Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Campaigning on Earth
Creating a roleplaying game set on Earth is probably the weirdest thing someone can do, right? Well, going with the old saying -- Truth is Stranger than Fiction -- you have one heck of a campaign world roleplaying in history (His Story).
There are thousands of places to choose for campaigning with your PCs. Albion, which part ii -- the Celts -- will be showing up in. The 1,001 Arabian Nights; Egypt, Greece, the Crusades (and the Levant), and so much more.
Sometimes, it's okay to go off the beaten path and mix and match themes on Earth to create your own unique setting with Earth. According to Quantum Mechanics, there are an infinite number of possibilities, and while it is fun to create your own world; it can be a lot of fun you played with what ifs.
What if Sinbad the Sailor visited the Pharaoh?
What if Moses and the Israelites visited India? (the evidence is circumstantial that they did -- 40 years wandering in the wilderness -- the Hindus calling Moses "Mousa" -- it's not impossible. No nation as big as Israel's can stay in the Arabian Desert for 40 years!)
What if King Richard met Sinbad the Sailor?
What if the Franks on their First Crusade were defeated by the Muslims?
What if Jericho is a rich place to set a roleplaying game, back in the Age of Leo or Virgo?
Stories from the Stone Age, part 1. A good place to start, if you want to create a roleplaying game set in the Age of Virgo.
Truth is stranger than Fiction in most every respect. There are ages on Earth that can be told in a Roleplaying Game. A mythic version of Medieval Europe, America before Columbus or even Christ.
Ancient China (GURPS China is a starting point); and there are several ways you can have a D&D Game, or even a Pathfinder Game; using the strangeness of our own world as your starting point.
In the movies, Father Abram left Haran because he was fed up with polytheism. Under his own account, he was desirous to have the blessings of Heber, his grandfather; and felt he needed a place of his own because he couldn't worship Yahweh according to his own conscience.
The story of Moses was different as well. The bible leaves out a lot of detail in it's stories. The colonizing of Britain is different and the two stories are contradictory.
However, combining the two stories can make for interesting stories. On the one hand, you have secular Archaeology, and the other human testimony. Combine the two together, and you have an interesting campaign setting (like the meeting of the Beaker culture with the first of the Celts -- according to myth iron was deadly to the Fair Folk -- the Beaker culture had bronze to fight with and apparently whatever happened the Beaker people had become the Fair Folk in Celtic Myth).
There are interesting parallels between Hercules and Samson the Israelite Judge. So much that one could say that either Samson was a prototype, or Hercules was the prototype (I say Hercules was the prototype, because there was a powerful fighter that lived in Thebes around when Hercules was supposed to have lived, and the two traditions were combined to form Hercules).
You have a lot to explore. Man's history here on earth, combined with what Archaeology has been coming out with -- has become richer. Sometimes, Archaeology can come up with strange and interesting conclusions.
If anything, you still create your own world; but roleplaying on Earth gives you some interesting legends to draw on, real myth and history provides a play ground for roleplaying; and Archaeology and Anthropology (when it feels right and not stupid) can provide some interesting inspirations.
Just remember the first rule of RPing:
--- Make it consistent, make it good, and make it fun.
Pathfinder, D&D, GURPS are there to give you tools to play. You can play in anything, just make sure it is FUN! :)
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