Starting out. [Archive] - Birthright.net

T E Brightwell

02-23-1998, 03:30 PM

To the list,
I'm just joining a Birthright campaign group - starting out
this week and it's my first time out in Cerilia. The DM is also
relatively new to this field and we just had a quick rules question.
I'm to be playing a paladin called Laurence who's in control of Diemed.
What we were wondering is what to do about regency points and
how we would put Laurence in.
It suggests in the rulebook that paladins get regency points from
both temples and law holdings. Now we both realise that Laurence is
going to be limited by his initial blood strength (for reference, 26)

Even so, doesn't this make him a bit powerful if he's got all that
regency already at his disposal (keep increasing blood strength
nearly every turn, no worries about size of holdings?)

Hoping you can help,
Thomas Brightwell

Sythryc@aol.co

02-23-1998, 05:20 PM

well obviously the extra points go for naught (since you max out at your
current bloodline strength) so you can build up on the RP total but you should
beware than Avanil may try to muscle in. that goes pretty much for the other
surrounding countries as well. i should hope your paladin would be using the
RP to increase holdings/provinces some and also to improve alliances,
loyalties and/or other improvements (roads, trade routes etc). i do not think
that RP would all automatically go to increasing your bloodline strength, if
you do then you can sit back and watch outside forces take over your holdings,
contesting them, or otherwise diplomatically taking them over. RP is your
diplomatic strength. be sure to keep some always in reserve.

David Sean Brown

02-23-1998, 06:42 PM

>
> Even so, doesn't this make him a bit powerful if he's got all that
> regency already at his disposal (keep increasing blood strength
> nearly every turn, no worries about size of holdings?)

Well, I'm not sure how much regency you start out with, but the fact that
you have to spend 1 more RP than you generate each turn to increase your
bloodline means you are going to be doing a lot of sitting around during
your domain rounds. If your DM is worth his/her salt, you'll pay for
trying that little manoeuver..people contesting your holdings, mages
trying to increase their sources at the cost of your province levels..in
the campaign I ran, the only person ever able to increase their bloodline
was the thief, thanks to all those trade route RPs..course, he spent most
of his money trying to hold off various invasuions from nearby realms...

Sean

Geniver

02-23-1998, 07:21 PM

David Sean Brown wrote:
>
> >
> > Even so, doesn't this make him a bit powerful if he's got all that
> > regency already at his disposal (keep increasing blood strength
> > nearly every turn, no worries about size of holdings?)
>
> Well, I'm not sure how much regency you start out with, but the fact that
> you have to spend 1 more RP than you generate each turn to increase your
> bloodline means you are going to be doing a lot of sitting around during
> your domain rounds.
>
Ok, so you spend 24 RP to increase your Blood line from 23 to 24. Big
Deal! It will take you 24 domain turns to recover the 24 RP you spent
(at 1 extra RP per turn). That's six years.

Better yet, imagine depositing 1 RP each turn into an "increase the
bloodline" account. In six years and one quarter you will have saved the
25 RP needed to increase your Bloodline from 24 to 25. Why bother? You
just proved you already generate more RP than you need!!!

T E Brightwell

02-23-1998, 07:55 PM

> >
> > Even so, doesn't this make him a bit powerful if he's got all that
> > regency already at his disposal (keep increasing blood strength
> > nearly every turn, no worries about size of holdings?)

To the list. (again)
the advice that I've been getting from all those who've
responded from my list has been not to worry about my blood strength
and concentrate much more on the holdings more than anything. This is
contrary to the impressions I was getting from the other players who
seem to plan on playing aggressively and increasing their blood
strengths as swiftly as possible. Does this mean that I'm going to have
to be constantly watching my back for assassinations etc?

Each player was allowed a choice of magic item for their characters,
with the provisio that the DM approves of it. From what my character
knows, the other players have gone for very combat orientated items.
(Gauntlets of Ogre Power, Dwarven Thrower etc.)
I was thinking more of, say a ring of human influence? Any
suggestions on this point? I don't know if there are any nice items
appropriate for Cerilia. Something with an unpronounceable name?

Finally, is anybody able to pick up on my previous query - if a
paladin is starting a new game, what types of holdings would he begin
with. The book says Warriors get Law Holdings and Priests get
Temples. Where do I fit in???

