Movie Review: "Masquerade" (2012)

This week, I wanted to give a shout out to another overlooked Historical Drama gem film, "Masquerade":

Set during the reign of King Gwanghae, the fifteenth monarch of Korea's Joseon dynasty, "Masquerade" is a creative interpretation of the missing 15 days in the 승정원 일기 (Journal of the Royal Secretariat), based on the cryptic entry:

"One must not record that which [the king] wishes to hide."

Director Choo Chang-min spins the above quote into a fanciful tale wherein the King is poisoned and, fearing further assassination attempts, temporarily replaces himself with a physically identical acrobat and comedian, Ha-sun, for the 15 days while he recovers.

Essentially a retelling of the classic tale "The Prince and the Pauper," "Masquerade" is a fish out of water story where Ha-sun needs to quickly learn how to be a royal or all kinds of things could go wrong.  Additionally, King Gwanghae and his body double are quite different, the former being a tyrannical asshat whereas the latter is empathetic and kind hearted, so it doesn't take too long for people to start to figure out something is amiss.  Nevertheless, Ha-sun is able to make a mark on the court and even the King with his earnestness and compassion.

A lively historical film, "Masquerade" nicely balances drama and comedy without becoming overly sentimental, and includes some pointed shots at Chinese soft imperialism.  The production design, sets and costumes are first rate and Lee Byung-hun excels in the dual role of both King Gwanghae and Ha-sun, where he gets to show off his acting range beyond his typical gangster-type roles (e.g., "The Good, the Bad and the Weird").

So, if you are an East Asian history buff, lover of K-dramas or just want to watch a good costume drama, check out this film!

Culture: Ancient Olympic Games (776 BC)

When we think about the culture of Antiquity, there's one event that stands out so much that we brought it back in modern times, the Ancient Olympic Games:

Like they are today, the Ancient Olympic Games were the ultimate international athletic competition, as well as a religious celebration of and for the greek god Zeus.  For example, a grand sacrifice of 100 oxen was made to Zeus during the Games.

The first Olympics is traditionally dated to 776 BC and the games were thereafter held every four years.  This measure of time, an olympiad, which became the main unit of time in Greeks historical chronologies.  And, in fact, so important were the Olympics to the Greeks that an Olympic Truce was enacted so that athletes could travel from their cities to the games in safety!

Beginning with just the stade (στάδιον), a foot race, the Ancient Olympic Games became a series of athletic competitions among representatives of Greek city-states.  As noted above, prior to the start of the Olympics, priests of Zeus travelled the land to announce the Games and tell any warring factions to wrap things up.

As long as they met the entrance criteria, athletes from any Greek city-state and kingdom were allowed to participate, with some notable exceptions.  For example, in AD 67, the Roman emperor Nero participated in the Olympics. He bribed organizers to postpone the games for a year so he could participate, and artistic competitions were added to the athletic events.  Unsurprisingly, Nero won every contest in which he was a competitor.  After he died a year later, unsurprisingly, his name was removed from the list of winners.

The Ancient Olympic Games gradually increased to twenty-three contests, although no more than twenty featured at any one Olympiad.  Participation in most events was limited to male athletes except for women who were allowed to take part by entering horses in the equestrian events. 

Unlike today, in the ancient Olympic Games there were no gold, silver, or bronze medals and there was only one winner per event.  This winner was crowned with an olive wreath made of wild-olive leaves from a sacred tree near the temple of Zeus at Olympia. 

The victorious athletes were honoured, feted, and praised. Their deeds were heralded and chronicled so that future generations could appreciate their accomplishments.

Also unlike today, killing your opponent was not forbidden: a victory was only negated if the death was the consequence of breaking the rules (e.g., Kleomedes of Astypalia).

A victorious athlete brought great honour to his home city. The sixth-century BC Athenian statesman Solon promoted athletics by rewarding Athenian victors at the Games financially - an Olympic victor would receive 500 drachmae (for comparison, a sheep was worth one drachma).

As their importance increased, the Ancient Olympic Games became a political tool used by city-states to assert dominance over their rivals.  In this, the modern Games have followed suit (e.g., the US boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics and the USSR boycott of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics).

The Ancient Olympic Games continued to be celebrated when Greece came under Roman rule, until the emperor Theodosius I suppressed them in AD 393 as part of the campaign to impose Christianity as the State religion of Rome... until the modern Olympic Games kicked off in AD 1896 in Athens, Greece!

Citius, Altius, Fortius!

Board Game Review: "Royal Game of Ur" (~3000 BC)

This week, I want give a shout out to one of the most popular board games of all time that also happens to be almost completely forgotten nowadays: The "Royal Game of Ur":

The Royal Game of Ur, also known as the Game of Twenty Squares or simply the Game of Ur, is a two-player turn-based strategy game where the players race to be the first to move all their pieces through and then off the game board.  However, this is easier said that done in this simple but elegant game that can become surprisingly intense.

