Research for a game

[Mariusvykos]

I'm looking at running a game set is late TL4 around 1720's. The game will not be historical but I would like some real world analogs to base the game off of. I'm looking for what kind of technology they had, there guns, ships, how the population was spread out and some urban myths and legends.

Would anyone have any good web sites or books that I might find at a local library that would be a good source of information.

thanks in advance

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Mariusvykos

I'm looking at running a game set is late TL4 around 1720's. The game will not be historical but I would like some real world analogs to base the game off of. I'm looking for what kind of technology they had, there guns, ships, how the population was spread out and some urban myths and legends.

Would anyone have any good web sites or books that I might find at a local library that would be a good source of information.

Fernand Braudel's Civilization and Capitalism is perfect for what you want. Three volumes, by an eminent historian, all about technology, daily life, customs, and the economy. I've been reading it for my forthcoming swashbuckling campaign and finding it full of treasures. I had just reread Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle, set in the late 17th and early 18th century, and I kept saying to myself, "I'll bet that's where he got that bit!"

The Baroque Cycle itself could be a great source of inspiration, but it is three damned fat, thick books. It might be more reading than you want to do.

Bill Stoddard