At 01:48 PM 2/5/98 -0800, Ed Stark(ted@wizards.com)wrote:
>
>We are NOT married to this idea (we’re not even engaged). Let me know what
>you’d like. If no one minds, I’d like to post the responses to the mailing
>list (rather than simply replying to me directly), so they can be
>discussed. If it takes up too much space, though, I’ll understand if we
>make it more of a private chat.
>
>Please respond with the subject line: Birthright Promotion (or simply hit
>“Reply”). Thanks again.
>
By all means please Post your ideas to the List. I like to think of this
forum as a place to discuss all things BR, and this subject is definitely
on-topic. So fire away.
BTW, I myself will be contributing to this thread…once I’ve given it some
thought.
“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)-
> *It’s going to be the same size as the Cerilia map from the BR boxed set.
How about a map of Cerilia showing all the major family’s coat of arms? Now
that would be certainly unusual. Coat of Arms could include:
Rhoubhe’s, the Gorgon’s, Anuire’s National Coat of Arms, Brectur’s Coat of
Arms, etc. And you get the idea.
Ok, well, my first thought was a nude of Justina the Bansheigh, but as
you pointed out, such would not be overly useful.
Barring that, I would ask, will there be a map of Cerilia and/or Anuire
published with the new book? If not, then that is what it HAS to be,
otherwise how will new players know where everything is?
If you are talking about making this in addition to a map of Cerilia,
then I would say give us a map of Aduria with nations and provinces. We
have enough genius online to fill in the rest ourselves, but a map of
Aduria that we can all agree on would be great.
The old promo poster with the map and awnshegh was cool, but so would a full
color print of the Raven.
Hmmmm. For lack of imagination today (I’m writing technical reports for the
Wisconsin PSC), how about the map with the Sea zones and Land provinces
integrated into one. This would be particularly useful in the Great Bay.
Useful, but perhaps a bit cluttered for a poster.
How 'bout an expanded view, with more of Anduria, Djapar etc? Hmmm, might
be too much water and too little land.
Little cardboard counters with heraldry on them to move around on the map.
This would sure be handy during war moves.
Option 4: Really the best idea yet. The map with the heraldry of various
countries in that nation tied to a key on the back. Family names, maybe an
adventure hook or two tied with that noble lineage. A sort of mini Morweit’s
Peerage of each (or a few select important) countries.
> Color-
>
> How about a map with the coats of arms of the major ruling families of
> Anuire and the locations where they rule.
Great idea!
To expand this how about the coats of the original tribes of Anuire.
They supposedly was listed in a promotional item once at a convention.
>
> B&W-
>
> On the back you could breifly describe each of these families…
Talk about these tribes. Some of these are fairly devoid of power and
scattered…did they leave behind any treasures i.e. the prince of one
families +3 sword lost when he battled (insert monster) in the five peaks
etc.
> We’re doing a promo poster that will be available (for free) to people who
> buy the BR REVISED EDITION and, perhaps, other BR fans as well. I’m not
> sure on the distribution, here–but let’s let that slide for now. What I’m
> asking is, what would you like to see on the poster, with the following
> constraints:
A Map, huh? Sounds like shades of a discussion we had a little while
ago.
I liked the idea of the Birthright Conspectus, and it seems that this
is what you are trying to expand upon…
What I’d like to see on a Map of Cerilia is detail, detail, detail.
Given the size constraints you’ve mentioned, I’d still like to see
major towns and cities, ley lines, magical sources, ROADS, geographic
anomalies, etc. If you want the map to be useful for something other
than Empire planning, these are some of the things which as a GM I
have been looking for…
Now, a Clean B&W Map of Cerilia on the other side would be ideal for
alliance charting, empire mapping, etc. Just the outline of the
continent and the current domains… No text.
At least these are the things that I could use. YMMV.
A map of all of Cerilia, but rather than the standard paper map you’ve
been putting out, make it a laminated one capable of being written on by
overhead pens, or grease pencils.
And leave the terrain stuff out of it so that we can write useful stuff
on it as needed.
I’ve always been pretty proud of my own adventure ideas, I don’t think that
part would be useful. What I would like to see:
B/W: Province boundary only map of Cerilia, none of that terrain crap
or writing to screw up a perfectly good map. And integrate the sea movement
blocks into this (their proper name escapes me).
Color: One of two: a picture type map of the Imperial City, showing
major landmarks and such, or else a cutaway type perspective map of the
imperial palace on one half, and Battlewaite on the other half. This would
be so useful, I would probably cry real tears of joy.
Daniel McSorley
mcsorley.1@osu.edu
Firstly, will the maps in the original boxed set also be available to new
BR players who buy the revised boxed set? Specifically, I am referring to
the map which has all the province information on it. If this map is not to
be included with the revised set, then I don’t think you have any choice
but to make this the new poster. The game map (on a provincial scale) would
be quite difficult to piece together from the information in the Ruins of
Empire supplement, and the BR game is incomplete without it.
