Is there any real world analogue to the Adventurer?

[Wulf Ratbane]

Just what the thread title states.

Is there any historical or modern day analogue to the Adventurer?

I realize the answer will differ from class to class and alignment to alignment, but what do you think?

You may have to generalize what it means to be an Adventurer; my own generalization is someone motivated by a desire to "do good," "be heroic," and "make a fortune."

I'd like to think that across the broad spectrum of gamers and our huge collective cast of characters, most of our characters nail two out of three of those.

But why/how do we sympathize with the Adventurer? What compels the adventurer and in turn, what compels us to play Adventurers?

What is the specific social compact that creates and sustains the Adventurer? In the typical campaign, and in the real world (if any)?

Is there any analogue to the Adventuring Party?

Just a sampling of the thoughts keeping me awake tonight. I hope some of you can help me out.

 

[FreeTheSlaves]

I think homeless people are like modern equivalents.

I mean really. Without kindly dm's throwing rewarding adventures in their faces, the typical pc would end up on the streets before too long.

 

[howandwhy99]

Soldiers? Explorers in rainforests? Deep sea divers? Warzone photographers?

I don't think there is a real world equivalent other than self-proclaimed adventurers today. It's not like a profession, though some may have figured out a way to be adventurous and get paid for it.

Gaming allows us to run in front of tanks without the actual threat of death. We can pretend "what if I were there?", "what choices would I make in that situation?", "Would I win, lose, survive, or what?"

It's not really a profession in most gaming universes either and I prefer it isn't for verisimilitude, etc. It's just crazy folks willing to risk life and limb for whatever reasons the players have given them.

Maybe heroes is the answer? There are still heroes around today.

 

[kaomera]

Steve Irwin?

 

[FreeTheSlaves]

Yeah, he's a good successful example. It did help that he was groomed and had an inheritance, but that played probably only half a part.

Backpacking travellers and in the field scientists are other examples of adventurers.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

There are lots of adventurers in the world, it's just that we define them based on who their patrons are.

 

[FireLance]

The real-world analogues of D&D adventurers would probably be mercenaries, explorers, big-game hunters, and field sociologists and archaeologists.

 

[GwydapLlew]

There are quite a few real world analogues, but it depends on what you mean by 'adventurer'.

• Extreme athletes
• Crusader knights
• Egyptologists
• The Battle of Tripoli
• Lawrence of Arabia
• William the Conqueror
• Christopher Columbus
• Vlad Tepes
• Steve Irwin
• *insert gangsta rapper*

All of these could be considered "adventurers" in a real-world sense.

 

[HeavenShallBurn]

Private Military Contractors? They'd rather not get too much attention but there are tens of thousands of them from the U.S. alone and I'd think their job description is fairly close to the idea of the adventurer. "We'll give you money, quite a bit, you just have to do something very dangerous for us."

 

[DarkKestral]

Is there any historical or modern day analogue to the Adventurer?

Yes. You know those guys who decided to cross the world in tiny ships for gold, God, and glory? Those are adventurers. You might know a few: They have names like Chris Columbus, Magellan, Leif Eriksson, Zheng He....

These were guys who, if we placed them into D&D worlds, would probably be at least somewhat like the classic D&D adventurer. So I agree with GwydapLlew. There are a bunch of analogues. They're just the people who, for one reason or another, WILLINGLY put themselves at extreme risk for things that would make most people look at them and say that they were crazy.