RPGs like Dungeons & Dragons are designed to let players "escape" to a magical fantasy world, the distant future, or "Steampunk"-style alternate history settings, but real eras of history can sometimes surpass the novelty and strangeness of imaginary worlds, as the following historical tabletop roleplaying prove. Covering eras of history ranging from Regency England to the American Civil War, these RPGs present players with hard times and pressing trials to challenge and defy - much as their ancestors did.
Tabletop roleplaying games are very much escapist in nature, using special rules, character creation mechanics, and setting descriptions to immerse players in worlds and personas not their own. But there's a strange paradox about escapism; even though many people use stories of of fantasy worlds and sci-fi futures to "escape" from the unpleasant parts of their lives, the imaginary settings they immerse themselves are frequently far more unpleasant - worlds burdened with war, inequality, antagonistic individuals, and other "evils" the main characters have to struggle against.
Escapist storytelling and RPGs, consequently, aren't actually about ignoring hardship, but experiencing narratives where people have the skills, positions, and opportunities to challenge the outrageous fortunes of their lives. These various RPGs – games about labor strikes, games about warfare, games about country aristocrats navigating stifling social mores – rarely shy away from the dark, cruel moments of history, but do encourage players, through their characters, to struggle against unfair circumstances and make a change in the world, for better or worse.
The Price Of Coal
The Price Of Coal: a story game of labor rights, designed by Jennifer Adcock and recently funded on Kickstarter, shines light on the 1921 uprising of West Virginia coal workers against unfair labor practices, culminating in the Battle of Blair Mountain, where the US Army and National Guard massacred up to 100 workers with guns, gas, and aerial bombs left over from World War 1. In this card-based, GM-less RPG, each player creates a network of relationships between their unionized coal miner PCs and the family members they work to support, then draw and respond to prompt cards in order to describe what their characters do in the weeks and days leading up to the Battle of Blair Mountain.
Carolina Death Crawl
Published by Bully Pulpit Games, Carolina Death Crawl is another card-based RPG, this one about a group of soldiers trapped behind Confederate lines during the American Civil War, desperately trying to make it back to Union territory alive. Character creation in this game is a matter of picking two different character cards and combining them - one with a first name, rank, and characteristic, the other with a last name, regiment, personal quirk, and backstory question. During gameplay, as a group of four players draw cards with descriptions of raids, escapes, and actions, the cast of characters gets picked off one by one, leaving only one traumatized survivor to make it back home and face the consequences of their deeds.
Night Witches
Night Witches, also published by Bully Pulpit Games, uses the "Powered By The Apocalypse" system to let players tell stories about fictional aviators from the real-life 88th Night Bomber Regiment, an all-woman group of Soviet Airwomen who flew missions against Nazi forces during World War II . Gameplay in Night Witches alternates between tense nightly bombing raids against German ground forces and daytime scenes where pilots scrounge for supplies, explore interesting relationships, and try to avoid provoking the ire of the NKVD secret police.
Good Society
Published by Storybrewers Roleplaying, the Good Society RPG puts players in the shoes of gentlefolk from the aristocracy of 19th Century Regency-era England - the setting of famous romantic novels by authors such as Jane Austen or the Brontë sisters. In true Pride & Prejudice or Jane Eyre fashion, players of Good Society take on the roles of marriageable heirs in charge of sizable estates and socialites looking to improve their lot in life, then together weave stories of ambition, honor, family, loyalty, treachery and love. Expansions to the Good Society core rulebook add options for Dungeons & Dragons-style stories of magic, swashbuckling masked heroes, the stories of lower-class servants, and multi-generational tales.
Sources: Kickstarter, Bully Pulpit Games, Storybrewers Roleplaying