Chapter One: The Races and Classes
A typical BR campaign allows you to be elven, half-elven, dwarven,
halfling, half-orog or human. Humans are divided into the five nationalities,
and each nationality grants you certain bonuses and penalties. I have added
two more options: gnomes and goblins.
Gnomes, as stated earlier, are closely related to dwarves. They are known for their gift with illusions and often make a living from this. They do this by several methods. Some work their dwarven cousins adding their magical abilities to the defense of the realm, others band together in a circus and live the life of nomads. Gnomes are favored as court jesters. Blooded and unblooded gnomes have a gift with illusions. Not all gnomes are illusionists, all of the normal options allowed by 3rd ed. are available to them as well.
Goblins as PCs are of the smaller type. They may be outcasts from the Goblin kingdom of Marakazor, or they could just be more intelligent and benevolent than their cousins. Playing a goblin could be fun, but keep in mind you're still a goblin. Most Anuireans will see you as a potential enemy. You could even have difficulty with something as mundane as renting a room.
The classes available for play include: Barbarian, Bard, Cleric, Druid, Fighter, Paladin, Ranger, Thief, and Mage. Monks do not exist on Cerilia. Magus are of three types: Blooded, Unblooded and Elven Spell Singers
Blooded Magus are Wizards and follow the rules for such as per the PHB, but may not specialize. Only blooded magus may cast the powerful Realm spells and have Source Holdings.
Unblooded Magus are wizards, but they must specialize in either Illusion or Divination. They are also allowed a greater selection of weapons, detailed in the Birthright Rulebook. Unblooded Magus can never learn to cast Realm spells.
Elven Spell Singers being closely tied to the magic of the land cast their magics with Spell Song. They can be blooded or unblooded. Only the blooded elves may control Source Holdings and cast Realm spells. Note, half-elves are too tainted by their human blood to cast Spell Song. Half-elves follow the same rules as humans.
Spell Components: I enforce the use of spell components, be the character blooded, unblooded or elven. Have 'em, use 'em, love 'em.
Chapter Two: Pantheon
I've always felt that the Birthright world offers a wealth of religions
for the humans, but that the humanoid pantheon is lacking. Therefore, I've
imported a few from Greyhawk. Another area that is lacking, in my humble
opinion, is the number of evil gods. Being an avid Warhammer FRP
fan, I believe you can never have enough evil cults. The new gods are listed
below by race, and the new evil cults follow:
Dwarves: Dwarves are monotheistic. They revere Moradin. Moradin is a greater deity. According to dwarven mythology, he created dwarves from the sparks of his hammer striking his anvil. He is a judgmental, unforgiving god who has no place in The Undermountain (the dwarven afterlife) for weaklings and cowards. Worshipers of Moradin are Lawful in alignment (good/evil/neutral) and have access to these domains: Destruction, Law, Protection, Strength. It is their belief that Moradin is the only true god. They recognize that the other races have Gods which they worship, but in the eyes of dwarves these beings are just higher powers created by Moradin. They view their lives on Cerilia as a test to entering the Undermountain. All other races are just an obstacle to be overcome on the way. The symbol of Moradin is the Anvil and Hammer.
Even though dwarves recognize evil as real, they do not have an opposite of Moradin or a hell. They do believe that creatures such as demons and devils exist, but they believe them to be spawned of the Shadow. If a dwarf lives a life as a coward or weakling, then his punishment is to be reincarnated as one of (what the dwarves consider) lesser beings: typically goblin kind. They do not believe that a dwarf would ever come back as on Orog. They hate orogs, but do respect their bravery and prowess in battle.
