AD&D - Book of Regency (2e)

that he has maintained the attempt since his ini- made the initial investment, the emira decides to

tial progress action. By spending the additional continue her support of the project. For the next two

resources the regent gives the project his full at- action rounds, she maintains the progress attempt by

tention for that month—in other words, the at- paying the base cost each time. She gets to keep half

tempt counts as his action for that round. of the +20 bonus she bought already (+10), mea-n

Should a regent fail his first attempt at progress ing she needs a 20+ on either roll (which she does

and cease maintaining the effort for even a single not get) to succeed. Meanwhile, because she is only

action round, any Regency Points or Gold Bars maintaining the attempt and not giving it her full

invested is lost. He must start over from scratch attention, she is able to pefor rm two other actions

the next time he attempts progress. that domain turn.

The DM and the player should discuss different Howeve,r when the next season rolls around, the

types of progress and the effect any advance emira collects more Regency Points and Gold Bars

would have on the game. In general, game me- in tribute and taxes, and can improve her chances

chanic modifiers should be small—adding +1 to once again. She pays the base cost to continue the

the success chance of certain domain actions, for research, and spends another 10 RP to bump the

example, shouldn’t unbalance the game. In gen- modifier for success to a +20 bonus again—meaning

eral, all progress should pay off—over time. she needs to roll a 10+. She rolls a 14, and the eng-i

As with all advances, no guarantees exist. The neers create the new roadway technology.

player may tell the DM what he hopes to achieve The DM declares the emira will have to rebuild all

with the advance, but things might not always her old roads if she wants to get the bonus of new,

work out the way the player expects. Progress paved roads in her domain, but he decides the ad -

can bring problems as well as boons. A regent vance allows her to move troops faster over any t-er

who decides to create a social advance—like in- rain that features the new road (all movement costs

troducing low-level democracy to a region— are reduced by 1, to a minimum of 1 per province).

could hope to bolster the loyalty of his people He also declares that any trade route established

and the overall success of his realm (with positive using these roads benefits from the new technology,

modifiers to diplomacy, decree, and trade route increasing the profitability of the overall trade route

actions) could end up fashioning a knife for his by +1 GB. While it may take the emira a long time

back if the people decide they really like democ- to pay for the advance, eventually she will make a

racy and don’t want him as hereditary ruler any- profit.

more.

Acquiring another ’s advances: The secrets of

Example: The Emira of Khourane wants her engi - progress cannot remain secret for long. In many

neers to devise an alternative to the hda-rpacked, cases regents try to recoup the cost of their

dirt road—one that will allow her armies to move progress by selling the secrets to other regents.

faster over land and increase the effectiveness of her This can be done easily as a diplomacy action.

guilders’ trade. The person playing the emira states Of course, some regents might not want to pay

that she, essentially, wants to “invent” paved or co-b for another’s hard work and expenditures. Ad-

bled roads (or if those exist already in the area, be- t vances can be stolen; rules for stealing an ad-

ter versions of the same). vance vary with individual circumstances. A re-

The DM determines that the goal isn’t too far a gent might simply perform a successful espi-

leap in progress, so he assigns a relatively low onage action to gain the “plans” for the advance

success number of 30. and then attempt to duplicate it in his realm

On the emira’s first attempt at progress, she (through a progress domain action of his own,

goes all-out, spending 1 RP and 1 GB for the with a large reduction in the success number). Or

base cost, and another 20 (RP and GB com- the DM might determine that the attempt re-

bined) to give her a +20 bonus to the roll. quires an adventure—or a war, or some other

She needs to roll only a 10+ to succeed. means.

Unfortunately, she rolls a 3 and fails x
miserably. The DM tells her that

the engineers must develop some Sea Trade Route Success: 10+

new roadway base unknown Type: Domain, Realm Base Cost: 1 RP, 1 GB

in Khourane, and need Cities of the Sun, Naval Battle Rules

more time. The BIRTHRIGHT Rulebookuses a simple ab-

Still, since straction to represent sea routes: any coastal

she province (4) or higher can have a trade route to

the nearest sea lane worth half the province’s rat-

50

ing or to another province worth the average of tance a trade route can reach. Under normal cir-
the two ratings. The following material expands cumstances, a sea trade route cannot extend more
the create trade route action. than 30 maritime areas; the trade route is limited
by the time required to sail between the two points.
Ports: Any coastal or river province (4) or In a trade chain, multiple cities, each 30 or fewer
higher counts as a port and can constitute one maritime areas away from each other, can be con-
end of a sea trade route. The other end of the nected in a long, unlimited series of trade links.
route must be a coastal province within one
month’s sail of the port and must have a different Example: Theofold has holdings in the seaport
terrain type or be occupied by people of a differ- province of Allesrecht, in the Brecht realm of
ent culture. For purposes of this action, players Müden. Leivika, in Svinik (on the western coast
should assume a ship can travel 30 maritime of the Rjurik lands), is a city about 30 maritime
areas in one month of sailing. areas from Allesrecht and roughly the limit of
Theofold’s sea trade route. But Theofold wants to
A port can support as many sea trade routes as trade with the City of Anuire in Avanil (on the
land trade routes, so a coastal province (7) can southern coast of Anuire). He cannot reach the
support three land and three sea trade routes. City of Anuire with a conventional trade route,
The regent of a port with a designated sea trade but he can create a trade chain.
route can bar the trade route with a decree action
at any time. A sea trade route can never start Theofold forges a sea trade route between
from any coastal province (3) or lower. Allesrecht, a province (6), and Leivika, a prov-
ince (4). This nets Theofold 5 GB per domain
Value: A sea trade route is worth the average of turn. Theofold spends his next domain action
the two provinces involved, rounded up. A sea building a trade chain from Leivika to Anuire.
trade route to “parts unknown” (as described in For the cost of 2 RP and 2 GB, he has a chance
the Rulebook) is worth half the level of the port to link the City of Anuire to his trade route from
province. Allesrecht.

Ships: Naturally, sea trade requires ships capa- To determine the value of any trade chain, cal-
ble of carrying cargo. Every ship has a cargo ca- culate the average of all provinces involved in the
pacity described in terms of Gold Bars. To collect chain, then add 1 GB for every province beyond
all the money a sea trade route creates, the route’s the second. In the example above, Theofold
owner must have ships able to carry enough linked three provinces: Allesrecht (6), Leivika (4),
cargo. Additional GB worth of cargo, in excess of and the City of Anuire (10). The average is 7 (20
the ships’ cargo capacity, are lost until the regent divided by 3, rounded up). One province is added
gets more or bigger ships. (A ship can carry both beyond the second, so the 7 is increased to an 8.
its maximum cargo capacity and troops at the Thus, Theofold (who initiated the route) gains 8
same time, if necessary.) The trade route’s owner GB every domain turn. In addition, the guilders
does not have to own the ships involved in a trade who agreed to the trade routes collect 1 GB per
route—just have the use of them. province beyond the second each domain turn.

Availability: A regent should allocate ships to If another province is linked to the three al-
sea trade routes during the “taxation and collec- ready joined (at an additional cost of 2 RP and 2
tion” step of the domain turn. These vessels are GB), all four province ratings are averaged, then
considered occupied with move ships actions 2 GB are added to the result.
each action round to carry out the turn’s trade. If
a ship leaves its trade route for another purpose, Like a simple trade route, the provinces in-
the regent must repay the money he collected volved in a trade chain must be of different
this domain turn from cargo his ships never actu- terrain types or belong to different cultures
ally carried to port. (Brecht and Rjurik, or Anuirean and dwar-
ven, for example). The DM may also
x allow links between provinces sepa-
rated by great distances (signifying
Trade Chain Success: 10+ extreme changes in climate or
Type: Domain Base Cost: 2 GB, 2 RP conditions).
Havens of the Great Bay
Trade chains are vulnera-
Regents with established trade routes may use ble to conditions in all
the trade chain action to extend their reach connected prov-
across the continent of Cerilia and beyond. inces. If one of
the trade
To create a trade chain, a regent forges a new links is
trade route originating from the terminus of an ex-
isting trade route. This extra link increases the
value of the trade route and may increase the dis-

51

eliminated (for example, the guild holding in by averaging the levels of the two holdings (or the
Anuire is contested successfully in two consecu- province and a holding within it, if the province
tive actions), they all suffer. The original trade ruler is one of the parties). Round up fractions.
route from the guild regent’s home province The regents jointly receive this number of Gold
would survive, but all forward trade links dis- Bars, to divide in whatever manner they see fit.
solve. In the case of Theofold’s three-link exam-
ple, the contesting of Anuire would leave the For example, Gerad ibn Farid el-Arrasi, Prince-
Allesrecht-Leivika route intact. If Leivika or Paladin of Ariya, rules the province of Ariya (7).
Allesrecht were contested, however, the entire He reaches a trade service agreement with Omadi
trade chain would dissolve. the Quick, guildmaster of the Gold Coast Coster, a
level (3) holding in the province. The province and
x holding levels average 5, so the two regent receive 5
GB to share. Per the terms of their aegerment,
Trade Service Success: 10+ Gerad receives 3 GB and Omadi receives 2 GB.
Type: Domain, Realm Base Cost: 1 RP/holding
x
A regent with any type of holding or province
can exchange special services for gold, much as a Domain actions work to best effect when they
guildmaster with a trade route can earn gold for form part of a cohesive plan. Many regents think
goods. A regent with a holding in a particular ahead one or two action rounds when determin-
province can make an agreement with any other ing how they will use a particular domain turn.
regent in the same province (including a province However, a few farsighted rulers approach their
ruler) to form a temporary financial alliance. administration like a chess game, plotting many
Both regents gain gold if the enterprise succeeds. moves in advance and combining different do-
main actions to achieve large-scale results.
Any types of holdings may cooperate. In story
terms, the regents agree to use their strengths to Here, two of Cerilia’s regents explain in their
complement each other’s abilities—a wizard re- own words how they wove multiple actions into
gent, for example, might ally with a law holder, intricate plans to attain complex goals.
using his spells and magical abilities to cut down
on the amount of resources the law regent must Note: So as not to interrupt the narrative struc-
expend to enforce his laws and maintain his hold- ture of these reports, all game terms appear in
ings. In return, the law regent’s troops or other brackets [like this].
followers protect the wizard’s tower (or perhaps
the wizard himself) from physical assault during “I have always found that diplomacy and negotia -
a critical spellcasting period, thereby freeing the tion work best when accompanied by a solidopfrit
wizard of the need to hire his own guards or con- motive. I prefer to conduct negotiations with regents
jure them magically. Both holdings save money when I can present a clear object of gain to all pa-r
and resources; the resulting gain in Gold Bars re- ties involved. Though the unrefined diplomat may
flects this cooperation and savings. engage in cutthroat negotiations, achieving a suc -
cessful outcome for as many parties as possible re -
This domain action holds a few prohibitions: quires subtlety and skill.”
• No regent may engage in a trade service agree-
—Richard Talbehr, Count of Müden
ment with his own holdings or those held by a
vassal. It is assumed that his holdings already Müden may be one of the most prosperous
cooperate to their fullest extent. realms in Brechtür, but it costs considerable
• No holding (or province level) may par- amounts of gold to keep it that way. When I di-
vided rule of the kingdom between myself and
ticipate in more than one trade service ac- Captain Reaversbane (in the interests of making
tion per domain turn. Müden a more secure realm) I knew we would
• Both regents must agree to trade face problems that required joint attention. In
services for the action to succeed. If a this case, the cost of maintaining our combined
PC tries to trade services with an armies and navies almost got the better of us.
NPC, the DM might require him to
engage in diplomacy first.

The amount of gold gen-
erated by a successful
trade service ac-
tion is deter-
mined

52

Müden had experienced a hard winter. The tion in her own domain, or pay damages should

Black Ice Bay re maine d froze n for ne arly a the unfortunate regent’s alter-ego cross into

month longer than usual, and after our seizure of Rheulgard. [The count performs a diplomacy action

the pirate-king Albrecht we had considerable ex- on Rheulgard’s behalf.]

penses outstanding. Theofold, my lieutenant and As a result of this negotiation, I was able to

the chief guildmaster of the realm, informed me strengthen my realm and broaden its influence

that my treasury might not withstand a fiscal cri- by building roads for the movement of trade and

sis. He suggested that I disband a few of my troops to the interior. I also helped Berhagen and

armed units (particularly the dwarven guard so Rheulgard begin to resolve some of their own

graciously provided by King Graybeard of Baruk- problems. By assisting my lieutenant in creating

Azhik) and focus on increasing taxation. several trade routes and trade chains (which he

While this idea had merit, I shied away from it. accomplished handily), I gained a steady income

We had just won a victory against piracy on the from trade that I would otherwise have no claim

Great Bay, and the people were recovering from a upon. I made sure that Captain Reaversbane was

particularly cruel winter. If I raised taxes to pay for adequately compensated for her support as

the popular campaign against the pirates, it might well—some of the roads would go through her

no longer be remembered as a popular campaign. provinces—and everyone made out with a slow,

So I called upon Theofold and Captain Reavers- steady flow of cash and support. Everyone, of

bane, and we contacted the rulers of Berhagen course, except the Mountain Brigands of Berha-

and Rheulgard [diplomacy action]. I thought gen, whose predations have been neatly cur-

about inviting Justina, the ruler of Pashacht, but tailed. [Military units occupying a province can

with hard feelings between her and Rheulgard shut down holdings of any type—see “Conquest and

still extant, I decided to leave her undisturbed for Occupation” in the BIRTHRIGHT Rulebook].

the moment.

We discussed trade. Theofold has made great

innovations in sea trade recently, having negoti-

ated from my ally Captain Reaversbane the use

of royal naval vessels for long voyages, yet we

maintained virtually no trade with our nearest

land neighbors. I proposed a deal. “Even if you value peace in your land, do not allow

I, along with the rulers of Rheulgard and Berha- your foes to marshal against you. A wiseegrent

gen, resolved to build roads and bridges through takes steps to keep her foes off-balance at all times—

our provinces [build action]. We would talk to our and preferably at each others’ throats.”

various guildmasters and persuade them to sup- —Marlae Roesone, Baroness of Roesone

ply the monetary outlay [Gold Bars] while we

provided the workers and popular support [Re - I pride myself on my honor, but I do not deceive

gency Points]. We would do this in enough prov- myself into thinking personal honor and the honor

inces so that our guildmasters could then extend of a regent are the same thing. A regent does what

overland trade routes [trade route and trade chain she must to keep her realm secure—to do less

actions]. The guilders would assume the cost of would be dishonorable and dangerous. As a re-

establishing the routes and supply us each with a sult, a regent may resort to what seem like dis-

small tithe to cover road maintenance [1 to 2 GB honorable or questionable actions in order to

per trade route per domain turn, depending on the preserve the integrity of her realm.

worth of the route.] Though Gavin Tael has never taken obvi-

In exchange for this cooperation, I would lend ous offensive action against Roesone, I

the Baron of Berhagen two units of Müden’s in- have known for years that the Baron of

fantry. He could use these units to scour his Ghoere intends to invade and conquer

mountains and, ideally, shut down Auslawsen Roeso ne—w hen he feels h e has

and her Mountain Brigands. He would pay for achieved the requisite strength of

the upkeep of these units while I continued to arms and the political climate

pay their salaries. [For the next domain turn, the ri pens . I a m forever en-

baron and the count split the maintenance cost of gaged in actions th at

the two infantry units.] delay this invasion,

For Rheulgard, I agreed to use my contacts for a w ar with

wi th th e Ba nsh eg h— exc us e me, Ju stin a of Ghoere

Pashacht. Rheulgard wanted a treaty in which would

Justina agreed to contain the Banshegh’s destruc-

53

at best leave both our realms devastated. At worst, derfell [move troops actiona]nd set about “cleans-
he could sweep through Roesone to the sea, gain- ing” it for his overlord.
ing a large portion of the empire he seeks.
Naturally, when one attacks the Spiderfell, one
Using the resources of my southern allies in can expect a single outcome: The lieutenant and
Medoere and Ilien, I managed to instigate a plan many of his troops were destroyed; the rest fled
to keep invasion a long way off—assuming Tael back to Ghoere, disheartened and disturbed by
never finds out who orchestrated it. their regent’s apparent suicide order. Many de-
serted and fled to Endier and even Alamie. All
I contacted my friends in Medoere and Ilien told, Gavin Tael lost at least three units, possibly
and asked for their aid [diplomacy action]. First, I as many as five. To prevent discovery, Ro gr
needed the services of a guildmaster—someone Aglondier dissolved his ley line.
whose agents could pass unhindered into and out
of Ghoere. At first, I proposed contacting el- I then charged Guilder Kalien with one more
Hadid or Siele Ghoried, but my friend Suris En- commission [diplomacy]. I asked him to have his
lien of Medoere advised against it—if I wanted guilders spy on Ghoere and find out what was
intelligence in the realm of Ghoere, only one per- happening there [espionage action.] Keep in mind
son could be relied on to provide it: Guilder that I never told Guilder Kalien why I wanted
Kalien of Endier. any of this intelligence—I led him to believe I
feared enemy action coming from the army com-
Neither I nor Suris Enlien trust Guilder Kalien. manded by the lieutenant. To the best of my
Refined and subtle, he has a habit of making cer- knowledge, he still believes that.
tain everyone in the region owes him a favor—
and I worry about the day when he’ll call his fa- According to Kalien’s spies (who had to do little
vors home. Still, Enlien has an uneasy alliance spying, I am told), Tael erupted into a mindless
with Kalien, and contacted him on my behalf fury when he heard the news about the march on
[diplomacy action]. the Spiderfell. Some of his best troops were in-
volved, and he will require a long time to replace
I asked Kalien to use his guild holdings in Ghoere them. Also, Kalien told me that Tael seemed even
to spy on the armies marshalled there. If possible, I more infuriated than one might expect—perhaps I
wanted to know who headed the forces stationed in interrupted some plan of the baron’s with my own.
the provinces bordering the Spiderfell. In return
for this favor, I offered to use my influence with el- As a result, Gavin Tael should spend the next
Hadid and Siele Ghoried to set up some lucrative year or so training and recruiting replacements
trade routes between the three guildmasters. for his troops—and watching the Spiderfell bor-
der. He doesn’t know why his lieutenant attacked
Though Kalien assured me I needn’t trouble the awnshegh. According to rumor, he thinks the
myself, I insisted and he relented. I contacted the creature itself lured Ghoere’s forces. This situa-
two traders and arranged for a trade route on tion should keep the would-be emperor nervous
Kalien’s behalf [trade route, built by Kalien but and defensive for quite some time.
paid for by Roesone.]He, in the meantime, set his
spies to work [espionage action.] DMs and players alike should keep in mind that
no domain action can replace creativity and good
Within a month, Kalien’s agents provided me with role-playing. The actions included here and in the
a detailed description of the lieutenant Ghoere BIRTHRIGHT Rulebookshould be considered con-
placed in charge of its eastern armies. I contacted venient tools for use by players and DMs alike—
but they should not substitute for role-playing ex-
Rogr Aglondier of Ilien [diplomacy]and told him citement. Anything that can be accomplished by
the rest of my plan. Chuckling, he agreed to help. a domain action, accompanied by the expendi-
ture of resources and the rolling of a few dice,
Aglondier forged a ley line into the Ghoere can also be accomplished (probably better and in
province of Rhumannen [forge ley line ac - a more cost-effective way) by an adventure. Do-
main actions should be regarded as shortcuts to
tion]. The following month, he cast a spell aid role-playing, not replace it.
he calls “Rogr’s Mighty Influence” [sub -
version realm spell]on the lieutenant
Kalien had pinpointed for us.
Under magical influence, the lieu-
tenant believed he had been or-
dered by Gavin Tael to attack
the Spiderfell. The lieu-
tenant led several units
of cavalry and in-
fantry into
the Spi-

54

MV: 6

THAC0: 12 (10)

#AT: 3/2

Dmg: 2d4+2 (Warstar)

x Bloodline: Reynir, major, 49.
Blood Abilities: Iron will, long life (major).
Any fool can inherit a kingdom. Only a competent Special Equipment: Warstar (morning star +2),
ruler can bequeath one. Crown of Ghoeer (provides 25% magic resistance
when worn), field plate +1, shield +1 (with raven
—Anuirean proverb symbol of Ghoere emblazoned on a red and
green field).
x Proficiencies: Battle Axe, Crossbow, Lance,
Long Bow, Long Sword, Morning Star, Spear,
egents of Cerilia take on great responsibili- Etiquette, Law, Leadership, Siegecraft, Strategy,
ties when they assume the governance of provinces Reading/Writing.
and holdings. Most focus on maintaining their Description/History: The ruthless Baron of
realms and keeping problems from overwhelming Ghoere (first mentioned in Ruins of Empier) took
them, while a few endeavor to expand their do- over the rulership of that realm a little over two
mains—either by improving their own holdings and decades ago and has turned it from a collection
influence, or at the expense of others. of provinces only loosely allied to an imperial in-
terest, lacking little in strength and unity.
The following section discusses the strategies and
tactics of several Cerilian regents. Some of them The baronets, knights, and other lords of Ghoran
may be allies or enemies of player characters, provinces once ruled their small lands and united
while others may have preceded PC regents in only to keep their realms from breaking into
their own realms. None of them fit completely smaller and weaker states. Even though Ghoere it-
into a “conservative/aggressive” dichotomy—suc- self was formed out of two lesser kingdoms, the
cessful regents find out quickly that they cannot realm lay truly in chaos when Gavin Tael, a royal
allow themselves to fall into such a trap if they soldier and heir-apparent, assumed the throne.
want to survive.
No mysteries surround the iron-handed baron’s
9th-level Anuirean fighter coronation. The late regent died of natural
causes, and no arguments over right of ascension
S: 18/25 ever occured. Still, the new baron used his armies
D: 14 to bring the other lords of the land to heel.
C: 16
I: 12 Gavin Tael first formed the Iron Guard, a com-
W: 13 bination police force and army, before he as-
Ch: 11 sumed the throne. Knowing he was heir-appar-
ent, Tael surrounded himself with trusted men
AL: LE and women who distinguished themselves in
AC: –2 campaigns Tael himself led. He wanted only
hp: 73 those few he could trust close to his banner.
When the old baron died, these men and
women made certain no opposition to Tael’s
ascension existed.

