I’m currently running a LotFP campaign set in Lower Franconia (somewhere in modern day Germany). This is a bit of information on the setting for my players.
Overview
One thing that makes the 17th Century setting of LotFP interesting is that whilst it’s the time of the Scientific Revolution[1] and the rise of the scientific method, much of the world is still pre-scientific understanding and believes deeply in magic and the occult. For most superstitions are accepted as fact. The clash between the old and new should make for interesting tales.
The spread and influence of religion
Religion influences all. The Roman Empire rules over much of Europe. The previous Emperor had allowed states to be Protestant as well as Catholic but the new Emperor is a devout Catholic and intends to enforce religious uniformity on the Empire. This was the initial event in the ongoing war the people of this campaign are living through (although it continues to grow as more states take sides, usually to further various political ambitions).
Religious beliefs and practice are a massive part of life in 17th Century Europe and everyone will be vested on one side or the other of this war through their religious affiliations.
The power that an accusation of witchcraft can have
An accusation of Witchcraft is immense. We’re playing at the height of the witch trials[2].
Trials for witchcraft are common and accusations typically ramp up during times of trouble as people become more desperate, suspicious, vindictive and resentful.
Those accused are tried by ordeal (and almost certainly drowned, or similar) unless they confess, in which case they are hanged.
The difference between, e.g. sorcerers and witches
For most there is no distinction. Magic is a sign of the devil’s influence. People are much more likely to believe in any seeming act of magic being of satanic origins than a divine miracle.
For an elite few (Magic-users, mostly) sorcery is more academic (the study and practice of magic) whereas witchcraft is magic centred on pagan religious practice.
How advanced is science. Is the world flat? etc.
We’re playing right around the time that the Scientific Renaissance has ended and the knowledge of the ancients (Greek, Arabia, etc.) has been rediscovered. Learned men know the world is spherical, understand the basic of astronomy and are about to embark on new scientific discoveries.
Things such as gravity, practical anatomy and medicine, chemistry and the debunking of alchemy, electricity, optics, industrial machinery, etc. are all yet to be invented/discovered.