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When I first bought Warlock of the Stonecrowns, an adventure supplement to Birthright, I was introduced to a World where players aren't your run of the mill heroes. Usually.

The adventure included details on running mass combat. No problem, I naively thought, I have War Law, I can easily adapt this adventure to my own world system.

However, I joined the Birthright Mailing List on MPGN-net and I was hooked. I found out that in Birthright, player characters are kings and queens, princes and princesses, great wizards, powerful Patriarchs, and Guildmasters. In short, players play politics, not dungeon delvers.

So, due to limited resources, I went backwards in acquiring Birthright material. I picked up a copy of Sword and Crown, started reading Birthright™ Novels, and recently acquired adventures and two Campaign Expansions.

By the time I picked up the Birthright™ Campaign Setting, or rather recieved it in the mail yesterday, I knew everything I needed to know about Birthright™ and its world, Aebyrnis.

THE GOOD Birthright™ is Wizards of the Coast's strongest campaign setting. The best part is that PCs aren't encouraged to be regular Tolkien or Leiber-like heroes, rather players are encouraged to play the role of Kings. Literally.

Politics play a central role in the World System. Players manage domains in five countries on one small continent. Regency is a very important factor, in fact this concept is emphasized by the use of the Divine Blood rules in Birthright. Which adds another dimension, that is players play characters who are defending and acting within their actual birthright.

Another good thing is that each race: human, elf, dwarf, and halfling, each have their own characteristics. There are no "normal" humans in Cerilia, but PCs wishing to play humans must choose between five human cultures: Anuirean, Brecht, Rjurik, Khinasi, and Vos.

Each human culture is based on a Historical one. The Anuireans are an analog of both Regency England and France of Joan of Arc; the Brechts are based on the Hanseatic League, the Khinasi are based off of the Spanish Moors, the Rjurik has Viking and Scottish roots, and the Vos have Russian and Mongol elements.

Elves are not your usual cultured faeries, but they are a proud race who call themselves the Sidhelien (Shee-lin) and have a burning hatred for humans and the way they subjugate nature and not work with it.

Dwarves are cold and gray as the stone that they were shaped from. They do not even consider getting in the way of other races' affairs.

Halflings aren't your vale dwelling race, but a race from another world, called the Shadow World. They seek to escape, and often adopt the culture of the race or nation that they are living in.

Humanoids also play an important part in the world system as well. Goblins are a nation-dwelling people who have their own kingdom and are sometimes ruled by powerful abominations called Awnsheghlien (awn-SHEY-lin). The Gorgon is an example, and so is an elvish ruler called Roubhe (Rove).

Orcs are more powerful than the cannon fodder of other worlds. They exist underground and have their own strong culture. Ogres are in mercenary companies for anyone who can afford them. And gnolls are marauders and plagues on various kingdoms.

Plus there are mass combat rules. These are simple rules that allow the DM to adjudicate by Fiat, Roleplaying, or War Cards. The Mass combat system is a unique element included in the Birthright Campaign Setting. However, I heard of DMs using minature combat rules from Warhammer™, Battlesystem™, and other miniature combat games in place of the war card rules.

MAGIC

Birthright's Magic System deserves it's own section. The magic system is new and original. There is lesser magic and then there is true magic. Beyond true magic is realm magic, the magic that only Wizard Regents command.

Lesser magic is something commoners can wield. It includes the Divination and Illusion schools, plus the first and second level spells of each school of magic.

True Magic is magic only the human scion of a divine bloodline, elves, or half-elves (see above) can wield. Thus mages who can use true magic are rare. This includes all schools of spell levels 1-9.

Realm Magic, as said before, is the magic only Wizard (and Priest) Regents can use. Its source comes from the Land itself. Wizards use ley lines to transport magic from magical sources to other areas of the land so that they can cast these powerful spells.

Priests have realm spells too, but their realm spells depend greatly on Religious Attendence to a temple or a cathedral. So a Priest who has only C & E attendance in his "parish" can only cast the least powerful realm spells, while those who have regular attendance in their "parishes" of many can cast greater and more powerful realm spells.