From,
Thomas Brightwell

Sythryc@aol.co

02-23-1998, 09:34 PM

i got a ring of feather falling and i am a mage/thief 3/4. paladins get
regency from law (full amount) and temples (full amount) per Rulebook page 41
Table 14. if you increase your bloodline it takes 1 more than your current
strength to go up a level, so if you have 26 it takes 27, it seems foolish to
improve your RP collection by one, and pay 27 for it. the method of setting
aside a number towards an account sounds good to me though. i would
concentrate on maintaining holdings and forging alliances (holdings are what
allow you to collect regency - along with provinces and trade routes, if a
thief).
every individual is different, so advice will follow those lines. recall the
story of a man who kept asking everyone's advice rather than trust his own
judgement - he looked around and saw that he had gone nowhere.

Rasmus Juul Wagner

02-23-1998, 09:34 PM

On Mon, 23 Feb 1998, T E Brightwell wrote:

> > >
> > > Even so, doesn't this make him a bit powerful if he's got all that
> > > regency already at his disposal (keep increasing blood strength
> > > nearly every turn, no worries about size of holdings?)
>
> To the list. (again)
> the advice that I've been getting from all those who've
> responded from my list has been not to worry about my blood strength
> and concentrate much more on the holdings more than anything. This is
> contrary to the impressions I was getting from the other players who
> seem to plan on playing aggressively and increasing their blood
> strengths as swiftly as possible. Does this mean that I'm going to have
> to be constantly watching my back for assassinations etc?

You can increase your bloodline strength with regency every other turn at
most. Doing that effectively halves the RP flow in your realm, but it
makes youre character more powerful.

Take a lot of build actions if you can afford it. Roads, in particular,
are very nice. Then invite guilders and trade routes, and start shaking
them down once they're established.

>
>
> Each player was allowed a choice of magic item for their characters,
> with the provisio that the DM approves of it. From what my character
> knows, the other players have gone for very combat orientated items.
> (Gauntlets of Ogre Power, Dwarven Thrower etc.)
> I was thinking more of, say a ring of human influence? Any
> suggestions on this point? I don't know if there are any nice items
> appropriate for Cerilia. Something with an unpronounceable name?

>
> Finally, is anybody able to pick up on my previous query - if a
> paladin is starting a new game, what types of holdings would he begin
> with. The book says Warriors get Law Holdings and Priests get
> Temples. Where do I fit in???
>

Well, depends on where he's plonked in, doesn't it? Any blooded character
can have any type of holding, except for sources.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"If day cycle was a musical style, mine
would be jazz"

Rasmus Juul Wagner
Technical University of Denmark
c958650@student.dtu.dk
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Daniel McSorley

02-23-1998, 09:42 PM

>To the list. (again)
> the advice that I've been getting from all those who've
>responded from my list has been not to worry about my blood strength
>and concentrate much more on the holdings more than anything. This is
>contrary to the impressions I was getting from the other players who
>seem to plan on playing aggressively and increasing their blood
>strengths as swiftly as possible. Does this mean that I'm going to have
>to be constantly watching my back for assassinations etc?
>

Actually, if you concentrate on increasing your holdings, and they on
bloodline, you should come out ahead, at least in my experience. In the
beginning, GB are more of a limiting factor than RP anyway, and a combo of
law/land and temple holdings should go a _long_ way towards putting you in a
good spot.

>Each player was allowed a choice of magic item for their characters,
>with the provisio that the DM approves of it. From what my character
>knows, the other players have gone for very combat orientated items.
>(Gauntlets of Ogre Power, Dwarven Thrower etc.)
>I was thinking more of, say a ring of human influence? Any
>suggestions on this point? I don't know if there are any nice items
>appropriate for Cerilia. Something with an unpronounceable name?
>

>Finally, is anybody able to pick up on my previous query - if a
>paladin is starting a new game, what types of holdings would he begin
>with. The book says Warriors get Law Holdings and Priests get
>Temples. Where do I fit in???
>
The paladin can get RP from law and temples. What your paladin starts
with will depend oh his position. If he is just the heir to that Diem guy
from the RoE book, he should get the land and law that Diem held. If, on
the other hand, he lead a popular revolt with the backing of the church, he
could start off with temples and land but little law, since he had to
destroy Diem's law holdings to take control.
Daniel McSorley
mcsorley.1@osu.edu

