Saintly Saturday: St. Justin the Philosopher

Today is the feast day of a saint with whom I feel a very deep connection, because we both came to faith in Christ from a similar place. St. Justin the Philosopher and Martyr was born in Palestine to Greek parents. He travelled the world learning the great philosophies of his age, seeking the philosophy of philosophies. After witnessing the martyrdom of some Christians, he was moved to find out about what would fill someone with so much faith, strength and resolve.

When he encountered the teaching of the Church, he found what he was looking for. He donned (or continued to don) the philosopher’s robe and became a teacher of what he understood to be the philosophy of philosophies. He would go on to write several very important works, the most famous of which are his First and Second Apologies as well as the Dialogue with Trypho. All three were written in the middle of the second century A.D. and are therefore witnesses to how the ancient Church interpreted Scripture and what the liturgy of the ancient Church looked like.

Ironically, his martyrdom came at the hands of two philosophers. He had a professional rivalry with Crescens the Cynic, who the martyr predicted would use Christianity as an excuse to have the saint killed. When this prediction came to fruition, St. Justin was turned over to the forces of Emperor Marcus Aurelius (A.D. 161-180) — a Stoic philosopher who argued that the ideal society should be lead by philosopher kings such as himself.

St. Justin was martyred in Rome.

One of the arguments that St. Justin makes in his First Apology is relevant to a way of marrying the Christian world view with the Sword & Sorcery pulp roots of D&D:

For the truth shall be spoken; since of old these evil demons, effecting apparitions of themselves, both defiled women and corrupted boys, and showed such fearful sights to men, that those who did not use their reason in judging of the actions that were done, were struck with terror; and being carried away by fear, and not knowing that these were demons, they called them gods, and gave to each the name which each of the demons chose for himself.

St. Justin is playing with the Greek word δαίμων which, to the pagan mind, means god and to the Christian mind refers to fallen angels, aka demons. St. Justin later demonstrates the irony of seeing it a good thing to be an imitator of a δαίμων:

But far be such a thought concerning the gods from every well-conditioned soul, as to believe that Jupiter himself, the governor and creator of all things, was both a parricide and the son of a parricide, and that being overcome by the love of base and shameful pleasures, he came in to Ganymede and those many women whom he had violated and that his sons did like actions. But, as we said above, wicked demons perpetrated these things.

Thus, all the pagan gods one might find in a typical S&S-inspired D&D campaign are, from the view-point of St. Justin, demons. Ironically, given the history of the game and the Satanist-scare of the eighties, Supplement IV: Gods, Demi-Gods & Heroes and Deities and Demigods (especially in its original edition with the Cthuhu Mythos) actually support St. Justin’s view.

Demons and Devils have stats — Hit Dice, Armor Class, etc. This makes them monsters that PCs can hunt down and defeat. Both Supplement IV: Gods, Demi-Gods & Heroes and Deities and Demigods give various pantheons of pagan gods stats — Hit Dice, Armor Class, etc. equating them with demons and devils — monsters that PCs can hunt down and destroy.

In terms of arcane vs. divine magic and clerics of various pagan cults, ACKS actually gives a very potent answer. In the ACKS Players Companion, it is possible to trade out Turning for other custom powers. Thus, it is possible to create a plethora of different classes to reflect various pagan cults with their own spell lists. For those who take issue with the idea of these various classes having effective spells, remember that the Egyptian priests from Exodus were able to duplicate some of the miracles performed through Moses. This suggests that while there is some cross-over, there are powers that should belong to Christians (or Pseudo-Christians) alone.

The easiest is the aforementioned Turning. Thus, the original cleric class gets to be what it originally was: Christian or Pseudo-Christian. It also gives homage to Holmes who stated:

All vampires, regardless of religious background, are affected by the cross which is sovereign against them.

The cool part (at least for those of us who play older rulesets) is that since ACKS is based upon B/X, any class created with ACKS Players Companion can be easily ported to any other older ruleset with little to no conversion.

Thus, one can maintain the S&S pulp feel that inspired D&D with all of its mysterious cults, magic and (to pay homage to St. Justin) δαίμων worship, while still leaving room for a Christian (or anyone else who wants to come along) to hunt down and defeat all those demons and devils.

Wizards of Averoigne: A Rainbow of Spell-Casters

Since yesterday, my brain has been chewing on some of the ideas that I came up with on the subject of anti-clerics, arcane cleric spells and cleric spell books. Since my ideas found fertile soul in a Holmsian-inspired vision of D&D, I figured the best place to implement them was in my standard Holmsian-esque campaign world: Averoigne. I also figured that since Holmes was influenced by Tolkien, so should I.

