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Thread: PBeM going live

  1. #21
    Junior Member Wishing's Avatar
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    Interested, awaiting more info.
    May the moon shin brightly upon your dreams,
    And the Lady bring them to reality.

  2. #22

    Sweetness

    Well, with the interest you guys have shown, I think it is safe to proceed with our plans to launch this PBeM. As far as some technicalities, here goes some as I know them atm:

    Forums: We will have forums. We are still ironing this out as to see if we want to have public, semi-public or closed forums. Ultimately, I think we are leaning towards all turns being handled via e-mail for some very obvious reasons. But, the forums will be available for other interactions.

    Role-play: We have never been "huge" role-players personally, HOWEVER, BR has always brought that out more in us than any other setting. That being said, we will be setting up a reward/penalty system for playing characters a) in character b) by alignment c) maintaining a consistent personality. By presenting this type of reward system it helps maintain character parity. Also, it helps us to quickly identify RL or multi-accounting relationships that tend to lend more power to one or the other OR tries to establish unfair advantages through unsportsmanlike treaties/agreements. Fairness leads to a successful campaign. If 3 out of 4 players are having fun then imo the campaign is a failure.

    Website: Hopefully our website will be uber. I am working with a friend of mine who is a designer and I am hoping we will have a very interactive website including an interactive map of Anuire that shows the large map at first. Then, by clicking on a domain, it will take you to that domain's map, then by clicking on a province within that domain it will show you the holding info for that province. More on that to come.

    Simplicity: I will be addressing some of the questions asked by Andrew Tall in another post. In the meantime, I can assure you of this: Simplicity with rules, interactions, gameplay, etc will prove to be far suprior than any other form of governing a PBeM. That is our goal and that will be how we execute it. If you are counting on a 50 member senate from the City of Anuire that establishes laws every 3rd Sunday of each season and you want to know the color of the trees in Avanil in the spring time then this campaign may not be for you. We are focusing on domain rule, alliances with others, and an overall plot and storyline that will be in effect for the entire campaign. EACH domain will play a part in the overall story.

    Hopefully this info will allow you to get a tad better picture of what is to come. We are excited that there are this many BR players still alive out there. We KNOW we can run a successful campaign. Bear with us as we try and set the stage for your most memorable BR experience yet!

    DM_Anuire

  3. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by DM_Anuire View Post
    Website: Hopefully our website will be uber. I am working with a friend of mine who is a designer and I am hoping we will have a very interactive website including an interactive map of Anuire that shows the large map at first. Then, by clicking on a domain, it will take you to that domain's map, then by clicking on a province within that domain it will show you the holding info for that province. More on that to come.
    Be careful of not dying in the technological part. I have seen the awesome work in LegacyOfBlood, and in Dawn related to computer tools, and it's a huge effort, do not underestimate it

  4. #24
    Special Guest (Donor) DarkApple's Avatar
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    Interested as well

  5. #25
    Member Swashbuckler's Avatar
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    To both echo and add to my previous post:

    I am *way* interested in this campaign. I have done PBeM games before, but not one for the Birthright setting. I can imagine that it has its own unique dynamic with regard to domain turns and inter-PC diplomacy. Still, I've got 3 decades of D&D experience and a couple of tabletop Birthright campaigns under my belt, and I'd love to be a part of this one.

    Thank you for the info posted thus far. Most of my questions have either been asked or answered already, except for one:

    Will the 2nd Ed pdf's that you are supplying be house-ruled versions of those rulesets, or could we begin to come up with a regent as soon as say, when we get home tonight?
    "Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master."
    - George Washington

    Quod illo, senito aliquos togatos contra me conspirare.

  6. #26
    Site Moderator Fearless_Leader's Avatar
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    I'll just add a few things to what others have said.

    - Assuming that there will always be another turn is crucial to the success of the game, even if it isn't true. Quite often players are aware that the game-life will be short and so are incentivized to carry out grand, over-arching plans in the first couple turns or to attempt to resolve or settle a claim quickly (for example, Diemed might try to resolve its claims on the Southern Coast quickly by invading Medoere in the first couple turns).

    - Keeping things simple is best on the technological side of things. The actual content of the game is what drives it; a high-tech website is just icing on the cake unless it actually automates DMing functions and helps to keep game management a manageable task.

    - In the past, when I've DM'ed games, its never been war itself that I found overwhelming. Indeed, most wars are fairly limited. Rather, it is the crises that precipitate war among the major powers that are difficult to handle. Such crises generate huge amounts of email and forum posts as PCs try to recruit allies, dissuade others, make plans for the coming war, convince the enemy of his/her resolve, negotiate a pre-war settlement, etc., etc.

    - I think open forums are the central part of the game, with turns and private diplomacy handled by email. Forums foster a sense of community among the players and allow them to interact and play with others. There can be private forums that are closed to all but a few players (a common practice now is to have forums specifically for wizards, or guilds, or what have you; another one is to have forums for each realm's court). Whatever the case, even if there are closed forums, I think its important to have one common in-character forum for everyone to play in. As a general rule, a multitude of forums works only if there are a large number of players in the game (30 or 40+). Fewer than that, and there should be a smaller number of in-character forums.

  7. #27
    Site Moderator AndrewTall's Avatar
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    Roleplaying alignment can take on a new aspect in BR compared to normal D&D because of the domain system, if the player is seen to play the domain, rather than a specific regent, then abruptly you get a whole host of potential PCs - some of which are part PC and part NPC.

