Napoleon's Own...

[Slar]

So, the post for Napoleon's Own is ten years old, so I made a new one.

The question was asked, has anyone successfully used them?

Yes. But I modified them quite a bit. If you are familiar with Fahrenheit 451, my Napoleon's Own are "books." The original group were patients in a treatment program for people with Dissociative Identity Disorder, who all believed themselves to be historical figures. As the group expanded, and had kids, the new members were just people. So, the tradition came about that each person in the group would pick a persona.

They had to read every book available on their chosen subject, learn every aspect of their life and personality, as far as they could find. They became, in essence, that person, studying their historical or fictional society, learning skills they should know, etc. Some personas are highly sought after, and people who use them have their pick of apprentices who wish to learn the role, taking it over when the current "book" dies.

Sometimes, whole families will pick a group of related personas. It is not odd among the Napoleon's Own to find the Kennedy clan, or the characters from A Midsummer Night's Dream, or, frighteningly, the Manson Family (hopefully minus the murder).

Because the very famous are so coveted, a number of Napoleon's Own are fairly obscure personas. Minor characters from books (or even movies, if they can find them), historical figures of little note, and similar people are represented by the fringes of the group. As these members improve their skill in adopting their persona, they may find themselves invited to take on important roles by none other than Napoleon himself, the traditional leader of the group.

Napoleon's Own can be found scattered across the US, and into both Mexico and Canada. Every ten years or so, they are asked to return to upper Wisconsin, to attend the court of Napoleon, and to find out which roles have come available in the last ten years.

New members are sometimes recruited from among outsiders, but they must be very exceptional, with an eidetic memory and some skill in acting. A number of traveling minstrels/entertainers are former members who couldn't keep to a single persona, while most new recruits have spent time as wandering entertainers themselves.

As for using them in game, one of my parties rescued one William Bonney from slavers. He was very grateful, asking only that the group return his captured firearms, which were irreplaceable. The surprise on the party's face when they realized his guns were a pair of .44 Magnum M-29s, and his rifle was a .44 Marlin 1894, all looking to be only a decade or so old. Yes, he had traded for them with some guys in clothes just like the group's. That was near 8 years ago, way down in the Arizona Territory. He was very sorry he couldn't tell them more.

They still have no idea who Rose Livingston was. All they knew was that she hated Slavers.

[rob]

Its funny that this post comes up now because I am currently reading a biography of Napoleon. Strange...

[.45cultist]

I'm using them to "hand wave" items or technology into an area. One community is lucky enough to have John Moses Browning. He set up a factory and they now have cartridge arms and a votech to support it. Marconi for radios,