was to enable everyone on a battlefield to identify each other easily. Warriors gallop- ing on their war horses wore armor and helms, and thus were hard to recognize. Their shields became the ideal area to display family colors. The designs started out as very simple patterns, using one or two colors or a symbol. In the game, we could push the logic as far as linking the alignments of the origi- nal coat-of-arms owners to the colors on their coats of arms. The original bearers might have wanted to display the ethos of their clan, tribe, family, etc. In European history, of course, it wasnt acceptable to behave openly in an evil or chaotic fash- ion. Thus, the colors themselves had no link with anyones philosophy. This neednt be true in fantasy gaming. Naturally, player characters arent encour- aged to behave negatively; it is their job to defeat evil. However, NPCs may want to clearly show their way of thinking. For example, in a campaign featuring numer- ous evil monarchs and monstrous war- lords, these bad guys would have no problem flying banners with appropriately evil-looking symbols! This approach is a natural one for chaotic worlds where many different people (or creatures) with different attitudes and beliefs have estab- lished defendable power bases. DMs give their villians bad attitudes, so why not give them appropriate coats of arms? (Im the King of the Skull-Crusher goblins! So, Ive got a crushed skull on my black banner! Care to discuss it, human?) Creating coats of arms for major foes sets the tone of an encounter or of a whole campaign. Likewise, the good guys might also want to make a statement of their own and proudly raise their banners of justice and goodness! Heres a way to link colors on the coats of arms with both the D&D game and the AD&D® game. Before jumping into this topic, I need to bring up at least one of the fundamentals of heraldry. There are three sorts of tinctures: metals, colors, and Fantastic heraldry furs. Metals include gold, (often replaced with yellow) and silver (often replaced with white). Colors include black, blue, by Bruce A. Heard purple, red, green, and orange (or brown). Furs will be discussed later. This feature offers information and to be incorporated into fantasy gaming, One rule of heraldry forbids the use of suggestions on the D&D® game and its but in general, its primary purpose in two colors or two metals next to each products. The reader is welcome to send gaming remains simply to produce color- other. A color should be used to separate questions, suggestions, or criticisms on the ful shields. two metals, or vice- versa. For example, a game or on the material published here. Heraldry is too dynamic to limit it to coat of arms should not be blue and red We can’t promise that all letters will be that! Weve created dragon-slaying knights, only. It would need gold or silver to sepa- answered in this column, but they all will legendary wizards, and mighty rulers. rate the two colors. This rule came into get our attention. Why not expand heraldry to better reflect being because adjacent colors or metals the fantasy aspect of our game? This arti- are difficult to differentiate in the midst of Heraldry has always been an intriguing cle is not about the rules and styles of battle. Keep this in mind if you decide to part of fantasy-game worlds. Who hasnt heraldry. With a bit of research in your follow this rule. This isnt history, its a created a long-lasting knight or established favorite library, you should find ample game, and each DM should decide for a kingdom without eventually sketching resource material. Instead, this article himself. out a few coats of arms? Some players use provides some ideas on how to tie aspects Colors can indicate alignment tendencies heraldry simply to add color to a cam- of heraldry into the game. (good, evil, law, chaos, neutrality). Metals paign; others go to great lengths to learn could serve as a way of measuring the about the rules and styles of medieval Colors & alignments intensity of these tendencies, as follows: coats of arms. Heraldry is flexible enough The original purpose of coats of arms As shown in the Color-alignment chart, DRAGON 41 coats of arms in the D&D game have a choice of two colors to represent each alignment. For example, a red-and-black coat of arms would belong to a chaotic owner. If silver separated the two colors, that would mean a moderate tendency toward chaos. If it were separated with gold, that would refer to a strongly chaotic owner. In the AD&D game, there is greater subtlety. The coat of arms just described would belong to a chaotic-evil owner. If the coat of arms were blue and silver only, this would then mean a tendency toward good without respect to law or chaos (i.e., neutral good). Coats of arms using green, orange, and gold could belong to a druidic clan (true neutral). AD&D game combinations can get com- plicated. For example: a coat of arms is divided into four squares separated with gold. The upper right and lower left have a silver/blue checker pattern. The upper left and lower right bear only red. A coat of arms such as this would indicate a tendency toward good (the blue/silver checker), with a strong inclination toward chaos (the red bordered with gold). The coat-of-arms bearer could then be identi- fied as being chaotic good. Furs Heraldic furs are stylized patterns de- rived from the coats of animals, not the actual pelts themselves. Furs are used in heraldry with, or instead of, colors or metals. These are patterns ermine (depict- ing black ermine tails fastened to white fur), ermines (white on black), erminois (black on yellow), pean (yellow on black), and vair (blue bells on a white background representing gray squirrel fur). The rule that color should not be placed on color nor metal on metal does not apply to furs. You could have a coat of arms with natural fur and a stripe of ermine, for example. The use of furs in gaming heraldry is optional. Furs do not refer to alignments like colors and metals. Instead, you can link them to the status of the owner of the coat of arms. See the Heraldic-fur chart for details. As the chart shows, the fur used on a characters coat of arms can change over time. Here are two examples on how to use furs through the life of a character. Mara starts as a 1st-level fighter who gains her coat of arms as the result of an act of bravery during a battle. Shes allowed the use of natural fur. At 6th level, the king permits her to change from natural fur to vair. At 9th level, the king makes her a knight and grants her a domain, permit- ting her to change from vair to pean (or else adding an element of pean on her present coat of arms to show Maras common heritage). Stonefist, a 5th-level fighter, inherits the estate of his father, a marquis. Hed have to bear pean. At 6th level, he might he permitted by the king to bear erminois, 42 NOVEMBER 1993 due to his level (i.e., his heroic deeds). The about the original owners life or the cir- could spark a long-lasting feud. This might example given earlier of a coat of arms cumstances that led to the granting of the happen when a monarch dislikes a vassal. with natural fur to which was added a arms. For example, if a warrior defeated a Coats of arms can appear on many dif- stripe of ermine might belong to someone red dragon and was rewarded with a ferent items. Warriors and clerics may be who started out as a barbarian and then family coat of arms, the coat of arms allowed to bear theirs on shields, tabards, became a king or an emperor (such as would be likely to show a dragon or at or banners. Wizards or thieves may prefer Thincol of Thyatis). least have a clue referring to that epic less conspicuous items, such as rings or battle. This is where symbols come into medallions. Partitions play. A coat of arms can be split many ways to Symbols can be linked to some historical Arcane heraldry bear different color combinations repre- event. They could also be part of a riddle The next step in gaming heraldry is to senting clans, tribes, families, orders, or pun-a knight by the name of Drachen- add magical properties to coats of arms. guilds, towns, dominions, and kingdoms. It fels (dragon rock) would probably want to There are two reasons for this. The first is can happen that coats of arms represent have a dragon atop a rock; Stonefist could to provide a way to ensure a coat of arms several different items with apparently use a gray, stony fist. Symbols can refer to is legitimate and is borne by its rightful incompatible color combinations. In this something important about the owner of owners. The second reason is to give an case, each partition should be considered the coat of arms. For example, the coat of actual game value to heraldry, bestowing it separately. For example, consider the case arms of a free city might bear an open city with some magical powers.