Halflings - Originally hailing from a parallel universe called the Shadow World, they live amongst other humans, often hiding their origins since the Shadow World is closely associated with Azrai.They are magical creatures related to the fey, and have a completely non-theistic society that worships no gods. Some elves actually originally sided with Azrai in the great war, but only the most rage-maddened stayed with him to the end, most elves switching sides in horror when they saw the depths of his depravity. They are often at odds with humans and other cultures due being the colonized original inhabitants of Cerilia before humans migrated there. Elves - Sidhelien as they call themselves.Rjurik, a culture based on a mixture of medieval Scandinavian and Celtic peoples.Khinasi, culture loosely based on the Moors.Brecht, culture based on the Hanseatic League.Anuireans, a culture based on the English and French during the 100 years war.Humans in the Birthright setting can come from 5 different cultures, thus adding a bit more personality (and stat bonuses) to your characters. Every "blooded" person doesn't necessarily genetically inherit their abilities it can be handed off to a chosen successor via a religious rite called "Investiture" before death or, more darkly, stolen in an act called Bloodtheft by an enemy who strikes a Blooded being through the heart. Such Holdings can include sources of religious, temporal, and magical power the latter are called "Source" Holdings. Notably, "blooded" creatures can literally bond with the land, with good and just lords or cruel and capricious tyrants seeing the nature of their governments reflected in their Holding. In fact, the idea is so clearly invoked that Cerilia is very strongly based on the Great Britain subregion of Wales, which mostly shines through in the native language of the elves. In many ways, Birthright can be considered the D&D setting that most closely adheres to the trope of "Medieval European Fantasy" - and yes, that is actually an entirely separate trope to the "Standard Fantasy Setting" trope. It isn't truly grimdark in the same way as A Song of Ice and Fire, though.
![birthright campaign setting birthright campaign setting](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/PgkAAOSwjhdfrFcb/s-l300.jpg)
Monsters are generally rare and uncommon, with most of them being unique creatures and huge challenges rather than entire races meant to be beaten for loots. There is only one plane linked to this world and it is a darker version of the reality called Shadow World.Ĭerilia in general is, despite still being an obviously fantasy setting, a more grounded and realistic take than most D&D settings, with a focus on medieval politics, intrigue, and logistics. The game is set in the world of Aebrynis, specifically on a continent named Cerilia.