Any RPGs with medieval Christian chivalry?

[Louis_Cypher]

I'm sick of fantasy with too much backstabbing, backbiting, political corruption and ridicule of goodness. Game of Thrones type stuff. I just want a traditional Dark Lord to oppose. Could you recommend some satisfying games that are instead compatible with a constructive life-affirming position, like Christian religion, like Tolkien? I am not talking about superficial stuff like "it has a race of angels". I mean RPGs that are not deconstructionist, sarcastic, or ironic about heroism, but rather pro-life, pro-joy, inspiring, foreboding, and ruthless against evil. They can be grimdark, but the protagonist must be earnest in their convictions. Tolkien's world is dark, grim and bittersweet at times but illuminated by light.

‘That is one thing that Men call “hope,”‘ said Finrod. ‘Amdir we call it, “looking up.” But there is another which is founded deeper. Estel we call it, that is “trust.” It is not defeated by the ways of the world, for it does not come from experience, but from our nature and first being. - Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth​

I'll try to start out with suggestions, please critique if necessary:

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Ultima I to Ultima IX

The original RPG seems to have a focus on personal virtue, although I've never completed Ultima I, the only game in the series I played. These are similar to the four cardinal virtues, and three theological virtues in Roman Catholicism. The ankh is used to represent a holy symbol, which isn't bad, as it represented 'life' in ancient Egypt, and resembles a cross (also being adopted in Coptic Christianity).

The eight virtues are defined as such:

• Honesty is respect for Truth
• Compassion is Love of others
• Valor is Courage to stand up against risks
• Justice is Truth, tempered by Love
• Sacrifice is Courage to give oneself in name of Love
• Honor is Courage to seek and uphold the Truth
• Spirituality is to seek Truth, Love and Courage from one's own self and the world around
• Humility is the opposite of Pride – the absence of Truth, Love or Courage

Dragon Quest I to Dragon Quest XI

The Dragon Quest games generally present a positive view of religious institutions. Contrary to many JRPGs in which healing priests resemble Shinto 'shrine maidens', they are more explicitly Christian in tone, but unlike the Cathedrals of other JRPGs, are not presented as a misguided tool of some evil plot. The games themselves usually contain a constructive plot, and a demon is often the final antagonist. Anime is not my taste personally however.

Ys I to Ys IX

Adol Christin is a no-nonsense quest against evil in each game, uncovering the ancient heritage of the lost island of Ys from French/Breton mythology in the original two. The godhead is represented by two goddesses of some kind, who act as benevolent and merciful protectors, and thus you can reason them as metaphors for angelic spirits or saints.

Dark Souls I to Dark Souls III

You bring light and energy back to the world, as it slips into entropy. You fight the darkening of the cosmos, re-igniting hope and life. You persist and gain fortitude. There is an ocean (primordial chaos) under everything (reality/the land), with things becoming more disordered the further down you go (into raw information and the subconscious). The world is in a constant state of decay (like the Kali Yuga), and the duty of the individual is to combat the entropy by upholding fire.

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There is a semi-serious joke that Doom is the most Christian video game of all time, as you slay only demons. The traditional heroic spirit of Europe, preserved in tales like the Arthurian legend, is ancient but much diminished by the modern world's tendency toward doubt and self-abnegation. I think tales about the killing of monstrosities can be great when handled right. Too much fantasy however tries to humanize say Orcs, who were never intended to be a nation. They were metaphysical symbols made manifest.

If there are enough suggestions I'll add them to this post creating a list, for reference. In a way, fantasy is the genre that best preserves what I feel is much of the lost traditionalism of the Middle Ages. Sometimes not very well. Sometimes stumbling on things accidentally. I don't mind some fantasy trying to be naturalistic, but does it have to be every RPG setting now?

 

[Bruma Hobo]

Darklands.

