“Myths and Creeds are heroic struggles to comprehend the truth in the world.”~ Ansel Adams

For the Living. As One.

The Knights Regnum exists as an essential component part of the journey of the hero. Our system of initiation is preparatory to the purpose and path of heroism. To be heroic is to step forward when the “non-heroic” would step back; to struggle infinitely against the pressures of opposition; to wield awesome powers of any kind – even the power of “No” – against extreme odds. Heroism is very real in our world. This is not a pithy request for more money for teachers, or some resolution of acceptance for those who struggle against social norms. This is a statement of declaration for all who are unsure of their own heroism.

Modern Heroism

The crusading christian churchgoer will tell you that the heroic deed of the day is saving the lost. The Mormon elder will tell you that heroism is knocking door to door in the name of Christ. The Teacher will tell you that heroism is educating the future leaders of our world against all odds of economic or social instability. While these deeds might in fact be personally important, or socially important, they are not heroic alone. There are special qualities that a behavior or activity must meet in order to be Heroic.

Sacrifice. Noble Intention. Effective.

Not in a trivial way, but in a deep and lasting way. It is not enough for a person to make a sacrifice that is seemingly a nuisance. It must be a true, valuable, and eternal sacrifice. If the questionable statement “I could be doing… but instead I am…” comes to the table, then it isn’t a sacrifice. A true sacrifice has no other option. It has no other existence except to be sacrificed. Giving up your organ to another so that they may live is a valuable and personal sacrifice. Stepping forward to help a fallen victim of hate or racism, though it cost you all political and personal “face” you have left with your social circle, is a permanent and lasting sacrifice. It is unfortunate that if you botch helping someone, that simply doesn’t qualify as heroic. Heroism is not merely trying, it is doing and making a good effect in the process.

Society Battles Heroism

The whole social construct is intended to create a mass of unity. That unity is normally something I promote, but in the conversation of heroism it is not to be equally weighed. The individual hero is not wanted by the meat of society. Heroes cause disturbance in the institutions at large. Specifically, heroes cause great disturbance in evil institutions, such as institutionalized racism, sexism, hetero-normativism, sectarianism, and religious discrimination… the list goes on. Heroes make powerful marks against these, not because of their ability to say “yes,” but for their ability to stand up and say “NO!”

We have, as a species, given power to the word no over the word yes because it has the ability to stop institutionalized evils. Victim blaming is part of the psychological result of giving power to no. Therefore, part of chivalric heroism is how to say yes in the right direction. One needs not say no to left in order to say yes to right. Simply do not answer left, and answer yes to right. For many of our social ills in our modern world, a yes will redirect the energy without bringing the wrath of social constructs. Society slams each person who says no, even when it is their right to say no.

We have, as a species, given power to the word no over the word yes because it has the ability to stop institutionalized evils. Victim blaming is part of the psychological result of giving power to no.

That being said, society will always battle against individual heroism. If you imagine an entire continent being created of the minds of those who are part of society – each mind a tiny molecule of bubbling energy bouncing gently side to side in the conformity of the social construct of the continent – then you can imagine that a bubble that vibrates too vigorously or is too big to fit in the normal collective will be shunned. This is why we must be heroic every day.

Step forward and say yes to helping someone. Say yes to sacrificing your valuable energy to aiding another person’s cause. If you do not have a big dream, find someone who does and help them with your energy. We are not a species that is born into this world alone. We are social by nature, and if we create a heroic society then we will have never a failing except that noble and glorious failing of who can best work and best agree.

Finding an Outlet

So, you’re an 8-5 office person. You want more of this heroism. You read books of heroic fantasy. You write stories. You still feel like you’re pretending to do heroism. Society isn’t offering you a chance…

So you make one.

Let’s take one simple action, a tiny one that isn’t all that great in the prospect of social norms. Here’s the scene: Favorite breakfast restaurant, mid-morning rush, you and some friends are first in line. You’re next to get seated. The hostess is rushing to get everyone seated.

What do you do? How can you make this an opportunity to be a hero for someone?

Did you look behind you in line? Did you see the aged man of a long list of minorities in line behind you? In this scene, he is an elder black man with his two grand daughters. Did you do your research? Did you know that his wait time will be 70% longer than yours, on average? But if you let the three of them take your spot in line, they won’t have to wait.

