High Level Games
High Level Games
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Store
    • Storytellers Vault Products
    • Fantasy Adventures
    • DMs Guild Products
    • Snowhaven
    • Army Men
  • Podcasts
  • Video
  • Trusted Resources
  • Join The Team
  • About
  • Contact
    • Star Trek Adventures
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Store
    • Storytellers Vault Products
    • Fantasy Adventures
    • DMs Guild Products
    • Snowhaven
    • Army Men
  • Podcasts
  • Video
  • Trusted Resources
  • Join The Team
  • About
  • Contact
    • Star Trek Adventures

Welcome to the High Level Games Blog, News, and other stuff to take your games to the next level!

Best Selling RPGs - Available Now @ DriveThruRPG.com

V Reasons To Role-Play Historically

2/6/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture

Let’s face it: we’ve seen it all. 

Fantasy to sci-fi, steampunk to dieselpunk (to pioneerpunk more recently), shades of the same old races, tropes and conflicts, whether it’s as vintage as Tolkien or as trendy as GRRM, role-playing games have been giving us the opportunity of escaping our reality and taking refuge in galaxies far far away, parallel universes and alternative realities.

And some (if not most of those) are really great, and we love them… But….
​
Our own reality can give us such a variety of role-playing opportunities that it dwarfs any fictional universe created by any company for any given game… Alright, that’s a hyperbole, maybe not galaxy-wide Battletech universes, but you get the point.
 
Here are 5 reasons why you would want to role-play within the confines of our planet’s history:
 
I. A wealth of choices
If evolution has taught us one thing, it’s that this planet (and the human species too after a point) has gone through so many phases it would take you a good long while to get a story arc done and dusted within each of them.

Whether you’re into prehistory and you’d like to see what (literally) first world problems were like back then, or wanting to bear the banners of your liege into the battles of the Dark Ages, there’s bound to be a choice for every taste and preference.

Granted, not many systems have tackled these periods for sources - which is why we’re writing this in the first place - but couple the internet (which I’m told holds a fair amount of knowledge) with a generic system like FATE or Cortex Plus and you’ve got yourself an early Egyptian pyramid-building campaign! Call it Tetriskhamun.
 
II. It’s easy to relate to
Sometimes it can be hard for people to really get into character when the foes they’re facing are overflowing with teeth, scales, speaking the Elder Tongue and spewing poisonous mucus out of their nasal cavities… I need to keep that in mind for my next reptilian campaign…
Some people have a tendency to love the hell out of real-life movies and books because of the ability to make an easy connection with the periods and characters they portray – I’m told these people are called “my wife” among others, and have this preference because they feel like they may end up facing some of the issues these pieces deal with. If they’re to be believed...

Realising that you’re immersed in an exact moment of times passed (or present), and that you know that these were real people, dealing with real problems and facing real consequences (for real!) can greatly benefit not only atmosphere and relevance, but the ability to identify with someone who may well have been your (Alexander the) great-great-great-great-great-great… great-great-peepaw.
 
III. Educational value
I know, I know, learning is boring, but think about your childhood for a bit if you will… We all liked playing, right? And we all had all these games and toys that taught us certain things without us even realising it.

Part of that was that we didn’t know any better, but also the fact that we were playing while learning (learn to play and play to learn… or some other witty quip).

The same thing can be gained from a historical role-playing campaign.

I’m usually overburdened with a vivid imagination and have come to realise that, were I to be taught about ancient times via some form of role-playing or another, not only would I have more easily remembered all the dates and names my teachers were throwing at me, but I would probably keep fond memories of the badass times we had planning Caesar’s assassination…
 
IV. Total badassdom!
Sure, you may have killed a dragon while impregnating a dozen wenches and distilling an essence of awesome that cured hunger in the land of Fantasilvania or something, that’s badass, but are you “Mad Jack” Churchill badass?