 

[lukaszek]

those are woke times and christianity is the only religion to point fingers at. Good luck

 

[dragonul09]

Inquisitor



Ultherst was once a peaceful, God-fearing land until the Three Scourges of God came to pass as foretold by Saint Ezekiel, one of the twelve followers of the First Prophet. First came the famine that devasted the populace. Next came the plague that added more unfortunate souls on Death’s abacus. Finally came the great rain of fire, and death fell down on sinner and innocent alike, blood flooding the streets in place of water. The people, in their desperation, turned away from the Holy Mother Church and delved deep into pagan decadence or succumbed to the temptation of the Devil. You have been charged with the office of Inquisitor. It is up to you to investigate crimes against the one true faith and root out heresy--using any and all means necessary. As in all best computer RPGs--the most important choices are yours to make.

 

[Cunt Dickula!?]

Kingdom Come Deliverance a little bit although the name would indicate a focus on it.

 

[Dorateen]

Knights of the Chalice has a grail quest.

 

[Pink Eye]

Aww. Some of the best ones were already mentioned. I guess Colony Ship: A Post-Earth Role Playing Game. It deals with themes of Faith.

 

[vazha]

Inquisitor



Ultherst was once a peaceful, God-fearing land until the Three Scourges of God came to pass as foretold by Saint Ezekiel, one of the twelve followers of the First Prophet. First came the famine that devasted the populace. Next came the plague that added more unfortunate souls on Death’s abacus. Finally came the great rain of fire, and death fell down on sinner and innocent alike, blood flooding the streets in place of water. The people, in their desperation, turned away from the Holy Mother Church and delved deep into pagan decadence or succumbed to the temptation of the Devil. You have been charged with the office of Inquisitor. It is up to you to investigate crimes against the one true faith and root out heresy--using any and all means necessary. As in all best computer RPGs--the most important choices are yours to make.

I still dream at night that someone gets a source code of this and fixes / mods the combat. What a flawed gem.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

Any LotR video game

 

[Puukko]

Fire Emblem Three Houses surprised me positively with its setting and themes. The main hub of the game is a monastery and you're in their employ. It is heavily Christian-themed and the church is depicted as firm and willing to enact its rule against threats. It isn't spotless of course, but the true enemy is so obviously evil there's little reason to doubt the church. The black and white good versus evil theme is honestly one of my least favorite aspects of the game, but it's a series staple as sure as crazy dragons.

The cast of characters contains lots of nobles and the setting is modeled after old European states. Everyone shows loyalty to their nation and several characters place great importance in their family and their station in society. All characters have their flaws of course, but they're good, honest people.

... and then you lesbian marry the church girl because it's a Japanese game and there must be romance shoehorned in there. But you can ignore that bit.

 

[Louis_Cypher]

Do either of those Pathfinder games (which I have ignored because I am disintered in Pathfinder) have anything serviceable like this in? A compelling evil, characters you feel are in a spiritual struggle? You would think Russians would be all for some Orthodox values. Or Solasta: Crown of the Magister? Can't say I generally find much in D&D; it's a mixed bag, you have Paladins but stories are not generally presented as epic mythic struggles or Jungian hero's journeys.

 

[Pink Eye]

Do either of those Pathfinder games (which I have ignored because I am disintered in Pathfinder) have anything serviceable like this in?

Oh god no. Stay away from Wrath as well. Wrath of the Righteous is a game that celebrates degeneracy.

 

[Thac0]

Legends of Eisenwald is a slavjank Disciples clone, which gives an incredibly authentic presentation of medieval Germany, particularily the Harz region, as the people there imagined it. So most people you find will be normal humans, although you can come across ghosts and the undead.
Legends of Eisenwald has multiple unit lines coming from the clergy, and they kick serious ass. Their innate ability is that their combat attributes rise when their morale is high, the casters higher morale, the crusaders smite the enemy with zeal.

Not everyone in the church here is evil, not everyone is good. What the churches however are is being absolutely essential to daily live, with little cloisters and abbeys littering the map, offering valuable services to you. Of course there are tons of quests involving the church, in some their members are evil, in most they are good.
I would recommend the game to anyone who wants an interesting Disciples clone or an authentic medieval German game, I think it will satisfy your demands as well, as the game has some grey tones most of the times you can stay clear on the path of righteousness, with an army of battle monks at your side if you want so.

