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TP.net => The Great Beyond (OOC) => : Aeric (DM Matt) June 11, 2013, 06:17:09 PM

: Characters - Domains, regents and others.
: Aeric (DM Matt) June 11, 2013, 06:17:09 PM
The thing about movies, about books and even about the stories we tell each other is that they are all have one thing in common - they are all based around characters. The characters drive the narrative, they resolve the actions and they provide all of the emotional content too. It is their fears, their hopes and their dreams, their successes and their failures that we rollercoast through and leaves us cheering or sobbing at the page.

And when we play roleplaying games it is those characters that we play as, that we enact through with the world our imaginations have the jointly created. But Birthright is an unusual RPG in that way, as you are often playing more than one character.

Your domain is a character - it has a personality, a set of agendas and suffers or succeeds based on your actions and those of you acting around you.

Your regent is a character - it has a personality, a set of agendas and suffers or succeeds based on your actions and those of you acting around you.

Sometimes those characters clash; it might be the case that a personal agenda clashes with a realm policy and that friction creates game. It makes the story that drives the game. And then those same characters clash and bounce off other realms and regents, let alone all the NPCs. It is a self perpetuating story machine in the right hands.

So, if you have bothered to read this far, you are probably asking why I am writing this. My summary is this; your character is not just your regent. It is your domain, your realm. It is also your Lts, your minor court official npc's. And it is your regent. All of those characters present the nature of your part in the game and hopefully we will be able to get enough feeling and depth into as much of those elements as possible to make your realm feel a fully fledged character all of its own. After all you are assigned a Domain, not a regent, to play.

But yes, I'll make sure there are some clear rules for generating pc-type characters - just remember they really are not the whole of the game ;)
: Re: Characters - Domains, regents and others.
: Talinie & NIT/TD (Linde) July 01, 2013, 01:23:09 AM
I could see by the viewed counter that not everyone have taken the opportunity to read Matt's post.
That is a shame I think it is good.
: Re: Characters - Domains, regents and others.
: Aeric (DM Matt) July 01, 2013, 07:58:36 AM
I believe it got buried under RSS bot posts originally...
: Re: Characters - Domains, regents and others.
: Stjordvik/Varri (Greg) July 01, 2013, 09:22:47 AM
Yep, I did not see this earlier, until today it popped on to my radar under "unread posts since last visit".

This is good stuff, and a very important aspect of the game, especially during the creation phase that we are in.  I will work hard to achieve these goals, thanks Matt (and Linde, for pointing this out).
: Re: Characters - Domains, regents and others.
: Talinie & NIT/TD (Linde) July 01, 2013, 01:08:17 PM
You're welcome
: Re: Characters - Domains, regents and others.
: Yggdrasil (DM Andy) July 01, 2013, 07:30:22 PM
It is possibly worth noting, that income in ROE III is likely to be in short supply in some realms compared to ROE II (Bjorn's system does not like low-level provinces), having a rich, developed domain of characters who can adventure, etc in support of your actions is likely to be vital to success - relatively few people can hope just to throw a wall of RP/GB at a problem and hope to bludgeon their way to success...
: Re: Characters - Domains, regents and others.
: Aeric (DM Matt) July 01, 2013, 07:45:43 PM
"having a rich, developed domain of characters who can adventure, etc in support of your actions is likely to be vital to success" is the vital bit there. Having a high level regent you send onto an adventure every time your domain has a problem is going to cost you your domain very quickly. VERY quickly.
: Re: Characters - Domains, regents and others.
: Torele Anviras/TA (Niels) July 01, 2013, 08:05:28 PM
So are the hire help rules going to be fixed?
: Re: Characters - Domains, regents and others.
: Cariele/EG (Thorsten) July 01, 2013, 08:12:47 PM
So are the hire help rules going to be fixed?