Craig Greeson

02-24-1998, 12:54 AM

T E Brightwell wrote:

> > How did you finagle Diemed anyway? It's "not recommended for players".
> Strange. Diemed said recommended in the book. (Ruins of Empire I
> think.) Could have been recommended for DM's or something.
> What countries (preferably in Anuire) would you recommend for a
> paladin regent?
You're right, Diemed is listed in Ruins as being recommended for player use.
IMO, it's a perfect place for a paladin regent. However, unless your DM is
planning to change the current religious structure in Diemed, you won't be able
to "introduce" Haelyn's religion there. All of the available Temple holding
slots are already officially taken by the Orthodox Imperial Temple of Haelyn.
This is the first and one of the most powerful groups that worships Haelyn in
Cerilia. Your DM is, of course, free to completely change this.
The church is ancient, very well entrenched, and not at all likely to want the
new king to be trying to take over the religion as well. This presents a great
opportunity for roleplaying and internal intrigue within your domain. Perhaps
you feel the Orthodox Imp. Temple has become corrupt and has lost Haelyn's
values. As a result, you promote another branch of Haelyn's church or you seek
to start your own new splinter group that better reflects your LG, chivalristic
ideals. One word of caution, however. Wait until AFTER the Orthodox Imp.
Temple has invested you with the land's regency before letting it be known that
you don't care for the way they worship Haelyn.
Another top-notch Anuirean realm for a paladin regent to control would be
Elinie, IMO. This is a realm ruled currently by a Khinasi paladin of Avani.
Perhaps the current ruling family could somehow be removed. A new regent who
followed Haelyn could try to promote the traditional patron of the Anuireans
over Avani.

> Holdings. I'm actually a paladin of Haelyn. As a player, I don't know
> who controls the temples in Diemed but the plan is to introduce the
> religion gradually.
This is a bit of a peculiar statement. Is your DM not letting you know who
controls the Temples in the country you've chosen to rule? That doesn't seem to
make much sense, unless you just dropped in from outer space. I can see the
Source holder(s) of the area being unknown, and perhaps even the true holders of
the lands Guilds could be hidden behind some type of front, but not the primary
religion of the land. You may want to discuss this with your DM a bit further
to determine what the religious state of the realm is. Haelyn's temples are not
known for their subtlety, I'm sure they would be quite well known.

Sythryc@aol.co

02-24-1998, 01:33 AM

don't know what book you read but mine says Lawful Neutral - Recommended

T E Brightwell

02-24-1998, 10:38 AM

To the list,
responding to Craig's comments on religion in Diemed.
When I said I didn't know who controlled the temples in Diemed, I
meant what I said. I've got a sheet at home with some initials on for
each province. One of those must be the temple of Haelyn.
Craig's information does require a re-think on my approach. A well
established religion, firmly set in their ways. Whilst they worked
with the previous regent, how would they take to the appearance of a
paladin regent (of Haelyn) wanting to gain power through the temples?
I can see that my regent is going to have to take things very
carefully or risk a split in the church.
On the other hand, given that this paladin would control nearly all
the law holdings, could he not contest the temples directly? Gain
some sort of control over them straight away?
Thoughts, anyone?

From,
Thomas Brightwell

Craig Greeson

02-24-1998, 01:28 PM

T E Brightwell wrote:
> To the list,
> responding to Craig's comments on religion in Diemed.
> When I said I didn't know who controlled the temples in Diemed, I
> meant what I said. I've got a sheet at home with some initials on for
> each province. One of those must be the temple of Haelyn.

FYI, if your sheet shows the initials OIT and GK, those stand for Orthodox
Imperial Temple (OIT) of Haelyn and Guilder Kalien (GK). This is what is
officially presented in the Ruins of Empire book. The Guilder Kalien entry is a
misprint. He actually controls a Guild in Ciliene, not a Temple. The OIT
controls ALL available Temple slots in Diemed. I don't believe this is giving
away any DM secrets. IMO, there is no way anyone in Diemed would not be well
aware of the level of power the OIT has.
> Craig's information does require a re-think on my approach. A well
> established religion, firmly set in their ways. Whilst they worked
> with the previous regent, how would they take to the appearance of a
> paladin regent (of Haelyn) wanting to gain power through the temples?