On the player's turn, they roll four dice to determine how many squares they can move a single piece.  However, the dice are d4s (a triangular pyramid with four triangular faces), and not the d4 that are commonly used in RPGs today: two of the four vertex corners are marked with a white tip.  The number of white tips pointing upward equals the number of squares they can move a single piece.  This means a player can move 0 to 4 spaces, with the results distributed on a bell curve.

The game board consists of 20 spaces arranged in two rows of 6 and one row of 8 (looking like a deformed "I").  Each row of 6 is controlled by one player only and the row of 8 is shared.  Players must send a game piece through both their controlled row and the shared row before they can move the piece off the board.

The Royal Game of Ur, so named because it was first rediscovered by the English archaeologist Sir Leonard Woolley during his excavations of the Royal Cemetery at Ur between 1922 and 1934, was first played in ancient Mesopotamia during the early third millennium BC and was popular across the large parts of the ancient world among people of all social strata.  In addition, boards for the game have been found at locations as far away as Crete and Sri Lanka.

This game is probably a direct ancestor of the backgammon family of games and was popular until late antiquity. At this point, it have may evolved into backgammon or may have been eclipsed in popularity by early forms of backgammon.  However, the Game of Ur was also brought to the Indian city of Kochi by Jewish traders, where they were still playing a recognizable version into the 1950s.

Modern replicas are available for purchase with an easy internet search.

If you'd like to see this five millennia old game in action, played by Irving Finkel, a curator at the British Museum, who rediscovered the rules of the game by translating in the early 1980s a clay tablet written c. 177 BC by the Babylonian scribe Itti-Marduk-balālu, check out this awesome video!

TV Review: "I, Claudius" (1976)

Decades before there was "Rome," "I, Claudius" set the gold standard for quality historical drama.  So, this week, I wanted to give a shout out to one of the greatest TV series of all time:

By turns gripping and chilling but always compelling, "I, Claudius" brings to life the wicked schemes and dastardly deeds of those vying for power over the mighty Roman Empire.  Based on the best-selling novels "I, Claudius" (1934) and "Claudius the God" (1935) by Robert Graves, Emperor Claudius narrates an "insider's story" of the early days of the empire, from 24 BC until Claudius' death in AD 54.

After the death throes of the late Roman Republic, being beset by devastating civil war after civil war, peace has come to the Empire, or at least for the common folk.  For Augustus and those who seek to replace him, it is different story, being a time rife with an orgy of betrayal and murder, as well as actual orgies.

Based on history but not strictly factual, "I, Claudius" vicariously brings to life names and places from dusty pages of history textbooks, with a degree of creative license.

As with "Rome," "I, Claudius" focuses on the personal political scheming rather than massive battles to stretch the budget.   Indeed, there are no fight scenes of any kind.  Oh well.

However, the series does excel on the scheming front, covering dozens of characters and their changing fortunes over a century.  From aging Augustus to brutal Tiberius to depraved Caligula to the Hobbit of Emperors (i.e., Claudius being the most unlikely person imaginable to become First Citizen) to even more depraved Nero, the show vividly airs the dirty laundry of the Julio-Claudians.

Moreover, the lengthy, set-bound scenes give the series a distinctively theatrical quality which plays to the strengths of the cast, a veritable who's who of great British actors of the period, including  the great Brian Blessed as Augustus and Siân Phillips as the deliciously evil Livia.  Plus, there's evil rapey Captain Picard with hair!

So, if you are a history buff, a fan of political scheming dramas or just want to see Patrick Stewart wearing a wig, this show is a must watch!

Board Game Review: "7 Wonders" (2010)

This week, I want to give a shout out to one of the best board games of the past decade: "7 Wonders":

7 Wonders is a strategy, building and resource management card drafting game wherein players assume control of one of seven ancient cities, each representing one of Antipater of Sidon's original Seven Wonders of the Ancient World: the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Mausoleum of Helicarnassus, the Colossus of Rhodes, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the Lighthouse of Alexandria, and the Statue of Zeus at Olympia.

There are three decks of playing cards (called a "Age cards"), that are unsurprisingly only played in one particular Age of the game.  The Age cards represent different types of structures that the player can build to provide a resource and/or a mechanical benefit.  In addition, some structures are tiered to unlock further structures and/or mechanical benefits.

Furthermore, the each city has a different game board (called a "Wonder board") with different powers and resources that can affect a player's strategy.  Games are for 2-7 players and the player with the highest total of victory points at the end wins.

Winner of the prestigious 2011 Spiel des Jahres Kennerspiel, as well as numerous other awards, 7 Wonders is well designed, fast paced (turns are resolved simultaneously and the game can be finished in less than an hour) and deceptively challenging: While the mechanics are simple (pick a card each turn),  the strategy and scoring are not.

