I miss Melkor (3rd Gnome IR) :)

[Gurdjieff]

As I recall the Celts were pretty big in England & a big part of France around 1BC.

 

[Lichtenhart]

As I recall the Celts were pretty big in England & a big part of France around 1BC.

Mmm that would be before Caesar went on his expedition, around 60 years before, right now they have been conquered by Rome. Except in Ireland, where IIRC, Romans never set foot. And if Atlantis should be long since buried below the waves*, there are always the mythic lands of Tir nan Og, Lyonesse, Ys, and Avalon.

*digression: best bet according to mythology would place Atlantis around Canary Islands. Sunk atlantis could still exist though, in a Marvel Comics way, where people adapted to water, or within giant domes that preserve air, with people trying to overcome the catastrophe and raise to the surface to conquer the world once again, maybe bringing lost magic with them, and starting the whole revolution.

 

[William Ronald]

Actually, Rome did not conquer what would one day be England and Wales until the time of Claudius in 40 C.E. (Common Era, or A.D. to Christians.) Caesar did visit and stir things up.

One of my concerns is that if you have the full Roman Empire at it existed some 2,000 years ago, it might make one faction too powerful. So, as an alternate history, maybe Augustus was only partially successful after Julius Caesar's assassination in 44 B.C.E. In which case, you could have a fragmentation of the Roman Republic into different areas and a core "Roman Empire." Possibly we could tie in the rise of magic into Julius Caesar's death.

This would mean that Marc Anthony and Cleopatra might have set up an empire centered in Egypt. Again, with alternate history and magic, there is a lot that is possible.

 

[Creamsteak]

How far back does the Mayan civilization and the Iroquois nation date?

 

[Sollir Furryfoot]

Hey, got a hold for a little bit-my vote is for 1 B.C., I really do think that would lead to less arguments of RL politics. If so, I'm interested in taking control of the Han Empire or similar.

 

[Gurdjieff]

How far back does the Mayan civilization and the Iroquois nation date?

Mayan civilization goes back to something like 2600 BC, and was still growing in 1BC, to be the biggest around 250 AD, according to this link:
http://www.crystalinks.com/mayan.html
For Iroquois I couldn't find anything for now.

 

[Gomez]

Mayan civilization goes back to something like 2600 BC, and was still growing in 1BC, to be the biggest around 250 AD, according to this link:
http://www.crystalinks.com/mayan.html
For Iroquois I couldn't find anything for now.

The Olmecs where active at this time. They predate the Aztecs and where located about in the same area.

 

[William Ronald]

One consideration for the game is the role of current day religions, some of which would exist in this time period. (Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Zoroastrianism, Confucianism, Shinto, and Taoism come to mind.) In Green Ronin's Testament game, the differing faiths of the ancient Middle East are treated as part of a whole. Thus, one character could play a priest of Ra and another a prophet during the reign of King Solomon. I have Testament, and I would recommend this approach.

As for non-human races, possibly some could enter or reenter the world when magic starts. (Or is it restart.)

There also was a good thread on the Wizards board on an industrial revolution. One thought about why the ancient world did not have an industrial revolution, despite the presence of some steam powered devices and other tools, is an attitude towards technology. This view holds that the Greco-Roman world's view as labor being beneath an educated man tended to discourage practical application of science. Another thought is that the presence of cheap labor, namely slaves, also tended to prevent people from working on labor saving devices. If there had been a major war some decades prior to the start of the game, population levels and workforce levels could be lower -- thus prompting more of a desire for labor saving devices.

Kalanyr, history is a hobby of mine, so I can help with research if you need it.

 

[Knight Otu]

Any decision on this yet?

 

[Gurdjieff]

Any decision on this yet?

I believe Kal & Festy decided on a 1BC game, as that's been the topic of conversation in the chat usually, but I guess one of them should confirm that ;]