Archetypes Inspired: The Swordsman

There were quite a few drastic changes as The Hero's Journey went from first to second edition. One of the most visible transformations occurred among the Archetypes (called Classes in 1st ed). The game went from 13 of them down to 8 in second edition. Those that are present were given a ground-up re-examination, and in some cases reconstruction. Most often though, folks wonder why certain archetypes made the jump into second edition and why some did not. So, I wanted to take a second to talk about my thoughts behind that and investigate each archetype individually to show what its meant to do within the rules, what its meant to evoke thematically, and how it fits within the traditions of the source material that inspired The Hero's Journey. To that end, let's take a look at the Swordsman.

Why call it "Swordsman"?

In early drafts of THJ 2e this Archetype was called the Swashbuckler, but as the game's themes continued to evolve and come more sharply into focus I found the term Swashbuckler was a bit off. When we think "Swashbuckler" characters like Athos, Porthos, and Aramis come to mind. That's an archetype more in line with the likes of Jack Sparrow or Zorro. It evokes images of a character from the late renaissance and not someone from the pseudo-medieval period implied by The Hero's Journey. The more neutral term of "Swordsman" was settled upon.

Why include it in the game?

The true genesis of the Swordsman was born out of my love of the film Willow. I saw the film in the theater in the summer of 1988. I might've been nine years old and my mother did me the great kindness (given that she had zero interest in fantasy or sci-fi) of taking me to see it while my brother and sister went and saw something else. Willow may have been the start of my love of halflings, because prior to this I had no understanding or context of them and had not yet read The Hobbit or Lord of the Rings. But, I digress. 

We all know the coolest person on screen through that whole movie was Madmartigan. He was Han Solo if Han Solo had a sword. How cool is that? To a nine-year-old boy, it doesn't get any cooler. Over the years, Madmartigan remained too cool for school and re-watch after re-watch over the past 30 years haven't diminished that in the least. More over, he has a genuine arc in that film as he goes from a selfish, jail-bird mercenary to a genuine crusader. His sword means something by the time the film ends. He goes on, if you'll forgive the joke, a real hero's journey.

Countless other stories so many of us love feature a gifted sword-wielding hero going off on a journey. So there was precedent for its inclusion in the game and it's my game and I wanna play someone as cool as Madmartigan.

What do they contribute to the group?

While it's true they're skilled with a blade (it's in the name), they're limited in their combat abilities. Without a sword, they're little more than a glorified beat stick. But, what they do offer is style and agility. Every swordsman I've ever seen in stories has a kind of gravitas about them and there is an implication in both the archetype's description and art that they get by on a fair bit of charm. There's no mechanical reflection of this in the archetype because I wanted the game to be driven by roleplaying over rules. 

What they do bring to the table mechanically speaking, other than their combat prowess, is mobility. Acrobatics allows them to potentially do things that range from leaping distances both far and high, walking tightropes, dodging through narrow places, ducking swinging traps, and performing all kinds of feats of agility. While a lot of this comes from Madmartigan (launched yourself from a catapult, hitting a wall, and seeming to take no damage is a clear use of Acrobatics), a fair amount of it comes from Luke Skywalker - my chief childhood hero. That might seem surprising, but go back and watch Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Luke flips more than a trick coin - and almost always with his trusty lightsaber close at hand. He's a Swordsman too, from a certain point of view. (See what I did there?)

Customizing the Swordsman

In The Hero's Companion I introduced the concept of Variant Archetypes. Each of them is tweaked and modified to express a new, but similar, concept without introducing a whole new archetype. The Swordsman Variant is a Pugilist in this book - which could suit anything from a bar room brawler to the grappling Friar Tuck of Robin Hood fame. In a future supplement, you'll be introduced to the Jongleur - a variant that focuses even more on feats of physical prowess and has an uncanny ability with thrown weapons. 

Narrators are encouraged to modify the Swordsman to suit their own legendariums. Perhaps they want to play a dedicated shepherd who's skilled with a quarterstaff and able to watch for sudden storms and prowling wolves. Swap out swords for quarterstaff and club and change Acrobatics to Forestry and you'e good to go. 

As The Hero's Journey continues to grow and and expand, I always look to how everything - Archetypes, Lineages, monsters, magic, all of it - fits into the stories the game is designed to tell. I hope this entry has given you some sense of why the Archetype was included in the game and inspires you to maybe create your own Variants.

What would you like to hear about next? Another Archetype discussion? A focus on one of the Lineages? Maybe one of the monster types? Let me know and journey on!