At the beginning of each Age, each player receives a hand of 7 cards, dealt randomly, from the corresponding Age deck.  After picking a card, the players passes their remaining hand of cards to the player sitting to the left (or right depending on the Age) and receive the remaining hand of cards from the player sitting next to them.  This means players know what cards they are passing on and can influence the receiver's options in the next turn.  However, since players will be passing cards to the left twice and to the right once, they have more influence on the left neighbor than the right neighbor.

There multiple potential paths to winning, although some may be more efficient than others for a given civilization.  Players must decide which strategies and resources to focus on and which to ignore.  However, it's not always clear at the time what is the optimal choice or the what is value of a particular choice!

So, if you are looking for a fast, fun, challenging and replayable strategy board game (especially if you are a history buff), this may be the game for you! 

Culture: Beer (~3000 BC)

Last year, I mentioned that eating well is one of things that makes life worth living!

This week, I wanted to take a look at the other side of cuisine and give a shout out to one of the oldest and most widely loved beverages of all time, Beer:

Beer is the third most popular drink in the world after water and tea.  And whether one calls this liquid awesomeness a cold one, a brewskie, or real man's Zima, people have been enjoying beer for a long, long time.  For example, during the building of the Great Pyramids of Giza, each worker got a daily ration of four to five liters of beer, serving as both nutrition and refreshment that was crucial to the Pyramids' construction.

Related to the invention of bread (it is theorized that beer-like beverages were independently developed throughout the world soon after a tribe or culture had domesticated cereal), beer has been arguably partly responsible for humanity's ability to develop technology and build civilization.  Unsurprisingly, the Code of Hammurabi included laws regulating beer and beer parlors.

Fermentation is one of the earliest chemical processes mastered by humanity.  Barley brewed beer has been around since at least 3100 BC, as per archaeological evidence (ancient pottery jars) from Godin Tepe in the Zagros Mountains of modern day western Iran.  

The oldest surviving beer recipe is the "Hymn to Ninkasi," the Sumerian goddess of brewing:

"Given birth by the flowing water ......, tenderly cared for by Ninhursaja! Ninkasi, given birth by the flowing water ......, tenderly cared for by Ninhursaja!

Having founded your town upon wax, she completed its great walls for you. Ninkasi, having founded your town upon wax, she completed its great walls for you.

Your father is Enki, the lord Nudimmud, and your mother is Ninti, the queen of the abzu. Ninkasi, your father is Enki, the lord Nudimmud, and your mother is Ninti, the queen of the abzu.

It is you who handle the ...... and dough with a big shovel, mixing, in a pit, the beerbread with sweet aromatics. Ninkasi, it is you who handle the ...... and dough with a big shovel, mixing, in a pit, the beerbread with sweet aromatics.

It is you who bake the beerbread in the big oven, and put in order the piles of hulled grain. Ninkasi, it is you who bake the beerbread in the big oven, and put in order the piles of hulled grain.

It is you who water the earth-covered malt; the noble dogs guard it even from the potentates (?). Ninkasi, it is you who water the earth-covered malt; the noble dogs guard it even from the potentates (?).

It is you who soak the malt in a jar; the waves rise, the waves fall. Ninkasi, it is you who soak the malt in a jar; the waves rise, the waves fall.

It is you who spread the cooked mash on large reed mats; coolness overcomes ....... Ninkasi, it is you who spread the cooked mash on large reed mats; coolness overcomes .......

It is you who hold with both hands the great sweetwort, brewing it with honey and wine. Ninkasi, it is you who hold with both hands the great sweetwort, brewing it with honey and wine.

[1 line damaged]

You ...... the sweetwort to the vessel. Ninkasi, ....... You ...... the sweetwort to the vessel.

You place the fermenting vat, which makes a pleasant sound, appropriately on top of a large collector vat. Ninkasi, you place the fermenting vat, which makes a pleasant sound, appropriately on top of a large collector vat.

It is you who pour out the filtered beer of the collector vat; it is like the onrush of the Tigris and the Euphrates. Ninkasi, it is you who pour out the filtered beer of the collector vat; it is like the onrush of the Tigris and the Euphrates."

As befits the followers of Ninkasi, many ancient beer meisters in Mesopotamia were women, and making beer was one of the few trades open women at the time.  This is a reflection of the responsibility that women had to supply both bread and beer to the household. 

In contrast with today's brews, ancient beers were often thick, more of a gruel than a beverage, and sometimes early beer drinkers used straws to avoid the bitter solids left over from fermentation.  In addition, some beers contained ingredients that would be unusual to modern beer drinkers, such as berries, honey and narcotic herbs!

