I don't think you necessarily need the Earthdawn system, but I think the closest relative to it that's reasonably available is 4e D&D.

However, you might take a look on DTRPG. There are two Introductions to Earthdawn, for 1st and 3rd editions for free that might give you a better idea.

I always found the Earthdawn books worth simply reading through, myself, though. The 1st edition system was pretty clunky in some ways, though.