Early on in Tael’s reign, however, a few
of the barons did object to his heavy-
handed approach to rulership. They
suggested the Baron of Ghoere set
up an advisory panel—a council
of lords—to oversee his politi-
cal decisions and ratify
them or reject them ac-
cording to majority
vote.

The Iron
Guard

55

surprised the nobles in their beds, dragging them turely, he would have set himself up as an obvi-
from their castles, and whipping them soundly in ous usurper and despot, provoking and unifying
the public square. The baron had heard that such his minor nobles and causing a popular revolt. In
a tactic might prove an interesting divergence the years since his ascension, Tael hasn’t so much
from civil diplomacy; apparently, the nobles conquered or destroyed his rivals as he has intim-
agreed, as no mention of an “advisory council” idated them. Roesone, to the south, and
was ever heard again. Mhoried, to the north, could be threats to his
dreams of conquest, but by not provoking them
Now, the baron rules Ghoere with a literal iron until he is ready, he makes them play the game
fist. All his elite units and cavalry must spend on his field instead of theirs.
time serving in his Iron Guard, and those who
distinguish themselves gain honors and promo- Direct action speaks louder than words. By
tions. The baron rewards commoners and nobles quickly chastising the nobles who proposed the
alike—and the punishments he deals out over- council of advisers, Tael opened himself up to
come all class prejudice. some trouble, but mostly impressed the com-
monfolk more than he disturbed them. If the
Strength and power fulfill the baron’s needs. He baron had decided to go up against the dissident
does not want to shepherd his realm along, build- nobles militarily, he might have won an absolute
ing a nation for a son, daughter, or other heir to victory, but he would have decimated part of his
inherit. He wants to take over the world (or as realm, lost practiced lieutenants (some of whom,
much of it as possible) now, so that he can enjoy granted, have had to be disposed of since), and
it. killed off a large number of peasants on either
side. As a result, the peasantry got to look on
But Gavin Tael knows patience. He learned while the nobles suffered the punishment they
many things from his initial years in power. His deserved—instead of paying for the nobles’ pride
ascension succeeded so smoothly because he with the peasants’ lives.
trusted minions and lieutenants to carry out his
wishes—his foes did not have protectors of the You have to trust someone. Many a strong-
same stature, or armies to defend them, and so willed leader has been brought down by mistrust
he won their first round of “negotiations.” and betrayal. Distrust breeds disloyalty. If you re-
ward and encourage subordinates, they tend to
The realm of Ghoere always fell short of con- perform better and are less likely to betray you—
quest—or even true unity—because it never had especially if you punish betrayal personally and
a strong head supported by a network of strong harshly, but reward loyalty with equal fervor. A
lieutenants. Gavin Tael moved to correct that leader who cannot trust his subordinates is no
lack. He sees himself as the strongest ruler in leader at all.
Anuire—an obvious choice for emperor, should
the occasion arise—and he encourages his lieu- Control your own kingdom before you try to
tenants and vassals to serve him faithfully and control another . While Gavin Tael does not con-
gain reward. trol all the law within the provinces he rules (he
hasn’t even managed to push out all outside
Gavin Tael uses survival and fear as motiva- rulership), he works toward this end. The Baron
tors. Cross him, and you won’t survive. Serve of Ghoere likely won’t invade anyone until he
him well, and you have nothing to fear. He feels certain that the land under his feet won’t
shift beneath him. But once he’s sure, the re-
uses the law of his land to protect those who gents of the Heartlands should watch out.
do not oppose him—and to motivate people
who may wish to stand aside. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.
Gavin Tael’s strategies can be summa- Early on in his rein, Gavin Tael studied a map of
rized as follows: Anuire and saw how his kingdom compared to
Be patient—put yourself in the those around him. He glared hungrily at Endier,
right position, and then wait. thinking that the rich, tiny one-province realm
W hile Ta el ma y be ev il , he would make a nice southern province for his bur-
knows how to follow the geoning empire. But he hesitated for good rea-
rules when he must. If son. If Gavin Tael had invaded Endier early on in
Tae l ha d tak en the his rein, the move might have proven as disaster-
throne of Gho- ous as starting a civil war in his own kingdom. An
ere prema- invasion of Endier would provide the neighboring
realms with the motivation they needed to ally
against Ghoere and reduce his kingdom to anar-
chic provinces again. By waiting and strengthing

56

his position, he’s watched Medoere and Diemed ate), and then he will make his army the most
square off, and he finds it amusing that Boeruine powerful in Anuire. Then, and only then, he will
and Avanil cannot settle their squabbles. Only systematically conquer or otherwise control
Mhoried perceives him as the threat he truly is, every realm within reach of his own kingdom,
and he needs to deal with the Mhor somehow be- forging a new empire out of the fragmented ruins
fore things get out of hand. of the old.

No one is perfect, and the Baron of Ghoere 6th-level Rjurik fighter
proves himself no exception. He has made mis-
takes, and they make good lessons for beginning S: 15
regents. D: 12
C: 16
Direct action provides a loud lesson. When I: 14
Gavin Tael dealt directly with his nobles, he may W: 15
have spared and pleased the peasantry, but he Ch: 12
alerted his own remaining nobles and his neigh-
bors. The baron declared through that action his AL: LN
choice not to work within conventional rules of
diplomacy. He would be obeyed, or else. Nobles AC: 3
proved slow to offer him true allegience after
that, and seeking vassals from other countries be- hp: 46
came more difficult.
MV: 9
A show of strength provokes a show of its
own. Before the barony of Ghoere became an ex- THAC0: 15 (14)
pansionistic, unified power, the Mhor, the Baron
of Roesone, and most of the other regents in the #AT: 1
area seemed content to rule their own realms and
ignore their neighbors. Wars occured and terri- Dmg: 2d4+1 (broad sword +1)
tory exchanged hands, but never on more than a
provincial basis. Gavin Tael, however, reminded Bloodline: Reynir, major, 22.
everyone in the area that the Iron Throne still sits Blood Abilities: Forest walk (minor), resistance
empty, and someone may soon make a play for (major).
the empire. Special Equipment: Broad sword +1, half plate
mail +1, long bow, 12 arrows +1, +3 against orog.s
Br utality may be efficient, but it costs as Proficiencies: Broad Sword, Claymore, Dagger,
well. The most noble and respected aristocrats of Harpoon, Long Bow, Sling, Fishing, Hunting,
the land had to be put to death or driven out by Languages (Brecht), Law, Leadership, Read-
the Iron Guard after Gavin Tael’s nature became ing/Writing, Set Snares, Survival.
apparent. Not all would bend knee to a tyrant, no Description/History: King Uldviik (first men-
matter how lawful or orderly his nature. Evil can- tioned in The Rjurik Highlands) followed his fa-
not forever placate good, and only attracts evil in ther, Lord Varrig, from the relative safety of
the end. The baron might learn that his “loyal” the more civilized Rjurik kingdoms to the tiny
subordinates are actually biding their time until northern port of Kopingdal. They brought
he makes a critical mistake. with them a few loyal warriors and settlers,
and Lord Varrig built the tiny settlement
While Gavin Tael may change his plans according into a city—and the surrounding prov-
to the actions of the realms around him, he con- inces into a realm.
tinues to keep going as he has been up to this
point. Slowly, he will build up all his law holdings Lord Varrig’s primary concern
and provinces to near their maximum levels, he’ll soon became the Urga-Zai gob-
intimidate the other regents of domains within lins. He managed to close the
his provinces into following his lead (or, in the Hjolvar Pass and the moun-
case of the powerful Sword Mage, he will negoti- tains to the west shielded
his slowly-growing
realm from their
incursions.

King

57

Uldviik took over rulership of Hjolvar and the influence and popularity to take over an estab-
building of Kopingdal when his father died some lished kingdom, Lord Varrig chose to build his
years ago. Uldviik keeps the small realm secure own. He took those who would follow him to an
against the goblins and orogs of Urga-Zai and area considered uninhabitable by most Rjurik
has established trade and friendship with most of and began the forging of a realm. Uldviik has
his nearest neighbors. Remarkably, he somehow stayed on this course. When he sees the advan-
manages to be on good terms with realms that tages possessed by his neighbors, he does not set
have strong enmity for each other. The Count of out to steal these advantages or conquer his
Danigau admires Uldviik’s determination even neighbors—he learns from them and builds up
though the king trades with the pirates of Dani- his own strength.
gau and has relations with the Vos of Rzhlev.
Do not overstep yourself. If King Uldviik de-
Perhaps King Uldviik projects an inherent no- sired, he could probably rule up the province and
bility in his struggle against nature and his ene- holding levels of his kingdom by depleting his re-
mies. Where other nobles would have to choose sources. He could spend all his power on recruit-
sides to gain allies, Uldviik gains respect from all ing new peoples and offering incentives to immi-
sides and has not been forced to ally against any grants. The king might enjoy some success—but
of his chosen friends. it would leave him with little strength to defend
himself against his enemies. So instead he hoards
Uldviik rules his family this way as well. He has his support and his power (Regency Points) and
three strong-willed children. When Reyna, his fa- builds what he can, when he can.
vorite, chose to become a druid of Erik—thereby
putting aside any chance of becoming the ruling Encourage those loyal to you, even if they
Queen of Hjolvar after Uldviik’s death—Uldviik don’ t do what you want. By “allowing” his
encouraged her and still trusted her to perform daughter and heir-apparent to give up her claim
her duties as his daughter, though she could take on the throne to join the priesthood of Erik, Uld-
her final vows at any time. As a result, Erik’s viik gained more than he lost. Had he pressed, he
priesthood looks kindly on the king, and he gains might have convinced Reyna to turn away from
the support of a grateful daughter and an approv- the priestly life and assume her “rightful” place as
ing populace. his first lieutenant. But he might have failed,
might have driven her away. In any event Uldviik
But Uldviik, old and wise as he is, does have probably would not enjoy the goodwill of the
some flaws. The other Rjurik kingdoms in the powerful Emerald Spiral temple, as he does now.
area seem to think that ego motivated his father And as a side benefit, Uldviik’s remaining two
to carve out a realm of his own—and they might sons have seen that he won’t pressure them to do
be right. They scarcely acknowledge Hjolvar as a anything they don’t want to do—and have be-
legitimate kingdom, and treat it as a tiny, de- come all the more loyal.
tached settlement. As a result, Uldviik cannot
count on their aid if ever the Urga-Zai goblins at- Don’t discourage heroes: Make them. Many
tempt to invade. regents might become jealous when one of their
lieutenants outshines them in any way. Elka Tha-
The King of Hjolvar wants his realm to grow juula, Uldviik’s primary lieutenant and a clever
and stand against the anarchy he sees plagu- ranger, has made herself so popular among the
ing the northern states of Rjurik. He de- people of Hjolvar (and so hated among the gob-
sires nothing more than the building and lins of Urga-Zai) that the king of Urga-Zai has
strengthening of Hjolvar, and has a sin- offered 5,000 gold pieces for her head. The peo-
gle-minded determination toward this ple of Kopingdal take her every visit as a cue for
end. Uldviik’s strategies can be seen celebration, and she takes most of the credit for
as follows: keeping the goblins from over-running the
Build rather than conquer . Hjolvar Pass. Instead of reassigning her to other,
Lord Varrig instilled this less obvious duties, or trying to claim more of the
philosophy in his son at credit for himself, King Uldviik honors her
an early age. greatly and publically aclaims her a hero of the
Rather than realm. As a result, his subjects aspire to serve
use his Hjolvar valiantly (to gain like recognition and re-
ward), and they all talk about how good a leader
the king must be to inspire such a faithful and
valiant lieutenant.

Friends can be more valuable than allies.
Though King Uldviik has no formal alliances with

58

any Rjurik, Brecht, or Vos states, he has won the another of their hated enemies, the Count of
respect of most realms with which he has con- Danigau. The count is grateful, but the king
tact. Even the southwestern Rjurik, who don’t could ask him to help support their joint effort to
consider Hjolvar a “real” realm, respect his deter- contain the evil of Urga-Zai. Even though King
mination and the loyalty he gains from his peo- Uldviik would defend the mountain pass anyway,
ple. The king seems satisfied with respect and it wouldn’t hurt to get paid for the effort.
friendship—for now. He believes that until he
can offer some service (or potential for service) Uldviik knows he cannot live forever, and, even
to another realm, he shouldn’t enter into a formal now, he prepares to pass his kingship on to some-
alliance with one. He does not want to risk owing one. The loyalty of his children cannot be ques-
a more powerful realm anything he would hesi- tioned, but he wanted his daughter Reyna to rule
tate to pay back. after him. Now, he must make up time if he
wants to groom one of her brothers for kingship.
King Uldviik may be known for his determina-
tion and the loyalty he inspires in his subjects, Meanwhile, he also wants to leave a strong
but rumors of mistakes and errors in judgment realm behind in his passing. Lately, his mind
circulate in his realm, as in any other. The king strays west, over the mountains and into Urga-
could learn a great deal from his own mistakes: Zai. The King of Hjolvar would give a lot to know
what Urga-Zai is planning. If he could time a
No realm can truly stand alone. As proud as coastal attck to coincide with a sortie from Dani-
the King of Hjolvar is of his people, he cannot, or gau, he might cripple the goblins and keep them
should not, truly believe they can stand against off his successor’s back for the first few years of
an outright invasion of Urga-Zai goblins—and his reign.
such an invasion could occur at any time. With-
out true allies and support (especially from his Count of Müden
nearest neighbors), the king cannot hope to re- 4th-level Brecht fighter
sist a full offensive. He must swallow his pride
and negotiate some sort of alliance with another S: 15
Rjurik kingdom, or perhaps Danigau. D: 16
C: 10
Conservative building could result in stagna - I: 15
tion. Lord Varrig might be proud of Hjolvar if he W: 15
could see it today, but he would be concerned as Ch: 16
well. Though both the lord and the king have
made tremendous progress in carving out a realm AL: LG
in the midst of nowhere, much more needs to be
done. Again, if Uldviik swallowed his pride and AC: 4
asked for help, he might be able to gain support
from his friends and build a little faster. At the hp: 30
very least, he should build up the provinces
around Hjolvar pass and fortify his holdings MV: 12
there.
THAC0: 17 (14)
Don’ t provide anything for nothing. Grati-
tude can be a cloak that wears thin and begins to #AT: 1
smell over time. The king does what he thinks is
right for his kingdom and his family, but doesn’t Dmg: 1d6+4 (rapier +3)
always exploit his every resource. When Reyna
asked to be released from her commitment to re- Bloodline: Brenna, major, 30.
gency, and Uldviik granted the request, both Blood Abilities: Detect lie, home
Reyna and the Emerald Spire were pleased and hearkening (major).
grateful. They expected to pay the king a hand- Special Equipment: Rapier
some “dowry” for the royal daughter, but he +3, leather armor +1, living
made them pay nothing. While Uldviik won their tapestry (see the “Magical
gratitude and respect, he could have had more at Items and Artifacts”
no cost to their continuing friendship and loyalty. section of this
At the same time, Uldviik should recognize that book).
he keeps the Urga-Zai goblins distracted from

59

Proficiencies: Lance, Main-Gauche, Rapier, Ad- around Müden knows how the count will react to
ministration, Diplomacy, Etiquette, Languages any inside or outside stimulus. He has declared
(Anuirean, Khinasi), Leadership, Reading/Writ- his intention to send Melisande Reaversbane
ing (Anuirean, Brecht). after any pirates preying on ships voyaging to or
Description/History: Richard Talbehr rules the from Müden or any of that realm’s allies, and he
land-bound provinces of the great Brecht state of will react forcibly against any aggression toward
Müden. His family is old and his bloodline his realm or the domains of his allies. He leaves
strong, and Richard has had a relatively easy time the training and dispersion of his armies and
as Count of Müden. When a popular captain of fleets in the hands of those who know how to use
the Royal Navy, Melisande Reaversbane, distin- them, and he gives them support in training and
guished herself as more than just a warrior, he upkeep. As a result, Müden has one of the most
made her an ally in charge of not only his navy, respected (and feared) navies in the region. No
but several provinces within his kingdom. Now, one, not even the Swordhawk of Massenmarch,
the two work as allies and co-rulers of Müden. wants to risk awakening the sleeping giant of
Müden’s military—but everyone in the region
Richard Talbehr grew up knowing he would in- knows to tread lightly around his realm.
herit the lordship of Müden, one of the most
prosperous realms surrounding the Great Bay. Respect goes further than fear . Fear of an in-
His parents and tutors trained him in diplomacy ternal or external threat might bring a populace
and leadership, and he took an interest in econ- or a hostile realm into line—for a time—but re-
omy and political tactics. Generally a relaxed spect makes friends and allies. Richard Talbehr
ruler, the Count of Müden delegates his author- has proven an able politician and negotiator.
ity to many subordinates, not the least of whom While the Swordhawk and the pirates of Graben-
is his primary lieutenant and vassal, Theofold the tod have consistently proven themselves his ene-
guildmaster. mies, others in the region have responded favor-
ably to his tactics. Should missteps in negotiation
If the count has any real weakness, it is his lack occur, Talbehr has a knack for making sure face
of ambition. With a vibrant ally like Melisande is saved all the way around. If rulers of other
Reaversbane, a trained army and a legendary countries feared Talbehr personally, he would not
navy, and the resources of a powerful domain all have the influence he does over other kingdoms:
at his command, he could probably dominate the Few states of Brechtür will casually refuse a “re-
Basin States and much of the rest of Brechtür. quest” of the diplomatic count—whereas they
But Talbehr has developed a “live and let live” at- might fight back against a demand by a ruler they
titude toward rulership—and it has kept his feared.
realm free from war during his entire tenure.
Develop allies in the strangest places. Some-
While Richard Talbehr cannot be called lazy or how, the Count of Müden has made friends with
uninvolved with the politics of the world, he Justina Heulough (also known as the Banshegh)
does seem unambitious. He also seems, to and the dwarves of Baruk-Azhik. Both have, on
occasion, aided him in minor ways (the dwarves,
some extent, to ignore the development of his long known for their isolationism, actually sent a
own provinces. Though his family has ruled contingent of mercenaries to Müden), and every-
one in the region knowsTalbehr has made friends
Müden for generations, room for improve- with these strangers.
ment of province and holding levels still ex-
ists. Yet he has not pursued their develop- Make sure everyone wins. In a war, there
ment as fervently as many nobles and should be only one winner—according to most
commoners might wish. popular wisdom. Unfortunately, many Cerilian
The Count of Müden’s basic gov- regents consider all negotiation as a war of some
erning strategies can be summa- kind. The Count of Müden does not. He believes
rized as follows: that for a negotiation to work, everyone should
Develop a r eputation come away from the table with something. On
for consistency and occasion, he has used his influence (most often
strength. Virtually with the guildmaster Theofold) to provide less-
everyone in equipped negotiators with levers they can use
and against those who would take advantage of them.

The count’s profit is the respect and gratitude
of others. While gratitude will, in the political
arena, seldom be rewarded, respect goes a long
way. Few diplomats enter into negotiations with

60

the Count of Müden (or his allies) with the intent An iron fist can crush a velvet glove. While
of besting him. Instead, most take on his attitude the count’s win-win negotiating tactics do pay off
and try to make a good deal for all around. more often than not, Talbehr seems to ignore the
fact that many of those he negotiates with have
Even the ablest ruler makes mistakes some- disguised future goals. Too often, he agrees to
times, and the count does have a few actions on treaties or plans that benefit him not in the least,
his record that point to errors in judgment or but set up others to make grand, sweeping moves
exe cution . A few of these mistak es may, of on the chessboard of politics. While these deci-
course, be judgment calls, but many rulers sions seldom come back to haunt him directly, it
would agree Richard Talbehr’s rule is far from is only a matter of time before someone out-ma-
perfect. neuvers the political genius.

