The first thing we need to sort out is the structure of the campaign. Based on the preferences expressed in the GM Wanted thread, I've rules out the High King and Lonely At The Top campaign types described in the B
IRTHRIGHT rulebook, as they involve one PC being suzerain over the others. That leaves us with:
COLLECTIVE RULE
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In this campaign, all PCs are concentrated in a single realm of overlapping domains, sharing responsibility for governing it. The PC priest is the head of the temple in the land. The mage is the court wizard, the thief is the master of the guilds, and one or more characters control the throne, possibly sharing power. Other players may play nonregent courtiers or minor nobles in the kingdom.
This is a good option for novices, since it focuses the action and allows every player to be involved in each domain turn. You don't have to work very hard to get the players to cooperate or join forces; anything that seriously threatens one character's domain threatens everyone else.
This option requires coordination between the players, as it works best if most or all of you are willing to play regents of different sorts of domains in overlapping territory.
TO EACH HIS THRONE
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This is the most complicated scenario for a BIRTHRIGHT campaign, but it can be the most rewarding. Each player creates a regent character and a domain. You'll need to define a center of action for adventures you wish to run; the player whose regent is most concerned with the adventure should take the lead in addressing the issue. Players who are far from the action may create common characters to aid the lead character for that adventure.
Watch out for PC rivalry in this option; they may be competing for the same resources.
For this sort of campaign, we'd choose a region (like the Southern Coast of Anuire, the Overlook in Brechtur, the Plains States in Khinasi, etc.) and each player would pick a realm there, to ensure a reasonably tight locus. This seems like the most work, both for me as the GM and for the players, so I'd have to be sure we have a reliable crew with good chemistry for such a substantial undertaking.
COMMON HEROES
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Who wants to be a regent, anyway? All that responsibility and paperwork gets in the way of adventuring. In this type of campaign, nobody is a regent. This setup runs like any other D&D campaign, except that it's set in Cerilia.
Not being a regent doesn't rule out being a blooded, a noble or courtier, or agents of one crown or another, of course. B
IRTHRIGHT has so many detailed realms that it would be a waste for a game not to be motivated by the machinations of nobles and the conflicts of nations, and characters rising from adventurers to kings is a traditional part of D&D.
I also have three specific campaign ideas based on brainstorming and notes I've made recently.
KING OF THE GIANTDOWNS
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Inspired by the BR book of the same name, the popular Kingmaker adventure path for Pathfinder and the old school hex-clearing and keep-building of D&D, King of the Giantdowns is about hewing a realm of your own from the unclaimed wilds. PCs would be disinherited nobles, third children, ambitious sellswords, landless knights, missionaries, merchant-venturers and mages looking to stake their claim in the sparsely settled Giantdowns region. They must prove themselves worthy to the rugged and independent human settlers of the Downs, battling the harsh wilderness itself and contending with some of the worst neighbours imaginable: dreadful awnshegh, unruly orogs, bitter elves, scheming guilders and ransack-thirsty raiders. But the rewards are potentially great: the untapped magics of the land, the ancient secrets of the giant-barrows, and the chance to forge your own legend and become a ruler beholden to none.
This would be a Collection Rule style campaign where the PCs have to first earn the right to establish their domains with the strength of their sword-arms, spells and silver tongues.
SEIZE THE SHADOWS
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Inspired by BR's lore, the movie Red Dawn, the 3.5 adventure Red Hand of Doom and the Ironfang Invasion adventure path for Pathfinder, Seize the Shadows is about fighting to defend your homeland from an unexpected assault, survival and guerilla warfare against overwhelming odds. Set in the realm of Tuornen, PCs would be locals: minor nobles such as country squires, manorial lords or knights, parish priests, merchants or patriotic criminals, village soothsayers, common folk defending their homes and families or visitors with a willingness and motivation to protect the land. They would be called upon to protect the people of Tuornen from an enemy that strikes seemingly from anywhere without warning or mercy, rally warriors and liberate the land from the invaders – rising from desperate freedom fighters and insurgents to heroes and leaders of the realm.
This would be a Common Heroes style campaign, with increasing aspects of rulership as the PCs build and lead a resistance movement and command a rebel army to free Tuornen.
BLOOD FOR TORAZAN
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Trouble brews as the ajazada noble families of the city of Adara in Min Dhousai are at one another's throats, each blaming the rest for the disappearance of a number of their children! As kinfolk, friends of the missing, family retainers, mercenaries or agents of the king sent to restore peace and order to Adara, the PCs must navigate the treacherous politics of the city, prevent the streets from becoming awash with blood, and find out what connection the chaos has to the orogs flocking to the banner of a powerful warlord across the border in the Iron Hand Tribes.
Inspired by a Forgotten Realms adventure called Sons of Gruumsh. Although described above as set in Min Dhousai, this adventure concept is flexible and could easily be run in any kingdom bordering an orog domain, or with minimal adjustments any awnshegh or monstrous realm. It can serve as the introduction to a group of common or minor noble adventurers proving their mettle and earning the attention of powerful figures, with the promise of position and greater challenges to come.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:23, Thu 22 Feb.
