I should also mention my Wild West game, which is full to the brim with historical figures.  So far they've met three of the Earp brothers, Charlie Bassett, Larry Deger, Bat and Ed Masterson, Doc Holiday, Dog Kelley (and Paddy the Bear), John Joshua Webb, Dirty Dave Rudabaugh, Miflin and Spike Kenedy, Calamity Jane, Seth Bullock, and various others.

I love presenting my own particular interpretation of these various legends.

This past weekend found one of my characters playing cards at the Green Front in Dodge City with the proprietor, Rowdy Joe Lowe, a pair of buffalo hunters named Bat Masterson and Dave Mather, and a cowhand up from Texas, name of Luke Short.

What was the body count at the end? :cool:

No. Really. That could be a bloodbath for either side if lead starts flying. And considering the abilities of some of the NPCs. Odds do not favour the PCs.

Quote from: Omega;944492What was the body count at the end? :cool:

No. Really. That could be a bloodbath for either side if lead starts flying. And considering the abilities of some of the NPCs. Odds do not favour the PCs.

Yeah, as cool as it was to be playing cards with that crew, it coulda gone south awfully fast, especially as Eladio's still recovering from a Comanche arrow he took in the shoulder during the drive. Bat was knocked out early, when Mysterious Dave and Rowdy Joe were winning big and Eladio was simply treading water, but when Eladio took an $800.00 pot, it was time for reaction rolls - both Mysterious Dave and Luke Short were 'undecided,' but Rowdy Joe tried to pick a fight, then realized that eleven of Eladio's hands from the drive were in the Green Front, ready to tear him and the place apart. One failed morale roll later, Eladio and the Half Moon cattle company hands were on their way to the Lady Gay to dance with the girls and drank champagne off Eladio's winnings.

Quote from: Black Vulmea;944482This past weekend found one of my characters playing cards at the Green Front in Dodge City with the proprietor, Rowdy Joe Lowe, a pair of buffalo hunters named Bat Masterson and Dave Mather, and a cowhand up from Texas, name of Luke Short.

That would have to have been in the very early period of Dodge. So what, '73? '74?

Quote from: RPGPundit;944842That would have to have been in the very early period of Dodge. So what, '73? '74?

Early June 1874.

Bat Masterson, after getting cleaned out at cards, returns to buffalo hunting and fights the Second Battle of Adobe Walls a few weeks later while Dave Mather hires on as Ford County Sheriff Charlie Bassett's deputy - at least if Mather's widow is to be believed - to make up for his losses and Luke Short heads back to Texas for the next cattle drive.

In my upcoming BESM game set in 1990's New York City and New Jersey, Martin Scorsese is the mayor of New York City.

Hideo Kojima is the Governor of New Jersey, with Sir Patrick Stewart as his Lieutenant Governor and Joe Pesci as his Attorney General. The three rule New Jersey as a Triumvirate, are insanely corrupt, and their inauguration party was like something out of the movie Caligula. Worst part is that they are among the least fucked up NPC's in this game.

I also intend to include real-life Mafiosi such as John Gotti, Paulie Castellano, Simone DeCavalcante, and Vincent "The Chin" Gigante portrayed more or less historically (albeit in an anachronistic timeline).

One of the major villains is Andrew Eldritch in all of his mopey Goth glory.

Yeah, it's that kind of campaign. I'll post campaign logs here if you're interested.

Quote from: Doc Sammy;944849One of the major villains is Andrew Eldritch in all of his mopey Goth glory.

You have my attention. Please proceed.

Quote from: Black Vulmea;944850You have my attention. Please proceed.

The game is a massive crossover campaign involving elements from Sailor Moon, The Sopranos, and a homebrewed BESM version of Vampire: The Masquerade (sans metaplot, because fuck Revised Edition), among other things.

The game is a solo game and is extremely anti-Gothic and anti-Punk.

For materials, I'm using the BESM 1E Corebook, the Sailor Moon Role-Playing Game and Resource Book for BESM, and my hand-written Vampire conversion notes.

Quote from: Doc Sammy;944851The game is a solo game . . . For materials, we're using . . . (emphases added - BV)

Forget the Ritalin - sounds like you need Clozaril.

Quote from: Black Vulmea;944852Forget the Ritalin - sounds like you need Clozaril.

Typo on my part, I'll fix that right away.

I've often loved having real historical figures in the game. It's generally gone well. I particularly remember Hiawatha, Victoria Woodhull, Choe Je-u, Nat Love, and others.

However, there have been some times when it hasn't turned out so well. The pitfalls that I've seen is the GM emphasizing that this NPC is vastly cooler than the PCs to overshadow them, and/or the players getting that impression and killing (or otherwise turning on) the NPC.

Quote from: Black Vulmea;944847Early June 1874.

Bat Masterson, after getting cleaned out at cards, returns to buffalo hunting and fights the Second Battle of Adobe Walls a few weeks later while Dave Mather hires on as Ford County Sheriff Charlie Bassett's deputy - at least if Mather's widow is to be believed - to make up for his losses and Luke Short heads back to Texas for the next cattle drive.

Yeah. My wild west campaign started in late 1875, by which time both Short and Masterson had left town.  Of course, by the present of the campaign ('77), Masterson is back and is sheriff.

What was the first RPG to feature historical figures? Boot Hill or CoC? Something else?

My Day After Ragnarok game kicked off with the chief of the Johannesburg office of the SIS hiring the PCs to look into the disappearance of an academic known for his work on Germanic languages. Turns out a former Ahnenerbe official and two-bit sorcerer kidnapped him on orders from the head of ODESSA.

The PCs included a big game hunter who was involved with the SOE's legendary plot to kill Hitler (Operation Foxtrot); a Roman Ritual-trained bona fide exorcist; a brave Czech ace who flew with the RAF's famous 303rd "Kosciuszko" squadron; and a feisty British spy.

It was a fun game. Since the timeline is so balls-out fantastic there was very little concern with historicity, except as inspiration. I had a ton of fun weaving fictional characters into the weird and hush-hush goings-on of WWII.