Giving up power seldom wins you anything. If Richard Talbehr has his way, everything will
While allies and vassals should be valued by all continue as before. He hopes to placate Rheul-
rulers, actually giving up part of your kingdom to gard (its leaders and people were upset at his
someone, just because he or she may be more nominal alliance with Justina) and help Theofold
able to rule that portion, generally isn’t wise. increase inland trade. As far as his military might
Melisande Reaversbane certainly earned her po- goes, he wants Melisande Reaversbane to make
sition in many ways—a competent warrior, an the Great Bay safe for all shipping and travel
able and aggressive sea captain, and a surpris- while still a free-trading area for all. Ideally, he
ingly wise leader, she has made Müden’s coastal would like to see the Swordhawk in Massenmarch
provinces the success they are today. However, focus on some other target for his aggressions
the count could have made her a lieutenant or (perhaps Kiergard, since it’s controlled by the
even a vassal, rather than a full ally, and gained Gorgon anyway), but he will remain watchful.
the same effect. By giving up part of his realm, he
admits to the world that he has weaknesses in Regent of Jankaping,
rulership he does not intend to correct. He limits 6th-level Rjurik fighter
himself by not growing or delegating, but appar-
ently giving up. S: 16
D: 10
Non-growth appears to be stagnation. While C: 10
no one would want the Count of Müden to emu- I: 11
late the imperial designs of the Gorgon or the W: 9
Swordhawk, many nobles and even a few mem- Ch: 14
bers of the realm’s burgeoning middle class won-
der why Richard Talbehr has not begun expand- AL: N
ing his realm or increasing his holdings at a faster
rate. AC: 4

Talbehr himself often wonders this as well. He hp: 41
has not ruled up his provinces as quickly as he
might mainly because he likes having a somewhat MV: 9
underdeveloped realm. While the two cities of
Müden sparkle as gems in his crown, the pastoral THAC0: 15
regions of the country shimmer with the summer
of Brechtür’s prosperity. #AT: 1

Still, the Count has had more than a few op- Dmg: 2d4+1 (claymore +1)
portunities to expand. If he does not want to vi-
olate his neighbor’s realms (though Treucht, Bloodline: Basaiä, major, 22
Berhagen, and Rheulgard all were once Müden Blood Abilities: Animal
colonies or protectorates), he could take over affinity (major).
Grabentod and no one would fault him. The pi- Special Equipment:
rates of the northern realm have provoked his Claymore +1, boots
navies repeatedly, and as a result, his navy has of varied tracks,
imprisoned their king. Many people believe improved
Müden would be doing Grabentod a favor if the mail.
count gave the word to take it over.

61

Proficiencies: Claymore, Dagger, Hand Axe, Despite the obvious blunders King Alnor has
Harpoon, Long Bow, Pike, Animal Handling, An- committed since his acension to realm rulership,
imal Lore, Animal Training, Direction Sense, he does have a basic plan for controlling his hold-
Hunting, Reading/Writing, Riding (land-based). ings and provinces.
Description/History: Alnor grew up in and
around the city of Stornomark in Karlskaang. He The King of Jankaping’s basic strategies for
never desired rulership of Jankaping or its law governance can be summarized as follows:
holdings, though he might not have minded a
small jarldom around the city. Alnor grew up as Lead from the fr ont. King Alnor truly prac-
one of the “urban Rjurik,” prefering life in the tices what he preaches. He lives in the only city
small capital city to the nomadic life his father in Jankaping and spends most of his time there.
and brothers led. He encourages others of his people to form per-
manent settlements in the southern provinces,
But fate does not respect a young man’s wishes. and wants them to go north only in the summer
Alnor grew to manhood in his aunt’s city home, on fishing and hunting trips.
venturing outside the city walls only to hunt and
fish. His father and older brothers roamed the Rewar ds are more effective than punish-
provinces of Jankaping, overseeing the law of the ments. Even though two prominent jarls have es-
land, until they died in a summer squall off the sentially rebelled against King Alnor’s rules and
northern coast. Quite abruptly, Alnor found him- his wishes, he hasn’t sent his army after them or
self king over the entire realm. tried to break the people to his will. He declared,
early on, that he had little interest in the north-
Almost from the start, King Alnor made his ern provinces, and when some of his subjects ex-
subjects uneasy. While he enjoyed hunting and pressed a preference for their nomadic lifestyle,
fishing—and excelled at these activities—he won he did not force them back into the fold.
no respect with his deeds. King Alnor saw hunt-
ing and fishing as sports, not day-to-day means of Confidence is key . While King Alnor may not
survival. He discouraged clan migrations, won- be popular with all of his people, he does not
dering aloud why the nomads of his realm didn’t back away from a challenge. Essentially, by re-
simply settle in the southern provinces, leaving belling against his new ideas and new way of
the icy northern lands to the glaciers and the sea doing things, the jarls of Aaldvaar and Aaldnjor
lions. have said they can provide a better life for their
people. King Alnor wants to see them put their
Two dissaffected jarls, Bjark of Aaldvaar and tradition where their mouths are—he thinks the
Olam of Aaldnjor, rejected their new regent’s au- Rjurik people are ready to move into permanent
thority in those lands and assumed control of the settlements and that his side will win the war of
law and province rulership in their provinces. comfort and stability.
They managed to convince several dozen families
and a few entire clans to defect to their rulership, While true kingship may not be a popularity con-
and King Alnor reacted by calling for a great test, few regents of Cerilia have achieved such a
feast in Stornomark. Most of the loyal jarls and lofty goal. The people of Jankaping, Rjuriks all,
clan leaders attended, and he surprised them by tend to take a “show me” attitude toward their
young king. If he does not win their trust and re-
wishing both renegade jarls well, jesting that spect, his rule won’t last long. The mistakes King
he’d see their followers in and around the city Alnor has made might come back to him in no
come winter. uncertain ways.

King Alnor seems blind to the friction be- No one should be allowed to flaunt the
tween the various Rjurik factions present in power of the true king. Even if King Alnor be-
lieves his ways can triumph over the old ways of
his realm. He looks on many of his own the Rjurik, he can’t allow open rebellion to exist
people—even his own advisers and lieu- within his kingdom if he wants to rule. While a
tenants—as backward yokels who can- few enlightened subjects might see his unwilling-
not learn from history or from the ness to attack the rebel jarls and their followers,
successes of other realms. If he the masses believe he is a weak king with no real
must rule Jankaping, Alnor has motivation to lead—and they aren’t far wrong.
decided, he will drag its peo-
ple into the sixteenth cen- If you lead from the front, you may leave
tury or die trying. someone behind. Kings of Cerilia, as well as

62

other rulers, tend to be conservative. They might W: 14
introduce change or invite progress, but they sel- Ch: 13
dom advocate it as strongly as King Alnor has.
Essentially, the young regent of Jankaping has AL: NE
said to his people, “this is my policy; love it or
lump it.” Too many of his own jarls and the com- AC: 8
moners they represent do not love it and the re-
gent may take a few lumps of his own. They feel hp: 20
Alnor isn’t remaining true to the traditions of the
Rjurik people and that he can’t be trusted with MV: 12
the rulership of the kingdom.
THAC0: 18
Advisers ar en’ t just drains on the tr easur y.
King Alnor practically ignores the advice of his #AT: 1
lieutenants and advisers. He chose a lonely path to
walk and doesn’t want to hear dissent from his Dmg: 1d4+1 (dagger +1)
own staff. That’s fine—but if a king doesn’t like the
advice he’s getting, he should replace his advisers. Bloodline: Brenna, minor, 19.
Having popular, powerful, political foes in his own Blood Abilities: Enhanced sense (minor).
cabinet does the king no good at all. If King Alnor Special Equipment: Dagger +1, cloak of protec -
learns to listen to those who offer dissenting ad- tion +2, scarab of protection, ring of neutralize po- i
vice, they might prove to be allies. Otherwise, like son (1/day), spellbook.
Sir Thorgrim, Alnor’s cousin, they’ll grow discon- Proficiencies: Dagger, Administration, Ancient
tented and desire power for themselves. History, As tr ology, L a nguag es ( Anu ir ean,
Brecht, Ancient Masetian), Reading/Writing
Don’t disparage tradition—it got you there. (Anuirean, Ancient Masetian, Khinasi), Riding
Kings and other regents shouldn’t ignore how (land-based), Spellcraft.
they got to be rulers of their realms. King Alnor Spells commonly memorized (4/3/2/1): 1st—
became regent of Jankaping through inheri- Khinasi trade tongue (BoM), read magic, sleep,
tence—a tradition not held in all realms. If the subversion*; 2nd—coffer credit* (BoM), invisibil -
king wants to dispose of some traditions, regard- ity, locate objec;t3rd—demagogue* (BoM), protec-
less of the desires of his people, he might put into tion from normal missile;s4th—improved armor
question all traditions, including respect and de- (BoM).
votion to one’s king. *Realm spell; BoM=Spell found in the Book of
Magecraft.
King Alnor doesn’t want Jankaping to continue on
its current course of development. He sees the Description/History: The emir Beysim ibn
threats posed to the northlands by the White Faroud el-Duatim, Absolute Monarch of the
Witch and the Blood Skull Barony (not to men- Northern Marches, became “absolute monarch”
tion some of the evil rulers in other Rjurik when his brother perished on a hunting trip. The
realms). He wants to establish a defensible, solid, new emir assumed the throne of Sendoure amid a
and progressive kingdom. The time for nomadic wake of controversy, and even now many nobles
tribes on Cerilia is over. Jankaping’s populace thinly veil their displeasure at el-Duatim’s posi-
should plant firm roots and build walls to weather tion. Only his power as a wizard and his allies in
the storm that will soon ravage the northlands. the Ghoudaiä Coster keep him secure in his rule.

Emir of Sendoure, Living in a realm once famous for its trader-
7th-level Khinasi wizard and bandit-kings, the emir has created an ex-
alted position for himself. Perhaps he created
S: 8 all his titles and honorifics (he has over 70 of
D: 12 them) to increase his claim to the legiti-
C: 10 mate rule of Sendoure, but most people
I: 17 believe he’s just got an imperial-sized
ego.

Sendoure benefits from its loca-
tion and its terrain. Lying in the
only decent land route be-
tween the Khinasi states
and Anuire, Sendoure
also trades with the
agrarian and
peaceful

63

halflings of the Burrows and the Brechts of Sendoure’s rulership and used the Ghoudaiä
Rohrmarch and Rheulgard. Beysim el-Duatim Coster to eliminate or blackmail his most potent
makes sure that all wealth passing through his rivals. Since Helmut does all the dirty work, no
realm touches his hands as well. direct blame can be placed on the regent.

But the emir owes much to the avaricious head Anticipate your enemies’ strategies. In Khi-
of the Ghoudaiä Coster, the Brecht Helmut Gru- nasi, where daggers in the dark and poisons in
ber. Helmut, a self-made crime lord, resents the the wine can be used in place of diplomacy, a re-
fact that he needs the egotistical emir at all, and gent has to stay three steps ahead of his rivals.
takes pains to remind el-Duatim that the Khinasi The emir depends on the Coster’s spies and as-
regent needs the Brecht guildmaster more than sassins to keep his enemies off-balance. Since the
ever. nobles who oppose el-Duatim have no such re-
sources, they cannot anticipate the regent’s own
After establishing his right to rule Sendoure (a actions.
long and arduous process), the emir felt he de-
served a break. Unfortunately, his disgruntled Location, location, location. While el-Duatim
nobles and his aggressive neighbors haven’t let had no control over where he ruled, he could not
the pressure ease on the Khinasi regent and he have chosen better. He continues to exploit
hasn’t been able to enjoy his rule as much as he’d Sendoure’s position between three Cerilian re-
hoped. Still, the emir of Sendoure doesn’t let gions, keeping it a thriving trading metropolis. If
weighty concerns get in the way of his plans: the emir desired to make Sendoure a military
power, or a center for diplomacy and intrigue, he
Use the traditions and laws of the land to could be torn apart by his neighbors. However, as
your advantage. Even though regents make a trading center, Sendoure proves itself much
their own rules, an emir ignores tradition at his more valuable to its neighbors than it would be if
peril. The emir el-Duatim used the traditions of conquered or destroyed.
the Khinasi realm to his advantage. When his
brother died, he appeared to be the only logical The emir of Sendoure hasn’t made himself popu-
heir and he seized the throne despite the objec- lar with his nobles or his people. Even his ally in
tions of the nobles. He revived the old titles and the Coster isn’t satisfied with his actions. Most
honorifics attached to his family name (some observers believe the emir thinks of himself as
refering to lands and offices not part of Sendoure the “Absolute Monarch of the Northern
for centuries) to bury his detractors in legal Marches” first, and someone with a responsibil-
precedent and confusion. The commonfolk of ity to his subjects second. Here are some of his
Sendoure, seeing the overwhelming “evidence,” mistakes:
sided mostly with el-Duatim and he became the
ruler of the realm before anyone could recover Confidence is good, ego is bad. When the
and mount a counter-argument. Now, when the emir set himself up to resist claims against his
throne, he did so by cloaking himself in every
emir wants to do anything to increase his hold title and precedent he could think of—and it
on the realm, he instructs his advisers to worked. His enemies could not refute all his
search through ancient scrolls and texts to claims (most of which were entirely legitimate, if
outdated), but when they conceded publically, he
find historical precedence to back him up. continued to rub their noses in his royalty. Now,
The other nobles, whoses lines come from he seems increasingly alone at the top of a realm
the selfsame precedence, dare not oppose once known for its egalitarian capitalism. More
him. and more, el-Duatim cites “divine right” as prece-
Use both sides of the law . For a re- dent for his decrees and decisions, and his people
gent to be effective, sometimes he grow tired of their monarch.
has to put himself above the law
while appearing to conform to Opulence is good, decadence is bad. Again,
its rules entirely. The emir the emir oversteps himself. Sendoure has always
recruited Helmut and been a relatively rich country, and its nobility
his thieves’ guild lives well. However, in an effort to out-do his no-
before he took bles and his predecessors, el-Duatim spends
over every spare gold piece on improving his court
and making himself look rich and powerful. The
64 people want to feel proud of their wealthy regent
and visitors want to be entertained in an opulent

court, but when the emir throws away more trappings of nobility and tradition—and fed his
riches in an hour than a hundred commoners will ego on sweetmeats and flattery. Even now, the
see in a year, he invites scorn and envy. emir’s nephew, the bastard son of el-Duatim’s
brother, lurks in the shadows, awa iting the
Keep your friends close, your enemies chance to overthrow the emir. If the Sphinx or
closer, and your allies on a leash. The emir has the Hydra, or any of the emir’s other enemies,
few friends and his enemies are, for the most learn of him, they might back the young man just
part, known to him—but his powerful ally, Hel- to put Sendoure into chaos.
mut Gruber of the Ghoudaiä Coster, needs to be
defused. Helmut secretly despises the emir and Sendoure could recover from its troubles. The
wants to make sure el-Duatim knows he needs emir still has popular support with the people,
Helmut more than Helmut needs him. Recently, and if he realizes what’s going on in his own king-
he has gone so far as to set up law holdings in the dom, he could throw Helmut and the powerful
region, and he uses extortion and threats to bend Coster out using his army and some of the less-
the emir to his will. No longer does Helmut pose disatisfied nobles. Should he take action against
as the faithful lackey—he has become a rival, and the Coster (a known band of bandits and assas-
since he was once the emir’s most powerful ally, sins), he might even gain the support of his
he knows el-Duatim cannot stand against him for nephew—at least temporarily.
long.
Unfortunately, el-Duatim appears drunk on
Your neighbors can see you. The Hydra and power and convinced of his own right to rule. He
the Sphinx see how prosperous Sendoure has be- doesn’t understand that, on Cerilia, he who has
come. They want a cut of the action—or they the might often finds a way to gain the right.
might cut el-Duatim out entirely. The Sphinx has
already snipped off much of Sendoure’s southern
trade, and the Hydra has practically taken over
two of Sendoure’s eastern provinces. All this hap-
pened while el-Duatim arrayed himself in the

65

service and dedication.

A lieutenant must earn this much trust because

ofttimes he might rule a domain in his regent’s

stead. Lieutenants can perform domain actions

on behalf of their regents—or on their own be-

half, if their regents haven’t instructed or

watched them closely enough.

When a PC makes someone his lieutenant (usu-

ally using the lieutenant domain action), he cre-

x ates a stand-in for himself. Should a PC regent
go adventuring for an extended period of time or
“Lieutenants, advisers, counselors, and peers make a other circumstances dictate his absence, he likely
regent strong and wise... sometimes despite his own will leave a lieutenant behind to administer af-
best efforts.”
fairs of state.
—Anonymous
While the player usually determines the lieu-

x tenant’s activities during a domain turn (hence
gaining an extra action every three months), the

DM may have the lieutenant act on his own if he

feels the behavior enhances the campaign story-

line.

hrough domain actions or over the course One can think of the lieutenant as something of

of adventuring and role-playing, a regent may at- a super-henchman. With more power and more

tract lieutenants to help run his domain. He individuality than most NPCs, he can affect a PC

might also gather advisers and skilled persons regent’s life dramatically and almost instanta-

about him, if he is wise, so that he can learn from neously. A betrayal or mistake made by a lieu-

them and use their knowledge to benefit his hold- tenant can have drastic consequences for the PC

ing. A regent who tries to do everything himself regent, his allies, and his domain.

finds he cannot dance to several different tunes The following descriptions detail “typical” lieu-

at once—and falls flat on his face trying. tenants. Some of these NPCs already devote

This section presents several forms of able as- their talents to specific realms, while others

sistance for the regent. Three types of NPCs fit could appear anywhere in Cerilia.

into this category—the lieutenant, the adviser,

and the henchman. Each has his own abilities,

and each can add depth to a BIRTHRIGHT cam-

paign. Guildmaster of Müden’s Seelundkaufen,
The individual NPCs presented here are offered 9th-level halfling thief

as examples of the many types of assistants a re-

gent might want to include on his staff. Any part S: 9
of an NPC’s description—such as experience D: 18
level, alignment, or other characteristics—can be C: 15
I: 15
changed to suit DM, player, or PC needs.

W: 9

Ch: 11

AL: LN

Generally considered the highest-rank- AC: 2
ing of assistants, the lieutenant must
be a trusted individual, probably hp: 42
one known by the PC regent for
some time. A regent does not MV: 9
just go out and hire a lieu-
tenant—lieutenants THAC0: 16
must be developed
through years #AT: 1
of loyal
Dmg: 1d6+3 (Stuhlschek)

Bloodline: Masela, minor, 18.
Blood Abilities: Direction sense.
Special Equipment: Stuhlschek(“Steelspine,” a
rapier +2), main-gauche +1,leather armor, ring of
protection +1.

66

Proficiencies: Dagger, Main-Gauche, Rapier, Lieutenant notes: Theofold can be considered
Sling, Administration, Blind-fighting, Intrigue, a skilled lieutenant when dealing with economic
Reading Lips. or espionage problems (such as common trade
Description/History: Theofold learned his trade difficulties or the corruption/crime, assassina-
on the wharfs of Brechlen, pretending to be a tion, and intrigue random events). As a halfling,
down-and-out halfling trader from the Burrows Theofold enjoys a naturally long life span; he re-
trying to earn enough money to get home. He mains in excellent health and can be lured away
specialized in scams meant to defraud wealthy for occasional adventuring.
fools, rather than burglary or outright theft. He
accidentally brought himself to the attention of 5th-level Anuirean paladin
Richard Talbehr, Müden’s heir apparent, when he
almost swindled the young nobleman out of sev- S: 18/77
eral thousand gold pieces with one of his more D: 15
spectacular schemes. The unfortunate young C: 16
halfling landed in the city gaol. I: 11
W: 14
Talbehr, however, found himself intrigued by Ch: 18
the audacity and skill of the thief. Looking into
Theofold’s background, he found that the would- AL: LG
be scam artist had already amassed a small for-
tune in treasure, all appropriated through shady AC: –2
deals and trickery just shy of being illegal. In fact,
Talbehr had to admit that the scheme Theofold hp: 46
used to ensnare him was subtle and devious—but
technically legal. He ordered Theofold released MV: 9
into his custody on the condition the halfling ex-
plain to him how he generated ideas for his THAC0: 16 (15 with morning star)
schemes.
#AT: 1
Theofold told the noble his theory: Every time
the nobles and the merchants create a new law, Dmg: 2d4/1d6+1
they build a new business. He went on to explain
several loopholes in Müden’s rather restrictive Bloodline: None.
anti-smuggling laws that made an aspiring scam Special Equipment: Field plate, shield +2 (with
artist’s job easy. Haelyn’s symbol).
Proficiencies: Composite bow, Dagger, Hand
From then on, Theofold worked for Talbehr. At Axe, Law, Leadership, Long sword, Morning
first, he accepted a rather hefty monthly fee to Star, Strategy.
point out such loopholes, thinking the noble Description/History: Araesane Rozel began life
wanted to exploit them for his own benefit. He wanting to become a priest. For as long as he
learned nearly a year afterward, however, that the could remember, he believed his life dedicated to
young heir desired to clean up Müden’s muddled the glory of Haelyn and destined to be spent in
trade laws and divisive guild structure. The thief cloisters. However, life did not work out the way
found Talbehr worked not for his own benefit or Araesane planned.
the benefit of the nobility, but to strengthen
Müden’s emerging middle class. A commoner, Araesane worked the fields of
southern Alamie. When his lord summoned
Eventually, Richard Talbehr became Count of him to serve in a levy raised to defend the
Müden, and Theofold his chief lieutenant. Within borders against Ghoere’s incursions, Arae-
a few months, Theofold established himself as a sane went. He grieved, thinking he might
regent in his own right, unifying Müden’s guilds have to use his god-given strength to
into the Seelundkaufen (“Sea and Land end another human life, but he knew
Traders”). He turned several tiny, unprofitable Haelyn encouraged defense and
guilds into a working network of trading and justice—and Araesane believed
shipping holdings. the Duke of Alamie followed
Haelyn’s dictates.
Theofold still acts as Richard Talbehr’s chief
lieutenant, assisting in the governance of the Araesane served as a
count’s provinces and law holdings when neces- border guard during
sary. Most often, however, he comes to the aid of three turbulent
his friend when the count has economic con- months.
cerns. No

67

war broke out, but Ghoere’s cavalry and scouts tried to interfere). He then routed the rest of the
could be seen in the distance, and rumors of skir- dispirited band and saved the settlement.
mishes along the border spread through the peas-
ant levies. Since that time, Araesane has roamed Anuire
and even Khinasi lands, righting wrongs and
Meanwhile, Araesane talked to the priests sent bringing the word and justice of Haelyn to those
to comfort the soldiers and tend to the wounded. who most need it. Recently, local magistrates,
They had little to do most days, since Ghoere’s province rulers, and regents have asked Araesane
armies seemed content to stay on their side of to mediate in matters of justice—his reputation
the border. They instructed Araesane in the ways for fairness has spread through the commonfolk.
of Haelyn, continuing his rudimentary education Some minor regents have offered Araesane per-
from the point where his village priest had left manent employment, but he hasn’t decided upon
off. a post—yet.

