Games where the world's background information is drawn primarily from real-world events or interpretations of them.
17
votes
7answers
412 views
+200
What do I need to change about Call of Cthulhu to set it in the 60s?
I am in the process of planning a CoC game (or Trail of... I've not picked up a copy but it looks interesting) set a long time after the events of the Whisperer in the Darkness. To do so, I wanted to ...
17
votes
8answers
380 views
What's a good method for making cultures differ?
Just read through a great question (on getting players to play in line with their characters' cultures) and it got me thinking:
What do you do to make the cultures in your setting differ?
Let's say ...
17
votes
3answers
533 views
Good resources for travel times?
What are some good resources, on or off-line, for determining clear travel times for:
different methods of travel (eg: foot, horse, vehicles by period and type, etc)
different terrain types ...
15
votes
6answers
201 views
How do I ensure separation between historical events and the game world while still feeling historical?
I am running a pulp WW2 campaign where the players are deep inside Germany in 1940 uncovering secret projects, getting involved in the occult and discovering ancient powers that the Third Reich are ...
15
votes
7answers
742 views
Where Can I Find Good Ship Plans?
I need a variety of ship plans - not surface deck plans, and not side views, but actual interior arrangements of various sorts of vessels - orlop deck, cable locker, that sort of thing. They are ...
14
votes
9answers
971 views
How to have a realistic set of languages without making adventuring prohibitively difficult?
"Do you speak Common?" "Of course I do! Everyone speaks Common..."
My group is starting a somewhat experimental campaign. We're using a setting that is neither canon (e.g. described in a book) nor ...
13
votes
4answers
440 views
How late in history can I set a campaign based in the US without cars and telephones being widespread?
I'm deciding on my next campaign offering, and I'm dealing with this dilemma: although I prefer, and am best at, running games set in the near-present, one of my players has a mild antipathy toward ...
13
votes
5answers
523 views
Replicating Modern Technology using Magic-Punk
This is generally a system-agnostic question, as I'm trying to build a feel for my world, and I can add to it whatever rules I need to later.
The world is a 1930s setting, very ...
13
votes
1answer
199 views
Depictions of 19th c Vienna for a chronicle
I would like to create a Vampire: the Requiem chronicle set in 19th century Vienna. Are there any good films or books depicting Vienna in this period that I could use to create appropriate scenery and ...
10
votes
2answers
156 views
Any advice for writing a historically accurate adventure?
I have some players who are requesting that I write some historical adventures. However, I am having a bit of a hard time keeping things historically accurate while still allowing there to be things ...
10
votes
6answers
281 views
Resources for a '30s Pulp Campaign set in the Caribbean
I am considering putting together a pulp campaign set in the '30s. It's sort of "Indiana Jones" in terms of world (i.e. with a chance of low-key paranormal, horror, and superscience elements, but ...
9
votes
3answers
223 views
Running a Norse campaign
I am about to start running a Norse themed Pathfinder campaign set around 800 AD, most likely in Norway. I am looking for ways to make the characters feel as though they are part of the culture of the ...
8
votes
3answers
120 views
How do I make players more comfortable in an unusual historical setting?
I run a lot of games/write systems set in specific historical/cultural contexts, because I like rpgs as a way to explore them and think they provide a great sense of place. However, I tend not to ...
7
votes
4answers
300 views
Looking for local colour for a Cyberpunk set in Brazil
I have a plot line and with the addition of player characters' background I think I have a solid game planned. However, so far the plot could happen in any odd city in the world. I was thinking of ...
7
votes
3answers
223 views
Which technologies/commodities were available during the 30s in the USA?
I'm going to GM Trail of Cthulhu and would like to know if there is any site that aggregates this kind of information. I've already found this site http://www.paper-dragon.com/1939/; any other ...
6
votes
1answer
124 views
What Do I Need to Know to Run a Mountaineering Adventure on Nanga Parbat in 1970?
The PCs in my game are going to climb Nanga Parbat to chase down some ancient evil put there by Merkl's 1934 expedition.
What was the political situation in Pakistan in 1970?
How did mountaineering ...
5
votes
3answers
271 views
What games are based around single historical events?
I recently came across the game Montsegur 1244, which I think looks rather interesting, and it made me wonder whether there are any other games that centre around a single historical event in that ...
5
votes
3answers
305 views
Is there a (semi-canon) concordance between the peoples of the Forgotten Realms and their “real-world” equivalents?
I think there's no official stance on this, but I wonder if there's an accepted, semi-canon list of the peoples of the Forgotten Realms and their real world counterparts (that most likely inspired the ...
4
votes
2answers
300 views
Can (ocean-going) sailing ships navigate The River
In 7th Sea, the primary continent of Théah is split by a large river called simply "The River." My PCs have a sailing ship, but now need to navigate the River... Can they do so with their existing ...
4
votes
2answers
245 views
RPG with background in ancient Europe (-1000 to 1000) close to reality [closed]
I want to run a game which as both an historical and geographical background matching our own reality.
Description of lore should be quite accurate, but can have a pinch of myth, legend and magic as ...
