|
May 1618. The councilors sent to Prague for effective changeover of Bohemia from Protestant to Catholic control are defenestrated, touching off Catholic efforts to bring the rebellious Bohemians under control. And it is in this environment, of the Thirty Years' War, that an RPG could be set most effectively.
Naturally, understanding why will require some history beyond that encapsulation of the war's beginning above. Readers with a low tolerance for historical analysis, let your eyes glaze over... Everyone else, here we go. At the time in Europe religious arrangements were determined by the method of nobility's faith. If the noble in charge of Saxony was Lutheran, everyone in Saxony was Lutheran (never mind individual preference, peasants were ignored). What set the spat off over Bohemia was a succession issue: Emperor Matthias' lack of an heir and choice of the Catholic Ferdinand II to succeed him in ruling Bohemia prompted protests from Protestants who wished Frederick V to rule them instead. Ferdinand II's attempt to smooth the transition being treated thusly (though somehow the two councilors survived a 70-foot fall) resulted in the need to pound Bohemia into submission by Catholic forces. Spain and Austria were sucked into this, and as both were/are Catholic the result was a reconquest of many German states along with Bohemia into the Catholic fold. The Dutch joined the Protestant side, and eventually Denmark and Sweden joined in on the side of Protestants (since both were Lutheran and considerably more powerful at the time than now). Both lost to a tide of Catholic troops however, despite initial successes. The tide of Catholic conquests was reversed by a Catholic country of all things; Cardinal Richelieu of France (a real power in the country) determined that the Habsburg dynasty in Austria and Spain needed to be countered before it controlled the continent, and aided the Protestant forces in doing so. The war did finally end, though with the underlying issue of which nation would have the greatest power in Europe unsettled. Religious preference would henceforth not be the determining interest in Europe going to war with itself, however.
That highly abbreviated summation should make clear that a LOT of fighting was going on. So how does this factor into a good RPG setting? Let's start with the name: Thirty Years' War. An entirely new generation can take over for their dead parents in this setting and the war is still happening! Generational separation isn't a common component of the RPG, true, but it has happened and makes for an interesting dynamic.
The religious component might need a bit of tempering to not set church leaders or those who find nothing worthy in the idea of Christians slaughtering each other off, but can work well. Make everyone the bad guys, make one side the bad guys - doesn't matter. Religious conflict makes for a dynamic narrative.
How was the war fought? Often by mercenary armies tramping all over what is now Germany (many other European locations, but Germany above all) and at the time was several hundred nations. These mercenaries were not picky about who they forced to give them shelter, and spread disease in their wake. Accounts vary, but roughly 1/4 of the German populace was killed by the events of the war. So we have a moral angle for a group to fight against the forces inciting this war.
As to how actual combat progressed, while guns did exist in European armies at the time they were hardly the deciders of battle that would later be the case. Flintlock rifles have a short range and take a long time to reload between each shot, meaning gunners did not dominate battles. Cannon existed also, with roughly the same caveats applied. Swords, maces, pikes, cavalry - they all had considerable use in battle at the time. Thus battles need not be gun-dominated, instead letting the classic melee weapons be present. As to magic: certain liberties with the historical record will of course need to be taken.
The Thirty Years' War involved essentially every nation in Europe at one point or another (though England had a civil war that kept it from getting very involved). It doesn't register much in the public consciousness now, thus making it a tough sell to the modern gamer - but oh the possibilities of this lengthy period...
|
RSS feed
iTunes