchase other talents. This makes the choice of those three talents crucial. But what talents should they be?

Keep in mind that a first circle Journeyman has no Discipline talents. This means he has no choice whether or not to spend his Karma on his talents. There are three ways to approach this when selecting starting talents:

I suggest that a basic combat skill (either Melee Weapons or Unarmed Combat) be picked up. Acrobatic Strike may do the same thing with a nice little bonus to your Physical Defense, but it burns Karma, and you won't always be in a situation to go spinning and twirling about. Beyond that, the choice of starting talents is solely dependent on your character concept.

It is also a good idea to have planned what talents you would like to pick up in the near future, knowing that while these talents are not carved in stone, they give you an idea of what to look for during your adventuring career. Giving your gamemaster a copy of this list is recommended, so that he can keep your desires in mind when developing mentors for your character to meet and learn new talents from.

When selecting new talents to learn, keep in mind your character concept. There are probably some talents that just wouldn't suit your character's personality or style. Don't just pick up a talent because it's cool. Keep your character's goals in mind, and figure out how each talent helps your character achieve that goal.

Example: Sean looks at the available first circle talents. He decides that, due to the wild, isolated nature of his village, and his 'defender' attitude, Bearclaw will be a combat-oriented Journeyman, at least to start. He decides that since his Dexterity is Step 7, he will rely on his default score for Unarmed Combat and Melee Weapons. He purchases Acrobatic Strike, Claw Shape, and Air Dance at rank 1. Since these all use Karma, Sean also purchases Karma Ritual at Rank 1. He decides that Unarmed Combat, Tracking, and Melee Weapons are high on the list of additional talents. Also, due to the beliefs and superstitions instilled in him by his master, Bearclaw will probably never learn talents that relate to Nethermancy. Fooling around with spirits and their ilk just doesn't fit Bearclaw's personality

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Talent Knacks

What about talent knacks (first described in Magic: A Manual of Mystic Secrets)? Can a journeyman learn them? According to the rules, humans cannot learn knacks for talents they learn under Versatility (see Magic sourcebook pg. 18). However, this would mean the Journeyman doesn't get any talent knacks at all, which some players may not like. Here are two ways to handle giving knacks to Journeyman characters. Keep in mind that in order to learn a knack the talent must be a discipline talent! If the Journeyman does not make the talent a Discipline talent, he cannot learn any knacks under it.

Personally, I follow the official rules on this. I feel that the wide variety of talents that a Journeyman can learn makes up for the lack of talent knacks. I get the impression that talent knacks are a result of the concentration of a Discipline on a certain area of expertise (bladed weapons for a Swordmaster, for instance). As a result of the Journeyman's 'jack of all trades' approach, he is incapable of focusing enough to gain this specialty.

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Discipline Talents

Due to information that was left out of the first printing of Denizens 1, most players (and gamemasters) thought that a Journeyman never received any Discipline talents other than Journey Weaving at fourth circle. FASA has issued errata on this, and the information is repeated here for convenience.

When a Journeyman reaches second circle, he can select one of the talents he knows to become a Discipline talent. He can choose a new Discipline talent from the talents he knows at each circle thereafter, up to a maximum of ten Discipline Talents.

Example: Sean decides that Claw Shape will likely be the first Discipline talent when Bearclaw reaches second circle, in order to save Karma Points when making his Claw Shape rolls. Until then, however, he resigns himself to spending boatloads of Karma.

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The Journeyman and Spellcasting

Journeymen are not particularly suited to being spellcasters (at least, to start). To be an effective spellcaster at first circle requires at least three talent slots (Spellcasting, Thread Weaving, and Spell Matrix), and five is much better (taking a second Spell Matrix and Read/Write Magic to learn new spells). The number of points available to a first circle Journeyman just doesn't make an effective spellcaster. The spellcasting Disciplines do it better, and much more efficiently.

Spellcasting, however, is something that makes a versatile, well-rounded Journeyman once he reaches fourth or fifth circle. The ability to dash off a spell in a clutch situation can be extremely useful. My suggestion is you use a gradual process, starting with Spellcasting. Pick up the appropriate Thread Weaving talent, a Spell Matrix or two, and then Read/Write Magic to learn new spells. If you take this approach, learn Thread Weaving as a Discipline talent, and invest in a Desperate Spell charm for that Spellcasting or Effect Test boost. Willforce is useful, but not really required for a 'dilettante' spell slinger. In addition, the Spellcasting talent allows the Journeyman to use magical items like the Counterspell Staff, Spell Swords, and other items that have spellcasting ability. This increases the Journeyman's versatility, making him a more valuable member of an adventuring group.

This is, however, a very slow process. Even if these talents are learned as rapidly as possible, it will take a solid two or three circles to become a full-fledged spellcaster. If this is something you want to shoot for, just keep in mind that it takes a lot of investment (both in time and legend points).

Incidentally, a Journeyman can technically use the Thread Weaving talent from other Disciplines to weave threads to magic items. If a player is aware of this, he will almost certainly try to take advantage of it. This is a gamemaster call, however. If you don't like the idea, don't allow it. Follow the optional "restricting magicians thread weaving" rule in the Magic sourcebook. (The same holds true for other Versatile Thread Weavers.) Legend Points are so precious to low-circle Journeymen, however (see Advancing the Journeyman below) that spending even more points to bond magic items is rarely a problem. Besides, the character doesn't gain the advantage of Karma, unless he uses up one of his valuable slots to make it a Discipline talent.

