Mythology and Superhumanity

[Lord Liaden]

Growing as a person sounds a bit modern to me. I don't recall Beowulf doing that. Just kicking ass. And then dying.

Well, the perception of "growth" as increasing self-awareness is kind of a modern spin on the process. Certainly many mythic figures don't experience anything like that progress. OTOH we have Gilgamesh, who goes from selfish tyrant to hero through his friendship with Enkidu, the death of the latter prompting his fear of death and search for an alternative. Then there's Launcelot, whose forbidden love for Guinevere leads to his fall and madness, seeking to redeem himself by abandoning his knightly life, and his ultimate death opposing the king he once served. Of course in the classic Chinese narrative Journey to the West the journey is an explicit allegory for spiritual enlightenment.

[Hermit]

Well, not every myth is going to use this theme. It was just one given as an example. The Power of Myth and other works by Joseph Campbell are good resources for others.

I'm not that good at Celtic mythology, but it does seem that the 'young boy grows into a warrior and learns to be a man as well' thing is pretty common there.

[The Mad GM]

And of course, Luke stops whining and settles down even by the end of the first movie!

But back on topic, using either Campbell's analysis of the Hero's Journey, or others (and there are many others) to plan out a campaign is an interesting idea. However, the players are the heroes, and if they don't want to roleplay a hero's spiritual progression, then it's all for naught.

You could easily incorporate some of the steps in the classic journey into your campaign. One thing to remember is that they are not necessarily in strict chronological order. Session 7 might have Tests and Trials, but that doesn't mean Session 8 needs to be Meeting the Goddess. Nor should you feel constrained to keep every sub-step in there. This is just a framework to help shape your ideas:

Seperation: This is the part where the hero decides to leave behind the protected existence of childhood for the challenges and rewards of adulthood. This might be covered by background rather than being played out. In Campbell's model, the sub-steps included The Call to Adventure, the First Refusal of the Call, Supernatural Aid, Crossing the First Threshold (leaving the familiar and safe), and The Belly of the Whale (the death star sequence in Star Wars). Most players wouldn't refuse the first call, but none of the substeps are essential, really. Most campaigns start at or after Crossing the First Threshold, where the hero embarks on the quest.

Initiation This is the heart of a campaign. Substeps include:
Tests and Trials (think danger room, boot camp, "let go of your feelings, Luke" type of thing)
The symbolic or actual death or dismemberment (Now hold on a minute, you might be saying, there's no resurrect in my campaign. Well, that's why it's symbolic. It signifies a major setback or obstacle. Hey, adversity builds character, my dad always said.)
meeting the goddess (or other spiritual teaching/encouragement)
Temptation from the true path
Atonement and/or Recognition by the father (or father-type figure, king, leader, what-have-you)
--The goddess and the father are the easiest to screw up, because it typically involves necessarily butch NPCs, which everyone hates because it minimizes the importance of the characters to the campaign. The goddess and father figures should be constrained in some way so that they don't do the heroes job for them, but instead grant the players knowledge or powers.
Apotheosis (becoming godlike, or finally spending a major wad of xp)
The ultimate boon (big victory, not necesarily the final victory)

Return - In the mythology sense, this is the return of the hero to his or her home, and using their new-found powers to clean up the problems that sent them out in the first place.
Refusal of return - This is an element that depends heavily on the Players, but it could be done. Perhaps the ultimate boon is finished yet, or there's some reason the characters would want to stay in harms way
Magic Flight - Pretty straightforward.
Rescue - Again, we stand close to the abyss of having an uber-PC cast their shadow on the Hero, but it might be a simple matter of having
Re-crossing the threshold
Master of two worlds - usually the recognition of the heroes achievements by friends and family, the parade and ticker tape.
Freedom to live - happily ever after. At least until the sequel.

Again, this is just a framework, and it isn't the only one out there. As far as applying it to a game, much of the "Departure" and "Return" are normally pre and post game stuff. It is a little dangerous to see this as a step-by-step guide to game design. It might serve as a tool for analysing a game you're thinking of running. You shouldn't feel you need to cram a goddess figure into every game, or a symbolic death.

