The Articles of Dragon: "Setting Saintly Standards"

"Setting Saintly Standards" from issue #79 (November 1983) exemplifies two of the worst aspects of D&D: a mania for quantifying everything combined with forgetfulness about the game's origins. Written by Scott Bennie, the article to provide a system "for defining sainthood [and] classifying the precise abilities or capabilities of a saint." Saints, Bennie notes, are mentioned several times in passing in the Dungeon Masters Guide (the Mace of St. Cuthbert being the most notable), but what saints are and what purpose they serve is never explained. Bennie is correct so far as he goes. What he forgets (or is unaware of) is that Gary Gygax provided some good evidence as to the nature of saints back in an issue of The Strategic Review where he talks about alignment. There, saints are exemplars of Lawful Goodness, just as devils are exemplars of Lawful Evilness and demons exemplars of Chaotic Evilness. While AD&D provided lots of information on devils and demons, saints get no similar treatment (neither do "godlings," but no one seems to care about them for some reason).

That's where "Setting Saintly Standards" steps in. Bennie proposes that saints are special servants of the gods who've achieved immortality and some measure of divine power. He makes them on par with Greyhawk's "quasi-deities" like Murlynd or Keoghtom, but explicitly tied to a specific deity, whom they serve and whose cause they promote. The article lays out their spell-like abilities and offers four examples of saints from his own campaign to give the referee some idea of how to create saints of his own. He likewise suggests that some saints -- "patron saints" -- may have shrines dedicated to them and, over time, achieve sufficient power to become demigods in their own right. Exactly what this means for relations between the saint, his followers, and the deity he ostensibly serves is never discussed.

I'm on record as intensely disliking the reduction of gods and semi-divine beings to game stats. It's not for nothing that I dislike both Gods, Demigods & Heroes and Deities & Demigods. One of D&D's worst failings is its reductionism, its voracious appetite to turn everything into either a monster to be killed or a piece of magical technology to be wielded. Saints, as Bennie imagines them, are just big monsters -- or little gods -- to be confronted rather than anything more sublime. Maybe I'd be less bothered by this if he'd have adopted another term for what he's presenting; I don't think the idea of fighting gods is necessarily out of bounds. For certain styles of fantasy, it's even highly appropriate. But saint has a very specific meaning and Gygax's mention of them is almost certainly tied up in the implicit Christianity of early gaming.

Late 1983, though, was a long distance away from 1974, though, and the culture of the hobby had changed. What to Gygax had seemed obvious was now in need of explication and not just explication but expansion. That's why Bennie broadens the use of the term "saint" to include the servants of any god, not just Lawful Good ones. Thus we have St. Kargoth, a fallen paladin, among the four examples he provides us. To say that the idea of an "anti-saint" or "dark saint" is bizarre to me is an understatement. Mind you, I find the idea of non-Lawful Good paladins similarly bizarre, so clearly I'm out of step with a lot of gamers, no that this is any surprise.

OSRIC Supplemental: Open Call for Contributors

Kellri posted the following over at his blog:

Preliminary work is getting under way on the Knights & Knaves Alehouse for a new book tentatively entitled the OSRIC Supplemental. Discussion right now is centered on what material will & should be covered - including wilderness travel & hazards, planar cosmology, magic item & spell creation, mass combat, strongholds, aerial combat, sample dungeon maps and more.

In keeping with the spirit of OSRIC, this will be entirely an open collaborative project by and for fans of Gygaxian 1e AD&D. If you've always wanted to write for your favorite game, have a talent for creating old school maps and artwork, or just want to give us your two cents worth now is your chance. Come on over and dive in!

I'm tempted to submit something to this myself, but we'll see if time allows it. Regardless, it sounds like a very exciting project and I'll certainly be paying close attention to it, especially with Kellri acting as compiler and editor. His Old School Encounters Reference is a work of genius and one of the best things ever to come out of the old school renaissance. I have little doubt that OSRIC Supplemental (or whatever it winds up being called) will be every bit as excellent.

More Sad News

Jerry Mapes, founder of the Knights & Knaves Alehouse, one of the primary forums of the old school renaissance, has passed away. Like Dave Arneson, I suspect many gamers, even those of the grognard persuasion, have no idea who Jerry was or what he contributed to this hobby. I never met him in person and my dealings with him were limited to a few emails here and there, along with posts over at K&K. But Jerry's work in establishing the Alehouse, as well as his tireless efforts to keep it running smoothly, helped create some of the conditions that led to OSRIC and I dare say much of what we now term "the old school renaissance." He may not have been a household name, even in our little corner of the Web, but he contributed far more than most of us realize. His loss will be felt deeply and all of us who have derived fun and enjoyment from the resurgence of old school gaming in recent years should mourn his passing.

Down at the Alehouse

I have regular misgivings about the Knights & Knaves Alehouse and certainly don't feel comfortable posting there, but I still read the forums with great alacrity. The Alehouse is among the best old school forums on the net, provided you have a strong constitution, which I guess I don't. However, it's one of Trent Foster's regular hang-outs and he's a true gurus of old school history and philosophy, so I check the place out on a regular basis nonetheless.

To illustrate my point, here are two really interesting threads I'll be keeping my eye on.

What was the first non-old school RPG? (Hint: Moldvay Basic is a strong contender)

Matt Finch is working on a Primer for Old School Gaming. Some really excellent stuff here. Little wonder that he's someone whose judgment and insights I've come to respect a great deal.

Very good stuff.