Published adventure

Several adventures were published for the Birthright setting either within the nation sourcebooks or as stand-alone publications. This page gives a short synopsis and comments on each, and has space for people to add their own new scenes, variants, expansions, etc. below each adventure.

The adventures include:
Nation sourcebook adventures

• Anuire: Family Matters by Rich Baker and Colin McComb
  
• Khinasi: Coils of the Serpent by Rich Baker
  
• Rjurik: Njalgrim's Doom by Anthony Pryor
  
• Brecht: No adventure included.
  
• Vos: No adventure included.
  

Stand Alone

• Sword and Crown by Colin McComb
  
• Warlock of the Stonecrowns by Wolfgang Baur
  
• The Sword of Roele by Wolfgang Baur
  
• King of the Giantdowns by Ed Stark
  
• Legends of the Hero-Kings by Ed Stark
  

Other

• Seeking Bloodsilver by Chris Perkins
  

[top]Family Matters

"Family Matters" starts as a festival random event, rival families in the PC's realm have agreed to settle a feud and the PC is asked to officiate/attend the wedding of the two heirs. The course of true love - or in this case arranged marriage - never runs smoothly and the feud instead ignites after a brutal murder. The adventure then has a battle ignited by a hostile mage to give the PCs a taste for the combat system, diverts via a bandit camp, and ends with a raid on a castle - possibly at the head of a number of troops.

"Family Matters" gives the DM a chance to introduce two families of NPCs - who can reoccur for sessions as their feud plays on. It also creates a diplomatic issue with a neighboring realm. It has an issue with the enemy mage - no particular reason is given for their involvement unless it is as a sop to excuse the neighboring realms actions.

[top]Coils of the Serpent

This adventure introduces the regents of Ariya to the treacherous Khalid el-Arrasi and the plans of the most devious of all awnsheghlien - the Serpent. The PCs are led to the unexplored island south of the Seare Siendere known as Khoufayla. Following a dungeon bash the PCs are ambushed by the Serpent's minions, and when they eventually return they find a pretender on the throne.

The adventure is brief on some areas which could do with fleshing out - the end game involves simply turning up and denouncing the simulacrum on the throne, the escape from the serpent could do with expanding, but the basic concept is good - players all to often forget what happens to those they leave behind and their absence for a few action rounds with a pretender on the throne has great potential for a devious DM.

[top]Njalgrim's Doom

"Njalgrim's Doom" is designed to introduce the PC's to some Rjurik customs, the bitter winter, and the Scarlet Baron's realm. It includes a tighmaevril blade as a McGuffin, although this could easily be replaced by another artifact.

Variants and additional scenes for "Njalgrim's Doom" include:

[top]Sword and Crown

Written by Colin McComb, the "Sword and Crown" revolves around a great event in Anuire - the eponymous Sword and Crown - and a plot by Aubrae Avan to incite a war against Boeruine with the aid of the elven awnsheghlien Rhuobhe Manslayer.

The Sword and Crown itself is a cross between the Olympics and a major conclave of the lords,, and a great addition to any game. The adventure itself is fairly linear but the end has a great diplomatic conundrum for the PCs who have the chance to win the favor of either Avanil or Boeruine - or the hatred of both.

[top]Warlock of the Stonecrowns

"Warlock of the Stonecrowns" is an adventure built around the Drake, a powerful awnshegh who has come to rule over Orogs as a god and the possession of the dreaded Black cauldron, errr, The Midnight Cauldron.

Warlock has an interesting adventure premise - the Cauldron warps the flow of mebhaighl around it affecting source regents, scope for diplomacy as the various realms wonder what is going on, and by disturbing the balance of power can cause a lot of conflict.

It suffers from a dungeon-bash heavy bias, includes a standard D&D Underdark and other elements otherwise unknown in Birthright, could have easily expanded on the Warlock's history and religion and could also do with some explanation of why the Gorgon's long lost (well long hiding for his life) son is setting up shop so close to dear old dad, but ce la vie.

[top]The Sword of Roele

Like Warlock "the Sword of Roele" is primarily a dungeon bash, and includes a number of non-Birthright elements and a number of monsters that are never included in any other birthright publication. The premise is that the Monkey-King (see Oriental Adventures / Kara-tur setting) has stolen the legendary Sword of Roele and hidden it in a long abandoned temple in the Chimaeron.

The adventure has been edited oddly - a vampire el-Huffas mentioned several times in the adventure is missing without explanation for example, and the adventure has a lot of non-Birthright activity such as the traditional outer planes, the Monkey King, standard D&D giants, etc and as a result this is probably the weakest of all the adventures in terms of setting specific information, however it has a reasonable amount of information on the Three Brother Mages of the Chimaeron.

[top]King of the Giantdowns

This is described as an adventure accessory rather than as an adventure. It is a reasonably detailed overview of the Giantdowns - the wild unclaimed lands north of Tuarhievel and east of Stjordvik - summarizing the notable people and the geography in a similar manner to a players secrets book but with more detail (its 64 pages long) and more developed adventure ideas. This is a great resource for a campaign set in the Rjurik Highlands where the players can start as nobodies and forge a realm from the desolate lands about them, or for anyone playing in the Rjurik Highlands generally.

