We are going to playtest Principia next weekend durring our anual guy's getaway. I had been pushing for historical figures cranked to 1, and was asking them what they wanted to do with it. Pete pushes for the edge of the Ottoman Empire. i like this a lot it has the whole clash of civilizations thing, plenty of room for alternate "arabic" technology and the whole monsters come from here thing going for it.
I am however completely ignorant of cool historical figures of the era. Can Y'all point me to cool stuff that I can bring to the table?
What point in history are you talking? The height of Ottoman power in the region? The Siege at Vienna? The Ottoman occupation of Hungary? Janos Hunyadi's wars with the Empire? The Crusade of Nicopolis? The Crusade of Varna? There are hundreds of years of history there.
There's my problem. I don't know what happened, so I cannot make those calls. I am willing to read up this week, but I don't know where to start. I am assuming we will be in the 16th century and Pete was talking about taking cities back from the Ottomans if that is any help.
Ok. Well the Ottoman's occupied Hungary from 1526 (Battle of Mohacs) to about 1700. If you are talking the early part with Ottoman victories and the like you have people like Suleyman the Magnificent, Janos Szapolyai (Prince of Translyvania), Louis II Jagiellon (died at the Battle of Mohacs), his successor, Ferdinand I (first archduke of Austria), Isabella Jagiello (Szapolyai's wife), Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq (Frederick's ambassador to the Ottomans).
If you are talking the end period (1667 to about 1700) look up the Second Siege of Vienna, Wars of the Holy League, and the Great Turkish War for a lot of interesting characters (Jan III Sobieski, king of Poland; Grand Vizier Kara Mustafa Pasha; Sultan Mohamed IV; Petro Doroshenko; Pope Innocent XI).
Cool! We had a talk recently about Principia and the Ottoman Empire, although we're also pretty ignorant of its history. By the way, I heartily recommend the technique of picking a random person/fact and looking them up on Wikipedia. Here's what I can toss out there for you around Ottomans:
Second Seige of Vienna The Ottomans were at their height, with Vienna standing between them and the rest of Europe. The Holy Roman Emperor is off fighting battles elsewhere. A cobbled together army of mercenaries and regulars is all that stands between the Ottomans and the fall of Europe.
Vienna is pretty cool, having been a Celtic fortress, then a major Roman city. The foundations of some of the most ancient buildings in Europe are probably down there. Who knows what kind of temple might be hidden under the cathedral.
Ottomans imply assassins (even though we're several hudred years too late). The assasins were a muslim sect that basically kidnapped people, drugged them up, then awakened them in a paradise of women and wealth. They were told this was a glimpse fo the paradise they would acheive if they did their duty well. Who knows what these guys have been up to since they were supposedely wiped out. Do they serve Muslim masters, or have they turned against those who rejected them? "Is assassination a valid tool for peace" might be a pretty cool Principia question. :)
Vienna was also a major nexus for the golem legend, the animation of a living being from inanimate matter. Who knows what might be lumbering through the dark alleys or forgotten sewers of Vienna? Is the golem our last hope to defy the war machines of the Turk? Tim Powers has a fantastic novel set at this battle called The Drawing of the Dark which features vikings, King Arthur reincarnated as a cartankerous scottsman, and a dark beer so powerful the destiny of the West rests upon it.
Wikipedia is always a good starting point for this stuff. For some more indepth reading (and in a very approachable manner) I recommend Ottoman Centuries. It is a nice, easy to read overview.