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Message: <blockquote data-quote="edemaitre" data-source="post: 5779968" data-attributes="member: 3372">Byzantine gameTry the D20 "Last Days of Constantinople," any D20 or GURPS book on imperial Rome or the early Middle Ages, and other games set in late antiquity, such as "Fvlminata," "Cthulhu Invictus," and BRP "Rome."You should also think about themes for your campaign -- is it about the civilized Byzantine Greeks against the rising barbarian hordes of Europe, Asia, and Arabia, or is it more about machinations in the decadent eastern Roman empire? Is the church (east or west) a force for compassion, knowledge, and order, or of imperialist and patriarchal oppression? Your initial scenario suggests both.What professions would your typical Player Characters have? Soldiers, spies, bureaucrats? Mercenaries, scholars, bounty hunters, missionaries? Although the western empire collapsed shortly before 500 A.D./C.E., the eastern one lasted for almost another millennium. Much of what we take for granted about Slavic society is derived from the Greeks and Romans through the Byzantine empire, just as the west gets much of its literature, the Napoleonic code, and architecture from the western one via the Renaissance.By the time Crusaders and Ottoman Turks sacked Constantinople, it had been gradually declining, but in 500, it was still rising, a vital center of art, culture, and learning, with Varangian guards (Viking hirelings), tolerance of homosexuality and other faiths, and enough wealth to maneuver around potential foes. The trade cities of northeastern Italy, such as Venice, benefited from being part of the eastern empire.Good luck, and happy gaming!</blockquote>

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