D&D General Tell me about Birthright

[payn]

We are now in the age of virtual tabletop. I guess with the help of the right software for digital tools, Birthright could enjoy a second opportunity. Why not a Total War: D&D based in Birthright?

I think a VTT play by email/post is a great forum for a Birthright campaign!

We tried this about 6-8 years ago with a forum based system. It was good, but the GM was not. They sent out a poorly constructed PDF of the rules and didn't explain the game well. Folks didn't know what actions they could take and what mechanical impact they would have. The GM just sort of sat back and waited for folks to do things. Often, later chastising them for taking sub-optimal actions that hurt them. The game fizzled after about 2 months from frustration.

I'd jump at it again in an instance, just not with that GM.

 

[SkidAce]

I ran a similar campaign. It was fun and doing well, until real life intruded (military moves, retirements, etc).

Lasted about two years.

 

[deganawida]

Birthright feels like one of the older fantasy (or even faerie tale) stories come to life.

Due to the death of the old gods, divine power was distributed amongst many people at a massive battle. All those descended from all but Azrai have a chance to have special abilities called "blood abilities". These can be stolen through certain means, giving a Highlander type vibe.

The old followers of Azrai get tainted bloodlines and become unique monsters. The Gorgon is different from your typical D&D gorgon, though his children become them. The Banshee is an awnsheigh (the term for these beings) who during the day is kind, but at night her tainted spirit leaves her body and attacks others. This allows for epic battles or campaigns against giant monsters. Not all of these are sentient, either, but many of them have to be killed in specific ways or they come back.

Elves are immortal atheists who can use magic without being blooded. I didn't mention that, did I? The only way to be a mage is to either be an elf or be blooded. If you're an unblooded human, you actually use a really cool 2e class called the magician which is like Pug in Magician: Apprentice, which is essentially a thief without skills and limited to enchantment and divination as specialities.

The human kingdoms are divided amongst a Byzantine-Norman French empire (fallen), a Celtic Viking area, a Hanseatic league analogue of German pirates, Slavic-Mongols in the tundra, and Persian magic users in the deserts. The German pirate area also had a new rogue class called the Guilder which was less thief and more merchant swashbuckler.

Realms magic is the most powerful magic, can only be cast by blooded characters, and take a realm turn (one season) to cast. This is stuff like mass plagues, armies of undead, and so forth.

Halflings come from a shadow world that's like faerie, and can disappear.

Personally, I think the world is more interesting than the domain rulership part, but YMMV.

 

[Mad_Jack]

I never got into Birthright back in the day, but it definitely had some nice artwork, and the old Ral Partha miniatures they put out for it are awesome.

/non-useful tangent

 

[Voadam]

I have not played it or run it but I have been gathering up a number of the PDFs for some years.

There are basically two big aspects, D&D powered up magical domain rulership and the setting as a straight D&D setting.

It has the whole blood of the fallen gods powering up noble and monstrous rulers giving them magical powers and magical domain powers. It assumes you are a new nobility ruling a domain and there was a whole 2e system for domain turns where you resolve things on a kingdom or such level and your neighbors, who often include a hostile evil monster domain ruled by a unique monster powered up by the blood of a fallen evil god, get turns as well.

There is also the D&D world with kingdoms run by the unique powered up monsters (The Gorgon, The Spider) and a bunch of ethnically identified peoples (Arabs, Vikings, etc.) broken into multiple kingdoms. A lot of orogs and some interesting stuff going on with magical elves who were fairly displaced by humans, halflings with shadow plane connections, and so on.

There were a bunch of short domain sourcebooks and a couple bigger ones so like 3 viking ones, a couple Arab ones, a dwarf one, a couple medieval/renaissance European ones, an elf one etc. If you want some fairly plug and play D&D viking communities Birthright can provide. Same if you want inspirations for some big scale magic that is useful on a kingdom/merchant guild/temple type of level.

 

[Alzrius]

For what it's worth, I'd recommend picking up Blood Enemies: Abominations of Cerilia (affiliate link) even if you're not too interested in Birthright as a setting. This is an NPC book of villains, all of whom are rulers of nations, with some that are little better than animals while others are brilliant masterminds. This was the first Birthright supplement I bought, and it sold me on the setting all on its own.

 

[Stormonu]

Birthright has some aspects that make it unique, but it would be way better as a board game (and does have a version using the conspecsus map), as well as a risk-like video game) than as a troupe game.

I have always wanted to run it, but figuring out how to get the players to want to adventure together, without them being lackeys to one Regent PC is something I’ve not been able to overcome in my thinking.

Also, a lot of the place-names are hellish to pronounce.

 

[Tonguez]

Birthright has PCs as divinely powered rulers of domains managing their interests and taking actions that have impact across seasons and populations rather than individuals acting each moment. It is a game where the players get to invest in and shape the world as they desire, whilst opposed by neighbouring regents and powerful, monstrous antagonist.

It is a game that needs players that want to take things more slowly and do some worldbuilding, access to a excel spreedsheet certainly helps

 

[payn]

Birthright has some aspects that make it unique, but it would be way better as a board game (and does have a version using the conspecsus map), as well as a risk-like video game) than as a troupe game.

I have always wanted to run it, but figuring out how to get the players to want to adventure together, without them being lackeys to one Regent PC is something I’ve not been able to overcome in my thinking.

Also, a lot of the place-names are hellish to pronounce.

We have never done the adventuring party. We always were allied/opposed bloodline regents and played it like fantasy Diplomacy.

 

[TheSword]

The ideal set up in my experience is having multiple regents in one kingdom. One holding the land and law, one holding the temples, one the guilds and one the sources. They can the plausibly work together against enemies foreign and domestic and have a legitimate reason to hang out.