Araesane enjoyed this period of his life. He Lieutenant notes: A young man, Araesane
learned the ways of a soldier during the day, and Rozel would make an able adventuring compan-
the ways of Haelyn at night. He thought the duke ion for any regent. He can also act on his own (as
had done him a favor by taking him out of the he has shown), though he won’t participate in
farm fields for a few months. any deceit or trickery. A regent who employs him
under false pretenses shouldn’t expect a success-
He was wrong. ful venture.
When tensions between Ghoere and Alamie
settled, Araesane returned home to find his vil- Araesane can be considered a skilled lieutenant
lage sacked and nearly destroyed. His family in any situation that involves adventuring or a re-
gone, Araesane wandered toward the capital spect for law and justice (virtually any random
hoping for some word. event, except natural event, diplomatic matter, or
Eventually, Araesane went to the royal magis- trade matter). He always acts in the best inter-
trate and asked for help in finding his siblings ests of the common people—though that might
and mother. The magistrate turned him away. put him into conflict with his regent.
“Bandits passed through two months ago raiding
the settlements,” the magistrate said. The ban- 4th-level Khinasi thief,
dits, it seemed, knew that all the local men and Secretary of Police in Mesire
women of fighting strength would be off in the
levies, and they profited from this knowledge. S: 9
The news enraged Araesane. His lord called D: 17
him into service to protect the land, but his lord C: 13
had not protected Araesane’s land or family in I: 16
turn. For a time, Araesane contemplated revenge W: 14
upon the Duke of Alamie. His innate sense of Ch: 15
justice fueled his desire for vengeance, but the
thought of rebelling against his sovereign dis- AL: LN
gusted him. He wandered the provinces of
Alamie pondering his dilemma. AC: 3

Araesane believes Haelyn intervened then, hp: 18
saving him from a misspent life of banditry
and vengeance. Araesane came upon a small MV: 12

settlement besieged by bandits. Another THAC0: 19
levy had been called, drawing the fighting
men and women away, and the bandits #AT: 2 (daggers in both hands)
knew it. They did not know about Arae-
sane, however. Dmg: 1d4
Inspired by his anger, Araesane
used his military training to Bloodline: None.
sneak up on the bandit camp.
He defeated the leader of Special Equipment: Leather armor +1,daggers
the bandits in a fair
fight (for his part; (balanced for throwing), lock picks, badge of of-
the other
bandits fice.

68 Proficiencies: Dagger, Disguise, Short Sword,

Sling, Law, Local History, Set Snares.

Description/History: Karida bint Deila learned

her thieving skills on the right side of the law. A

special operative in Mesire’s small police force,

she often disguised herself as a thief or a smug-

gler, catching would-be criminals in the act. Lieutenant notes: Karida seldom acts on the
Karida grew up in a powerful ajazada family. emir’s behalf in any capacity other than as a po-
lice officer. Efficient, intelligent, and active, she
Several years ago, her parents died at the hands takes a much more hands-on role in law enforce-
of assassins working for the infamous Brother- ment than did her predecessors. Karida can act
hood of Khet. Karida does not hold a grudge, as a skilled representative of the emir in any legal
however—she’d just like to see every member of area, and might be persuaded to tackle adven-
the brotherhood roasted over a slow fire in the tures into the Direwood if necessary.
public square. Nothing personal.
3rd-level Vos ranger
But this attitude did not endear her to the wiz-
ard Yousef ibn Reghíl el-Mesir, the regent of the S: 17
realm. He, too, hates the brotherhood (its mem- D: 15
bers assassinated his wife), but he never believed C: 15
shared hatred ought to form a basis for trust. Re- I: 12
luctant to put a woman in a position of authority W: 15
over his small police force, he made certain Ch: 8
Karida’s appointments and promotions came
slowly and with difficulty. AL: NG

Fortunately for the realm and for el-Mesir, AC: 3
Karida ignored her regent’s old-fashioned ideals
and continued doing the best she could at every hp: 22
job she had. Learning from the best street-
thieves of Mesire and making important friends MV: 12
in the Zhaïnge Merchant Guild, she gained abil-
ity and allies quickly. Eventually, when the old THAC0: 18
chief of the police force retired under the black
cloud of scandal, Karida’s influential family pres- #AT: 2 (sword and dagger)
sured the regent to appoint Karida head of the
force. Dmg: 1d8 and 1d4

The emir reacted with an unprecedented move. Bloodline: Vorynn, minor, 9.
He appointed Karida secretary of the police Blood Abilities: None.
force—on a trial basis. For centuries, no other Special Equipment: Leather armor, cloak of pro -
public official had been required to serve a pro- tection +2, ring of protection +2.
bationary period. Usually, if the emir does not Proficiencies: Battle Axe, Bowyer/Fletcher,
have a candidate in mind for a particular office, Dagger, Long Bow, Sword, Endurance, Hunting.
he leaves the post vacant until he finds a suitable Description/History: Neva grew up along the
official. borders of the Icemarch, in view of both the
northern glaciers and the great Grovnekevic For-
But Karida ignored this insult. She coolly ac- est where the Vos and the elves of Tuar Annwn
cepted the position though her friends and col- have fought a cold war for centuries. Hardened
leagues felt sure she would resign. She brought by the climate and the temperament of her peo-
her first major case to a close in record time, out- ple, Neva still managed to attain a peace—of
witting a band of independent smugglers and as- sorts—within herself. She longs to pacify her
sassins intent upon contesting the Zhaïnge Mer- warlike people and end the war the Vos fight
chant Guild’s rightful holdings in the capital. with all the other races of Cerilia.

Thenshe resigned. Still, Neva isn’t some idealistic
This step put the emir in an awkward position. dreamer. She left her frozen home and
Belatedly recognizing Karida’s competence and traveled south, east, and west, learn-
intelligence, he graciously accepted her resigna- ing about Vosgaard, Brechtür, and
tion as Probationary Secretary of Police—and even northern Khinasi. She has
immediately installed her as the official Secretary battled orogs, ice trolls, and
of Police. The emir took both actions publicly, ac- gnolls, and she has learned
knowledging his error and apologizing for it to hide from the ice gi-
(without actually referring to his mistake ants and greater
openly). He also awarded Karida bint Diela a beasts of the
badge of sayarimin (recognition) for her recent fells. Neva
achievements. Karida returned to his service and
has worked faithfully for the emir and Mesire
ever since.

69

knows when to fight and when to retreat—and W: 15
she’s tried to pass this knowledge on to the few Ch: 10
friends she’s made over the years.
AL: LN 18
Neva wants to become regent of a forest do- AC: 8
main. She realizes that existing regents fill even hp: 23
the frozen lands of Vosgaard, but Neva believes MV: 12
she could do better for the people of those realms THAC0:
if only she could take over. #AT: 1
Dmg: 1d4
The Vos ranger knows she has much to learn,
however, before she can take over a realm. Cur- Bloodline: None.
rently, Neva quests for a likely teacher—prefer- Special Equipment: Spellbook (disguised as lore
ably a regent of a province, law holding, or guild book), light crossbow, dagger.
domain who can instruct her in the ways of re- Proficiencies: Dagger, Light Crossbow, Ancient
gency. She knows her bloodline may be thin now, History, An im al H and li ng , A strology,
but she hopes to strengthen it by deposing an evil Reading/Writing Rjurik, Spellcraft.
monarch and taking her place as a leader among Description/History: Alvin Devlin learned his
the Vos. trade in southern Rjurik lands and hides it well.
In a region where magicians and wizards hang
Initially, Neva wants to serve a good leader, so around a lot (mainly from trees), Alvin keeps his
she can learn regency from a master. Eventually, spellcasting abilities secret to all but a few of his
she plans to ingratiate herself with an evil lord most trusted friends—and, of course, the regent
and perhaps turn his other lieutenants and advis- he serves.
ers against him. If Neva can do this, she feels she
can seize power and lead a revolution in a small Alvin grew up knowing he had elven blood in
domain. With luck, she can expand her realm to his veins. His mother looked elven, and, though
encompass other domains entrapped by the web she did not inherit her mother’s near-agelessness,
of evil. she did pick up another “gift”—the ability to cast
wizard spells, which she used sparingly and se-
Lieutenant notes: Since Neva desires to be- cretly.
come a regent in her own right someday, she
wants to learn how to perform all of a regent’s re- His mother tried to teach Alvin wizard spells as
sponsibilities while serving another master. Un- well, but he could not manage to pull the meb-
fortunately, with her limited experience, she acts haighl from the land as easily as she did. Only il-
as an unskilled assistant under most circum- lusions and divinations came to Alvin easily, and
stances, though she can be considered skilled he soon abandoned his studies of other magics.
when fighting monsters or dealing with bandits
or brigands. Unfortunately, Alvin’s practices led to suspi-
cious rumors spread by his neighbors. Fearing
When Neva decides to make her move on a do- “unholy” magics in the area, the local farmers
main, she might be hindered by her native good- and trappers summoned a druid to investigate
ness. She won’t commit an obviously evil act to Alvin and his mother’s secret meetings in the
ingratiate herself with an evil regent, but she can woods. Exposed as spellcasters, they fled into the
Aelvinnwode only a step or two ahead of their
play-act fairly well. In all likelihood, she’ll try to pursuers. Exhausted and terrified, they waited
take over the evil regent’s domain as quickly as for the end to come.
possible—eliminating him and as many of his
Fortune smiled on the two spellcasters then. A
supporters as she can. Neva will then try to band of elf warriors encountered the hunters and
raise popular support for herself, having al- drove them out of the wood, saving the young
ready made contact with important people man and his mother. Recognizing her obvious
among the commonfolk. elven blood, the warriors took the pair into Tu-
arhievel where, to their surprise, Alvin’s mother
8th-level Rjurik magician was reunited with her own parent.

S: 12 Alvin’s mother decided to stay, but Alvin himself
D: 16 grew restless. Feeling like an outsider in a land
C: that nevertheless welcomed him as a kinsman, he
10 made his way back to Rjurik, avoiding his old
I: 18 homestead. He disguised his magical talents and
went to work in Stjordvik, Halskapa, and even

70

Hogunmark as an adventurer and adviser. If a PC regent inherits a domain in which a lieu-
Eventually, Alvin distinguished himself enough tenant served the previous regent, the PC might
acquire the lieutenant along with the rest of the
as an adventurer to win the attention of noble ad- domain. This possibility is completelyup to the
venturers in several realms. Now he has been of- DM. If he thinks the NPC lieutenant has a good
fered a lieutenant position in at least one realm, enough reason to stick around and serve the new
but he hasn’t taken the office yet. He hopes to regent, he will. Otherwise, he departs for greener
bring about a tolerance for nondruidic magic in pastures or perhaps retires and takes the role of
Rjurik if he can, and he wants to make certain an adviser (see below).
whatever regent he serves feels the same way.
When a PC regent inherits a lieutenant, he
Lieutenant notes: An experienced adventurer might actually acquire a lieutenant of greater
and diplomat, Alvin should be considered skilled ability than he normally might be able to attract.
as an assistant in nearly any endeavor. Unfortu- For example, a 12th-level ranger serves as lieu-
nately, if he serves as a lieutenant in the Rjurik tenant. The domain’s ruler dies or steps down,
region, there’s always a chance someone will find leaving the regency to his heir (the PC). Presum-
out about his magician abilities. If that situation ably, the heir has been groomed for this contin-
arises, it could have dire consequences for Alvin gency. But the heir has achieved only 3rd level
and the regent he serves. and, according to the rules, can’t have a 12th-
level lieutenant. The DM can handle this compli-
As explained in the BIRTHRIGHT Rulebook, re- cation in several ways:
gents can acquire lieutenants through use of the • The lieutenant leaves. The faithful lieutenant
lieutenant action. The chance of success or fail-
ure is left up to the DM. If this provision seems steps down from his post, since he served the
unnecessarily nebulous, consider the situation. A older regent, not the realm. He may or may
lieutenant should be a trusted henchman or ad- not recommend a successor—perhaps one of
venturing ally the PC has known for years. No his own trusted henchmen—to take over the
regent simply posts a notice with the local crier lieutenancy.
saying “Second-in-Command Wanted—Apply at • The lieutenant stays on as lieutenant. He
Castle.” Lieutenants evolve out of years, or at desires to continue serving the PC regent and
least months, of service. the realm in his full capacity. He still performs
domain actions for the regent and deals with
But how can the DM reflect the evolution of random events. The DM warns the player,
such a relationship in the context of domain ac- however, that if the NPC lieutenant goes out
tions? Should he penalize new regents, waiting on adventures with the PC, or starts to do all
until they have encountered and enlisted several of the “hard” work of running the domain, the
NPCs to choose from, before allowing a PC re- PC regent will stop gaining experience points
gent to select a lieutenant? and probably lose loyalty and support around
the realm.
Perhaps. Perhaps not. • The lieutenant stays on as an adviser. He
The solution depends on the situation and the voluntarily takes himself “out of action.” He
style of the campaign. If a beginning PC regent retires from active adventuring or declares
really wants a lieutenant and can help the DM he’s interested in only occasional adven-
create a background story with a good reason be- tures or political moves, but agrees to
hind the appointment of such a skilled and stick around and use his experience to
trusted assistant, then the DM should probably help the new regent as an adviser
allow the commission. If the campaign focuses (see below).
heavily on domain actions and less on adventur- • The lieutenant becomes a vas-
ing (circumstances in which the PC might actu- sal. As part of the PC’s ascen-
ally encounter candidates for lieutenancy), then sion, he grants the faithful
the DM should seriously consider this option. lieutenant part of the
Ideally, PC regents won’t want lieutenants until domain to rule in his
they’ve experienced enough adventure to en- name. This solu-
counter characters they trust with access to the tion works
powers of their domain. The lieutenant examples only with
provided above—particularly the ones already lieu-
linked to specific realms—describe NPCs who
have long interacted with their regents.

71

tenants who have bloodlines. The NPC lieu- tenants, can perform one action on behalf of their
tenant sticks around (at least in the general regents per domain turn. Should another lieu-
area) and is considered a vassal of the PC re- tenant perform a domain action that turn, the PC
gent, but has his own problems to worry lieutenant loses his opportunity. This condition
about. The PC regent can go to him for help or can give rise to some interesting role-playing: If
advice, and the DM has an excellent opportu- several lieutenants work for an individual regent,
nity to involve him in adventures and domain they’ll probably lobby for the privilege of serving
actions when he wants to—and even better their lord to prove both their loyalty and their in-
reason for not involving the former lieutenant dispensability.
when he doesn’t want to. This method also
makes the new regent pay for the services of a The rules do not state how much gold or other
high-level ally; he loses direct control over part wealth a lieutenant requires to keep him in ser-
of his realm in exchange for the high-level lieu- vice. In most cases, lieutenant pay comes out of
tenant’s loyalty and continued service. the regent’s domain maintenance and court
costs. This does not mean, however, that a lieu-
Of course, all of these solutions might prove tenant can’t ask for (and receive) additional
temporary. When the PC regent progresses in funds or considerations. The DM should decide
level and experience, and has adventures of his this matter with the player on an individual basis.
own, he might choose to dismiss the older lieu- Particularly valuable or active lieutenants might
tenant (if he is still around) or call him back out require more upkeep than normal, and the DM
of retirement (when the PC attains a high might require the PC to actually pay his lieu-
enough level to have him as a henchman). tenant(s) above and beyond normal domain
maintenance.
Player characters can serve other PCs and NPCs
as lieutenants. In a cooperative BIRTHRIGHT cam- Keep in mind, however, that most lieutenants
paign, this option proves an excellent way to get serve the regent because they want to do so. The
everyone—blooded and unblooded characters regent should reward them adequately—with
alike—involved in domain actions. Any PC can money, small luxuries, and magical items when
serve as a lieutenant, from an unblooded com- possible—but he can usually work these pay-
moner to a blooded regent (generally, however, ments into his domain maintenance costs, or
PC regents become vassals if they want to serve role-playing sessions for special rewards. If the
other PCs or NPCs). If a regent names a PC his DM requires additional payments to the lieu-
lieutenant, the DM can choose to ignore the level tenant, they should reflect special service by the
limitations for henchmen and lieutenants. character. The 12th-level ranger from the above
example might need an additional 1 GB per do-
The DM should handle a PC lieutenant a little main turn partly because he’s such a high-level
differently than an NPC assistant. Most NPC lieutenant serving a relatively inexperienced re-
lieutenants automatically perform services (suc- gent, but mostly because he has a whole network
of followers and henchmen of his own to sup-
cessfully or unsuccessfully) for their regents. port—and they all work in the service of the re-
Player characters, naturally, have freedom of gent. In return, the PC receives better service
choice. When a regent wants his PC lieu- out of the ranger than he could expect from an
average lieutenant.
tenant to do something, he instructs him,
gives him the resources necessary (Regency Spellcasting lieutenants often require supple-
Points, Gold Bars, and/or other domain re- mental maintenance as well. A wizard, magician,
sources such as armies or assistants), or priest lieutenant likely will cast spells in the re-
and sends him off to do it. The PC, gent’s service. He needs money for components,
however, might choose to do some- assistants, and research. In general, the regent
thing else entirely. This decision shouldn’t have to pay more than 1 GB every do-
probably won’t please the re- main turn to support a magic-wielding lieu-
gent he serves, but that’s the tenant, but the regent must expect to pay for any
PC’s problem. realm spells or special material components used
Player character in the regent’s service. The regent pays for the
lieutenants, just privilege of having a wizard, magician, or priest
like NPC “on call.” Actually using the lieutenant might cost
lieu- extra.

72

Often, advisers are 0-level characters with special Role-playing Notes: An elf, Daeg Merwynidin
knowledge or wisdom garnered from years of has lived for hundreds of years in the great woods
court life and practice. Occasionally, a regent’s of the continent, avoiding humans as most of his
advisers might be retired or semi-retired adven- brethren do. Now he has taken an interest in ex-
turers (military commanders often fit into this ploring the outside world.
range) with a small amount of “field” experience.
Only rarely do advisers actually have experience Naturally curious, Daeg uses his knowledge
levels exceeding those of the regents they serve. and adviser position to learn information—par-
ticularly about the history of the region in which
The advisers detailed in this section can be used he currently finds employment. He could enlist
by the DM as “the voice of experience.” They in the service of a human, elf, or dwarf regent—
cannot, except on rare occasions, perform do- so long as he feels he could learn something new.
main actions for the regent. (A domain action
might involve them, especially in a role-playing When consulted regarding his areas of knowl-
sense, but they are not lieutenants.) An adviser edge, Daeg tends to be fairly patient and conser-
might be told to address a particular random vative. He favors diplomacy over warfare, and
event, depending on its nature. In most cases, caution over recklessness. However, if a regent
however, the DM uses the adviser as a voice of assigns Daeg a task normally outside his ability
reason to talk to the PC regent. or asks advice on a topic with which Daeg is un-
familiar, the elf rises to the occasion—often with
But the counsel that advisers provide is not in- disastrous results. His curiosity gets the better of
fallible. Far from it: A regent goes to advisers to him; in the past, he has caused more trouble by
get advice, not to give up his power. A particular not admitting to his shortcomings.
adviser has specific knowledge the PC regent Special Strengths: Hale and hearty, Daeg has no
lacks (otherwise he wouldn’t be necessary) and fear of accompanying his regent on adventures.
can offer a different perspective on problems. While he won’t contribute much to a fight, he can
But economic advisers see situations in financial provide up-to-the-minute advice, translation, and
terms, military advisers turn problems into war analysis.
exercises, and civil advisers put everything into a Special Weaknesses: As mentioned above, Daeg
social and political context. The regent himself has an insatiable curiosity. He can be lured into
must synthesize the conflicting counsel he re- traps by those who know him, and he often ex-
ceives and make decisions from a holistic per- tends advice not for the betterment of his regent
spective. but for the satisfaction of his own curiosity.

