BoP

[Bearcat]

>Pretty interesting ideas. Might make a good DRAGON article or DUNGEON
>adventure ... (HINT!)
>
>Ed Stark
>Game Designer, Wizards of the Coast/TSR Division
>Asst. Brand Manager, BIRTHRIGHT/GREYHAWK/MARVEL Group
>TSR Website: http://www.tsrinc.com
>(soon to be http://www.tsr.com)

In response to some article ideas that I offered to work on I was
told that Dragon isn't looking for any BR specific material... what's up?

Bearcat
lcgm@elogica.com.br
Come visit Bearcat's Birthright Homepage at:
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Cavern/6204

[Sepsis]

At 09:54 AM 11/16/97 +0000, Andrew Kerle(akerle@lucy.cc.swin.edu.au)wrote:
>

>
>One question I have though is what about the only other God (I think???) in
>Cerillia, Moraddin. There is no mention of him. Is this because of the
book
>he is currently published in, or did he get left out for another reason.
>

>

If your referring to the Dwarven deity Moradin, you can find him(and other
Dwarven gods)in "The Complete Book of Dwarves" and I also think he is
covered in "Monstrous Mythology", although I'm not sure about MM(I don't
have it in front of me).


Sepsis, richt@metrolink.net (ICQ:3777956)

"War is a matter of vital importance to the State;
the province of life or death;
the road to survival or ruin.
It is mandatory that it be thoroughly studied."
-Sun Tzu,(The Art of War)-

BR Netbook: http://webpages.metrolink.net/~veleda/birth.html

[Tripp Elliott]

Sepsis wrote:
>
> At 09:54 AM 11/16/97 +0000, Andrew Kerle(akerle@lucy.cc.swin.edu.au)wrote:
> >
>
> >
> >One question I have though is what about the only other God (I think???) in
> >Cerillia, Moraddin. There is no mention of him. Is this because of the
> book
> >he is currently published in, or did he get left out for another reason.
> >
>
> >
>
> If your referring to the Dwarven deity Moradin, you can find him(and other
> Dwarven gods)in "The Complete Book of Dwarves" and I also think he is
> covered in "Monstrous Mythology", although I'm not sure about MM(I don't
> have it in front of me).

I believe both Deities and Demigods and the Dwarves book discuss him.

Tripp

[Andrew Kerle]

Ed, I picked up my copy on Thursday 13th Nov.

I know it arrived here (Melbourne, Australia) the day before, and there weren't
many left by the next day. To my knowledge, at least, Birthright is a big hit
amongst the gaming groups in Australia. I know it is at our club.

One question I have though is what about the only other God (I think???) in
Cerillia, Moraddin. There is no mention of him. Is this because of the book
he is currently published in, or did he get left out for another reason.

Have you guys considered a supplement which outlined the demihuman races of
cerillia. Goblins, Orogs, Dwarves etc. They all have major cities and other
assorted places. Also, in the module "Warlock of the Stonecrowns" (???)
there is a mention of an underground road. The night road or something.

Does this road cover the entire of cerilia, connecting most of the underground
realms, or is it only around that area. Also, if an underground race had a
major settlement in the same province as a human regent, what would happen? I
mean are they considered separate realms, or do you ignore the underground one.

For example, if in a mountainous province with say 1 human civilization, and
there was a major orog city beneath the ground, would they be treated
separately, or together. The human regent would not necessarily know about the
orog city, but the orogs sure as hell would know about the humans.

Just a thought, but would the underground world, which would actually not
associate with the above ground world that much, Dwarves being a notably
exception, have the same sort of structure. Regents for example who rule these
passages and settlements, but with areas in between actual domains where
monsters run rampant. Could this sort of domain consist of actual monsters
being part of it. They live here and do this, but don't do that etc.

Would they have guild (smugglers and traders, maybe from the surface), law,
and of course temple holdings ??? Would these holdings affect the levels of
the surface ones in any way ???

I have already started constructing a couple of underground realms, in and
around the Khinasi lands. Mainly because of the lost dwarven cities around
there. If these dwarves weren't destroyed, but instead closed there doors to
the outside world, and decided to concentrate on the underworld, and their
topside provinces were taken over by other regents, then would they still have
regency?? What if they decided to open their doors once more?? Would there
need to be a transfer of ownership before they could affect the surrounding
area or what ???


Gee I hope this isn't too long..

Looking forward to your response.

Andrew Kerle
D.W.A.R.F
(Dandenong Wargamers and Roleplayers Federation)

[Ed Stark]

At 03:53 PM 11/14/97 -0600, you wrote:
>Well, we just got in our new gaming order today. No BR boxed sets, no
>BoP. This is not a good sign. We have some ticked off customers. I am
>wondering if some distributors got shipped and others didn't. Ed can
>you help?
>
>Robert Thomson
>
Even Assistant Brand Managers have limits to their powers. I recommend
calling up Wizards of the Coast directly and talking to them. Check and see
if your distributors received the copies they ordered. Make some noise with
the folks who do the sales--politely (I know most people do, but there are
the few ...)