But perhaps the biggest difference between ancient beers and modern beers is the latter's use of hops, which started in Germany in the 9th century.  Germany, of course, is home to the most epic of beer festivals, Oktoberfest, which has been held annually for over two centuries!

So, whether you are drinking craft brew or your favorite commercial megabrand, remember that you are doing your own small part to further civilization.  Cheers!

RPG Focus: Moldvay Basic Dungeons & Dragons (1981)

I've mentioned before that the Mentzer Red box (Basic Dungeons & Dragons 1983) was my introduction to tabletop RPGs (preceded by the Choose Your Own Adventure series and similar gamebooks), but this week, I wanted to take a look the another influential iteration of Basic D&D written by Tom Moldvay:

  

Moldvay Basic was the second incarnation of Basic D&D, following Basic Dungeons & Dragons (1977) written by J. Eric Holmes.  Holmes Basic was something of a strange beast, being a combination of Original Dungeons & Dragons (1974) and some of the early Supplements, and meant to be both an introduction to tabletop RPGs and to Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (even though Holmes Basic is not 100% compatible with AD&D).  

Like Holmes Basic, Moldvay Basic is an introductory text and covers the basic concepts and rules for  Dungeons & Dragons and PCs of Levels 1 to 3.  Unlike Holmes Basic, Moldvay Basic (which forms the "B" in B/X D&D), along with Dave Cook's Expert Set  (which forms the "X" in B/X D&D), was designed to be a complete separate game.

This is partly a result of the settlement of one of the lawsuits by D&D co-creator Dave Arneson against TSR, which split Dungeons & Dragons into two parallel product lines, Basic and Advanced.  Thus, for legal reasons, Moldvay Basic was promoted as a continuation of OD&D (i.e., Messr Arneson would collect royalties from B/X D&D, as well as the later BECMI D&D, but not AD&D).

Moldvay Basic came in a boxed set with 64 page rule book (Holmes Basic was 48 pages), with cover art by the legendary Erol Otus.  In addition, the set included the module B2 The Keep on the Borderlands, the classic six polyhedral dice made (of soft plastic that would wear down with use (eventually, rolling the d20 could take some time until it stopped moving as it became more and more spherical)), and a marking crayon for filling in the numbers on the dice.  The interior artwork is Old School but often cartoonish in nature and considered to be generally weaker than the interior artwork for BECMI D&D.

However, Moldvay Basic does shine as an excellent example of lean RPG Design, presenting a stripped down and streamlined version of the OD&D engine.  The rules here are clear, concise and accessible.  For example, Moldvay Basic's rules for Initiative are, in contrast to their than their 1st ed. AD&D counterpart, approximately a bazillion times more concise and understandable:

To determine initiative, each side rolls 1d6 (the DM rolls for the monsters). The side with the higher roll may move first and attack first in combat for that round. If both sides roll the same number, the DM may either have both sides roll again, or may consider movement and combat for both sides to occur at the same time (known as simultaneous combat).

The side "with the initiative" has the first choice of actions. Members of that side may choose to fight, run, throw a spell, take de- fensive positions and wait to see what the other side does, start talking, or do anything else that the players or DM can imagine.

If combat occurs, the side with the initiative always strikes first in that round. Both sides should roll for initiative each round. If both sides tie on their initiative rolls, and combat is simultaneous, it is possible for both sides to be killed!

Quick and elegant!  By comparison, 1st ed. AD&D Initiative by the book is hotly debated to this day and sometimes requires a flowchart for beginners.

All of Moldvay Basic is written in this easy to follow and understand manner.

There's also a great, simple and powerful rule often overlooked near the end of Moldvay Basic on page B60:

"There's always a chance." The DM may want to base a character's chance of doing something on his or her ability scores (Strength, Dexterity, and so forth). To perform a difficult task (such as climbing up a rope or thinking of a forgotten clue), the player should roll the ability score or less on ld20. The DM may give a bonus or penalty to the roll, depending on the difficulty of the action (-4 for a simple task to +4 for a difficult one). A roll of 1 should always succeed, and a roll of 20 should always fail.

This is a quick and elegant of addressing TSR-era D&D's lack of a skill system!

It's this speed and elegance that has made my old AD&D1 DM switch to using B/X during convention play.

So, if you are fan of TSR-era D&D but are looking for a lighter/faster interpretation or you are new to RPGs in general and want to cut your teeth using Dungeons & Dragons, you really should take a gander at Moldvay Basic!

RPG Design: Spell Points

Last year, I discussed a hallmark of Dungeons & Dragons, Vancian Magic.  This week, I wanted to take a look at perhaps the most popular method of handling magic in role-playing games, Spell Points.

By "Spell Points," I mean a game mechanic whereby a Player Character's ability to use magic (or similar abilities) is denoted as magic points (or mana points, etc.) and where each use of magic has a certain magic point cost.  Different spells have different magic point costs and if a Player Character runs out of magic points, they must wait until the game's recovery mechanic kicks in before being able to use magic once more.