On the other hand, if this kind of game information is included elsewhere
(or the ‘provincial’ map is also to be included), then it gives you a good
chance to add something to the revised edition. My personal suggestion
would be:
Colour side:
How about a detailed map of Anuire (or all of Cerilia, though the scale
might be too big for this) with lots of DETAIL. Things like roads, maojr
trade routes (ocean as well), major cities (inlcuding all of the capitals
at the very least, possibly ley lines, possible places for adventure (eg.
Dragon Pass…etc), as well as all of the normal geographical features
(which can basically come from the original poster map). Then, because I
really like the suggestion of the family crests, you could use these as a
border to the map, with each of the crests maybe a few cm square.
B&W side:
I really liked the idea of the information (history, influence, adventure
hooks) of the major houses. As well as this, some basic information on
those places I mentioned above as adventure hooks.
As an additional note, somebody mentioned laminating a map that could be
used for the campaign, and written on with whiteboard marker or wax pencil.
Ths would be a great idea, and could be produced separately (I am sure that
if it is reasonably priced it will sell). I was thinking of something along
the line of the old D&D maps that were produced (though maybe not that
big). There were two of them, probably A1 sized, and they covered the whole
Mystara continent (I forget what it is called - it’s sooooo long ago).
Anyway, there’s my thoughts for you. Hope this helps,
> I was just talking to Harold Johnson (our Brand Manager) and Steve Peterson
> (Marketing) about a promotion we’re planning for the BIRTHRIGHT relaunch.
>
> We’re doing a promo poster that will be available (for free) to people who
> buy the BR REVISED EDITION and, perhaps, other BR fans as well. I’m not
> sure on the distribution, here–but let’s let that slide for now. What I’m
> asking is, what would you like to see on the poster, with the following
> constraints:
>
> *It’s going to be the same size as the Cerilia map from the BR boxed set.
>
> *It’s full color on one side, black and white on the other. We plan to
> print on both sides.
>
> *It has to appeal to new BR players and veterans alike.
>
> *It should be useful. I mean, color prints of Rhoubhe, the Gorgon, Michael
> Roele and all might be cool, but how useful is that in game terms (please,
> tell me if you disagree).
>
I would love to see on this a BLANK map of Cerilia, maybe even the the color
side, with no boarders except the province boarders, and no text covering the
map for names of provinces or kingdoms (my players have gotten a kick out of
renaming provinces…)Bryan
Mankind being originally equals in the order of creation,
the equality could only be destroyed by some subsequent
circumstance…
Thomas Paine, Common Sense
Ed Stark wrote:
> We’re doing a promo poster that will be available (for free) to people who
> buy the BR REVISED EDITION and, perhaps, other BR fans as well. I’m not
> sure on the distribution, here–but let’s let that slide for now.
Ok, this seems to be something like the “Birthright Conspectus” I found
in a BR expansion. It’s pretty cool.
But please do not use sentences like “A Wargame with Roleplay”, that’s
not the BR I like.
If the poster is a map : a blank map is great and could look like a
“real” map. This is so great…
On the other side of the map, what about something like a Timeline (the
one in Dragon 241 is great) or a short novel (not Anuirean oriented ???)
describing the world shortly.
Ludo
Ludovic LIEVRE
Laboratoire LGC / Equipe API
50, Chemin des Maraichers
31077 TOULOUSE Cedex 4 - FRANCE
Tel : (+33) 05 62 25 88 86 ou (+33) 05 61 50 40 37 http://www.etud.insa-tlse.fr/~llievre
Yes I like the idea of the Map of Cerilia and Adurias…
( and maybe a few other land masses as well ? )
with just the Domain ( possibly province names as well but
ONLY if the writting is small enough not to get in the way of everything else )
Yes I like the idea of plain map of cerilia, with just Domain and Province borders, and Sea Movement Zones…
But a map with lots of Heraldic Blazons? I think It’s got limited
use…I’m sure I can think up a Blazon for the gorgon fairly easily. ( I’m sure you lot can as well…)
Gorgon( griffin ) sable regardent en vert, bar sinister d’Or
but hey… that’s just what I think…
( alright I admit I quite like the Idea of a black and white
3/4 perspective map of the Imperial City… )
> Option 4: Really the best idea yet. The map with the heraldry of various
> countries in that nation tied to a key on the back. Family names, maybe an
> adventure hook or two tied with that noble lineage. A sort of mini Morweit’s
> Peerage of each (or a few select important) countries.
There have been several mentions for such a heraldric reference. We have
seen heraldry on almost every product cover, most importantly the Player’s
Secrets. Perhaps we could bring those coats of arms together in one
place, along with other neccesary arms, the Imperial arms, the arms
provided in the rulebook for the gods, and maybe some basic heraldric
advice for altering such arms.
Old imperial arms, City of Anuire, Heraldric College, Chamberlain, &c
or
the Western Imperial Temple, OIT, NIT, HA, SoH, IHH, DSH, HBT, HW
so one might, “I’m for Haelyn, but I’m not those other Haelyn-guys.”
