A Myth in Action

Playing any adventure game with a reasonable amount of freedom is about choosing to be a hero. Or a villain. Or a morally ambiguous character.

Morrowind and Fallout as well as Dungeons & Dragons and other table-top RPG’s are examples of forums where this moral choice is available.

The same holds true for Warcraft. Whether you like it or not, whether you play on a RP server or not, you will make choices about the moral quality of your character.

Everyone is free to be a total bastard if they want to. However I think many aspire to be a hero! But does being a hero actually involve?

A hero might have fantastic equipment. In Arthurian mythology the sword Excalibur was an exemplary weapon, as was Narsil in Lord of the Rings. The shield of Achilles and the spear of Odin are among many, many other significant and magical artefacts wielded by mythic heroes.

A hero may belong to an elite group such as the Spartans, the Knights of the Round Table or the Myrmidons. They may brave dangerous ruins or explore strange forbidding islands, as did the Argonauts.

But still the quality of heroism would be elusive without the heart and soul of the hero, his or her conduct and contribution to the world, ‘the power to bestow boons on his fellow man’ (Campbell 1949).

A true hero is a ‘living-light fountain, which it is good and pleasant to be near… in whose radiance all souls feel that it is well with them’ (Carlyle 1841).

If you choose to be a hero then choose to be pleasant to be around, helpful, fair and righteous. Lifting up others on your journey and showing the camaraderie of the classical heroes. Demonstrated from Spartan courage to Arthurian chivalry; it's not just what you do but the way that you do it!

Epics come and go, but what abides is your conduct. A good reputation, once broken, is not easily fixed by a trip to the blacksmiths.

‘We hunger for heroes as role models, as standards of action, as ethics in flesh and bones like our own. A hero is a myth in action’ (May 1991).

Bibliography

Campbell, J. (1949) The Hero with a Thousand Faces
Carlyle, T. (1841) On Heroes and Hero-Worship
May, R. (1991) The Cry for Myth.