Simple. Courteous. You offer them to go first while the hostess is there.

Secret 1: The hostess had a life-long hate of old black men because of her raising in a household that blamed the other minorities for their problems. She just saw you make a sacrifice. Will this cause a change in her heart later in life? Maybe.

Secret 2: The old man you just helped has struggled for nearly seven decades against a society that has told him he doesn’t matter. A society that declares he isn’t equal – equally paid, valued, or served. You just empowered him over becoming another statistic.

Effects: Later this week, two competing groups are seeking a huge table section for lunch. The hostess asks them to wait just a little longer so that she can seat an elderly couple (coincidentally, also black) so they do not have to wait as long. Heroism Success.

The old man you gave up your table to? That was just the nudge he needed to have the strength to vote again, helping elect a new school board member who eventually stimulates the district budget enough that his grand daughters do not have to pay out of pocket to be in band. Heroism Success.

One tiny act can be a huge change in a life. We never see the end of the causation change of our actions because they are so far reaching that we give little thought to a cup of coffee here, a smile there. Every time you put another human being before your personal needs: heroism. Make the sacrifice. Have the intention of exalting them. Create the good effect in their lives.

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Role Play Heroism

The path of the Hero does not only rest in the physical world. In Digital Role Play, or any type of Role Play, we can take on the mantle of heroism. This is where you practice your heroism. Perform it in the real world (remember the three P’s, Plan, Prepare, Practice). It might be difficult sometimes because the role play community, in general, is beginning to adopt a darker Sword & Sorcery styled role play genre, but there is plenty of room for you to be a hero.

Heroes are “Bigger than Life”

Do not practice being a mundane hero. You’re already a mundane hero. Practice being a “bigger than life” hero. When you enter the game world, do not play a character that is simply heroic by virtue of situation. True heroes are thusly made by choice. Do not let the normal institutions of role play tropes ruin your heroic goals. If someone says you are “god-modding” or a “Mary Sue” it is because they have been convinced by the social norm of the role play community that heroism is bad. Remember that every social construct is against heroism, even a role play venue engineered to produce heroism.

Many fantasy themes include some sort of terrible flaw in a hero. This is actually pretty useless to you as a Heroic Role Player. Most of those flaws are written in for literary drama, not for the goal of portraying the myth of the hero. A quick inventory of the greatest heroes of all time reveals that rarely did they have any flaw: Hercules – Super strong. No flaw. Osiris – Ultimate wisdom. No flaw. Yeheshua – Healing, Resurrection, Demonic Exorcism. No flaw. King Arthur – Solomanic Wisdom, unyielding faith. No flaw. Beowulf – Super strong, keen senses, infinite courage. No flaw.

Understand that if you role play having a flaw, you are eventually going to adopt and develop that flaw as a harnessed core functionality of your personality archetype.

Were there heroes with flaws? Surely. Achilles and Samson come to mind. But if you pay attention to the story of these heroes, the flaw was an allegorical concept intended to teach a lesson. Samson revealed a secret to someone who was unworthy of the knowledge. It cost him his power. Secrets have power when they are not spread around. This teaches us the power of the logos, or The Word. This is not a portrayal of expected flaw in a character.

So where does this concept of a particular weakness or flaw come from? Conflict. Heroes need conflict in order to be heroic and achieve a greater height than the story began. In classical literature, this conflict was almost always exterior. The romantic styled literature placed the conflict internally, as a flaw. When you play a hero, you must understand that your location of conflict should be defined before you start playing.

If you want internal conflict, have a great flaw. If you want the conflict to be the monsters, demons, and enemies of your character then let that be the source of conflict. This is your practice arena for real life. Understand that if you role play having a flaw, you are eventually going to adopt and develop that flaw as a harnessed core functionality of your personality archetype.

Community vs. Heroism

The role play community, as said, does not encourage true heroism. It encourages literary drama, because that is what they have sustained themselves on for the last two decades. Literary heroism has all but died. There is a fine difference between drama and heroism – not that heroes aren’t sometimes overly dramatic.

Here’s the continuum of role play genres from lowest level of heroism to highest level of heroism. (Note the use of the ‘less than’ < sign to indicate which side has “less” heroism “than” the other.)

