This has gradually transmogrified in my mind into a variant of what I called the Single Class Paladin Campaign, deploying something like my Random Demonic Incursion Generator to facilitate the creation of a 'virtuous sandbox'. Here, the PCs are heroic guardians of order against the ravages of (butchering the Biblical chronology somewhat) fallen angels and their sinister witch-wives and nephilim children, not to mention the monstrous progeny of the nephilim's sexual escapades with animals and their evil Elioud descendants. Throw in some Philistine, Moabite, Ammonite, Trilobite and various others sorts of -ites to deal with, and you have an impressive variety of threats and foes, not to mention a wide range of ideas for adventure locations such as giant nephilim ruins, witch-wife towers, ruined cities, and so forth.
This idea has legs, and came to the forefront of my consciousness again last night while reading a book of children's Bible stories to my eldest. We have got as far as Samson, and I was interested to discover (I must at one time have known this, but haven't really thought about the Samson story probably for 30+ years) that Samson was special because he took the 'Nazirite' vow - or at least had it bestowed upon him - and it was this which gave him his strength.
The concept behind the nazirite vow is that the vow-maker declares that he will abstain from all grape-related products such as wine, vinegar, etc.; that he will not cut his hair; and that he will not come into contact with corpses or graves. At the end of a specified period the vow comes to an end (although Samson had nazirite status for his lifetime) with sacrifices and so on. And so blessings are thereby bestowed.
The idea of the PCs in this sort of Old Testament/Apocrypha-inspired campaign being men (or women) who have taken the nazirite vow is something that intrigues me. One would have to incorporate a system of punishment for failing to live up the vow, but the quid pro quo would be that sticking to it is the means through which one gains super-duper paladin-style powers (perhaps the laying on of hands, but perhaps a range of others more aggressive or practically useful). And the nazirite requirements are just about onerous enough to be interesting - one would have to systematise what qualifies as contact with a corpse (would killing somebody be enough?), and it would be useful also to figure out what mechanical drawbacks might be associate with long hair and what ancillary disadvantages there would be in-game arising from not being able to drink wine.
The question then becomes - what about in other settings or genres? What kind of vows might be open to PCs of various classes to perform, and how could the effects of such vows - positive and negative - be systematised?
Iirc Runequest had/has something like this - you accepted a geas (eg never cut your hair) in line with your cult in exchange for a benefit (super-strength)
ReplyDeleteMust properly get to know Runequest one day.
DeleteThis is such a great idea for a campaign. The world of the Tanakh has always interested me, particularly that of Genesis. I always imagined vast distances and few people - mix in some Greek and Roman myth and there's all sorts of interesting things and campaigns that can take place. What about Cain? Was it intended to be understood that there were people outside of Eden besides Adam, Eve, and their children? What kind of cultures can we imagine?
ReplyDeleteYeah, there are so many unanswered questions that lead the mind in very interesting directions!
DeleteThe legendary Oath of Isabella comes to mind.
ReplyDeletehttps://malevus.com/facts-about-medieval-hygiene/
Also of note from that article: "some knights vowed not to eat meat or shave during war, covered one eye with a patch, or deliberately refused to use fire to warm themselves." The game-mechanics consequences of these are left as an exercise ...
Ha! Love it.
DeleteThis is the essential gimmick of a religious vow, geas, and taboo. By abstaining from some worldly thing, the oathmaker gains spiritual/otherworldly power. And by breaking the taboo, the oathmaker loses this power. In folklore, the oath is often set up in a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" framing, so the protagonist is set up for failure with no fault of their own--like Cú Chulainn's conflicting geasa to never eat dog meat and never refuse a meal offered by a woman.
ReplyDeleteThere's also the Gideon variant where an oath is made to make a sacrifice of something the oathmaker thinks will not be so important but in the end, is....
DeleteSince Samson beats a thousand people to death in one go with the jawbone of an ass, I'm going to guess that no, killing someone isn't enough, biblically speaking. But it would work neatly as a way of getting the players to be goody-goodies without any moral verdicts from the DM: they can kill people, but they will be weakened afterwards until they've purified themselves, so they'll always prefer not to.
ReplyDeleteKnowing what D&D players are like, the 'purification' economy would quickly become an important facet of play...
DeleteStrong historical precedents, then! But probably not so much for the time period you have in mind.
DeleteSomeone else cut Samson's hair while he was sleeping, and POOF! His powers were gone. When did his powers return? When his hair grew long again. That's D&D right there.
ReplyDeletehttps://bxblackrazor.blogspot.com/2011/04/v-is-for-vow.html
ReplyDeleteALSO: see the specific use of "Honor" from my Land of Ice:
https://bxblackrazor.blogspot.com/2011/12/land-of-ice-adventure-part-2.html
What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.
DeleteOh, also this:
ReplyDeletehttps://bxblackrazor.blogspot.com/2014/10/heroic-smack-talk.html
I'm running a game right now where there are no PC classes: instead, each time you go up a level, you get the ability to establish a 'bond' with something you've found in the campaign world. PCs can (and have) bonded with gods, nature spirits, ghosts, magic items, abstruse mystical doctrines, and so on.
ReplyDeleteMost bonds usually grant a power conditional on maintaining some kind of responsibility: so the Huntsman grants you heightened senses as long as you make regular offerings at his shrine from the prey you've killed, the Drunkard's Ghost will fortify your body as long as you promise to go back once a week and pour out a drink on his grave, etc, the Holy Amulet lets you repel evil as long as you live a life of strict asceticism, etc. As they level up, each PC thus becomes enmeshed in a lengthening series of ritual vows and duties. And of course, the more they explore, the more potential bond options they open up for new PCs!
Great idea.
DeleteI've been trying to design a vow system myself for a few years. This is a great idea, as it ties together narrative choices and mechanics in a way that is scalable. I have been using short phrases (tbh, inspired from real-world religions) as the "powers" granted by keeping specific major and minor vows, but they are hard to adjudicate narratively. For example, for a vow of non-violence, the phrase might be "Near you it shall not come."
DeleteI like your more specific examples here because you can put a precise number to the benefit, and you can still improve or decline based on how well you are keeping your vow. I still want major vows that are challenging for players to keep, so I'd say offering a sacrifice or visiting a grave would only be a minor vow. Never using magical assistance in combat, that's a major vow!
Wild timing. I was just putting together a campain mashup of the book of Enoch and Elden Rings mythic backstory. Two faced/bodied witch wife goads party into shadowrealm to find ancient weapon to slay her kinslaying cannibal nepihilim husband. Party united by shared nightmares of rain in the antideluvian age. Right after the Egrigori have introduced magic, fire, and metal to men, so the party has lots of justification to get after the overequiped enemies.
ReplyDeleteGreat minds think alike.
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