I would expect they would cautiously welcome a paladin regent of Haelyn,
although that attitude would certainly change if they discovered he wanted to
become the country's spiritual as well as diplomatic ruler. According to the
Book of Priestcraft (again, this is all subject to change by your DM) the OIT is
almost oppressively rigid in its ways. This could certainly be something that a
paladin of Haelyn might wish to change. Perhaps he feels the religion no longer
is relevant to the people because of their evolution over the last 1000+ years.
They would not, however, simply say "Hey, you're right. Why don't we turn over
the keys to the palace to you?"
> I can see that my regent is going to have to take things very
> carefully or risk a split in the church.
> On the other hand, given that this paladin would control nearly all
> the law holdings, could he not contest the temples directly? Gain
> some sort of control over them straight away?

Of course you can do this. In fact, you might be able to gain the backing of
another branch of Haelyn by letting it be known you wished to change the way
Haelyn was worshipped in Diemed. However, I would think your DM would expect
there to be a lawful good reason why you wanted to do this. The simple fact
that your paladin wanted to have the power for himself would go against his LG
alignment, IMO. So, if you take this route, just make sure there is a good
rationalization for your characters actions.

Regards
Craig

rad smith

02-24-1998, 01:40 PM

> > the advice that I've been getting from all those who've
> > responded from my list has been not to worry about my blood strength
> > and concentrate much more on the holdings more than anything.

the way i look at it; if your realm produces more regency than you can
handle, try to increase your bloodline every 2 or 3 seasons. if your
bloodstrength is higher than your generated regency, concentrate on
increasing holdings.

> > Each player was allowed a choice of magic item for their characters,

youch!!!

> > I was thinking more of, say a ring of human influence? Any

there are some brutal items that boost your bloodstrength. i forget what
they're called; they're in the book of magecraft. as someone said before,
regency equates to political power. tighmaevril is scary, but paladins
don't generally hunt people down to eat their souls. a medallion of esp
could really help those political negotiations/uncovering plots. you've
hit the nail on the head, though, in not going for a combat oriented item.

> personal strength. War is about politics and economics. Succussful wars

oh yes. especially economics. (who's going to pay for all those soldiers,
after all.) but don't forget espionage, either.

- --
rad

don't you wave those bloody spears at me.

Sythryc@aol.co

02-24-1998, 02:03 PM

i think the GK was supposed to be written under the Guilds section for Diemed.
is this true?

Neil Barnes

02-24-1998, 02:15 PM

On Mon, 23 Feb 1998, T E Brightwell wrote:
> the advice that I've been getting from all those who've
> responded from my list has been not to worry about my blood strength
> and concentrate much more on the holdings more than anything. This is
> contrary to the impressions I was getting from the other players who
> seem to plan on playing aggressively and increasing their blood
> strengths as swiftly as possible. Does this mean that I'm going to have
> to be constantly watching my back for assassinations etc?

It's the GM's responsibility to make sure that the players are too busy
to increase their bloodline frequently. If the GM lets you sit still,
then he deserves everything he gets.

> Each player was allowed a choice of magic item for their characters,
> with the provisio that the DM approves of it. From what my character
> knows, the other players have gone for very combat orientated items.
> (Gauntlets of Ogre Power, Dwarven Thrower etc.)

I made the PCs randomly roll their magic items. We got some nice
results. It's always unny when the Fighter ends up with a Staff of the
Magi.

> I was thinking more of, say a ring of human influence? Any
> suggestions on this point? I don't know if there are any nice items
> appropriate for Cerilia. Something with an unpronounceable name?

A ring of Human Influence is exceptionally useful. It means that your
soldiers _will_ willingly follow your character into certain death. Of
course paladins get that effect already, so....

> Finally, is anybody able to pick up on my previous query - if a
> paladin is starting a new game, what types of holdings would he begin
> with. The book says Warriors get Law Holdings and Priests get
> Temples. Where do I fit in???

