Orbis Mundi 2 is probably the most in-depth coverage of historical medieval Europe/North Africa/Middle East, and does have some depth on Judaism and include a few prominent Jewish characters. There's not much else, though I remember one edition of Pendragon including rules for Jewish knights (not unknown in the tales it's based on).
HISTORICAL CAMPAIGNS
Orbis Mundi 2 is probably the most in-depth coverage of historical medieval Europe/North Africa/Middle East, and does have some depth on Judaism and include a few prominent Jewish characters. There's not much else, though I remember one edition of Pendragon including rules for Jewish knights (not unknown in the tales it's based on).
The only problem with that style of play is everyone has to agree on what is racist and what is not racist and how people in general treated people of other groups in that time period. And that can get heated if people disagree or feel differently on these topics. I generally don’t want to be on a soapbox preaching my views on these topics nor do I want to listen to someone else’s when I sit down to play a game. They never end with civil discourse from my experience. It’s like walking on eggshell for me
Testament by green ronin was good too.
Eltab
Lord of the Hidden Layer
+1 for Testament.
It works well for about the era between the Judges and the Babylonian Captivity. I have not tried to do anything with the Mythic Past chapter but the material is evocative. Enough cultural material about nearby peoples (from Egypt to Babylonia) is provided so the campaign can travel and make it feel like you are in a different land.
It works well for about the era between the Judges and the Babylonian Captivity. I have not tried to do anything with the Mythic Past chapter but the material is evocative. Enough cultural material about nearby peoples (from Egypt to Babylonia) is provided so the campaign can travel and make it feel like you are in a different land.
zarionofarabel
Hero
Just about any time or place in history is chock full of adventure potential if you look for it. I would say anything set around large scale military or political upheaval is ripe for the picking.
I will throw in with the Mythras crowd and enthusiastically suggest Mythic Britain. It is easily one of the best takes on the King Arthur myth I have encountered.
I also enjoyed reading the Mythic Rome setting. It isn't set up for adventure like Mythic Britain, but it is a very concise reference for the time period for the Mythras system.
MNblockhead
A Title Much Cooler Than Anything on the Old Site
I prefer to draw on history for inspiration but am not that interested in playing a campaign in a historical setting. My reason is the same reason I don't like running games in well established fictional settings like Star Wars, Star Trek, Dr Who, Lord of the Rings, etc.: they tend to get caught up in arguments on canon and even when they don't uber fans will be disappointed if I get something wrong about the period or fictional world.
Similarly, I'm not interested in playing in a game pitched as a historical game when it is set in a period or culture I have a lot of familiarity with. It is immersion breaking when the DM has a very shallow or unfactual understanding of the history and culture.
But I absolutely love to draw on real-world cultures to inform my fantasy worlds.
Similarly, I'm not interested in playing in a game pitched as a historical game when it is set in a period or culture I have a lot of familiarity with. It is immersion breaking when the DM has a very shallow or unfactual understanding of the history and culture.
But I absolutely love to draw on real-world cultures to inform my fantasy worlds.
Samloyal23
Adventurer
I have heard good things about Testament, I want to get my hands on a copy one of these days. I have the Pendragon supplement "Knights Adventurous", which has a chapter on the Jewish religion but no actual crunch for Jewish characters. "Charnel Houses of Europe: The Shoah" is a sourcebook for the game Wraith: The Oblivion by Black Dog Game Factory. It deals in depth with the Holocaust. It is not for the squeamish, but is designed to educate people about the genocide that took place during WWII. "Kabbalah: Mythic Judaism" for the Ars Magica game is the only book completely dedicated to Jews in an RPG setting that I know of, and as a Jew who does not actually play Ars Magica I thought it was really well done. If you know about another Judaic RPG supplement or game, I am all ears...
Samloyal23
Adventurer
So, I've started a group for Jewish gamers and Judaic content in RPGs, if you are a Member of the Tribe, come check it, just opened tonight. If you're a goy, come by, too.
