-== What is it? ==-
Stuff You Missed In History Class (SYMIHC) is a podcast that is published by the fine folks at HowStuffWorks.com. Each podcast covers an interesting historical event, person, or theme. For example, the Taiping Rebellion, Simon Bolivar, or Famous Battle Horses. The hosts of the show are Katie Lambert and Sarah Dowdey. I believe both of these ladies are content editors at HowStuffWorks.com.
Most SYMIHC episodes are around 20 minutes long. I really think this is a good length as they release episodes quite frequently. This short length allows the show to jump around to different topics which is appreciated.
-== Why will it help your RPGing? ==-
Probably the most useful thing one can steal…I mean “loving borrow”…from SYMIHC are plot ideas. When a certain event is discussed the hosts cover not only the topic but events that lead up to it. This is great information for figuring out how something similar could be done in your own campaign. Just replace the historical figure with someone fictional and see how it plays out in your own campaign. Scrubbing off the serial numbers to get plots for RPGs is a given for fiction so why not history!?!
One thing that you may ask is, “Well my campaign world has aliens, elves, and radioactive zombies, how can real history be applicable?” You would be surprised! I once heard Ken Hite pimping his The Day After Ragnarok campaign setting at a local gaming convention (DunDraCon). In that seminar he spoke about how he utilized inspiration from history when making The Day After Ragnarok. In an example Ken mentioned that when doing research for the product which is set in the 1940’s he found that Stalin actually had a scientific team looking for a way to turn apes into warriors. No that really happened! 🙂 As Ken is often fond of espousing, “You can’t make this stuff up!?!” (Watch this space for a review of The Day After Ragnarok. 😉 )
The famous people that the podcast covers are great inspirations for characters or NPC. As SYMIHC often reveals historical figures often have difficult childhoods and pivotal events that shape their view of the world. These can often be ported almost directly into an RPG character.
-== Where do I find it? ==-
Although SYMIHC is not a hardcore history podcast and has received some negative reviews on iTunes I think it has a lot to offer to the RPGer. Katie and Sarah make the podcast light, fun, entertaining, and darn interesting. If you are looking for some ideas for your campaign or new PC give this one a look. 🙂
SYMIHC is presented in MP3 format and can be downloaded individually from their site, subscribed to through their RSS feed, or managed through iTunes.
