tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4930065815010914887.post2446810266427193143..comments2023-07-01T05:04:43.376-07:00Comments on Really Bad Eggs: Playing With HistoryBlack Vulmeahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04270071699114783644noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4930065815010914887.post-81099895193666775632012-07-14T15:18:28.856-07:002012-07-14T15:18:28.856-07:00Another excellent article. I find players generall...Another excellent article. I find players generally only care if the setting FEELS real. A couple of period details is all it takes sometimes for a good historically-set RPG to work.0Doc Savagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08783244633195233970noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4930065815010914887.post-16039871717890687872012-03-14T14:24:37.859-07:002012-03-14T14:24:37.859-07:00I find history endlessly useful as inspiration for...I find history endlessly useful as inspiration for games and settings. Having a group that is on the same page for any setting is always wonderful. Nothing I have GMed ran more smoothly than my Champions of the 60s campaign where most of the players were genre fiends.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4930065815010914887.post-53908098485823643392012-03-14T04:37:21.328-07:002012-03-14T04:37:21.328-07:00This is a great article. My own path, the one whic...This is a great article. My own path, the one which led me to become a medievalist, began with attempting to find more and more historically accurate ways to represent the past until I was completely immersed in the medieval.<br /><br />There's no shame in doing research about our past. In fact, I think a referee should at least half as much time to understand their setting as an author does when they do research to write a new novel. They are, after all, attempting to create a believable place within their own minds and then share that place. The least they can do is make sure it all jibes well.<br /><br />As for the benefits of historical setting, I find there is a single double-edged sword for me (or perhaps triple edged...) and that is familiarity. For one, references are easy and pull on a set of pre-made semantics that everyone playing will understand. Playing in a historical setting, if someone were to mention Abraham and Isaac, the whole reference is already right there. IT conveys reams of meaning quickly and simply, because it makes use of a semantic network still active in our culture. The edge is, of course, false-familiarity. That semantic network (of the period), while it shares some ins and outs with the one we use, is still deeply alien and by appearing to be so familiar, it can dupe players into forgetting that they should be trying to engage it on its own terms rather than on the terms that they are used to in every day life.JDG Perldeinerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07632961831809544262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4930065815010914887.post-48835649542935331342012-03-14T02:03:52.912-07:002012-03-14T02:03:52.912-07:00I'm a huge fan of real-world settings and the ...I'm a huge fan of real-world settings and the majority of the games I play take part in them or are at least based on the real world, like Shadowrun. <br /><br />I find that when the GM is reasonably well prepared and manages to give the game an overall feeling of realism, it's very easy for me to accept anachronisms and outright changes to the world. I just have a problem with that when I notice that the GM didn't pay any attention to the period we're playing in and doesn't really care, that brings out my inner nitpicker.<br /><br />Oh, and thank you for mentioning the library card as a tool of research. Too many people forget about it and as a librarian, I appreciate the support.???https://www.blogger.com/profile/00467285279627231933noreply@blogger.com