Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
Worldbuilding is a challenging task , whether it entails creating a fantasy land for a fantasy novel or design a city for a tabletop RPG movement ; in that compositor’s case , why not cheat on and borrow details from interesting eras of genuine - world chronicle ? From the mysteriously apocalyptic ending of the Bronze Age to the mound - construction civilisation of North America , history is full of larger-than-life stories , finish , triumph , and disaster Game Masters can ante up court to or explore inDungeons & Dragons , " power By The Apocalypse " game , and other RPGs .
There ’s a pithy expression of unknown provenance that belong something like this : " history never repeats itself , but it rime . " The same holds dead on target for speculative fable and the assumption of roleplaying game - even as stories of valor and adventure hooking from older legends and tropes such as " The Hero ’s Journey , " writers and plot designer bring in their own innovative estimation and melodic theme , color by their own life . historic eras like the Roman Empire , The Hellenistic Diaspora , and Dynastic China are popular reference of stirring for speculative fiction precisely because they " rhyme " with modern - solar day struggles and polish while still being wildly novel in mannikin .
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There ’s another sententious expression , this one coin by literary critic L.P. Hartley : " The past is a extraneous country : they do things differently there . " Above all else , this citation is an admonition to not levy modern preconception ( or harmful stereotypes ) onto the refinement of pre - modern times . For aGame Master adapting full point of historyto role in their RPG campaign , this means acknowledging the brutality and prejudices of warrior - patrician and other large " heroes " of chronicle , while also acknowledging the humanity and grandness of average , lower - class sept in the past , citizens of history who were fundamentallypeopledespite the different terminology they spoke , dress they fall apart , and values they upheld .
The Mediterranean Late Bronze Age Collapse (1200 BCE to 1100 BCE)
Roughly 3000 age in the past , the expansiveMediterranean civilization of the Bronze Age – The New Kingdom of Egypt , Mycenaean Greece , Crete , the Hittite Empire – either collapsed or suffered massive reductions in successfulness and stability . What exactly cause the Late Bronze Age collapse is still a affair of disputation among many historians ( as detailed by theWorld History Encyclopedia ) ; some trust the old bronze - working refinement were overwhelm by smoothing iron - working cultures ( like the mythical Sea Peoples ) able to outfit their troops with metal weapon system on a much larger exfoliation . Others historians credit the prostration to economic and political problems , claiming cistron like dirt erosion and the breakdown of centralized dominance make magnanimous - scale empires unsustainable . A Game Master seek to produce a illusion circumstance in this earned run average can excogitate their own clever answer to the pressing question of " What kill the Bronze Age ? "
The Indo-Greek Kingdoms (256 BCE to 10 CE)
In the wake of Alexander the Great ’s seduction , Greek and Macedonian populations , along with their artwork , custom , and civilisation , spread across and sink large swath of the Mediterranean and Middle / East Asia , ofttimes syncretizing with local cultures in the process . World History Encyclopediatalks about how the Greco - Bactrian Kingdom and the Indo - Greek Kingdom arose in Central Asia and Northwest India – culturally Grecian states that took on aspects of Native American culture from their neighboring realm . Worldbuilding - focalise Game Masterstrying to create fancy city - nation born from the carrefour of multiple culture can draw stirring from the beautiful coinage , statuary , murals , and inscriptions recuperate from ancient Indo - Hellenic cities such as Ai - Khanoum – whole kit of artistry fuse optical element from Greek , Hindu , and Buddhistic religious traditions .
The North American Mississippian Culture (800 CE to 1600 CE)
Between the 8th and 16th centuries CE , there was a thriving civilisation of metropolis - state , chiefdoms , and sprawl trade networks that stretch across the Midwest , Eastern , and Southeast parts of North America . This " Mississippian Culture " grew maize , created advanced handcrafts from copper and ceramic , and constructed monumental interment mound and earthwork pyramids , as can be hear in ancient sites such as Cahokia ( an old city composite name byWorld story Encyclopedia ) . RPG Game Masters essay to create options thoughtfully exhort byPre - Colonial Native American societiescould do risky than to research the history of the Mississippian Culture , a civilization rarely continue in westerly history books .
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The Golden Age And Decline Of The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (15oo CE to 1700 CE)
During the Late Medieval period and Renaissance , the Polish - Lithuanian Commonwealth ruled over a large glob of Eastern Europe , a soft union of different cultures , ethnicities , and religion under the rule of the " Golden Liberty . " The Commonwealth , according to theEncyclopedia Britannica , elected their monarch and set policy through meeting place ofszlachtanobles , a middling rowdy " aristocratical republic " that gave people of the Commonwealth more freedom in comparison to the increasing centralize monarchy of Western Europe and Russia . The Golden Age of the Polish - Lithuanian Commonwealth and its decline due to warfare and inner turmoil wound up inspiring great chunks of classic Polish lit and narrativeelements ofThe Witcher 3 : Wild Hunt . ADungeons & DragonsDungeon Master similarly concerned in this period of history can add Winged Hussars , saber - flourishing aristocrats , and constituent of traditional Polish culture into their run world .
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author : World chronicle Encyclopedia – Cahokia , Encyclopedia Britannica – The Commonwealth Of Poland , World History Encyclopedia – Bronze Age Collapse , World History Encylopedia – Indo - Greek
