In part one of this series I described what domain level play is and how it started in the fantasy RPG hobby. In this post I will attempt to explain the context in which Gary Gygax and his compatriots assumed domain level play to exist. Once this context is understood it is my hope you will have a fuller understanding of this dimension of play and more ideas on how to try it yourself. The two concepts important to domain level play’s original context are a growing human society and the Border Lands.
Burgeoning Human Society
Interviews with those who were an early part of Gary Gygax’ game company, TSR, back up what is found in the Appendix N literature; human society is established in the fantasy world but in its early stages of growth. Elf and dwarf societies are well past their prime and fading away. The world is transitioning to the Age of Man. Elves and dwarfs have long life spans but their birth rates have been low for a long time and they aren’t adapting to the current state of the world. They cling to old ways and don’t seek commerce or communication with other groups. Humans are active and vital. Their birth rates are high, their territories always expanding and they look for new ways to conquer every problem they face. Adventurers establishing their own domains was a part of human society’s expansion.
Many readers will see this parallel in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings where human society was rising and the elves were leaving the continent (never to return). Tolkien’s dwarfs appeared to be few in number, held tightly to old ways and their domains were not expanding. Other Appendix N books and Western literature takes the same theme. Poul Anderson’s Three Hearts and Three Lions was about chaotic fey’s attempts to halt the expansion of human domains. Norse mythology and later legends from that part of Europe have human kings wresting land and valuable items away from dwarfs, giants, etc. A casual dip into fairy tales shows young humans winning castles and lands from giants, ogres and other magical creatures.
It is important to point out here that Gygax and his band held the traditional Western view that human society was a good thing and its growth positive. It was assumed that human society expanding its borders and conquering the wilderness was leading to a peaceful and prosperous age. Some people have said Gygax was unconsciously influenced by a traditional American ethos where expanding westward was a part of the nation’s destiny. That may be true but it doesn’t change the fact that this has been a part of Western thinking for a long, long time (and is not so foreign to Asian thinking, either). Wizards of the Coast’s current Fifth Edition of Dungeons & Dragons hews to a more modern outlook. Druids and rangers want to protect natural places and old world magic from the expansion of a human society that is seen as corrupt, polluting and soulless. How we structure our fantasy worlds is up to us but it never hurts to know the mindset on which D&D was built.
The Border Lands
The idea of the Border Lands loomed large in Gygax’ mind when he was creating the first editions of the game. He saw the fantasy world’s map being divided into three categories: civilized lands, wilderness and the border lands in-between. Civilization was seen as dull. Adventure was found in the Border Lands and the wilderness beyond (city adventures and exploring the sewer systems beneath cities became popular with later RPG fans). The Appendix N stories agreed with Western legends and fairy tales: adventure was found far from home in wild places.
The Border Lands were dangerous, sparsely populated and distant from true civilization. Dungeons & Dragons is often noted for giving precious little details on medieval society’s structure but that’s because the creators of the game assumed adventuring would happen either in the wilderness or the Border Lands where society’s rules were barely acknowledged. The nobility were at risk so close to wild lands and could raise little in the way of taxes. They spent their time in the civilized parts of the map. The wilderness offered rare treasures lost for generations for the players to discover and the Border Lands was where human civilization needed help most. The Border Lands existed because the birth rate was high and commoners were looking for more land for farming and herding. Adventurous souls left the safety of the civilized lands to escape high taxes and get more land. Protecting those adventurous commoners was seen as a noble goal.
Gygax imagined player characters being a part of human society’s push into the border lands. The strongholds they established would attract commoners seeking protection from monsters, raiding orcs and raiders from foreign kingdoms. Player character strongholds would either strengthen the Border Lands or expand them further into the wilderness. I haven’t read a lot of early D&D adventure modules but I did read B1 In Search of the Unknown and B2 The Keep on the Borderlands. Both of these adventures specifically name the Border Lands and set up the players’ role in helping them.
Page 24 of Original D&D book III The Underworld & Wilderness Adventures (Premium Edition) has this:
Player/Characters must pay Gold Pieces equal to 1% of their experience points for support and upkeep, until such time as they build a stronghold. If the stronghold is in a wilderness area, all support and upkeep costs then cease, but if it is in a village or town not controlled by the player/character, then support and upkeep payments must continue.
Another advantage accruing to those who build their strongholds in the wilderness is that they will gain control over the surrounding countryside. Clearing the countryside of monsters is the first requirement.
We see in this excerpt that players get an advantage establishing domains outside of civilization’s reach. Clearing out monsters, which makes the area safe for commoners, is a requirement to start the new domain.
Some Objections
The Blog of Holding has a post titled D&D is Anti-Medieval where the author criticizes early editions of D&D for having elements of medieval Europe but not having a true medieval society. The author uses the rules for establishing domains to make the point that Gygax was influenced by early American history rather than medieval Europe. He points out that the nobility is almost nonexistent in D&D. The author also points out that D&D’s use of cash to represent wealth instead of land and livestock make it more modern and not at all medieval.
These objections are insightful and well supported. Despite my respect for the author and my enjoyment of his blog, I disagree with his assessment of early editions of D&D. While it’s true medieval Europe’s society was quite different from what we see in the D&D books D&D wasn’t trying to give us a medieval Europe roleplaying game. Gygax and his compatriots were taking the fiction of the Appendix N list and making a game of that. Those stories described people leaving the comforts of society and struggling against opposition in the Border Lands and the wilds. The nobility stayed behind in the civilized lands and their reach extended no further.
As for characters buying their way into the ranks of the nobility when they establish a domain, the later part of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance had a firm wall between nobles and commoners. However, the early days of the Middle Ages allowed men who distinguished themselves in combat to gain noble titles and lands. In those early times anyone who could raise and army and conquer territory were effectively part of the nobility already.
The main thing to keep in mind is D&D was a game. As a game, it was supposed to be understandable to players and fun to play. Rising from penniless wanderer to established king was dramatic, fun and satisfying to players. Using cash instead of land deeds and counting heads of cattle made things easier for players to understand and simpler in play. Gygax created a way for people to play out the fantasy literature that people were reading at that time. His result is still popular today.
Part 3 of this series looks at the nuts and bolts of trying domain level play yourself.
0 Comments