Ask the GM. If you are Duke of Diemed, I'd give you Hierl Diem's holding
and make the OIT a firm ally. But it's up to them.

neil

Neil Barnes

02-24-1998, 02:20 PM

On Tue, 24 Feb 1998, Jonathan Picklesimer wrote:
> Don't make a classic blunder and think that waging war is about armies and
> personal strength. War is about politics and economics. Succussful wars
> are waged from the perspective of strong allied political support, and
> lots of material and natural resource wealth.

Check out either Machiavelli or Sun-Tzu for good general advice on
politics and warfare. (They're required reading for Birthright players
really.)

neil

T E Brightwell

02-24-1998, 03:30 PM

To the list,
I thought I'd update you on progress.

Magic items. The ring of human influence still seems to be a
favourite. (There's a version of it I've been told called Soul Binder
already on Cerilia.)
The way the DM handled it was to set a value in XP of what the item
could be worth. He said around 1500XP.
Two other players have already created their characters. They've gone
for Gauntlets of Ogre Power and a Dwarven Thrower +3.
For my paladin, Laurence, the choice was between a frostbrand (first
magic item I ever read in DMG as Drizzt Do'Urden had one :) ) or this
ring.
The suggestion I came up with via the DM was that I had the sword but
lost it in the Spiderfell whilst on a rescue mission. The idea is
that the ring is an item traditionally worn by the ruler of Diemed as
a symbol of rulership. Very few people actually know what it does.
N.B. A rod of rulership was waaaay out. I checked. So was anything
made of that fancy metal.

Choosing a realm.
I like the idea of Diemed but there's no source book available for it.
What I've done is to buy the Ariya book (N.B. Ariya is recommended
for paladins.) and I'll see if I can adapt any of it. I think the DM
was keen on people choosing realms formerly controlled by fighters
across Anuire (Roesone, Diemed etc.) A friend warned me away from
Roesone citing Ghoere, The Spider and Diemed as enemies I'd have to
be watching out for all the time. Diemed looked safer with only the
Spider to fear.

Temples. The Imperial Temple of Haelyn sounds very well established.
If I could just have it as an ally, I think that could be enough. On
the other hand, the set up seems very reminiscent of
Terry Prattchett's book, "Small Gods." Here there was a very long
established religion dominating a country which almost collapsed,
simply because it failed to change.
Given that my paladin regent has had little or no direct contact with
the Imperial Temple, he'd be thinking more of his kingdom's safety
than continuing with tradition. So either he gets them on his side or
they have to change.
Thoughts?

From,
Thomas Brightwell

bloebick@juno.com (Benja

02-24-1998, 09:10 PM

On Tue, 24 Feb 1998 14:20:36 +0000 (GMT) Neil Barnes
writes:
>
>On Tue, 24 Feb 1998, Jonathan Picklesimer wrote:

>Check out either or for good general advice on
>politics and warfare. (They're required reading for Birthright players
>really.)
>
>neil
>

How DARE you speak the names of the great prophets!!! DON'T LET OUT THE
SECRET!!!! I mean, sheesh!! How am I supposed to have any edges if
everyone reads the prophets of war and politics?? And required?!?!?
Heavens NO!!! Only for us True Followers who intend to dominate Cerelia,
leave the peasants in stupidity!!! ;)

Benjamin

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T E Brightwell

02-24-1998, 09:44 PM

> Why doesn't your paladin use the Diemsword ? (The Sword of the House Diem ,
> given to the first Diem by Roele)

To the list,
where would I find information on this sword? It sounds
ideal.

From,
Thomas Brightwell

Mauricio Muñoz Lorenzo

02-24-1998, 09:47 PM

Why doesn´t your paladin use the Diemsword ? (The Sword of the House Diem ,
given to the first Diem by Roele)

T E Brightwell escribió:

> To the list,
> I thought I'd update you on progress.
>
> Magic items. The ring of human influence still seems to be a
> favourite. (There's a version of it I've been told called Soul Binder
> already on Cerilia.)
> The way the DM handled it was to set a value in XP of what the item
> could be worth. He said around 1500XP.
> Two other players have already created their characters. They've gone
> for Gauntlets of Ogre Power and a Dwarven Thrower +3.
> For my paladin, Laurence, the choice was between a frostbrand (first
> magic item I ever read in DMG as Drizzt Do'Urden had one :) ) or this
> ring.
> The suggestion I came up with via the DM was that I had the sword but
> lost it in the Spiderfell whilst on a rescue mission. The idea is
> that the ring is an item traditionally worn by the ruler of Diemed as
> a symbol of rulership. Very few people actually know what it does.
> N.B. A rod of rulership was waaaay out. I checked. So was anything
> made of that fancy metal.
>
> Choosing a realm.
> I like the idea of Diemed but there's no source book available for it.
> What I've done is to buy the Ariya book (N.B. Ariya is recommended
> for paladins.) and I'll see if I can adapt any of it. I think the DM
> was keen on people choosing realms formerly controlled by fighters
> across Anuire (Roesone, Diemed etc.) A friend warned me away from
> Roesone citing Ghoere, The Spider and Diemed as enemies I'd have to
> be watching out for all the time. Diemed looked safer with only the
> Spider to fear.
>
> Temples. The Imperial Temple of Haelyn sounds very well established.
> If I could just have it as an ally, I think that could be enough. On
> the other hand, the set up seems very reminiscent of
> Terry Prattchett's book, "Small Gods." Here there was a very long
> established religion dominating a country which almost collapsed,
> simply because it failed to change.
> Given that my paladin regent has had little or no direct contact with
> the Imperial Temple, he'd be thinking more of his kingdom's safety
> than continuing with tradition. So either he gets them on his side or
> they have to change.
> Thoughts?
>
> From,
> Thomas Brightwell
>
>
> ************************************************** *************************
> >

Jonathan Picklesimer

02-24-1998, 09:53 PM

On Mon, 23 Feb 1998, T E Brightwell wrote:

> To the list. (again)
> the advice that I've been getting from all those who've
> responded from my list has been not to worry about my blood strength
> and concentrate much more on the holdings more than anything.

I would think that increasing your holdings and expanding your influence
would be more important at first than increasing your bloodline. For
example. If you get a really high domain initiative, opt to go last.
Then after everyone else has spent massive RP in increasing their
bloodline, use your accumulated RP to start rebellions in their provinces,
to rule your own provinces, to spawn espionage acts against their intrest,
to contest against them, and to cast spells against them. Who cares if
their bloodline strength is two or three or even 5 more than yours, if
they cannot collect RP because they have no holdings, or are collecting
less RP than you, or are having to suffer for a couple of domain turns and
spend all of their RP trying to win back ground that you are rapidly
taking away while you are calmly storing up RP for later, it is their
tough luck.

> strengths as swiftly as possible. Does this mean that I'm going to have
> to be constantly watching my back for assassinations etc?
>

You will and should always be watching your back!

>
> Each player was allowed a choice of magic item for their characters,
> with the provisio that the DM approves of it. From what my character
> knows, the other players have gone for very combat orientated items.
> (Gauntlets of Ogre Power, Dwarven Thrower etc.)
> I was thinking more of, say a ring of human influence? Any
>

If you want to win the game by political power, then by all means get the
ring of human influence. A few lopsided trade routes or a blooded wizard
for a best bud are not bad things to have going for you! Remember also
that gauntlets and weapons work really well if you are going 1 on 2,3, or
even 5, but one against 1000 pikemen, knights, and archers is not going to
be even fair. The ring may prove very useful in helping cement aliances,
and gaining larger military resources needed to put a player with powerful
weapons in a bad spot!

>
> Finally, is anybody able to pick up on my previous query - if a
> paladin is starting a new game, what types of holdings would he begin
> with. The book says Warriors get Law Holdings and Priests get
> Temples. Where do I fit in???
>

Paladins can rule BOTH law and temple holdings. Therefore, I would say
that your paladin would begin with whatever the DM felt appropriate. :)
If you can convince him that you would have control over both law and
temple holdings in your realm (this is largely dependent on the realm; see
Ariya or Elinie), then you would have the church soldiers, the popular
army, the influence of the church, the church coffers, and the law coffers
on your side. Even if the DM does not let you start with both kinds of
holdings, that ring of human influence would sure be handy in bringing the
other law or temple regents around to your point of view.

Don't make a classic blunder and think that waging war is about armies and
personal strength. War is about politics and economics. Succussful wars
are waged from the perspective of strong allied political support, and
lots of material and natural resource wealth.