[top]Legends of the Hero-Kings

Legends is a collection of short adventures, each built around a realm random event. The mini-adventures include:

[top]Blood Hungry

Introducing a tighmaevril dagger and an obsessed former servant. Based around a blood challenge, "Blood Hungry" includes an example of how a challenge can be more than just a stranger striding into court and demanding a duel by building in a little court intrigue and slander.

[top]Double Dealing

Introducing a takeover in a neighboring realm "Double Dealing" can be a little hard to fit into an ongoing campaign, particularly as it includes, as, written, a 15th level wizard. The scenario includes a doppelganger who will aid the conspirators in the assassination by impersonating the victim which could have interesting long term consequences.

[top]Gathering of Heroes

This is based on a festival event and has a number of non-combat challenges for PCs in which they can prove their prowess and potential or meet a number of interesting NPCs. The scenario includes rules for several sporting events that can be run and the underlying intrigue is capable of causing long term problems/benefits for the PC's realm.

[top]Heroes' Pride

Based around a feud between the various members of the PC's court "Heroes' Pride" can be used to decimate an over-successful court or get the PCs to see members of the court as proper individuals with their own motivations and ploys to win success.

[top]Terrible Awakening

Based around a natural event "Terrible Awakening" could also be used as a magical event or as monsters/brigandage. The scenario starts with a large earthquake - cue demolition of story damaging fortifications, wonders that were a bit overly good, etc and of course some rescue attempts or opportunities for the PCs to aid/request aid from a neighbor. The earthquake opens up a chasm in the earth, which contains the Dread - one of Azrai's proto-Awnsheghlien that rebelled prior to Deismaar and was entombed for its sins. The PCs must defeat the Dread or see it regain its strength and seek domination. Although not mentioned in the scenario the DM can use damage to various forts and the like as an excuse for invasion - neighbors may wish to attack now while a fort is damaged rather than wait. Similarly neighbors wishing to win favor may send aid to the suffering, alternatively the locals could wonder what terrible crime has been committed for the gods to send such a calamity as the earthquake as punishment - and the regent may head the list of reasons why - particularly in the eyes of any temple great-captain in the making.

[top]The Horns of Droene

Based around monsters of brigandage, Droene also makes a reasonable blood challenge. Droene the Ogre is a new awnshegh (who made it into the BRCS) who wants to claim his own realm and plans to lure the PCs into a trap and dispose of them to claim their realm. Droene includes a simple rule for bloodline corruption following bloodtheft on an awnshegh.

[top]Dwarven Steel

This is a trade matter, but could also be used as a diplomatic matter. "Dwarven Steel" is based around the desire of the Karamhul to trade. The adventure is an invitation to the Karamhul realm, and then a test in the form of a raid on an orog camp to prove worthiness. It includes a reasonable introduction to the Karamhul, but does not go into much detail, similarly the orog camp episode is little more than a stand up fight. Relationships with the Karamhul are hard to build though and this adventure gives one example of how the trust of the Karamhul might be won.

[top]A time of troubles

Based on an unrest/rebellion event the event is driven by the ambitions of Sadira jami hap effir, a scion who hopes to win her own kingdom. The scenario can easily be extended - Sadira may play both sides of the rebellion both inflaming the populace with raiders and winning fame 'driving off' the bandits, similarly she could be sponsored by another regent, etc.

[top]Poor relations

Based around a matter of justice could also be used a feud. Raen Olsenson, a minion of the PCs is accused of a crime by a neighboring regent - who it transpires has framed Raen and now seeks to blackmail the PCs with Raen's fate. The PCs can allow 'justice' to take its course - losing them a minion and likely upsetting Raen's allies in the court, or risk making an incident with the neighbor that could cost their realm dearly.

[top]Fang of Kriesha

Based around a Great Captain/Heresy event, Fang is based on the formation of a small church which turns out to follow Belinik - not that the worshipers understand the truth of the matter, all that they see are priests who are making a difference by driving out bandits and teaching the peasants how to protect themselves and their families. The PCs can simply march in and crush the nuisance - but that risks making martyrs of the Belinites and inflaming the province.

[top]The Gift of Azrai

Based around a magical event this could also be used as a natural event. The scenario is that a terrible plague has been unleashed on Cerilia. As the plague sweeps the land trade and wars will be disrupted, overly high populations culled, etc. At some point someone will discover that the plague, which resists most healing, arose and was defeated once before - by a rare cure requiring a Masetian follower of Nesirie. The PCs must travel to the Isle of the Serpent to find aforementioned Masetian and take them to the Isle of the Tree - a holy site of Nesirie. The adventure is a little weak in failing to explore the consequences of the plague, and the fact that the PCs are effectively mere bodyguards throughout, but these faults can be readily remedied.

[top]Seeking Bloodsilver

This adventure was written by Chris Perkins and published in Dungeon magazine #59. It involves a foray into the Shadow World (based on Rich Baker's original cold desolate realm description rather than the more exotic realm of later accessories) in search of a tighmaevril weapon - in competition against minions of the Gorgon sent to recover the weapon for their master.