Church History RPG?

Either because of my recent blogenrollments at Bending the Rule and haligweorc or because he's been googling himself (it's quite OK, Rev. Professor Adam if you do so, I google myself all the time), AKMA has found this blog. This is a good and joyful thing. He asked a very good question in the comments to the Article II post, which I think is worth at least an entry to think about:

"The heady theological discussion is exciting, but don’t lose track of the “game” idea. I’m a very firm believer in the value of games for learning, but have been frustrated by the paucity of resources that neither trivialize nor run the risk of romanticizing heresy.

"An ideal theological-educational game would not issue in “beating other players” but negotiating multi-variable conflicts and circumstances, and drawing on historic resources. . . .

"In your copious free time, you’re encouraged to participate in this exercise in game design. Yes, I know about the Council of Niucaea [sic] game, though I haven't been able to get hold of a copy."

What I think AKMA should consider is an RPG (role playing game). Now I know that some of you out there played Dungeons and Dragons etc. during adolescence. If Jack Chick's view of the world is correct, this would put you in definite risk of hellfire. I am sure I will burn eternally because of the activities of Giolty macHeimhin (a character I once played), despite the fact that he was a generally virtuous fellow who avoided local brothels unlike other members of his party. :) . That said, RPGs do not have to be all swords and unBiblical sorcery. In fact, they have become more sophisticated over time. You will find alternate history RPGs, science fiction RPGs, and even Christian RPGs. Google "Christia" and be afraid, be very afraid. Apparently, a Christian RPG is just like D+D except God and Satan are fighting for control. This reminds me of my "favorite" Christian critique of violent video games, which I can't find but effectively boils down to "the problem with secular video games is the killing is done as if there is no God." It is apparently fine to kill anything that moves funny in the name of God.

That aside, AD+D style RPGs (with the players incarnate with another in actual reality instead of being connected to each other by virtual reality) might be the first step in thinking about a game that fits AKMA's criteria.

Who Would Be the Players or Market for the Game?: I would assume that SWTS students might be a possible testbed for any idea that comes to fruition. But I think we should plan a game that can be made accessible to a youth group on a lock-in as much as to seminary students who are playing it as an occasional course exercise. (I played Diplomacy in high school for European history.) An incarnate RPG can be so flexible because it is based on a series of relationships. Of course, we should be conscious of the time limits in the game.

What Are These Relationships?: The first key relationship is between the leader and the players. In AD+D the leader (DM or Dungeonmaster) is like God. This is somewhat problematic in the game we are considering. But AD+D works because it provides a large range of materials to DMs that provide algorithms or memes that smooth gameplay by incorporating chance and outside ideas into the imagination of the DM. The leader of our game might consider himself or herself an expression of divine will rather than God Himself. It's OK to do those things which you can imagine God doing (however you think God works through history), but the leader always should remember that they stand in for God and are not God. This might be a surprisingly humbling experience. The other important relationship is between the players. The players support one another, share with one another, sacrifice for one another, and really ought to be oriented in the same rough geographical directions. They feed on one another's imaginations, ingenuity, and intellects. It is important for the players to foster among another an air of mutual respect. It's hard to say more without knowing the exact context of the game.

The leader thus mediates the world for the players and often serves as a mediator between the players, so that they do not go off on tangents that are not germane to the scenario, fail to follow the rules, or are too authentic. (It's not appropriate to speak actual Greek during a RPG unless that degree of authenticity is possible or called for in the rules.)

Another set of personalities can be introduced in the game in the form of NPCs or non-playing characters. At a seminary, you can imagine a few hour scenario in which professors and older students play NPCs of important folks whose lives and works they know well. NPCs ideally should respond always as their character would do to the best of their ability. I can imagine an RPG with a bit of walking around with the NPCs acting as extensions of the leader, assigning points, skills, other character variables etc. in line with what is necessary to gameplay.

