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<blockquote data-quote="mmadsen" data-source="post: 182570" data-attributes="member: 1645">In a recent thread (<a href="http://www.enworld.org/messageboards/showthread.php?s=&amp;threadid=12019" target="_blank">Chivalry &amp; Sorcery question</a>), Kaptain_Kantrip asked &quot;Which version or book of C&amp;S had the cool info on medieval settings?&quot;&nbsp; In addition to the answer to his question (the 3rd-edition Chivalry &amp; Sorcery Gamemaster's Handbook), a few of us also recommended Pendragon (and its supplement Lordly Domains), Mythic Europe (for Ars Magica), and the Life in a Medieval... series of books by Joseph and Frances Geis.Does anyone have an other suggestions for books on ancient or medieval society that gamers might enjoy?Anyway, discussing real-life history brought some legitimate complaints.&nbsp; As hong pointed out, &quot;D&amp;D has never been about creating complex, believable societies, or emulating historical or even fantastical reality. World-building in D&amp;D (and this is especially emphasised in 3E) is really about setting a stage where the actions of the characters can be played out.&quot;Many of us do want complex, believable societies that emulate historical or fantastical reality though.&nbsp; In fact, I think many, many people want a game that feels like Tolkien's Middle Earth or Robert E. Howard's Hyboria, and setting the stage for our heroes' adventures means knowing at least the trappings of older societies.While you don't want or need to know the economics of each menial job in the ancient world, setting the stage is much easier when you have some idea how a typical ancient or medieval society works. How does policing work in a medieval city? How does the military work? What happens to a group of adventurers who show up at the city gates?&nbsp; Who gets an audience with the king, how are they treated, how are they supposed to address the king?If you want to set up some political intrigue, it's good to know who wields what power, and what they might be fighting over. How does money work? Are there bankers? How do they protect their money? What's a merchant caravan like? I don't think I could've answered any of those questions as a kid playing D&amp;D, but that info would've helped me set the stage for our heroes.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="mmadsen, post: 182570, member: 1645"] In a recent thread ([url=http://www.enworld.org/messageboards/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12019]Chivalry & Sorcery question[/url]), Kaptain_Kantrip asked "Which version or book of C&S had the cool info on medieval settings?" In addition to the answer to his question (the 3rd-edition Chivalry & Sorcery [i]Gamemaster's Handbook[/i]), a few of us also recommended [i]Pendragon[/i] (and its supplement [i]Lordly Domains[/i]), [i]Mythic Europe[/i] (for [i]Ars Magica[/i]), and the [i]Life in a Medieval...[/i] series of books by Joseph and Frances Geis. Does anyone have an other suggestions for books on ancient or medieval society that gamers might enjoy? Anyway, discussing real-life history brought some legitimate complaints. As hong pointed out, "D&D has never been about creating complex, believable societies, or emulating historical or even fantastical reality. World-building in D&D (and this is especially emphasised in 3E) is really about [i]setting a stage[/i] where the actions of the characters can be played out." Many of us do want complex, believable societies that emulate historical or fantastical reality though. In fact, I think many, many people want a game that feels like Tolkien's Middle Earth or Robert E. Howard's Hyboria, and setting the stage for our heroes' adventures means knowing at least the trappings of older societies. While you don't want or need to know the economics of each menial job in the ancient world, setting the stage is much easier when you have some idea how a typical ancient or medieval society works. How does policing work in a medieval city? How does the military work? What happens to a group of adventurers who show up at the city gates? Who gets an audience with the king, how are they treated, how are they supposed to address the king? If you want to set up some political intrigue, it's good to know who wields what power, and what they might be fighting over. How does money work? Are there bankers? How do they protect their money? What's a merchant caravan like? I don't think I could've answered any of those questions as a kid playing D&D, but that info would've helped me set the stage for our heroes. [/QUOTE]

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