Historically Themed Campaigns/Settings

[ColonelHardisson]

I ran an Ars Magica campaign based in Tranylvania during the attempted "christianization" of the pagan Vlachs by the Magyar forces of Hungary's King Istvann (who would becoem St. Steven).

I wish I had had Avalanche Press's excellent Blood Prince of Wallachia supplement at the time.

I am also giving seriosu thought to running a Carribean Pirates campaign using Avalanche's Black Flags supplement.

Avalanche impresses me.

The more I read them, the better I like their books.

By the way, TB, have you read Dracula: Prince of Many Faces by McNally and Florescu? There is also a follow-up volume, but I can't recall the title right now.

Blood Prince of Wallachia is a good book, but I wanted so much more. Maybe start a thread in House Rules (or the appropriate forum) to add to it...?

 

[Torillan]

Easrth 1066....

I'm currently working on my first to-be-published book (Along with board member Hal Whitewyrm and another gentleman) for Earth 1066. It will be a supplement focusing on roleplaying in the Eastern Mediterranean during a fictionalized eleventh century. (BTW, this is also the first time my degree in Islamic and Near Eastern history has actually been useful to me professionally. I'm pretty excited abut it )

I'm kinda looking forward to Earth 1066. Any more info or tidbits you can share? Their site has been quiet for a long time now.

 

[Desdichado]

My campaign is set in "Heroic-Age" Greece, which is about half mythological Greece and half anthropologically accurate Dark Age Greece.

Funny, I'd have called "Heroic Age" Greece the Mycenean age, before the Dark Age. There's nothing particularly heroic about the Dark Ages.

And you can have a suitably dark ending to the campaign, as the Sea Peoples ravage the Mediterranean, the Mycenean and Hittite Empire crumble, the Egyptian world is rocked badly, and Greece regresses into the Dark Ages. Or, if that's not your thing, you can have the PCs help stave off the Dark Age entirely!

 

[Jon F. Zeigler]

Possibly my longest-running campaign was based loosely on the real-world Bronze Age in the Near East. The player-characters were a mix of time-traveling (but stranded) immortals from the future, and magical immortals who were native to the era. Lots of globe-spanning adventures involving gods, epic wars, vampires, political intrigue, demons, exploration, and Mysterious Aliens from Outer Space. Campaign time went from about 1950 BCE to 1400 BCE before the game ended.

Worked pretty well. Lasted for about three real-time years, and involved as many as 2 referees and 20 players at one point.

Since then, I've run several pseudo-historical games, but nothing of that scope. At the moment I have a steampunk game set in an alternate-historical New York City, but that's on hiatus.

Oh. All this was GURPS, of course. Although since D&D 3/e came out, I've been writing a kick-ass Bronze Age D&D game in the back of my head.

 

[HalWhitewyrm]

I'm currently working on my first to-be-published book (Along with board member Hal Whitewyrm and another gentleman) for Earth 1066.

Oh wow, cool! I got mentioned by name.

It will be a supplement focusing on roleplaying in the Eastern Mediterranean during a fictionalized eleventh century. (BTW, this is also the first time my degree in Islamic and Near Eastern history has actually been useful to me professionally. I'm pretty excited abut it )

Same thing here, as I am dealing with a different area of the same region, and my degree in English lit. and knowledge of the Italian states comes in quite handy.

I LOVE historical campaigns, more so (I would say) than the standard-fantasy fare (not that there's anything wrong at shooting fireballs and such). To me the real world has so much more depth and virtually endless sources of ideas. I always go for the low to almost non-existent magic type of campaign, so historical games with a little dab of magic here and there are simply THE thing for me.

 

[HalWhitewyrm]

Re: Earth 1066....

I'm kinda looking forward to Earth 1066. Any more info or tidbits you can share? Their site has been quiet for a long time now.

I would leave all official news to the head honchos, but I can tell you that it is coming along very very nicely. I think it will add a lot to the d20 canon and fill a niche for those who want low- to moderate-magic campaigns, historical campaigns, and both in one package. Not just that, it is set in a time just a bit off the "standard" D&D generic medieval setting, which creates a cool new set of elements to explore. I am quite excited about the project, which is why I really wanted to work for the Earth 1066 team.

I'll make sure the right people learn about this thread; perhaps they'll make some more official-type comments.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Right, right. Nothing wrong with a more historically accurate campaign, if you're inta it.

But the moment I have to give up my weird fantasy critters and shell out for classes similar to the PHB in everything but flavor, and such, I won't be giving ya my hard-earned cash.

Not that I won't shamelessly pillage and rape my way through various history and anthropology texts like a little thought-pirate for my campaign. I will. Quite shamelessly.

 

[bmcdaniel]

[/color]
Funny, I'd have called "Heroic Age" Greece the Mycenean age, before the Dark Age. There's nothing particularly heroic about the Dark Ages.

Well I'm sure not a scholar, but I'd say the Heroic Age was completely mythological, just an invention of Hesiod and classical Greeks. Whereas the Dark Age was the actual time period before classical Greece.

I actually didn't want to delve too far into the Mycenaen age (and cultures) because its just too alien from the recognizably Greek. For example (I believe) that gods such as Zeus and Athena were not Mycenaen, but Hellanized imports from the Assyrians. Setting a game in historical Mycenae removes all the knowledge that I *want* my players to have of Greece.

 

[HalWhitewyrm]

But the moment I have to give up my weird fantasy critters and shell out for classes similar to the PHB in everything but flavor, and such, I won't be giving ya my hard-earned cash.

If you're refering to Earth 1066, do not fear. There is info on the standard classes and their place in the world, but there are a few new classes and such that are tailored to adventures set on Earth, not to mention skills, feats and new rules that truly work to make this Earth rather than a generic fantasy hack-n-slash oriented fest.

I wish I could tell you more but it is not up to me. Trust me, though, it is not only window dressing that changes. There's a lot more going on.

 

[ForceUser@Home]

*ahem*

Historical theme: medieval Vietnam. Check out the link!