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To my knowledge, the first companion books for RPGs were put out by Chaosium starting in 1983 for most of their games - Call of Cthulhu and Stormbringer both got two! They were collections of mostly random stuff that appeared in magazines, some material good, some forgettable (lotta doofy songs and such in the Cthulhu Companion). In the ’90s, when it became fashionable to publish big, one-volume rulebooks that contained all the player, GM and monster info under one cover, the idea of the companion book changed a bit. Then, they usually contained additional character options, lore and rules that couldn’t fit in the main book. They gave proof to the lie that everything really was under one cover. Off the top of my head, Vampire: The Masquerade (both regular and GURPS), Pendragon, Fading Suns, Underground and Chill all got this sort of companion book, and likely many more besides. Most of the time, I find them rather dull; Pendragon and Fading Suns are notable exceptions in this regard, as is Earthdawn!
In 168 pages, the Earthdawn Companion (1994) expands the limits of possibilities that were presented in the core book. The core classes get seven new levels of disciplines. There are more spells, talents and guidance for threads (though, you could put a full 300 pages out on threads and I’d never be confident that I understood the system). There are also rules for playing questors (sort of wandering embodiments of the Passions), Earthdawn’s gods, and a new faction, the Lightbringers, who are dedicated to destroying all trace of the Horrors.
The real catnip though, is that 168 additional pages of rules needs illustrations, and more illustrations by the Earthdawn pool is nothing to complain about. Especially Janet Aulisio. Also on tap (no clear credits) are Joel Biske, Steve Bryant, Earl Geier, Jeff Laubenstein, Larry MacDougall, Darrell Midgette, Robert Nelson, Mike Nielsen, Tony Szczudlo (who did the cover as well) and Karl Waller. Really only missing Tim Bradstreet to complete the ’90s RPG set. |
