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  1. #1

    Birthright system for other campaigns

    I really enjoy the BR system, and would like to use it in another fantasy campaign that I am running. There are only two problems with using BR for any other campaign, though.

    1. Birthright only has stats for the nations of Cerilia;

    and

    2. Birthright's system of "Bloodlines" and "being tied to the land" is really only applicable to the official setting.

    I think the first problem is rather easily gotten around by just creating a map divided into provinces, and giving the provinces BR stats.

    The second problem is trickier, but, I think, not insoluble.

    In fact, the concept of "Bloodlines" and "being tied to the land" is a very real phenomenon in historical medieval politics, it just isn't a magical phenomenon.

    Most medieval civil wars erupt when at least one noble can claim that the king lacks sufficient legitimacy to rule. This was largely the cause of the Wars of the Roses, and, even, to a smaller extent, of the English Civil Wars. Yes, I am aware that those conflicts had far more than this running in the background, but in each case, it was a real question as to whether the king was the legitimate ruler of the state.

    What about a game where "Bloodline" simply was the perception that the nobility and the common people had of the regent's legitimacy? Simply take the magical powers out of it, and assume that bloodline didn't increase by taking heads, but by political actions.

    Off the cuff, suppose that your character got a d10 bloodline points for each of the following:

    1. Being born to a noble house [once only].
    2. Being made the heir to a present regent [once only].
    3. Being recognized as ruler by the most important church in the land [once only].
    4. Winning a major battle (one involving at least one province changing hands, or not changing hands) [each incident].
    5. Performing a heroic action that serves the people (such as killing the manticore that has been terrorizing the province, rescuing the crown princess from the evil wizard's castle, etc.) or being honored by the present regent [each incident].
    6. Marrying someone with at least 50 Bloodline strength, or marrying the present heir to a regent, regardless of her Bloodline strength [once only].

    Now, I'd just tack something very simple onto this as a limiting factor, saying that Bloodline divided by 10 was the maximum province level and holding level that the regent could rule. If he gained control of a province or holding of higher level, it simply would not serve him beyond the maximum level of his Bloodline strength. This does not mean that the province or holding level would drop, simply that it would perform only at the lower level for that ruler unltil his Bloodline increased, as the perception that the people were being ruled by a usurper would cause them to give somewhat half-hearted support.

    I think that is a realistic system that changes BR only very slightly, and would be applicable to any medieval setting. What do you think?
    Last edited by gloriousbattle; 04-18-2009 at 03:21 PM.

  2. #2
    Bloodline is the idea of <i>Divine Right</i> to rule. The magical aspect of it comes down from the gods (mostly the gods that sacrificed themselves for the world and sparked everything anyways!). I consider the application of Bloodlines outside of Birthright and it pretty much came down to replacing Bloodlines stat with a Rulership stat. Regency Points can stay the same fundamentally but they become more "reputation" points instead of the forcing of the Regents will on the land or you can change the name to anything that you want but they do the same thing and you don't have to change the system at all, just some names.

    I looked into applying above idea to a SCI-FI setting but I never got to converting the Domain Actions to the "SCI-FI" genre (Space genre?).

  3. #3
    Sci Fi Birthright ... I like it.

  4. #4
    You have to excuse me the lightsabre/jedi reference but that is all I could think of when I thought of Michael against the cybernetic Gorgon...

    The metalic arm of the Gorgon latched onto Michael's neck as begin to tighten instantly. The Gorgon lifted the struggling man from the ground into the air and pulled back his blade to strike at the Emperor's heart. Michael twitched his hand with a slight applied will and an object previously out of his reach flew into his grip. It flashed to life in a hum of power as he spun it down and severed the end of the Gorgon's cybernetic appendage.

    Michael hit the ground and tried to roll away but the destruction of his arm didn't slow the Gorgon and the blade struck home into the his chest and the bloodsilver flared to life. The Emperor felt it pull at his bloodline and knew that the wound was fatal...
    Last edited by dundjinnmasta; 04-19-2009 at 09:48 AM.

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