Regency collection

[Quickben1]

Hi all, it's my first time posting here, althought i am lurking for years.
I have never ran a regent-style campaign yet, and i have a question.
There is an issue regarding the collection of regency Points.
In a province let's give an example of 5/2. We can have a maximum of 2 regents per holding type and a total of 5 holdings per holding type. If i am not mistaken.
That means that i can have 5 different law holdings, 5 temple holdings and 5 guild holdings. And the maximum EACH one can reach is level 5, correct again?
Now if we take for example i am a fighter, and i have the appropriate skills for the law holdings but i am not the regent of the province (ruler).
And my law holdings are :
all in the same province, lvl 1, lvl 3 and lvl 5.
Will i be getting 1+3+5 =9 regency points for that province?
Or only will collect from the one with the highest level, meaning 5 RP?
It might sound silly but i am confused.
Thank in advance for any help.

[Retillin]

A 5/2 province can only have a total of 5 law holding levels.

So one character with a level 3 law, and two other characters with level 1 law. (for a total of 5) So a 1/4 province can only have one character with a level 1 holding.

All of this ignores 0 level holdings.

Granted, anything after this depends on what system you are using. (2nd ed, 3rd ed, 4th ed, ect.)

[Quickben1]

I can only blame myself and my limited english understanding it seems. Thank you very much for the clarification.

[MichaelDM]

No need to apologize for your English. Fire your questions. Also best to explain what rule set you ar using.

[Quickben1]

We are playing 3.5 edition. We started our campaign in the classic approach of adventuring only we have started with a background of noble-borns and blooded for all the players. After spending some time so the players get introduced to Birthright, we have decided that we would like to give it a go, with the Regency.
I've read as much as i could, but some issues even after discussing them with the players remained unresolved.
Like the regency i asked earlier.
Also there was a misunderstanding as it was explained at a point that if u had in a domain holdings of lvl's 1+4+5 (random numbers) and depending the appropriate skills/specific class for max RP, u can get a total of 10 RP, but the way i understood it ,was in meant a single province, while it was apparent - after your clarification- that it meant the domain the regent is controling.
To make me feel worse, i read the ruins of empire and i was trying to calculate myself how it calculates the earned RP there, which was the total of holding levels in all domains. I should have paid more attention.

As for other questions.
1) Due to events the players have created while adventuring, i could create an opportunity and offer vacant spots for regents in couple adjacent provinces.
Would you suggest for begginners as ourselves, to start with regents on already existing holdings, or should we start with nothing and let players create their own?
My only thinking is to offer them a head start to speed things on political affairs and not focus on logistics on how to raise from scratch. Either way if they want to expand they will need to do that step also.

2) Item creation feats for magic casters. What should be the limit? True mage of the party asked to create item that provides bonuses on various skills. I responded that they can craft items, but with limited bonuses. In general should i avoid some items as been overpowered for Birthright Campaign Setting?

[Quickben1]

I'd like also to ask, regarding the appropriate skills required for regency collection. It says for example that for Province regents, it requires Warcraft + Diplomacy,
Law holdings are affected by Lead + Warcraft
Temple holdings are affected by Knowledge (religion) + Lead
Source holdings respectively require Knowledge (arcana) + (nature)
and Guilds are affected by appraise,bluff, craft(any),diplomacy,gather information, Intimidate, Profession(any) and Sense Motive.
It asks for ranks, but do u insert only the ranks or the total modifier of the skill including stat modifiers, feats, synergies, items etc?

Someone mentioned on another post - i am sorry i can't direct which post it was , but i spent the last two days re-reading all the core books and convertions from 2ed->3ed so already past my limits - that you can select FEATS that affect your regency collection. I guess those are homebrew. Can i ask for more information regarding those please?
Thank once again, and sorry if some times i make no sense, i can do that even in my native language.