Are they broken?
: Re: Characters - Domains, regents and others.
: Stonecrown Coster/MB (Rune) July 01, 2013, 08:15:01 PM
"having a rich, developed domain of characters who can adventure, etc in support of your actions is likely to be vital to success" is the vital bit there. Having a high level regent you send onto an adventure every time your domain has a problem is going to cost you your domain very quickly. VERY quickly.

I think this is what we call a "subtle hint" from our DM :-)

For those so inclined, I suggest taking a peek on this video before doing their next adventure: http://youtu.be/IJNR2EpS0jw (http://youtu.be/IJNR2EpS0jw). It has certainly provided me ample inspiration for my next domain characters.

 ::)
: Re: Characters - Domains, regents and others.
: Aeric (DM Matt) July 01, 2013, 08:35:43 PM
I never found them to be broken. I did a few hire help actions in RoE2.

That and some of your domains may already have help hired  :o
: Re: Characters - Domains, regents and others.
: Dhoesone/FD_(Marco) July 01, 2013, 09:56:48 PM
I used the action hire help in roe2 and it did work well.
As every action in roe one must use wisely
: Re: Characters - Domains, regents and others.
: Torele Anviras/TA (Niels) July 01, 2013, 10:40:29 PM
Let have a look at it though:

Pure administrator types:
Lvl 1 Expert class, same culture as you, DDC: 5
As above but a Master in administration: DDC 10
As above but High level, to max out adm bonus: DDC 20

Bland and boring and not at all in the spirit of the game, but the most efficient way for any ruler worth his salt to hire. Get the bland boring guy that is never late, never wrong and never gets killed.

Lieutenants:
Level 3 (Low level) Warrior, same culture, DDC: 5
as above, but Rogue or Fighter. Must be this to get the Lieutenant's bonus action. DDC: 15
as above but Weak Blooded, maybe an heir: DDC 20
as above but Ranger, Paladin, Bard or Cleric. These can cast Realm Magic, even if your domain can't, so are DDC: 30
If you want a Wizard you start at DDC: 35 for a level 3, with no masteries in skill.

Once we're up there, adding the extra 10 to DDC to get someone high level is trivial, and a +5 to get a skill mastery. That's DDC 50 for the best of the best.

I would love you to tell me that I am doing it wrong.

If I were to redesign Hire Help I would make levels much more expensive but reduce the "tax" on blooded, and drop the distinction between realm magic or not and True Magic or not.

Non-caster domains are currently never hiring a caster, even if the flavor would suit them. Similarly caster domains need that guy, and once he is in, they do not need another, barring deaths. The balancing of caster domains should be in the on-going domain balancing, not in a once-off expenditure to hire new characters.

You could the Blood to its +ECL value, so what you do is take lvl + Blood ECL and scale the DDC with that. Starting DDC 5 for Expert classes, DDC 10 for Heroic classes.

Adding a mastery skill costs +5 DDC as usual. Different human cultures are trivial in differences, no need for it to cost something here. Adding an Elf, Dwarf or Goblin should also only add cost if they come with a special ability/skill, else it is basically just flavor, and can be used to prejudice against the court by others.

Now the ECL stair does not have to be linear. Something like this maybe:
ECL = DDC 5/10
1 = +1
2 = +2
3 = +3
4 = +5
5 = +10
6 = +15
7 = +20
8 = +30
9 = +40
10 = +50

Now a level 1 Wizard is much cheaper, but a high level one almost impossible to grab of the shelf, and he is priced the same as a Rogue or Fighter, meaning that any domain can grab any class they want for increased flavor of their courts.

The new scale also entices more to grab that Hero class character and use them more actively for both administration and adventuring/lieutenant work. Less optimal on the admin part, but more vivacious domain overall.

