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Author Topic: Anyone run a colonial america type campaign?  (Read 2655 times)

Kiero

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Anyone run a colonial america type campaign?
« Reply #15 on: July 14, 2016, 09:43:59 AM »
Quote from: Bren;908185
Intimidation was not the exclusive province of the revolutionaries. Loyalists did quite a bit of their own intimidation. I recall some historian estimated that about 1/3 of the population was in support of independence, about 1/3 wanted to remain a British colony, and about 1/3 just wanted the other two sides to leave them the fuck alone. I expect both active sides did a lot of intimidating of anyone not on their side.

And victors generally do write the histories. America is hardly unique (or any different than Britain) in that respect.

I'm not sure you can really compare the two in scale of intimidation. Most of what's recorded seems pretty one-sided; Patriots were unwavering in the way they'd ostracise Loyalists, confiscate their property and bully them into either keeping quiet or supporting the cause. The Loyalist population was estimated at no more than 20% often focused around administrative positions, and not well-placed to do much intimidation in reply. The Patriots had numbers and focus on their side, necessary for the sort of grass-roots action involved. 80,000 Loyalists fled at the end of the Revolutionary War, I don't think you'd do that unless you took the threats seriously.

What was unique was the propaganda started right away, not just a revisionist recollection of events afterwards. Pro-Patriot broadsides and newspapers would appear days after major actions, reporting hugely biased versions of the truth which were believed not just in America, but by people in Britain too.
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Anyone run a colonial america type campaign?
« Reply #16 on: July 14, 2016, 10:57:36 AM »
YES! using GURPS.

Bren

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Anyone run a colonial america type campaign?
« Reply #17 on: July 14, 2016, 07:55:52 PM »
Quote from: Kiero;908194
I'm not sure you can really compare the two in scale of intimidation. Most of what's recorded seems pretty one-sided; Patriots were unwavering in the way they'd ostracise Loyalists, confiscate their property and bully them into either keeping quiet or supporting the cause. The Loyalist population was estimated at no more than 20% often focused around administrative positions, and not well-placed to do much intimidation in reply. The Patriots had numbers and focus on their side, necessary for the sort of grass-roots action involved. 80,000 Loyalists fled at the end of the Revolutionary War, I don't think you'd do that unless you took the threats seriously.

What was unique was the propaganda started right away, not just a revisionist recollection of events afterwards. Pro-Patriot broadsides and newspapers would appear days after major actions, reporting hugely biased versions of the truth which were believed not just in America, but by people in Britain too.
Having done some surfing the current thought on percentages (which are a huge guesstimation) was that 20% of the population were loyalist, 40% patriots, and 40% undecided. But that varied a lot by location. Some areas (New York City and the deep south had a higher percentage of loyalists. I agree that the patriots clearly won the propaganda war. They certainly seem to have had the better writers.

"Give me liberty or give me death!" is a lot more inspiring message than

"Please pay the tariff on tea whether you want it or not"

or

"You owe a debt to the motherland even if you aren't from there. Support British taxes and tariffs on the colonies."

I had the impression that intimidation by British and Loyalist forces was at least equal to that of the rebels. It would seem like it would have to be given the numbers were against them. And British were forcibly quartering troops in civilian homes. Having some British Regulars or Hessian Mercenaries sleeping in your house, eating your food, and interacting with your family had to be pretty darn intimidating. And as a counter to the 80,000 Loyalists who intitially left, there are the 11,000 prisoners of war who died (often of disease or malnutrition) on British prison ships. To put that in perspective 1,400 prisoners survived and the 11,000 is more than twice the number killed in battle (about 4,500).

Do you have a citation for your contention that the intimidation was one-sided?
« Last Edit: July 14, 2016, 08:00:56 PM by Bren »
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Gruntfuttock

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Anyone run a colonial america type campaign?
« Reply #18 on: July 15, 2016, 02:45:12 PM »
Just pay up, you tax dodging bastards, and we'll say no more about it. :D
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Bren

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Anyone run a colonial america type campaign?
« Reply #19 on: July 15, 2016, 05:01:20 PM »
Quote from: Gruntfuttock;908407
Just pay up, you tax dodging bastards, and we'll say no more about it. :D
I worked there nearly two years and never used the National Health Care. You Brits already have more than enough tax money from me. :D
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Madprofessor

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Anyone run a colonial america type campaign?
« Reply #20 on: July 15, 2016, 06:32:59 PM »
I ran a Call of Cthulhu game that started in the backwoods of Massachusetts starting in 1773 (muskets and monsters, yea!).  The story lead to cultists that infiltrated (or founded) the 1st Continental Congress implicating some of the founding fathers, but we only played a few sessions and never finished the game.

finarvyn

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« Reply #21 on: July 16, 2016, 07:00:06 AM »
Quote from: Madprofessor;908433
I ran a Call of Cthulhu game that started in the backwoods of Massachusetts starting in 1773 (muskets and monsters, yea!).  The story lead to cultists that infiltrated (or founded) the 1st Continental Congress implicating some of the founding fathers, but we only played a few sessions and never finished the game.
That sounds awesome. Too bad it never got finished.

