From: [M--O] at [infoboard.be] (mathew lowry)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.advocacy
Subject: Fantasy Europe I - Intro (LONG!)
Date: Sun, 28 May 1995 13:42:24
Summary: Intro to a series of postings on developing Fantasy Europe campaign

   Developing 'Fantasy Europe':   I. Introduction
  
PREFACE
  I've been out of touch with both the roleplaying world and the Net for a while, so if 
there are libraries, archives and published games which cover the ground I'm heading 
towards, please let me know. I've already examined some of the archives on Ars 
Magica, but gather that they haven't really answered the questions I pose either.

INTRODUCTION
  What I want to do is establish a set of guidelines that would allow anyone to use 'real' 
European history to create a series of really detailed fantasy campaigns, all interlinked 
and thoroughly consistent. 
   There's an *enormous* amount of information out there. A little research on any 
region at any epoch would provide wonderful background information for a campaign - 
history, geography, the rise of technology, political and cultural structure, beliefs, 
industries, wars, royal mariages and militairy alliances, past etc. By choosing the region 
and time well, it would also provide excellent 'campaign stories', such as the growth/loss 
of militairy/economic power, the death of a monarch, the rise (and division) of a 
religion, invasion, etc, and all the consequences of and reactions to these changes. And 
the whole resulting from all these various elements would be internally consistent, 
because they really happened.. 
  Lastly, it would also provide a cast of leader personalities (abbots, kings, priests, 
knights ...) and lots of intriguing scenario plotlines. Every time I visit a region on 
holiday the wealth of potential campaign material takes my breath away (I'm an Aussie 
in Europe - Brussels to be precise - with experience as a Runequest/Glorantha GM). 
   The best thing would be that anyone could come back from a holiday (in the Belgian 
Ardennes, the Welsh mountains, the Swiss Alps, Carthage or whatever), carrying some 
maps and photographs, a booklet from the local museum, a tourist guide to local myths 
and legends and some notes taken along the way. Add a reference book for seasoning 
and you've put together a great campaign setting. If the PCs want to travel outside your 
initial area all you'll need is another trip to the library. I see literally endless possibilities, 
as practically every fishing village, mountain valley and farming plain in Europe has a 
varied and very interesting history.
  
  But there's a catch ...
  
  The only problem is that European history doesn't feature real magic and actual elves 
and dragons, although there was plenty of belief in them. The trick is to introduce these 
into the course of European history without changing things too much. I guess we'd 
need to consider the following questions:
  1 - Magic: How powerful can it be without profoundly affecting the economies, 
demographies, etc of real European history? Who practices it, what place does it have 
in society? Impact on the Church particularly important! Note that these guidelines 
would be generic - the mechanics of magic (rules etc) are irrelevant to this discussion.
  2 - Non-Human Races and Monsters: Who, where are they, how do they change 
history?

   The next step (more done in parallel, really) would be to rewrite the broad sweep of 
European history, providing a general framework within which to fit campaigns. 
   Historical simplifications will be inevitable, but they'll allow for greater drama. This is 
where the fun really starts, actually - where did the barbarians gain the militairy power? 
Forget the scholarly tomes on high Roman taxes and flagging civilian confidence! Give 
the Germanic barbarians an army of Snow Centaur Shock Troops from the steppes of 
Russia, or say that they *are* Snow Centaur Shock Troops from the steppes of Russia! 
Or how come the Moors overran Spain? Maybe Allah converted the Desert Dragons of 
the north of Africa to Islam, and found ways of allowing them to cross the Straits of 
Gibraltar (everyone knows that Desert Dragons usually *cannot* fly over large bodies 
of water).  Or maybe Allah just cut some sort of deal with them - and then the 
Christians gave them a better deal, just before starting to reconquer the Iberian 
peninsula....

   One could start wherever one wants - my initial idea was to start with 509 BC - the 
'legendary' (not in this campaign it's not) founding of Rome. Then: watch the Roman 
Empire grow; the appearance of Christiainity; the invasions of the barbarians; the break 
up of the empire into East and West (which proceeds to fall apart); Charlemagne; 
Vikings; the appearance of the Muslims; the Plague; the Crusades ... where would it 
end? One could begin much earlier, of course, in the Classical World of the Greek 
empire, the Egyptiens, Sumerians ... But you've got to start somewhere.

 Articles outlining starting points for discussion follow on Magic, Hon-Humans Races 
and monsters, and History. I've posted all of these as four different threads 
because if, as I hope, discussions start on all of them, it will be easier to 
organise.

   Lastly, I hope these articles won't be seen as presentations of a complete set of 
answers - they're supposed to be full of questions, questions which I need help and 
creativity to answer. However you'll also find some half-complete (and probably half-
baked) answers to some of my questions as well, to give a starting point. I'd like people 
to both take these ideas apart and propose others.

Mathew Lowry

aka Rokor the Palindrome, Lay Member of Llankhor Mhy
("I dunno, they just called me that one day when I was dusting the library. Do you 
know what it means?")