Spell Points have been around since almost the beginning of tabletop role-playing games.  For example, Warlock, a home-brewed variant of Original Dungeons & Dragons (1974) that used Spell Points, was published in the Spartan Gaming Journal in August 1975.  No less a person than J. Eric Holmes, author of the Holmes Basic D&D Set (1977), was a fan of Warlock.  Indeed, Messr Holmes tried to convince Gary Gygax, the co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, to include a spell point system in Holmes Basic.

However, Messr Gygax was famously not a fan of spell points.  For example, in The Dragon #16, he pontificated:

"Spell point systems are also currently in vogue amongst the fringe group which haunt the pages of “Amateur Press Association” publications. Now APAs are generally beneath contempt, for they typify the lowest form of vanity press. There one finds pages and pages of banal chatter and inept writing from persons incapable of creating anything which is publishable elsewhere. Therefore, they pay money to tout their sophomoric ideas, criticise those who are able to write and design, and generally make themselves obnoxious.* While there are notable exceptions, they are far too few to give any merit to the vehicles they appear in. From this morass rose the notion that a spell point system should be inserted into D&D. Strangely enough, “realism” was used as one of the principal reasons for use of spell points. These mutterings are not as widespread as the few proponents of such a system imagine. The D&D magic system is drawn directly from CHAINMAIL. It, in turn, was inspired by the superb writing of Jack Vance. This “Vancian” magic system works splendidly in the game. If it has any fault, it is towards making characters who are magic-users too powerful. This sort of fault is better corrected within the existing framework of the game — by requiring more time to cast spells, by making magic-users progress more slowly in experience levels. Spell points add nothing to D&D except more complication, more record keeping, more wasted time, and a precept which is totally foreign to the rest of the game."

The above is, of course, just one of many examples of Messr Gygax passing off his opinion as fact and a part of his epic flame wars with various West Coast gamers in the 1970s.

Other minds were more open, even in the early days of the hobby.  For example, Adventures in Fantasy (1978), the second fantasy RPG produced by Dave Arneson, the other co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, used a Spell Point system.  Of course, Adventures in Fantasy was a commercial failure, due in large part to the complete lack of marketing support.


Like Vancian Magic, a well-designed Spell Point system is simple, easy to understand and turns spells into a limited resource, adding Tactical Depth to a game.  In addition, if the number of Spell Points is correctly balanced, a Spell Point system can help address Linear Fighters, Quadratic Wizards.

Hands down, the biggest attraction of a Spell Point system is that they give magicians great flexibility.  However, that flexibility in a poorly-designed Spell Point system can exacerbate Linear Fighters, Quadratic Wizards, so due care must be taken to balance a game properly.

TV Review: "Rome" (2005-07)

This week, I wanted to give a shout out to a show that is one of the greatest historical drama TV series of all time, HBO/BBC's "Rome":

First off, I want to say that this series (or at least Season One) is friggin' Awesome!

"Rome" is an epic show with a sprawling cast of interesting characters that covers the death throes of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire.  Filled with personal and political machinations, the show chronicles how various individuals and factions ruthlessly vie for power, with Julius Caesar and later his nephew Augustus carving their way to the top over an enormous pile of bodies, shaking Rome and her people to the core.

Our viewpoint characters are Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo, who are based on a pair of Roman soldiers mentioned in Caesar's Commentarii de Bello Gallico, though there are some obvious changes from the source material.  In addition to showing the plebeian side of things, this odd couple provides humor and much of the action of the show.

In fact, Vorenus and Pullo are basically PCs in an RPG, to whom all kinds of ridiculous and implausible things happen (including escaping being marooned on a island with a raft made of driftwood and corpses!) as they repeatedly play a role at key historic events.  Indeed, a one point, Caesar muses whether to get rid of them but decides against raising a hand against ones so obviously favored by the gods!

Setting itself apart from lesser historical dramas, producer Bruno Heller's "Rome" is big, sweeping, brutal and unapologetic.  Of course, there's the graphic sex and violence ("Rome" was what "Game of Thrones" is now known for), but more importantly, this ambitious show recreates and brings ancient Rome to life with lavish sets and costumes and superb writing, direction, and acting.

While not historically accurate beyond broad sweeps (a number of the details are incorrect or fictionalized for dramatic purposes), what "Rome" definitely gets right is the feel of the time and place.  A big part of this is that these Romans, while the height of civilization for the time, clearly do not have our sense of morality.

Also, Vorenus and Pullo are ridiculous killing machines and anyone getting on their bad side might die at the drop of a hat!

"Rome" does have some flaws, chief of which is the lack of major battles scenes.  Super disappointing!

