The Great Man Theory of history is one of the most popular and enduring ideas in the human consciousness. It asserts that the world as we know it is the product of great individuals in history. Conquerors and kings. Scientists and savants. Trailblazers and explorers. The bold that fortune favored and continues to favors.
Is it a correct idea?
Well… the long answer is that it is just one of many theories of historiography, and that it like all others can suffer from presenting an overly generalized view of historical trends that ignores elements like culture, technology, economics, religion, etcetera, but it is not a wholly invalid way of viewing the world.
The short answer– and the more fun one– is yes.
And it better be unequivocally yes if the most popular reality television show in thirty-seven galaxies, “The Apotheosis Maximus,” is to keep up its ratings! Speaking of which, audience response has been waning of late, probably due to the rise of its competitors, “Real Radicivores of Tarquan-5” and “The Good Tricephalous Concubine.”
A terror dark and histrionic has beset the studio executives. At their last meeting, hands caked in sweat were anxiously gripping the table, all eyes were fixated on the tray of donuts as if they would never have the privilege of their consumption again, and multiple trips were made to the printing room under the guise of executive washroom breaks to procure resumes. The worst omen of all was the absence of the head producer.
Suddenly, the tension exploded. An executive stood up, screamed an apocalyptic prophecy for the show’s future, and dove out the window.
His life was saved not by one of his fellow executives, but by a lowly intern. Catching him before his terminal plummet, he marched to the vacant chair of the head producer as if it were the seat perilous.
The executives forgot their plight to reprimand the lowly grunt for his breach of protocol. In the face of these vituperations, he remained calm as a rock, and when they were through, told them that all the show needed was a gimmick.
This gimmick, he explained, would be to gather historical figures from a planet outside of the normal pool. The producers decried this suggestion as foolhardy, citing the possibility of a class action lawsuit should the planet not authorize its own participation. To these objections, he merely smiled and cooly replied that the planet he had in mind was such a backwater that its inhabitants would never even have a clue of what was going on.
He described, in brief detail, a primitive world mostly submerged by water, adding a few amusing factoids about its civilization– such as, for example, that they still thought there was a difference between “magic” and “science.”
Still, the producers were not quite sold. The intern concluded by declaring that a recent vicissitude in corporate politics had made any protests on their part impotent. When they asked, indignantly, what had transpired, he answered by way of demonstration, shooting them all in the head.
With the smoke still rising from his coup d’etat, the newly crowned head producer, director, and writer called for a cleanup crew and a rescheduling of his 3 o’clock.
The Apotheosis Maximus had a new member-planet: Earth. And the next season premier is coming up...
Is it a correct idea?
Well… the long answer is that it is just one of many theories of historiography, and that it like all others can suffer from presenting an overly generalized view of historical trends that ignores elements like culture, technology, economics, religion, etcetera, but it is not a wholly invalid way of viewing the world.
The short answer– and the more fun one– is yes.
And it better be unequivocally yes if the most popular reality television show in thirty-seven galaxies, “The Apotheosis Maximus,” is to keep up its ratings! Speaking of which, audience response has been waning of late, probably due to the rise of its competitors, “Real Radicivores of Tarquan-5” and “The Good Tricephalous Concubine.”
A terror dark and histrionic has beset the studio executives. At their last meeting, hands caked in sweat were anxiously gripping the table, all eyes were fixated on the tray of donuts as if they would never have the privilege of their consumption again, and multiple trips were made to the printing room under the guise of executive washroom breaks to procure resumes. The worst omen of all was the absence of the head producer.
Suddenly, the tension exploded. An executive stood up, screamed an apocalyptic prophecy for the show’s future, and dove out the window.
His life was saved not by one of his fellow executives, but by a lowly intern. Catching him before his terminal plummet, he marched to the vacant chair of the head producer as if it were the seat perilous.
The executives forgot their plight to reprimand the lowly grunt for his breach of protocol. In the face of these vituperations, he remained calm as a rock, and when they were through, told them that all the show needed was a gimmick.
This gimmick, he explained, would be to gather historical figures from a planet outside of the normal pool. The producers decried this suggestion as foolhardy, citing the possibility of a class action lawsuit should the planet not authorize its own participation. To these objections, he merely smiled and cooly replied that the planet he had in mind was such a backwater that its inhabitants would never even have a clue of what was going on.
He described, in brief detail, a primitive world mostly submerged by water, adding a few amusing factoids about its civilization– such as, for example, that they still thought there was a difference between “magic” and “science.”
Still, the producers were not quite sold. The intern concluded by declaring that a recent vicissitude in corporate politics had made any protests on their part impotent. When they asked, indignantly, what had transpired, he answered by way of demonstration, shooting them all in the head.
With the smoke still rising from his coup d’etat, the newly crowned head producer, director, and writer called for a cleanup crew and a rescheduling of his 3 o’clock.
The Apotheosis Maximus had a new member-planet: Earth. And the next season premier is coming up...
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If you braved that lengthy introduction, let me be the first to congratulate you!
Now, with that settled, I should tell you what this RP is actually about. The concept is that you will be playing as a real-life historical figure abducted from their own time to participate in an alien game show that pits teams of historical figures from other worlds against each other. The teams will compete in contests of brains, brawn, and maybe even bloodshed. The winning team will receive their pick of a great boon to their planet’s civilization.
Rules
1. Your characters, though required to be real-life figures, need not lack fantastical elements! Feel free to exaggerate their combat prowess, intelligence, etcetera to levels suited for a thrilling narrative, and even include supernatural elements like magic if it suits your character. For instance, the real-world Deborah Sampson was, no matter how cool it would be to imagine her as a Revolutionary-War-era Navy SEAL, really just an above-average infantrywoman. However, you are more than welcome to play Deborah Sampson as just such an elite warrior!
2. Your character must have been born before 1950 at least.
3. Your character must be someone who is already dead (historically, that is!).
4. Your character must start at the age of 18 (that is, whatever they were like at that age). When a round of The Apotheosis Maximus is completed, all the participants have their memories wiped and are brought back 2 years later with their memories temporarily restored, so your characters will advance in age over time.
5. Have fun! Seriously, its mandatory. If you fail to do this, you will die choking on your own blood.
Character Sheets
This might seem unnecessary, since all of these characters are supposed to be real-life figures. However, your character sheet is important for recording how you intend to portray this figure, and any possible magical or supernatural aspects you may have given them.
Name:
Appearance:
Background: (Up to this point in their lives.)
Personality:
Abilities: (Though magic is allowed, make sure any abilities fit the character!)
