Is it cheesy to use real historical figures as NPCs?

[Rimmerdal]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lodovico_Sforza

This guy is one of the villian in my game.

Is this a good thing to do?

[Sentinel]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lodovico_Sforza

This guy is one of the villian in my game.

Is this a good thing to do?

I don't think it's "cheesy", no.
I might not use an actual historical figure prominently for my own games, but I certainly wouldn't criticize anyone for doing so, unless they were not doing the research needed to run such a character.

[glitterboy2098]

Cheezy or not, what's it matter. They used Sundance, didn't they, and he's book.

just make sure you have a very good backstory for the character. even if the characters never learn it, it's good to have something to tell players if asked later.

for example, Butch Kassidy and Sundance went missing after their encounter with the argentinian federal troops. so it's easy to claim that they were swallowed up by a rift, portal, or D-shift when on the lamb and sundance wound up on rifts earth.

(i know WB14 uses the movie version of the legend, with the bolivian cliff jump...)

[Rahmota]

I've used real world historical figures with the characters, fictional historical characters. Basically it all depends on the plots and I don't consider it cheesy unless you want it to be cheesy.

[Rimmerdal]

Alright I have goold old Lord of Milan as one of the five Main baddies..

I know he had way wtih politics..what Rifts OCC would he be? I'm thinking Rogue Scholar....but I'm not sure. since he's been on earth long enough to assimilate to a newer class.

in short:

What skills do give him as villian?

[Rimmerdal]

Hell yes it's cheesy!

But that did not in any way stop me from bringing the Red Baron into a Rifts game.

Dude, the Red Baron! He must have had a field day with new aircraft.

Oh the carnage...Him and NE Interceptor....OUCH!

[Rimmerdal]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lodovico_Sforza

This guy is one of the villian in my game.

Is this a good thing to do?

I don't think it's "cheesy", no.
I might not use an actual historical figure prominently for my own games, but I certainly wouldn't criticize anyone for doing so, unless they were not doing the research needed to run such a character.

Good to see ya post. Missed ya.

[Sentinel]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lodovico_Sforza

This guy is one of the villian in my game.

Is this a good thing to do?

I don't think it's "cheesy", no.
I might not use an actual historical figure prominently for my own games, but I certainly wouldn't criticize anyone for doing so, unless they were not doing the research needed to run such a character.

Good to see ya post. Missed ya.

So good to be back.

[Sentinel]

Alright I have goold old Lord of Milan as one of the five Main baddies..

I know he had way wtih politics..what Rifts OCC would he be? I'm thinking Rogue Scholar....but I'm not sure. since he's been on earth long enough to assimilate to a newer class.

in short:

What skills do give him as villian?

I would recommend writing him up using the Education Bonus system of HU or N&SS instead of the OCC system.

Or, use a corresponding OCC from Palladium Fantasy, and update with modern skills.

[Vrykolas2k]

Must not be too bad; Palladium does it on occasion...

[bigbobsr6000]

Yes, there was a real Dracula, and he was a true prince of darkness. He was Prince Vlad III Dracula, also known as Vlad Tepes, meaning "Vlad the Impaler." The Turks called him Kaziglu Bey, or "the Impaler Prince." He was the prince of Walachia, but, as legend suggests, he was born in Transylvania, which at that time was ruled by Hungary.
According to legend, Walachia was founded in 1290 by a Transylvanian named Radu Negru, or Rudolph the Black. Dracula's grandfather, Prince Mircea the Old, reigned from 1386 to 1418. He fought to keep Walachia independent from the Turks but was forced to pay tribute to them. He and his descendants continued to rule Walachia, but under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey).

'nuff said.

[CushionRide]

cheesy is easy...

but placing a historical mystery figure in the mix is elite

[Rimmerdal]

Plagiarism is a GM's best friend. Just don't publish it.

I'm using Wiki to get my info and linking there site as they are public Domain. So I'm not plagerising yet.

Historical figures are intell property?

[Nxla666]

Nope, its actually a good way to come up with them.

I know my old Robotech GM used the Red Baron as a rouge VT pilot. (yes he did tear us up)

[Lenwen]

I use Lt Colonel George Armstrong Custer as a well Lieutenant Colonel in the Coalition Military , Even had him play an integral roll in the Fall of Tolkeen. My pc's actually had to try to deal him the blow that would stall the CS war machine from toppling Tolkeen .. ( for a few days at least ) suffice to say they lost .. An Colonel Custer became a Full Bird Colonel after all was said and done . Now he is in Soul custody of the mission to eradicate ANY and ALL "enemies" of the coalition state. my PCs bearly escaped several encounters as Custer has a hand directly involved with them personally ... As I had one player actually play his arch nemises Crazy Horse and both will be in battle very soon I am currently trying to figure out the rest of the game an how to get them to the mythical place known only as "The Big Horn" It has yet to happen but I plan to play the scenario out as the historians have it written ( if the pc's can destroy Custer or not will depend on thier actions an several key allies they HAVE to find ..)