I would find a poster-size map of land masses beyond those already
described, including domain and province boundaries. Terrain would also
be a nice perk, but nothing more. Part of the flare that has been lost
since the time of the original Greyhawk boxed set is the over-abundance
of information. I prefer a map of terrain with a few interesting names
only; having a world with only vague descriptions leaves the door to
imagination wide-open.
Of course this problem is most simply solved if I just ignore all the
supplements that are released and use only the bits of information I
like (I am the DM if you hadn’t guessed). My problem, something like an
addiction, is that I see something new for this game I have played for
14+ years and I crave it.
Most importantly, I don’t want to see BR become like the Forgotten
Realms - very few places of mystery left.
RECAP: I would like to see a map of terrain, including province
boundaries and cities and such, but no extensive supplements.
Zac zhardilek@hotmail.com
Oh yessss!! I think every DM I know would KILL for a map of both Cerilia and
Aduria! Then put important battle sites, elven and human ruins (label and
detail somewhat on the back), major cathedrals, capitals and especially
castles. You might also have small portraits of the leading major NPCs with
an abbreviated stat list on the back along with magic items owned.
Other ideas: Approximate suspected underground kingdoms of orogs and goblins.
You might just places country borders, and not worry too much province
borders, but only if provinces/names/borders will be included elsewhere in the
material.
Greetings,
I think the proposal of a poster map of Cerilia and Aduria would be
fantastic. In fact, I’d like for the map to contain as many
undeveloped lands as possible. Perhaps the poster could include B/W
maps of Djapar and Thaele on the reverse side. Even better than
Djapar/Thaele (IMO, anyway) would be a recently discovered land to the
west or east that could be developed by the DM as a “new world” for
colonization. I can just imagine the powers of Cerilia in a scramble
to set up colonies. Adventure hooks are also a nice idea, possibly
for the borders.
I remember when I got the original BR boxed set that the map of all
Cerilia was the one I always found myself looking at. Not only could
I see Anuire, which was developed for me, but I also could put in
details about all those mystery realms around the continent.
The idea of heraldry seems OK for the borders of the map, but if I was
new to BR, I wouldn’t want much space devoted to this. I would want
more broad information usable in the game, rather than the coat of
arms for specific families.
My 2GBs
Regards
Craig
Ed Stark wrote:
>
> I was just talking to Harold Johnson (our Brand Manager) and Steve Peterson
> (Marketing) about a promotion we’re planning for the BIRTHRIGHT relaunch.
> We’re thinking about a Poster Map of the continent or of Cerilia and
> Aduria. This could be the same poster map you get with the set, but with
> some new labels to correspond to info on the back. The info on the back
> would be adventure hooks, characters, magic items, or whatever.
DKEvermore@aol.com wrote:
>
> Oh yessss!! I think every DM I know would KILL for a map of both Cerilia and
> Aduria! Then put important battle sites, elven and human ruins (label and
> detail somewhat on the back), major cathedrals, capitals and especially
> castles. You might also have small portraits of the leading major NPCs with
> an abbreviated stat list on the back along with magic items owned.
Yes that’s very important : Put a lot of details on the map : things
like great battles sites, ruins. Only one or two lines of text
description are enough. DM needs to work a little bit, and the magic is
done…
Ludovic LIEVRE
Laboratoire LGC / Equipe API
50, Chemin des Maraichers
31077 TOULOUSE Cedex 4 - FRANCE
Tel : (+33) 05 62 25 88 86 ou (+33) 05 61 50 40 37 http://www.etud.insa-tlse.fr/~llievre
In a message dated 98-02-06 06:22:03 EST, you write:
> There have been several mentions for such a heraldric reference. We have
> seen heraldry on almost every product cover, most importantly the Player’s
> Secrets. Perhaps we could bring those coats of arms together in one
> place, along with other neccesary arms, the Imperial arms, the arms
> provided in the rulebook for the gods, and maybe some basic heraldric
> advice for altering such arms.
>
How about the upcoming Book of Regency? Seems like an appropriate place for
heraldric devices. Maybe 2 pages at the back of the book depicted simple
“shield-only” representations of the devices. Then we could make our own
counters as we like and push them around if need be…
2 more cents. I’ll get to a gold bar one day…
I like the idea of having the map contain roads, trade routes, cities
etc. How about including them, but (to avoid clutter and look
clearer) skipping the province boundaries, just leaving in national
ones.
You could then include ‘pencil-on-parchment’ (same style as the
various bits in Blood Enemies 'n stuff) thumbnails of sites and
people of interest - eg. the Battlewaite, the Raven, The Direwood, or
coats of arms of ruling familes (neat tie-in there), etc.
On the back you then have B&W versions of the thumbnails, with
snippets of background, story and stuff about each of them. That way
you get a decent (if bereft of provinces) map with lots of funky
background info.
My 2GBs.
John.
“Once I was a lamb, playing in a green field. Then
the wolves came. Now I am an eagle and I fly in a
different universe.”
“And now you kill the lambs,” whispered Dardalion.
“No, priest. No one pays for lambs.”
- David Gemmel, Waylander