All of the above is of course based on my assumptions and view of the world. The existing rule seems a bit divided between securing game balance and what is "right" from a non-balance point of view. I believe all we need to focus on in the rules is the balance part, and let flavor run wild.
: Re: Characters - Domains, regents and others.
: Aeric (DM Matt) July 01, 2013, 10:51:25 PM
I am on my phone in the bath - can you post the WHOLE of the actual rules extract for that bit Niels please?
: Re: Characters - Domains, regents and others.
: Torele Anviras/TA (Niels) July 01, 2013, 11:13:45 PM
Hire Help [Court]
You attract skilled persons to the regent’s court, to act as advisers or specialists.
Type: Court – You can take a number of court actions each turn equal to your Court Expenditure (minimum 1).
Cost: 1GB.
Difficulty: DDC 5.
Special – Add 5 to DDC for a Mid-level character, 10 to DDC for a High-level, etc.
Special – The above DDC assumes Elite characters (experts and such); elite characters increases the DDC by 5, while heroic characters are more rare and adds 10 to the DDC (if available at all).
101
Blooded individuals are rare (beyond what their ECL would indicate). Add 5 to the DDC for each level of bloodline strength possessed by the Scion (weak, minor, or major; characters with great and true bloodlines are not generally available using this action).
Add 5 or more to DDC if trying to hire a character of a race/culture not normally found in your court.
Add 5 or more to DDC if trying to hire a character with special skills/powers (such as one that is a Master).
Add 5 to the DDC for characters that have mastered True Magic. Add another 10 to DDC if they can cast Realm Magic.
The DM may allow you to subtract 5 (or more) from the DDC when you are hiring for only a defined period of time (or a specific task), such as for one year or a single turn.
Subtract 5 from the DDC if you are hiring an adviser (as opposed to a specialist).You can't hire henchmen; they must be promoted from existing AAs.
If using this action to attract more than one character, the base DDC is 5 + the group’s EL. This rule is applicable only to groups of characters (an adventuring party, a group of bodyguards).
Modifiers: Court; Stability; Special – In addition to the usual description, supportive etc. bonuses the DM may give you an additional bonus if the character description is very nice or if your turning an existing character into an AA.
Influence: Yes – You can use influence.
Restrictions: You may take 10, but you may not take 20.
Check: The target character joins your court for an indefinite period of time as an adviser or specialist.
See the rules for able assistance in Chapter 2: Domains for additional details of what you can use such characters for.
Special: Characters of low (1st to 3rd), medium (4th to 6th) level and high (7th to 9th) level, are assumed to be paid for by your court expenditure.
Very high (10th-12th) level and legendary (13th to 15th) level characters often demand additional (1GB) payment each turn to remain with you.
Near-epic (16th-20th) and epic (21st+) level characters are so rare as to be handled on a case-by-case basis by the DM.
Powerful spellcaster might require 1 or more extra GBs in extra payment. They are handled on case-by-case basis by the DM.
Also keep in mind that you maximum number of advisers/specialist is limited by your court expenditure (the DM may allow adventurers to be hired for defined periods of time, in excess of court expenditure).
Note: The player is more than welcome to help make up any characters he hires (in the RoE PBeM players are required to come up with character descriptions and basic statistics; otherwise the action automatically fails), but the DM has the final say.
: Re: Characters - Domains, regents and others.
: Cariele/EG (Thorsten) July 02, 2013, 12:55:18 AM
I've hired people as both Medoere and Avanil using those rules, and haven't had any issue at all. Of course I did write a background for my hired help, and in more than one occasion I hired from my able assistants or inner circle, rather than going out of my way to bring overly powerful strangers into my court. I also got my hands on AA's through other events, such as when Aubrae rescued the beleaguered troops in Northern Taeghas and got herself a strong (and much needed) general as a result. That was not part of any plan - just the happy fallout of a Wage War/Move troops action.

In all honesty, it sounds a bit like what you want to hire, are the regents of other domains, not advisers and/or specialists.