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Advancing the Journeyman

The Journeyman is much more Legend Point intensive than any other Discipline. Remember that the Versatility talent itself does not count for circle advancement. So to reach second circle, a minimum of 1,400 Legend Points must be spent (four talents raised from rank 1 to rank 2, one Versatility talent to rank 3 and then a new talent from rank 0 to rank 2). Compare this to a minimum of 300 Legend for any other Discipline (Start with four talents at rank 2, then increase one talent from rank 0 to rank 2). Talk about intensive! This doesn't even factor in Karma purchases, attribute increases, or anything else the player would choose to spend Legend Points on.

In addition the Journeyman must increase a Versatility talent rank for each new talent he wishes to learn, and then must spend a week to learn it. Fortunately, as soon as a Journeyman qualifies for a new circle, he achieves it. It is up to the individual gamemaster whether this is an 'instant' increase, or whether some minor ritual must be performed (in my campaign, for instance, Bearclaw must spend an hour in meditation before he actually achieves a new circle).

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The Journeyman in the Campaign

What do you do with the Journeyman in your group? What type of stories and plot hooks will get the Journeyman involved? How do you reward a Journeyman character? These questions are easily answered. Do the same thing that you would do with any other character.

A Journeyman, however, requires a little bit more attention than other characters. The increased cost of advancement in Legend Points means that a Journeyman is generally less powerful than other adepts with equivalent Legend Point totals. In addition, if the Journeyman has chosen Karma-intensive talents, he will be spending even more Legend Points to replace spent Karma. Consequently, the Legend Award for Journeyman characters should be slightly higher than other adepts in the party. Otherwise, the Journeyman player may feel left behind, while other characters advance up to fourth circle, the Journeyman, typically, is barely reaching third.

Another thing to consider is where the Journeyman learns his new talents. Many characters will be willing to teach a companion basic talents like Melee Weapons, Avoid Blow, Spellcasting, and the like. However, a Journeyman often tries to pick up useful talents that are not present in the group, much the same way that other human characters will learn useful talents under their Versatility ranks. The Journeyman, however, is better suited to these activities than other characters because of their ability to make various talents Discipline talents, and all their talents count towards circle advancement. Other human adepts whose circle advancement is slowed down when they begin to diversify using their Versatility.

Discuss with the player what talents he would be interested in learning, and provide the character with the opportunity to learn those talents. Have the Journeyman trade favors with NPC adepts. Tracking down a suitable tutor for a new talent can be an adventure in itself! Especially as the character increases his circle, finding a tutor who knows the desired talent, and is willing to teach someone outside the tutor's Discipline, gets progressively more difficult. The more unique the talent, the harder it will be to learn.

Also, remind the player not to forsake basic talents (like Melee Weapons) in favor of more glamorous ones. Basic talents are easily learned and increased, and are usable in almost any situation. The more specialized ones usually cost more (both in Karma and strain), and aren't as generally useful. (It is very difficult to Acrobatic Strike when you are wrestling with somebody in a closet.) If you can't get your player to understand this, it might be a good idea to require some 'prerequisites' for certain talents. For example, before learning Riposte, the Journeyman must know Melee Weapons at rank 2.

Finally, a word on the Morphism talent. This talent is largely responsible for players being interested in the Journeyman Discipline. Almost every player will have Morphism pencilled in as a ninth circle talent. Remember that while Journeyman adepts are rare, those that know the Morphism talent are rarer still! It is up to the gamemaster to begin planning in advance how the Journeyman will hear about the talent, and the path he must take to find someone to learn it from. Morphism will make up for the various bonuses that other adepts receive at different circles, but are denied Journeymen. The various attribute bonuses are usually going to allow a Journeyman to increase his attribute values more than other characters. Rank 15 Morphism gives the Journeyman the following attribute bonuses: +2 Dexterity, +6 Strength, +4 Toughness, +1 Perception, +1 Willpower, and +2 Charisma. Certainly worth the wait!

Conclusion

Every character is different, and what works for one may not work for another. This is particularly true of the Journeyman. You will find as many different concepts and configurations of this Discipline as there are players of the Discipline. All of the advice offered above is just that, advice. Feel free to ignore, bend, fold, spindle or mutilate it to suit your needs. As FASA says,

"If you and the players don't like the way a rule works or feels, feel free to change it. This game is yours. You spent your own money for it, and no one, not even us, can tell you how to use it. Besides, no one is going to stop by your house in the middle of the night to check on how you're playing Earthdawn. FASA hasn't finished checking up on all its Shadowrun players yet."
- Earthdawn Rulebook, pg. 230

Hopefully, I have given you some things to think about. The Journeyman Discipline can be a valuable addition to an adventuring group. The unique challenges and opportunities of this fascinating Discipline can provide a very rewarding role-playing experience. It is my hope that you are intrigued by the possibilities, and have a desire to explore them.

If you have any questions on the Journeyman that were not covered in this article, feel free to drop me a line with your question at mataxes@panax.com. I will do my best to help you out. Other feedback is, as always, also welcome.