Advisers, more so than lieutenants and hench- Race: Human (Vos).
men, should serve as a tool of the DM. The Dun- Major Areas of Knowledge: Military strategy,
geon Master ought to develop the PC regent’s Vos religions, other human religions.
advisers. He has to know their areas of knowl- Minor Areas of Knowledge: Civil authority,
edge, interest, and personal agendas—so he can diplomacy, weather and natural phenomenon.
slant their advice accordingly. Proficiencies (ratings): Ancient History (10),
Diplomacy (8), Herbalism (10), Law (9), Reli-
The following advisers serve as examples of gion—Belinik and Kriesha (18), Strategy
these important NPCs. With a little modifica- (10).
tion, they fit into just about any environment in Role-playing Notes: The Vos seldom
Cerilia. value advisers who cannot practice what
they preach, but old Stanislaus Yuri-
Race: Elf. vauch learned how to make his in-
Major Areas of Knowledge: Elven lore, human- telligence work for him in a land
elf relations, linguistics. that values the axe head more
Minor Areas of Knowledge: Diplomacy, general than the wise head. Yuri-
history, military strategy, monsters. vauch thought early in
Pr oficiencies (ratings): Ancient History (17), life about entering
Diplomacy (9), Local History—the domain (15), the priesthood of
Languages—all human (15), Languages—dwar- Belinik, but
ven (12), Strategy (8). found
its

73

ways of worship too brutal and direct for his nizing her value, the guildmasters trained Blaese
tastes. Instead, he became a rare theologian in a in more complicated accounting procedures.
region of fanatics—studying religion and its ac- Eventually, she came to the notice of the local re-
companying military strategy without actually gent. She became his economic adviser the day
becoming a war priest or fanatic warrior. she showed him how he could save nearly 25% of
his normal domain maintenance costs without
Now, Stanislaus uses his knowledge in the ser- losing any of his realm’s effectiveness.
vice of his regent. His insights into Vos religion
provide him with wisdom about violence and fa- Old and stooped from squinting over giant
naticism. He prefers to observe and discuss solu- ledgers, Blaese seldom attends court functions or
tions to problems rather than implement them. general meetings of the other regents’ advisers.
Under no circumstances can Stanislaus be Generally, she is seen as a coin-clutching crone
counted upon as an adventuring companion—he with a heart as cold as gold. In reality, Blaese has
might resign or desert before placing himself in dedicated herself to her work and serves her re-
direct danger. gent faithfully. She has no problem spending the
Special Str engths: The Vos threaten many regent’s money—but she always makes certain he
realms, and Stanislaus understands their religion gets what he pays for.
and the core of their being. He can observe vio- Special Str engths: Blaese won’t be taken in a
lence and fanaticism without being caught up in scam or scheme to defraud the regent’s treasury.
it, and as long as he personally isn’t threatened, She knows where the smallest coin in the most
he can think coolly and calmly. remote holding of the land should be, and her
Special W eaknesses: Threats of personal vio- subordinates give tax evaders fits. Blaese seldom
lence to Stanislaus cause him to lose effective- needs to consult her ledgers to state any eco-
ness quickly. He especially fears his own people, nomic figure her regent might require of her—
knowing their treatment of noncombatants often she has a complete knowledge of her kingdom’s
can be worse than their treatment of enemies. finances and economic futures.
Whether Stanislaus serves a Vos or non-Vos re- Special W eaknesses: The economic adviser dis-
gent, he will try to avoid any situation that puts likes dealing directly with people—even the re-
him in contact with enemy Vos—even a diplo- gent she serves so faithfully. She prefers her
matic setting. books and ledgers, and often acts coldly and
rudely with those who might trouble her for ad-
Race: Human (Anuirean). vice (even while she is flattered by their atten-
Major Area of Knowledge: Economics. tions). Blaese tends to think of everything in eco-
Minor Areas of Knowledge: Finances, intrigue, nomic terms—a war might be fought for other
law, taxation. reasons than safeguarding profitable holdings or
Pr oficiencies (ratings): Administration (17), achieving a profit in its own right, but Blaese
Appraisal (15), Forgery (12), Intrigue (9), Law won’t see it that way.
(12).
Generally, a regent can use his adviser’s skills and
Role-playing Notes: Born to a very minor knowledge whenever and however he wishes. For
noble family, Blaese Grumbahl found she had example, if a regent has an adviser with the Ad-
to begin working at an early age or lose what ministration nonweapon proficiency, he can put
his adviser in charge of paying the maintenance
little social standing she might ever possess. and court costs for his kingdom—thereby using
Blaese began as a junior assistant to a fore- the proficiency as if the regent had it himself. Of
man in a local trade guild and worked her course, this strategy works only if the regent has
way up from there. She quickly took to the foresight to assign his adviser to the task in
reading and writing, and could do her the first place.
sums accurately before she reached
her teens. Accounting proved to Advisers nearly always work on only one task at
be Blaese’s greatest love, and a time. Should an adviser be assigned to use his
she created whole domains Administration proficiency to maintain the do-
out of the numbers she main more efficiently, he can’t also be assigned to
learned to manipu- assist his regent with a trade route action or to
late. engage in intricate diplomacy with a foreign re-
Recog-

74

gent. The DM might decrease the adviser’s profi- staff, the regent gains special bonuses to domain
ciency ratings dramatically if he feels the adviser actions performed in this NPC’s area of exper-
is being misused or overworked. tise.

Creating or attracting advisers is generally easier The success roll for attracting a special adviser
than finding a lieutenant. If the regent has an is always 20+. However, when a regent expends
NPC in mind for the post, he can simply offer Regency Points or Gold Bars to increase his
the character a job and work out terms of pay- chances of finding an adviser in the first place, he
ment or service (see below) as part of a role-play- increases his chances for finding a special adviser
ing session. PC advisers can be treated in the as well.
same way—no special outlay of resources should
be necessary to have another PC “on staff” unless If the regent rolls a modified 20+, he gains a
the two players decide otherwise. special adviser. If he exceeded the required roll
by 1 to 4 points, he gains an adviser who gives
If the regent does not have a particular charac- him a +1 on the performance of one domain ac-
ter in mind for an adviser position, he can issue a tion every domain turn (or an equivalent bonus
decree to search for an adviser. Generally, this decided by the DM). This bonus should reflect
decree opens the way for advisers from other the adviser’s areas of knowledge and the focus of
realms, or nobles and commoners from all over, the decree. If the regent decreed that he was
to apply at the court for the position. The regent looking for an economic adviser, the special eco-
has little control over the types of people who an- nomic adviser might give him a +1 to performing
swer his call—though he should probably find at a trade route action, or lower his domain mainte-
least a few serious candidates from whom to nance costs by 10%—or help the regent out in
choose. other economic or financial ways. These bonuses
compound with any other modifiers the regent
The base chance of success for finding an ap- already has.
propriate adviser through a decree action is 5+. If
the regent fails this check, his decree wasn’t When the regent exceeds the required roll by 5
taken seriously or he simply didn’t appeal to the to 9 points, he gains a special adviser with either
right people. If the DM wants to make a role- two separate +1 modifiers, or a +2 (or the equiv-
playing session of the selection, the PC might in- alent) bonus. If the regent exceeds the required
terview several candidates and actually find roll by 10 or more points, the special adviser
someone among them who could serve his adds +3 to one action, or +1 to three domain ac-
needs—though that person might not be exactly tions (or a +1 and a +2).
what he wanted.
Keep in mind that the adviser still can’t perform
As with many other domain actions, the regent actions on his own. The regent (or the regent’s
can spend Regency Points and Gold Bars to in- lieutenant) can seek his counsel on domain ac-
crease his chance of success. This expenditure tions and receive the modifier, but the adviser
represents the amount of time and money he and has no ability or authority to perform domain ac-
his trusted subordinates spend to find just the tions himself.
right adviser. Again, the DM can have the player
role-play the final interview process, but in this While player characters usually don’t serve as
case virtually all of the candidates should be at advisers, this role could satisfy many players
least minimally qualified. (particularly those with long-time adventur-
ers they wish to put into semi-retirement
As stated above, advisers tend to be 0-level char- in favor of younger PCs). A PC adviser
acters with a few strong skills and areas of knowl- could use his skills and knowledge to
edge. They aren’t competent lieutenants, and advise a PC or NPC regent, and
they probably never went on adventures. How- then enter into adventures on his
ever, they often know quite a bit about things the own behalf or his regent’s.
regent himself has no time to learn.

However, a regent might attract a special ad-
viser, someone considered “the best in the land”
at what he does. With such an adviser on his

75

An average court probably has a large number of domain action in the Rulebook). Still, henchmen
courtiers and advisers whose expenses compose tend to be of about the same level as the charac-
part of the domain and court maintenance costs. ters for whom they work.
Only special advisers or notable NPCs or PCs
need additional support. Basically, the more an Henchmen are more important to regents than
adviser can do for a regent, the more upkeep he’ll to the average adventurer. While a PC might
need. Average advisers, with a few useful skills trust his henchmen with his goods and his life,
and specialized knowledge, don’t cost any extra. the PC regent trusts them with his realm and
Those who contribute modifiers to domain ac- holdings as well. Good henchmen should be hard
tions might cost an extra 1 GB every domain to find—but invaluable, once found.
turn (or every other domain turn). Remember,
advisers have to be cost-effective. An adviser who Rather than supplying individual sample hench-
contributes a +1 bonus to one of his regent’s do- men, this section discusses some typesof hench-
main actions might not be worth 1 GB per turn, men a PC regent might attract. Each is listed by
since the regent could spend that much and in- the position or role he might fulfill in a PC re-
crease the modifier himself. Granted, he would- gent’s domain.
n’t have access to the advice and skills of the ad-
viser, but he might try getting along without The title “Beater of the Bounds” actually de-
them. scribes an active adventurer in the employ of the
regent. The “bounder” patrols the borders of the
After years of service, a regent might decide to realm (or visits the central sites of a domain) and
promote a trusted adviser to the position of lieu- keeps monsters, undesirables, and other physical
tenant, giving him the ability to perform domain threats away.
actions on the ruler’s behalf. If that happens, the
adviser retains all his skills and abilities and, if he Preferred character classes: Fighter, ranger.
was a special adviser, still modifies domain ac- Prefer red pr oficiencies: Any melee weapon,
tions in the same manner. any missile weapon, Animal Handling, Animal
Lore, Animal Training, Direction Sense, Fire-
The Player’s Handbookdefines henchmen as ad- building, Hunting, Jumping, Languages (local),
venturers who serve PCs or NPCs out of loy- Law, Local History, Mountaineering, Riding
alty. They will risk their lives and fortunes for (land-based), Set Snares, Survival, Tracking,
Weather Sense.
those they respect—and therefore are hard to Character description: The bounder operates
find. Most lieutenants start out as henchmen, by himself or with small groups of hirelings, and
so must be trustworthy and self-motivated. He
and should still be considered as such in must also maintain a keen perspective and the
most cases. ability to judge for himself whether someone or
Usually, henchmen should be of lower something poses a threat to the domain he pro-
level than the PCs or NPCs they serve. tects. The bounder needs self-confidence and as-
Granted, in the BIRTHRIGHT setting, surance to make decisions on his own—and to
characters with powerful blood- know when he cannot handle a situation by him-
lines can command great respect self.
and power and thereby attract
higher-level henchmen While most regents trust retainers or military
than PCs in other personnel to guard their persons on a day-to-day
game worlds (see basis, the wise regent places a loyal henchman in
the lieu- charge of maintaining and watching these
tenant guards. A fixture in most domains, the captain of
the guard keeps the court orderly and the regent
76 safe.

Preferred character classes: Fighter, paladin.
Prefer red pr oficiencies: Any melee weapon,

Blind-fighting, Disguise, Endurance, Heraldry, or inaction could cause the regent’s death—and
Intrigue, Languages (local), Law, Reading/Writ- no one would know the difference. A mere
ing, Riding (land-based), Set Snares, Tracking. hireling or court doctor might be fine for treating
common illnesses, but in a crisis, the personal
Character description: Close to the regent at physician should be the only one trusted with the
all times, the captain of the guard has to be at- regent’s life.
tentive and imposing, while at the same time able
to fade into the background and watch those Particularly useful for law regents and province
around him. The captain must have a perceptive rulers, the sheriff finds employment under any
eye, able to discern suspicious actions at a glance regent. While most people associate sheriffs with
and remember faces and mannerisms of people upholding the law of a region, a sheriff might
encountered only in passing. serve another purpose in other holdings. When
working for a high priest, for example, the sheriff
A loremaster nearly falls into the “adviser” role, might oversee the collection of tithes. He could
but might make a valuable adventuring compan- also mediate church-related disputes among
ion for the regent. A loremaster does not have to commoners or help organize temple-funded
be an ancient man or woman who spends all his levies.
or her time studying musty old books and nearly
indecipherable scrolls. The loremaster might be a Prefer red character classes: Fighter, ranger,
character seekingknowledge—and providing it to thief.
the regent upon request.
Prefer red pr oficiencies: Any melee weapon,
Prefer red character classes: Magician, wiz- any ranged weapon, Appraising, Hunting, Lan-
ard, bard, priest. guages (local), Local History, Mountaineering,
Reading/Writing, Rope Use, Set Snares.
Prefer red proficiencies: Any “peasant” knowl-
edge (Agriculture, Animal Skills, Mining, etc.), Character description: The sheriff, like the
Ancient History, Appraising, Astrology, Her- beater of the bounds, must maintain a certain
aldry, Herbalism, Languages (local, distant, and amount of personal authority to be effective. The
ancient), Local History, Reading/Writing, Reli- sheriff, however, concerns himself with internal
gion. problems and the people and holdings already
ruled by the regent. He maintains order and en-
Character description: The adventuring lor e- forces the regent’s rules.
master complements the regent’s own skills and
those of his other henchmen by providing much- While tales around court malign the spy, he pro-
needed knowledge and advice as it is required. vides a valuable service for his regent. Not only
Hardier and more practical on adventures than does the spy brave the dangers of other domains
typical advisers, the loremaster can make himself and realms to gather information, he also might
useful on important quests and take some of the be in charge of the security within the regent’s
burden off his regent. When they need it the domain—since a spy stands the best chance of
most, he provides knowledge and skills most re- catching another spy.
gents don’t have the time or inclination to learn
themselves. Prefer red character classes: Thief, bard,
magician.
A healer who might go into danger to protect and
preserve the regent’s life should have the status Prefer red Proficiencies: Easily-con-
of a henchman. A personal physician should be cealable melee or missile weapons
valued greatly by adventuring and nonadventur- (dagger, dart, sling), “cover” profi-
ing regents alike. Often the personal physician ciency (Dancing, Heraldry, Musi-
himself can become the target of assassins desir- cal Instrument, Singing, etc.),
ing to eliminate the regent by stealthy means. Appraising, Diplomacy, Di-
rection Sense, Disguise,
Preferred classes: Priest, paladin. Etiquette, Forgery,
Prefer red pr oficiencies: Ancient History, Intrigue, Lan-
Brewing, Fire-building, Healing, Herbalism, guages (local
Local History, Religion, Spellcraft. and dis-
Character description: The personal physician
must be trustworthy in situations where a slip-up 77

tant), Reading/Writing, Reading Lips, Rope Use, in question. Generally, the basic pay and upkeep of
Running, Tightrope Walking, Tumbling, Survival. henchmen is included in domain and court mainte-
nance costs—the regent doesn’t have to pay extra.
Character description: Too often, unwise re- However, if the regent wants a happy and satisfied
gents consider the spy a mere hireling or dis- henchman, he should consider other rewards.
tasteful tool. A successful regent recognizes that
an able spy might be the most loyal retainer he Giving a favored henchman minor gifts of gold
has. The spy must often operate under deep or medals goes a long way toward securing loy-
cover, perhaps in a lowly or maligned position, alty. While mistreatment can never be bought off
and can seldom accept outright reward or recog- completely, a regent who treats his henchmen
nition from his employer. fairly and rewards them occasionally shows them
he cares for them and recognizes the valuable
Players and DMs should use the basic rules pre- service they do. The regent can choose to reward
sented in the Player’s Handbookfor acquiring henchmen out of his own pocket or out of the
henchmen in a BIRTHRIGHT campaign. Regents royal treasury.
and scions may attract more henchmen than can
normal characters (per the rules listed under the Should the regent choose to reward a hench-
lieutenant domain action) but players should man with magical items or special treasures, he
keep in mind that lieutenants and henchmen might want to make a big deal out of the be-
count toward this total. quest—perhaps by issuing a grant. Not only does
this gesture make the gift seem more important
Most regents acquire henchmen by promoting (thereby winning the henchman’s loyalty even
valued and talented servants or hirelings. If the further), but it tells all other employees of the
DM feels comfortable running adventures with realm that they can aspire to the same.
regents who bring along a few hirelings, he
should start to develop the skills and personali- When a regent presents a henchman with a spe-
ties of those hirelings who survive. cial gift from the realm’s treasury, this act almost
never causes problems with loyalty among the
If the hirelings accompany the regent on multiple general populace (see the “Magical Items and Ar-
adventures or impress him suitably, he can make tifacts” chapter of this book) because the hench-
them henchmen. This promotion generally means men are employees of the realm. However, when
he charges them with some specific responsibilities a regent presents a henchman with one of his
(perhaps assigning them one of the henchman roles own magical items—even if it is actually “hand-
described above) and gives them some reward. me-down”—that act impresses everyone. The re-
gent actually rewarded the henchman with some-
Quite often, a hireling becomes a henchman thing out of his own pocket—something that
when the regent uses the grant domain action to probably can’t be easily replaced (unlike gold).
give him a royal gift. This present could be a
small tract of land, a special medal, a magical The DM should encourage regents to gather
item, or anything else perceived to be of worth henchmen about them. Not only is it realistic—
within the realm. He elevates the hireling above kings and other regents should have many
hirelings as well as a few trusted henchmen—it
his peers and begins to place trust in him. Not makes good gaming sense.
all new henchmen need as specific a role as
those outlined above, however. A henchmen Adventuring in Cerilia can take many forms.
The henchman can be used to provide the PC re-
might gain only a minor token of apprecia- gent with adventuring motivation he might other-
tion from his regent—but be known as a wise not have. If a trusted henchman—for exam-
“companion” of the realm. ple, the bounder—comes to the regent, tells him
of a wondrous creature that has wandered into
As always, the payment the realm, and begs him to investigate personally,
of henchmen should the regent probably will go. This gets the regent
be left up to involved in an adventure quickly and easily.
the regent
Similarly, some DMs might want to run their
78 Cerilian campaigns on a number of levels. For
example, if everyone in the campaign wants to
play a regent PC, not every adventure the DM

wants to run might be appropriate. The DM can If the PC henchman works for an NPC regent,
ask certain players to develop one or two of their this situation proves even more interesting. The
henchmen as part-time PCs. That way, when a PC henchman has responsibilities and a superior
particular adventure comes up that wouldn’t log - to answer to—he can’t simply hare off after every
ically involve the rulers of four or five different quest that comes along. He must find a way to
domains—but could involve one or two and a few reconcile his thirst for adventure with the obliga-
allied henchmen—the DM doesn’t have to work tions of his job.
so hard getting the game together. Players can
even play each others’henchmen from time to
time, allowing them to have diverse interests
within the game world.

Player character henchmen fit into a Cerilian Henchmen, advisers, and lieutenants serve to
campaign like they do in no other game world. If flesh out the world of Cerilia and the world of the
someone wants to play a henchman PC in the PC regent. Friendly words and advice keep
employ of another PC or an NPC regent, that player characters on track, reminding them of
situation should work very well. It ties the PC to their positions and responsibilities. Assistants
the campaign world, allowing him to engage in also take up some of the slack, administering
adventures and quests in which he might other- their employer’s kingdoms, providing needed
wise have little interest. Playing a henchman PC knowledge, or just being there to help fight that
provides role-playing challenges as well—most big, ugly monster. Finally, a regent’s assistant can
players like to run things or assume command, also be considered the DM’s assistant as well:
but the PC henchman has to take orders. His voice, his skills, and his sword-arm speak for
the DM, providing guidance and help for the PC
and player alike.

79

the foundation of a dynasty, to which he con-

tributes, and then passes it on to his heirs when

their times come. A new regent might begin a dy-

nasty, but it will be recognized as such only long

after he has departed this world.

x A dynasty does, however, begin with one re-

“I build this realm selfishly, though not for myself. gent. The regent must have the ability to look to-
For neither I nor my people will reap the benefits of ward the future and to analyze the past if he
the realm that I sow today. I fertilize the land with wants to create something lasting and important
my sweat and my blood, giving all my life to make it that can shape Cerilia long after he is gone. The
prosper. I do this without regret, hoping that som- e Anuirean Empire once dominated the world,
thing of my realm shall remain, fit for a son to in - with the Roele Dynasty standing atop it as the
herit.” greatest dynasty in Cerilian history.

