- Conan the Barbarian (Robert E. Howard)
Sword and Sorcery Fiction is (according to Wikipedia) defined as...
"Sword and sorcery (S&S), or heroic fantasy, is a sub-genre of fantasy and historical fantasy, generally characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent conflicts. An element of romance is often present, as is an element of magic and the supernatural. Unlike works of high fantasy, the tales, though dramatic, focus mainly on personal battles rather than world-endangering matters."
As a young fantasy fan, I cut my teeth on the works on Robert E. Howard. When I was about thirteen years old I owned a complete collection of the Ace Publishing Conan Novels. Being so proud of that collection I kept the books in pristine condition, not allowing anyone else to touch them for fear they would in some way damage these sacred relics. As a boy prone to daydreaming, I would spend a great deal of time, when I wasn't rereading the stories, simply gazing upon the amazing work of Frank Frazetta, whose art graced the cover of all twelve books.
That art took me to ancient Hyboria, and still does.
Even though I have read the works of other authors, the writings of Robert E. Howard is still, for me, the defining benchmark of Sword and Sorcery Fiction. In order for us to define anything, we have to look at it in terms of its individual characteristics. The list that follows, are a list of characteristics that are, in my opinion, necessary for S&S to be S&S. These qualities are an aesthetic, a sensibility that separates S&S from other subgenres of Fantasy Fiction. This isn't an exhaustive list of qualities I see as defining characteristics of S&S, but it is a list of the characteristics that I have found most useful in guiding me while I craft the Wyrmshadows RPG setting, the nations, peoples and overall aesthetic of the world and those who dwell therein. The Wyrmshadows RPG Setting isn't only a S&S setting, but it is strongly influenced by the overall S&S sensibility.
1.) S&S stories are personal and the motivations of S&S heroes are personal.
S&S heroes have motivations that are personal. Their goals may be no more or less noble (or wicked) than those of high fantasy heroes, but S&S heroes do not "do good for goodness sake." A Paladin in a high fantasy tale can, according to genre tropes, seek to end the tyrannical rule of the evil warlord for the sake of "goodness" or "justice" with no personal stake in the matter whatsoever other than pure motivation of "doing the right thing." A paladin in a S&S based tale may have the exact same goal, to end the rule of the tyrannical warlord, but he will be motivated to do so for more tangible reasons such as personal outrage, revenge, the commandments of his church, due to events in his past that make the crimes committed by the warlord feel like a personal affront, deep empathy/sympathy for the warlord's victims, the opportunity for glory, the enjoyment of battle, to honor his god, etc. or any number of personal reasons. The paladin may even think in terms of ending the rule of the warlord because it is "the right thing to do" but like a real, living, breathing individual, the paladin will have a deeper undercurrent of motivations for risking his life.
In the same manner as above, so it is with S&S villains. Villains in S&S stories don't conquer nations
an slaughter their enemies for the sake of "evil" or "darkness" as one finds in less sophisticated high fantasy tales. Instead a S&S villain will do whatever he does for any number of personal reasons, reasons that may run the gamut from personal psychopathic pleasure to the delusional belief that he is doing the right thing. Just as in our own world, sometimes S&S villains believe that the horrors they inflict must be done, for the greater good.
2.) A setting strongly influenced by S&S is less idyllic and more morally "grey" than those settings dominated by high fantasy sensibilities.High fantasy characters can tend toward angst. They are often afflicted by the consequences of what they do in a manner more akin to modern sensibilities than are S&S heroes. High fantasy presumes a more idyllic milieu both in regards to the reality of the fictional world being presented and the heroes' perception of that world. High fantasy settings tend to reflect a medieval or ancient world as we wish it would have been as opposed to how it had been. To a far lesser extent, S&S settings do the same thing. S&S settings do, at times, present an idealized reality to readers/gamers, but in an S&S setting their is always the potential of a corrupt or shady underbelly in even the most seemingly idyllic setting.
The dark underbelly needn't be a conspicuous corruption at the heart of Camelot, so to speak, but instead the often unpleasant complexities that underlie the smoothly running world presented on the surface. It's been said that, "everyone like sausage, but no one wants to see it prepared," and this is often how things are in a S&S setting. A kingdom in a S&S setting may have very little crime and a high standard of living while at the same time the laws that make the kingdom relatively crime-free may involve the abridgment of citizens' civil liberties and very harsh punishments for those involved in criminal behavior.
A game setting with S&S roots like the Wyrmshadows RPG Setting attempts to take into account the realities of a complex, albeit fictional world while at the same time not descending into dystopian nightmare of cynicism and ultimate futility.
S&S heroes are born into an overtly complex reality and see it as it is. Each individual is affected differently by his or her environment. Those of a more sensitive nature may never be at ease with the sometimes unpleasant complexities of either their world or what they must sometimes do in order to survive. Others, those of a more pragmatic nature, will be at peace with the way the world works and their place in it. The Wyrmshadows RPG Setting has room for both. Both the introspective Drizzt Do'Urden of Forgotten Realms fame and the legendary Conan the Barbarian, with his equally legendary lack of introspection, have a place on the world of Illythria. However, owning the S&S roots of the setting means accepting the reality that there are, just like in the real world, more Conans out there then there are Drizzts. Illythria is a world of many introspective, poets, philosophers and theologians but their numbers are profoundly eclipsed by the numbers of those of a more self-orientated, pragmatic, and even amoral nature.
High fantasy characters, as opposed to their S&S counterparts, can tend toward emotional or existential angst. They are often afflicted by the consequences of what they do (particularly in regards to violence) in a manner more akin to modern sensibilities than are traditional S&S heroes. S&S heroes, such as Conan for example, are products of their time and environment and because of this have very different sensibilities. To have a Cimmerian barbarian see bloodshed in the manner similar to that of this author would be a preposterous anachronism. Those for whom warfare is a constant cultural reality and for whom death by violence is an accepted, if unwelcome, possibility would likely be rather ambivalent in regards to having to commit violent acts in order to survive. Such an individual may not relish violence, however, it is very unlikely that such an individual would need to deal with much in regards to existential angst because of it. There are regions of Arvanor, such a highly civilized and diverse Arnach, where modern sensibilities in regards to the subject of violence may be somewhat understandable, if still quite rare. In other regions, like the rugged and savage Aranlands, such an aversion to violence would be as alien as pacifism and would be utterly and fatally impractical.
(....To be continued next post)
