Polski opis

Wszyscy, którzy dłużej grają w RPG na pewno słyszeli co nieco o Birthright. Był to jeden z lepszych, moim zdaniem, settingów do AD&D. Doczekał się wielu dodatków i wersji komputerowej: "Gorgon's Alliance", jednak z powodu swej odmienności nie zyskał tak szerokiego grona graczy jak inne "światy" AD&D. Odmienność ta polegała na tym, że gracze wcielali się w postacie władców i kierowali losami całych państw. Było to więc RPG z dodatkiem gry ekonomicznej i strategicznej.

Dziś Cerilia należy do ludzi, lecz nie zawsze tak było. Za dawnych czasów żyły tu tylko elfy, opiekunowie lasów i krasnoludy, strażnicy gór. Przez całe wieki, rasy te żyły obok siebie w pokoju, walcząc ze wspólnymi wrogami: gnollami, goblinami, orogami i trollami. Czas mijał, elfy stawiały coraz wspanialsze wieże, krasnoludy tworzyły cuda murarstwa, zagrożenie jednak trwało. Hordy istot mroku wydawały się nieskończone niczym fale oceanu i z taką samą determinacją napływały na obie rasy i niszczyły ich dzieła. Taki stan rzeczy zastali ludzie, kiedy przybyli na kontynent, niestety niewiele zmieniło się aż do dziś, kolejne stulecia później.

Samo przybycie ludzi należałoby nazwać inwazją. Niemal jednocześnie, pięć wielkich, całkiem różnych plemion przybyło poprzez most lądowy jaki łączył wtedy Cerilię z południowymi ziemiami zwanymi Adurią i zaczęło kolonizację. Uciekali oni przed starożytnymi imperiami i wściekłością złego boga. Niedługo potem dołączyło do nich szóste plemię, które przybyło z ziem położonych daleko na wschód od Smoczego Morza......
(www.conan_rpg.republika.pl)

 English description

Birthright is a Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting based on the world of Aebrynis on the continent of Cerilia, in which the players take on the role of the divinely-empowered rulers, with emphasis on the political, rulership level of gameplay. In 1996, Birthright won the Origins Award for Best Roleplaying Supplement of 1995. Though it has a dedicated fan base, Birthright currently has no corporate support, unlike Forgotten Realms and Eberron.

The setting revolves around the concept of bloodlines: divine power gained by heroes and passed to their descendants. Characters with a bloodline create an aura of command known as Regency, which is measured in the game using regency points or RP. Using regency, characters acquire a domain composed of provinces and holdings. The development of these domains is as much a part of the game as development of the characters. The game uses three-month domain turns to model actions of rulers over nations in much the same way as Dungeons and Dragons (and hence, Birthright) uses combat rounds simulating six-seconds of time to model the characters' actions in battle.

The world of Aebrynis has at least four known continents, the frozen continent of Thaele, the continent of Djapar to the southeast, the great southern continent of Aduria, and Cerilia, the location of the actual Birthright campaign. Cerilia itself is divided into five regions: Anuire, Rjurik, Brechtür, Khinasi, and Vosgaard, each named after the primary human group that first settled there.

Cerilia was originally inhabited by the elves, dwarves, and goblins. Fleeing the corruption of Aduria by the dark god Azrai, human tribes settled Cerilia. At first contact between the elves and humans was peaceful, but conflict soon arose as the human population expanded into elven lands.

After years of manipulation and machination Azrai's armies marched on Cerilia. On his side were his Adurian minions, the Vos (a human tribe he had corrupted), and the elves, bitter from their wars with humanity. The human tribes and their patron gods met him in battle at Mount Deismaar, located on the landbridge between Aduria and Cerilia. The elves realized they had been tricked by Azrai and most switched sides. As their armies fought on the slopes of the mountain, the gods themselves met in battle. The other gods were only able to defeat Azrai by sacrificing themselves. In a colossal explosion, they destroyed themselves and Azrai. Mount Deismaar and the land bridge were destroyed.

The power of the gods was not wasted, however. It shot out and entered those present at the battle. The champions of the gods, those closest in ideal and virtue to their patron as well as physical proximity at the time of the cataclysm, received the most power. They became gods themselves, a new pantheon that would replace the old.

Other combatants also received some of the divine power of the gods. On the battlefield it did not take them long to realize that this power was in their blood, and could be stolen. A scion, as one of the divine blood is called, could have his blood strength stolen if killed by a blow piercing his heart.

The divine gifts of the scions make them able leaders. They form a connection to their people and land, drawing strength from them. And in times of need returning that strength and perform great deeds. They also can have a variety of other divine powers, such as long life, the ability to detect poison or project a divine aura, depending upon their bloodline strength and the god it was derived from.

Those who find themselves with the blood of Azrai often become powerful abominations, or awnsheghlien. Corrupted by their dark blood, their bodies twist to reflect their inner corruption. Many of the major villains and monsters are awnsheghlien. Examples include the Gorgon (stone-skinned with a petrifying gaze, perhaps the strongest creature in Cerilia), the Sphinx (an insane half-cat lover of riddles), the Spider (once a goblin-king who fought at Deismaar), and the Vampire (once a young hero who killed a blood abomination named the Sinister and thus became corrupted himself).
(www.wikipedia.org)