I think that if you watch your steps with the group that you have that you
can subtly become a high king, or, if the domains are antagonistic, you
can easily wipe out several of your opponents. The trick is to be clever
and patient.

I hope that my ramblings help a wee bit.
JSP

Neil Barnes

02-24-1998, 10:12 PM

On Tue, 24 Feb 1998, T E Brightwell wrote:
> Two other players have already created their characters. They've gone
> for Gauntlets of Ogre Power and a Dwarven Thrower +3.

I assume this is the regent of Baruk-Azhik, right? At least he'll have
no shortage of ammunition :)

> A friend warned me away from
> Roesone citing Ghoere, The Spider and Diemed as enemies I'd have to
> be watching out for all the time. Diemed looked safer with only the
> Spider to fear.

And Avanil, and the evil rampaging Medoerans :)

Is it just coincidence that the Anuirean regents have names which sound
like slightly warped Essex names -

Darren, Gav, Eric, Jase etc.

(I've been on email just a little to long :)

neil

prtr02@scorpion.nspco.co

02-24-1998, 10:42 PM

Neil, who by the way has be smokin' this board lately, wrote:

Is it just coincidence that the Anuirean regents have names which sound
like slightly warped Essex names -

Not to me. Some people previously wrote that the Anuireans have no culture.
One could treat them as the generic, default human fantasy culture. I prefer
to give them a Norman culture. This seems to fit well. Aggressive, (Normans-
the Waffen SS of the early middle ages!) good at fighting, decent rulers.

They've perhaps moved on to a more anglo-french culture circa the 1300s, with
regional differences and conflicts, but I think the Normans are a good base
model culture for at least the early Anuireans.

Randax

James Ruhland

02-25-1998, 12:36 AM

Everything old
>
> Choosing a realm.
> I like the idea of Diemed but there's no source book available for it.
> What I've done is to buy the Ariya book (N.B. Ariya is recommended
> for paladins.) and I'll see if I can adapt any of it. I think the DM
> was keen on people choosing realms formerly controlled by fighters
> across Anuire (Roesone, Diemed etc.) A friend warned me away from
> Roesone citing Ghoere, The Spider and Diemed as enemies I'd have to
> be watching out for all the time. Diemed looked safer with only the
> Spider to fear.
>
If you're curious you should check out Joran Lindblo's Diemed pages (go to
Darkstar's Links page & you should find 'em), for someone elses vision of a
Diemed.
Not that you should follow what he's done, but you might get some
interesting ideas of your own. 8-)
Also, the OIT is definately Diemed's Temple. In fact, the OIT is, though
one of the smaller of the Haelyn Churches, one of the more interesting,
IMO. In Aerle the oldest Temple of Haelyn exists (check out the Book of
Priestcraft), under the control of the OIT. This isn't to say you can't
ally with other Haelyn Temples. . .though doctrinal differences and various
rivalrys will make that difficult (but difficult often equals fun. . .not
"go face Raesene Roele while 3rd level" difficult, by no means (getting
chopped into tiny pieces does not often equal fun. . .depending on how late
at night it is and what your mood is, however; perhaps you'll giggle
manically, I donno.)

Mauricio Muñoz Lorenzo

02-25-1998, 10:15 AM

Ask to Ian Hoskin(Darkstar) or look in his webpage(Darkstar´s Domain)--
http://darkstar.cyberserv.com(look the Birthright links)
T E Brightwell escribió:

> > Why doesn't your paladin use the Diemsword ? (The Sword of the House Diem ,
> > given to the first Diem by Roele)
>
> To the list,
> where would I find information on this sword? It sounds
> ideal.
>
> From,
> Thomas Brightwell
>
> ************************************************** *************************
> >

Neil Barnes

02-25-1998, 11:44 AM

On Tue, 24 Feb 1998, Randall W. Porter@6550 wrote:
> Neil, who by the way has be smokin' this board lately, wrote:

When your project has stalled, you've got a lot of free time.

> Not to me. Some people previously wrote that the Anuireans have no culture.
> One could treat them as the generic, default human fantasy culture. I prefer
> to give them a Norman culture. This seems to fit well. Aggressive, (Normans-
> the Waffen SS of the early middle ages!) good at fighting, decent rulers.