: Re: Characters - Domains, regents and others.
: Ohlaak (Alan) July 02, 2013, 01:07:14 AM
I used this action to hire Savanne (who eventually took over a large portion of the IR's domain from Tristan), but I used a ton of actions to support it, dispatches to the Imperial College, Diplomacy with the Imperial College, an Adventure Action (the person had to mesh well with Osoer), before doing the entire Hired Help action.  Further aiding my cause, was that I had already constructed an idea of how this powerful character (she was a 9th level wizard) was going to fit into the game...she was taking over a domain, I enticed the Imperial College which perhaps gaining entry to Three Brother Magi (because Jatim seriously needed instruction/tutoring), etc.  I then supported the action like crazy (though not as massively as the rules would have you believe)...

I think this is a case where the rules for this action are missing a very special DAC modifier: Special Circumstances (DM discretion).
: Re: Characters - Domains, regents and others.
: Oaken Grove Erik/GB (JP) July 02, 2013, 01:14:06 AM
This is all great info for a somewhat newbie like myself!  I glad it popped up on the radar today as unread!  I never had to hire help in my two turns but it looked like that had been done fro my domain in the past and I am sure it will be very useful in the future.
: Re: Characters - Domains, regents and others.
: Torele Anviras/TA (Niels) July 02, 2013, 03:40:44 AM
What you describe is:
1 you got aa's without using the action
2 you got a large discretionary bonus

Both cases are not strong arguments supporting the action as described in the rules.

You describe a rule that routinely is bypassed by the GM with expediency and better game experience for all involved in mind. While great, it does not make the rule as written good.
: Re: Characters - Domains, regents and others.
: Ohlaak (Alan) July 02, 2013, 05:13:05 AM
What you describe is:
1 you got aa's without using the action
2 you got a large discretionary bonus

Both cases are not strong arguments supporting the action as described in the rules.

You describe a rule that routinely is bypassed by the GM with expediency and better game experience for all involved in mind. While great, it does not make the rule as written good.

...I did use the Hired Help action, Niels. I also used a series of actions prior to it to help my chances and tried to ensure that the game narrative was enhanced by the action.
: Re: Characters - Domains, regents and others.
: Talinie & NIT/TD (Linde) July 02, 2013, 05:50:16 AM
Well, I really never felt we used the rules.(Or that description DM bonus was great)
Every time I needed to hire a person, I wrote their name, what character levels they had, what their area of expertise was, where in my organization they previously worked and how the GB / RP in effort was spent if any.

I hired 5 people in total during RoE 2 I think, and I payed from zero effort to 2 gb to 1 gb and 2 rp.
And I got chars from medium to high lvl, from skilled to master for it. Both blooded and unblooded.

I like what Bjørn did.. Sometimes you didn't get a character at the power level you asked, but you got a character.. So he couldn't cast realm magic, but hey he was still an expert assassin, skilled in subterfuge and something else.


I think the fluent rules for gm bonus for characters give advantage to those who dare ask for someone and think up a story for him and gamble a GB and perhaps a couple of RP on the GM liking the story and being nice and down scaling the character when you ask for too much.

It might be easier to gamble a couple of GB in a campaign where you're not pressed for gold and have 1-4 GB per turn to be creative with. (Disclaimer: I don't know how many GB realms will have to be creative with per turn.)


So perhaps the rules need fixing, or perhaps players need to gamble with their hard earned GB..

Either way I think we will manage.
But it would still be nice to know how Matt will run his interpretation of the hire help rules.

And this sentence in the rules need clarification:
[Special – The above DDC assumes Elite characters (experts and such); elite characters increases the DDC by 5, while heroic characters are more rare and adds 10 to the DDC (if available at all).]
: Re: Characters - Domains, regents and others.
: Cariele/EG (Thorsten) July 02, 2013, 09:16:48 AM
What you describe is:
1 you got aa's without using the action
2 you got a large discretionary bonus

Both cases are not strong arguments supporting the action as described in the rules.

You describe a rule that routinely is bypassed by the GM with expediency and better game experience for all involved in mind. While great, it does not make the rule as written good.

