Historical fiction is a weird genre of literature. On the one hand, it is fiction, however, the other hand holds some shreds of truth. There is the assumption that the author rigorously researched the subject, and merely fictionalized a story from history. However, there is the distinct fear in the reader that certain licenses have been taken with the truth in order to tell a good story.

In all honesty, all history is fictional to a degree, in that all history is told from a certain perspective, and is based on an understanding of events not witnessed by the author. As an educator, a public archaeologist, and as a game writer I generally take the approach that history is made up of stories, and that for all but the most devoted fans of a historical period, the stories had best be good. Not to say that they are dishonest in any way, but that the truth needs to be told as an appealing story for non-historians to be interested in it.

Then there is historical fiction, which takes questions such as truth and intellectual honesty in a different direction. In historical fiction, as in role-playing, the enjoyment of the story takes precedence over the facts of the matter (true even for those who prefer a systems that are very simulationist, the act of simulation is the source of enjoyment).

This month I want to take a look at historical fiction and its use as a source for historical role-playing games. As an aid to this little exercise, we are going to focus on one era and the fiction written based on that era. The astute students of history will already have guessed by the title what era we will be looking at. For those not in the know, we are going to be talking about the Napoleonic Era, and specifically, the nautical tales told set during that war. For those of you who have been following along with this column, once again we are, in the words of a traditional sea shanty:

“Going back to the sea, back to the sea, where I know just what’s expected out of me. I’ll get my rightful dues, there’ll be nobody to confuse, ‘cause I’m going back to the sea, back to the sea.”

Who Do We Read

When choosing to delve into historical fiction to find sources of inspiration for your campaign, the first thing you need to do is find a good author or two. This process works somewhat differently than in choosing an author for any other genre or purpose. The primary consideration, before you begin to ask if the author’s writing style, themes, plots, or characters are compatible with your own sensibilities, is to look at how the author researches his or her topics. Believe it or not, but some writers of historical fiction just make things up! Ask the same questions when looking at the author’s work as you would when evaluating a work of non-fiction. What are their biases, what is the message, do they quote or otherwise mention their sources?

For our example, I suggest O’Brien, Forester, and Kent as examples of good authors to read for your upcoming Naval Napoleonic campaign. In general they get the things you need to take away from historical fiction right. First, they are knowledgeable on their subjects and express the technical terms in language that the layman can understand. Their research shows through in the detail given the central character in their works, namely the ship (though I was going to say Jack Aubrey, right?). This is the sort of detail you need to be looking for, especially as all three authors provide countless scene and setting tidbits about life at sea during the Napoleonic Wars. Second, their stories can be mined for ideas about plot, character, and setting. Finally, for those of you with a more cinematic bent, the works of O’Brien and Forester have been made into movies.

Looking at the genre, several key elements that can be extracted for role-playing stand out. As I mentioned previously, the ship is the central character of the story, the thing that ties it all together. For a role-playing game where the main characters can be written out with little warning (and we all have faced players dropping out and PCs dying) having the ship as the central NPC is a great aid. You need to make it so (if you don’t mind me switching genres here a little) and engage the players in the affairs of the ship and her crew. This way, you get around that nasty question of replacement PCs, as well as the hows and whys of this mismatched assortment of heroes working together.

Moving beyond the ship, someone needs to be the captain, and it doesn’t have to be a PC. An NPC captain avoids the problem of one PC directing the affairs of the whole party, while giving the GM a convenient plot device to steer the campaign along a good tack. As much fun as a campaign can be when things go awry, some groups need more guidance to stay off the rocks. A Napoleonic naval ship is also awash in hierarchy, both military and social, so care must be given to the role each PC plays in the crew. A good option would be for them to all be of similar rank, perhaps midshipmen. Another choice is to have the party make up one section of the ship, with one PC as the commanding officer and the rest as petty or warrant officers.

Looking at the literary genre, one can easily see other close ties to role-playing. The heroes of these books not only develop as the series progress, but also grow in power, knowledge, and authority, much like PCs in many games. The genre lends itself well to episodic styles of play, with plenty of downtime between events to allow for character development, both in personality and game statistics. Finally, having a ship fighting a war that spans the whole world allows for constant journeying and change of scenery, a stable of many campaigns.

But, you say, I don’t want to run a Napoleonic Naval Campaign, history is boring, my group won’t put up with it, and the research is a bore. Good, run the game you want, however there is plenty of good information in these stories for you to plunder. First, the research needed to introduce these concepts is not the dry and dusty pouring over academic tomes needed for other historical games. If you can find historical fiction to suit your campaign, the research can be quite wet. Second, delving into a historical period as inspiration doesn’t mean you have to run a historical game. As examples, I give you two short non-historical games based on the Napoleonic Wars, specifically the wars at sea.

The War Against Boney

The Hobgoblin Warlord Boney has taken over the ancient empire of Alagne and brought it into conflict with the peaceful people of the Bracti Islands. Boney seeks to take over all of the central kingdoms, and must be stopped. Whereas the continental powers of the Grand Alliance seek to face Boney on land, the Royal Navy of the Bracti has taken the fight to the seas. All the GM needs do is draw a map of the world, rename the combatants (and assign a fantasy race to each) and away you go. You don’t even need gunpowder, as crossbows and ballistae will suffice. Add a warrant officer in the form of a ship’s mage, and its time to pin the Alagne fleet in harbor, attack hobgoblin held forts on far-flung islands, and chase enemy frigates across the world.

Spaceship X

If you are in the mood for some sci-fi, base the campaign around a military vessel plying the seas of space. Use the Napoleonic command structure as opposed to more modern systems and you have the flavor of the O’Brien novels without the messy historical part. From here you can tell any story you want, pulling inspiration from the historical genre or from your favorite sci-fi novel, show, or movie.

And so on

You can do the same thing with any genre of historical literature, just change the names, file off the serial numbers, and use it in your favorite setting. The Napoleonic Navel genre works equally well for airships, magic jammers, wind driven prairie barges, flying ships in the canals of Mars, or any genre that relies on a central vehicle and a structured authority. But why stop there, when you can use Austen or the Bronte sisters for your gothic vampire game set in medieval Russia, leverage Bernard Cornwell’s Arthur novels into a story of aliens and invaders on a distant moon (Arthurian Ewoks, why not), or use Dumas and his musketeers to inspire your transhuman adventures through time and space.

Another shameless plug this month, and one that would mesh nicely with the Napoleonic Naval Model. Steve Jackson games has published another of my short articles in Pyramid Magazine Issue 20 Infinite Worlds (May 2010). “Roma Universalis” is the misbegotten child of alternate history and planetary romance where the Roman Empire under the Flavians has expanded to include much of Europe and Asia, as well as Luna, Mars, and Venus. Check it out, and join the fun as Roman sky galleys ply the Divium Mare in search of glory and fortune on distant worlds. Thrill to the exploits of the famed Venusian Auxiliaries as they descend from flying ships to take walled cities in southern India. Battle moondragons in the sublunarian depths, or haggle with Martians for a bit of biotech.

Until next month, haul on the capstan and heave up your anchor, encrusted with bits of history. Oh, and see you at GenCon Indy.