Regent Personalities & Behaviours

[CypherPax]

I have played two Anuirean caimpaigns and they have both been bloodbaths. The end of the first one ended with most of the players dying in an attempt to repel the Gorgon.

Anuire is not a huge country and it has been unable to unite for centuries due to power-hungry warlords. I like to compare Anuire to George Martin's Saga of Fire & Ice in terms of brutality and lack of magic.

Every generation or so, things come to a head - there's a massive bloodbath and the Gorgon comes out of his fortress to harvest bloodlines and ensure that no one remains strong enough to unify Anuire.

In my game, the Gorgon is interesting in bring the Cold Rider and the remainder of the Lost into Cerelia. He doesn't care about conquest as his needs are met -- he does enjoy ruining realms though.

Basically, conquest is not fun anymore since there are not challenges in Cerelia left... Anuirean caimpaigns have a dark tone, where Knights are supposed to be heroes, but are more likely to be butchers.

I ran an interestly game in Brechtur that was more heroic. The Bretch League was reformed, though it wasn't any stronger than what it was in the days of Lake Laden.

I think that's a major team of Birthright - lots of potential, but little change. Villians like the the Gorgon or the Serpent are too stong for the potential empire builders, the Bretch are too independent, and the Vos and Rjurik too wild.


-Cypher Pax

[ConjurerDragon]

CypherPax schrieb:

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> CypherPax wrote:

> I have played two Anuirean caimpaigns and they have both been bloodbaths. The end of the

first one ended with most of the players dying in an attempt to repel

the Gorgon.

> Anuire is not a huge country and it has been unable to unite for centuries due

> to power-hungry warlords. I like to compare Anuire to George Martin`s Saga of Fire &

> Ice in terms of brutality and lack of magic.



My favourite real-world example is germany/the holy roman empire of

german nation during the 30-years war (achtigjarige orlog if I remember

the dutch name of it from my visit of a museum in Alkmaar).



Or after playing the Warlords Edition of Shogun:Total War, the Sengoku

Jidai period of Japan.





> Every generation or so, things come to a head - there`s a massive bloodbath and the Gorgon

> comes out of his fortress to harvest bloodlines and ensure that no one remains strong enough

> to unify Anuire.

> In my game, the Gorgon is interesting in bring the Cold Rider and the remainder of the Lost

> into Cerelia. He doesn`t care about conquest as his needs are met -- he does enjoy ruining

> realms though.



If he is so strong and just enjoys to do what he does, then why does he

need the Cold Rider (who is rumoured to be a part of Azrai and might be

a danger to him) or the Lost?



> Basically, conquest is not fun anymore since there are not challenges in Cerelia left...

>Anuirean caimpaigns have a dark tone, where Knights are supposed to be heroes, but are more

>likely to be butchers.

> I ran an interestly game in Brechtur that was more heroic. The Bretch League was reformed,

> though it wasn`t any stronger than what it was in the days of Lake Laden.



I always thought that the Brecht League was strong - just not united ;-)



> I think that`s a major team of Birthright - lots of potential, but little change. Villians

> like the the Gorgon or the Serpent are too stong for the potential empire builders, the Bretch

> are too independent, and the Vos and Rjurik too wild.



If you look at the Rjurik like our real-world vikings/norseman then why

should they not be able to unite? After all there was a united

scandinavia for quite some years. Even the small country of denmark was

able to rule Grönland/Iceland/southern Sverige...

Or the union of Norway and Sweden?



But I would not see a king as head of the rjurik union - seeing how

small all the jarls realms are and how split up I would assume that the

union is ruled by druids. THEY already have two of the largest

organizations running with the Oaken Grove and Emerals Spiral that can

match nearly any other realm in the other regions.

bye

Michael

[Patrucio]

My take on the major characters are as follows:

Neither Boeruine nor Avan are bad guys when you get down to it. Both have the same basic motivation (restoration of the Empire), but both are arrogant enough to believe that only they or their line is fit enough to complete that task. Also, both the House of Avan and the House of Boeruine truly believe that they are the lawful successors, and their senses of honor would not abide letting a "false Emperor" take the throne. Aeric Boeruine and Darien Avan are very different people, though.