—From the diaries of Boragor, Other, lesser dynasties have existed and still
Duke of Wierech exist today. The Avanils of Anuire have ruled
their realm for centuries. In Brechtür, both

x Müden and Danigau’s dynasties survived the

Anuirean Occupation and the wars with the Gor-

gon and the Vos to thrive as examples of success-

ful dynasties. In Rjurik lands, dynasties of fami-

egents do not live forever. Even if a regent lies and clans have survived in Hogunmark, Hal-
comes from the immortal elven race or has spe- skapa, and Stjordvik for centuries. Some of the
cial, magical abilities that keep him from aging, ancient dynasties of the Basarji in Khinasi can
no adventuring regent truly expects to survive trace their lineage back to the time of el-Arrasi.
eternally. The life of the Cerilian regent can be
measured more by its accomplishments than by These examples may seem incomparable to
its length. the types of dynasties a PC regent can expect to
create over the course of a campaign, but that
This fact makes the regent’s realm important doesn’t have to be true. When combining role-
to him. Not only does his domain proclaim his playing and adventure with domain actions and
power and influence while he lives, but it be- war rules, players and DMs might find the years
comes a form of immortality when he dies. Most pass quickly—sometimes too quickly, aging char-
true regents desire immortality of this kind: To acters past the point of adventuring.
create a realm that lasts beyond the lifetime of its
ruler is the ultimate goal of many kings and This problem can actually enhance the realism
queens across Cerilia. of a BIRTHRIGHT campaign. Rather than playing
the same PC for years of real time without keep-
Most true regents hope to create or pass along ing track of his age in game years, players of Cer-
dynasties to their heirs. Regents who cannot look ilian PCs have domain turns by which to easily
beyond their own lives and rules seldom leave mark the years of their characters’ lives. They
stable domains behind them. Their heirs and the know that eventually the PCs will be too old to
adventure—and the aging characters know that
nobles of the realm squabble over the regency, they must pass the torch to someone else, or die
destroying much of what the regent built over heirless.
his lifetime. Only a strong, secure dynasty can

handle the passing of its head and the ascen-

sion of a new leader.

No individual regent The most important thing a PC regent can do to
builds a dynasty. A begin a dynasty is to designate an heir. Usually,
lucky regent once a regent has established himself, he starts
inherits looking toward siring or selecting an heir to en-
sure the continuance of his line of rulership.

In most regions of Cerilia, the heir does not
have to be the regent’s son or daughter. Most re-
gents prefer passing on their power and domains
to their children, but sometimes this tradition
isn’t possible or desirable. In these circum-
stances, the heir can be a trusted henchman, a

80

relative, or even an elected successor. or dies, leaving one or more of the heir candi-
Whatever the case, the wise regent begins tu- dates the rulership of all or part of his realm. But,
the player does not retire from the BIRTHRIGHT
toring his heir in the ways of rulership well before campaign—he assumes the role of the heir, as a
that heir might logically take over the domain. new PC. As a result, the heir may conform re-
Not only does this practice assure the regent that markably to the desires of the old regent (proba-
he won’t pass on his domain to an heir who does- bly in a much smoother manner than any heir
n’t know how to run it, but it provides the regent ever conformed to the desires of his predecessor
with a living ally and lieutenant who can assume in the history of any real or fictional world).
increasing duties and responsibilities as the re-
gent grows older. But this deviation from realism in the transfer
of power can be forgiven because it promotes a
Players and DMs should begin talking about greater realism. The lifespan of most role-playing
heirs early on in a PC regent’s career. In the characters in other settings can become astound-
DM’s case, the regent’s advisers should start pes- ing when finally tallied at the end of a long-term
tering the PC about the issue within a few campaign. In a BIRTHRIGHT campaign, however,
months of the new regent assuming his throne. the passing of years is regularly measured by do-
Advisers worry about that sort of thing almost main turns and carefully-marked adventures.
obsessively—they want to know who they’ll have After a while, even the players least concerned
to impress after the PC regent has passed on his with realism might begin to ask questions about
leadership. lifespans and retirement.

This concern can, and should, lead to interest- Once the heir (or candidates) reaches adventur-
ing role-playing, adventuring, and domain action ing age, the DM should encourage the player to
situations. The PC regent can be prompted (and take him (them) on adventures—either as a
goaded) into attending festivals and celebrations henchman or lieutenant for the PC regent, or as
he might otherwise find dull or distracting on the a PC himself. This allows the player to get a feel
pretense that he must find a suitable mate to pro- for the new character (or characters) and develop
duce an heir. Or, if the regent doesn’t desire a fa- an interest in playing what could be a drastically
milial heir, he can attend these events to meet different character.
and analyze the nobility of the surrounding do-
mains—in the hopes of recruiting a trustworthy During this transition period, the DM might
and loyal heir. find himself indulging in a little more realism.
Heirs and PC regents become a little more ex-
Both the player and the DM should have a hand pendable when the players get used to develop-
in establishing the heir, or a few potential heirs, ing them. As a result, the adventures can become
for a PC regent. Whether the heir is biologically more critical and the escapes a little more nar-
related to the PC regent (a son, daughter, row. This doesn’t mean the DM has a license to
nephew, etc.), is someone the regent selects from kill off heirs and PC regents frivolously—but he
a pool of likely candidates (an adventuring com- can explore more dangerous territory, knowing
panion, henchman, lieutenant or the like), or the player has a back-up PC he can use in a
both, the PC regent should select the heir he pinch.
wants. In doing so, he gets to set up the yardstick
by which the potential heir will be measured. If The player should endeavor to make the
the heir apparent does not have certain skills or heir, or heirs, unique in their personalities
abilities valued by the regent, he might lose his and goals. When the player assumes the
chance to inherit. role of an heir, he should realize that
the heir’s interests and goals might
The DM may want to generate “heir candi- diverge from those of the regent
dates” as NPCs and introduce them to the PC character he also plays, and
regent over the course of a campaign. If the can- those of any other heirs the
didates are the PC’s own offspring, they don’t ac- DM may be allowing him
tually become much of a factor until they near to role-play (in most
adventuring age—then, the regent gets to evalu- cases, however,
ate their existing abilities, skills, and personali- the player
ties for himself. should

The most unrealistic thing about this selection 81
process has to do with future role-playing of the
heir. Ideally, the PC regent eventually steps down

focus on one heir at a time, until the heir suc- The DM may have to offer the heir a few perks
ceeds to the throne, gives up, or dies trying). This that make him seem more attractive as a candi-
opportunity can provide very interesting role- date for full-time adventuring.
playing and storyline situations for mature role- • Bonus experience: Depending on how long
players. Playing two characters with overlapping,
but not necessarily identical, interests stretches the transition period between old regent/new
the player’s abilities to the limit. heir was, the new PC might not have much ex-
perience, and the player might not want to
As mentioned above, an heir becomes something give up the power he’s already attained. The
of a tool for the DM. He can experiment with DM can award the new PC some experience
new types of adventures, keyed to the new PC’s points gained from studying at his predeces-
interests and abilities, while still preserving the sor’s knee—though these points shouldn’t
integrity of the campaign. He can, if the story boost the heir more than one complete level of
calls for it, kill off an heir without worrying about experience.
the overall campaign coming to a screeching halt. • Trusted henchmen: While most regents begin
Best of all, he can help the player establish a real- the game with hirelings or followers, they sel-
istic line of succession that keeps the campaign dom start with henchmen they can really trust.
focused in the same areas—even when the player The heir might gain one or two fairly powerful
wants to assume the role of a different character. henchmen from his predecessor as guides and
watchdogs “to keep him out of trouble” while
The DM should reward good role-playing of he learns the ropes of adventuring and/or re-
the heir by the player. Heirs of popular or power- gency.
ful regents gain benefits that other starting PCs • Better magic: All regents have the option of
never obtain. They may have access to magical beginning the game with a magical item. How-
items or NPCs their successors found for them, ever, since the heir has a predecessor holding a
and they probably have higher bloodline scores lifetime’s achievement in magical items, he
and perhaps even more experience than the char- might actually begin the game with a few
acters that came before. If the heir isn’t the off- more, or one more powerful item. This advan -
spring of an existing regent, he might even have tage might make him a match for some of his
abilities and a background foreign to the existing more powerful adventuring companions—and
campaign. inheritied foes.
• Adventuring companions: In some cam-
Eventually, the DM and/or the player will want paigns, the DM might wish to have every re-
the heir to become the full-time PC of the cam- gent begin fostering heir candidates at the
paign. This doesn’t mean the old regent dies or same time. However, this isn’t always the case.
If a low-level heir goes adventuring with a few
even passes on his regency—he could become mid- to high-level PCs, he’ll learn a lot while
an NPC ruler and the heir could take over gaining their protection—and he might get a
some of the regent’s responsibilities (allow- considerable amount of experience quickly.
ing the DM to experiment with a whole • Bonus loyalty/r egency: When the heir as-
new type of campaign). cends to the throne (which might not happen
Of course, the DM may have to right away), the transition and its attendant
encourage this transition. If a pomp and circumstance usually boost the
player has a particularly success- morale of the realm or domain he rules. Oft-
ful and interesting regent he times, royal successions are cause for celebra-
l i kes t o pl ay, he wo n’ t tion. As a result, loyalty in most provinces
want to give him up should be boosted beyond normal levels, and
for a new PC at the new regent could receive a bonus in re-
the drop of gency for his first domain turn.
a hat. • A staunch ally: If the old PC regent doesn’t
die or disappear, the new regent or heir appar-
ent has a powerful and devoted ally sitting on
or behind the throne. The old PC could step in
at certain times (meaning the player doesn’t
have to retire his old character permanently),
or might become a valuable NPC adviser in
his own right. Either way, the new PC has ad -
vantageous resources.

82

The creation of a dynasty does not end with the every month. Other realms have been destroyed by
appointment of an heir. True dynasties expand this method: Granting a would-be regent only a
outward, influencing and perhaps controlling little power makes him hunger for more, and gives
more than is apparent at first glance. A true dy- him a seed with which to sow rebellion. The true
nasty starts with a family and a succession—but heir never knows peace until he makes it himself.
ends only when the branches of the family tree
cannot stretch outward any further. The wisest regents tend to be very selective
when picking their heirs—even among their own
For centuries, Cerilian lords often found the children. They make certain, right from the start,
most destructive forces to a dynasty not in enemy that their heirs want what’s best for the realm first,
armies or even friendly meddlers, but in the de- the family second, and themselves third. This isn’t
sires of their own ambitious family members. A an easy task, but true regency shouldn’t be.
regent should cultivate or produce several poten-
tial heirs to ensure one survives to succeed him. If the regent can train his potential heirs in the
But when the regent finally designates one heir arts of rulership without ever discussing ascen-
and steps down, what does he do with the other sion to the throne itself with any of them, he can
candidates? Trained and even primed for ruler- keep their minds focused on the tasks at hand. If
ship, are they left out in the cold—or possibly an heir thinks he will be awarded with the ruler-
worse, to their own devices? ship of a particular province, or a lieutenancy, or
an advisership, then he won’t be disappointed
Short-sighted and evil rulers take the “easy” when that is all he gets. However, if the regent
approach. They eliminate the competition for dangles rulership of an entire realm in front of a
their heirs. Killing family and friends for the sake cabaret of possible heirs, eventually, one will
of the dynasty is not a completely strange concept seize it—and the others won’t support him be-
on Cerilia. The grandfather of Emperor Alándalae cause they will want it for themselves. The sur-
of Anuire is said to have done it—certainly his prise of ascension should surprise only the one
third daughter met no resistance from anyone who ascends, not the entire realm.
upon assuming the Iron Throne. For over a cen-
tury, the el-Arrasi dynasty in Ariya engaged in the The development of a dynasty should be a cam-
public execution of each new heir’s siblings, and paign goal for most regent PCs. While the regent
to this day confines them to house arrest for their may wish to conquer the world (or his part of it) in
entire lives. Many Vos tribes hold the practice to his lifetime, he should aspire to build something
be the final test of a regent’s right to rule—the lasting—something that might affect the entire
elimination of his own family proves he puts the history of the world. Kingmakers come and go, but
realm first and above all else. Poisoners, profes- empire builders are few and far between.
sional duelists, and assassins all have practiced
their trade on royal blood—and still do. All in the The DM should promote this sort of goal. He
name of peaceful ascension to the throne. ought to encourage the PCs, if they have an in-
terest, in working together to build a dynasty or
But this method never truly works, not for multiple dynasties. Using the “High King”
long. Sooner or later, an heir candidate, fearing campaign strategy discussed in the
for his life, eliminates his predecessor, or his BIRTHRIGHT Rulebook, one PC could even-
competition, or both, before he can be properly tually become the head of a dynasty, and
trained in the arts of rulership. Other nobles get the others could become his heirs, vas-
into the act, and soon anarchy reigns. Realms sals, and allies.
and domains divide and—in the case of
Rohrmarch and other such lands—waste their Of course, the road to dynasty
energies on civil war while their enemies wait for won’t be a smooth one. The
an opportunity to spring. other rulers on Cerilia
know the benefits of dy-
Less wise but well-meaning regents leave disap- nasties, and may
pointed candidates alive with token rulerships or choose to form
pensions when they declare an heir. Some domains their own.
become burdened with whole cadres of Baronets of No re-
the Realm, all dedicated to holding the same office,
all drawing the same huge sums out of the treasury 83

gency should remain static for long—if the PCs since Prince Raesene became the Gorgon, but
don’t move to build their own strongholds of fa- those famous betrayals are the exception, not the
milial power, the NPCs might beat them to it. rule. Seldom do stories of quiet ascension and
faithful service to family find their way into the
If an ambitious regent plans well and achieves legends surrounding the greatest dynasties. Only
success during his lifetime, he may be able to re- the exceptions cause bards to compose their tales
ward his heirs better than they expect. The head of tragedy and woe.
of a dynasty might rule only one type of holding
or one realm, but he might have enough power to Ever since the dissolution of the Anuirean
influence succession within other domains in the Empire, each region has had its own problems
same region. As a result, he could, conceivably, with centralized governance. The nomadic
nurture heir candidates for several different Rjurik, a significant portion of that region’s pop-
types of realms. ulation, seldom inhabit the same territory for
more than a few months at a time. Though they
Consider the Count of Müden and his chief don’t change overlords as often, they do not trust
adviser, Theofold, as an example (detailed in the a permanent power structure.
Able Assistance chapter). The count inherited
rulership of the provinces of Müden. He did not The Anuireans, who once ruled half the conti-
have any guild holdings, but he became the most nent from a central, imperial base, look back with
powerful man in the realm. As a result, he could pride and fondness on their heritage—but cannot
help Theofold, his main henchman and lieu- go back to it. Too many candidates for emperor
tenant, become regent of several successful guild exist, and the nobles have too much pride to bow
holdings, thereby increasing his influence and re- to an overlord not of unanimous choosing.
warding a loyal retainer.
A loss of face would result if the Khinasi emirs
Player character regents should do the same and sultans gave up control of their realms to one
sort of thing. When they get ready to pass on regent. They rebelled against the Anuirean Occu-
their regency to an heir, they might choose to pation of their territory and hold el-Arrasi, the
split up their realm into parts, awarding the chief organizer of the Basarji Federation, among their
rulership to one heir and minor parts to other greatest heroes. He did not espouse one govern-
heirs who become his va ssals . Or, if he has ment for all Khinasi states.
enough influence, the regent might decide to cre-
ate new holdings for the other heirs with the pro- The independent Brechts would see central-
viso that they serve the new heir loyally. This ized government as a hinderance and restriction
way, all the heirs who proved themselves true to their trade. They respect powerful, indepen-
through their service gain reward, and the dy- dent states, but grow wary of counts and princes
nasty expands outward, encompassing more who look too far across the waters. And the Vos
have established such a long tradition of battling
than it once did. In Müden, the count actually each other that the idea of uniting would occur to
gave up a small part of his realm (to the Cap- them only if they faced an outside threat.
tain of Müden), but gained more through his
As for the nonhumans of Cerilia, the elves de-
vassal the guildmaster. sire no rulership over all—though many would
like to see the humans gone from a continent
Throughout history, wise regents that has grown too small. The dwarves concern
have found the ties of blood themselves only a little with outside govern-
more binding than oaths of ments, and prefer to keep their own governance
vassalage. True, familial to themselves. Halflings have little interest in
betrayals have been a rulership at all—they have only one known realm
part of Cerilian on Cerilia. The orogs, gnolls, and goblin realms
history can hardly govern themselves, let alone an em-
ever pire.

So, how can a king become an emperor on Cer-
ilia? Dynasty is the only answer. While one individ-
ual cannot hope to rally all of his or her own people
to the banner of empire, a talented regent can as-
pire to create an empirical dynasty. Many rulers, all
sprung from the same dynasty, might forge a strong
enough alliance to unite enough realms to take
over a region—or perhaps, the entire continent.

84

or selfish pursuits. Yet even peaceful regents
must periodically turn their thoughts to military
matters. Though nonaggressive themselves, they
must remain ever vigilant against the sleeping
lions who surround them—lest one awaken and
pounce.

x

“They say that in Vosgaard, the barbarians hunger

for combat and thirst for blood. Get in the way of a Some rulers have just a couple units of troops to
Vos warrior, and you won’t live to take another step. defend their realms, while others command huge
“There are these cutthroat fighters called the offensive miltary machines. Most, however, fall
Rovarsski who ride monstrous beasts that can rip somewhere in between. Even regents who would
your arm off with one bite. And if their mounts dton’ like larger armies often are limited by the cost of
get you first, the warriors will slice your head off maintaining one.
with a single blow, then eat your innards.
A number of rulers, however, have stretched
“Dekker told me the Rovarsski have been around their military budgets by recruiting basic units
since the Battle of Lake Laden. And I don’t mean and later improving them into unique forces
the unit—I mean the warriors themselves. ‘Cdoinrg through specialized training. These distinctive
to his Uncle Eldred, the Rovarsski don’t get old and units generally are named to reflect their status:
they don’t get sick and they never get injured in b-at the H ogu nma rk D rag ons , t he Q uint a in
tle. They’re so strong that nothin’ can kill ‘em. And Guardians of the Burrows, Binsada’s Lions of
they’re so tough they can slay you with a look.”
—Kurt Alheim, 12, whispering to his younger Dusk, and so on.
brother, Willy, one night when both were Table 8: Military Statistics, in this chapter, indi-

cates mustering costs and other information for
supposed to be long asleep basic Cerilian units. A regent may recruit any

x unit listed in the table, assuming the ruler meets
all the requirements (law holdings, access to the

right regions/races of Cerilia, etc.) for obtaining

that unit. He may then attempt to improve the

unit to make his troops better than those of his

rom sibling rivalry in the sandbox to armed rivals.

struggles on the battlefield, the Cerilian spirit

seeks to resolve conflicts through physical fight-

ing. Each day, the cry of “War!” rings out some-

where on the continent. And each night, in coun-

cil chambers and war rooms across the land, re-

gents plot their military strategies.

Some rulers feel the fire of combat boiling their Improving a military unit is not an easy or

blood, urging them to achieve glory through con- inexpensive task. It cannot be done auto-

quest. These leaders take an active approach to matically, and does involve some risk. A

war, waging it on others before it comes to them. regent could end up spending several

They consider death on a battlefield the greatest months or even years training and re-

honor to which a soldier can aspire, and give training a unit, only to lose it in a

their troops ample opportunity to achieve it. minor skirmish.

Other rulers avoid war, believing that there are To attempt to imp ro ve a

better ways (such as diplomacy or intrigue) to re- unit, the regent expends

solve differences and effect change. Such a re- on e doma in ac ti on.

gent sees his troops as more than mere fighting More than one unit

machines. Each soldier represents a life—a per- can be improved

son with a family and a future and a contribution at once

to make to the realm. Such an asset, they believe,

should not be squandered on foolish campaigns

85

regent failed the success check, the unit did not second may yet become proficient (acquire a new
improve itself. The regent may continue to garri- skill).
son the unit (spending an additional 1 RP and 1
GB every month) for another month if he wishes, The duchess agrees to maintain the training (at
or he can return the troop to active duty. a base cost of 2 GB and 2 RP to cover both units,
and one domain action—improving an existing skill
If the unit remains in garrison for consecutive is a separate action from acquiring a new skill. The
months, the regent may add a +1 modifier to his first unit continues on as a free action.S)he also
die roll for every month (after the first) the unit contributes an additional 2 GB per unit to the
trains. As in the rules for training in new skills cause. (This brings the success number down to 8 for
(see above), additional success rolls count as free the first unit and 17 for the second.)
actions until the unit improves.
After another month, the duchess receives a
As in all military training, however, there is risk. progress report (rolls for success)U. nfortunately,
If the regent rolls a modified 1 (or less) during neither unit has improved (rolled a 4 and 7). The
the success check, a training accident occurs and duchess instructs Commander Tuare to return
the unit disbands. the second unit to regular duty (take the unit out
o f garrison). Th e fir st unit, however, shows
x enough promise that she decides to continue its
training for another month. (She pays the base
The following example has been written in a role- cost of 1 GB and 1 RP. Because the unit is attemp- t
playing context, with information about game ing the same action as last month, this is now a free
mechanics given in italics. action.) She does not, however, contribute any
more financing (or RP) to the effort (making the
Laela Flaertes, Duchess of Tuornen, is ap- success number a 9).
proached by her military commander, Brae-
d onn al Tuar e. He r eport s t hat Rhu ob he At the end of the month, Commander Tuare re-
Manslayer has been quiet lately; he would like to ports that the unit improved its archery skills
use the lull as an opportunity to improve his sol- (rolled a 14, bringing its missile rating to “2”).
diers’ training. Tuare recommends that two units Pleased with the troops’ success, the duchess
of pikemen receive instruction in archery (ac - names the unit Tuornen’s Terrors.
quire a new skill)to allow greater flexibility in tac-
tical planning. x

The duchess consents. The two pikemen units As a general guideline, no unit may increase any
are garrisoned in Haesrien (at a cost of 2 GB, 2 single skill by more than threeranks. So, no mat-
RP, and one realm action.) To further show her ter how much that Khinasi archer unit trains, it
support, the duchess allots 2 GB toward the will never have a melee rating of more than 4.
The Dungeon Master may choose to waive this
training of each unit (bringing the success number restriction under exceptional circumstances.
down to 18 each.) (For example, an extremely renowned unit with a
long fighting history might be allowed to reenter
After one month, Laela summons Tuare to training after a long period of active service
report on the units’ progress (rolls for success.) again.)

