Failing Nation

Drawing Inspiration from History.

On several occasions I have heard those who design fictional worlds, either for their novels or as a setting for games, remark that they look to history for inspiration. I have frequently shared my opinion about preaching with the Bible in one hand and a newspaper in the other. I have also remarked that I find old westerns to often have simple story plots that are easily adapted for use at the gaming table. Today I offer for gaming consideration my latest observation taken from current events, the failed nation scenario.

Conflict makes for good story-telling. The protagonist(s) in a story need something to do. A society under stress from the failure of its institutions and the subsequent chaos and struggles, perhaps to even survive, can make for a good gaming scenario. Any time there is an uncertain outcome, one which may be affected by the actions of our player character protagonists, there exists the protentional for rewarding game-play.

The universality of the scenario lends itself to use across many genres. Grab a year near the fall of Rome for a quasi-historical campaign, or set the space-age action on a faraway planet that is now abandoned and forgotten by the Empire in Decline. Give some thought to the many ways decline and fall may affect the citizens and pause to consider the opportunities a vacuum in power might offer.

By changing the names, adding fictional details drawn from our own imagination and creating an interesting cast of characters we may develop a setting ripe with possibilities for game-play. 

For example, the Legend of King Arthur is set in a time when the military might of Rome withdrew from Britain leaving its citizens to govern themselves, and to protect themselves from migratory invaders. Under Roman rule, the Britons had enjoyed a degree of prosperity that perhaps made their country attractive to their less well-off neighbors. In-fighting among the Britons who disagreed over who and how the power void should be filled, further weakens their resistance to raids and invasion. Re-skin the scenario as a space-age planetary adventure setting and we have alien invaders threatening an isolated outpost in turmoil and technological decline. Who will arise to lead the resistance? Will the PCs take up the mantel of legendary hero, or perhaps see the situation as an opportunity to go treasure seeking among the ruins left in the wake of war?