You know, the guy who landed on a beach in Norway playing his bagpipes under enemy fire, then threw a grenade and lunged into battle with his trusty bow-and-longsword. Also the one British soldier to get a bow-and-arrow kill in WWII. No, seriously, he got medals and everything – a real-life hero… And a basket case. Imagine being able to go back to those times and "March of the Cameron Men" your way alongside Mad Jack and his lot – find yourself a GM worth their salt and you’ll be able to even smell the enemy’s fear. Or their tears. Their tears for fear.

Hear them shout. Shout and let it all out...

History is filled with countless examples of heroism and balls-to-the wall insanity without which the world we know today might have been an entirely different place altogether. Which brings us to…
 
V. The “what if?” aspect
Ah yes, That niggling question at the back of our heads… What if Columbus hadn’t “discovered” America? What if we hadn’t made it to the Moon? What if Vlad the Impaler hadn’t had a blood-sucking reputation? Could that have prevented the Twilight movies? I doubt it, but I digress…
 
No one said anything about adhering to history 100%.

As many (if not most or all) of you will know, a GM seldom reaches the conclusion of a fully-planned-out campaign by the avenues they laid out prior to the campaign’s start. Any seasoned party will definitely – if unintentionally – try to derail any plans and make the story their own.

That’s the beauty of this history aspect: send the players back in time, have them go to Linz in the early 1900s and choose whether or not to save a small child from being crushed to death by some freak accident or other. A child named Adolf for example…

The possibilities here are endless, and the players could opt to help history run its course or aid in turning it on its head in such a way that even Darwin wouldn’t know where it all started.
 
I hope your appetite has been whetted by this shortlist of pros when it comes to playing historical figures, I know where (and when) I’m throwing my players next…
​
“A rift through time and space opens as you fell the beast… You are all pulled within it, your senses exploding with sight and sound, your bodies strained to their utter limits as you traverse the vortex… Now. Do your characters speak any French perchance?”

Writer, gamer, and - provided he's got the time for it - loving husband, Costin does not rule out sacrifices to the Great Old Ones in order to get into the gaming industry. He's been roleplaying for the better part of 6 years, but has been a joker, gamer and storyteller for as long as he can remember.

His greatest pride is once improvising a 4-way argument between a grave digger, a dyslexic man, an adopted child and a sheep, all by himself. That moment is also the closest he's ever come to giving himself a roleplaying aneurysm... thus far.

Savage Worlds: Fast, Furious, and Fun! - Available Now @ DriveThruRPG.com
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    All blog materials created and developed by the staff here at High Level Games 

    ​

    Picture
    Click here to support our community for as a little as $1.00 for exclusive content, free downloadable stuff, and even discounts on role-playing game items.

    Archives

    April 2023
    February 2021
    November 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016