I've seen some of those "founding fathers were all Masons" shows on TV, and "founding fathers were cultists" is a nice twist. Makes me wonder what a modern-day campaign might look like with that premise as the country's genesis.
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Gruntfuttock

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Anyone run a colonial america type campaign?
« Reply #22 on: July 16, 2016, 07:59:14 AM »
I ran a game set in New Orleans during the protracted handover from the French to the Spanish - the 1760s. The PCs were a Irish soldier in Spanish service (an officer in the Regiment of Ulster), a Parisian lawyer who had to flee France after killing the wrong man in a duel (he couldn't keep his dick in his breeches), and a French ex-spy (a noblewoman who was actually an English Jacobite who had married a far older Frenchman during the '45).

It was a game full of plots and conspiracies, and covert action. Unfortunately the game fizzled out due to one of the players moving to another part of the country.
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Kuroth

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Anyone run a colonial america type campaign?
« Reply #23 on: July 16, 2016, 08:36:36 AM »
Daniel Boone type adventures using Traveller, with flintlocks and such period equipment.  Dealings with various tribes and new towns built around some resource or other on the outskirt of settled country was the general focus.  Sort of like wilderness exploration adventures, with some trade route development type gaming thrown in to the mix.  Saloons/Public Houses co-ran by recently imigrated working girls and various colorful bits in there too. Pretty fun overall.  I had to keep an eye on it becoming too Wild West in description, since I need to watch my reffing for that even in fantasy.
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3rik

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Anyone run a colonial america type campaign?
« Reply #24 on: July 16, 2016, 12:09:21 PM »
Sixtystone Press has a Colonial Lovecraft Country setting in the works for CoC (7E). Can't wait till they finally get it done.

Rogue Games' Colonial Gothic has already been mentioned. They also have a Lovecraft sourcebook out for their game.

There's Colonial Record, a supplement for Precis Intermedia's Coyote Trail.

Cakebread & Walton released two scenarios set during the French and Indian Wars for their Renaissance system, in what will ultimately be a cycle of four scenarios: The Depths of Winter and The Breaking of Spring.
« Last Edit: July 16, 2016, 12:26:39 PM by 3rik »
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Madprofessor

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Anyone run a colonial america type campaign?
« Reply #25 on: July 17, 2016, 07:02:04 PM »
Quote from: finarvyn;908482
That sounds awesome. Too bad it never got finished.

Unfortunately, I would say about 2/3 of my campaigns and some of my best ideas never go to conclusion.  Oh well.

Quote
I've seen some of those "founding fathers were all Masons" shows on TV, and "founding fathers were cultists" is a nice twist. Makes me wonder what a modern-day campaign might look like with that premise as the country's genesis.

Thanks.  I'd be shocked if there wasn't a campaign supplement somewhere that hasn't already done this.  These days there's Cthulhu this, that and everything else.
« Last Edit: July 17, 2016, 07:14:37 PM by Madprofessor »

JongWK

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Anyone run a colonial america type campaign?
« Reply #26 on: July 19, 2016, 12:35:32 AM »
Having seen The Witch, I warmed up to the idea of a horror themed game set in colonial North America.

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IskandarKebab

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Anyone run a colonial america type campaign?
« Reply #27 on: July 19, 2016, 05:49:22 AM »
Quote from: Madprofessor;908698
Thanks.  I'd be shocked if there wasn't a campaign supplement somewhere that hasn't already done this.  These days there's Cthulhu this, that and everything else.


Crooked is a book centered around the life of Nixon that postulates that all of the major world powers gained their strength through demonic pacts, and that by becoming president you also inherit intense powers of sorcery tied to the position. The book itself is pretty shite, and the author fucked up by assuming we cared more about Nixon's personal life and self loathing than Tricky Dick outsmarting Dark powers (A CLIMAX THAT IS RESOLVED OFF SCREEN FOR FUCKS SAKE). However, it offers a lot of materials to mine and warp into your own setting.

Also, I ran a short gothic horror campaign set right after the war in the Carolinas. The Carolinas probably saw some of the nastiest guerrilla fighting between loyalists and revolutionaries, so I had the party be a group sent down to help calm the region and help resolve tensions between towns and people who had recently been raiding each other. Added in some cultists, dark powers, and all that jazz. I love right after the war settings (like Firefly) because they offer a ton of opportunities for parties of adventurers to set out and fix problems without A) being wholly insignificant in the face of the major powers fighting each other or B) making no sense because society should have stabilized by then.
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