Historical Fantasy

Crothian

First Post
This is one area of d20 that really hasn't been dealt with. We see all this traditional fantasy stuff, but I'd like to see more historical fantasy. I'm wondering what other people's thoughts on the subject are. And maybe if we are lucky a publisher or two will stop by to voice their opinion.
 

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My world is heavily based on Norse mythology with societies rangeing from 10th century Scandanavian to 12th Century France, Normandy, England etc...

But there are still Dwarves and Giants and even Drow (but no good ones!)

Oh yeah, the link....

Lords of the Earth
 
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Heyya,
I really like the idea of well done 'historical' fantasy Role-playing games.
I mean shadowrun was great, and I see no reason why a similar sort of mechanic couldn't be based in the past just as easily as our not too distant future. Though I think there are any number of other ways to use the concept well.

When I first talked to my players about the idea, we were all thinking in terms of medieval or ancient historical scenarios. After revisiting the subject a few times, however, one of the players revealed that what he really wanted to see was a Napoleanic fantasy campaign. One in which magic had been around long enough to be integrated into the world, but not so present that it had completely changed the feeling of the time period. At first, we were all pretty sceptical, then he pointed us all to the Moorcock stories involving Count Brass and the Newton's Cannon books.

And we suddenly understood the wicked coolness of his grand scheme.

I mean what if magic had been 'discovered' in the Renaissance? With magical development paralleling technological development even to the point where the developing nation states 'mutated' themselves to more accurately match their newly perceived national characters. A world in which individuals had discovered a new found ability to become legendary heroes through trial by dynamic experiences and the power of new magical principles. A world in which the rising professions of scientists, philosophes, and dilletantes were also the increasingly powerful practitioners of wizardry and sorcery. A world in which the clergy, the traditional opponents of such men, are discovering powers of their own.

A world in which Napolean Bonaparte's career is powered by the truth of palidinhood, at least until a night in an Egyptian temple changes his perspective?

All right so that may or may not be a little silly, but the images of nations remaking themselves as demi-humans and of wizard's dressed in the aristocratic garb of the last days of the 18th century rising above the massed infantry of the British/Elvish empire in preparation for the inevitable French assault...
...will not leave me alone!!!

Somewhere out there is a gaming company waiting to be made wealthy by some similar vision and the sweat of addicted brow!

If you build it, we will come!

errr, I mean, I'd look at it twice... Yeah.
 

Have you seen Septentrionalis D20 in 17th Century America

A great historic fantasy site imho.
I actually came across it while looking for a Alvin Maker type setting (Orson Scott Cards Colonial America setting where minor magical knacks and hexes are real which I thought would be a wonderful setting)

I also once helped design and played in a campaign based on 'Solomon Kane'

In that setting the Grand Inquistior had become Pope, and all of Souther Europe was held under the Inquistions rule. In the Church only a small inner sanctum had any knowledge of Magic and arcane magic was declared satanic.

Cromwell had survived and his Protectorate had expanded to dominate Northern France. However Llyonness had risen off the coast of Scotland and the Sidhe (Fey and Elves) had returned to the new land of Calendonia (formerly Scotland, Ireland and Llyoness). The protectorate and the Seelie Courts still battle along the border marches

Magic users had been driven eastward into Liberal Prussia and Austria and further into Vampire ruled Eastern Europe.

The Ottoman Empire ruled Turkey and much of Araby, Africa and Central Asia. However they were not Islamic and so Djinni and Gargoyles still held much influence there.

Further East Khitai was a mysterious land and many strange beasts (gryphons, manticore, giants) were yet encountered along the silk road.

America was still mainly unexplored with a few coastal colonies, although more established cities had been built in the Caribbean allowing for much Bucaneer and Voodoo adventuring

it was fun...
 

Hiii,

I think any fantasy campaign, unless obviously "high fantasy" of the world crushing kind should be tempered with a bit of history from the real middle ages. It makes it more beliavable then having Demons wandering around the world. Besides there are so many strange historical stories that seem to beat the wildest fantasy story. I played a half giant squire set in 13th century Normandy, which was great fun. Sadly the GM left for parts unknown soon afterwards.

But there are stylistic problems with a d20 system being made into a "realistic fantasy", besides I think Pendragon, Ars Magica or Rune Quest does the same thing...

- Angel Tears
 

Crothian said:
This is one area of d20 that really hasn't been dealt with. We see all this traditional fantasy stuff, but I'd like to see more historical fantasy. I'm wondering what other people's thoughts on the subject are. And maybe if we are lucky a publisher or two will stop by to voice their opinion.

I have had great fun using DragonQuest, Chivalry & Sorcery, and ForeSight to run fantasy games set in historical contexts. For example I have one game set in the Rhône Valley in 1122-1127 (and which examined the Hildebrandtine Reforms of the Church); and another that started out in Cyprus in 1291 and degenerated into a quest for Prester John. Neither of these campaigns would have had the same impact if set in a fantasy world.

One of the drawbacks of D&D is that magic and supernatural powers of high-level characters are so woven into its being, and that magical items are so necessary for its game balance, and that its magic is so idiosyncratic, that it is hard to use D&D to run an historical campaign. A D&D world is too definitely a D&D world to pass for the real world in the past.

IMHO. YMMV. YDWYDWP.


Agback
 

I've been running a d20 game set in the American Colonies (circa 1763) for about six or seven months by now. The tone is somewhat dark, somewhere between horror and standard fantasy stuff. The PCs are investigators for a secret soceity dedicated to protecting people from the supernatural. Major influences are Dark Matter, Call of Cthulhu, Delta Green, and the X-Files, as well as Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow film for general mood.

I'm having a grand old time with it. Races are mostly human; supernatural critters tend to hide, and there aren't any demihuman races that would be recognizable. Characters include... let's see here.

-A half-vampire who's working as an enforcer and investigator for the Soceity
-A Spanish witch, who's running from past traumas
-A rich intellectual, who dabbles in magic and medicine
-Another rich intellectual who's trying to figure out a grimoire she inherited from her dead husband
-A Chinese ascetic who's working for the Soceity to pay off spiritual debts

Previous characters have included a demonslayer for the Catholic Church, an Indian shaman, a woodsman who was slowly remembering an Aztec heritage, a British soldier who could see ghosts, and an Enochian wizard.

Should anyone be interested in seeing rules, I can post a link to 'em. Maybe even put a few in the House Rules forum for comment.

So far, the characters have had about a half-dozen adventures. There was the rescue of a child with powerful prophetic abilities from an insect-cult, the cleansing of a theatre possessed by a lhiannan shee, investigating the disappearance of some magical candles, re-trapping a djinn, and (currently) trying to figure out why a demon got involved in a police raid on some smugglers. Most of my advnetures are original; a few are converted Ravenloft or Call of Cthulhu fare.

In point of fact, we're sort of looking for another player. It's an online game, run using OpenRPG on Sunday nights, from 7-11 PM Central time. If anyone's interested, let me know.
 


Wicked

The Solomon Kane world sounds very cool, how does the inquisition compete with magic heavy nations?

And how does Cromwell feel about sorcery?

Someone recommended the series to me as good source material for Swashbuckling Adventures but I can't find any of the books anywhere.
 
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What you need are all the appropriate historical GURPS books for the time and region you want, plus GURPS Cabal for all kinds of magical weirdness based on real-world history, plus GURPS Warehouse 23 for more weirdness, plus the Suppressed Transmission books for more historical weirdness than you could conceivably need - they have everything from Ancient Astronauts to the magic in Shakespeare plays.

And if you want alternate history, there is GURPS Alternate Earths and GURPS Alternate Earths 2 ...
 

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