Believe me, our sales people WANT to sell these things. I presume the
distributors feel the same way. Let's make sure everyone's on the same page.


-- ->-- ->-- ->--@
Ed Stark
Game Designer, Wizards of the Coast/TSR Division
Asst. Brand Manager, BIRTHRIGHT/GREYHAWK/MARVEL Group
TSR Website: http://www.tsrinc.com
(soon to be http://www.tsr.com)

[Ed Stark]

At 08:27 PM 11/14/97 -0600, you wrote:
>Hey Ed,
>
> If the old gods are not in BoP is there any chance we could get them
>electronically on TSR's page. They would be most helpful.
>
>Adam Beard

Out of curiousity, what for? Or is the reason simple curiousity? I'll ask
Rich if he can do up a short post about the old gods, regardless.


-- ->-- ->-- ->--@
Ed Stark
Game Designer, Wizards of the Coast/TSR Division
Asst. Brand Manager, BIRTHRIGHT/GREYHAWK/MARVEL Group
TSR Website: http://www.tsrinc.com
(soon to be http://www.tsr.com)

[Ed Stark]

At 09:54 AM 11/16/97 +0000, you wrote:
>One question I have though is what about the only other God (I think???) in
>Cerillia, Moraddin. There is no mention of him. Is this because of the
book
>he is currently published in, or did he get left out for another reason.

Actually, several gods not mentioned in BoP have powers in Cerilia but
they, like Moradin, are covered elsewhere. Check out Core AD&D and
PLANESCAPE products for more on the dwarven (and other demihuman/nonhuman)
gods.

>Have you guys considered a supplement which outlined the demihuman races of
>cerillia. Goblins, Orogs, Dwarves etc. They all have major cities and
other
>assorted places. Also, in the module "Warlock of the Stonecrowns" (???)
>there is a mention of an underground road. The night road or something.

Yes, we have. Hopefully, we'll have time on the schedule for something like
this soon (it is a popular request).

>Does this road cover the entire of cerilia, connecting most of the
underground
>realms, or is it only around that area. Also, if an underground race had a
>major settlement in the same province as a human regent, what would
happen? I
>mean are they considered separate realms, or do you ignore the underground
one.

I don't believe an underground road links all of Cerilia but, in
BARUK-AZHIK and a few other places, we mention underground roads throughout
particular realms.

>For example, if in a mountainous province with say 1 human civilization, and
>there was a major orog city beneath the ground, would they be treated
>separately, or together. The human regent would not necessarily know
about the
>orog city, but the orogs sure as hell would know about the humans.

That's up to the DM. I like the idea, myself.

>Just a thought, but would the underground world, which would actually not
>associate with the above ground world that much, Dwarves being a notably
>exception, have the same sort of structure. Regents for example who rule
these
>passages and settlements, but with areas in between actual domains where
>monsters run rampant. Could this sort of domain consist of actual monsters
>being part of it. They live here and do this, but don't do that etc.
>
>Would they have guild (smugglers and traders, maybe from the surface), law,
>and of course temple holdings ??? Would these holdings affect the levels of
>the surface ones in any way ???
>
>I have already started constructing a couple of underground realms, in and
>around the Khinasi lands. Mainly because of the lost dwarven cities around
>there. If these dwarves weren't destroyed, but instead closed there doors
to
>the outside world, and decided to concentrate on the underworld, and their
>topside provinces were taken over by other regents, then would they still
have
>regency?? What if they decided to open their doors once more?? Would there
>need to be a transfer of ownership before they could affect the surrounding
>area or what ???
>
Pretty interesting ideas. Might make a good DRAGON article or DUNGEON
adventure ... (HINT!)

;-)


-- ->-- ->-- ->--@
Ed Stark
Game Designer, Wizards of the Coast/TSR Division
Asst. Brand Manager, BIRTHRIGHT/GREYHAWK/MARVEL Group
TSR Website: http://www.tsrinc.com
(soon to be http://www.tsr.com)

[Darkstar]

William Hill wrote:
>
> One simple reason for asking about the old gods and their powers is the old
> churches and temples that still hold a grip on Aduria. Ex. Northern Temple
> of BRENNA, All the churches of Azrai. Where do these temples and religious
> sects get their powers from?

If you read the infomation on my page
(http://www.box.net.au/~hoss/txt/netbook/unblooded.html) I have tried to
explain why in MY vision of Aduria the old gods are still worshipped.

- --
Ian Hoskins

e-Mail: hoss@box.net.au
ICQ: 2938300
Home Page: http://www.box.net.au/~hoss/birth.html

From the Darkness we came,
and to the Darkness we will return.

[Darkstar]

Ed Stark wrote:

> It is my opinion that the new gods, the champions of the old gods, have no
> problem providing "spiritual power" to priests and paladins of their old
> leaders. If the followers of the older gods know of the new gods' existence
> (pretty likely, but not necessarily so), they probably think of them as
> servitor gods or immortal champions or saints anyway.

This is similar to what I wrote down for my description of Aduria.
Basically when the Adurian troops returned from Deismaar bring news of
the Gods destruction the priests of those gods (especially Azari) packed
up the returning troops and sent them off into the desert with no food
or water to prevent any challenges to the priests power.
Spell are now provided by the new gods.