The Jewish RPG Workshop
The Jewish RPG Workshop
aramis erak
Legend
Technically, I've never done a proper historical game... but I've run several fantastic¹ settings that are historical in the sense of using a clear divergence point.
Pendragon (4th-5th-6th C but Arthurian)
Mazes and Minotaurs (boosted by the ICE Rolemaster/Fantasy Hero sourcebook Mythic Greece)
RuneQuest III on Fantasy Earth (bronze age) - just a couple one-shots
Spirit of the Century (1920's-1930's.)
Vampire: the Dark Ages
Ars Magica
A number of moderns that have various levels of fantasy, as well
Merc 2000 setting for Twilight 2000 2.0/2.2 - this is the most historic; it only adds more unrest
Delta Force - a couple runs of one-shots set in the present, so not technically "historical"
Dresden Files
Vampire: the Masquerade (1e)
Stargate SG-1
My Methods
The prime directive of any setting with a timeline: The timeline diverges to independence the moment the first PC takes an action.
Generally, I dive into a setting anyway, so...
With Pendragon, I read LeMorte d'Artur - it's good, if repetitive with the genealogies, and the Mabinogion
I also watched every arthurian film I could. And then just kept to the tone, and pulled interesting bits from the timeline. I also got to know the lay of the land by using Ordinance Survey maps, Google Earth, and the rulebooks. I recommend the films Tristan & Isolde, Excalibur, and the film version of Lerner & Lowe's musical, Camelot. I do not recommend TH White's Once and Future King, as it's essentially anachronisms galore. Any of the pendragon campaign books are excellent sources: The Pendragon Campaign, The Boy King, The Great Pendragon Campaign. I also recommend reading any of the norse sagas for getting into the Saxon mindset.
Mazes and Minotaurs I broke out the mythologies and read several. Plus reread a number of Plato's writings. I also used a Mythic Greece supplement for Hero System and Rolemaster. As a kid, bible stories and mythologies were my favored bedtime stories. Plus having watched aa bunch of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess. but note that all of the good sources for popular Greece are very much not historic.
RuneQuest III deluxe included a Fantasy Earth map, and some excellent guidance. I did no research for it... but it's built on a bronze age baseline. Anything for Greece is a good start. If you're doing Glorantha, the greco-roman mythologies, and any archaeological works you've read/watched are good tools. With Greg's passing, I doubt you'll get gregged as often...
For the moderns, since the ones I've used are military, making certain players understand the roles of various ranks is important. The nutshell of that outside combat arms:
Field Grade Officers: Delegate and coordinate, compliance and budgeting.
Company Grade Officers: technical work, supervise and coordinate, delegating what can be.
Senior NCO's Adminsitration and training, shop foreman
Junior NCO's team leadership and technical work
Junior Enlisted (including non-NCO US E4's: SrAirman, Specialist-4): day to day labor, supervised technical work.
Combat arms are different, so I let that be more cinematic, to a point.
cbwjm
Seb-wejem
I tend to use what knowledge I have of history and then put a fantasy spin on it. I'd also look at various resources like the old dragon magazine articles on old cities (they contained maps and characters found in the city, possibly over a time period) since my general knowledge has large gaps in it. I would probably check out the old 2e green books depending on where I'm setting things or the castles and crusade books that go over similar material. Probably wouldn't do too deep a dive into it though, don't want to get bogged down in the details when everyone is just there to have fun.
The old dragon magazines actually had quite a bit of material now I think of it. People had come up with African class kits and some brief notes on the gods there. Dark ages England had a few expansive articles as well. There would likely be a lot more you could find, I'd suggest going to the dragondex website to look for articles to source.
The old dragon magazines actually had quite a bit of material now I think of it. People had come up with African class kits and some brief notes on the gods there. Dark ages England had a few expansive articles as well. There would likely be a lot more you could find, I'd suggest going to the dragondex website to look for articles to source.
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