As far as using mythical elements, even transposed into modern day, it's hard to swing a dead metaphor without whacking into an archetype or three.

[FenrisUlf]

Darn fine post, L.L.

This is a good subject, I'm going to have to think about it more but am not sure what to add to the above post that wouldn't be redundant. I do know that in my own campaigns sometimes I adapt the old "The Land and the King are one" theme, and change it to "The land and its champions are one" ... when the super heroes are gone or in decline, so is the city. When the super heroes are ascendent, noble and true, the city is an echo of a modern day camelot where the "New" Knights ride forth to battle monsters on two legs.

That's not a constant, but I do use it a lot.

Say, did you ever read any of Tim Power's novels, esp. LAST CALL or DRAWING OF THE DARK? He deals a lot with the idea of the 'Sacred King', which he often refers to as 'the King of the West'. What he does sounds a lot like what you're talking about here.

Hmm.. that makes me wonder what would happen if a super/villain/ usurped the position of the King? Or even just a bloody-minded, cruel vigilante 'hero'? If "The Land and the King are one", that could explain why a previously Silver or Bronze world starts going very dark Iron.

(It gets even better if you consider that in many differing mythologies, the 'Age of Iron' is supposed to be an age of blood, madness, and corruption.)

[Dr. Anomaly]

Say, did you ever read any of Tim Power's novels, esp. LAST CALL or DRAWING OF THE DARK? He deals a lot with the idea of the 'Sacred King', which he often refers to as 'the King of the West'. What he does sounds a lot like what you're talking about here.

The Drawing of the Dark is a great novel. I highly reccomend it!

[The Mad GM]

Tim Powers is great! Drawing of the Dark deals very obviously with Arthurian and older Celtic mythos, whereas Expiration Date and Earthquake Weather are more modern interpretations, but they all deal with people filling the roles of these archetypes, and how those roles affect the world, and how the people affect the archetypes themselves. Great stuff!

In a campaign where the characters are central to the events of the world, this is a great reference.

[Steve]

Speaking of archetypes, what is the current status of Scott Bennie's Gestalt campaign? I haven't agitated for it in a number of months. It seems it is time to do so again.

[Lord Liaden]

Last I heard, Scott is pursuing self-publication for Gestalt, statting the characters for M&M Superlink as well as HERO. I remember a few months ago he posted here asking for people to help him go over the M&M conversions.

[lucky]

I'm actually working on a campaign idea right now that would explicitly involve mythical archetypes made flesh.

The basic premise is that humanity, as a species, is facing an imminent threat. No-one is consciously aware of it but on an unconscious level, there's a planetwide sense of unease building. A good analogy is the mouse and the owl: when the shadow of a flying owl passes over the mouse, the rodent freezes. It doesn't know why, but some deeply-ingrained instinct "feels" the presence of a life-destroying predator. Humanity is feeling the shadow of an owl passing over it.

(The actual threat will manifest in the form of an invading species, but that's a long way off and won't begin in earnest until the second act of the campaign, five or six adventures in.)

For now, humanity is unconsciously generating "antibodies," of a sort. They would come to be called 'the godlings' and they are humanity's myths made flesh. Archetypal heroes spun from dreams and legends, they start to appear in the months before the invasion begins. This is where the campaign begins, during the appearance of the first godlings.

I should mention that these creatures aren't human, although they do appear to be. They spring fully grown from humanity's brow and appear spontaneously. They have no memory of a prior existence and no curiosity about how they came to exist. They appear all across the globe, though their incidence is highest in Africa, southern Europe (the Iberian Peninsula), the Middle East and Central Asia.

I'm still working out the details, but this thread gives me food for thought...

[The Mad GM]

David Brin recently had a story published as a graphic novel, "The Life Eaters", with art by Scott Hampton. The premise is along those lines, but with a more sinister twist. It's set in WWII, in what might be an interesting Golden Age setting. You might want to check it out.

[lucky]

Cool, thanks for the heads-up.