The Library Ghost

    I've been pondering the nature of holy symbols in Dungeons & Dragons and similar fantasy tabletop RPGs.  They're instantly recognizable, with strong lines and bright colors, and can be hugely fun to sprinkle throughout a dungeon as clues or emblazon on a character's shield to show their allegiance.  Yet, there seems to be a distinct lack of real-world analogs for D&D-style holy symbols.  How did that happen?      Although D&D was created by a deeply Christian man, E. Gary Gygax seems to have neglected the real-world use of holy symbols in his own religion, much less outside of Christianity.  Let's look at how the cross is used as a Christian symbol.     The cross or crucifix is, essentially, the ancient Roman equivalent of the gallows.  As the instrument of Jesus' suffering* and death*, it is the quintessential Christian symbol.  It can appear with or without Jesus (or other hanged martyrs), and w...

    Since everyone and his uncle has an opinion on Dungeons and Dragons , I thought, "Why not me?"  ( This may or may not be a new series; we'll see how much energy it takes.)  Today, we'll be looking at hit dice.     Hit dice are something that have bothered me since I started looking at 3.5's simulationist tendencies.  Hit points , since first edition, have been a combination of toughness, luck, skill, and divine intervention; hit points, as they say, represent hit points.  But hit dice have always scaled with creature size—yet never in a consistent way.     What if (racial/monster) hit dice really were an abstraction of physical mass?  If a human is a 1d8 creature, let's say 1d8 is equivalent to about 200 lbs (sorry, metric friends).  That would make 1d4 equivalent to 100 lbs, 1d2 equivalent to 50 lbs, and 1d1 equivalent to 25 lbs.  More massive creatures get additional d8s added—2d8, 3d8,...

     For those wishing to know more about early D&D, its sources of inspiration, and the game's development over the years.  These are mostly online resources, some of which are accessible only via the Wayback Machine. Artwork and artists      Ahmed, Saladin. "Saladin's Sundrarium: Five Iconic 1st Edition AD&D Illustrations Proving David A. Trampier Is One of the Best Fantasy Artists of All Time." Tor.com . September 28, 2011. < https://www.tor.com/2011/09/28/saladins-sundrarium-five-iconic-1st-edition-adad-illustrations-proving-david-a-trampier-is-one-of-the-best-fantasy-artists-of-all-time/ >      Appelcline, Shannon. Designers & Dragons: The '70s . USA: Evil Hat Productions, 2014.      Bloch, Joseph. "Jeff Dee is Doing Something AWESOME." Greyhawk Grognard . November 9, 2011. < http://www.greyhawkgrognard.com/2011/11/09/jeff-dee-is-doing-something-awesome/ >      Maliszewski, Jame...