Barsaive Campaign Set

Barsaive Campaign Set is a supplement published by FASA in 1993 for the fantasy role-playing game Earthdawn.

Publication

Barsaive Campaign Set, the first major supplement for Earthdawn,^[1] was designed by Christopher Kubasik, with contributions from Rob Cruz, Tom Dowd, Sam Lewis, Mike Mulvihill, Diane Piron-Gelman and Louis Prosperi.

Contents

This supplement details the fictional land of Barsaive. It comes as a boxed set that includes^[2]

• an Explorer's Guide
• a Gamemaster's Book
• a poster map
• cardstock sheets containing 36 new monster and treasure cards
• a cardboard sextant

Content about the land of Barsaive includes geography; its people, societies and social norms; laws; secret societies; notable personalities; and politics.^[1]

Reception

In the May 1994 edition of Dragon (Issue #205), Rick Swan admitted that he hadn't been enamored of Earthdawn when he first reviewed it three issues previously, calling it "a warmed-over version of the AD&D game." But Swan found that the Barsaive supplement successfully moved "the Earthdawn game away from light fantasy and toward [a] sophisticated setting-based approach." Swan concluded, "With the Runequest game on the ropes, the Earthdawn game may be poised to take its place, especially if [FASA] continues with supplements as strong as this."^[1]

In the May 1994 edition of Pyramid (Issue #7), Scott Haring gave the game a thumbs up, saying, "This is an excellent game supplement, reasonably priced. For people who play Earthdawn more than once a year or so, it's an absolute must-have. For everybody else, it's just a must-have."^[3]

Kevin Montanaro reviewed Barsaive Campaign Set in White Wolf #47 (Sept., 1994), rating it a 4 out of 5 and stated that "Barsaive is an excellent campaign supplement; the map is well designed, the text is plentiful and the information is invaluable."^[4]

Reviews

• Valkyrie #1 (Sept., 1994)
• Backstab #5^[5]
• Rollespilsmagasinet Fønix (Danish) (Issue 2 - May/June 1994)^[6]
• Casus Belli #80^[7]
• Australian Realms #16^[8]