Battle is not the only means of entering the Undermountain. A person's honor can be measured by superior craftsmanship, wisdom (dwarves do have Loremasters), and wealth. Thievery is one acceptable avenue to great wealth. Dwarves do not consider thieves to be dishonorable, under certain conditions: stealing from one's betters and superiors is disrespectful, but stealing from those equal or below you (particularly goblins, elves and orogs) is perfectly acceptable. Most dwarven thieves are not into the "thug-life" or pick pocketing; rather, the grander the heist, the sweeter the reward. Anything that brings a dwarf "bragging rights" without disrespecting Moradin puts him one step closer to the Undermountain. There is a fine line here. For instance, picking the pocket of a benevolent noble would not be honorable, but picking the pocket of a greedy noble who has taxed you heavily is. Breaking into an abandoned house to steal 100 gold crowns is not honorable, but breaking into a heavily guarded and trapped house to steal 50 gold crowns is. Those thieves who do not follow this belief sometimes worship the Gnome saints Fharlanghn or Olidammara, if they worship at all.
Gnomes: As cousins of the dwarves, they worship Moradin. Gnomes believe that they are welcomed into the Undermountain as readily as dwarves, and there are blood thirsty gnomes who can rival the greatest of dwarven warriors, craftsmen who can place their creations alongside those of any dwarf, and of course thieves who can rip anyone off (gnomes more than dwarves excel at thievery). Gnomes do, however, often view Moradin a bit differently. They believe that Moradin is more their Protector than a judgment figure (a dwarf would pray before battle that he fights honorably and brings valor to Moradin and himself, but would not ask Moradin for anything, to do so would be dishonorable; a gnome would pray to Moradin for strength, courage and protection so that he may bring valor to Moradin and himself).
In addition to Moradin, many gnomes recognize three Patron Saints. This is a sore subject amongst dwarves and gnomes. Most dwarves do not recognize the Divine Three (as they are often referred to) and believe that they are a fancy of the gnomes trying to give themselves a bit of individuality; however, none can deny that each of the divine three has clerics, and that each of these clerics receives spells from their deity (except for Olidammara who has no clerics). Some dwarves explain that the gnomes are being duped by Shadow Spawn and will never reach the Undermountain for their heresy. Gnomes who live amongst dwarves do not openly worship any of the Divine Three, to do so might bring a swift death. Gnome clerics to Moradin are the same as dwarven clerics to the same.
Gnomes share their cousins' view that Moradin is the creator of all. They believe that one of the sparks from his hammer created the first two gnomes Garl Glittergold and his bride Fharlanghn. Garl is the supreme of the divine two. Garl has two aspects. He is considered the keeper of knowledge and the Master of Illusion. For this reason, Garl is often referred to as the "Two Faced God". His holy symbol reflects this, a simple disk one side black or gray, the other white. Gnome illusionists often keep a holy symbol of Garl with them believing that it will empower their spells, and gnome loremasters pray to him for knowledge. Clerics of Garl are considered to be chosen by Moradin and Garl. they recognize both aspects of the Two Faced God, but hold one aspect higher than the other. If they worship him as the Master of Illusion, they are chaotic in alignment (reflecting Garl's aspect of Illusion). If they worship him as the Keeper of Knowledge, they can be either Chaotic or Lawful or true Neutral, but can not be good or evil (representing the balance of Knowledge). Despite which aspect they worship, they have the following domains: Magic, Knowledge and Trickery. In addition to this, Clerics of Garl are often multi-classed Priest/ Illusionists. Clerics of Garl must always choose some form of Knowledge as one of their starting skills and should strive to obtain as much knowledge as possible.
Fharlanghn is the Goddess of Luck and Roads. It is to she that they pray to for luck (gnomes have an affinity for gambling) and for safe travels (the nomadic circus gnomes often have a wagon that they bring with them which is a traveling temple dedicated to Fharlanghn. To actually have a cleric of Fharlanghn traveling with the troupe is considered a great fortune). Her symbol is a small coin with a wagon wheel etched into its surface, the greater the value of the coin, the better. These symbols are often carried by gnomes for luck (and although their unlikely to admit it, many dwarves carry them as well). Clerics of Fharlanghn are Neutral in alignment (almost always good) and have access to these domains: Luck, Protection and Travel.
