General Setting

Birthright was a fantasy Role-Playing Game (RPG) based on the concept of the 'Buffy The Vampire Slayer' franchise. Stretching across Nevada, between the neon paradise of Las Vegas and desert town of Searchlight, Birthright offered the perfect setting for good writers seeking a quality world where supernaturally-inclined characters could play.

Rooted in the near-future of Joss Whedon's 'Slayerverse', Birthright took on an epic life of its own, with a primary focus on original characters. The forum was created on July 10th, 2004 and ended July 10, 2008, after 4 years of nonstop roleplay. Over 5,000 in-characters posts were made by the writers, making Birthright one of the largest, most active RPGs on InsaneJournal or GreatestJournal.

The story was set 4 years into the future and spanned the fictional years 2008-2012, in the locations of Searchlight and Las Vegas, Nevada, where an entity known as the Exile was primarily responsible for bringing characters to the area. It was a catalyst to propel the game forward, running in the background of more active, character-focused storylines that writers created.

Birthright was not an AU (Alternate Universe). It took place several years after the close of both television shows. It was canon through the tv series finales of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. Over the next few years, the line between good and evil became blurred. Hundreds of Slayers had been called into a world without a cohesive Watchers' Council to guide the way. A major Hellmouth had been closed and the Circle of the Black Thorn destroyed. Unlikely alliances were made between demons, witches, Watchers, Slayers, and other humans. Both light and dark forces were scattered and an increasing number of 'grey area' players rose to power.

What Is The Exile?

Archaeological evidence tells us that pockets of human civilization have existed in the American South-West since 12,000 BC. The region which would become Searchlight, Nevada, was no different. Among the first to cross the mountains and deserts were nomadic tribes, some of which flourished briefly before disappearing from archaeological record, leaving behind only vague impressions of their world. After the nomads came the settling tribes - the Paiutes and Washoes numbering among them. Hundreds of years later, Europeans came for land and stayed for mining. At times a bustling community, at others a ghost town, Searchlight has always been a place of periodic population explosion and purging. The latter has almost always been accomplished through violence.

Until recently, it was unknown to all but the loftiest forces of Good and Evil that there is a reason for Searchlight's violent history. A great power exists within that land. Called the Exile, it is is an ambiguous entity with allegiance only to itself. A mystery at times, the Exile has always been a force deserving respect and something more - containment. For thousands of years, it has been locked in the desert; its prison a dimensional rift. The key to the Exile's eventual freedom is not magic, but the absorption of energy released in acts of violence, lust, chaos and death.

Throughout the ages, the Exile has acted as a beacon, sending subconscious signals to humans and more, drawing them close for inevitable confrontations culminating in slaughter and feeding off the energy released. Each time, the goal was to harness enough energy to free itself. Every previous attempt to corral enough energy has failed.

In the summer of 2008, efforts were begun anew, this time with an entirely different target. What better source of energy than a slow-building battle between the supernatural light and dark? As their battle builds, so does the strength of the Exile's 'beacon', calling players from farther corners of the earth and of more significant power. It also has a small following of demons, whose underground stronghold protects the Exile and its prison from disruption.

The Exile's allegiances to good and evil, as well as its own end-game, are unknown. Until recently, its efforts have been largely ignored by the higher order of good and evil, who practice an unspoken policy of non-interference, because the Exile's freedom could cause an upset in the delicate balance of power. But this newest advancement has garnered attention because it has the potential to succeed. If the Exile is permanently released, the delicate balance between good and evil will be disrupted.

On the Winter Solstice of 2010, a battle broke out in the city of sin. A tear between universes had been opened by a scientist at Wolfram and Hart, allowing traffic between our world and a decimated version of it, in which the Old Ones had taken control. The tear eventually became unstable and began to envelop the city. During the fight to keep our world from being destroyed, enough energy was generated to allow the Exile a temporary release. Without warning, and without known motives, the entity surfaced in Las Vegas and stabilised the tear. Once the chaos stopped and, thus, the fuel for its temporary freedom, the Exile was returned to its mystical prison. Its small army fought to kill off the remainder of the demons left by the tear.

The everyday warriors on both sides of the ancient struggle are now aware that an entity exists; they have no understanding that it is their on-going battle which feeds the Exile.

What is Project Integration?

The close of Birthright was ushered in by the Project Integration plot. A wing of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security opened in Henderson, Nevada under executive orders from the White House. The purpose of the project was to sort through known supernatural creatures, inviting those who were considered 'redeemable' (or just useful), as well as humans 'in the know' about the supernatural, to become Special Federal Agents. In time, those Agents were tasked with raiding the streets to capture any supernaturals or sympathizers who refused to join up, and those who were considered too dangerous to be recruited. Once captured, the creatures were interrogated and pressured to join, or faced permanent imprisonment by the U.S. government. The program was mimicked in other countries, including Mexico, Canada, and Russia.

After a chaotic raid on a meet-up of rebels, a government vehicle holding captives wrecked, and a media source was anonymously called in to photograph the event. This ushered in a wave of bad press for the government, who was pressured to admit knowledge of Project Integration. Denials were made. More demons and humans continued to come forward, including an Agent within Project Integration. New leadership was sent to Henderson. It took only days for the Agents to put the final bullet in Project Integration.

A spell was attempted to exploit the Exile's ability to send demons to a hell dimension. The Agents thought they could clean up for the government's mess by making the problem disappear. Instead, all hell dimensions and mystical convergences were temporarily unveiled on a global scale (the Exile's real power was to potentially open and blend all dimensions). This supernaturally hair-raising event outed the Project and forced the government to admit its hand in the supernatural.

What happened next? Follow our sequel!

Birthright archives can be found below:
July 10, 2004 until January 8, 2008
January 9, 2008 until July 17, 2008