How to Use Historical Research for Inspiration

I recently finished developing a tabletop game that takes place in important periods in history. One of the things I learned from the process is that all of the greatest drama that I can create from nothing pales in comparison to the texture and drama of real history. By simply selecting a historical event, you can have all manner of dramatic context and realistic story to build a campaign from. In this guide, I will use a historical event as a basis for a campaign and show you how to do the same from your own research. 

The first step is in coming up with the kind of story you want to tell. As you can tell if you've read my other campaign materials, one of my favorite kinds of stories involve social upheaval. For the example case of historical research, I'll be using one of this variety. But your own method can be very different. Where my social upheaval story involves all members of society, history also has a variety of rich stories involving warfare, diplomacy, invention, and cultural revolution. Once you know the genre of your historical tale, it's time to pick a specific example. 

To start, we can just do a cursory Google search for the general topic. Then we follow up by selecting a few links that can give us a specific look at the issue. This site offers a look into U.S. diplomacy at certain periods of U.S. history. I chose to look more closely at U.S. diplomacy during the American Revolution. There are a number of links on this page that explore the issues in more detail--this one on a secret committee seems interesting and dramatic. Then we can Google for more information about this specific secret committee, which can lead us to Wikipedia's broader treatment of the issue. You can take it further than this and look at more scholarly sources on this committee like this one. All of that clicking around and cursory research took only a few minutes, and now we have the basis for a campaign. We have a colonial civilization throwing off the control over this mother civilization; the diplomatic efforts on either side become key to the progression of the story; the secret committee becomes crucial to the revolutionary effort. This slight framework for a campaign holds more than enough potential for drama and excitement to make it a successful game, and it only took looking back at our past. 

But for the bulk of this guide, I will be turning a different historical event into a more complete campaign. For the event itself, I will be using perhaps my favorite chapter of world history: the Prague Spring. As I mentioned above, this episode of history is one of social upheaval. In 1968, Czechoslovakia (a part of the Soviet Union) elected a man named Alexander Dubček was elected President of the country. This was notable for a number of reasons. First, Czechoslovakia's politics had long been dominated by the people of what would later become the Czech Republic; the Slovaks had little representation. This led to the friction that would make part of the Prague Spring's efforts involve the separation of the two entities. But Dubček was a Slovak. His election was a huge reversal. It signaled that reform was more important to the country at this time than its history of partisan politics. Second, part of Dubček's proposed reforms involved creating some autonomy from the Soviet Union--this was unthinkable at the time, but it caught on quickly. Soon, student-run organizations, newspapers, and radio programs were sharing radical ideas about revolution. Over the course of nine months, stretching into the spring of 1969, Czechoslovakia was an engine of change. In the end, the government held a public referendum: the people of the country voted on a measure to transition from communism under the Soviet Union to socialist democracy as two independent nations. The measure passed handily. Very quickly, the Soviet Union's attempts to negotiate Czechoslovakia back into the Soviet Union were abandoned, and Soviet tanks rolled into the country to enforce the reversal of the Czechoslovak vote. In the end, many of the changes made during this explosion of democratic and community-based growth were hampered. Czechoslovakia would not be able to return to changes like these until the fall of the Soviet Union 20 years later. 

Already, we have options when it comes to exploring this story. We could have our players experience this story themselves: the bulk of the story would be about making societal and governmental changes that reflect the peoples' desires. We could use this story as a prologue: the players would play in the in-game equivalent of 1989, when the imperialist forces are weakened, and the players would be responsible for driving the changes pioneered by the earlier civilization. Or we could flip the script entirely: the players instead play for the in-game equivalent of the Soviet Union, assigned to controlling and sabotaging the revolutionary efforts of the Czechoslovakians. With this option, your players may end up being faithful workers under the Soviet banner, and they may end up sabotaging the Soviets to help the Czechoslovaks. But as you can see, even this short period of history (not even a full year!) bears lots of possibilities for stories and twists on narrative convention. 