Although I have never read the Lord of the Rings more than once in my life, I do remember that there is a suggestion of an order of wizards whose status is determined by color. As I recall, three colors are explicitly mentioned: white, grey and brown. Thus, in a world where there is a strong guild-structure, it makes sense that Averoigne would pay homage to Tolkien by differentiating different types of arcane spell casters by color:

White Magic-Users: So-called because they practice white magic — arcane cleric spells. They must be Lawful* and they cannot cast any spells above 3rd level.

Black Magic-Users: So-called because they practice black magic — arcane magic-user spells. They are usually Chaotic and exist outside of the guild-structure and society itself. As a result, they are considered dangerous criminals to be hunted down and (usually) killed.

Grey Magic-Users: So-called because they practice black magic in context of the Church — a mixture of black and white. They can be Lawful or Neutral and must belong to the Wizard’s Guild.

Brown Magic-Users: So-called because they are seen as close to the earth — operating mostly in villages, towns or as hermits. They use arcane cleric spells and have no formal guild. Since they practice white magic, they are generally left alone (which opens the possibility that individual brown magic-users may have a spell or two from the druid spell list). They tend to be neutral and can gain a maximum of 6th level in experience.

Red Magic-Users: So-called because the casting of reverse cleric spells normally involves some kind of blood sacrifice. These are anti-clerics. They are Chaotic and exist outside of the guild-structure and society itself. As a result, they are considered dangerous criminals to be hunted down and (usually) killed.

*Assuming one is using the three-tier alignment system.

The Prime Requisite in all cases is Intelligence which also determines the chance of knowing a particular spell as well as the minimum and maximum number of spells known per spell level (as per Holmes). Practitioners of white magic use the cleric spell progression and XP table and may use armor, shields and blunt weapons but cannot Turn Undead. If they are Lawful and have a Wisdom of at least 9 they can choose to become full-fledged clerics at any time after 3rd level (they gain access to all spells through faith instead of study and can Turn undead).

There is also a third type of arcane magic — sword magic. It interferes with both white and black magic. The latter is the most susceptible and therefore practitioners cannot wear any armor and can only use simple weapons. White magic is less susceptible, but practitioners cannot use bladed or piercing weapons.

Technically, this means that clerics could use any type of weapon they choose (since they cast divine magic, not arcane magic); however, by tradition they limit themselves to blunt weapons to prevent any use of sword magic lest they misplace their faith in God with a faith in sword magic. Thus, any cleric that uses a magic sword cannot cast any spells, because they lack the faith to do so (or believe that they are called to use sword magic instead of divine magic). This opens up the possibility of a paladin-like cleric who can Turn undead, use magic swords (like a holy avenger) but can’t cast spells.

I don’t know how attractive any of these options are to players, but they open up a tremendous amount of opportunities for cool NPCs, cool villains and cool patrons for yours truly.

Saintly Saturday: St. Polycarp the Hieromartyr

Today is the feast of St. Polycarp the Hieromartyr, and I am actually struggling to write a summary of his life and martyrdom, because there is so much we know about him and, being one of my favorite saints, I find it difficult to focus on any one aspect of his life.

He was the bishop of Smyrna (in modern day Turkey) in the 2nd century. He was arrested under Marcus Arelius and they tried to burn him to death, but resorted to stabbing him when the flames did not harm him. His martyrdom was recorded in one of the first hagiographies ever written, The Martyrdom of Polycarp. Within is recorded the saint's response to his captors’ request that he burn incense to the image of the emperor:

Eighty-six years I have served Christ, and He never did me any wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?

St. Ireneaus of Lyons writes about St. Polycarp in letters to Florinus and Victor as well as in his third book of Against the Heresies. He knew Polycarp as a boy and writes about some of his mannerisms, including a phrase he would say in response to something untoward:

O good God, for what times have You reserved me, that I should endure these things?

We know from both Sts. Ireneaus and Jerome that Polycarp knew St. John the Evangelist and Jerome claims that it was John who made Polycarp bishop of Smyrna.

We also have extant Polycarp’s Letter to the Philippians, which is an interesting read. There are two verses, in particular, which I find both fascinating and challenging, especially from the perspective of FRPGs:

For every one who shall not confess that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, is antichrist: and whosoever shall not confess the testimony of the Cross, is of the devil; and whosoever shall pervert the oracles of the Lord to his own lusts and say that there is neither resurrection nor judgment, that man is the firstborn of Satan. — Polycarp 7:1

I was exceedingly grieved for Valens, who aforetime was a presbyter among you, because he is so ignorant of the office which was given unto him. I warn you therefore that ye refrain from covetousness, and that ye be pure and truthful. Refrain from all evil. — Polycarp 11:1

As a Christian, one of the things that I struggle with is the idea of the anti-cleric, which is explicitly part of the LBBs and the heritage of D&D. On its face, the class seems to suggest a dualistic cosmology where the power of the devil is on par with God, which Christ’s death and resurrection reveal to be a total fallacy. For me, the easiest answer is to dress up magic-users as anti-clerics. This clearly delineates the fact that cleric magic comes from God and anti-cleric magic is arcane and not divine.

