Hi there. Our very own Varsk Ed Stark asked us for good ideas
on a poster to be put in the revised edition of Birthright.

I would very much like to see a full-color rendition of the
various coats of arms of Anuire. Anuire is still the 'home
base' for many campaigns and the default place to be, after
all. It could include the coats of the various tribes of the
Andu (the Boru, the Deretha), the Twelve Duchies (Boeruine,
Diemed) and most of all coats of arms used in around 1500 HC.

I am not sure, however, that a poster map will be the best
way to show these coats of arms. A Book of Heraldcraft or
similar we discussed before could very well fulfill that
role, and also have enough room to describe the coats.
In any event, I would very much like to see a full-color
coat of arms section somewhere in a future BR product, be
it the new hardcover or in some other book.

But, back to the poster map. Front will be full-color,
back black and white. This is like the poster maps that
came with Planes of Chaos. But they were totally useless;
so we want something better, something we can use. No
full-color pics of the Raven. I do think it would be very
cool for the poster map to have, let's say, 5 cm margin
on all sides, and this space can be filled with coats of
arms, pictures of bad guys (yes, even the Raven, but no
nude Justina/Banshegh! Tripp, you naughty boy!). It could
also have text about legends and superstitions of the people
of Anuire. This all would be a bit like glosses and margi-
nalia (is that a word in English?) found in medieval manu-
script.

Someone asked for a laminated map of Anuire; as Ed has
said before, lamination is INCREDIBLY expensive, so that's
a no-go. Besides, it would still have only a limited use -
if your domain is on the fold as Aerenwe is on the original
map, it won't work very well.

I agree with Tripp that if the hardcover itself doesn't
contain a map of Cerilia, or Anuire, such a map would be
a neccessity for all those new BR fanatics we're going to
make... even though we trusty veterans already have it :(
Otherwise, heraldry is an option, though a whole book (with
other nice things about law/guilds/bards/ruling/diplomacy
thrown in of course - not a book on its own!) could better
serve that purpose.

Perhaps it would be nice to depict on the B&W side the
lineage of the Anuirean Emperors, from Roele to Michael,
with dates of their rulership. That way, we have a way
to fit in the history of the Empire. The year 687? Em-
peror Quicumque IV dies on an ice-skating trip to Thaele
etc. The margins could have all sorts of juicy tales about
the Emperors. And of course, this all with a nice B&W
waterprint (?) (the translucent background thingies)
illustration underneath it.

In any case, I wouldn't like to see just a poster map
of the Imperial City - if it is to be developed at all
by TSR, it should have a full supplement, not just a
poster. A poster alone just won't cut it. Also, a pos-
ter of a dungeon a la Tower Ruannoch in Sword & Crown
would not be my choice - even if it is Battlewaite - as
you can only use this once, and then only if you want
them to meet Old Grumpy. Besides, I think dungeon maps
on a poster are a stupid thing in the first place, as
you can't use it while playing - it's so big it won't
fit behind your DM screen. I once played the Ravenloft/
Dragonlance adventure 'When the Black Roses Bloom' (which,
to me, still is the best published adventure EVER), that
had a poster map of Lord Soth's castle. I had to entirely
redraw it on A4 sheets. Cost me a whole afternoon. So
that's not too handy (or is it just I'M not that handy?)

So, concluding:

Front: Heraldry of Anuire
Back: Lineage of the Emperors

both with margins filled with interesting
doodles and scribblings about the subject
of that side - description of heraldry on
one side and tales about the Emperors on
the other side.

'I feel like I got a few things of my chest
and unto the chests of my inferiors' - mr Burns

Martijn / Loren I of Aerenwe