Yes, one indecent out of many hire help actions. And the reason I chose to post it, was to tell you, that it is possible to gain assistants through other means as well, and that some of the best or most loyal assistants are gained like this (saving a man's life makes him very grateful, y'know).

As for discretionary bonuses, I wrote several longer pieces about men I wanted to hire, to help bring about their inclusion in my domains. I also wrote them, well knowing that I might just be wasting hours of my time making up a detailed background about someone I might never get. Like any RoE-action where you write a longer description and/or IC fluff to go with it, it's a calculated risk you take. But it's still perfectly valid to do so. Especially seeing as how the rules specify that writing good descriptions might grant you bonuses (even more so in this case as your own rules extract states; "Modifiers: Special – In addition to the usual description, supportive etc. bonuses the DM may give you an additional bonus if the character description is very nice or if your turning an existing character into an AA).


I like what Bjørn did.. Sometimes you didn't get a character at the power level you asked, but you got a character.. So he couldn't cast realm magic, but hey he was still an expert assassin, skilled in subterfuge and something else.

Without knowing, I have a theory that what Bjørn did, was roll a die for your hire help action, and then downgrade/upgrade the AA you sought, until his stats/level/ability DC matched the result of the die + modifiers. That would explain why sometimes you got something below what you wanted, and sometimes you got something better.
: Re: Characters - Domains, regents and others.
: Talinie & NIT/TD (Linde) July 02, 2013, 09:51:22 AM
Without knowing, I have a theory that what Bjørn did, was roll a die for your hire help action, and then downgrade/upgrade the AA you sought, until his stats/level/ability DC matched the result of the die + modifiers. That would explain why sometimes you got something below what you wanted, and sometimes you got something better.
I've aimed high, so I only think he has downgraded.
And I am pretty sure you are right in your assessment of what Bjørn did... Either that or he always assumed a 10 on the roll. That doesn't matter much to me.

What matter to me is that I like that approach! That you always get the best the dice allows when you hire help.
Instead of getting nothing if you need a 14 but rolled 12. Or if he thinks bonus from description lowers your MOS to -3 on a take ten, then he lowers the characters abilities to reflect 3 points of DDC so take ten is possible.
You always end up with a character. The action is never wasted. That is nice.
: Re: Characters - Domains, regents and others.
: Torele Anviras/TA (Niels) July 02, 2013, 10:45:06 AM
I like what Linde suggest, about the action never failing. Cool mechanic.

There are, off the top of my head, these kinds of characters:
Fluff the player makes
Friends made
Advisors
Able Assistants
Lieutenants
Heir

listed loosely by rank/value to the domain.

I would not mind if it was simply impossible to pull a super lieutenant out of thin air in one action, but the rule  could use clarification on how to use it to "nuture" an NPC into position over several uses of the action.

Also, it is beneficial to reduce the amount of work placed on the GM to add new people.
: Re: Characters - Domains, regents and others.
: Cariele/EG (Thorsten) July 02, 2013, 12:20:20 PM
Whatever the case you will likely never be able to pull a "super lieutenant" out of thin air. You might be able to hire a somewhat capable guy with one action, and name him a lieutenant with another (Hire Help gives you "advisers and specialists" as the action states, you need a Grant action to promote him, and the DC for that increases if he's someone new and unknown to you). It will take time and effort, as such things should.

Hire Help is not, I believe, made for regents to buff their domains by adding tons of powerful characters of a level equal to or higher than the actual regent to it, but more a means to acquire assistants you can turn to with certain issues or questions, or delegate certain assignments to, so your regent is freed up for something else. For the weak and/or careful regents it is also a means to participate in things they would otherwise be capable of doing, but at the cost of sending someone less competent than the regent itself along.
: Re: Characters - Domains, regents and others.
: Aeric (DM Matt) July 02, 2013, 01:20:53 PM
Examining the viability of a game action by taking the best possible outcome and deciding on the relative merit of the features design by how likely/achievable it is is foolhardy at best.

