For some reason, last night I thought of a 1987 Champions RPG module named ‘Wings of the Valkyrie’. In it (it’s been years since I read it) a group goes back in time to kill Hitler which alters history so the present ‘becomes’ significantly worse. The Heroes have to go back in time to stop them. Cue moral dilemmas, angst and possible world changes.
Perhaps unsurprisingly there was a firestorm (“Role-playing games glorify Nazism!’) which caused the module to be recalled by the publisher. I think the Real Moral is that time travel stories are Real Hard to do well and one should be extremely careful before trying to write one.
Ouch. I can see where the idea came from for that, and if handled thoughtfully with the right group, I bet it could be a really interesting module to play. But, yeah, I can also see how something like that could go very, very badly.
“To summarize the summary of the summary: people are a problem.” — Douglas Adams
The man knew what he was talking about.
If Hitler had never existed, Peter Lorre would’ve never had to leave Germany. A world without The Maltese Falcon is NOT one I want to live in.
Perish the thought!
For some reason, last night I thought of a 1987 Champions RPG module named ‘Wings of the Valkyrie’. In it (it’s been years since I read it) a group goes back in time to kill Hitler which alters history so the present ‘becomes’ significantly worse. The Heroes have to go back in time to stop them. Cue moral dilemmas, angst and possible world changes.
Perhaps unsurprisingly there was a firestorm (“Role-playing games glorify Nazism!’) which caused the module to be recalled by the publisher. I think the Real Moral is that time travel stories are Real Hard to do well and one should be extremely careful before trying to write one.
Ouch. I can see where the idea came from for that, and if handled thoughtfully with the right group, I bet it could be a really interesting module to play. But, yeah, I can also see how something like that could go very, very badly.