It's time to make the campaign outline from the Prague Spring. I'm going to opt for the most direct interpretation of the historical event to help keep this process clear: the players will act as the revolutionaries in the potentially doomed effort to throw off the control of the imperialist forces. I'll provide a campaign overview, a profile on the major NPCs involved, and an outline for each of the campaign's sessions. Like with my mystery campaign, I'll include a total of ten chapters, which would generally translate to about 20 sessions, give or take a few depending on how focused the party is. 

Campaign Summary: 

The party is approached by a social activist, who explains that a revolution is brewing and that they need help. The social activist wants the party to execute a number of goals that will strengthen the movement for revolution. The party is promised several favors from the new government officials if the revolution is successful. 

Major NPCs: 

• Anders Dover - This stand-in for Alexander Dubček is the leader of the reform movement. He promises better representation for common people, greater connection with civic responsibilities, and freedom from the demands of the imperialist power that controls the city. He oversees the overall strategy of the campaign, but most tasks are handled by his second-in-command, Nina Hornback. 
• Nina Hornback - Anders Dover's second-in-command, she tends to the day-to-day issues of the campaign. She gives the party missions to fulfill in order to advance Dover's plans. Hornback is more pragmatic than Dover, and she understands that many of the campaign's goals must be handled carefully and under cover, lest the imperialist forces catch wind of the campaign. 
• Andrew Norris - This stand-in for Antonín Novotný is the leader of the forces that Dover bested to be elected. He is sympathetic to the imperialist regime and will try to observe the actions of the party and report them to the imperialists. Norris acts as a foil to Dover; where Dover is idealistic, Norris is a practical man who doesn't believe change can be achieved. Norris can be treated as the key enemy in this campaign, and his reach can become more intimidating if he has a network of people working beneath him. 
• Englebert Gordon - This stand-in for Eduard Goldstücker is a writer and labor organizer. He is a powerful voice of common people, an outspoken critic of Andrew Norris, and a supporter of Dover's agenda of empowering labor and the voice of the people. He can be a key resource for the party, as ideas that he publicly espouses become more popular amongst the people; the party can work with Gordon to spread word of their goals and receive public support. 
• Lana Vessel - This stand-in for Ludvík Vaculík is a writer and broadcaster who supports Dover's plans for social reform and greater control of the economy, but she also believes that Dover's efforts don't go far enough. Vessel believes that all ties with the imperialist forces should be severed, that the media's role is to criticize power, and that the economy should be more free than planned. In order to completely gain the support of the people, the party will have to work with Vessel to unite the entire city behind Dover. 

Story Chapters: 

