Jürgen Hubert@juergen_hubert@mementomori.social
I've often been asked if I wanted to produce some #ttrpg material based on my research of German #folklore , and in fact I have often thought of that myself. Considering my time constraints, this is currently nothing more than a fantasy - but it is fun to think about.
One important question is the setting. There are two main opinions:
(a) An entirely fictional "fantasy counterpart" version of Germany - the approach taken by #Brancalonia and #WFRP .
(b) A real world historical period, but with added fantastical elements.
For (b), I think the aftermath of major wars would be best, since that would offer the most opportunities for stereotypical "roving bands of adventurers" as player characters, with the PCs likely being war veterans (the war themselves would likely be too bleak for much of the folkloric whimsy).
The best periods I can think of are the aftermaths of the Thirty Years' War and the Napoleonic Wars. The latter would be more authentic to the folk tales, since most of the folk tales were written down in the 19th century. The former, on the other hand, would allow for more fantastic stories, since they were set longer ago. But I do think the setting should be within the Modern Era, and not the Middle Ages, since the folklore would have been too different back then.
What are your thoughts on this? How would you conceptualize a setting based on German folklore?
Blind Mapmaker@blind_mapmaker@eldritch.cafe
@juergen_hubert@mementomori.social Post-Napoleonic could work. If you want a literary example of how that could feel 'Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell' fits the atmosphere. I will have a more genteel feel and more people will be enlightened enough to laugh at these old wives' fables until the devil comes to get them.
From what I've read of your translations, I would rather do Post-30-Years-War. It feels more true to the way people are depicted.
Happenstance has it that GURPS is doing a big 30-Years-War playtest atm. Sure it's alternate history with some Yanks taking all the spotlight, but you'd probably be able to lift a lot of equipment and such from the finished product.
Definitely stay within the modern era. I'd saw the Reformation is probably the earliest possible time period without things feeling out of place for the folklore. Most of the truly medieval stuff that survived is way more didactic / hagiographic.