The action is clearly skewed to limit the access of the regent to blooded characters as your advisors/helpers/hirelings. And that is fine; those blooded individuals are the focus of the PC game - they are your direct competition in the setting and should not be easily recruited to power your business through these troubled times.

I think most of those rules are pretty clear tbh - you are recruiting able advisors and henchmen and above are promoted up through... it is all written there in actuality. We will set up a section of the forums for the discussion of actions though so we can try to capture thoughts and do some proper analysis and discussion - I think Bobby may already have volunteered to do just that (without knowing ;) )
: Re: Characters - Domains, regents and others.
: Torele Anviras/TA (Niels) July 02, 2013, 02:32:26 PM
I believe my position has been made clear...
1. The rules as written could support the intended application better. A simple rephrasing a few places would take care of that.

2. I believe the "bottom" heavy DDC penalties could be reworked to allow greater variety in character types while not impacting actual game balance. Restricting the total number of blooded characters will always be up to GM approval ofc, but as is, it has no game mechanical value to have a blooded AA so NONE of them typically are. This too is unlikely IC.

Whether there is merit in adjusting the rules on this foundation is of course ultimately not up to me.
: Re: Characters - Domains, regents and others.
: Silver House/ClDh (Bobby) July 02, 2013, 02:39:49 PM
Wait.... volunteer?  This isn't a paid position?    :o   

What I'm hearing here is partly a debate about the DCs involved in Hire Help, but mostly one about how you ACHIEVE those DCs.  That says to me that not everyone is on the same page with how actions interact, or that not everyone agrees with how a process of actions does/should work.  And that doesn't surprise me, because those were things I learned about Bjorn's style from play, not from reading the RG.  Most of the information is in there, but the emphasis in the writing hasn't always been in the same places as the emphasis during gameplay. 

I think we need to have a little more clarity about the results of using Regent actions, such as Diplomacy, Espionage, and Adventure, as Supportive Actions.  I think we also need to discuss expectations of player knowledge (how much a player needs to know about his action's odds of success) - a player needs to know enough to have a chance at figuring out the best way to do things, but not so much that he expects to have total control over how things run.

Past that, Niels does have a point that there's several things in Hire Help that could be adjusted.  What is the impact of a non-heroic character vs. a heroic one?  Is that a distinction worth making in this game, or should we let go of the differences between 'NPC' and 'PC' classes and just worry about character levels?  Is the bonus provided by being a Master of a skill (particularly Administration or Warcraft) equivalent to a +5 DC?  I know I tended to go for those Masters on the majority of my Hire Helps, even at the cost of a lower character level. 

Matt, are you saying you want to open a new forum section for threads like this?  Sounds fine to me if so, and I'll kick things off in there and try to guide discussions to keep them productive, but I don't have the permissions in the forum to create areas.  Do we want to just put this stuff in the Regent Guide section?
: Re: Characters - Domains, regents and others.
: Torele Anviras/TA (Niels) July 02, 2013, 02:50:15 PM
Precisely Bobby!
: Re: Characters - Domains, regents and others.
: Cariele/EG (Thorsten) July 02, 2013, 03:07:25 PM
What is the impact of a non-heroic character vs. a heroic one?  Is that a distinction worth making in this game, or should we let go of the differences between 'NPC' and 'PC' classes and just worry about character levels?  Is the bonus provided by being a Master of a skill (particularly Administration or Warcraft) equivalent to a +5 DC?  I know I tended to go for those Masters on the majority of my Hire Helps, even at the cost of a lower character level. 

If I recall correctly a heroic character has PC class levels, while a non-heroic character has NPC class levels. Wizards and Priests tend to need spellcasting capability (making them heroic).