Olidammara is the last of the Divine Three. Olidammara is the son of Garl and Fharlanghn. He is referred to as the God of the Lost. Olidammara is not usually openly worshipped. To do so is considered dishonorable. He is only called upon when all else fails. Those who have dishonored themselves openly, often become Ali-Olidammara (Lost Child). If a family is considered dishonorable, one way they can gain their honor back is to give their first born to the priesthood of Olidammara to become Ali-Olidammara. Ali-Olidammara know that they will never see the Undermountain. They exist only as a reminder of their shame (suicide is not held in high regards amongst Dwarves and Gnomes, they consider it cowardly). Ali-Olidammara keep their heads shaved and disfigure their faces. Dwarves allow Ali-Olidammara to dwell in their mountain fortresses. They do not accept the worship of Olidammara, and do not recognize him as a God, but they do respect the custom. In some cases, dwarves have adopted this custom. Clerics of Olidammara do not exist. Those that worship him are warrior, rogues and spellcasters without honor. The priesthood of Ali-Olidarmmara live amongst themselves. They must hang their heads in shame amongst their kin and live only to die. For this reason, they are often in the front lines of any battle, and never retreat. An Ali-Olidarmmara does not live long.
Halflings: According to halfling lore, they come from the Shadow World. This world is a twisted mirror realm of the lands of Cerilia. It does not work akin to the Mirror Universe of Star Trek, but is more like the world of the Way Gates portrayed in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time novels. In the Shadow World it is ever twilight, populated with undead and even fouler shadow spawn. Its features are a caricature of the features of Cerilia. A forbidding swamp in Cerilia would be even more so in the Shadow World. Time passes differently there as well. A castle in ruins in Cerilia may appear intact in the Shadow World.
Halflings once called the Shadow World Yondalla's Gardens (more often referred to as the Garden). It was a peaceful place guarded by their goddess Lady Yondalla. She made the Garden for her favorite children. That was until the coming of the Cold Rider. None can remember who or what the Cold Rider was, only that he/she/it was a being of pure, cold evil riding upon an evil wind. The coming of the Cold Rider changed the Garden into the Shadow World. The halflings fled their realm to Cerlia long before memory began.
The Shadow World is separated from Cerilia by a veil. This veil can be breached in unholy places and always is easier to do so at night. Halflings can sense these "door ways" or a weakness in the veil. Sometimes, they can step into the Shadow World at will.
Halflings still worship Lady Yondalla. She is portrayed as a creature of the Fae and beautiful beyond words. A blessing is given before all seven meals of each day in her name. They believe that The Lady has preserved a sacred piece of the Garden where they go upon death. Those who serve the Shadow are cursed to either walk the Shadow World as Undead or become Shadow Spawn. She has several symbols: an hearthen fire, Spring time flowers, the first snow and every sunrise are all considered holy to Yondalla's worshipers. As a symbol of their faith, Clerics of Yondalla carry a rose, pressed and preserved and worn in a small pouch on a cord near the heart. Clerics are Lawful Good in alignment and have access to these domains: Good, Law, Protection. There are no known Paladins of Yondalla, but there are Rangers. Rangers dedicated to The Lady are called Shadow Slayers. It is their dangerous purpose in life to rid the Shadow World of the influence of the Cold Rider. Shadow Spawn or undead are their chosen enemies. The Shadow Slayers are often at odds with The Cult of Shadows.