- --
Ian Hoskins

e-Mail: hoss@box.net.au
ICQ: 2938300
Home Page: http://www.box.net.au/~hoss/birth.html

From the Darkness we came,
and to the Darkness we will return.

[Ed Stark]

At 03:46 PM 11/18/97 -0300, you wrote:
>
>>Pretty interesting ideas. Might make a good DRAGON article or DUNGEON
>>adventure ... (HINT!)
>>
>>Ed Stark
>>Game Designer, Wizards of the Coast/TSR Division
>>Asst. Brand Manager, BIRTHRIGHT/GREYHAWK/MARVEL Group
>>TSR Website: http://www.tsrinc.com
>>(soon to be http://www.tsr.com)
>
> In response to some article ideas that I offered to work on I was
>told that Dragon isn't looking for any BR specific material... what's up?
>
>Bearcat
>lcgm@elogica.com.br
>Come visit Bearcat's Birthright Homepage at:
>http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Cavern/6204
>

I just sent a message to Dave Gross, editor of DRAGON, asking him what's
up. I hope to hear from him soon. I sent him your email address as well.
Maybe he'll contact you directly.


-- ->-- ->-- ->--@
Ed Stark
Game Designer, Wizards of the Coast/TSR Division
Asst. Brand Manager, BIRTHRIGHT/GREYHAWK/MARVEL Group
TSR Website: http://www.tsrinc.com
(soon to be http://www.tsr.com)

[Ed Stark]

At 09:50 AM 11/19/97 -0800, you wrote:
>At 03:46 PM 11/18/97 -0300, you wrote:
>>
>>>Pretty interesting ideas. Might make a good DRAGON article or DUNGEON
>>>adventure ... (HINT!)
>>>
>>>Ed Stark
>>>Game Designer, Wizards of the Coast/TSR Division
>>>Asst. Brand Manager, BIRTHRIGHT/GREYHAWK/MARVEL Group
>>>TSR Website: http://www.tsrinc.com
>>>(soon to be http://www.tsr.com)
>>
>> In response to some article ideas that I offered to work on I was
>>told that Dragon isn't looking for any BR specific material... what's up?
>>
>>Bearcat
>>lcgm@elogica.com.br
>>Come visit Bearcat's Birthright Homepage at:
>>http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Cavern/6204
>>
>
>I just sent a message to Dave Gross, editor of DRAGON, asking him what's
>up. I hope to hear from him soon. I sent him your email address as well.
>Maybe he'll contact you directly.
>
I talked to Dave yesterday about this and he says he has no policy against
published BR-specific material. In fact, he said he's welcome some. He does
want the material to be general enough that it can be used in other game
worlds (perhaps including info very specific to BR in sidebars), but if you
look at the material that's been printed in DRAGON for BR, you have some
ideas. The Muden Thieves' Guild info, for example, is very BR specific, but
with a very little tweaking, it could be thrown into virtually any game world.


-- ->-- ->-- ->--@
Ed Stark
Game Designer, Wizards of the Coast/TSR Division
Asst. Brand Manager, BIRTHRIGHT/GREYHAWK/MARVEL Group
TSR Website: http://www.tsrinc.com
(soon to be http://www.tsr.com)

[Ed Stark]

At 01:19 PM 11/19/97 +1030, you wrote:
>Ed Stark wrote:
>
>> It is my opinion that the new gods, the champions of the old gods, have no
>> problem providing "spiritual power" to priests and paladins of their old
>> leaders. If the followers of the older gods know of the new gods' existence
>> (pretty likely, but not necessarily so), they probably think of them as
>> servitor gods or immortal champions or saints anyway.
>
>This is similar to what I wrote down for my description of Aduria.
>Basically when the Adurian troops returned from Deismaar bring news of
>the Gods destruction the priests of those gods (especially Azari) packed
>up the returning troops and sent them off into the desert with no food
>or water to prevent any challenges to the priests power.
>Spell are now provided by the new gods.
>
I realize you're summarizing here, but I seriously doubt the priesthoods
and followers of the "good" gods would really do that (remember, this IS a
fantasy setting with alignment requirements and all--a priest of say,
Anduiras, who tried to do this probably wouldn't get a lot of spells from
Haelyn). I think it more likely that the soldiers who survived and returned
wouldn't know EXACTLY what they saw and the priests would interpret the
"destruction." If they decided they wanted to keep worshiping the old gods,
they'd probably rationalize by saying Anduiras and the others were
"elevated" to a higher plane of existence or something, and that Haelyn and
the others would act as intermediaries or servants (if the new gods fit
into the mythos at all). If I were Haelyn, a former champion of Anduiras, I
would probably accept this rationale and keep providing protection and
spiritual power (at least to some extent) to these worshipers.

Just a thought ...


-- ->-- ->-- ->--@
Ed Stark
Game Designer, Wizards of the Coast/TSR Division
Asst. Brand Manager, BIRTHRIGHT/GREYHAWK/MARVEL Group
TSR Website: http://www.tsrinc.com
(soon to be http://www.tsr.com)