City-founding- inspired by founding of rome post-remus.
Bunch men started the founding and can defend what is built
but cannot grow a population. Women are a needed resource and the more women the better. Sounds like harem weeb
fantasy but this is the evolutionary advantage of women and children first and why women were not even allowed in
battle. You might think that more is better, but every woman who dies means not just 1 less person in your group butalso
1 less child per yea. In fact, if every single man save one were wiped out in battle that 1 man could still sire an entire
generation of his people guaranteeing that his people would make a comeback. So how do you get women? Taking
women forcefully as they did to the sabine makes you a threat to other nations but gets more women faster. Accepting
refugees is slower but does not affect neighboring relations negatively, though it may dilute the existing culture and
there may not be any refugees. Alliances, absorbing other settlements, etc… are all essential to growth. The ultimate goal
of growth is population but many factors are necessary for a high population to be stable- land, uncontested rule,
unifying ideal, etc… Roads matter: connect your settlements as in Catan!
Rome once ruled the known world under democratic rule but it took only one dynastic inheritor, not selected by merit,
to ruin it. As rome weakened the wealthy landowners felt less protected so they fortified their property and the
commoners were either forced to or sensibly obligated to bind themselves to the land for protection under the
landowners. What was once a republic turned back into city-states as owners fiercely guarded their land absent from
greater imperial stability and support. Generations later this protective control became feudalism. This is a great
background for a regional setting: memories of a grand and fair empire endure even amidst the miserable oppression of
tyrant kings and greedy warlords. Also, the empire had become the very barbarians they feared.. or the other way
around.. except that they’re Christian barbarians now?
Arabs had advanced medicine, art, algebra, architecture, etc… but due to the arid climate they had to work much harder
for sustenance and had fewer high quality construction materials- sand and mud laid over twisted branches or, at best,
sandstone bricks composed most of their dwellings which made the Europeans see them as primitive and dirty.
European medicine was riddled with superstition and misunderstanding which only served to confirm their flawed bias
when it failed. Illiteracy was default and the greatest intellectual achievements were far behind the arabs but easy access
to water, wood, stone, metals, etc.. allowed them to thrive despite their poor understanding of science. Each culture saw
only the others shortcomings, which happened to coincide with areas they valued deeply and, thus, judged each other to
be inferior.
Divine vs arcane setting: the divine is lawful but the arcane is chaotic. Inspired by the inquisition and witch hunts and
paganism of the middle ages. The divine is a state religion while the arcane is more of an individual calling but has deep
roots in tradition so druid will actually be arcane. All caster classes on each side get homogenized into spontaneous
casters and get to select class features at 1, 4, 8, 12, etc… to build a custom caster. Could combo well with the fallen
empire feudalism or the arab vs European themes.
Clerics in historical low/no fantasy focus not on the spells and powers but on how influential they are because everyone
is of a unified religion. A warrior commands by rank or prowess but a priest guides the fate of your mortal soul.
Adnd 2e has reaction. To translate to modern editions: without making a diplo check the npc’s attitude starts at a certain
level based on commonality and charisma. The commonality makes a much bigger impact in ancient settings because
“birds of a feather.” Think of how a family bond expanded to a clan or tribal bond and then into a nationalist bond. Once
the commanality became too inclusive (we are all romans) it lost its meaning (we are american but you’re not from my
hood) yet we still do it instinctively even today.
Manuscripts: the importance of writing. In the absence of any kind of education system, and with literacy itself being
rare, the ability to converse with another who is competent on a topic was priceless. Books were the vehicle for those
conversations and could contain the only existing knowledge base on a topic. If you wanted to know how an apothecary
cured a plague- there was no word of mouth, no publication, no distribution. You could request a copy of a manuscript
but they were often huge and it was faster to just send the manuscript itself. Books were truly something special and
only for special people. A manuscripts was basically the earliest version of an education and may have even had a similar
influence over someone’s life- the same way that college plays a part in defining early adulthood identity so could a
manuscript be a defining element of a young scholar’s life.
In historical low fantasy magical healing stops at 50%, if you want to heal up to full you’ll need proper rest. I could dig this
even in a high fantasy game. You could have magical healing be more effective but only heal up to 50%. Now in-combat
healing is more desirable, perhaps even obligatory. Temporary hit points are more appealing, perhaps even necessary
when not rested. Camping out aint gonna cut it- you want that good rest at the inn to triple your recovery rate. Makes a
base more interesting especially for local games or those where you are part of a larger group which sets up long-term
camps (caravan, military). It also makes long trips more perilous and deciding to go on one at all is a big choice.
Historical settings are, realistically, no fantasy. However… the middle ages were steeped in superstition and the romans
believed fully in the existence and influence of their pantheon. You can choose to play your game true to life or to play as
the peoples you are re-enacting the lives of believed with magic included.