The Holmes Basic Edition (which I find to be the edition of D&D that most strongly suggests a Christian world view), indicates that cleric spells were once arcane spells by the fact that magic users can use scrolls with divine spells on them (and one could interpret the rules to mean that only magic-users could use these scrolls). Add to that the fact that anti-clerics make awesome adversaries (see the Acolyte in Moldvay’s Basic Edition and Lareth the Beautiful from T1: The Village of Hommlet) and I have a conundrum on my hands.

I mention all of this because the two verses above from Polycarp’s Letter to the Philippians seem to suggest the path toward becoming an anti-cleric as it is suggested by the LBBs where clerics must become Lawful or Chaotic by 7th level. He clearly declares that anyone who does not accept the Incarnation is an antichrist. Couple this with his mention of the presbyter (aka priest) Valens and his falling away from the church indicates (in an LBB-inspired fantasy setting) that he declared for Chaos and became an anti-cleric.

So, how do I make this work mechanically while avoiding the theological net of dualism? One of the more interesting (and controversial) choices made by the good folks who put together Delving Deeper is that clerics use spell books. I believe this choice is actually inspired by Holmes and the aforementioned cleric scrolls. It seems to suggest that their are actually two paths for arcane spell-casters — a secular/pagan/apprentice-level cleric and the traditional magic-user. Both have their own spell books and practices but are close enough that, though unable to cast them from memory, a magic-user can cast cleric spells from scrolls.

In the LBBs this would be the Neutral cleric. By the time one gets around to 7th level, however, it is impossible to understand these spells as anything other than an attempt by humanity to be like God sans God. Interestingly, 7th level is when LBB clerics have access to 5th level spells, including Raise Dead. Thus, one either must acknowledge the true source of these spells (God) and abandon the spell book to cast spells by faith alone or to embrace the path of the anti-cleric. Valens, then, could be understood as a Neutral cleric when he was first ordained. He did not understand what it meant to be a Lawful cleric (casting spells by faith instead of by spell book) and when push came to shove he chose Chaos and the path of an anti-cleric.

This interpretation of the rules, then, allows for all of the above to co-exist: Christianity, anti-clerics, neutral clerics, secular clerics, the arcane cleric spells of Holmes, the choice made by 7th level LBB clerics and even St. Polycarp’s story of Valens. To boot, all of this has a marvelously Sword & Sorcery feel to it while still giving that (for me) all-important nod to Christianity.

Saintly Saturday: The Prophet Micah

Today is the feast of the Prophet Micah, but not the Micah that you might expect. Micah the minor prophet, author of the Prophecy of Micah is celebrated August 14th and lived some 150 years after the Micah celebrated today. Rather, this Micah is the son of Imlah mentioned in 1 Kings 22 (3 Kings by LXX reckoning). He lived at the time of Elijah and prophesied the defeat of Ahab at the hands of the Assyrians for which he was cast into prison.

I have suggested in a previous Saintly Saturday that prophets make very good clerics and Roger of Roles, Rules & Rolls has run with the idea. The story of Micah son of Imlah puts an interesting twist on the whole affair.

In my own games, where I emulate a medieval Christian Church, how to handle evil clerics becomes a bit of an issue. If clerics receive their spells by divine energies and there is only one God, how can pagan or evil clerics get any spells? My answer has always been to run them as magic-users dressed up as priests.

However, take a look at this passage from 1 Kings 22:20-22:

And the Lord said, ‘Who will persuade Ahab to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead?’ So one spoke in this manner, and another spoke in that manner. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, and said, ‘I will persuade him.’ The Lord said to him, ‘In what way?’ So he said, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And the Lord said, ‘You shall persuade him, and also prevail. Go out and do so.’

In other words, one possible interpretation of how clerics get their spells is through spirits. Some of those spirits can be lying spirits. This opens the door to evil clerics who channel those lying spirits.

For those who feel uncomfortable with this story, and what it says about God one needs to understand it in context of both the image and likeness of God as well as the Cross:

• The fact that the lying spirit went into Ahab’s prophets doesn’t take away from the fact that Ahab still chose to go against the Assyrians at Ramoth Gilead. Being made in the image and likeness means he had free will to listen to Micah and avoid his own demise instead of only listening to what he wanted to hear.
• Therefore, God doesn’t create tragedy — it is something we either bring upon ourselves through our choices or as a consequence of living in a fallen world (which came about because of a choice to turn away from God). God can and does take any tragedy and turn it into some kind of good. This is best exemplified by the Cross — the worst tragedy in the history of the world (everything pales in comparison to the God of all crucified by His own creation). He turned that into resurrection.