There are also big jumps in time that are scarcely covered with a line of dialogue, particularly in Season Two.  This can be quite confusing at times and is particularly bad in Season Two (when Messr Heller learned that the series wouldn't not be extended so he crammed in multiple seasons worth of material).

Season Two also suffering in comparison to Season One in terms of a lead actor: James Purefoy (playing Mark Anthony) simply lacks the gravitas of Ciarán Hinds (playing Julius Casear) and failed to carry the production in the same way.

Still, the overall quality of the show is excellent.  So, if you are a history buff, political scheming or a fan of Sword & Sandal, this show is right up your alley!

Culture: "The Hero with a Thousand Faces" (1949)

Fundamentally, most tabletop role-playing games seek to tell thrilling yarns about heroes triumphing in the face of great odds.  So, this week I wanted to give a shout out to the seminal work of comparative mythology, "The Hero with a Thousand Faces":

Written by legendary mythologist Joseph Campbell, "The Hero with a Thousand Faces" is a hugely influential study that combines modern psychology with comparative mythological analysis.  Building on work from earlier scholars, Campbell found heroic legends from all over the world and from many different periods of time shares many similar elements of plot, structure, theme and symbolism.  

This begged the question of why heroic legends possessed so many similarities, despite being separated by great gaps of space and time?  Campbell's tremendous insight was that the reason for this universality was that these heroic legends were reflections of and expressions of elements of the collective unconscious of humanity.  According to Campbell and legendary psychologist Carl Jung, the collective unconscious produces "archetypes," which form the basis of many myths.

Furthermore, Campbell was able to break down these heroic legends into a basic narrative pattern which he called the monomyth or "The Hero's Journey", which he summarized as follows:

"A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man."

The concept of "The Hero's Journey" has been widely acclaimed since the 1970s.  Moreover, Campbell's ideas have been adopted and adapted repeated in popular culture, perhaps most famously in Star Wars, but also in many, many, many other works.

“In the three decades since I discovered The Hero with a Thousand Faces, it has continued to fascinate and inspire me. Joseph Campbell peers through centuries and shows us that we are all connected by a basic need to hear stories and understand ourselves. As a book, it is wonderful to read; as illumination into the human condition, it is a revelation.” - George Lucas

A Call to Adventure!

So, if you are a fan of mythology and want to learn and understand more about the hows and whys of heroic legends, check out one of best written books of the 20th century!

Culture: Chopsticks (筷子) (~400 BC)

Eating is necessary for life but eating well is one of things that makes life worth living!  So, this week I wanted to give a shout out to one of the oldest and most famous eating implements of all time, Chopsticks (筷子):

A common sight at tables throughout throughout East Asia and beyond, chopsticks are sets of two equal length sticks that are used as kitchen and eating utensils.  Usually made of wood, metal, or plastic, chopsticks for eating are typically typically 7 to 10 inches long and are smoothed, with blunt ends, and are frequently tapered.

The Chinese term is 筷子 (pinyin: kuàizi), with the character 筷 combining a phonetic part meaning "quick" (快), and a semantic part meaning "bamboo" (竹).  However, the origin of the English name is a mystery: "chopstick" may be derived from Chinese Pidgin English, in which "chop chop" means "quickly".  

Held in the dominant hand, between the thumb and fingers, chopsticks are to pick up pieces of food and thus require more dexterity than knife and fork, which are typically used in Europe and the Americas.  However, with practice, most people can gain proficiency.

According to the California Academy of Sciences, the first "chopsticks" developed in China around 5000 years ago and were twigs used as cooking utensils for stirring fires, reaching deep into boiling pots of water or oil, etc.  Later, around 400 BC, chopsticks became popular as eating utensils when,  as a result of a population boom, resources became scarce.  Consequently, chefs began cutting food into small pieces which would cook more quickly to conserving fuel.  Thus, the need arose for eating implements capable of easily handling these small pieces.  

In addition, the spread of Confucianism may have also played a part in popularizing chopsticks.  Being a vegetarian, Confucius taught, “The honorable and upright man keeps well away from both the slaughterhouse and the kitchen. And he allows no knives on his table.”  The great sage thought that using knives as eating utensils evoked violence and warfare, and therefore discouraged such use.

By 500 AD, chopsticks had spread to Japan, Vietnam and Korea as a result of Chinese cultural influence, although early Japanese chopsticks were used only for religious ceremonies.  In the intervening millennia, chopsticks have also become widely used wherever expatriate Chinese traveled.

So, if you are using chopsticks, remember that you are enjoying a meal the same way that billions of people have done for thousands of years.  Just don't stick them vertically into rice, which is bad luck as it is similar to incense at funerals!