[AndrewTall]

1) Due to events the players have created while adventuring, i could create an opportunity and offer vacant spots for regents in couple adjacent provinces.
Would you suggest for begginners as ourselves, to start with regents on already existing holdings, or should we start with nothing and let players create their own?
My only thinking is to offer them a head start to speed things on political affairs and not focus on logistics on how to raise from scratch. Either way if they want to expand they will need to do that step also.


Building from a small base lets them have a chance to explore a little before anyone particularly notices them or forms too many prconceptions, inheriting a larger domain on the other hand invites people to 'test' the new regent from the outset. But on the other hand with a larger domain the PCs have enough GB and RP to actually do something, rather than collecting 1 GB, 1 RP and doing at most one action with their L1 holding as a newbie.



2) Item creation feats for magic casters. What should be the limit? True mage of the party asked to create item that provides bonuses on various skills. I responded that they can craft items, but with limited bonuses. In general should i avoid some items as been overpowered for Birthright Campaign Setting?

Probably yes, most BR campaigns are low to mid-level. But while BR has rare magic it does have powerful magic, so I wouldn't worry too much about it, something being thematically good or bad is more important than its power level.



I'd like also to ask, regarding the appropriate skills required for regency collection...
It asks for ranks, but do u insert only the ranks or the total modifier of the skill including stat modifiers, feats, synergies, items etc?


My understanding is pure ranks only. BRCS table 5.9 refers to 'ranks in...' and then notes the skills. I note that 10 ranks gives 100%, so at L2 a regent maxxing their regency skills should get full collection which in my opinion makes the system a little redundant.

I couldn't see any feats that affected regency on a quick wiki search, but a feat to increase collection sounds reasonable - if slightly problematic as it is unlikely to have much use at character level play.

Best of luck regardless, and don't worry, if you are having fun then the rules are working, regardless of whether they are being used as the author intended :D

[Quickben1]

Best of luck regardless, and don't worry, if you are having fun then the rules are working, regardless of whether they are being used as the author intended :D

Thank you very much both for your advices and for your wishes.
Actually that is what we are trying to aim, to have fun mostly but trying to keep it to the rules as much as we can and not play a novel-type dnd.

I have some more questions, but i will try to organize my thoughts and will post them in few hours.

[Quickben1]

So here' s the first question :
There is the rule about crafting items, that will substitute XP with RP.
So a multiclass wizard/rogue that rules a guild holding , can he spend his RP to craft an item instead of XP, or does it require to have a source holding as well?

Regarding Awnsheghlien, if a player does a bloodtheft to a scion of Azrai, and he changes his bloodline derivation due to the bloodtheft. Is he doomed to become an Awn?
As long as he uses Azrai's bloodline abilities, will he become Awnsheghlien?
If so, how long will it take him to become one? Is there a factor?

[AndrewTall]

So here' s the first question :
There is the rule about crafting items, that will substitute XP with RP.
So a multiclass wizard/rogue that rules a guild holding , can he spend his RP to craft an item instead of XP, or does it require to have a source holding as well?

I would house-rule it as such regardless, but don't recall what the rule in question actually says.



Regarding Awnsheghlien, if a player does a bloodtheft to a scion of Azrai, and he changes his bloodline derivation due to the bloodtheft. Is he doomed to become an Awn?
As long as he uses Azrai's bloodline abilities, will he become Awnsheghlien?
If so, how long will it take him to become one? Is there a factor?

The factor that determines awnsheghlien conversion is behaviour, there is theorectically a link for all scions between how they emulate the behaviour/etc of the god whose bloodline they hold and their bloodline strength / fate, the rules never rbought this out though.

I note that given the intermingling of bloodlines arguably every scion has every bloodline, we only record the 'dominant' one in the stats.

I would tend to say that a scion of Azrai who acts slyly, vengefully, jealously, viciously, in an egoistical manner, etc would be more likely to turn awnie than a scion who emulates the qualities of Anduiras for example. I would also permit quests, etc whereby a PC who roleplays well could 'cleanse' their bloodline back to its old derivation by avoiding 'acting Azrai' in favour of 'acting Masela/etc' and thereby strengthening the dormant traits of Masela and weaking the currently dominant traits of Azrai. But that would all be house-ruling and style.