    Categories

    All
    13th Age
    2d20
    2nd Edition
    3.5 Edition
    3Deep
    4th Edition
    5th Edition
    7th Sea
    Acquisitions Inc
    Actual Play
    AD&D
    AdventureLookUp.com
    Adventurers!
    Aether Sea
    A+ Fantasy
    After Collapse
    Alignment
    Amazing Tales
    Amazon
    Anima: Beyond Fantasy
    Anime
    Apocalypse World
    Atomic Robo
    Australian
    Award Winning
    Basic Fantasy
    Belly Of The Beast
    Big Eyes Small Mouth
    Black Lives Matter
    Black Void
    Blades In The Dark
    Blood Pangea
    Board Games
    Book Of Exalted Darkness
    BrigadeCon
    Burning Wheel RPG
    Call Of Cthulhu
    Capers RPG
    Casual Roleplaying
    Changeling: The Dreaming
    Chaosium
    Character Arcs
    Character Creation
    Chris Spivey
    Cinematic RP
    Classics
    Comic-books
    Conventions
    Corvus Belli: Infinity
    Crawl
    Creators
    Critical Role
    Cthulhutech
    D100 Dungeon
    D20
    D&D
    D&D Beyond
    Deadlands
    Defenders Of Tokyo
    Degenesis
    Detako Saga
    Discord
    DMsGuild.com
    Dnd
    Dndbeyond
    Doctor-who
    Double-cross
    Dread
    Dresden-files
    DriveThruRPG.com
    Dr. Who
    Dungeon Crawl Classics
    Dungeons
    Dungeons And Dragons
    Dungeon Slayers
    Dungeon World
    Dystopia Rising
    Encounters
    Era: The Consortium
    Era: The Empowered
    Esper Genesis
    Evil Hat
    Exalted
    Faith RPG
    Fandom
    Fantasy-age
    Fantasy-flight
    Fantasy Grounds
    FATE
    Fate Accelerated Edition
    Fate Core
    Fate Rpg
    Fate-rpg
    Final Fantasy
    Forgotten Realms
    Fragged Empire
    Free League Publishing
    Furries
    Game Design
    Game Lore
    Gencon
    Ghosts Of NPCs Past
    GMTips
    Golden-sky-stories
    GoodmanGames.com
    Grognards
    GUMSHOE
    GURPS
    GURPS Lite
    Halloween
    Harlem Unbound
    Harry-potter
    Hero Builder
    Heroes Against Darkness
    Heroes-unlimited
    HERO System
    High Level Games
    Historical Fantasy
    HLG Con 2018
    HLG Reviews
    Homebrew
    Humble Bundle
    Indie
    Interface Zero 2.0
    Interview
    Invisible Suns
    Japanese RPGs
    JRR Tolkien
    Kickstarter
    KoboldPress.com
    KULT
    L5R
    Lankhmar
    LARP
    Lasers And Feelings
    Legendlore
    Legend Of The Five Rings
    LexOccultum
    LOTR
    Low Magic
    Mage
    Mage: The Awakening
    Magic And Steel
    MAID
    Mayhem
    Mazes And Minotaurs
    Meikyuu Kingdom
    Mekton Zero
    Mental Health
    Middle Earth
    Mighty Narwhal
    Mini Six
    Modern Adventures RPG
    Modiphius
    Monarchies Of Mau
    Monsterhearts
    Monte Cook Games
    Morra
    Mummy: The Curse
    Mutants And Masterminds
    Mythender
    Narrative Games
    Nechronica
    Night's Black Agents
    Novel
    NPC
    Numenara
    Odyssey Of The Dragonlords
    One Shot
    Online Gaming
    Orun
    OSCRIC
    Osr
    OVA
    Palladium
    Pathfinder
    Pathfinder 2.0
    PbtA
    PDQ
    Pire: The Masquerade 5th Edition
    Play By Post
    Player Tips
    Podcast
    Powered By Apocalypse
    Power Outage RPG
    Preview
    Promethean: The Created
    Pugmire
    Pulp
    Puzzles
    Questlings
    Ravenloft
    Ravnica
    Red Markets: A Game Of Economic Horror
    Research
    Review
    Review Article
    Rifts
    Risus
    Role Play
    Roll20
    Romance Of The Perilous Land
    Ryuutama
    Satanic Panic
    Savage Rifts
    Savage Tokusatsu
    Savage Worlds
    Seeds Of Wars
    Setting
    Settings
    Settlement Building
    Shadowrun
    SIGMATA
    Snowhaven
    Social Combat
    Social Systems
    Solo Play
    Standard Roleplay System
    Star Trek Adventures
    Star Wars
    Storytellers Vault
    Suited RPG
    Summerland
    Supplements
    System Design
    Table Top
    Tabletop Simulator
    Tales From The Loop
    Tales Of Equestria
    Talislanta
    Tariffs
    Teenagers From Outerspace
    Ten Candles
    Tenra Bansho Zero
    The Dark Eye
    The End Of The World RPG
    The Great Long Dark
    The One Ring
    The Very Important Task
    Titan Effect
    To The Temple Of Doom
    Trial Of Cthulhu
    Trinity Continuum
    TSR Marvel Super Heroes
    Ttrpg
    Twitch
    USTR
    Va
    Valiant Rpg
    Vampire: The Masquerade
    Video Games
    Villian
    Volo
    Vs Ghosts
    Warhammer
    Warhammer 40K
    Werewolf: The Apocalypse
    Westbound RPG
    Wild West
    World Building
    World Of Darkness
    Writing Tips
    Year Zero
    Zweihander

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly