Speculation

Ars Magica and World of Darkness have extensive real-world tie-ins in history. However, the most successful iterations of WoD are modern in scope, not medieval; despite those game lines existing. I prefer Dark Ages: Mage to Mage the Ascension, but I am a history lover.

I think that all those connections to the real history, while tantalizing and interesting to a certain type of nerd, are cumbersome and difficult to swallow for new readers. The idea of an Order of Hermes that traces lineage back to ancient Egypt and that the burning of the Library of Alexandria was an attack on them by the Christian mages; all that is really really cool. To me. But to someone who doesn't know what the Library of Alexandria was, has no context to place it in, that stuff sounds stiff and boring. It isn't a connection to some context, it is one more thing that person has to learn and contributes to an overall feeling that they are missing something that is being hinted at.

Of course, this is just my speculation on why certain games were not as widely embraced as others, but I think all those historical bindings may simultaneously make a game click with a small cadre of dedicated geeks but also isolate that game from the wider audience.

Thoughts?