That said, and going by what is in the latest RG, characters are grouped into one of four tiers of heroism; heroes, elites, professionals, and commoners. Hirelings (ie. people hired using the Hire Help action) are either professionals or elites. The groupings are described as follows:

Heroes: Regents, lieutenants, and real adventurers. Truly exceptional individuals. May reach any level. Can have multiple proficiencies. Example: Your lieutenant who is also your best general.
Elites: Characters with heroic class levels; a cut above the rabble. Rarely go above medium level. Sometimes have more than one proficiency. Example: Guard captain.
Professionals: Typical members of non-heroic classes; nothing special really. Will rarely have more than one proficiency. Example: Infantryman.
Commoner: Members of the commoner class. Not exceptional in any way. No proficiencies. Example: Peasant Levy
: Re: Characters - Domains, regents and others.
: Aeric (DM Matt) July 02, 2013, 03:29:28 PM

Matt, are you saying you want to open a new forum section for threads like this?  Sounds fine to me if so, and I'll kick things off in there and try to guide discussions to keep them productive, but I don't have the permissions in the forum to create areas.  Do we want to just put this stuff in the Regent Guide section?

Put it in the regent guide section :)

(I can't create forums either)
: Re: Characters - Domains, regents and others.
: Talinie & NIT/TD (Linde) July 02, 2013, 08:47:32 PM
I like what Linde suggest, about the action never failing. Cool mechanic.

There are, off the top of my head, these kinds of characters:
Fluff the player makes
Friends made
Advisors
Able Assistants
Lieutenants
Heir

listed loosely by rank/value to the domain.

I would not mind if it was simply impossible to pull a super lieutenant out of thin air in one action, but the rule  could use clarification on how to use it to "nuture" an NPC into position over several uses of the action.

Also, it is beneficial to reduce the amount of work placed on the GM to add new people.

I don't think that I made a suggestion. I feel I pointed out how the action have been played.
I have made a hire help action asking for help that by all right should be ddc 40 - 50.
And instead of failing I've gotten the character, but scaled down to a ddc 20.

I am not saying that this is the only way to do it, or even the best way to do it.
I am just saying that it worked.

And in a game where emphasis has been put on the lack of monetary resources, and the importance of using your entire domain and not just your regent, I hope hire help action will continue to work.


: Re: Characters - Domains, regents and others.
: Ohlaak (Alan) September 11, 2013, 04:17:25 AM
The thing about movies, about books and even about the stories we tell each other is that they are all have one thing in common - they are all based around characters. The characters drive the narrative, they resolve the actions and they provide all of the emotional content too. It is their fears, their hopes and their dreams, their successes and their failures that we rollercoast through and leaves us cheering or sobbing at the page.

And when we play roleplaying games it is those characters that we play as, that we enact through with the world our imaginations have the jointly created. But Birthright is an unusual RPG in that way, as you are often playing more than one character.

Your domain is a character - it has a personality, a set of agendas and suffers or succeeds based on your actions and those of you acting around you.

Your regent is a character - it has a personality, a set of agendas and suffers or succeeds based on your actions and those of you acting around you.

Sometimes those characters clash; it might be the case that a personal agenda clashes with a realm policy and that friction creates game. It makes the story that drives the game. And then those same characters clash and bounce off other realms and regents, let alone all the NPCs. It is a self perpetuating story machine in the right hands.

So, if you have bothered to read this far, you are probably asking why I am writing this. My summary is this; your character is not just your regent. It is your domain, your realm. It is also your Lts, your minor court official npc's. And it is your regent. All of those characters present the nature of your part in the game and hopefully we will be able to get enough feeling and depth into as much of those elements as possible to make your realm feel a fully fledged character all of its own. After all you are assigned a Domain, not a regent, to play.

But yes, I'll make sure there are some clear rules for generating pc-type characters - just remember they really are not the whole of the game ;)

DM Matt summarized very well here what characters we the players are playing.  Much of what he wrote got hidden behind other less important things.