I have vogue memories but if I have any, they are very sympathetic
to this system I had few chances to play, in the 90s.
It was I think last one that was introduced during 2e and I think
heavily underrated and most likely discontinued later on.
Any active fans or gamers of this setting still present on this group?
"Birthright" was a fascinating experiment that suffered from being
released at the wrong time, and not giving players a clear idea what
it was all about. Its setting was, I think, strong enough to stand on
its own, but TSR wrapped the new bloodline mechanics - which allowed
players to control whole domains - that made players uncertain as what
sort of game it was. Was it traditional RPG? Strategy? Wargame? TSR
did a poor job of explaining it. Add into that all the other settings
and products TSR was pumping out, it's no wonder it never gained an
audience.
Still, it's setting was wonderfully epic and different enough that
playing the game was a fun experience... if you could find a group
that understood what it was all abou. My group largely ignored the
bloodline aspects of the game and just used the setting as backdrop
for traditional questing, but we still had fun. The universe itself
often felt very 'low magic' even though it was saturated with powerful
gods and monsters, which appealed to our style of play. This was in
direct contrast to settings like Spelljammer, Dark Sun or Forgotten
Realms, where magic felt common place and lacked any sense of wonder.
Sadly, "Birthright" - like too many TSR settings - didn't survive the
Wizards of the Coast take-over or the transition to 3E. There have
been some fan products that have expanded the universe, but they're
few and far between. It's barely remembered by most, and almost never
played. And between the 2nd Ed rules and its own convoluted mechanics,
I'm not surprised. Still, I fondly remember our old Birthright
campaigns.
Well after all these years people are coming back to old rules and respect them more than upgraded.
To me 2E at the time of Birthright was already infected by Skills and Powers which was much simpler and yet optional than 3e.
My reason to stay with 2e as my last version, even though I've purchased a tone of 3e books just to keep them on my shelf..
But more mature and combinational games like Birthright and Planescape deserved a cut from D&D at some point. Brave decision that was never made at TSR. They did though cut D&D with Dragonlance apparently... for no damn reason to me.
One of many ways to look at the doom of the company. Circulation of ideas became more mad than creative at a cost of commercial failure.
Sadly, TSR could never capitalize on the excitement their products
generated, and the finances of the company went to pot. But I'm not
surprised there is a resurgence of interest in the old stuff. It was a
great era in which to be a gamer.
I have vogue memories but if I have any, they are very sympathetic to this system I had few chances to play, in the 90s.
I have vogue memories but if I have any, they are very sympathetic to this system I had few chances to play, in the 90s.
It was I think last one that was introduced during 2e and I think heavily underrated and most likely discontinued later on.
Any active fans or gamers of this setting still present on this group?
-h1
Sysop: | Keyop |
---|---|
Location: | Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, UK |
Users: | 286 |
Nodes: | 16 (2 / 14) |
Uptime: | 88:47:06 |
Calls: | 6,496 |
Calls today: | 7 |
Files: | 12,100 |
Messages: | 5,277,436 |