History

Thinking Critically: A D&D Discussion

This episode I'm joined by Andrew & Vesna Gronosky from Shewstone Publishing, who leverage their extensive knowledge to discuss the implications of having a "history" in your TTRPG setting. The different lifespans of races can have a profound impact in their culture and what they consider important enough to record; what happened "a long time ago" to a human can be relatively "yesterday" to an elf. We can use these schisms to drive worldbuilding and roleplay opportunities. Fortunately for us, real life has volumes and volumes of inspiration, and most of the heavy lifting has already been done over the span of human history.

• 02:40 - Building on What We Know
• 09:42 - Cultural Differences
• 17:19 - History is Relative
• 23:03 - The Times They are a Changing
• 45:06 - Conveying "Facts"
• 49:20 - Making History

Find Andrew & Vesna via Shewstone Publishing on:

• Magonomia, the RPG of Renaissance Wizardry: https://shewstone.com/magonomia
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShewstoneLLC
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShewstonePublishing
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRYQd535twmEZ-8GF1Tt8jg
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/shewstone

Find Thinking Critically online: https://www.thinkingcritically.co.uk

References:

• Ars Magica: https://www.atlas-games.com/arsmagica
• Pirenne Thesis (CW: discredited and shaped by anti-Muslim prejudice) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Pirenne
• Beyond Battles presentation, Gen Con Online 2021: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW0YxEnsr8A

Patrons:

• Robert Hartley @RobertHartleyGM: https://www.patreon.com/RobertHartleyGM
• Optional Rule @optionalrule: https://www.optionalrule.com/
• Matthew Perkins @mperkinsDM: https://www.matthewperkins.net/
• Matt Street @mpstreet88: https://www.virtualtimehustle.com/

Intro Music: 'Local Forecast' by Kevin MacLeod
Intermission Music: 'Chill' by Kevin MacLeod
Outro Music: 'Local Forecast - Elevator' by Kevin MacLeod