I can see this. My historical perception of the Normans is a bit biased
- - I tend to think 1066 & all that, immediately. There's a bit more
Mallory and Alfred the Great mixed in with my concept of Anuire - I see
Anuire as having free peasants rather than Serfs, and generally being
less oppressive than the Normans.

neil

rad smith

02-25-1998, 02:12 PM

> > A friend warned me away from
> > Roesone citing Ghoere, The Spider and Diemed as enemies I'd have to
> > be watching out for all the time. Diemed looked safer with only the
> > Spider to fear.
>
> And Avanil, and the evil rampaging Medoerans :)

i'm not sure you could describe her as rampaging.. although EM
could be described as ramp/ant/ ;-)

seriously, though; avanil's quite a threat. he's the prime contender to
the iron throne, and his borders are secure enough that he could annex
diemed if it was sufficiently weakened by conflict with medoere/rosoene.
beware also the machinations of endier. it may be a small country, but it
has sufficient cash to rasie quite a significant army.

- --
rad

don't you wave those bloody spears at me.

T E Brightwell

02-26-1998, 09:04 PM

Randax wrote:
> Wow. You might want to reconsider your campaign set-up. It's highly unlikely
> that a Great Bloodline of Azrai has survived since Diesmaar and:
>
> 1) not been corrupted into an Awnshegh
> 2) isn't in charge of some big kingdom
> 3) isn't infamous- or famous if the DM is kind
> 4) would be trusted by anyone
> 5) produced a paladin of haelyn

1,2,3,4 - I think these are all going to happen in the campaign.
As to 5,
Laurence's (this paladin) mother had the bloodline. As with anyone of
Azraiian blood, she er, had her evil tendencies. In fact, she was an
enemy of Diemed. A powerful fiend/wizard in the Spider's army.
Something like that.
His father was a paladin of Haelyn - minor bloodline of Anduiras. He
was a man of some importance in Diemed's army. As happens in many a
classic fable, he fell for her. Realising that they could never live
together, (both sides considered them traitors) they went
extraplanar, leaving a child, Laurence, in the care of a friend of
the fathers. That's the last Laurence ever saw of them. His history
explains how he gets the throne of Diemed. He is largely unaware of
his parents actions.
Any suggestions/refinements to this story would be welcome.
I think the parents have been set up by the DM as future characters.
It's going to be fun to see Laurence trying to keep his paladin
status without being corrupted.
Laurence should be able to cope as ruler of Diemed for sometime
without others becoming aware of his status.
His main worry (not that he knows it) would be the return of the
Diemsword.
In addition, he has Bloodmark - as he progresses, his appearance is
going to change.
nice parallels between this and the creation of Dark Lord's in
Ravenloft I think.
Ravenloft...Diemed vanishes into the mists...

From,
Thomas Brightwell

prtr02@scorpion.nspco.co

02-26-1998, 09:07 PM

> From teb2@leicester.ac.uk Wed Feb 25 14:12:10 1998
> X-Authentication-Warning: phaser.Showcase.MPGN.COM: majordom set sender to owner-birthright@lists.MPGN.COM using -f
> From: T E Brightwell
> To: birthright@MPGN.COM
> Date: Wed, 25 Feb 1998 20:03:01 +0100 (BST)
> >
> > Why doesn't your paladin use the Diemsword ? (The Sword of the House Diem ,
> > > given to the first Diem by Roele)
>
> This is a very nice sword but unfortunately my paladin has a Great
> Bloodline dating back to Azrai. As such, this fine weapon might prove
> a little too painful for him to wield.
>
Wow. You might want to reconsider your campaign set-up. It's highly unlikely
that a Great Bloodline of Azrai has survived since Diesmaar and:

1) not been corrupted into an Awnshegh
2) isn't in charge of some big kingdom
3) isn't infamous- or famous if the DM is kind
4) would be trusted by anyone
5) produced a paladin of healyn

I'm not trying to hammer your set-up, just point it's inconsistent with the
BR setting as it's presented. A Great bloodline of Azrai would spring from a
legendary champion of the evil one- The Lost, the Emperor of Anduria or a major
awnshegh. Parents such as this would be hard pressed to raise a normal child.

Randax