Stupor Mundi: Some Observations

[Frank Frey]

Greetings,

I like doing historically based fantasy so recently I purchased a pdf of Stupor Mundi by Paolo Guccione. The name, Stupor Mundi, means "Wonder of the World" and was the nickname bestowed on Emperor Frederick II Hohenstauffen who ruled as Holy Roman Emperor from 1220 to 1250 AD.
Stupor Mundi is a sourcebook for GMs and players who wish ton adventure in that era and aside from one glaring omission fills the bill quite well.
The character generation section is very well done and shows the flexibility of the MRQ system. There are sections on how to play a Christian Character, a Byzantine Character, a Muslim, a Pagan, and even a Sorcerer. However, there is nothing in there about how to create and/or play a Jewish one. This, IMO, is the glaring omission that I referred to earlier.
The rest of the book consists of sections on new skills, optional combat rules, equipment and a section of brief biographies on some of the notables of that era including my one of my favorites, Ezzelino da Romano, who makes Darth Vader look like PeeWee Herman. There are also two well put together adventures. The final part is a group of pre-generated characters which can be used as either PC's or NPC's.
Overall, despite the omission of any real data on creating Jewish characters, I still strongly recommend this book whether you intend to set up an entire campaign in this era or plan to use it as yet another destination in a Multiverse/EC epic.

 

[Sinisalo]

It's probably not relevant but I highly rated Maelstrom (about in the 80s) a FRP set in 1600s Britain. This might wet my apetite for this sort of thing

 

[RosenMcStern]

Oh, thanks for the appreciation, Frank! Having threads about Stupor Mundi regularly appearing on this forum either shows that the book is really interesting or that the "Contact me" section of http://www.stupormundi-rpg.com is not well organized.

And about the absence of Jews as PCs, well... You got me! You are perfectly right. Hebraism was a major religion at the time, although it had no political power like Catholicism or Islam. In fact the original manuscript, intended for RQ3, had an extensive section about generating a Jewish character. I cut it out, together with 70% of the Catholic Saint cult writeups I had produced, because I thought it would not appeal so much to gamers. But I might be sorely wrong!

Just a little side note, for those like you who are interested in the exciting part of real history. The Arabian district that is described in the first adventure, which is the one we played at Tentacles, was some 500 meters away from the jewish ghetto. The district still has a clearly Arabic name (Al-Halisa -> La Hausa) and still shows its origins even after 800 years, but the Jewish district has been totally wiped out, probably by the Spanish rulers during the Renaissance. It is a real shame, because it must have been a source of cultural diversity as rich as the Arabian areas. There are no jews left in the city of Palermo now, AFAIK, and I can tell you with some knowledge, because during WW2, when the nazis transported most jews that lived in Italy, there was only one family with Jewish ancestors there: mine. Luckily the nazis were not aware there were some, or perhaps they could just ignore it because it was not widespread knowledge, or else I would not be here discussing historical roleplaying with you.

Enough digression: it looks like there _is_ some interest in historical RPG, so I invite you to discuss this and other subjects at the Alternate Earth RQ group, while I put up a proper discussion forum on the StuporMundi site.

 

[Frank Frey]

It's probably not relevant but I highly rated Maelstrom (about in the 80s) a FRP set in 1600s Britain. This might wet my apetite for this sort of thing

Sinisalo,

Could you please provide some more info on this? It sounds fascinating.

Frank Frey

 

[Loz]

It's probably not relevant but I highly rated Maelstrom (about in the 80s) a FRP set in 1600s Britain. This might wet my apetite for this sort of thing

A lovely little game. I still have my copy.

 

[Nickbergquist]

Oooh I am glad this topic on Stupor Mundi came up....I've been eyeballing it at Lulu, now I feel safe that it will make a worthy purchase and addition to my RQ collection.

I've got a real thing for historical gaming, and I think this product support the fact that RQ is very well-suited to historical gaming. I've been mulling over doing something myself, set during the decline of the roman empire, a kind of snapshot of the fifth century collapse of Rome and the waves of barbarian invasions....we'll see....

 

[Frank Frey]

Oh, thanks for the appreciation, Frank! Having threads about Stupor Mundi regularly appearing on this forum either shows that the book is really interesting or that the "Contact me" section of http://www.stupormundi-rpg.com is not well organized.

Paolo, don't sell yourself short. This is a good product. I have no problems recommending it to anyone interested in the topic. It's a good price as well.

And about the absence of Jews as PCs, well... You got me! You are perfectly right. Hebraism was a major religion at the time, although it had no political power like Catholicism or Islam. In fact the original manuscript, intended for RQ3, had an extensive section about generating a Jewish character. I cut it out, together with 70% of the Catholic Saint cult writeups I had produced, because I thought it would not appeal so much to gamers. But I might be sorely wrong!

Would it be possible to post that information somewhere on the web? I'm sure I'm not the only one that would be interested in it.



Enough digression: it looks like there _is_ some interest in historical RPG, so I invite you to discuss this and other subjects at the Alternate Earth RQ group, while I put up a proper discussion forum on the StuporMundi site.

I've already applied to the group but my approval is still pending. Anyway, keep up the good work.