1. The party is contacted by Nina Hornback, who explains that a revolution is brewing in the city against the imperialist forces that control it. She offers political favors and a moderate payment in return for the party's support of Anders Dover, the newly-elected leader of the city. The first task is meeting with Dover, learning about his goals, and discussing strategy. The party should also witness Andrew Norris publicly speaking to a crowd about how the imperialists are the city's lifeblood; the speech is met with resistance by some. 
2. Hornback gives the party their first assignment: speaking with Englebert Gordon about Dover's policies. Gordon is grateful for the opportunity to learn more about the new leader, and he is generally excited about Dover's plans. Before he will publicly endorse Dover, though, he requires a favor from the party: they must prove their commitment by criticizing Andrew Norris. Specifically, he wants the party to vandalize Norris' home, leaving behind a message that calls him a traitor. If the party does agree to vandalize Norris' home, they are met with resistance from city guards. 
3. Englebert Gordon is convinced to help the party. He organizes an event where he is to speak about the city's needs, but he fears that he may become a target from the imperialists if he does. He agrees to speak at the event and endorse Dover if the party agrees to guard him during his speech. During the speech, three assassins arrive and strike at Gordon; the players must protect him. The attack raises questions in the public about the morality of the imperialists, who people assume ordered the attack. A new wave of support for Dover results from the outcry against the attack. 
4. Hornback is pleased that the party has gained Gordon's support, and she turns her efforts to building the movement. She explains to the party that some revolutionary writers have messages to publish, but there are not enough printing presses in the city to support everyone's voice. Hornback says that three presses were intercepted en route to the city; she assigns the party to go recover and deliver the presses to the city. The party discovers that a band of highwaymen have taken the presses; close investigation reveals that the imperialist forces paid the highwaymen to intercept the printing presses. 
5. Hornback is pleased that the party has recovered the printing presses. She tasks the party with reaching out to various revolutionary writers and decide on the writers who will have first access to the presses. She suggests beginning the search with Lana Vessel, the most outspoken of the city's advocates for home rule. Vessel is at first cautious but soon grows excited at the chance to spread her message. She also suggests that the party reach out to a few of her colleagues. They are: 
1. Douglas Moore - A Dover supporter who believes that negotiation with the imperialists is the best way forward.
2. Penelope Sign - A former Norris supporter who cautiously supports the home rule movement. 
3. Yancy Willniel - An outspoken critic of the imperialists, he ardently supports the right of the city to publish critical materials. 
4. Cassandra Rogers - Mainly an economist, she believes that an economy planned by the city will always be stronger than an economy planned by the imperialists.
5. Rutger Friedman - An advocate for furthering the strength of democratic processes in the city, he is cautious of sharing his ideas under his own name for fear of the imperialists. 
6. With the presses printing the works of the party's chosen authors, Hornback directs the party to oversee the distribution of the newly printed materials. Hornback recommends working together with local businesses to hand out the materials. The party must then convince various business owners that spreading the materials is worth the chance of being targeted by the imperialists. Business owners should be especially sensitive to arguments about the freedom of economy they would have under Dover's plans. The party should ensure the cooperation of at least three major businesses before completing this chapter. 
7. Hornback believes that the party's efforts are paying off and the people of the city are beginning to rally around Dover's agenda. She proposes a large event in the center of the city, with speeches from Dover and his supporters. The first step is in planning the event. The party must obtain the rights to hold the event in the center of town, find at least two other speakers in support of Dover (these can be drawn from the writers in chapter 5 or from other corners of the city), and spread word of the event. The party should face resistance from public servants who are still sympathetic to Norris and the imperialists.
8. Hornback is concerned that the imperialists may be mounting a counter-offensive. She asks the party to act as defense against any imperialist actions taken during the speeches. The party must deal with these three issues during the speeches: one of their chosen speakers is anxious and reconsidering speaking (the party must calm them and convince them to go on), a fight breaks out in the crowd between Dover and Norris supporters (the fight must be quelled, or it will turn the whole event into a fracas), and three more imperialist assassins arrive and try to kill Dover (the party should be able to save him here; the greater impact is the sense of a loss of public safety following the event). 
9. The event a success in raising public support, Hornback says that it is time to put the public to a test. She asks the party to work with a few public officials to create a referendum on which everyone in the city can make their voices heard. The party must deal with the bureaucracy of the city's government (having players go back and forth between people who push responsibility off onto others will do well), convince a Norris sympathizer to cooperate (Charisma-based skills, bribery, or strong-arming them could all work), and getting Dover's approval (he nitpicks several wordings but ultimately agrees to move forward based on Hornback's confidence. 
10. The referendum takes place, and Dover's measures are uniformly approved. The city enters a short period of celebration, which is cut short when an army and siege machines arrive at the city gates. The party may try to fight, but they should quickly be surrounded. Dover is taken captive back to the imperialist capital, and Hornback watches in horror as most of the writers are rounded up as well. In the real history, Czechoslovakia had to wait two decades before they could truly recover from the Soviet invasion. But for a more satisfying end to the campaign, we can handle this a few different ways:
1. The party leads a mission to rescue Dover and return him to power. 
2. The party takes city leadership themselves and continue's Dover's agenda or their own. 
3. The party raises troops and attacks the imperialist forces in an effort to gain independence. 
4. The party creates an underground resistance to the imperialists. 

So there you have it: a complete campaign created from inspiration from a historical event. Not only is this story driven by a real tale of human resistance, which means that as GM, I get to tell my players about the surprising real history along the way, but the reality of the story makes it more believable and accessible to my players. And the act of writing all this was very simple; I really just had to take the big ideas of the Prague Spring and recalibrate them for tabletop game playing. You can easily do the same. 

That's all for now. Coming soon: how to use Hope and Despair for storytelling, a one-shot based on the movie Napoleon Dynamite, and a profile on mythology in my homebrew setting. Until next time, happy gaming!

Back to the homepage (where you can find everything!)