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Fluidity and Distinction in Role-Playing Game Shamans

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Fluidity and Distinction in Role-Playing Game Shamans TO PLAY WITH SPIRITS: FLUIDITY AND DISTINCTION IN ROLE-PLAYING GAME SHAMANS _________________________ A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Department of Sociology University of Houston _________________________ In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts __________________________ By Michael E. Ohsfeldt August 2017 TO PLAY WITH SPIRITS: FLUIDITY AND DISTINCTION IN ROLE-PLAYING GAME SHAMANS ________________________ Michael E. Ohsfeldt APPROVED: ________________________ Shayne Lee, Ph.D. Committee Chair ________________________ Stella Grigorian, Ph.D. ________________________ Keith McNeal, Ph.D. Department of Anthropology ________________________ Antonio D. Tillis, Ph.D. Dean, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences Department of Hispanic Studies 2 TO PLAY WITH SPIRITS: FLUIDITY AND DISTINCTION IN ROLE-PLAYING GAME SHAMANS _____________________ An Abstract of a Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Department of Sociology University of Houston _____________________ In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts ______________________ By Michael E. Ohsfeldt August 2017 3 ABSTRACT Shamans, a category of spiritual specialist that bridges this world and others to heal, are fixtures in many cultures and religions across the world. Meanwhile, tabletop roleplaying games are a storied pastime which transports participants to fanciful worlds. Some of those fanciful worlds contain shamans as a class of character that players may choose to assume. Through this option, the cultural concept of shaman is repurposed into an aspect of entertaining fiction. The tabletop roleplaying games employ rulebooks that codify, outline and establish their world and its many aspects, of which shamans are one. Through qualitative content analysis of their rulebooks, I study how tabletop role-playing games depict shamans in flexible and fluid ways that encourage player participation toward constructing the role and function of the shaman. Utilizing a social constructionist framework, this thesis illuminates the symbolic boundary work that defines shamans by their connection to spirits and distinguishes shamans from other classes as they are made into a cultural tool. My findings bring new insights into the ways individuals are able to navigate and negotiate the sacred in secular entertainment. Moreover, through showing that boundaries can be fluid and flexible in entertainment and that they can serve to differentiate while not judging, the importance of entertainment as a context for exploring boundaries due to the structure of escapism is indicated. 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis has many individuals to thank, with the first being my committee members, who gave valuable support and insight with each and every interaction. The chair, Professor Shayne Lee, was invaluable in helping this project develop, especially with theory. Moreover, I would like to thank Professor Jessica Brown for her assistance and advice on methodology. Additionally, I would like to thank my old friend Joe as well as the employees of Fat Ogres Games and Comics and Nan’s Games and Comics for lending me their expertise on role-playing games, answering many questions and providing illuminating discussion. Similarly, I would like to thank my friends and parents for their emotional support and proofreading. Finally, this thesis would never have been possible without Professor Pam Frese of the College of Wooster, whose frequent inclusion of shamans in her Anthropology classes, including one just on shamans’ healing, was responsible for the topic of this thesis ever germinating. 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS [NOTE: REVISE, to meet final page positioning] Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 8 Theoretical Approach ................................................................................................................................. 11 Social Construction ................................................................................................................................. 12 Boundary Work ....................................................................................................................................... 15 Cultural Tool Kit ....................................................................................................................................... 20 Literature Review ....................................................................................................................................... 23 Conceptions of Shamans ......................................................................................................................... 23 Past Models......................................................................................................................................... 25 Syncretism and Adaptation ................................................................................................................ 28 Ethnotourism and the Neo-Shamans ................................................................................................. 30 Meaning in Fiction ................................................................................................................................... 33 Medievalism and Genre ...................................................................................................................... 34 Importance of Media Portrayal .......................................................................................................... 37 Gaming .................................................................................................................................................... 39 The Experience of Playing Games ....................................................................................................... 40 Shared Narratives ............................................................................................................................... 43 Methods ...................................................................................................................................................... 48 Population and Sample ........................................................................................................................... 48 Ethical Considerations ............................................................................................................................. 51 Data Collection ........................................................................................................................................ 52 Data Analysis ........................................................................................................................................... 52 Validity and Reliability ............................................................................................................................. 53 Findings ....................................................................................................................................................... 55 Conceptions of Shamans ......................................................................................................................... 55 The Shaman of Dungeons & Dragons ................................................................................................. 56 The Shaman of Pathfinder .................................................................................................................. 62 The Shaman of Shadowrun ................................................................................................................. 68 Distinction of Shamans ........................................................................................................................... 81 East vs. West ....................................................................................................................................... 82 Academic vs. Non-Academic Magic .................................................................................................... 92 Fluidity of Shamans ................................................................................................................................. 99 6 Cultural Variation .............................................................................................................................. 100 Player Choice .................................................................................................................................... 104 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................ 110 References ................................................................................................................................................ 114 7 INTRODUCTION Your party of adventurers remains engaged in a trying contest, beset on all sides by brigands. Unfazed, the barbarian to your right swings his axe into yet another enemy. The wounded sorcerer behind you casts an angry, searing fireball, while the bard to your left sings a desperate song to buoy spirits. For your part, you have your shield raised, blocking blow after blow, wondering which way the battle will inevitably turn when you see something out of the corner of your eye. An ethereal bear, charging forth, disrupts the battle and buys you time as you witness the final leather and cloth clad
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