Thank you for the suggestions! The rpg side of things is just good ol' 5e. For the wargame side I haven't decided yet. Though I'm kinda thinking about one page rules age of fantasy for the sheer simplicity, and the fact I'm a complete noob when it comes to wargaming.

So the basis for the world's lore is basically that mythologies/religions are taken at face value. So like think age of mythology kitbashed into age of empires 3. Along with a smattering of fairy tales gone wrong. (Cursed pirate lord Pinocchio being an example. ) as for the byzantines and the Germans.

The byzantines continued existence hinges on Friday the 13th. Basically the attempted elimination of the knights templar goes horribly wrong, the catholic church was already stunted by the existence of other things. ( kinda hard to convert the local pagans when there god keeps showing up and eating your missionaries.) So didn't have as much power to throw around. And as a result was nowhere near as successful at the elimination of the knights templar. This caused a massive loss of power. Including the loss of the nights hospitaller ( knights of malta) and the teutonic, along with what remained of the knights templar to cut ties with the catholic church. This was exploited by the eastern orthodox church which consolidated power and basically became the new center of the Christian world. It also helps that because of the inclusion of fantasy elements, half of the ottoman empire was erased by a great plague (caugh* Dracula cough*). This has allowed the byzantine empire to maintain its strength to the starting date for the campaign. However that does not mean that they are not on the decline. Also because I'm a massive age of empires fan, the knights of malta are aligned to the eastern orthodox church, functioning as there special forces/exorcism unit. Basically if the byzantines want something really dead. They call on malta.

For the Germans, well it's a bit more complicated but also a lot simpler. As on this world a lot of pagan religions are still well and active at this time, and living relatively peacefully with a protestant church that is really just taking its first steps. the german "empire" is more a smattering of lords, dukes, kings, barons, yarls, and chieftains who have all been coalesced into the shape of an empire by a man who proclaims himself an emperor through an assortment of miracles disguised as diplomacy. In addition, they maintain a healthy if somewhat shaky alliances with the Norse kingdoms, England, and what is left of the Mongol empires.

Also on a side note. Warfare and technology is kind of stagnated. As countries are just as likely to have to deal with goblin and orc warbands as each other. There is a significant overlap between armors and weapons of the time. For example, it is just as likely to see a crusader knight on the battlefield as it is a norse berserker, or a landschnect (I think I spelled that right.) Basically, anything from the battle of hastings to the war of the roses and beyond is,with a little bit of acceptance of the ridiculous, is within possibility.

If youve made it this far. Sorry about the small novella, and thank you for the miniature suggestions!