Birthright?

[cignus_pfaccari]

It's loads of fun. We played a 3.0/3.5ized version (not the one on Birthright.net) for several years, going from 5th level (average) to 22nd or thereabouts. The power level was kind of high...a starting scion could have two minor and one major power, and it would go up fairly easily once you got regency to spend; my character became another's lieutenant and guildmaster just so he could suck down the regency from Halskapa's guilds.

We did a lot with domains early on, as people solidified their power bases, expanded, etc., but as the game went on, they fell by the wayside, since we had better things to do, like saving the world (which is where lieutenants, spouses, and heirs came in to run the domains). The game spanned 14 years in-game, and went from the status quo to one of the PCs claiming the Iron Throne, another ascending as a celestial, and most of the rest of us moving steadily towards ehrsheghdom. I had my progress mapped out; once I whacked the spectral Diabolyk and the Hydra, my character was going to be the Quicksilver.

The supplements are really nice. The Book of Priestcraft, in particular, is really useful, even to people playing in other settings, and even now (since it goes on about temple organization and such).

Brad

 

[irdeggman]

My apologies irdeggman. I didn't realize the Birthright.net rules were considered Official.

*removes foot from mouth*

Actually we don't consider it "Official" until we've finished with the sanctioning vote - so only parts are "Official" so far.

It is "Official" in the same sense that the Dark Sun version at Athas.org is the "Official" 3.5 vesion of the setting. The "Official" fansites were granted that right by WotC for 3.5 products as long as they are "free" and downloadable only (i.e., no hard copies for sale even at no-profit).

Let's see - how many more times can I squeeze in the word "Official"?

"Official" "Official" "Official" "Official" "Official" "Official" "Official" "Official"

The Domain Turn rules in the new conversion are off and I still don't like the mass combat system (of course, I never liked the old mass combat system so I guess this might not be a fault of the conversion process).

What specifically is 'off' with the domain rules? We are engaging in detailed discussions at Birthright.net currently on revising them to update to 3.5 and make them 'better' so I am very much interested in comments that are helpful to that end. Please post them at Birthright.net too so the BR community can see some more input.

 

[DMScott]

I read through a lot of them, but I'm still not certain how one would run a birthright campaign (which is actually something I'm seriously considering). Do you mix in adventuring with governing? All governing? It's quite confusing... could anyone give me an example of how to run the setting so I can get a vague idea.

I ran a fairly successful Birthright campaign some years back - actually used Fantasy Hero (with Birthright's domain management strapped on) rather than AD&D (with Birthright's domain management strapped on). The way I set it up was to have one player as the ruler of a small domain (a Count), and the rest as VIPs in that domain mostly allied with the ruler. Some of the others were regents, some weren't - one PC was the leader of one of the churches of Haelyn, one was an ambassador from the druids of the Erebannien, one was the Count's bodyguard, one was a representative of the regent sent to try and advise/influence the Count, and so on.

We ended up having a good split of adventuring and governing - some of the threats the PCs came up against were best dealt with one way, and some the other. Each of the PCs also had ambitions and goals, so occasionally they worked at cross purposes. We found it worked best when both styles merged into each other, so their adventuring affected governing and vice versa pretty much seamlessly.

The general backdrop was initially the new Count working to win over his domain and people, and avoid getting smushed by his much bigger neighbours. As things progressed and the players got used to the political situation, they got involved in larger-scale events, like the rivalry between the major players for the throne, the Gorgon's inevitable rampage, and some scary interactions with the Manslayer. We had a lot of fun.

If I was to run a game under 3rd edition, I think the only thing I'd really convert would be the bloodline abilities. Otherwise, all the domain management stuff (and even the domain magic) probably works best as a separate rules system. I might even just not tell the players what those rules are, let them make rulership decisions based on principles, goals, and political expediency rather than working to maximize their domain's growth rate.