01-21-2017, 09:38 AM | #1 |
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Gothenburg, Sweden
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Apocalypse 1177 BC
In 1177 BC, civilization collapsed.
Well, not exactly. But around that time, a triple-whammy of drought, earthquakes and invaders destroyed Mycenae, Minos, the Hittites and brought Egypt to the brink of destruction. Cities were razed, the trade network that bound the Mediterranean together was destroyed, literacy rates plummeted... and presumably there were a lot of things to do if you were a murder-hobo. I'm toying with setting a campaign here, or in a fantasy equivalent. So... Technological Level would be solidly 1, although Egyptian medicine (except for surgery) is probably advanced enough to be TL 2. Magical system based on words - I'll probably go with a Threshold-limited version of Incantations, just because I love that combo.
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01-21-2017, 10:56 AM | #2 |
Join Date: Dec 2012
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Re: Apocalypse 1177 BC
Oooh, this is a good idea for a game setting. Even without magic and much fantasy it can definitely make for a lot of adventure because of raiders, bandits, and the general complications of the collapse of civilization. You could also go full fantasy and make the Sea Peoples invading orcs or something and have monsters roaming the countryside as a result of civilization no longer keeping them at bay.
I studied this period fairly extensively in college (particularly Greece) and it is definitely TL1. In warfare there were lots of chariots because horses were too small to ride into battle at this point. In the east and south they were still used as an actual tactical unit with archers, but in Greece they were used more like battle taxis (to borrow Loadouts: LT's phraseology) to get the important people around the battlefield. And don't forget slings, slings (of all kinds) probably outnumbered bows as an infantry range weapon. Settlements (especially in Greece) were small and probably somewhat tribal (with a head man) in organization--though no writing makes this hard to know for sure. Definitely would be fun. |
01-21-2017, 12:39 PM | #3 |
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Gothenburg, Sweden
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Re: Apocalypse 1177 BC
I think I will place it in MesopotAfrica, a fictional land of my own devising. The overall situation then is
1) there are several stable kingdoms with a well-established trade network 2) these kingdoms are etch-a-sketch Mycene, Minos, Egypt, Hittites, Assyria and I'll have to see what else comes up. 3) after a prolonged period of drought and a series of earthquakes, the kingdoms are sufficiently weakened that an invasion by surrounding barbarians (who have learned warfare by serving as mercenaries) can succeed 4) divers alarums occur as people struggle to fill the power vacuum
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“When you arise in the morning think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love ...” Marcus Aurelius |
01-21-2017, 02:02 PM | #4 | |
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: West Virginia
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Re: Apocalypse 1177 BC
Quote:
Perhaps the change in the magical system that made magic easier to learn at the cost of magicians being less powerful but vastly more common could be your technological change. Assume the older generations of Wizards had vastly more powerful spells that took decades to learn and required several Very Hard Skills to cast. The new magic requires only a few points in skills to be battle ready, but you don't have the same raw power. Old style, old every year of so the mage can summon a mighty storm to knock down a city. New style, mages common, most can cast a fireball or two daily.
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01-21-2017, 02:40 PM | #5 |
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
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Re: Apocalypse 1177 BC
Shall we call one of those groups of barbarians 'Greeks'? The Trojan War from the other side has some interesting potential.
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01-21-2017, 03:34 PM | #6 |
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: On the road again...
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Re: Apocalypse 1177 BC
I forget, was this the same era that had the Sea People roaming and raiding across the eastern Mediterranean?
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01-21-2017, 03:36 PM | #7 |
Join Date: Feb 2014
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Re: Apocalypse 1177 BC
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01-21-2017, 05:04 PM | #8 |
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Gothenburg, Sweden
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Re: Apocalypse 1177 BC
That would be Mycene. They're a civilised people.
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“When you arise in the morning think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love ...” Marcus Aurelius |
01-21-2017, 05:13 PM | #10 |
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Canada
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Re: Apocalypse 1177 BC
It's important to note in a Hellenic context that 'barbaros' (barbarian) doesn't mean "foreign person who I assume wants to burn my house down and steal my sheep" - it means "Person who can't speak Greek properly" and more generally "Person who doesn't share cultural roots in the region and hasn't bothered to learn to fit in".
Being invaded by Barbarians means that they must be funny-talking outsiders. When someone who speaks properly invades and burns your house down and steals your sheep, they're just "your enemy".
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bronze age, campaign, egypt |
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