Literature Review: "Beowulf" (~1000)

This week, I want give a shout out to the greatest work of Old English literature, the epic poem about the legendary Scandinavian warrior king: "Beowulf":

"Beowulf" is a classic tale of the triumph of good over evil, whose titular character bravely faces monstrous foes time and again.  One of the earliest recognizable High Fantasy adventure yarns, in "Beowulf," our hero is a Geatish prince who sails to the aid of King Hrothgar of the Danes, whose realm is plagued by the monster Grendel.

Eschewing weapons because he wants a fair fight, Beowulf takes on Grendel hand-to-hand and rips off the poor bastard's arm!  Grendel flees and bleeds out.  Grendel's Mother seeks revenge, killing  Hrothgar's most loyal fighter, so our hero takes her out, as well.  Beowulf refuses kingship of the Danes and returns to his home, becoming king of his own people.  A half century later, a fearsome dragon threatens the kingdom and Beowulf, despite being an old man at this point, rides out for one last job.

Originally passed down through oral tradition, "Beowulf" was transcribed to manuscript form by an anonymous Anglo-Saxon poet, referred to by scholars as the "Beowulf poet".  Although the epic poem was actually written down sometime around 1000 AD, the action takes place throughout much of the 6th century.  The poem blends both fact and fiction for entertainment purposes, including actual people and events, such as the Battle on the Ice of Lake Vänern.

When I note that "Beowulf" is a "epic poem," I don't just mean that it is a poem that is epic, but rather "epic poem" is a literature term of art:

"a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds, and events significant to a culture or nation."

An epic poem, of course, requires an "epic hero": a brave and noble hero with superhuman abilities who embodies traits that are important to their culture.  Other epic heroes include Achilles and Roland.

A key figure in the literary analysis of "Beowulf" is none other than Oxford scholar J. R. R. Tolkien (who, of course, in his spare time wrote the definitive high fantasy works "The Hobbit" (1937) and "The Lord of the Rings" (1954)), who noted the epic poem's place in the cultural history of Britain.  This, in turn, helped to re-popularize this ancient yarn.

It's no surprise that the good professor was a fan of "Beowulf".  For example, Tolkien said that the Dragon in Beowulf is one of only two *true* dragons in all of literature - the other being Fafnir.  It's also no surprise that "Beowulf" was a source of inspiration for the good professor.  For example, the Dragon in Beowulf responds to the theft of one of its shinies by going on a murderous rampage throughout the countryside...  In addition, "Beowulf" continues to inspire adaptations and reinterpretations even a millennium later.

So, if you are a fan of adventure, High Fantasy or fantasy generally, Norse mythology and culture, or history generally, you owe it to yourself to check out the adventures of one of the first dragon slayers, Beowulf!

Culture: Code of Hammurabi (1754 BC)

Law is a cornerstone of civilization.  So, this week I wanted to give a shout out to one of the oldest and most influential law texts of all time, the Code of Hammurabi:

Officially consisting of 282 laws (although there is no 13th Law because, then as now, the number 13 was considered to be unlucky), the Code of Hammurabi is a monumental achievement.  Not only is the Code both one of the earliest forms of law and one of the earliest examples of lengthy writing, it stands for the notion that human behavior should be regulated with justice and fairness (for example, the Code contains one of the earliest examples of the presumption of innocence), although Babylonian notions of "justice" and "fairness" were different from modern views.

In addition, the Code supported the notion that the law is meant to be open and accessible: the Code was written in Akkadian, the daily language of Babylon, and was inscribed on a stele and placed out in public, so any literate person could read it.   Over half of the Code covers commercial transactions, and a third deals with family matters but the text is far ranging and it also is one of the earliest examples of a fundamental law (i.e., a constitution).  

Named after the great Babylonian king who extended Babylon's control throughout Mesopotamia, the Code of Hammurabi was enacted because Hammurabi had conquered many disparate peoples and wanted to have a uniform set of laws to help administer and unify his new empire.

One of the most famous (and misunderstood) laws in the Code is #196: "If a man destroy the eye of another man, they shall destroy his eye."  However, the purpose of the law was to *RESTRICT* compensation to the value of the loss.  Thus, it is more accurately read as "only one eye for one eye."

My favorite law from the Code is #5:

If a judge try a case, reach a decision, and present his judgment in writing; if later error shall appear in his decision, and it be through his own fault, then he shall pay twelve times the fine set by him in the case, and he shall be publicly removed from the judge's bench, and never again shall he sit there to render judgement.

Government accountability is always a good thing.

Written nearly four millennia ago, the Code of Hammurabi has long since passed into the public domain and several English-language translations can be found here.

RPG Events: TotalCon 2017

Last week, I attended this year's TotalCon!

Short for "Total Confusion," TotalCon is New England's largest game convention, with hundreds of scheduled events over four days, including role-playing games, live action role-playing, miniature games and board games.  After a long period in Mansfield, MA, this year's convention was held in Marlborough, MA, but it was still a great time!  Some of the highlights for me included:

• Playing B1 In Search of the Unknown!

