Well, something that the book points out is that the game doesn’t expect or necessarily need you or your group to have an understanding of Tudor England. I’m happy to reiterate that here.

At a very simplistic level, the game mechanics and approach could be used out of context to run a game against any (reasonably compatible) backdrop. However, the game does come with a very Short History of Tudor England. And there will be a bibliography.

Personally, you can prepare for the game in some small way by viewing something like Fringe, The X-Files, or, probably more thematically, Constantine, Evil, or Supernatural. I get it that less than half of those series is current, but what I’m trying to suggest is weird and supernatural investigation represent the touchstone for play.

Fringe and The X-Files make the most sense. In both series, the protagonist possesses a level of knowledge and authority. And, like Agents of Dee, they lack the tools or the means to ‘win’ with certainty. Agents of Dee only really have the authority in the earlier period of the game, where the idea is fresh and the Queen is keen to back it wholeheartedly, but that opportunity remains.

Cinematically, you wouldn’t do yourself a disservice to watch Elizabeth — which features both Walsingham and Dee.

For reading, I would recommend The Arch-Conjuror of England, by Glyn Parry, for considerable detail and interesting diversions about the core non-player character. More generally, The Elizabethan World Picture, by E. M. W. Tillyard, handles the period’s frame of thinking. Finally, something straightforward like Ian Mortimer’s The Time Traveller’s Guide to Elizabethan England or How to be a Tudor by Ruth Goodman can offer a solid grounding.

As far as wider pictures go, you might just consider reading or watching whatever takes your fancy. Whether with a historical lense or something more thematically inclined toward espionage, intrigue, far-reaching nefarious plots, or horror – it’s all good. I have found myself reading diverse and disconnected books that warrant highlighting, bookmarking or a quick sticky note as a point for later reference and return.

Diversity of reading and viewing is key. You should follow the flow, click interesting links. And always check the backprint references in histories. Most important, find something you enjoy. I won’t lie, some excellent history books can be hard going.

This is not revision. There will not be a test.

A key consideration is the changing landscape of belief, but that is not the only one. Indeed, in and of itself, change in faith and worship are themselves driven by wider changes in political, economic and social shifts. People were moving from the countryside into towns as landowners robbed them of their livelihoods, securing common lands that might have once allowed the unemployed to eke out a self-supported existence. The nations were at each other’s throats over territory, reach and religion, which in turn filtered down to the labouring classes as a need to provide support or a push to embrace a certain facet of faith.

The century is unsettled by warring personalities at stratospheric heights compared to the humble man working the land or tending to his trade; the collateral damage is like a fine rain of debris, noticeable for many, troublesome for most, directly impacting few in a way that causes immediate harm. In the end, that debris gathers and changes the landscape in ways impossible to predict at the outset.

The upheaval in belief and the clash of houses and nations unsettled belief and it makes for a rich unwilling of folklore. Strange occurrences and unexpected changes become targets for tales of the supernatural and uncanny. In The Dee Sanction, these strange events and occurrences become far more menacing; these manifestations threaten anyone and everyone because they presage unnatural forces that have little consideration for humanity. The conflicts of contemporary Europe are nothing compared to the ageless rivalries and dominion of the Fae, the spectral, the cadaverous, and the demonic.

Every day during August, I’ll be writing something new on The Dee Sanction and aim to connect the word prompt of the day with the development of the game. Check out the concept, the list and the graphics over at AUTOCRATIK.

This is reading material specific to Dee, spymaster Walsingham and matters esoteric, like Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor, or the School of Night. I have read a fair amount of this—some books more than once—but I’ve still got a ways to go.

Recommendations may follow.

Every day during August, I’ll be writing something new on The Dee Sanction and aim to connect the word prompt of the day with the development of the game. Check out the concept, the list and the graphics over at AUTOCRATIK.