The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games - Michael J. Tresca [55]
DRUID • Druids were first introduced in the Greyhawk supplement for Dungeons & Dragons as “priests of a neutral-type religion” with the ability to shape-change into an animal three times a day (Gygax and Kuntz 1976:34). The class was fully fleshed out in Eldritch Wizardry, with nature-themed spells, the ability to pass through undergrowth, identify the elements of nature, and adopt animal form. They had an obligation to protect nature, especially trees (Gygax and Blume 1976:2). In later versions of Dungeons & Dragons, druids evolved into neutral-aligned masters of nature and reincarnation, capable of communicating and controlling plants, animals, and even the elements themselves.
The term “druid” is originally from the Gaulish “druids” which came from the Old Celtic “derwijes.” Sources diverge as to the meaning of druid. “Derwos” means true, which would make the druid a truth- or soothsayer. Alternately, the Old Celtic base of “dru” means tree, in reference to the importance of oak trees in druidic ceremonies (Ayto 1990:186).
Historically, druids did revere trees as nature spirits. They had a healthy respect for the animal kingdom because any animal could be a god or another heroic Celt in animal form. Zoomorphism was common enough to justify druids transforming into all kinds of animals. But unlike their depiction in Dungeons & Dragons, druids were not exclusively animal protectors. Nor were humans exempt from this protection.
Conspicuously lacking from Dungeons & Dragons is the role of sacrifices in druidic rituals. Historically, druids sacrificed everything: bulls, dogs, stags, slaves, criminals, gold, silver—they burned, drowned, strangled, or examined its entrails. Druids would stab people in the back and divine the future based on how they twitched when they died. They believed in regicide, utilizing the fabled triple-death of strangling, drowning, and stabbing with a spear. They crammed gigantic wicker colossi full of people, if Caesar’s account is to be believed, and torched them in sacrifice.
Druids could be classified as neutral alignment, in that druids were on both sides of morality. Celtic stories are filled with accounts of druids on both sides, undoing each other’s spells, and battling in fantastic magical combats that would make any role-player envious. But the alignment of druids as being true neutral was simply not accurate; druids were just as passionate about one ethos as anybody else.
MONK • In Dungeons & Dragons monks are “members of an Order” who “seek both physical and mental superiority in a religious atmosphere” (Arneson 1975:1). A path originally open to the cleric, the monk had complete control over both mind and body; he was immune to mental powers, could simulate death, and use a dreaded attack known as the “quivering palm” to kill his opponents with a mere touch.
The origin of the word “monk” comes from the late Greek “monachos,” which means a solitary person or hermit. This in turn came from the Greek word “monos” which means alone. It passed into Latin as “monachus,” to Old English as “munuc” and then into English as monk. Monks, then, live alone (Ayto 1990:353).
Monks first appeared in the Men & Magic supplement. Clerics with the right combination of attributes could become monks—implying a religious calling for the monk class. Monks were ascetics, limiting their acquisition of treasure and items. In return, they could fight with their bare hands to stun opponents, simulate death, heal themselves through force alone, and resist mental intrusion. The pinnacle of the monk’s power was the quivering palm (Arneson 1975:1).
In the first edition of Oriental Adventures, Gygax explained that Brian Blume, who was inspired by the fictional martial art Sinanju (made popular by the Destroyer series of novels), created the monk class. Sinanju bestowed abilities upon its practitioners that bordered on the fantastic, including the ability to climb walls, dodge bullets, outrun a car, and the