You Want Me to Bring the Hammer Down!?

I took the Myers-Briggs Personality Inventory several times in my career. When answering the questions in this two-hour long test honestly, the results are spot-on. The test accurately identifies my personality strengths! Unfortunately, neither the test not the professionals that used the test as a tool to help me plan my future provided me with enough insight into planning a straight and narrow career path. Surely, there is a better way. That way, I believe, is intrinsic to everyone. Meaning: innately, you have a gut feeling – a deep understanding – of what you should be and do in life. It is really a matter of finding the right resources and personal support that will help you reach your true potential. But how does this relate to character archetypes in fantasy role-playing?

Picture this:

And there she stood, unmoving, upon the war ground, with her comrades-in-arms. And they waged a war against the dragon, and the dragon-kind – his minions about him. Loud was her war-cry! Abriel, the Angelic Avenger, armed and ready to cast down her nemesis.

The dragon’s minions took a step back, unsure of their enemy before them. Their hearts failed them, and their resolve was no longer filled with the mental strength of their leader. With questionable intent, the minions moved another step back. And Abriel, and her companions, charged forward! 

The ground the dragon and his minions stood on trembled as a great force came upon them. One-by-one, the minions fell. The dragon, and his legions, fell at the divine power of Abriel, the Angelic Avenger!

Now read this:

And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war, and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

Now know this:

The cleric, in his or her mightiest form can become an Angelic Avenger, Divine Oracle, Radiant Servant, or Warpriest! Sometimes you know what you want to be and do when you grow up because you were inspired by something awesome!   

Moving on:

How can you mend a broken heart?

How can you stop the rain from falling down?

How can you stop the sun from shining?

What makes the world go round?

<How Can You Mend a Broken Heart, Bee Gees, 1971>

I was reminded of the song that brought the Bee Gees into our consciousness. It was the trio’s first number one hit in America. But this article is not about the Bee Gees; it is about the power to heal! I continue my exploration of fantasy role-play archetypes. The spiritual and the divine have a unique place in tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs). Although you can separate church from state; you cannot separate church from TTRPG. Just to be clear – this is not a discussion on how religions impact role-playing games. This article discusses the impact of the heroic, religious soldier archetype. Think – Knights Templar!

Originally, the group of valiant men that fought for the Catholic church were known as the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the temple of Solomon. Later, this title was shortened to the Knights Templar, but it did not lesson their impact on their mission or their impact on religious history. I use the backstory of the Knights Templar to give a frame of reference to what the cleric character is within the role-play genre. And in this article, I will only discuss the cleric as a spiritual warrior for good, with the purpose of eradicating evil as it is known in TTRPGs.

As with the Bard, the Cleric is proficient with combat and with spiritual magic. This is not the magic of the Bard, whose power is focused on the spoken word or the musical instrument. The cleric inherits power from a deity, and this power is used to protect, heal, and provide counsel. This character archetype has great influence over others because of these divine gifts. In this day and age, especially with the impact of COVID 19, each of us seek to find meaning in grief, support in pivoting across uncertain paths, and counsel to abstract meaning from the chaos. How much more should such a character have impact on a group of friends enduring a campaign to destroy wickedness and evil in a role-play situation. This is not a job for superman; this is a job for the cleric!

Historically, in role-play lore, the cleric was limited to the use of blunt weapons. This meant: no spears, arrows, or swords. Over time, this limitation has changed. Still, I am a person that likes tradition – so the mace or the hammer was always the weapon of choice. With that as it is, the true nature of the cleric archetype is in his or her wisdom. Difficult decisions often require both knowledge and wisdom. The cleric archetype is this person.

Earlier I mentioned the Knights Templar to bring the ideal of the cleric archetype to life. But that is just one side of the coin. Both horror and fantasy role-play genres include a unique monster type – the undead. Ghosts, skeletons, vampires, werewolves, and other such creatures roam the halls of castles, cemeteries, and underground caverns. In addition to healing, the other value the cleric adds to a campaign is (“turning”) eradicating these types of vile creatures. We are lucky to have some valiant warriors among us!  

 Teachers need resources in the classroom that can be used and re-purposed to inspire their learners, while engaging them with content-driven activities that help them learn to read, write, think, plan, and do! Using the TTRGP environment is a powerful tool to accomplish this! The role-play environment is rich with story, characters, and potential. It just takes a little imagination and ingenuity to make it work.   

Illustrations from : https://pixabay.com/images/