Section 4: Adaptation hickups
As you research and draw inspiration from Bronze Age powers for your campaign world, you should consider what kind of campaign you want to run. Just as in the medieval setting, different nations and societies will lead to different play-styles. The culturally uniform yet politically divided world of Greece will require players to be careful in different ways than culturally diverse yet politically united Anatolia, and the massed warfare style of the Eastern nations will mandate a less brazen attitude toward the law than might be permissible in tribal continental Europe.
Hittites
A campaign modeled after the 'Land of Hatti' (Hittite Kingdom proper) would pose unique blessings and challenges, but is probably the closest to standard D&D. The monarchy, strong and established, is the source of most power and is very much involved with the administration of the kingdom. At the same time, the monarchs are physically isolated almost entirely from their subjects and their time is spent traveling on religious pilgrimages, to war, and the respites in the palace are occupied by recreation. The many intrigues and royal plots in such a kingdom could offer a political game, while service for the king could lead the party into dangerous tribal areas. If an analogue to the powerful Egyptians or later Assyrians exists, a plot arc featuring battle and war-related service could be attempted, potentially bringing the party close to the king. Another possible campaign is as police: under Hittite law, if a crime such as murder was committed and the person responsible could not be captured, then the community was held responsible for the crime and made to collectively pay reparations. A plot arc featuring an unsolved murder would be an excellent way to start a campaign. However, with all Hittite-influenced campaign arcs, be very careful about vigilantism. The Hittite Kingdom was powerful and well-federated: delegating to locals when possible but thoroughly in command from the top (Local rule but central suzerainty is arguably the strongest and least invasive form of government). The Kingdom should be relatively stable, law-abiding, and prosperous. Though not as ostentatious as their rivals and successors, the Hittites were a strong people in every sense of the word and an adventure based on lawlessness or a lack of accountability should be not without serious risks to undertake in a Hittite-influence campaign.
Mycenaean Greece
A campaign world modeled after Mycenae offers greater freedom, which is a double-edge sword. With the extensive mythology of Mycenaean actions (Troy) and the actual facts of Mycenaean life itself, judgment about the role of fact vs. fiction is even more of a priority. The unusual fighting styles of Greece at this time may require some new feats to duplicate, and once shown images, you may have an entire party clamoring for Dendra armor. The openness of markets, the massive arms stockpiles and exports, and the uniformity of culture make a nation drawing primarily off of Greek elements attractive. However, it is important to remember that a key feature of the Greek culture was that it was not one nation but many, and the nature of their relations is not completely discerned. With the large stockpiles of weapons, warrior culture, lack of a dominant power, and possibility of civil war raised in The Ancient World at War, you have the leeway to make a Greece-influenced realm hard to navigate for the party. Try to avoid too much of a Classical influence on your nation, however: while myths and Pegasi and Minotaurs are excellent for this nation regardless of roots, the Mycenaean culture was not necessarily like that of Athenians, Spartans, or Macedonians. Your nation is based off of their forerunners, not them.
Mesopotamia
A campaign in Mesopotamia will encounter the problem of being even more foreign to the standard D&D world than one from other places. Given the sheer length and immensity of Mesopotamian history, significant research and a planned plot beforehand should guide your creation of campaign mechanics. In general, characters will probably want to have more fantastic backgrounds than normal D&D players – creatures created by gods, kings, and monsters – will better fit with a world based the place that created the original Epics. Urban settings will blend with a hot existence, a fertile but dangerous land, and an ever-volatile climate.
Egypt
A world or nation grounded in Egyptian influence has the advantage of being the most easily imagined Bronze Age society. With a hot desert climate, booby-trapped pyramids and necropoli, thousands of years of history, Biblical references, a distinctive religion, multiple periods as a conquering nation and multiple periods as a conquered one, Egypt offers perhaps the broadest rein to a Dungeon Master in creating a campaign. However, basing a nation off of Egypt requires at least one thing: adherence to the cycle of the Nile. Egypt is a desert, and would be infertile and barren were it not for the flooding of the Nile, on whose crops the entire kingdom lived or starved. Some similar pulse will add life and vibrancy to your nation, which, if lacking a life-source of it's own, may feel artificial or already ancient. Your party should feel the age of the societies your base your nations on, but also the life: Egypt survived so long not just because of human institutions but because it had a way of life that had enduring power, rhythm, and bounty. Your kingdom will benefit from a sense not only of hardship but also of prosperity.
Egypt, like the Hittite Kingdom, was usually centrally controlled. However, during intermediate or conquered periods, the Double Crown was weak, and a lawless campaign is doable. If your Kingdom is not based on such a time in Egyptian history, your party should take the same heed as in a Hittite campaign not to step on the Pharoh's toes too much. If they become a true nuisance, the army can always chase them into the desert until the logistical strength of the army (to put bluntly, the ability, with a supply chain, to survive an extended desert stay) prevails and the party is either saved or perishes.
Canaan
A Levantine campaign incorporating nations influenced by Canaanite culture as well as Syro-Lebanese culture would be a diverse and difficult campaign to set up, but the rewards of the Canaanite theme are obvious. At the center of multiple powerful empires, the birthplace of some of the most influential religious ideas of all time, and a culture that is both very familiar and alien, Canaan has the potential to be an old-school rough-and-tumble D&D campaign, with both powerful kings and local lords. However, there is a problem of information: good all-around information on the Canaanite society may be hard to come by, and the failure to develop a strong independent state until the later Israelite times means that sources rely much on the records of other nations (The Hittites, Egypt, Mesopotamians) to corroborate each other and the Bible. A Canaanite campaign will force you to use neighboring nations for further influence, which is both a blessing and a curse.
Sea People
A campaign centered around an mirror to the Sea People can take 3 basic forms: A campaign set with the invasions of the 1200s BCE as a backdrop, a campaign set with the party fleeing or resisting the Sea People, and a campaign staring the party as part of the Sea People. All campaigns will require you to create or further draw from historical nations for the Sea People analogue to predate upon. Setting a campaign against a backdrop provides an opportunity for an exploration of the Sea People from multiple perspectives and will force your campaign into a true story form, with the individual lives of the party forefront yet inextricably tied to the events of the world around them. Actively participating can be introduced for one side or both in this campaign strategy. However, you can also theme campaigns strictly about fleeing from and fighting against Sea People invaders, which will put the party in the interesting position of being frequently on the run and require guerrilla tactics on the part of your players. Setting a campaign with the party associated with or members of the Sea People mirror tribes may illicit cries of “railroading” and which may take the initiative of the players away from them, however, it offers a chance of plunder, moral dilemma, travel, and progressively greater risks and rewards.
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