Avan is a very cosmopolitan person. He has a great interest in "modern" Anuire, is friendly to the new faiths and the burgeoning middle class, is fairly tolerant of other races, and is open to foreign influence in the Anuirean homeland. He has a very progressive outlook, and is open to new ideas. At the same time, he's fairly materialistic, not very spiritual/religious, and an unrepentant opportunist. While he would never break his word, he certainly would take something at the letter rather than the spirit of the agreement if doing so would be more advantageous. (Lawful Neutral)

Boeruine is the arch-conservative. He firmly believes that the traditions of Anuire should be the guiding principles of modern Anuire. He cannot abide foreign influence in Anuire, holds all elves in contempt, and believes that the commoners need to be reminded of their place in the ancient caste system of Anuire. At the same time, he his honorable and honest to a fault, devoutly religious to the traditional gods of Anuire as well as in paying the proper respect to his ancestors, and has an unequivocable sense of justice. (Lawful Neutral)

Baron Tael is much less evil in my envisionment than in the book. He is an absolute ruler that brooks no contradiction. Because of that, Gavin Tael is pretty much alone. None of his advisors would ever tell him anything other than what he wishes to hear out of fear of punishment. He is militaristic, expansionistic, and aggressive towards his neighbors. His justice is harsh, but his justice is also fair, even, and equal. More than any other ruler in Anuire, he holds his nobility to the same standards of justice that he holds his commoners in, and furthermore is the most likely to see justice done in noble abuses against the common peoples. Gavin Tael does crave the Iron Throne, but only because he sees himself as the saviour of Anuire. He does not believe that the feud between Avanil and Boeruine will ever be settled, and the only hope for Anuire to be strong again is for a third party to acquire the power necessary to force those two mighty pillars of Anuire to bend knee in submission. His drive and vision push him towards ruthlessness, but he is not cruel out of a love of cruelty. (Lawful Neutral)

The Mhor is a tired, aging man. He has seen conflict his whole life, and he is tried of fighting. He feels honor-bound to maintain his vigil against the Gorgon, and a personal dislike of Gavin Tael pushes him to oppose the would-be Emperor, but he has no love of the conflict. His passion remains, however, for his people. He is a fair ruler, though his justice is not felt evenly throughout Mhoried. He definitely lets his emotions and personal feelings color his approach to his people. He finds that the people of Mhoried, and the love and admiration they openly show for their Mhor, is the only thing that keeps him from handing over his heavy crown to his son. Well, that and the fact that his son is nowhere near ready to rule the people of Mhoried yet. (Chaotic Good)

[CypherPax]

Great replies. Perhaps I should try a nobler, less savage Anuire. The Anuriean personalities do seem very balanced.

I often wondered what the Gorgon REALLY wants though. The Gorgon could easily conquer Anuire if he wished. He's got a strong economic base, a nearless endless supply of troops (particularly since he can call on the undead) and very strong magic. His lifespan is such that he could very easily win a war of attrition where he takes a realm( or even a couple of provinces) every 10 years or so. and fortifies them. On top of this, very few entities in Cerelia are even capable of hurting him. He could simply crash a Sword and Crown and butcher every regent in Cerelia. Then it would be very difficult for Anuire to mount a resistance. He doesn't seem to what the crown. Does he just want to be left alone? In my game, the Cold Rider is the avatar of Azrai. The Gorgon wants Azrai to return. Azrai has promised to make the Gorgon the regent of all of Cerelia. Who knows if that's true, the Gorgon is out of his league when dealing with the Azrai - but his ego would never let him admit that.

I didn't mean to imply the the Bretch League is weak, it is just decentralized. It could be very powerful when presented with a common cause or enemy.


Cheers,

Cypher