The Cult of Shadows is a small, yet disturbing religion. Some say it was started by a being who may or may not be the result of folklore: a halfling known only as Shadows. Shadows is described as an albino halfling with white hair and red eyes. Some say he is an awnshegh others believe he is a creature of Shadow or a combination of both. Popular folk-lore states that Shadows has control over the shadow spawn and can produce the power of shadow from his finger tips. Late night drinking fests involving halflings often have tales of someone who knew someone who heard a tale of Shadows spiriting the "big-folk" away to the Shadow World. It is said that Shadows will not harm his own people. There is a rumor amongst the halflings that the Big Folk were somehow responsible for the coming of the Cold Rider. Most halflings disregard this as false, but the cult strongly believe this. Every now and then small covens are found in cities and towns. They are mostly terrorists who lure the Big Folk into the Shadow World, and then unleash their shadow spawn upon them. They live to punish the Big Folk with the power that corrupted their Garden. Priests of Shadows draw their power from an unknown source. Is Shadows a demi-god? Are they, for some unforeseen reason worshiping the Cold Rider? Or do they draw their power from the corrupted land itself? Their secrets are their own, but they have control of these domains: Death, Evil, Trickery. They are Evil in alignment.
Halflings are the most adaptable of the races. Many of them have adopted the religions of humans and Sidhelien. In those cases, they follow the rules and tenants set for those religions.
Sidhelien: In a standard BR campaign, elves are atheists. I've always had a problem with this, so I've adopted a religion for them. Most Sidhelien do not organize into temples. To them, religion is a private matter. thus, they have no clerics amongst the worshippers of Larethian and Ehlonna. Only the worshippers of the demoness Lolth organize into temples. Most elves worship two Gods designed to balance the duality and chaos of their nature. Both gods have two aspects which are opposite of each other.
The first is Larethian. Larethian is the Dual God of Protection and Tyranny. He has two forms. One is as a tall elf wearing glistening elvenchain and wielding a long sword and longbow (The Protector). The other form is an elf in dark plate wearing a horned helm and wielding a flaming two-handed sword (The Tyrant). Just as each individual is capable of both aspects, so is Larethian. When the Sidhelien need protection, either for themselves or for their realms, they turn to Larethian The Protector. If they wish to invade the domains of their neighbors, they turn to Larethian The Tyrant. Both aspects of Larethian serve as their war god. The Sidhelien can be strong allies, but can quickly turn into your enemy. Followers of Larethian believe that both aspects of their God must be worshipped. To worship him only as the Protector makes the Sidhelien weak; on the other hand; to always be a tyrant devolves a warrior into nothing better than an Orog.
The second deity is the Goddess Ehlonna. Ehlonna is the dual goddess of Life and Death. When a child is born or spring comes after winter she is praised. When a Sidhelien falls in battle or Winter falls, she is praised. Ehlonna is more of an everyday aspect of the Sidhelien's. They view life as a cycle. She embodies that cycle from life to death. She is placed higher than Larethian. Their mythology states that Larethian is both the lover and son of Ehlonna. Ehlonna was first, born in the spring. She gave birth to Larethian in the summer. Larethian died in the Winter, but is reborn each spring and mates with Ehlonna. Ehlonna is eternal.
Beauty, magic, art, dancing and singing are all important aspects of the Sidhelien, but they do not have gods for these or patron saints. These things they do to worship and rejoice in the long life Ehlonna has granted them before she must take it away. They only call upon Larethian when they must. They do not believe in an afterlife, but do believe in reincarnation and karma.
The Demon Goddess Lolth is another matter entirely. The Cult of Lolth is a new development (by Sidhelien standards). It is believed that Lolth came from the Shadow World. Not long after the halflings came to Cerilia, the Sidhelien started encountering a race of elves who call themselves the Drow. The Drow were Lolth's first worshippers, but she has gained recruits amongst the elves of Cerilia since then. Only the insane and truly evil turn to her. They live in hidden kingdoms beneath the earth called the Underdark practicing their dark arts. The Sidhelien are not willing to speak of Lolth and her worshippers. Not much is known of them to outsiders. They consider them an embarrassment. It is her goal and the goal of the drow to destroy Cerilia.
