How much experience in Birthright?

[Khrysanth]

Most of our group have played WoW to the point of getting sick of it (one guy still plays it a lot, and another plays on occasion - I cancelled my account months ago with no regrets).

Even at its height, though, it didn't replace roleplaying. In fact, it really does increase my appreciation of tabletop gaming when you see just how fundamentally bad computers are at it. I'm not saying WoW isn't fun - no regrets, remember? - but it doesn't offer a roleplaying experience. Playing WoW is akin to playing Diablo 2, except that the world is persistent.

Diablo 2 is a fun game as well, but it's no substitute for even a fairly poor RPG session. We had far more problems when the Magic the Gathering craze hit a few years back than we did with WoW.

The consolation is this: roleplaying is one of those hobbies where you can still feel like you're participating even when you're not actively gaming. There's new rulesbooks to buy and read, there's message forums to post on, there's magazines to subscribe to. If your players are typical, then WoW will not hold their attention forever. This craze, like all others, must pass.

To be fair, I've been playing MUDs and MMOs since I first had an internet connection in 1992. Saying the craze will "pass" is somewhat of an error. More than likely, however, they'll "burn out" of constant playing, and begin to drift from one game to another, and most of the time they'll drift right back into pen and paper roleplaying. There is nothing even remotely similar to it, despite the best efforts of computer programmers. Even play by e-mail or play by IRC lacks certain qualities that can only be found in a face to face game, which, in part, is why M:tG had a greater impact on RPGs than any of the computerised attempts.

[Green Knight]

Think I've read and played all BR-related material.

The funny thing about it is that I initially was less than enthusiastic about the setting. I had abandoned AD&D some time prior to BR being published, and I inaccurately assumed that this was yet another lame TSR product...

[Benjamin]

I own everything ever published for BR. I read all the books. I read all the boxed sets and Player's Guides. I ran 2 table top campaigns. I've been in pbems, often times multiple at once, since 1997. I ran my own pbem in 1998. Basically, I'm an old fogey veteran of the stuff.

[ausrick]

I bought it from the second I saw it in stores, probably a good number of months after it came out as there were several products in the line by the time I noticed it. I immediately fell in love with it and started running it.

I must admit that I dove into running it with much more ferver than would be recommended, leading to the fact that I didn't read it thoroughly first and adding to some very accidental but huge mistakes, such as Elven Priests and the Blood-Skull Barony being ruled by Vampires that animated Skeletal Armies infused with blood so that they would regenerate from death.

All that aside, after reading, re-reading, and re-re-reading the material I think I have a lot better feel of the setting and have mostly eliminated or atleast shrunk the enormity of my DM-boo-boo's.

[gazza666]

I must admit that I dove into running it with much more ferver than would be recommended, leading to the fact that I didn't read it thoroughly first and adding to some very accidental but huge mistakes, such as Elven Priests and the Blood-Skull Barony being ruled by Vampires that animated Skeletal Armies infused with blood so that they would regenerate from death.

If that's a mistake, then I don't see the virtue in correcting it! That sounds cool. Screw the rules, screw the setting - if you have to bend things to get vampires with skeletal armies infused with blood, then it's in a good cause.

[epicsoul]

Hmmmm.... I bought BR before it came out, having owned a game store at the time... own everything ever published for BR (although I can't find my copy of the Sword of Roele anymore), with some doubles, and also have downloaded everything.

In fact, other than the PHB and DMG, BRCS is the ONLY thing for 3.0 (3.5) D&D that I own or have downloaded. I haven't bothered to get anything else... gamed for too damn long to change now. Hells, took me long enough to switch from 1e to 2e, let alone to 3e. My gaming collection can't afford to take up more space, or my wife will kill me.

[ThatSeanGuy]

Screw the rules, screw the setting - if you have to bend things to get vampires with skeletal armies infused with blood, then it's in a good cause.

Sir, I like the cut of your jib. And while I can see ol'Britter Kalt with an army of horrible blood-bone monsters, maybe, its a neat idea regardless. Can non-awenshegh(Or however its spelled, my book's a ways away.) undead be blooded?

As for me, a friend and I picked up Birthright when it first came out. We tried a couple times to get a game going, but never really graduated to 'campaign' level before we all went to high school and the group fell apart. Its a shame, too, because I've always liked the setting, and I still think a King of the Giantdowns campaign would be awesome.