While designing some merc contract offers for some a BT/AToW game that I'm running, I realized that one of the contracts will put the player unit on Northwind during the 4th SW at the same time that Yorinaga Kurita is there hunting the Kell Hounds. While it is unlikely that they'll accept that particular one, as there is one that is far more tempting to my players, it got me to thinking of how other GMs handle their players encountering major players and significant dates. I've always subscribed to the idea that as soon as you start your campaign, you create an alternate universe where anything goes. I've played in games where the historical events are more "rigid" and you can't change them.
I can only think of two major events that my players have changed over the years...
In the first, one of my players was a Bloodnamed Jade Falcon Mechwarrior and challenged Vlad Ward to a Trial moments after he'd killed ilKhan Elias Crichell. My player soundly defeated Vlad in an unaugmented fight and proceeded to kill him.
The other was when playing the Great Refusal Trials, when Khan Karianna Schmitt headcapped Hohiro Kurita and the Blood Spirits won their Trial. Also, thanks to the Ice Hellion win over the Nova Cats, the Great Refusal upheld the Clan Invasion.
In both cases, the games didn't continue on long enough past those events to really change much. So, how have others handled such events?