 Simulation (SIMS)< Sword and Sorcery< Dark Fantasy< Epic Fantasy< Heroic Fantasy< High Fantasy

[LOW LEVELS < HIGH LEVELS]

When you set out to play a heroic character, choose a genre that will allow you to play this because it is a heroic or high fantasy setting. World of Warcraft, Rift, and Guild Wars 2 are all high fantasy settings. Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and GURPS all promote various levels of fantasy settings. White Wolf systems (except EXALTED) typically do not promote heroism. They are more for gritty, sword and sorcery styled Role Play. Nero, the Live Action Role Play system, is very high fantasy.

Role Play Heroism Example: World of Warcraft

To make an effective WoW character that fits the Heroic requirements for practicing heroic virtues, the first thing you have to do is remove any expectation of social reward from the community. WoW, like many gaming communities, promotes mercenary, dark, gritty, and heavily flawed characters. That is not the intention behind the gaming setting, but that is definitely what has been produced by the role players who drive their inspiration from terribly anti-heroic TV Dramas like Game of Thrones, Trueblood, and Grimm. The Warcraft universe is specifically declared as a high fantasy setting.

1. Get an Add-on. (MyRolePlay, TotalRolePlay, XRP, etc.) When you fill it out, in some about or ooc section, put your genre of role play. Players who respect other members of the community will read your expected level of role play and give much more respect when differences pop up.
2. Be Consistent. You don’t have to be the best, but don’t be the worse. If you are consistently portraying your heroic character, you will adopt the traits much more rapidly and grow the character’s personality and abilities to match the true hero inside you.
3. Don’t Feed the Trolls. People are going to harass you. These are the self-defense mechanisms of society to dissuade you from encroaching as a hero. It happens in the real world, it will happen in the role play world. Invite them to read this blog, or any other blog that includes the aspect of role playing to practice heroism and the various High Fantasy Genres.
4. REMEMBER: You are playing to the Genre of the Game. You have developers, story writers, and mountains of lore to support your being a hero.
5. Have a Backstory. I save this for last because the most important part of role playing is the playing. Simply writing a backstory forever isn’t the purpose of role PLAY. If you’re doing this to practice heroism, you aren’t doing it to sit around and stare at each other telling your back stories over and over. Make it short. Make it special if you like. You’ll have far more interesting things to add as you play your story. Your living story will grow to be much greater than your backstory.

Here are some things to consider as a Role Player:

• Does your level reflect your character’s skill? If not, consider giving that a shot. You are respecting the developers and designers when you do this. This will give you an edge against the trolls later, even though they will tell you that “no human could have god like powers like a level 100.” Your only answer, if not silence, should be “On Earth, that is accurate. This is Warcraft. This is High Fantasy. Orcs rode dragons into battle. Let’s just play.”
• Are you treating death as permanent? You shouldn’t. In the game lore, it is rarely permanent. Pick up a copy of World of Warcraft Chronicles: Volume I and read about the Val’kyr. They’ve been returning heroes to life for centuries. Treating death as impermanent will also help you connect with your own immortal soul. Meditate on it. Try it out.
• Where does your character get his or her powers? Are they innate? Are they gifted by a superior power? Magic items? You decide. Be consistent.
• Are you 100% In Character, or are there times that you’re just “playing the game”? I STRONGLY ADVISE YOU TO BE 100% IN CHARACTER. I could spend time explaining the psychological schisms of delineating when you’re “IC” and when you’re “OOC” (Heroic… non-heroic), but it would just be easier for you to always be In Character. You aren’t going to do a quest that shatters your character concept. And if you do, then you aren’t playing a hero.

Build a Community of Heroic People

If you truly want to make a difference in society, you must build your own society or join one that promotes heroism. This will encourage and create more room for heroism in the world without society bashing it down. Do not give up on this! There is no end to the need for heroic people in this life. The Myth of the Hero has lasted since the first stories of humanity because it is an essential part of our psychological journey of development.

The Knights Regnum is a community of Heroic People. We’re here for you, even if your character doesn’t fit the bill for membership. You can still be a hero that we look for on the battlefield or any other endeavor.

Be the Heroic Legend you were made to be.