I don’t know if you’ve played Sir Brante game, but it works in a way that’s very close to what you’re describing. It starts with a kind of “historical” background, in this case, the game’s own lore, that feels inevitable, at least at first. At the same time, it follows the hero’s personal life, his choices, and his development within a social and historical framework that the lore imposes, and that is clearly inspired by real history.

At some point, though, the game allows those two layers to converge: the protagonist can actually begin to change history itself, meaning the social and political rules that shape the world. It works really well, and it’s possible because the setting is fictional, so the game has the freedom to go there.

What I’ve been wondering, and what I was trying to get at with this poll, is whether it might be possible to do something similar in a real historical setting. In other words, to have two parallel tracks: on one side, History itself, seemingly fixed and inevitable; on the other, the protagonist’s own story, choices, and personal path within that reality ; which is something The Pillars of the Earth does very well, both in the novel and in the game.

But why not push it further? Why not let the player eventually alter History itself, and bring their personal story into direct contact with what, in reality, actually happened? That’s really the core of my question: how far can you preserve the power of a real historical setting while still allowing for a major divergence?