THE BAD

The Worst thing about this Campaign setting is that TSR stopped supporting it when WotC bought them. Which is too bad, since Birthright is the best World System to come out of TSR since the printing of the Dragonlance™ Adventures and Oriental Adventures so long ago. Well, in my opinion, anyway.

Birthright's world system has that "real" feel to it. This is because it demands a lot of work from the DM. In Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance, and other Campaign Settings from TSR and other RPG Companies, the DM didn't have much to worry about. Less headache, you see.

The Birthright™ DM, however, has the challenge of actually managing the political affairs that is not directly under the control of the players. The DM has to note strange events, new wars, catastrophies, even manage the Weather. Birthright is a world that needs Change to make things happen, its not a static world. While it's something an average DM doesn't have to give a second thought, the Birthright™ DM actually thinks about these things if he wants a successful Birthright™ campaign.

Take heart, though. GMs who run Rolemaster in all three of it's Incarnations (RM2, RMSS, RMFRP) are encouraged in a book titled Gamemaster Law to do the same thing.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

Overall, I think Birthright is the best Campaign Setting that has ever been made, with the Legend of the Five Rings RPG coming in second. Both are made on entirely different, but similar, Precepts. In Birthright, the Players play a vital key role in the Campaign's History, while L5R's history is actively changed by WotC during National Tournaments of the CCG. In other words, GMs of L5R RPG who want to play in the realm of the CCG can't make huge changes, while the Birthright DM (and players) can make the history of Cerilia.

So if you are itching to run a domain, and are not in a position to take over a country at any time soon, Birthright is a pleasant fantastic alternative to the real thing.

By the way, Peter Adkinson, if you are reading this, bring it back.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