B1 In Search of the Unknown is both the original teaching module and is one of the most widely played RPG adventures of all time, being included in a number of printings of both the Holmes and Moldvay Basic D&D Sets.  Written for introductory DMs and players, B1 is a traditional dungeon crawl filled with tricks and traps to spur the minds of beginners.  A number of the rooms are deliberately left blank by Mike Carr, the author, to encourage DMs to think about dungeon design.  Whether this DYI approach is a feature or bug depends on your point of view.

While I've owned B1 for years, this was my first opportunity to actually play the module.  As an  exploration of a dangerous and weird locale, B1 is fun and still a challenge even for veteran players on the lookout for trouble.  Also, while not a meat grinder per se, a few of the PCs still died in the name of loot!

Old School!

• Playing with Frank Mentzer!

I started with the Mentzer Basic D&D Set and so it was awesome for me to actually play in a game with Messr Mentzer himself as DM.  He was kind, warm and gracious but he did, however, put a quick end to the hero worship stuff ("Just call me Frank").

The Mentzer Basic D&D Set is even more clearly written and even easier to understand than the Holmes and Moldvay Basic D&D Sets, making it ideal for younger audiences, such as myself back in the day.  Consequently, the Mentzer Basic D&D Set is still one of the best introductions to role-playing.  In fact, there was a player at our game who'd never done any role-playing before and Frank was able to get her up to speed in a flash!

I told Frank I spent quite of bit of time in the intro adventure to his Basic Set trying to save poor Aleena the Cleric, to no avail.  He replied that it was a deliberate design decision to bring home the point that 1) adventuring is dangerous business and 2) that RPGs are fantasy (not real life).

The adventure itself was a hugely fun time, a riff on  L. Frank Baum's Oz stories (not just the Wizard of Oz, but the later tales as well).  Frank also filled the session with many great stories about the early games of gaming and of TSR!


So, if you ever find yourself in Massachusetts at the end of February and have the urge to game, you should make time to come to TotalCon!  After 31 years, they are still going strong.  This is a well organized and run convention, with friendly and helpful staff, and it's always a blast to attend.  Plus, it's relatively inexpensive, so you get a lot for your $$.

Subject to unforeseen circumstances, I'll be there again next year!

History: Dave Arneson (1947-2009)

I would be remiss this week not to give a shout out to the person who provided the "Spark of Life" to tabletop role-playing:

The self-styled Cheeky Mage!

Born on October 1, 1947 in Hennepin County, Minnesota, Dave Arneson grew up with a lifelong love of games and gaming, joining the Midwest Military Simulation Association (MMSA) when he was in high school.  There, he met David Wesley and was introduced to the latter's Braunstein game scenario (1967), a proto-RPG that was a wargame first set in a fictional German town where players could act in non-military roles (e.g., town mayor, banker, university chancellor, etc.).  Inspired at least in part by Diplomacy (1959), Braunstein's open-ended rules allowed the players to attempt any action, with the results determined by a neutral referee.

These concepts influenced the development of Arneson's Blackmoor campaign, the direct precursor to Original Dungeons & Dragons (1974).  

In 1969, Arneson and some friends attended GenCon II, where he met Gary Gygax.  The two hit it off and collaborated first on Don't Give Up the Ship (1971), a Napoleonic naval wargame, and then OD&D.

After Tactical Studies Rules (TSR) was formed to publish OD&D, Arneson worked for the partnership and its successor, TSR, Inc., before leaving due to differences of opinion in 1976.

Later, when Gygax, in a highly incorrect interpretation of copyright law, attempted to avoid paying Arneson royalties by re-writing OD&D and removing Arneson's name from the front cover (the resulting work was 1st edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons), the latter brought the first of five lawsuits against Gygax and TSR in 1979.

All of the lawsuits were settled to Arneson's satisfaction and then sealed with confidentiality agreements.

After OD&D, Arneson worked only sporadically on RPGs, most notably when he wrote up the Blackmoor setting for Judges Guild in The First Fantasy Campaign (1977) and when he returned to TSR for the "DA" (Dave Arneson) series of modules set in Blackmoor (1986–1987).  However, he mostly focused on areas of personal interest in his later years, as a business owner (Adventure Games) and as a teacher, first special education and then game design.

Still, any reasonable person would agree that the RPG hobby owes a considerable debt to Messr Arneson.  Beyond his specific design and mechanical innovations (e.g., dungeon crawling, campaign play, advancement (i.e., experience and leveling), etc.), Arneson was the one who had the clearest vision that a new role-playing tradition (parallel to murder mystery nights, comedy improv, etc.) was being created, rather than a mere incremental change to wargaming.