- ----Original Message-----
From: J. D. Lail
Date: Tuesday, October 20, 1998 5:00 PM
Subject: Re: [BIRTHRIGHT] - Who Can Create/Expand Holdings Redux


>As far as letting any idiot start a Temple because Hank the Octic, son
>of Hank the Septic did so in real life is pointless. The BR dieties are
>active in that world. That fact alone invalidates most comparisons.
>

In real life, it was firmly believed that the diety was active.

>>I've always ruled any regent/scion can create any type of holding.... Of
>>course, some of them might find themselves better able create or hold onto
>>one type of holding or another, and some holdings might be close to
>>useless to other types of regents, but I can't come up with a reason why
>>they should be allowed to create them.
>

I agree with this section quoted in Lail's post. Regents should be allowed
to aquire other kinds of holdings. Its obvious why priests and guilders
would want law: control the faithful or the marketplace. Given that their
are (historically) church courts, guild courts, royal courts and seigneurial
courts, all dispensing their own laws, it makes sense that a temple of
Haelyn (or any other god) would want a law holding to protect itself from
the laws of others. Penalties of various kinds make sense when a regent
holds a crossover holding, but prohibitions is too severe.

I have found that when one player gets all the money makeing holdings in a
province, it tends to yield up an amount of GB's that unbalances the game.
I would allow this in a few key provinces, but would introduce resistance if
the player tried to control two kinds of holdings throughout his realm. The
problem is to be found on p. 44 of the BR rulebook. Under Maintenance Costs
the last sentence states: "Don't total all the levels; just add the number
of holdings and provinces and holdings." My advice to DM's is to limit the
number of large provinces in which you allow the regent to control large
holdings of more than one type. One or two provinces which generate GB's in
the teens with a maintence cost of 1GB make for provinces you must protect,
if evey province you own is stacked to the max, then two level three
provinces (producing 8GB's) is just as good as one level six (producing 17.5
GB's). I think keeping the money tights is imperative.

Kenneth Gauck
c558382@earthlink.net