Discussion Main / HistoricalFantasy

Guy Gavriel Kay's works might not be the best examples. Though, yes, the cultures and countries seen in his works are definitely based on real historical settings and eras, their names and details are still changed. Ergo, each and every one of them is a Fantasy Counterpart Culture - thus not making it as clear an example as it seems to be at first glance, given that this trope is about fantasy set in the real world that we know and its history, not an ersatz version of it.

Am I the only one that thinks that this sort of thing is best done with fantasy elements appropriate to the worldview of the setting? Like Sevenwaters works with an assumption of Celtic Mythology, a viking story would work with an assumption of Norse Mythology, Christian Medieval with ascetics working miracles, Warrior Monks and demonic adversaries and all three of these work wonderfully with some variation of The Fair Folk.

Is there a term for the technique in RP Gs where the gamemaster tells the P Cs to assume the mental baggage of a person of the historical setting of the game, and then only reveals later whether it is true or not?