He informs her that one of the units has be- Units that already have excellent (4+) ratings
come proficient in archery (rolled a 19, giv - may not be able to improve using these rules, or
ing it a missile rating of “1”,) while the the DM may choose to make such improvement
other hasn’t mastered it yet (rolled a more time-consuming and more costly than for
12). As all remains quiet on the west- lesser units. Those Khinasi archers, for example,
ern front, Tuare recommends that have a missile rating of 5: one of the best missile
each unit continue the archery ratings of any human unit on Cerilia. The DM
training for another month. may decide that they just can’t get any better
The first unit can become without some drastic change occuring some-
still better archers (im - where else in the game. He could force the re-
prove an existing gent who wishes to improve the Khinasi archers
skill), and to perform other domain actions (research,
the progress, etc.) that might allow them to train be-
yond their current capabilities. Or the DM might

86

through a realm action. For information about tivity (unless attacked). The regent must con-
this option, see “Improving Units as a Realm Ac- tinue to pay 1 GB and 1 RP per month to main-
tion,” below. tain the garrison and the training (in addition to
whatever he pays the troops themselves).
The regent must designate which unit(s) will
undergo special training. Note that neither levies For each additional month the unit remains
nor irregulars may be improved (they are not garrisoned, the success number drops by one.
“standard” units and do not normally benefit So, after two months in garrison, a unit’s success
from training). The unit is garrisoned (set aside) number would be 19; while after 10 months in
and is not available for normal army activity dur- garrison, it would be 11. The regent must make a
ing its training period. It must stay within a par- die roll every month to see if the unit improves or
ticular province and may engage in battle only if disbands (and he may spend more Regency
another army attacks the province. Points or Gold Bars to increase his chances); if
he fails, he can continue to support the garrison.
The regent must decide how he will improve the
unit. He may attempt to improve oneof the unit’s Note that once the regent expends the initial
battle characteristics: move, melee, defend, mis- domain action to garrison and train the unit for
sile, or charge. (Morale may increase as a conse- the first month, additional attempts count as free
quence of other improvements; see “Named and actions. If the regent succeeds the improvement
Legendary Units,” below.) The difficulty and cost attempt and wants to furtherimprove the same
of the improvement depends on the unit’s exist- unit, or if he wants to improve an additional unit,
ing rating. he must expend another domain action to initiate
a new series of attempts.

A regent may choose to teach and supply a unit A regent can improve a unit’s existing abilities
in methods that members of the unit would not more easily than training a unit in a brand-new
normally learn. For example, Anuirean infantry skill. Khinasi archers, for example, already know
units normally have no missile rating. A regent how to fight in melee combat; they just can’t do it
may decide to instruct one of his units in archery, very well.
hoping that the troops can combine their infantry
tactics with a surprise missile attack. To train a unit in an existing battle skill, the re-
gent must garrison that unit (as described above)
The base cost to instruct a unit in a brand new and set it aside for training. The regent then pays
ability is 1 Gold Bar and 1 Regency Point. The 1 GB and 1 RP (to set up the garrison and pay
success number, however, is 20+. Trying to teach for training), in addition to whatever mainte-
an entire military unit a completely new method nance costs he normally pays for the unit.
of fighting (without losing any of their previous
training) can be extremely difficult. The regent The base success number the regent needs to
may spend either Regency Points or Gold Bars to roll at the end of the month of training is 10+ on
increase the die roll (1 point per RP or GB 1d20. For every point the unit already has in the
spent). At the end of the month of training, the battle skill, the success number increases by 2
regent rolls 1d20 to see whether the training has points. So, when improving a unit of Khinasi
succeeded in improving the unit. archers from a melee rating of 1 to 2, the re-
gent must roll a 12 or higher. The regent may
If he rolls a modified 20 or higher, the unit spend additional Regency Points and Gold
gains the new ability (the player can create a new Bars to increase his chances (each RP or
War Card using the blank ones in this chapter, or GB gives the regent a +1 bonus to the
simply write on an existing card). If, however, the die roll).
modified die roll was a 1 (after adding in any
extra Regency Points or Gold Bars spent to in- If the regent’s die roll meets or ex-
crease the unit’s chances of improving), some ter- ceeds the success number, th e
rible mishap occured during training and the unit unit’s score improves. He can
must be disbanded. This event can occur only if then record the new score on
the regent spends no additional gold or regency the War Card (or create a
to improve the die roll. new War Card) and re-
turn the unit to ac-
Should the regent’s success check fail (but tive d ut y. If,
without disbanding the unit), the regent can de- however,
cide to continue garrisoning the unit for further the
training. The unit must remain in the current
province and may not engage in any military ac- 87

require the regent to enhance the unit’s already When a military unit gains notoriety through per-
exceptional abilities with permanent magic or ex- formance on the battlefield or because of the spe-
pensive gear. While arming an entire unit of Khi- cial training it receives, it may earn a distinctive
nasi archers with bows +1 would certainly im- name. The “Blackgate Stormlords” of Danigau
prove its missile rating, actually producing or ac- and the “Imperial Legion” of Anuire are two such
quiring that many magical weapons should be renowned units.
prohibitively expensive, if not impossible.
A regent may name his units anything he wants,
Improving a unit’s move rating by more than but once he starts spending time and money im-
one step should be almost impossible–improving proving them—and sees that investment pay off
an unmounted unit’s move beyond two ratings in stunning defeats of opposing forces—the
should require supplying the unit with mounts names begin to circulate across the land. This in-
and training in their use. This can often (DM’s creased reputation has several effects, most of
option) reduceone of its other skills temporarily, them positive. A Dungeon Master might rule
until the troop actually survives battle conditions that a band of raiders, upon hearing that the
with their new mounts. Count of Danigau’s “Daniguards” have been dis-
patched to deal with them, retreats—even though
A related issue involves the charge rating. Cur- a unit of Daniguards isn’t realy that much more
rently, only one “normal” unmounted, humanoid effective (on paper) than a standard unit of
unit on Cerilia has a charge rating–the Vos Brecht elite infantry.
bersrk. Because of their inhuman ferocity and
terrifying combat abilities, they can actually This respect must be earned on the battlefield,
charge on foot. It should be nearly impossible for however. When a named unit survives a battle,
another unmounted unit to attain the ability to the regent controlling the unit should roll a
charge effectively in War Card combat. twenty-sided die. On a roll of 20, the unit gains
an additional morale symbol if it can (a unit may
A regent can choose to improve multiple units at have up to three morale symbols—one of each)
once through performing “improve unit” as a and the DM should consider this a “renowned”
realm action. He may establish one garrison for unit. The presence of the unit on the battlefield
every three levels of a province, and train one or even in a province may affect the outcome of
unit per garrison. Thus, a regent who wanted to certain random events that occur during domain
improve two units could garrison them both in a turns, or perhaps even the outcome of a battle.
province (5) or garrison one unit apiece in two These options, however, are left completely up to
lower-level provinces. Each garrisoned unit re- the Dungeon Master.
quires its own base cost of 1 RP and 1 GB. The
only limitations on how many units can be gar- If a named unit does not achieve notoriety after
risoned at any one time are the regent’s own re- surviving its first battle, the difficulty of obtain-
ing “renowned” status decreases by one after
sources. every subsequent battle. (The more fighting the
For each unit, the regent must attempt sepa- unit does, the more people hear about it, and the
more stories circulate.) So, if the new “Roesone
rate success rolls and make separate expendi- Legion” survives three battles, the regent needs
tures of Regency Points and/or Gold Bars to to roll an 18+ for it to gain renowned status.

modify the success number. If some units Note that the DM can choose to award or take
improve while others don’t, he may con- away renowned status at will. If a unit–even an
tinue to garrison the unsuccessful units to unnamed one–manages some sort of heroic de-
make further success attempts. As with fense or attack (say, a single unit of infantry dri-
the domain action, any unit that rolls ves off three units of attacking knights and sur-
a modified 1 during a success vives), the DM may promote it to renowned sta-
check is disbanded. tus immediately, without a die roll. On the other
hand, if a named unit attempts to achieve
88 renowned status by accompanying many other
units into completely one-sided battles that they
can’t possibly lose, the unit may achieve the op-
posite of notoriety—scorn and derision. This may

affect the unit’s morale in a negative fashion, or walking unit into a riding one will automatically
may even reduce one or more of its battlefield increase the maintanance cost of that troop by at
statistics. Again, this option is left completely up least one (probably two) Gold Bars.
to the DM.
The DM, however, may wish to defer some of
Once a unit has been improved or named, play- these costs. Units with three morale icons, for
ers will need a new War Card to represent it dur- example, take great pride in serving their leaders
ing battles. They may, if they choose, write any and fighting for their realms. When a renowned
changes on existing War Cards. Or they can unit gains its third morale icon, the DM may
make use of the blank War Cards provided in this wish to decreasethe cost of its maintanance.
chapter. The page can be photocopied onto paper However, this decrease should never push the
or cardstock. renowned unit’s seasonal pay down below that of
a similar, unrenowned unit. As a general guide-
After copying the page, the player should select line, renowned units should be the highest-paid
a blank War Card with the appropriate number units in the land, according to type (the Dani-
of hits (using a similar existing unit as a model) guard of Danigau, for example, is probably the
and write in the unit’s name and statistics. Any highest-paid infantry unit in the realm, but it
special advantages, weaknesses, etc. should also does not expect to be paid as much as a cavalry
be noted on the card. In the space provided, the unit, since the latter unit has to maintain its
player should draw in one (or more, where appro- mounts).
priate) of the three morale symbols for use dur-
ing battles. Good role-playing may offset costs as well. If,
for example, a paladin regent of Haelyn decrees
Naturally, better units deserve better equipment (using a free action) that all the soldiers in his
and more pay. However, some elite troops see well-trained, battle-tested unit of knights–the
their fame and service as sufficient reward. The Thundering Hooves of Haelyn–should be consid-
DM has to balance these factors when deciding ered Knights of the Realm and will be the only
whether or not to increase the maintainance cost military unit in the army to wear the paladin’s
of trained, exceptional units. own coat of arms, then that unit may choose to
perform for him at a reduced cost, regardless of
One should consider a few key elements when what the regent is paying his other knights. If the
deciding the maintenance costs of a unit. If a unit paladin maintains high loyalty in his realm and
learned a new ability (supplying normal infantry continues to pay special attention to the Thun-
units with missile capability, for example), it will dering Hooves unit, then the DM may continue
probably have to be maintained at a higher cost. defering the higher costs of trained and
Not only does the infantry unit have to take care renowned units.
of its armor and melee weapons, but now its new
missile weapons have to be considered. Many of the named units included in the
BIRTHRIGHT campaign setting and the campaign
In general, increasing a unit’s existing capabili- expansions have been dealt with this way. The
ties should signify a raise in maintanance Blackgate Stormlords of Danigau have all been
costs–but not an unreasonable one. If a unit granted orders of minor nobility by the Count
gains a brand new ability, the DM should raise of Danigau, while the Serpent Guard (special
the cost of its maintanance by 1 GB every do-
main turn. If a unit increases any combination of infantry units recruited and trained by the
existing abilities by three points, the main- Serpent’s hand-picked captains) gains a larger
tanance cost of that unit should be increased by
another Gold Bar every domain turn. Turning a share of all booty wrested from enemies.

89

Unit Type Move Melee Defense Morale* Charge Missile Muster (Law) Maint.

ANUIREANS

Archers 222 2 — 4 2 (2) 1
2
Artillerists 1 1 1 2 — 5 4 (5) 2
1
Cavalry 333 2 5 1 4 (3) 2
1
Infantry 133 2 — — 2 (1) 2
1
Infantry, Elite 1 4 4 3 — — 4 (3) 1
1
Irregulars 2 3 2 2 — 2 1 (1)

Knights 244 36 — 6 (4)

Levies 121 1 — — 0 (1)

Pikemen 1 3 3 2 — — 2 (2)

Scouts 322 2 — 3 2 (0)

BRECHTS

Archers 221 2 — 4 2 (2) 1
2
Artillerists 1 1 2 2 —5 4 (5) 2
1
Cavalry 232 2 4 1 4 (3) 2
1
Infantry 133 2 — — 2 (1) 2
1
Infantry, Elite 2 4 3 3 — — 4 (1) 2
1
Irregulars 2 2 2 2 — 3 1 (1)

Knights 344 36 — 5 (3)

Levies 221 1 — 1 0 (1)

Marines 255 3 — — 4 (4)

Scouts 322 2 — 3 2 (0)

DWARVES

Guards 135 3 — — 4 (4) 2
2 — 4 4 (4) 2
Crossbows 1 2 4

ELVES 222 3 — 5 4 (3) 1
Archers 433 2
Cavalry 35 4 8 (4)

GNOLLS

Infantry 244 1 — 2 2 (—) 1
1
Marauders 2 3 3 1 —2 3 (—)

GOBLINS

Archers 112 1 — 3 2 (2) 1
1 — 1 1 (2) 1
Infantry 122 2 1 4 4 (3) 2

Cavalry 233

KHINASI

Archers 221 2 — 4 2 (3) 1
2
Artillerists 1 1 1 2 — 5 6 (5) 1
—
Infantry 133 2 — 1 3 (4) 2
2
Levies 121 1 — — 1 (4) 1
1
Lt. Cavalry 4 2 2 2 3 3 3 (3)

Md. Cavalry 3 4 3 35 2 4 (4)

Skirmishers 3 2 1 1 — 2 2 (1)

Spearmen 2 3 3 2 — — 2 (3)

90

Unit Type Move Melee Defense Morale* Charge Missile Muster (Law) Maint.

MERCENARIES

Cavalry 333 1 5 1 6 (—) 2
1 — — 4 (—) 2
Infantry 133 1 — 2 3 (—) 1
1 — — 4 (—) 2
Irregulars 2 3 2

Reavers 133

OROGS

Infantry 133 2 — — 4 (—) 2
2 — — 4 (—) 2
Pikes 133

RJURIK

Archers 222 2 — 4 2 (2) 1
3 — — ? (?) ?
Battle Ragers 1 5 2 2 5 1 4 (3) 2
3 — — ? (?) ?
Cavalry 333 2 — — 2 (1) 1
2 — 2 1 (1) 1
Housecarls 1 4 4 2 — 1 ? (?) ?
2 — 4 2 (0) 1
Infantry 133 3 — — ? (?) ?
2 — 2 ? (?) ?
Irregulars 2 2 2

Mariners 2 3 3

Scouts 312

Shapeshifters 2 5 3

Tribesmen 1 4 3

VOS

Archers 222 2 — 4 2 (1) 1
2
Artillerists 1 2 1 2 — 4 4 (3) 2
2
Berserkers 2 5 2 32 — 2 (2) 1
2
Cavalry 333 2 5 1 4 (2) 1
2
Infantry 133 2 — — 2 (0) 1
1
Infantry, Elite 1 5 4 3 — — 4 (1) 1
2
Irregulars 2 4 2 2 — 1 1 (0)

Knights 244 36 — 6 (3)

Levies 122 2 — — 0 (0)

Pikemen 1 3 3 2 — — 2 (1)

Scouts 322 2 — 3 2 (0)

Varsk Riders 2 5 4 35 — 5 (2)

Morale is represented on the War Cards by 1, 2, or 3 symbols.
This category lists the number of morale symbols each unit has.

Law indicates the required law holding level a regent must control
within the province in order to muster a particular unit.

Muster and Maintenance costs are given in Gold Bars per domain turn.

91

___________________ Melee: ______ ___________________ Melee: ______
Charge: ______ Charge: ______
Move: _________ Missile: ______ Move: _________ Missile: ______
Defense: _________ _______________ Defense: _________ _______________
Morale: _________ Morale: _________

___________________ Melee: ______ ___________________ Melee: ______
Charge: ______ Charge: ______
Move: _________ Missile: ______ Move: _________ Missile: ______
Defense: _________ _______________ Defense: _________ _______________
Morale: _________ Morale: _________

___________________ Melee: ______ ___________________ Melee: ______
Charge: ______ Charge: ______
Move: _________ Missile: ______ Move: _________ Missile: ______
Defense: _________ _______________ Defense: _________ _______________
Morale: _________ Morale: _________

___________________ Melee: ______ ___________________ Melee: ______
Charge: ______ Charge: ______
Move: _________ Missile: ______ Move: _________ Missile: ______
Defense: _________ _______________ Defense: _________ _______________
Morale: _________ Morale: _________

By permission of Wizards of the Coast, this page may be reproduced for personal use only.

noble and just lord, no matter what his back-
ground. But for players interested in creating a
certain type of regent character, the “regent kits”
offered in this chapter can provide good models.

x

Shaene, Prince of Diamond Falls, grew up knowing

he was destined to rule. His parents knew it before

he was born. His younger siblings—princes and

princesses in their own right—realized it. His tutors, This section presents the regent kits in a stan-
his trainers, and his royal playmates all knew it dard format. The name of the kit appears first,
from the moment they were introduced to Shaene. followed by a brief description of the kit. The
role of characters selecting this kit comes next.
Every lesson he learned as a child groomed him for
rule. His parents trained him in the subtlties of Possible secondary skills for these characters
courtliness and kingship so that they became first- adopting each kit follow. While the Dungeon
nature to him. The young prince looked at the world Master determines whether or not the secondary
through a leader’s eyes—ready to choose and act in skills rules are used in his campaign, this listing
accordance with his responsibilities and upbringing. offers an accurate view of what sorts of knowl-
edge characters of that kit should possess.
When it came time for the Prince of Diamond Falls
to make a name for himself in the world, he had to The weapon and nonweapon pr oficiencies
choose his own way. He could adopt the role of a war - also indicate a character’s likely background, ed-
rior-king, a chevalier extraodrinaire, or one of many ucation, and areas of expertise. If the Dungeon
royal “professions.” Each would present him with new Master chooses to use the proficiencies rules in
challenges and new ways of looking atergency. his campaign, characters using these kits must
Whichever he chose, he knew the most importaunlet :r select the required proficiencies at the earliest
possible time opportunity. Characters are not
Do not fail.

x compelled to select recommendedproficiencies at
any time, but they are strongly encouraged.

The Dungeon Master also must decide how

much equipment the player characters begin ad-

ealm regents can be of any character class venturing with, though regents should receive
and of any race. They can learn the way of the quite a bit of leeway (they have the resources of a
sword as warriors, stand with their gods as realm at their disposal, after all). The recommen-
priests, manipulate true magic as wizards, or ma- dations listed here suggest adventuring equipment
nipulate people as rogues. But whether they title and possible magical items characters of each kit
themselves kings or guildmasters, high priests or might possess at the start of the game.
wizard regents, the class they choose indicates
their natures and defines their abilities; their race Each kit has its own special benefits and hin -
in many respects influences their philosophies of drances . Some are oriented to role-playing and
rulership. must be monitored carefully by the Dungeon
Master and players. Others provide rules ad-
There exist, however, certain types of rulers vantages to adventuring situations, domain
common to Cerilia. Perhaps would-be kings ob- actions, or War Moves.
serve their peers and adopt the attitudes and
practices of those rulers they consider successful. Wealth options hardly figure into the
Or perhaps the land itself responds favorably to building of most regent characters, but
particular kinds of regents. Regardless, many of the kits offer some basic guidelines.
the continent’s realm regents learn certain skills No regent begins the game as a
and effect certain attitudes. After several cen- pauper (unless the Dungeon
turies of refinement and tempering by the vol- Master and the player decide
cano of political, military, and social upheaval on special circumstances),
that is Cerilia, these methods and traditions can but not everything a
be categorized. player character may
want is available
This is not to say that regents who fall outside to him—at
these categories cannot rule successfully—quite first.

the opposite. Most subjects will respond well to a

93

In some cases, regent kits may be adopted only help him on the adventuring trail. He might be a
by characters of particular races or character Hunter, or he could learn the skills of an Armorer,
classes . The Dungeon Master must approve any Bowyer/Fletcher, or Forester. Other secondary
kit for use by any race or class, but some pairings skills might be appropriate as well, depending upon
just fit better than others. his class or other background details.

Finally, notable members of each kit serve as Weapon pr oficiencies: Any melee or missile
sample existing regents who fit the profile de- weapons suitable for the PC’s character class are
scribed. While possessing a kit seldom affects game acceptable for a king errant. Because he has ac-
play for NPC regents, the examples can give play- cess to information and training not available to
ers some idea of what their characters might turn commoners, the king errant might even know how
out like should they choose particular regent kits. to use weapons not native to his home region.

