Late Bronze Age Mediterranean & Near East, circa 1250 BCE
The height of Bronze Age civilization. Great palaces rise in Mycenae, Knossos, and Hattusa. Egyptian pharaohs rule the Nile. Phoenician traders sail from Byblos and Tyre. Merchant ships carry tin from distant lands, amber from the north, purple dye from Tyre, wine from the islands, grain from the black earth.
The trade networks are vast and complex, connecting cultures from the Aegean to Mesopotamia, from Egypt to Anatolia and beyond. Wealth flows along sea routes and caravan paths. Scribes write in half a dozen scripts. Kings exchange gifts and daughters.
But the omens are darkening.
Player characters are merchants, traders, ship captains, caravan masters - the people who move between worlds. They cross cultural boundaries, navigate political tensions, honor foreign gods, and survive by their wits and their relationships.
They are the connective tissue of Bronze Age civilization, and they will witness its transformation.
Not metaphorically. Not symbolically. Real.
The gods walk among mortals (sometimes). They have favorites and grudges. They send omens, demand sacrifice, and occasionally intervene directly. A storm god's anger manifests as an actual storm. A fertility goddess's blessing brings actual abundance.
But the gods are not omnipotent or omniscient. They are powerful, dangerous, and capricious - more like elemental forces with personality than the refined deities of later ages. They can be bargained with, honored, placated, or (very carefully) defied.
The gods are local and many. What the Hittites call the Storm God of Hatti, the Canaanites might know as Baal Hadad, and the Greeks as Zeus Kasios. Are they the same? Aspects of the same? Different entirely? Even the priests argue.
Beyond the lamplight of civilization, the world is dark and full of mysteries. Strange peoples with stranger customs. Languages no one in your city speaks. Gods with unpronounceable names.
Traveling is dangerous. The sea has pirates, storms, and things that might be either or both. Overland routes pass through territories where travelers pay tribute or don't pass at all. News travels slowly. Rumor travels faster but can't be trusted.
The Mycenaean Kingdoms control mainland Greece from their hilltop palaces. Warrior-kings rule, but they rely on trade. Crete still remembers the glory of Minoan civilization. Troy and the Anatolian coast are rich but contested.
The Hittite Empire sprawls across Anatolia, a rival to Egypt itself. Hattusa, the mountain capital, is a center of diplomacy and intrigue. Hittite merchants trade far and wide.
Phoenician Cities like Tyre, Sidon, and Byblos are the great maritime traders. Ugarit is a cosmopolitan port where a dozen languages mix. Canaan is a patchwork of city-states, each with their own gods and kings.
The New Kingdom Egypt of the Ramessides still projects power, but the great days of empire are fading. The Nile Delta is a breadbasket. Egyptian trade reaches far, and their gold is legendary.
Cyprus is the copper island, essential to bronze production. The Aegean Islands are stepping stones for trade and hiding places for pirates.
The Tin Routes reach into distant lands - some say as far as the mist-shrouded islands of the far west. The Amber Road brings golden stones from the north. Punt and other semi-mythical lands appear in traders' tales.
The divine powers are many and their relationships complex. See: The Gods of the Wine-Dark Sea
Major divine concerns for traders and travelers:
Priests report troubling signs. Earthquakes are more frequent. Harvests fail in distant lands. Rumors speak of great migrations in the north, of cities burned, of fleets of unknown origin.
The Peoples from the Islands - the Peleset, the Sherden, the Lukka, the Denyen, and others whose names vary by port - are whispered about in taverns and trading houses. Egyptian dispatches speak of raiders from "the islands in the midst of the Great Green." Hittite tablets mention movements of the Lukka pirates. In Ugarit, merchants trade warily with Sherden mercenaries. Who are these peoples? Where do they come from? Are they raiders, refugees, or both?
The great powers watch each other warily. Hittite-Egyptian Relations are tense despite the peace treaty. Succession crises loom. Vassal states scheme for independence.
The same ships that carry trade can carry warriors. Piracy is endemic, and the line between merchant, mercenary, and raider is thin.
Bronze Trade requires tin and copper from distant sources. When supply chains break, kingdoms founder. Someone is always trying to corner a market or monopolize a route.
This is Burning Wheel, so the campaign will be driven by:
The scope can range from street-level dealings in a single port to grand voyages across the known world. The gods are real but not quest-givers - they're forces to reckon with, not align with.
We need to establish:
The wine-dark sea stretches to every horizon. What will you trade? What will you risk? Which gods will you honor?