    As an example at present I'm playing Haelyn's Aegis in RoE II. So I'm playing a domain, that domain happens to have Robhan Khaiaren as its regent, so I'm Robhan most of the time. But I also play Pryor Ranele, secretary to Robhan, who is much more "practical" than Robhan and occasionally deals with his post for him, particularly if she thinks he'd empty the treasury in response by failing to negotiate "properly" or hesitate to demand the church's due from misguided charity. I also play Captain Raenwe, a Cerilian version of Ray Winstone who is the unofficial leg-breaker for the church - these quasi NPC's alignments, goals, etc all vary, but all are part of the domain and so I play all of them to a greater or lesser degree along with several others.

    As a result "alignment" is something that is more a domain characteristic than a personal one, I can swap/create a new character in moments, but they always have to follow the tenets of the faith and pursue the goals of the Aegis - at least publicly - otherwise the domain suffers from internal strife, being seen as hypocritical, etc, etc.


    Domain goals are a fun addition that Bjorn, the RoE DM, uses. He set HA up with various goals which are sometimes very different to the goals I'd have picked as a player. Some of these goals encourage me to work with those I might otherwise seek to exploit, other encourage actions that I wouldn't otherwise be interested in, but the goals are important to the domain and if Robhan wants his domain to run well he has to at least look like he's progressing its goals.


    "turn zero" treaties, grievances, etc could also be used to shape the game a little, prevent turn 1 diplomatic frenzies, etc.

  8. #28
    Special Guest (Donor) DarkApple's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by AndrewTall View Post
    Roleplaying alignment can take on a new aspect in BR compared to normal D&D because of the domain system, if the player is seen to play the domain, rather than a specific regent, then abruptly you get a whole host of potential PCs - some of which are part PC and part NPC.

    As an example at present I'm playing Haelyn's Aegis in RoE II. So I'm playing a domain, that domain happens to have Robhan Khaiaren as its regent, so I'm Robhan most of the time. But I also play Pryor Ranele, secretary to Robhan, who is much more "practical" than Robhan and occasionally deals with his post for him, particularly if she thinks he'd empty the treasury in response by failing to negotiate "properly" or hesitate to demand the church's due from misguided charity. I also play Captain Raenwe, a Cerilian version of Ray Winstone who is the unofficial leg-breaker for the church - these quasi NPC's alignments, goals, etc all vary, but all are part of the domain and so I play all of them to a greater or lesser degree along with several others.

    As a result "alignment" is something that is more a domain characteristic than a personal one, I can swap/create a new character in moments, but they always have to follow the tenets of the faith and pursue the goals of the Aegis - at least publicly - otherwise the domain suffers from internal strife, being seen as hypocritical, etc, etc.


    Domain goals are a fun addition that Bjorn, the RoE DM, uses. He set HA up with various goals which are sometimes very different to the goals I'd have picked as a player. Some of these goals encourage me to work with those I might otherwise seek to exploit, other encourage actions that I wouldn't otherwise be interested in, but the goals are important to the domain and if Robhan wants his domain to run well he has to at least look like he's progressing its goals.


    "turn zero" treaties, grievances, etc could also be used to shape the game a little, prevent turn 1 diplomatic frenzies, etc.
    This could indeed be the seeds of a more stable and understandable (also enjoyable) campaign start

  9. #29

    Alignment, RP, and Setup

    Hey BR Community! Glad to see you guys talking and awaiting our unveiling! We recently bought another paper version of our beloved campaign off of e-bay to ensure we would forever have an actual set of the rules! =)

    Now, on to some other things:

    Historic Setting: This campaign will pick up where the current rules leave it. However, be prepared for our overall campaign storyline to drive alliances and attitudes. Again, we are not huge RP intensive players. But, I will be using RP to setup and paint the overall picture for you and we have enough experience at the helm so that not all NPC's are the same cardboard cutouts of each other. For instance, in a Dhoesone campaign we ran when BR was launched, Mheallie Bireon was a tremendous thorn in their side. She combined intrigue, deceit, and outright murder at times to get her way. It was fun getting into that role and being a cool antagonist for the PC's.
    Also, along the historic setting, current alliances will remain intact IF you are in a domain that is not overly affected by the initial campaign storyline. If I tell you more about this you may surely figure some things out before we begin so I had better hush!

    We are currently planning to let you folks choose your domains. However, I am leaning towards a more "generic" selection to an actual direct choosing of the domain. Meaning, if you want to play a wizard, then we will put you in a source somewhere vs allowing you to choose exactly which domain you want. What are your thoughts or does this matter?

    Anyways, each of you will play one character in one domain. The only way you will ever play a different character is if yours dies AND you have an heir. Please designate an heir via investiture as quickly as possible or you will be eliminated from the game. We believe this game will be a blast and we can't wait to share it with you.

    Cheers!
    DM_Anuire
    Last edited by Thelandrin; 07-07-2012 at 11:18 AM. Reason: Link removed

  10. #30
    Senior Member Arentak's Avatar
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    "pre-game alliances" leave very bad tastes in people's mouths, and signing up to be "Landed, Temple, Source, or Guild" rather then "Talinie" helps create that a little bit. My buddy and I can't join together, me as Boeruine, him as Avanil, and plan on conquering the world.

    Good DM's handle that anyway, but I don't hate the idea. OTOH, some realms just suck. Cariele for instance. I'd almost be afraid to pick landed knowing I might get stuck with that one.

    Is the idea that if I got stuck with Cariele, for instance, I'd be Entier Gladanil, a relatively low level fighter, NE? Or I'd make my own character, possibly be named Entier Gladanil, or possibly be named something like Maevic Cariele, and be a Paladin of Haelyn?

    My preference might be that if you want a new char, you get a 1st level newbie, with a worse bloodline then the guy you're replacing....

    I only offer my preference since it seems like you're looking for input.
    I like PBEM's.

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