Half-Elves: Most half-elves are raised by humans and follow the tenants of those religions. There are some who were raised by elves or converted later in life who follow the teachings of Ehlonna and Larethian. There are also those who, rejected by their full blooded brothers, turn to Lolth for vengeance. Lolth has more half-elf recruits than Sidhelien. Recent encounters with the drow suggests that breeding with the half-elves is evident. This has had a scary effect. When the drow first came to Cerilia, they showed no signs of having blooded individuals amongst them. Now they are showing those signs.
Goblins: The goblins worship Karathok. His rituals are bloody affairs which bring his Priests and Shamans power. Priests and Shamans play an important role in Goblin society and often serve as leaders.
Tanar'ri Lords, Powers of Darkness: The origin of the tanar'ri, or Powers of Darkness, is unclear. Several scholars believe that they come from a plane known as the Abyss and that the Shadow World acts as a buffer between Cerilia and the dark home of the Tanar'ri. They do seem to have more power in the Shadow World. For instance, the influence of Orcus is evident in the Shadow World with all of its undead citizens. In any case, several of Cerilia's "darker" races have sought patronage from tanar'ri lords. The most openly worshipped include Yeenoghu, The Lord of Gnolls; Baphomet, The Lord of Minotaurs; Kostchtchie, patron of the ice giants; and Torazan, deity of the orogs, and of course Lolth falls into this category as well. In addition to these, Demogorgon, The Prince of Demons has a small following, as do Juiblex, Orcus and Tharizdun. The worship of Demogorgon is sparse, but includes a group of Anarchists who admire his chaos. Juiblex is revered by a small number amongst the Goblin races. Orcus has a small, yet disturbing cult who have forsaken Cerilia to reside in the Shadow World. Tharizdunor The Dark God are names that are fairly well known, but the details of their worshipers (if there are any) are obscure.
Gods of the Temple of Elemental Evil: Zuggtmoy has a history tied to the Temple of Elemental Evil. It seems the Demon Goddess of Fungi and Molds (Zuggtmoy) was at one time worshipped by the cult at the Temple of Elemental Evil. Zuggtmoy was banished to the Abyss during the second rising of the temple. Zuggtmoy was not the only evil being worshipped by the cultists. It has never been made clear just who or what the cultists were worshipping. The heroes who faced the minions of evil during both uprisings faced clerics of Lolth, Zuggtmoy and worshippers who dedicated themselves to what they called the Evil Elements, or what they sometimes referred to as The Elder Elemental Eye. In any case, after the second uprising there have been no reports of known worshippers of Zuggtmoy or the Elder Elemental Eye. Worshippers of Lolth still exist deep in their underdark kingdoms.
Awnshegh or Gods?: Also of note are several awnshegh revered as gods by some, The Serpent, The Spider, The Apocalypse and The Kraken. The Serpent has declared himself a god. His critics can discount his claims, however, he does have clerics who draw on dark powers from some source. The Spider is rumored to be the half-demon/awnshegh spawn of Lolth. Many discount this as a rumor started by himself to boost of his own greatness and spread fear amongst his enemies. No one worships Apocalypse. No one is even sure what the Apocalypse is. It is a great force of destructive power, that is for sure. Apocalypse does not take on any known corporeal form. This has led many to believe that it may be more than just an awnshegh. The Kraken is a huge water dwelling awnshegh that haunts the waters of Brechtur. There are rumors of a race of water dwelling creatures which worship the Kraken. It is not known if this is an alliance between the Kraken and the sea creatures, or if the sea creatures are just primitives who believe the Kraken to be their god.
Chapter Three: The Domain Turn
Domain turns are unique to BR campaigns. They allow characters to do
things like declare war, conduct trade, agitate the followers of a religion,
and cast source spells. They make a BR campaign a dual role-playing/strategy
game. They are played when the DM and players think it is appropriate.
They may take place in between each adventure, or after every other, or
an entire evening could be spent playing sequential Domain Turns. A domain
turn can even be "frozen" so the characters can go off adventuring then
finished afterwards.
