So, I’ve been trying to convert a fantasy setting of mine to Tabletop so I can play woth my friends, since I’ve been watching all these GM podcasts and Game Design articles and doing NOTHING according to them. Which apparently means I owe them a session or 5. So, I’ve been looking for different systems I can apply my setting to. Naturally, this meant going to the basement and looking through every big boardgame box.
So, I recently dug up an AD&D setting from 1995 called Birthright. I'm foggy on the rules, since I'm pretty sure 1995's AD&D is not the same thing as the 1980something AD&D that I own, so I'm probably going to get weird numbers if I plug them into each other, but hey, fuck it, I can probaby nab 1995 D&D in PDF form off the internet.
Anyway, it is more of a setting than an entirely new system, (by which I mean there’s two books for lore shit I don’t need and one book for the numbers and shit) and since I'm not very interested in Birthright so much as I am using its unique capabilities to impose my own setting on it, I only took a passing glance at all the big lore paragraphs.
Here's the interesting, the boring, and the laughable on Birthright:
Interesting: They take a different route with their Fantasy Germans than most settings. Usually, Germany either gets lumped in with the Viking pagans and/or platemail-wearing religious zealots of middle-europe. As opposed to their own culture, they're usually portrayed as "Just lIke the Fantsy French, but without any sworn enemies for life" or "Just like the Fantasy Italians, but with less boats" or even "Just like all the other humans, bit they have steam tanks for some reason". And that's always fun, but they don't really feel any different. Birthright's Germany, however, puts a different, more renaissance-Era twist on it. The "Brechts" are traders and rogues. They don't have nobles so much as rich, nepotic merchants. I just felt like that was something you don't see so often.
They even subtly tell a lot of typically boring D&D things to fuck off. Guns aren't carried by any civilization in the Availability chart, and psionics "Don't fit into this setting". So hell yeah to you guys. Guns and brain magic is for the matrix, not for a fantasy game! Donvt get me wrong, I love Mindflayers, but I prefer to make their powers a product of natural magic rather than mind mumbo jumbo that can't properly interact with the system of cool shit that already existed in D&D. Guns and brainwaves clash with my vibes, so in that sense, Birthrightland is alright by me.
The Boring: The human cultures are all pretty distinct and interesting takes on historical humans, but dwarves are only dwarves, and Elves are just elves, and all the angry green guys that want to fight the good guys are made to serve that exact purpose and not much else.
You can tell from the outset that this world was built around the politics of humans, and the other races were made to allow fans of those races to stay in the party, but their civilization should stay pretty much out of the way as a whole. A lot of alternate D&D settings were made to add depth to the game, but as this setting was based on some guy's fantasy novel, it adds a lot of depth and lore to some places, and sort of detracts from others.
The main gimmick of the Birthright universe is that heroes who served at an Armageddonous Battle of the Gods a thousand years ago both obtained and exercised holy supepowers, as well as passed those on to their descendants. While that is metal as fuck, and a few of the ancestor-worshipping cultures in my own fantasy thing has elements of that, the way Birthright goes about it makes it boring quick. Non-Noble characters don't get any superpowers, and the standard adventurer is generally unable to bring themselves up in the world compared to the regent characters, who start out mounted, heavily armed, and with hereditary superpowers. However realistic it is that the common man can't get it up in a Feudal setting, it's not very fun or interesting for characters of any other background. The game is pretty noble-exclusive.
And, now, that's fine. You can’t exactly criticize Vampire: The Masquerade for not balancing the humies to be strong PCs at starting level, the same way you can’t really call out D&D for not balancing something like a goblin or an Orc for PC play. All the same, normies and grunts are still a competent and ubiquitous presence throughout game settings, and usually they’re able to pack a little more punch. The game is pretty blatantly stacked in favor of the royal lads, though that’s not to say there isn’t a challenge. The fact of the matter is, you come out of the gates really big and tough, so maybe this is a good system to counterbalance the party against hardass GMs who like big hordes of monsters.
But, it’s fine, it’s convenient, since being able to command armies and manage warfare is one of the setting's key gimmicks, so focusing on people who are “coming up in the world” or just aren’t that powerful would be stupid. Problem is, warfare doesn't look very complex or versatile. Overall, it feels a lot like a semi-dark fantasy game about angry old men and special snowflake PCs. Seriously, one of the "blood powers" is a special marking (like a strip of white hair, or multicolored eyes, etc.) That actually makes people more respectful.
Played right, it’s a Game-of-Thronesy setting where you’re a mighty wizard or overlord or something, competing or cohorting with a bunch of other mighty wizards and overlords. And that sounds fun as hell. Problem is, it doesn’t handle so many of the overlord in aspects very well. Warfare and resource management are present, but they’re kind of stiff, and you’re clearly supposed to be adventuring in a more traditional way. I mean, come the fuck on, it’s still Dungeons and Dragons.
The laughable:
From a historical standpoint, the notion of all the different swords from different periods existing at the same time is kind of silly, but that's always been a D&D trope that's easy to ignore. However, since this setting is D&D dipping its toe into the waters of tabletop warfare, they have to try and be tactical about it. The claymore is a weapon invented by the Fantasy Middle Easterners to counter the heavy armor of the Fantasy British. The rapier and cutlass are from places where heavy armor isn't popular. Such as FUCKING MEDIEVAL FANTASY GERMANY. Now, I can sort of imagine that, since medieval-renaissance Germany used to pass a lot of laws to make sure that born nobles were the only ones allowed to wear armor and wield swords, but they've already gone out of their way to mention that there weren't really any nobles, just wealthy merchants and pirate barons. Of anything, Germany would have fucking LOADS of heavy armor. But I dunno, I guess heavy armor is decreasing these days since we're in the Renaissance but there's no guns.
There's literally a table that goes something like this:
"Humans, Elves, and Dwarves have a renaissance culture.
Orog (Birthright Orcs) have a medieval culture
Goblins and the other guys have Dark Ages technology."
Now anybody who knows how technological trends work can tell you that sort of spread is fucking silly, but no explanation is given for what defines the technology or "Culture" and how some seemingly perfectly sapient but brutish people managed to fall so far behind, or how they even manage to be such a serious encroaching threat if the other guys are so far ahead.
But oh well, this is Birthright, which is about Humans having wars and PCs getting into Game-of-Thrones situations. Orog are tough-guy redshirts simply because they have to stay out of the way for these wars to be the star.
Also, the Fantasy Russians ride lizards through the snow. Not even Ice Lizards. Not even lizards whose cold blood is acclimated to coldness, in fact, they're warm-blooded, but they’re furry, so they survive. Or they might be cold-blooded, but then what the fuck do they need fur for? Why are they even lizards? I mean, fuck, they could just be big bears and there wouldn’t be much of a difference, except for I dunno, one making sense and the other one looking ridiculous.
Anyway, I’m enjoying this little read through with all its quirks and cool things, but as I’ve gone through I’ve become more and more convinced that Birthright isn’t what I'm looking for. Anyone else have a good system for meshing tabletop wargaming with standard adventuring? Or should I use separate systems and not try to merge them too much? I mean, battle and dungeoneering will probably happen in separate sessions anyway. Really, just any studying tips from people who don't still have to ask which dice to roll are welcome.