An interesting, again not really explored part of the setting, is that scions of the 'good' gods who act 'good/pure' become externally angelic/pefect while those who embrace evil become ugly/corrupt externally.

[Quickben1]

I allow my players to play few sessions and play the way they like, after at least 3 sessions then i announce to them my decision based on HOW THEY played their characters, that they tend to the correspondign alignment (we discuss it if they are arguing about it, but unless they want to change it and try a particular alignment, they end up playing the X alignment based on their actual behaviour). So my players were near the point of attitude of "i will not torture you, if you behave and talk....ok i tried at least twice, now i can start taking off your nails and let's see for how long you can keep it a secret.."
So they have succeptible more to the dark side than the bright. So if they face a scion of Azrai, i am afraid that their true selves will surface and will give in to the corruption of Azrai. I was wondering if i could avoid them turning into Awnsheghlien's, and thank you for the ideas.

Also question from one of my players :
"if i plan an assassination of a regent my self, and execute it personally, will i still need to roll the action as Action Round when i am a regent? Or can i just Role play it ?
Here the main question was , that as they advance on levels, most npc's in birthright are low to mid level. And if they could achieve anything.
I responded at that time that when you are a regent the actions you roll per round, and the regency points/gold bars you spend in order to improve or counter a move translates as : you buy more guards/mercenaries, you hire a wizard or a diviner, to help him resist his assassination attempt, he has a wizard protecting him at public occassions ,while he/she is invisible. Thus as long as he spent the resources he has a chance to avoid his death. (In that example).
What would you say?

Thanks alot for your responses. They are very helpful.

[AndrewTall]

So they have succeptible more to the dark side than the bright. So if they face a scion of Azrai, i am afraid that their true selves will surface and will give in to the corruption of Azrai. I was wondering if i could avoid them turning into Awnsheghlien's, and thank you for the ideas.

One method is to make it a step-by-step process, so as the PC embraces darkness they could find some of their bloodline powers stop working, or change to a power of Azrai, they could find that travel in the shadow world become smuch darker and reflective of their spirit, etc acting as a warning of the path to darkness that they are walking on. Other issues further down the path could be involuntary actions or minor physical changes.



Also question from one of my players :
"if i plan an assassination of a regent my self, and execute it personally, will i still need to roll the action as Action Round when i am a regent? Or can i just Role play it ?
This is an action called 'adventure' ;) I would always say that role-play can enhance the chance of an action succeeding, indeed in some regions such as vosgaard direct regent intervention is almost a must.





Here the main question was , that as they advance on levels, most npc's in birthright are low to mid level. And if they could achieve anything.
I responded at that time that when you are a regent the actions you roll per round, and the regency points/gold bars you spend in order to improve or counter a move translates as : you buy more guards/mercenaries, you hire a wizard or a diviner, to help him resist his assassination attempt, he has a wizard protecting him at public occassions ,while he/she is invisible. Thus as long as he spent the resources he has a chance to avoid his death. (In that example).
What would you say?

Thanks alot for your responses. They are very helpful.

I would say that first the players should remember that although the ruler may be low to mid-level, their minions may not - regents generally don't adventure. Secondly many low level characters directly intelligently can make a fair stand against even high level opponents. The game system does not however tend to be gentle in this regard, and high level characters can make mincemeat of hundreds of opponents if the opponents aren't smart about how they fight.


I would agree that spending gold bars and regency should be reflected in all sorts of in-game benefits to actions, from heavy use of divination magics to predict attack methods and use of hired mercenaries to spy networks watching for strangers so that the PCs are surrounded by foes at every step.

You could also take a 'karma' approach to regency, of saying that the more the regent spends regency the more luck will favour them - in birthright regents are 'favoured by the gods' to a very real extent. This aspect of BR was noted in the birthright conspectus, but less was made of it in the actual books.