A single domain turn lasts for three months (or one season). Four domain turns make one year. It is important to note that a Cerilian week is eight days long vs. seven. An in depth explanation would take too much time, besides it's covered in the Birthright rulebook.
There is one important thing to mention. I'm not exactly clear myself
how Domain Turns will function in this campaign. Once we're neck deep in
the adventure itself, they'll probably go on in the background. Once the
adventure is completed, you might return to your respective realms and
find that there is no rest for the weary, as you'll have to deal with what
ever has happened while you were gone. This is one of the biggest challenges
of adapting RttToEE for play in Birthright. It's not your typical
BR adventure. I don't see this as an impossibility, only a great challenge.
Chapter four: War
As you've probably guessed, war is a large part of BR. In my campaigns,
I like to have the threat of war always present. It adds a certain amount
of tension. I do not, however, play one continuos war after another. If
we wanted to do that, why not play a strategy game?
When BR was created, the boys and girls at TSR came up with the concept of War Cards. They wanted to make a fast, easy method to play out large scale battles. They were also hoping to play along with the card craze that was picking up at the time with Magic. Sheesh! What a cheesy system. Oh it is easy to use and play, but it sucks.
In my campaigns, I sometimes use the war cards for unimportant battles that we want to get past and get to the adventure. For instance, at the start of the Domain Turn, I roll a random encounter and determine that Bandits have invaded a town in a province governed by your PC (who we will assume is a multi-classed Fighter/Thief). Later, as a Free Action, you choose Espionage. Informants tell you that the group of bandits is small (less than 100), poorly equipped and disorganized. At the same time, your PC has something major that you want to deal with. Rather than dealing with the bandits yourself, you send a fair number of well trained troops, led by a trusted Lieutenant. This gives us two options: 1. I can either roll to determine the success of your Lt., or 2. we could use the war cards to determine the success (with you controlling your Lt.'s forces, and me the bandits'). In this case, I'd probably do whichever the group wanted. The first option takes five minutes (giving me plenty of time to interpret the roll of the dice) and the second takes twenty to thirty minutes (the average time a battle takes with War Cards).
On the other hand, here's another example. For several sessions your PC has had the threat of war hanging over him/her. The opponent is an NPC Regent. Your family and his have been at odds for generations. He's made assassination attempts on you, raided your Trade routes, and made life miserable for you as much as possible. You've had enough. You declare war! Now in my humble opinion, if I pull out the cheesy war cards, that is pretty anticlimactic. In this case, I would use the BattleSystem Rules (2nd edition). It takes longer, the battle might take an entire session, but it's worth it. With Battlesystem, the other PCs can be involved. Fighters might led a squadron of calvary, Rangers can led a group of scouts, magus can cast Realm spells, or Battle Magic, or the PCs could act as heroes engaging enemies in single combat. This also allows me to show off my miniatures painting ability (I'm not great, but I don't suck either); however, my minis collection is thin, and I don't have the bucks to shell out for an entire army (I'm slowly working on it), but even the card board heroes (by SJ Games) work swell with descent terrain (descent, in my opinion is a piece of appropriately colored cloth laid over styrofoam for contour shapes).
If you enjoy painting mini's, feel free to bring one to each session to represent your PC. I own and use the Card Board Heroes. They're cheap, and I'm currently playing with a fellow that uses them extensively. I do plan to pull out an actual mini from time to time. It doesn't necessarily mean "uh oh! Clint brought a mini! We're Firked!". I like to paint minis because doing so gets my imagination working. I often craft an entire encounter (sometimes an entire adventure) around a well painted mini. It gets me thinking about things like who is this guy? What's his motivation(s)? etc.. I've only been painting for a year, so if you're a master, don't laugh at me, or your PC might find himself suddenly teleported to a room with no exits, no weapons no armor and facing a very pissed off dragon.