What About Conflicts?: All RPGs, of course, will involve conflicts. One way of not romanticizing heresy is to make all of the playing characters in a basic mold in which their motivation is to promote and develop the orthodox faith. But they need to accumulate skills, knowledge, and resources to defend the position they consider orthodox and convince those who disagree. Some of those conflicts will involve mediation by NPCs or the leader by using quantitative measures (statistics etc.) connected to algorithms. Other times conflicts might be resolved more subjectively. The NPCs and leaders must be careful to weigh responses to situations both practical and intellectual. You may be allowed to fall into the company of the Arians, but there will be consequences if you do so and are caught at it. Of course, conflict should allow working together. If skillsets are different enough, two visitors to Arius or two letters to Arius are better than one.

Wow, This Sounds Really Big!: Yes, it does. But I know that with the right materials and relatively simple gameplay principles, the chief work is development. AD+D is a big industry of its kind, but it's not too hard once you have some books to work with. It often comes down to who is playing. Since church people would be playing it, it might be interesting to try some sort of open source development of scenarios, gameplay, and pre-made characters.

Making Characters: Depending on the context of the game, this process could vary widely. Ideally, character development could proceed from the beginning with a catechumen quest in which X is baptized in a particular church and chooses his or her future path. Character-making will be problematic for women (women can play men if necessary, but I think women characters are important in Church History. We should understand the limitations of women in the church throughout history but also their strengths.

So what does each character need to start out? (Each character will be carrying a piece of paper with their "stats" around). Let's Make An Example (he would normally be an NPC).

Name: Augustine of Hippo

Nationality: Afro-Roman (this probably should be omitted, but it's equivalent to the Race category in AD+D).

Class: Clergy (I see the Lay Class of Roman officials and a class of consecrated women as possibilities...)

Level: Bishop-8 [See how this would go, though the number of minor orders varied from place to place]

Experience Points: X

Diocese: Hippo [Bonuses could be assigned based on diocese, some have more honor than others...]



Money: X sesterces; Income: X sesterces Expenses: X sesterces [All possibilities, you don't really need to include it]

Strength: X ; Constitution: X Intelligence: X [All of these could be assigned randomly]

[But here's a better idea.]

Why can't the statistics also be based on virtues and vices?: (0-100 scale)

Prudence: 61
Temperance: 38
Courage: 74
Justice: 81
Charity: 60 [0 during the catechumenate]
Hope: 91 [Likewise]
Faith: 87 [Likewise]

Vices: Pride, Envy, Lust etc.

And of course, there would be skills. Latin speakers could pick up Greek or Syriac. Lay folks could have knowledge of various secular matters and clergy could be expert in various books of the Scriptures or philosophy. In fact, it would be possible for clergy or laity to cross-train but there would be realistic limitations on being permitted to use those skills and how effective they would be.

Artifacts: I always say that St. Columba is the earliest known copyright infringer (or at least the defendant in the oldest known court case). The book in question was an edition of the Psalms from Rome. Before the invention of the printing press, works generally circulated in a small number of copies and thus possession of a book or manuscript almost became like possessing a part of the author's spirit. Texts became media of spiritual power. (A surprisingly good look at this idea can be found in Johannes Trithemius's In Praise of Scribes , which contains several instructive examples.) Thus books might be useful artifacts. Relics, of course, might be important.

Is Roleplaying of Any Educational Value?: To treat this question philosophically would require settling whether roleplaying is mimesis or whether mimesis has educational value. But having done historical roleplaying in other contexts, I can tell you that roleplaying can make dry records, apparently irrelevant texts, and dead discussions come to life. Roleplaying the past at its best can draw us out of our context, out of ourselves, and out of the foundational assumptions of modernity and post-modernity. It is the easiest way to think on the past in the past rather than judging the past from the present. The key is to design scenarios that have the right balance between pedagogy and imagination.

Best of all, a Church History RPG done well might be useful for Christians of many different traditions. People not only could explore the ancient church but the origins of their own particular tradition. Today, Christian RPGs are mainly about fighting evil and kicking demonic ass. Wouldn't it be cool to have an RPG about the real substance of faith?

Until next time, the Holy Brothers pray that the Word may be near to you, in your mouth and in your heart that you may preach and do it, even if you get an unfavorable d100 role and are elected Bishop of some small city in Hither Spain .