NOTE: let's see if we can keep this civil, even if we have to discuss some stuff that isn't necessarily pleasant.
I just finished a wonderful Great Courses lecture series called "Rome and the Barbarians" and am following it up with "The Vikings" -- both by Dr. Kenneth Harl. He is a great lecturer, very knowledgable as well as compelling. I recommend him to anyone.
Anyway, it makes me want to run a historical campaign set in the tumultuous "dark ages" after the fall of the Roman Empire but before the Middle Ages really got settled. But, in so doing there is no way to be both historically accurate and eliminate problematic elements. As an example, Vikings were both noble warriors that cared about their homes and families, and raiders, pillagers and slavers that descended on settlements like so many orcs.
So what do we do with that?
You could make a campaign in which the PCs are Celts and Germanics fighting the encroachment of Rome, casting them as the heroes, but you still have to deal with the human sacrifice and the slavery. Crusaders represent obvious problems, but so do the Arabs of the time. Can you use the invasions of the Mongols thoughtfully? If you want to play in the mythical age of Arthur, what do you do with the blatant classicism.
So my question really boils down to this: The history of human civilization is complex and in most cases we don't actually have unbiased sources for that history. but it is also rife with opportunity for adventure (especially if you include a dash of the mythology that dominated the pre-modern era). So what do we do as modern audiences, with the problematic realities of history as a setting for RPG play?
NOTE2: I realize that most of the above is written with a Eurocentric view and I understand that is based on my upbringing and preferences, but I think it still holds no matter where you shift the story to. The day before Cortez landed, the Aztec rulership were child sacrificing imperialists who crushed any opposition and dominated their ethnic neighbors. The day after, they were the victims of European expansion. There is no culture in the history of our world that has expanded without engaging in problematic behavior.
I just finished a wonderful Great Courses lecture series called "Rome and the Barbarians" and am following it up with "The Vikings" -- both by Dr. Kenneth Harl. He is a great lecturer, very knowledgable as well as compelling. I recommend him to anyone.
Anyway, it makes me want to run a historical campaign set in the tumultuous "dark ages" after the fall of the Roman Empire but before the Middle Ages really got settled. But, in so doing there is no way to be both historically accurate and eliminate problematic elements. As an example, Vikings were both noble warriors that cared about their homes and families, and raiders, pillagers and slavers that descended on settlements like so many orcs.
So what do we do with that?
You could make a campaign in which the PCs are Celts and Germanics fighting the encroachment of Rome, casting them as the heroes, but you still have to deal with the human sacrifice and the slavery. Crusaders represent obvious problems, but so do the Arabs of the time. Can you use the invasions of the Mongols thoughtfully? If you want to play in the mythical age of Arthur, what do you do with the blatant classicism.
So my question really boils down to this: The history of human civilization is complex and in most cases we don't actually have unbiased sources for that history. but it is also rife with opportunity for adventure (especially if you include a dash of the mythology that dominated the pre-modern era). So what do we do as modern audiences, with the problematic realities of history as a setting for RPG play?
NOTE2: I realize that most of the above is written with a Eurocentric view and I understand that is based on my upbringing and preferences, but I think it still holds no matter where you shift the story to. The day before Cortez landed, the Aztec rulership were child sacrificing imperialists who crushed any opposition and dominated their ethnic neighbors. The day after, they were the victims of European expansion. There is no culture in the history of our world that has expanded without engaging in problematic behavior.