Alternate history/fantasy medieval setting - what do characters do?

[agoodall]

Long-time lurker, first-time poster...

I have an idea for an alternative history game set in the 13th century. Along with alternative history, there are fantasy elements. I have a good handle on the setting, but I need help on tying the setting to character motivation.

The departure point is the 3rd century CE. Christianity and Mithraism compete in Rome, with Mithraism eventually attaining the edge. Mithraism becomes the state religion of Rome by the end of the 4th century, though Christianity still exists.

Fast forward to the 13th Century. England's king (King John in our timeline; someone else in my modified time line, which I'm still working on) is having problems with France. He turns to Islam, which has spread pretty much as it did in our universe. He sees the Moors in Spain as a valuable ally against Mithraic France.

Not everyone in England is happy about the conversion to Islam, of course. The nobles in Northumbria, in particular, have taken a dislike to this forced conversion, and are considering rebellion.

And this brings us to the actual focus of the game. Scots -- who are still pagan Celts in the absence of Christian conversion -- and English have both raided across the border for decades, but there is change in the air. Mithraic Northumbria and Celtic Scotland are now drawn tenuously together as they clash against Muslim England. At the same time, the old grievances between Scots and English are not easily cast aside.

The fantasy elements are more subtle. The creatures of Celtic myth exist, but have been driven to near extinction as mankind advances into the wilderness. Only in the wilderness will you find mythic creatures. Belief is an important aspect. Muslim prayers (and Christian prayers, too) are answered, if the correct conditions are met. For an example of the feel I'm looking for, see the old Land of the Ninja supplement for RuneQuest. Basically, the world works as people perceived it to work in the 13th century.

The characters are Celtic Scots living along the Borders.

This brings me to my problem. How can I closely connect the characters to the setting? For that matter, should I closely connect the characters to the setting?

A good example is comparing Reign to Harn. In Reign, the characters are the movers and the shakers of the setting. There are suggestions for making the characters organic to the setting. In comparison, Harn has a strong medieval setting, but there's little in HarnMaster to connect the characters directly to the setting. In Reign, characters are part of the setting while in HarnMaster characters inhabit the setting.

So, do you have suggestions for making the characters a part of the overall setting? I thought of making the characters clan leaders. I've also thought, vaguely, of an organization that has a vested interest in the outcome of the political wrangling in England, and having the characters members of that.

Or, do you feel that it would be sufficient to simply put the characters in the setting and let them figure out for themselves how they fit into the setting?

[ODDin]

First of all, the setting sounds pretty cool.
However, before I can really answer your question, I need to know what sort of game experience you're looking for, and to answer that question, I think you'd need to say what system you're using (or the type of system you're intending to design, for that matter).
If you're going for a general system, with characters just "doing things" (I mean, a system like d20, GURPS, Hero, The Riddle of Steel - stuff like that), then not only I think you don't need to tie your characters to the setting, but you need to describe the setting and let the characters do what they want and be who they want - not only Celts, but members of any country or region they desire. Make it broader, give out many options - it's usually more fun in such systems.

If, however, you're going for a more specific system (like the systems you usually see around here), then I think it'd be better to tie the characters more specifically to the setting, define their position and role in the world, and give less possibility for variation in what they do and what the adventures look like - this way, it's much easier for the system to be short and efficient in reaching it's desired goal.

[Noclue]

I would recommend that you tie to the characters into the setting or, better yet, provide a method for the characters to tie themselves tightly to the situation.

For stuff like this I really like the Clan Burning part of The Blossoms Are Falling (a Burning Wheel supplement with set in pre-Samurai Japan). The text gives the backstory of a political battle between two clans and then a list of choices on how to plug the characters into the setting. I don't have the text handy, but you can choose to play on a movers and shakers level or at a small, local level with the major events impacting your lives from a distance. There are a lot of various suggestions. Once that is chosen, the game uses a bunch of questions to drill down to what the immediate situation is and how it impacts each of the character's core beliefs.

[agoodall]

First of all, the setting sounds pretty cool.

Thank you!

However, before I can really answer your question, I need to know what sort of game experience you're looking for, and to answer that question, I think you'd need to say what system you're using (or the type of system you're intending to design, for that matter).

Right now I'm thinking of using Reign. I wrote a module for Wild Talents earlier this year, which is undergoing playtesting. I'm quite familiar with ORE, and it has the feel I'm looking for system wise.

On the other hand, the Mongoose RuneQuest SRD also holds some appeal.

At any rate, I'm leaning toward a game where the characters are more competent than the average person.

If, however, you're going for a more specific system (like the systems you usually see around here), then I think it'd be better to tie the characters more specifically to the setting, define their position and role in the world, and give less possibility for variation in what they do and what the adventures look like - this way, it's much easier for the system to be short and efficient in reaching it's desired goal.

That's the way I'm leaning. My biggest fear is that I wouldn't come up with enough for the characters to do without risking the dreaded metagame.

[agoodall]

For stuff like this I really like the Clan Burning part of The Blossoms Are Falling (a Burning Wheel supplement with set in pre-Samurai Japan). The text gives the backstory of a political battle between two clans and then a list of choices on how to plug the characters into the setting. I don't have the text handy, but you can choose to play on a movers and shakers level or at a small, local level with the major events impacting your lives from a distance. There are a lot of various suggestions. Once that is chosen, the game uses a bunch of questions to drill down to what the immediate situation is and how it impacts each of the character's core beliefs.

That sounds pretty interesting. I don't have Burning Wheel, though it tempts me. I'm particularly interested in this supplement as I'm a fan of feudal Japan.

I'm planning to focus on Scotland at first, though I may have to extend character creation to cover Northumbria, Muslim England, and even Vikings (to cover the far north of Scotland). It may be possible to do the whole thing in a single volume, though in the back of my mind I'm thinking that Muslim England might need it's own book. The idea, though, is to make it as self-contained as possible.