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Message: <blockquote data-quote="William Ronald" data-source="post: 764327" data-attributes="member: 426">The hero is one of the oldest figures of myth, folklore and fiction.  I thought it might be interesting to look at some of the figures in published role playing works through the perspective of an expert in comparative mythology, the late Joseph Campbell.  At least some of the figures in different D&D settings can be said to have affinities to the heroes of  mythology and legend.Campbell has influenced many other fantasy authors and other creative artists.  The Hero with a Thousand faces has influenced people as different as George Lucas, Michael Moorcock, Tracy Hickman, and Margaret Weiss.  Both the Star Wars and Eternal Champion sagas draw upon mythic themes.  Weiss and Hickman used some of those same themes in their works.  The same themes can also give additional depth to your campaign—regardless of the setting.First a definition, what is a myth?    Campbell once said of them:“They are the world’s dreams. They are archetypal dreams and deal with great human problems. I know when I come to one of these thresholds now.  They myth tells me about it, how to respond to certain crises of disappointment or delight or failure or success. The myths tell me where I am.“(The Power of Myth: Joseph Campbell with Bill Moyers (1988, Doubleday), page 15)    Some of the themes that are repeated over in myths are the unusual births and childhoods of heroes.  Long journeys.  Descent into the underworld.         In addition to similarities in personalities, mythic and legendary tales of adventures also share many of the same themes.  Campbell, in the Hero With A Thousand Faces (Second Edition, 1968, Princeton University Press, pages 245-246) summarizes the classic adventure as follows:    “The mythological hero, setting forth from his common day hut or castle, is lured, carried away, or else voluntary proceeds, to the threshold of adventure.  There he encounters a shadow presence that guards the passage.  The hero may defeat or conciliate this power and go alive into the kingdom of the dark (brother-battle, dragon-battle, offering, charm) or be slain by the opponent and descend in death (dismemberment, crucifixion).  Beyond the threshold, then, the hero journeys through a world of unfamiliar yet strangely intimate forces, some of which severely threaten him (tests), some of which give magical aid (helpers).  When he arrives at the nadir of the mythological round, he undergoes a supreme ordeal and gains his reward.  The triumph may be represented as the hero’s sexual union with the goddess-mother of the world (sacred marriage), his recognition by the father-creator (father atonement), his own divinization (apotheosis), or again-if the powers have remained unfriendly to him -his theft of the boon he came to gain (bride-theft, fire-theft); intrinsically it is an expansion of consciousness and therewith of being (illumination, transfiguration, freedom).  The final work is that of return.  If the powers have blessed the hero, he now sets forth under their protection (emissary); if not, he flees and is pursued (transformation flight, obstacle flight).  At the return threshold the transcendental powers must remain behind; the hero re-emerges from the kingdom of dread (return, resurrection).  The boon that he brings restores the world (elixir).“Sometimes, a hero or mythological being may have more than one form or nature. Fu Hsi, one of the legendary founders of Chinese civilization, had the body of a serpent and the head of an ox.  Similar beings are also found in Greek mythology.  Many of the gods of ancient Egypt were represented as having human and animal elements. They represent the union of the power of the natural world and humanity.In the Dragonlance Chronicles, as an example, Silvara appears as an elf but is actually a silver dragon.  Kiri-Joloth, a god of warriors, appears as a bison-headed minotaur.  Of course, a hero may have a divided internal nature.  Drizzt Do’Urden in the Forgotten Realms struggles with his heritage, as does Tanis Half-Elven in the Dragonlance chronicles.   A character who is torn between different races, traditions, or cultures will have internal as well as external struggles to fight in his journeys.Heroes can also have unusual childhoods or be conceived in unusual ways.  Perseus was conceived when Zeus appeared to his mother as a ray of light.  Cuchulainn’s birth was heralded by storms.  Or a hero may show unusual promise, physically or intellectually, in his childhood.  In a campaign, character background can help give players ideas on how to portray their characters.  For example, a wizard may show great promise in his youth or a child of privilege may be shocked by seeing the suffering around him and be moved to act.Many of the journeys of the great heroes of mythology and fiction are similar.  Often, heroes have to prove themselves – to parents, to the parents of suitors, to the gods, or even to themselves.  One can argue that characters in an ongoing campaign are often trying to prove themselves in someway – or to seek some form of meaning in their lives.Sometimes, they find mysterious helpers on their journeys, or face different temptations.  In the Lord of the Rings, the heroes could have abandoned their quest at a number of points, such as at Rivendell or Lothlorien.  One Greek hero, seeking the Golden Apples of the Hesperides, is tempted to remain in song and dance with the lovely goddesses protecting the trees, yet they persevere.How do you see mythological themes being used in published settings, as well as your own campaigns?</blockquote>

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