Thus, while it might look as if those evil clerics (prophets channeling lying spirits) are actively bringing tragedy into the world:

1. They are doing so of their own free will.
2. God can work good even through their evil (quite possibly as a result of the PCs reacting to the actions of the evil clerics).

For myself, this is something I would not use in my normal setting (seeing Christian spell casters as clerics and pagan spell casters as magic-users works really well in that context); however, if I were ever to pursue a campaign world that emulated an era of prophets prior to the Incarnation, I would be sore tempted to use it.

Druids as Anti-Clerics

James over at Grognardia is doing something very interesting with Druids for his Dwimmermount campaign — something similar to what I've been contemplating for my own campaign. Using the obscure note from the LBBs that Clerics can only be Lawful or Chaotic at 7th level or higher, James is equating Druids with Clerics who apostasize from their original faith and turn into nature cultists. For my own part, I am beginning to like the idea of equating Druids with Anti-Clerics.

During this past season of Christmas and Epiphany (which doesn't wrap up until this Friday) I have been struck by the abundance of anthropomorphic language used by the Orthodox Church when describing the reaction of nature to these two great events. I realize that the following quote is quite long, but, not only is the imagery really beautiful, but I also want to demonstrate that this is a major theme that runs through the hymnody of the Orthodox Church:

What shall we offer You, O Christ? for You have appeared on earth as man for our sakes. Of all creatures made by You, each offers You thanksgiving. The Angles offer you the hymn; the Heavens the star . . . the earth her cave; the wilderness the manger — Vespers of the Nativity of Christ

The rivers have lifted up, O Lord, the rivers have lifted up their voices. — from the Second Troparion of the Prophecies, Vespers of the Nativity of Christ; Vespers of Epiphany

River Jordan, what have you beheld that you are sore amazed? "He whom none can see, I saw Him naked, and I feared. How should I not be afraid before Him and turn back?" The Angels, seeing Him, trembled with fear and awe; Heaven was amazed; the earth with quaking shook; the sea drew back in dread with all things both visible and invisible. Christ has appeared in the Jordan River, to sanctify the waters. — Matins of Epiphany

Today the waters of the Jordan are transformed into healing waters by the presence of the Lord.

Today the bitter water, which was in the time of Moses, is changed into sweetness for the people by the presence of the Lord.

Today all creation is made bright from on high.

Today earth and sea share between them the joy of the world, and the world is filled with gladness.

Jordan turned back and the mountains skipped, looking upon God in the flesh; and the clouds gave forth their voice, marveling at Him Who is come, Light of Light, true God of true God, seeing the festival of the Master today in the Jordan, and Him Who Himself plunged into the depths of the Jordan the death of disobedience, and the sting of error, and the bonds of Hades, and has granted the Baptism of salvation unto the world. — from the Prayer of St. Sophronius during the Great Blessing of the Waters at Epiphany

There are two ideas being demonstrated here. First and foremost, Christ came in order to save all of creation, not just human beings. Nature is saved by being properly oriented to God. The second is that this orientation happens through human beings. The Jordan River cannot speak. The earth cannot offer a cave. Mountains cannot skip. We can. It is through us that creation is able to have a voice, is able to worship God and be properly oriented towards Him. This is made manifest by the Great Blessing of the Waters at Epiphany.

Given the pseudo-Christian flavor of the Cleric class in OD&D, the nature loving divine spell caster ought to be the Cleric, not the Druid. So what, exactly, does that leave the Druid to do/be? The answer lies in the idea of the Anti-Cleric.

If we were to diagram the means by which creation is saved (as suggested by the hymns above) it might look like this:

God --> Humanity --> Creation

God saves by restoring humanity to its proper role as the royal priesthood. In turn, fulfilling its role, humanity sanctifies creation through proper use of creation.

If we carry out the mechanical logic of the Anti-Cleric (where Cure Light Wounds turns into Cause Light Wounds; Bless turns into Curse; Raise Dead turns into Finger of Death, etc.) and apply it to the diagram above we would get this:

Creation --> Humanity --> (no)God

In other words, Druids become the Chaotic monster who is perfectly willing to sacrifice humanity and civilization in order to save a worm because nature is more important and has more value than any human being. Since God has been taken out of the equation it is possible to see humanity and civilization as being outside of creation and antithetical to it.

The result is a wonderfully frightening (and seductive) version of the Anti-Cleric which puts a whole new spin on the Temple of Elemental Evil. I am looking forward to finding a way to place them in my own campaign.