World Building 101: Where Do The Myths Come From?

So, if you'll recall, way back here in October 2013, I brought up the topic of some of the masterful essays and lectures (and books, and videos, and oh-so-many things) presented by Joseph Campbell. You'll find, if you're familiar with them at all, that a good deal of the idea of the Myth As Metaphor concepts so central to Campbell's work have been integrated into the weft and weave of Loris' religious and mythological structure. But I have yet to address something that is central to concepts such as religion and culture, especially here on the real world we live on:

Where do the myths come from?

It's not a stretch to state that the central purpose of parables, myths, legends, and the like is to provide an object lesson with which to direct the lives and thoughts of the target of the tale. The story of the Good Samaritan so central to Christian myth, for example, is given as an object lesson to provide not only perspective on what it means to love your neighbor, but also as a method of invoking a particular moral code – Help those who need your help, whether they are someone you are friends with or not. It is an object lesson in ethics and morality, designed to provide a guideline by which the listener is supposed to proceed with throughout life. The same is true of nearly every other myth, legend, and parable throughout time, regardless of the source.  Thorn in a lion's paw, removed by a mouse? Resisting the temptations of Boredom, Craving, and Passion while seated beneath the Bodhi tree? All of these are object lessons. These are directed, purposefully crafted tales, designed to inspire, to guide, and – sadly, but in some cases absolutely true – control.

So what do you do with this sort of thing in a game? Especially in a game where you have Gods, Demons, and other Powers that actually work? Remember back here in this post where I talked about what sorts of adjustments you must make to your assumptions about how the world works when you have Gods that actually work? When you have a Pantheon of deities sitting up in their cosmic recliners sipping whatever passes for cocktails on that level of existence, you have to – both as a GM and a player – come up with new conceits about how the world of the game works, and then remember to continue to accept them as you play the game. You have Gods that actually work. Okay.

So what now?

Where do your myths and legends come from? In a world where things like Dragons actually exist, where do the stories that inspire and guide and give over to the faithful their daily dose of morality come from?

Some games choose to deal with this by saying that it is the player characters themselves that are building the legends and stories by which the rest of the game world will become inspired. Which, I suppose, is all fine and well, unless your PC's are of the (surprisingly typical) "Murder Hobo" variety, in which case your PC's are building myths and legends about going out into the wilderness and committing genocide on creatures of suitably acceptable Alignment Codes... which is really no way to build up a mythological system. I mean, even if Dirk The Dashing did go out there and wipe out the entirety of the Black Hill Orc Nation just to get one princess back so she might be woken by True Love's Kiss, it's still a story of Dirk going out there and beating up on Orcs that's made acceptable because Orcs are Evil, right?

Sure, it makes for a great heroic ballad, but it's not really a myth or a parable or a legend, now is it? (Well, maybe it will be a legend in a few centuries, but for now, Dirk's still washing all that Orc blood off of his Longsword +5 Against Bad Guys)

 You see, when you are building a world, you must populate it with cultures. A world is only as interesting as the fabric and pattern of its quilt, and that quilt is made up of cultures, countries, geography, politics, and most importantly: people. And as it is people that all of those other things flow from (even religion), it is the people that you should be spending the most time developing. And frankly? People are story tellers. Stories told often enough become tales. Tales become legends and myths. Legends and myths turn into truths and parables and life lessons. Thus, it is from the events that become the foundation for stories that the most important part of any religion or belief system – the Daily Code that is made up of these object lessons, these myths and parables – are crafted. Daedalus' son Icarus is lost because Icarus is not mindful of the lessons and warnings his father has given him, for instance, along with hundreds of other "Listen to your parents, they've been around the block and know a thing or two. REALLY." stories. The tales don't even have to be ancient; there are modern parables running around that serve exactly the same purpose as the older sort. For instance: the wolf you feed is the one that wins.

It is important when you are setting up your cultures and religions and philosophies in your game world to make sure that they're believable. Building up the fleshy, chewy bits of them by way of these sorts of tales is a good way to add to the believability of the whole tapestry of your game world. But again, where do they come from?

To be perfectly honest, this is another part of the reason that I have no creation myth for Loris. It's why I have a murky, inaccurate-at-best history weaving the world together: the clouds of the past enable the tales to be told. It's the tapestry of the nebulous and foggy past that enables the tales to be told. Cause begets Effect. For instance:

The Eternal Kings took the power they drank in from the death of the Gods Of Light And Darkness and threw the world into a state of tyranny and fear: Beware rulers who hold absolute power.

Three Gods: Jiordal, The King Of Books, and Kolas went seeking the sacred secrets of the world and returned insane and bloodthirsty: Don't allow yourself to be consumed by your passion.

As well, these tales can fill in the blanks for why certain things are done the way they are now. For example, one of my personal favorites:

Long ago, in the Dark Century between The Age Of Kings and the founding of Angarn, Shakur, The Restbringer, through some manner unknown to this very day, somehow fathered a son. His priesthood was woken at the dawn of the day of the child's birth to the sound of their God's voice: "I have a son." The boy was taken off to The Throne, Shakur's seat of judgement, from which he sent the souls of the departed off down the Forty Rivers Of Memory And Fate, where they would receive their just reward. There, in Shakur's realm, the boy and his mother were cared for and kept safe, until the boy reached the age of Manhood. "Father," he said. "I am now a Man, and I am ready to take up your Throne."

Shakur was a kind, and loving father. Though he did have fears, he also knew that his son had always shown wisdom and maturity beyond his years. And so he gave up the Throne, but only for one day. And in that day, the boy saw the entirety of Justice and Death in all of its gravity. He was driven mad by this, and souls were sent to punishments when rewards were due them, and in the same fashion, too, were the spirits of evil men given sumptuous gardens to spend their time until they were reborn. In the end, The Restbringer brought Final Rest to his own flesh and blood, and wept a trail of ash upon his cheeks. And so in his grief, Shakur shaved clean his head, and bound his eyes with a black cloth, so that he might not see the face of his son in the faces of all the mortal souls who came upon him for Judgement. This is why the Restbringers shave their heads and paint a black band across their eyes, and why they now may not marry and must remain celibate and chaste. And this is why you must never give responsibility to those who are not ready for it, for too often, it leads to disaster.

When it comes right down to it, these sorts of things are important to your game because they provide your Player Characters with cultural meat and potatoes. Coming up with these extra bits and pieces of your game's "hidden history," as it were, may seem like a lot of extra work, but it is completely worth it, and your players will only thank you for it. I know mine have.