Because the regents of Cerilia strive for personal Nonweapon proficiencies: Required—Leader-
greatness as well as greatness for their realms, ad- ship, Survival. Recommended—Diplomacy, En-
venturing realm regents flourish within the conti- durance, History (local and ancient), Languages
nent. When the only hero of the land may be its (local and nonlocal), Reading/Writing, Tracking.
lord, the king errant becomes vitally important.
Equipment: The king errant may begin adven-
The king errant trains himself not only for a life of turing with virtually any sort of nonmagical
leadership and lordship, but for the trials of adven- equipment. He might have armor from other re-
turing. He surrounds himself with other adventur- gions, and weapons too. The king errant gener-
ers, valuing their skills and treating them as near- ally tries to have the best horses and pack ani-
equals on the trail. Less interested in the bloodline mals available—though his horse might not be a
or lineage of his adventuring companions than war horse, depending on his style of adventuring.
whether they can come through for him in a pinch,
the king errant concerns himself with their abilities. A king errant usually overpacks. In most cases,
the character prepares for any contingency by
These regents make great names for themselves bringing along a pack animal or two to carry
by being heroes to their people. Instead of as- food, extra equipment, and a few empty sacks or
signing daunting tasks to their armies, or calling chests for treasure acquired along the way.
out for other adventurers to accomplish danger-
ous feats, they gain the glory and experience The king errant who starts out adventuring with
themselves. More than any other, the adventur- a magical item might have a weapon or armor,
ing regent learns to trust in his own arms and but would most likely carry an heirloom more di-
wits, and less in the counsel of cautious advisers. rectly in accordance with his character class. He
knows he will, eventually, encounter more magic,
Role: Only a select few Cerilian nobles prove so he doesn’t always have a permanent magical
themselves capable adventurers. While most re- item with him—potions and scrolls make handy
gents have the inner spark that could make them additions to his mundane arsenal.
great heroes, many suppress that spark for their
Special benefits: Because of his penchant for
own well-being or for the good of their realms. acquiring glory and renown across the land, the
The king errant fans that spark, building it into king errant may add one to the number of hench-
a blaze that can be seen across the land. men (or lieutenants) he may acquire for every five
levels of experience he achieves. In addition, the
The king errant pursues adventure. He king errant can always add one to the maximum
deals with threats to his realm personally, character level of his henchmen (or lieutenants) in
relation to his bloodline (see the lieutenant do-
using his own strength and his own wits main action in the Rulebookfor details).
instead of the abilities of others. The
king errant desires nothing more than When a king errant successfully completes an
a fair chance at success on any ven- adventure set primarily within the bounds of his
ture—though he remains un- own realm, he gains a number of Regency Points
daunted regardless of the odds based on the difficulty of the adventure. Most ad-
he faces. ventures net him 1d4+1 RP for successful com-
Secondar y skills: The pletions. A particularly difficult adventure gains
king errant learns the king errant 2d4 RP, and an adventure in
skills that which the difficulty “goes against all odds” nets
should him 3d4 RP. The people of the realm appreciate
the heroism and romance surrounding the king
errant.

Special hindrances: The king errant cannot
pass up an adventuring opportunity for any but

94

the most pressing reasons. If a random event oc- sire for free trade. Quite often, merchant princes
curs that could be handled by an adventure (the turn their positions of authority into positions of
DM must agree) and the king errant chooses to proxy—acting on behalf of their realm’s mer-
delegate the mission to an underling (either as an chant class, they pass laws and engage in treaties
actual adventure or to be resolved per normal solely for the purpose of promoting trade.
random events), the king errant immediately
loses 2d4 RP. But the merchant prince does not “sell out” his
realm. He looks to forging an empire of his own
When random events occur that do not require out of trade routes, codependence, and enlight-
adventures but could be solved by the king er- ened self-interest. He needs others to need him
rant’s personal attention, he must also take no- more. He uses his influence to create and harness
tice. If he fails to respond personally to the event, new markets—and with the resources of a realm at
he loses 1d6 RP. his disposal, he can do this quite successfully.

Finally, if the king errant concludes an unsuc- Role: While Cerilia’s borders still change from
cessful adventure within his realm (and survives) time to time, and certain realms threaten to oblit-
he loses the faith of the populace and can lose be- erate others with a well-timed invasion, the mer-
tween 1d4 and 3d4 RP. The Dungeon Master chant prince thrives on negotiation and trade.
should decide how embarrassing the failure is. While he may not himself profit financially from
his carefully-constructed agreements and deals,
Wealth options: The king errant begins the the merchant prince gains fame and power
game with a complete tack and harness, a good through his reputation at the bargaining table.
horse (or its equivalent), a pack animal and
equipment, and (if the Dungeon Master permits) Some might express concern that merchant
one magical item. Of course, the king errant also princes reflect the changing nature of Cerilia—
has the backing of an entire realm’s treasury, but from a land of noble families and concrete bor-
all regents have that. ders to a world of merchants and silver-tongued
traders. These romantics overlook the fact that
Races: Humans of all types may become king the merchant prince strengthens his realm more
errants. Nonhumans tend to shy away from this in a year with “silver-tongued talk” than his an-
choice of kit, with the possible exception of cestors did in their lifetimes with a sword.
halflings and half-elves. Humanoids almost never
become king errants. The merchant prince sometimes grows out of a
cultural tradition, but usually sprouts up as an
Character classes: King errants come from all aberration in a realm still recovering from war.
character classes. While warriors tend to become After a long line of despots or nobles who only
the most famous of the king errants, other classes know the lessons they learned at a sword’s point,
produce fine examples of these adventurers. the merchant prince can turn a blasted and bat-
tle-shocked realm into a profitable, habitable
Notable king er rants: Darold Wohlkern of place once again.
Sera’s Perfekt Symmetry (in Wierech) has become
a famous adventuring priest, though he is not a Secondary skills: The merchant prince usually
realm regent himself. The barony of Roesone has has a passing knowledge of the trades native to
produced more than a few king errants, including his realm, but focuses on being a
the present-day ruler, Marlae Roesone. Vladimir Trader/Barterer.
Nikailov, the Vos baron of Kozlovnyy, has had to
become a king errant to lead his people away from Weapon pr oficiencies: Merchant princes
the worship of evil gods. usually learn the use of one or two weapons
native to their realms.
In a land as rich as Cerilia, one should expect the
development of economics-minded realm re- Nonweapon pr oficiencies: Required—
gents. The merchant prince learns the value of One occupational proficiency concerning
gold and barter at the trading centers of the the realm’s trade (Fishing, Leatherwork-
world, parlaying this knowledge into wealth for ing, Stonemasonry, etc.), Administra-
himself, his nobles, and his people. tion, Appraising, Language (local),
Reading/Writing. Recommended—
While other realm regents concern themselves More occupational proficien-
with the acquisition of direct power and the cies, more languages, Diplo-
strengthening of their borders, the merchant macy, Etiquette, In -
prince tries to dissolve those borders, at least as trigue, Riding (land)
far as financial transactions are concerned. The or Seamanship.
merchant prince has an eye for profit and a de-
Equip -
ment:

95

Merchant princes usually carry “samples” of their ties are beneath the notice of the nobility, and the
realm’s products with them whenever traveling. Vos trade only seldomly with each other, and even
They tend toward light armor and unimposing less often with others.
weapons, though they may have bodyguards with
heavy armaments if they feel the precaution nec- Dwarves make passable merchant princes,
essary. Merchant princes begin adventuring with though their kings usually assign vassals or lieu-
pack animals or a small ship sufficient to carry at tenants to such actions. Halfings prefer to be
least 2 Gold Bars’ worth of goods to neighboring merchant princes (out of all the kits). The elves
trade centers. on Cerilia seldom engage directly in trade with
anyone.
When merchant princes begin the game with
magical items, they usually have either a few less- Of the humanoids, only the goblins ever pro-
powerful items (like potions or scrolls), or one duce any merchant princes. Usually, these un-
powerful nonweapon item. trustworthy individuals rise far in the ranks of
goblinkind before a more militant faction cuts
Special benefits: Even if a merchant prince them down entirely.
does not have a guild holding, he can set up a
permanent trade route with a guild or another Character classes: Naturally, most merchant
holding belonging to a merchant prince. The ac- princes tend to be rogues or guilders (see Havens
tion can be performed only as a domain action, of the Great Bay). Warriors and wizards make up
but in the same manner as a guild regent per- the bulk of the minority. Priest regents seldom
forms the trade route action (see the BIRTHRIGHT become merchant princes—though priests of
Rulebook). The merchant prince may not have Sera and Eloéle have been known to rule realms
more than one such trade route for every three and engage in strong trade actions.
levels of experience (round up) he has obtained.
Notable merchant princes: The Count of
In addition, merchant princes gain advantages Müden, Richard Talbehr, could be one of the
in negotiation due to their notoriety. When nego- most famous realm regents and merchant
tiating on the behalf of a guild regent to establish princes. The emir of Sendoure, Beysim el-Dua-
a trade route, the merchant prince can add a tim, is a marginally successful merchant prince.
modifier to the latter’s chance of successfully Halskapa, in the Rjurik Highlands, has had its
completing the trade route action. The merchant share of merchant princes as well.
prince may choose to add one-tenth the total
number of province levels he rules to influence The warrior-king learns his trade on the battle-
the guild regent’s success roll. If both ends of the fields and in the castles of Cerilia. He learns per-
trade route lie within provinces ruled by the mer- sonal combat from the best trainers in the realm—
chant prince, he can double this modifier. perhaps in the region or even the world. He stud-
ies strategy from the words of generals and from
Special hindrances: Because of the generally ancient texts alike. He becomes a scholar of war
nonviolent demeanor of the merchant prince, a and a doctor of strategy. The warrior-king cannot
character starting with this kit must transfer one be called a brute or barbarian simply because he
of his initial weapon proficiency slots into a non- specializes in the logistics of armies locked in com-
weapon proficiency slot. bat. He can be a defender or a destroyer, avenger
or looter, imperial majesty or rebel dog. The war-
Wealth options: A merchant prince begins rior-king earns his reputation on the battlefield
with the financial backing of a realm behind and history remembers him afterwards as winner
him, as do all regents. He seldom begins ad- or loser.

venturing with war horse and a suit of impres- Warrior-kings can develop in any type of realm.
sive armor (though he may). Usually, how- The uneducated man might place them only
ever, he has a magical item and at least 1 among the most barbarous or warlike kingdoms,
GB of personal treasure (acquired during but that simply is not the case. A warrior-king
the practice of his trade before he be- learns his trade like a scholar studies his books.
came regent). He trains, practices, and learns to project and
Races: Of the humans, the improvise. More often than not, the warrior-king
Brechts and the Khinasi produce becomes what he is to defend civilization, not to
the most merchant princes. destroy it.
Rjurik merchant princes
are less common. Conquerors often begin as warrior-kings, how-
Anuireans tend to ever. Sometimes, a regent trained for war finds
think such himself in an unusual era of peace. Perhaps his
activi-

96

neighbors finally learned the folly of continuous Equipment: Warrior-kings begin with the ad-
warfare, or perhaps the warrior-king’s predeces- vantages of all realm regents. As starting charac-
sors made his kingdom so strong it frightened the ters, they may gain a magical item, but it should
surrounding realms into peaceful coexistence. almost always be a combat-oriented heirloom of
Sometimes, this state prods the warrior-king, some kind. A warrior-king should, at his first op-
who sees his life’s training going to waste, toward portunity, acquire the best weapons and armor
forging an empire of his own. possible, as well as an able war horse, if appropri-
ate. (Vos warrior-kings often ride varsk, while
Warrior-kings make excellent war-time regents Brecht warrior-kings may simply focus on sea-
and can be powerful and influential peace-time manship.) Any type of weapon or armor common
lords. They understand the chain of command to the warrior-king’s race and culture should be
and vassalage, and respect strength of many available. Of course, the warrior-king can use
kinds. Best of all, true warrior-kings actually re- only weapons and armor allowed to his class.
spect peace and understand that war should be a
means to an end, not something to start frivo- Special benefits: When adventuring, warrior-
lously. Unfortunately, few true warrior-kings kings project an attitude of calm in the most des-
exist today on Cerilia. Too often, these well- perate situations. Their followers, henchmen,
trained strategists ache to put their knowledge and hirelings gain a one-level bonus to their
into play, only regretting it too late when all they morale, as long as the warrior-king is in com-
and their neighbors have built falls into ruin. mand and relatively in control of the situation.

Role: The role of the warrior-king in Cerilian If NPC followers, henchmen, or hirelings of a
society cannot be disputed. In many realms, only warrior-regent become subject to a magical fear
warrior-kings can hope to win and hold their spell or aura of some kind, they gain a +1 bonus to
thrones. War has always been a large part of Cer- their saving throws as long as the warrior-king is
ilia’s past. Skilled and educated warriors gain re- present and succeeds at his own saving throw.
spect from those who follow them. Player characters, however, gain no bonus from the
warrior-king in this instance, even if they serve him.
In truth, the warrior-king most often symbol-
izes a defender and a vibrant leader to his peo- This morale boost translates to battlefield con-
ple. The warrior-king leads from the front, ditions as well. Whenever the warrior-king ac-
putting his realm’s welfare above that of all oth- companies a unit onto the battlefield and that
ers. He uses his knowledge and strategy even in unit routs for any reason, the warrior-king can
peacetime. The warrior-king realizes he cannot choose to rally his troops and ignore the rout re-
win every battle, so he tries to defend his re- sult. If the unit routs twice in consecutive turns,
sources with cunning and strength, minimizing however, the warrior-king cannot affect the sec-
any losses he is forced to take. He values ond instance and the unit flees.
strength in his people and ideally wants them to
be able to defend themselves. No true warrior al- When a warrior-king uses the muster troops
lows those under his command to suffer sick- domain action, he can take advantage in two
ness, famine, or hurt without some plan for their ways of his notoriety and keen eye for soldiery.
betterment. A warrior-king feels the same way First, the warrior-king may muster one unit of
about his subjects. He leads them, defends them, militia from any province he controls, without
and champions them in all cases—he looks to the province suffering the level reduction. The
them for support and, if they cannot give it, he warrior-king simply figures out a logistical way
loses the war before he fights the battle. to make the necessary men and women avail-
able without handicapping the work-force.
Secondary skills: The warrior-king might learn
the ski lls of a n Ar morer, Bo wyer/Fle tcher, Secondly, w hen ev er a war rior-king
Weaponsmith, or even Sailor, depending on his musters troops, he can roll 1d20 and add
realm of origin. a +1 bonus to the roll for every three
levels of ability (round down) he has
Weapon pr oficiencies: Required—A melee obtained. If the modified die result
weapon standard to his culture or race. Recom- is 20+, he does not have to pay
mended—As many weapons as possible. Special- that unit its mustering cost.
izing in a weapon is also prefered. The men and women form-
ing the unit have come
Nonweapon pr oficiencies: Required—Siege- forth to serve the
craft, Strategy. Recommended—Administration, warrior-king be-
History (local and/or ancient), Law, Leadership, cause of his
Reading/Writing, Riding (land-based). Also rec- fame.
ommended are cultural proficiencies (Brechts
learn Sailing, Anuireans learn Heraldry, etc.).

97

They bring with them their own armor and become warrior-kings seldom, if ever.
weapons, as well as food and other provisions for Notable war rior-kings: The Count of Dani-
their first three months of action. After the first
domain turn, of course, the warrior-king must pay gau, Erik Danig, may be one of the only wizard
their normal maintenance cost or disband them. warrior-kings in ex istence . Th e Captain of
Müden, Melisande Reaversbane, follows a more
Special hindrances: If the warrior-king flees traditional background, as does Gavin Tael of
from a battle (either during an adventure or during Ghoere.
a war move), his subordinates lose confidence.
Henchmen, followers, and hirelings left behind The DM and players should regard these regent kits
lose the warrior-king morale bonus and then lose as optional. Depending on the style of campaign,
one more level of morale. During a War Move, they might overstep some role-playing boundaries.
units that witness the warrior-king’s flight treat all The DM should feel free to eliminate or modify any
hit results from then on as hit and rout results. kits or create others based on the needs of his own
campaign and the interests of his players.
Note: This special hindrance does not come
into play if the warrior-king isn’t abandoning his When a PC does choose a kit approved by the
troops. If he retreats with his subordinates, or if DM, he may not switch to a different kit during his
he simply moves off the battlefield because his adventuring lifetime. He may, however, choose to
troops have the day nearly won, the Dungeon abandon the kit, and permanently lose any advan-
Master may choose to not enforce this hin- tages (and hindrances) attached to the kit immedi-
drance. ately. Or he might temporarily or permanently lose
the benefits of the kit (but not the hindrances) in-
Wealth options: As with all regents, the war- voluntarily (by violating some aspect of the kit—
rior-king has the resources of a realm at his dis- knowingly or unknowingly—in a dramatic way).
posal. He often begins the game with a war horse
and fine armor, and sometimes has a family heir- For example, a king errant might refuse to go on
loom—usually a magical weapon. several adventures because he sees them as too
dangerous (or too much trouble). After he has been
Races: Of the human races, Anuireans and Vos warned (probably by his henchmen or advisers) that
produce the most warrior-kings, followed by the his actions are taking a toll on his reputation, he’ll
Rjurik. Khinasi lands raise up the next highest begin losing the benefits of his kit. His extra hench-
number, and the Brechts produce the fewest. men resign, and he gains no RP bonuses for those
adventures he does undertake successfully. He still,
Nonhuman warrior-kings don’t appear very however, loses Regency Points for failing at adven-
often. The elves tend to rely on more subtle sorts ture (or failing to resolve random events prop-
of leaders, while the halflings seldom follow their erly)—his people expecthim to perform better.
own leaders into war. Dwarves produce warrior-
kings when necessary, often excelling on the field The king errant, in this case, can escape these
of battle. penalties in one of only two ways. He can take the
easy path and publically declare himself no longer a
The humanoid races actually produce only a king errant. No shame should be attached to this
few warrior-kings. They lack the scholarship of decision—not every king adventures—but he loses
true strategists. Orogs tend to learn the most all benefits and hindrances of the character kit im-
from the mistakes of their ancestors and, of the mediately. He becomes a normal regent character.

humanoids, produce the most notable warrior- The other way to solve the problem is harder to
kings. Often, these orog regents lead goblins implement. The king errant must go on a quest, or a
and other humanoids into battle, surrounded series of quests, to restore his good name. In gen-
eral, he must perform a number of successful ad-
by a small cadre of their own kind as body- ventures primarily within his realm to atone for the
guards. regency he lost by being untrue to his kit. He gains
Character classes: Most warrior-kings no bonus Regency Points during this “attonement,”
train as fighters or paladins. A very few and may lose more Regency Points if he fails, but he
learn ranger skills. Priest warrior-kings should be able to regain his good standing eventu-
are not unheard of, and even some ally.
wizard warrior-kings can develop
(though they tend to be either Other character kits should have similar penalties
dual- or multi-classed individ- and methods of attonement. The Dungeon Master
uals, or they do not de- can customize these to fit the situation at hand.
pend on their own
knowledge of
weaponry).
Rogues

98

x According to the BIRTHRIGHT Rulebook, new PC
regents have the option of beginning the game
The untamed magic of yesterday . . . remains. with a single magical item, or an excellent tack
The schooled magic of today . . grows. and harness that includes a trained warhorse and
The unknown magic of tomorrow . . . becomes. other adventuring accoutrements. Noting the
rarity of magic items on Cerilia, many players
—Author Unknown will probably opt for the magical treasure.

x Dungeon Masters should carefully look
through the magic items presented in the DUN -
GEON MASTER Guide before assigning (or rolling
for) a magical item
for a starting player character. Some items of ex-
ceptional power exist on those charts, and many
won’t be appropriate for Cerilia at all, let alone in
the hands of a beginning regent.

efore the Flight from Shadow and the Bat- Most potions and scrolls presented in the DUN -
tle of Mount Deismaar, elves and humans found GEON MASTER Guide are appropriate. Even if a
ways to harness mebhaighl and priestly magic by potion or scroll useable by a PC regent is ex-
binding it into swords, staves, and other items. In tremely powerful, it can be used only once (per-
many cases, this magical binding proved to be haps two or three times, if the DM feels particu-
the only way magic of the Old Time could be fo- larly generous). Naturally, the DM should disal-
cused and controlled. low wish scrolls and the like.

Spellcasters produced many powerful items. The Dungeon Master should make sure that
The Battle of Mount Deismaar and the destruc- the item can be used, in some way, by the PC re-
tion of the old gods drained or changed most of gent. While a warrior regent might inherit a wand
these artifacts, even as the power unleashed of fire from his wizard father, the fact that he
there changed magic itself. In the cataclysm’s can’t use it tends to discourage the player, if not
wake, humans with bloodlines derived from the the character. Still, if the DM can think of a cre-
old gods’ power became capable of focusing and ative for the wand of fireand reveal it to the
controlling the land’s mebhaighl, just as the elves player early in the campaign, he may wish to
could. assign the item. For example, the wand might
give the PC regent a reason for visiting a
Yet despite the addition of humans to the ranks wizard regent (perhaps another PC) to
of those able to cast wizardly magic, spellcasters exchange it for something more useful
remain rare in Cerilia. This fact makes the cre- or to use as a negotiating tool.
ation of magical items an uncommon and special
thing. Though scrolls and magical potions are The most important aspect of
produced by many a court wizard and priestly ad- awarding a magical item to a be-
viser, more permanent magical devices are cre- ginning character, however, is
ated much less frequently. And, because practi- the story behind the item.
tioners of true magic are few and far between, so Magical items on Cerilia,
are powerful magical items. because they are so
rare, tend to have
storied pasts
and in-

99