Historical Campaign Ideas

JacktheRabbit · Jun 6, 2019

What historical events have you used as loose basis for a campaign and how did they turn out?

I am considering creating a campaign based around the American Civil War but not sure on the details. My main quandary is the core basis of the war, slavery. Being DnD the obvious choice is to use orcs, goblins, or similar as the slaves for the equivalent "South" but I dont want this becoming any sort of PC fest where I am accused of making light of slavery by compared enslaved blacks to goblinoids.

So what have others done and how did it work out?

HJFudge · Jun 6, 2019

JacktheRabbit said:
What historical events have you used as loose basis for a campaign and how did they turn out?

I am considering creating a campaign based around the American Civil War but not sure on the details. My main quandary is the core basis of the war, slavery. Being DnD the obvious choice is to use orcs, goblins, or similar as the slaves for the equivalent "South" but I dont want this becoming any sort of PC fest where I am accused of making light of slavery by compared enslaved blacks to goblinoids.

So what have others done and how did it work out?

I've done a campaign loosely based on the Crusades...with the Elves trying to take back their holy city from the Humans who had set up shop there after the Elven Exodus. Classic racial/religious tensions, allowed for a bit of factionalism for the players to choose from within the various sides. I think it went very well? No one made much hullabaloo about it mocking a real world religion since I changed it up so that the religions were nothing like the ones found on earth, and also both sides were kinda dicks to everyone that wasn't them.

The campaign went rather smooth, unfortunately it petered out after about a year, due to me moving because of work. But the players enjoyed it till then. I consider revisiting that campaign from time to time, but I have so many other ideas haha and that one was kinda too 'one note' for my current sensibilities.

Dannyalcatraz · Jun 6, 2019

I actually designed a Civil War inspired D&D campaign centered around the slave-owning Drow vs the surface Elves (and their allies). “The War of Surface Aggression” never got run, though, due to the group breaking up.

I’ve also run supers games set in WW I and WW II.

Before you run a historically inspired game, though, rule #1 is to be sure you’re not stepping on any landmines in the form of people’s heritage or personal history, IOW, you have to know your players. Don’t assume anyone’s position, ask. One Asian American person might be fine playing in a campaign inspired by events or actually set in the Pacific Theater of
WW II, while another might have serious problems with it.

Second, do your homework. The surest way to self-sabotage the campaign is to get the facts wrong- assuming we’re not talking a purely alt-historical campaign, such as one in which the Nazis won enough key battles to still be ruling Germany.

Third, be respectful. Even if it is thematically appropriate for an NPC to use a real-world slur, don’t have him using it like salt on a giant pretzel. Once or twice is enough for the players to get the point, and you might not even need that.

uzirath · Jun 6, 2019

I've stolen and reskinned many historical events but never used one specific event (or war) as the basis for a whole campaign or world. So I read a book about Krakatoa and then I have a massive eruption and devastating tsunami. I read an article about an archaeological dig somewhere and I base my next adventure loosely on that (or I steal the map and add a gelatinous cube). I am constantly pillaging plotlines and settings from reality.

The US Civil War is tough. I wouldn't touch US-style chattel slavery myself; it would be too easy for it to feel trivialized. (And, much as I hit important, serious themes in some of my campaigns, I always keep in mind that it is a game, played for fun.) But I might steal lots of elements from that era. If I were really into some of the battles, then I might have a big war going on and use some of those battles as inspiration. If I'm into the idea of a civil war (brothers fighting brothers), then I'd go with that, but I wouldn't have one side enslaving other people.

Dannyalcatraz · Jun 6, 2019

I read an article about an archaeological dig somewhere and I base my next adventure loosely on that (or I steal the map and add a gelatinous cube).

I visited Knossos on Crete when I was a kid, and our family picked up some souvenirs and site guides. Years later, I took the palace map and xeroxed it onto graph paper for an adventure.

Derren · Jun 6, 2019

I usually try to use lesser known historic events as source for campaigns. That way there is a lower chanve that players will recognize it and start to project things into it or try to use history as metagame knowledge.

Whats lesser known history depends on the group, but so far anything from the near and middle east, India, and events between the 6th to 9th and 14th to 17th century have been a safe bet for me.

I can't really help you with your specific idea, because as a non-american the civil war, including the slavery, is a lot less important to me and also has less baggage attached to it than for you and likely your players. And lets be honest, D&D is build around murdering things, often because of their race, and taking their stuff.

Michele · Jun 6, 2019

I used the 1938-1945 period. It was a GURPS Monster Hunters campaign, so the assumption was that the war waged by the PCs was a secret war, running in parallel with the open war everyone knew about. That allowed the PCs to score successes without (overly) changing the course of history. While initially they fought against minor monsters who were, so to speak, "neutral" in WWII, over time it turned out the worst monsters were siding with Nazi Germany, so the PCs' work helped (secretly) the Allies.

Worked out well; it helps that I know my history. Naturally, the players also knew the basics of WWII, but they couldn't know whether any one of their efforts would mean "succeed and the war won't turn worse for the Allies than you know", or "succeed and the war will turn better for the Allies than you know"; even in the latter case, things went smoothly enough.

Dannyalcatraz · Jun 6, 2019

The expansion of America into the west is relatively untapped, and has all kinds of potential.

dragoner · Jun 6, 2019

I often use history, Mythic Constantinople became the background for Caverns of Thracia; changing it Caverns of Cyrenaica, and the city lost Cyrene. There is a DnD bestiary for Mythras, and we had a lot of fun with this campaign.

My opinion of any "should I" type questions, is that if it seems one is wandering into a minefield, don't do it.

KahlessNestor · Jun 6, 2019

I have an idea for a setting based on the Hundred Years War, sort of space fantasy, and also a Wild West themed fantasy. Recently been reading on the Napoleonic Age and thinking that might make an interesting setting too with elves and dwarves thrown in.