-Lenwen.

[lather]

Wow that sucks.

I never used a historical figure directly, but sometimes sometimes they have interesting character traits to be somewhere.

[DhAkael]

Without reading any of the other posts; YES!
It IS cheesy to use historical figures in ones campiagn.
But who cares!
Bring on the fromage!! A little cheesines counteracts the EMO-crap I see leaching into most modern games now-a-days (and I'm guilty of that sin myself, so I'm NOT a hypocrite if I admit to emo ).
Just remember; you can use historical figures and events in your games, just don't re-enact them verbatim.

[Prince Cherico]

Im going to use Queen Victoria as the main villian of my campain

[lather]

Van Buren was a little eviller than Lincoln was from the start.

[Vrykolas2k]

Martin Van Buren, axe murderer. Original character from my 7th grade comic masterpiece, Adventures in Mr. Tatum's Psychedelic Cartooning Class.

That is just awesome.

Oh that character was nothing. I also had an evil clone of Abraham Lincoln who was created by a dimensional anomaly and materialized in 1973 only to hijack a small jet owned by the Black Panthers. He single-handedly assassinated every armed Panther and then set about his personal mission of discrediting the original Lincoln by defacing monuments, sabotaging historical documents and manipulating the economy so that 5 bucks and a penny would be worth less.

Back then, I thought the idea of evil president clones was the best ever.

Wouldn't that be a good clone of an evil president...?

[Prince Cherico]

Im using the beatles as villans in my campain
and Ringos the most evil of them all

[Vrykolas2k]

One could always throw a young Hitler into the world of Rifts, watch him advance QUICKLY in the CS ranks...

[Vrykolas2k]

Martin Van Buren, axe murderer. Original character from my 7th grade comic masterpiece, Adventures in Mr. Tatum's Psychedelic Cartooning Class.

That is just awesome.

Oh that character was nothing. I also had an evil clone of Abraham Lincoln who was created by a dimensional anomaly and materialized in 1973 only to hijack a small jet owned by the Black Panthers. He single-handedly assassinated every armed Panther and then set about his personal mission of discrediting the original Lincoln by defacing monuments, sabotaging historical documents and manipulating the economy so that 5 bucks and a penny would be worth less.

Back then, I thought the idea of evil president clones was the best ever.

Wouldn't that be a good clone of an evil president...?

Martin Van Buren? He wouldn't qualify as evil (from what I know). He had a reputation for being sly and crafty though, so the "axe murderer" theme seemed a nice blunt contrast.

I was responding to the Abe Lincoln bit...
Anyone who kills racist black panthers is a good guy...

[lather]

Yea, we only used them for ideas and inspiration.

[Rimmerdal]

Well, to report the Lord of Milan did well. (I tweaked him to be a swordsman with a tendancy to be a death duelist.) but he'll make a fine villian.

only one problem, I may not want to kill him off as per script....

[Rimmerdal]

Then don't. In any game where magic exists, you have the option to have many form of escape. He may have some item that works like a contingency, if he's about to die, he triggers it and poof, he's gone. Or, he could be resurrected by any number of magical lackeys. Or maybe he's just immortal and he is really good with a sword from all the decapitating of other people he's had to do.

Palladium: the Possibilities are Endless

I'll report back on how I save him. He should make good ally for the party.

[csbioborg]

I still want to do a little mini story where Kid Curry (the toughest of SunDance's crew killed nine law men and at least a dozen other people) who also went missing after a seperate gun gihht went looking for Sun Dance and Butch went to the same spot where they disappeared and eneded in the Rifts say five years after Sun Dance. Show up and teams up with Sun Dsnce in the Pecos Empire. Ending with of Eutch being alive maybe in Africa and they go off into the sunset to form up the last of the Wild Bunch here in the future

[Gallahan]

No, not cheesy at all. In the 90s movie, THE LAST SUPPER (Cameron Diaz, et al), a group of college grads/students invite over a controversial guest, and by the end of the dinner decide whether or not the world would be better off without him/her.

What prompted their deadly dinners was the question: if you met HITLER in a cafe' in Vienna in 1933, and you KNEW what he would do... Would you kill him to prevent the atrocities he would ensue upon the world?

Apply this to any "bad" historical villain, or other controversial/historical figure.

It just adds to the juicy fun of the flavor of the campaign.