BIRTHRIGHT™ Campaign Setting
Author: Richard Baker and Colin McComb Category: game Company/Publisher: Wizards of the Coast Line: (Advanced) Dungeons and Dragons Cost: $30.00 Page count: n/a SKU: 3100 Capsule Review by Elton Robb on 01/27/00. Genre tags: Fantasy	When I first bought Warlock of the Stonecrowns, an adventure supplement to Birthright, I was introduced to a World where players aren't your run of the mill heroes. Usually. The adventure included details on running mass combat. No problem, I naively thought, I have War Law, I can easily adapt this adventure to my own world system. However, I joined the Birthright Mailing List on MPGN-net and I was hooked. I found out that in Birthright, player characters are kings and queens, princes and princesses, great wizards, powerful Patriarchs, and Guildmasters. In short, players play politics, not dungeon delvers. So, due to limited resources, I went backwards in acquiring Birthright material. I picked up a copy of Sword and Crown, started reading Birthright™ Novels, and recently acquired adventures and two Campaign Expansions. By the time I picked up the Birthright™ Campaign Setting, or rather recieved it in the mail yesterday, I knew everything I needed to know about Birthright™ and its world, Aebyrnis. THE GOOD Birthright™ is Wizards of the Coast's strongest campaign setting. The best part is that PCs aren't encouraged to be regular Tolkien or Leiber-like heroes, rather players are encouraged to play the role of Kings. Literally. Politics play a central role in the World System. Players manage domains in five countries on one small continent. Regency is a very important factor, in fact this concept is emphasized by the use of the Divine Blood rules in Birthright. Which adds another dimension, that is players play characters who are defending and acting within their actual birthright. Another good thing is that each race: human, elf, dwarf, and halfling, each have their own characteristics. There are no "normal" humans in Cerilia, but PCs wishing to play humans must choose between five human cultures: Anuirean, Brecht, Rjurik, Khinasi, and Vos. Each human culture is based on a Historical one. The Anuireans are an analog of both Regency England and France of Joan of Arc; the Brechts are based on the Hanseatic League, the Khinasi are based off of the Spanish Moors, the Rjurik has Viking and Scottish roots, and the Vos have Russian and Mongol elements. Elves are not your usual cultured faeries, but they are a proud race who call themselves the Sidhelien (Shee-lin) and have a burning hatred for humans and the way they subjugate nature and not work with it. Dwarves are cold and gray as the stone that they were shaped from. They do not even consider getting in the way of other races' affairs. Halflings aren't your vale dwelling race, but a race from another world, called the Shadow World. They seek to escape, and often adopt the culture of the race or nation that they are living in. Humanoids also play an important part in the world system as well. Goblins are a nation-dwelling people who have their own kingdom and are sometimes ruled by powerful abominations called Awnsheghlien (awn-SHEY-lin). The Gorgon is an example, and so is an elvish ruler called Roubhe (Rove). Orcs are more powerful than the cannon fodder of other worlds. They exist underground and have their own strong culture. Ogres are in mercenary companies for anyone who can afford them. And gnolls are marauders and plagues on various kingdoms. Plus there are mass combat rules. These are simple rules that allow the DM to adjudicate by Fiat, Roleplaying, or War Cards. The Mass combat system is a unique element included in the Birthright Campaign Setting. However, I heard of DMs using minature combat rules from Warhammer™, Battlesystem™, and other miniature combat games in place of the war card rules. MAGIC Birthright's Magic System deserves it's own section. The magic system is new and original. There is lesser magic and then there is true magic. Beyond true magic is realm magic, the magic that only Wizard Regents command. Lesser magic is something commoners can wield. It includes the Divination and Illusion schools, plus the first and second level spells of each school of magic. True Magic is magic only the human scion of a divine bloodline, elves, or half-elves (see above) can wield. Thus mages who can use true magic are rare. This includes all schools of spell levels 1-9. Realm Magic, as said before, is the magic only Wizard (and Priest) Regents can use. Its source comes from the Land itself. Wizards use ley lines to transport magic from magical sources to other areas of the land so that they can cast these powerful spells. Priests have realm spells too, but their realm spells depend greatly on Religious Attendence to a temple or a cathedral. So a Priest who has only C & E attendance in his "parish" can only cast the least powerful realm spells, while those who have regular attendance in their "parishes" of many can cast greater and more powerful realm spells. THE BAD The Worst thing about this Campaign setting is that TSR stopped supporting it when WotC bought them. Which is too bad, since Birthright is the best World System to come out of TSR since the printing of the Dragonlance™ Adventures and Oriental Adventures so long ago. Well, in my opinion, anyway. Birthright's world system has that "real" feel to it. This is because it demands a lot of work from the DM. In Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance, and other Campaign Settings from TSR and other RPG Companies, the DM didn't have much to worry about. Less headache, you see. The Birthright™ DM, however, has the challenge of actually managing the political affairs that is not directly under the control of the players. The DM has to note strange events, new wars, catastrophies, even manage the Weather. Birthright is a world that needs Change to make things happen, its not a static world. While it's something an average DM doesn't have to give a second thought, the Birthright™ DM actually thinks about these things if he wants a successful Birthright™ campaign. Take heart, though. GMs who run Rolemaster in all three of it's Incarnations (RM2, RMSS, RMFRP) are encouraged in a book titled Gamemaster Law to do the same thing. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION Overall, I think Birthright is the best Campaign Setting that has ever been made, with the Legend of the Five Rings RPG coming in second. Both are made on entirely different, but similar, Precepts. In Birthright, the Players play a vital key role in the Campaign's History, while L5R's history is actively changed by WotC during National Tournaments of the CCG. In other words, GMs of L5R RPG who want to play in the realm of the CCG can't make huge changes, while the Birthright DM (and players) can make the history of Cerilia. So if you are itching to run a domain, and are not in a position to take over a country at any time soon, Birthright is a pleasant fantastic alternative to the real thing. By the way, Peter Adkinson, if you are reading this, bring it back. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

BIRTHRIGHT™ Campaign Setting