 

[Nutria]

As pointed out above, Darklands is what you're looking for. It's about being a good Christian and fighting the forces of Satan wherever they're found, whether it's cults, demons, or corruption in the church. And it's very true to what Christianity actually was in the medieval era.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

I'm sick of fantasy with too much backstabbing, backbiting, political corruption and ridicule of goodness. Game of Thrones type stuff. I just want a traditional Dark Lord to oppose.

Divinity games tend to fall under this, btw. The plots tend to be much more standard fairy tale in nature, and generally reward goodness.
Not surprising considering Swen has never shied away from admitting he's inspired by the Ultima games.

 

[Thac0]

Also maybe Gothic?
Religion is a bit more complicated but both Circle of Fire and Circle of Water are good, and you can play a Paladin in game 2. Also while Nameless Hero can be a dick if you want he is clearly good.

The problem is that the water mages are balance fags who think balance between Innos and Beliar is the goal, the Sermon is still pretty cool tho.

 

[Cunt Dickula!?]

Also maybe Gothic?

No.

 

[Thac0]

Also maybe Gothic?

No.

G2 literally has a cloister where you do a long ass questline in if you want to become a mage.

 

[Cunt Dickula!?]

Yeah but i never saw Gothic as "constructive" in that matter as Innos was actually a parody of catholic god and it was often implied that Adanos is the reasonable choice.
(Stuck-up fire mages, canonic end of G3 and beginning of Risen)

 

[Louis_Cypher]

The black and white good versus evil theme is honestly one of my least favorite aspects of the game, but it's a series staple as sure as crazy dragons.

The most inspiring fantasy for me tends to be about mythic levels of evil, old intellect, emerging after long dormancy, and a brave few opposing it.

I think the problem is not many writers do it well. Basically none. That is why people think light and darkness is tired; poor execution rather than inherent merit. Only Tolkien did it right, that's about it. Babylon 5 in terms of TV sci-fi series too. Star Wars to some degree. All spiritual. For most RPGs, their attempts at "epic", boil down to some stupid Manichean war between heaven and hell. Literal angels fighting literal demons, with horns and halos, the most prosaic idea. You could blame D&D and Diablo. Note how far this is from Tolkien. Sauron is an infernal spirit, who's twisted intellect can therefore be taken to angelic extremes of beyond human capacities.

“Sauron was become now a sorcerer of dreadful power, master of shadows and of phantoms, foul in wisdom, cruel in strength, misshaping what he touched, twisting what he ruled, lord of werewolves; his dominion was torment.”

“But Sauron was not of mortal flesh, and though he was robbed now of that shape in which had wrought so great an evil, so that he could never again appear fair to the eyes of Men, yet his spirit arose out of the deep and passed as a shadow and a black wind over the sea, and came back to Middle-earth and to Mordor that was his home. There he took up again his great Ring in Barad-dur, and dwelt there, dark and silent, until he wrought himself a new guise, an image of malice and hatred made visible; and the Eye of Sauron the Terrible few could endure.”
​

I love Tolkien's use of language.

‘In my story I do not deal in Absolute Evil. I do not think there is such a thing, since that is Zero. I do not think that at any rate any 'rational being' is wholly evil. Satan fell. In my myth Morgoth fell before Creation of the physical world. In my story Sauron represents as near an approach to the wholly evil will as is possible. He had gone the way of all tyrants: beginning well, at least on the level that while desiring to order all things according to his own wisdom he still at first considered the (economic) well-being of other inhabitants of the Earth. But he went further than human tyrants in pride and the lust for domination, being in origin an immortal (angelic) spirit.’​

The Lord of the Rings was voted the favorite fictional novel of all time by multiple western countries. Something in us longs for stories like that. It's deeply embedded in our culture at the mythical level. Tolkien quipped that there was nothing worth reading after Chaucer; he unironically believed in chivalry ideals. You don't see the theme of moral quests attempted anymore, unironically. Instead writers in pop culture opt for irony, not daring to play it straight.

 

[Generic-Giant-Spider]

Darklands is the best representation of this and has the benefit of being one of the best CRPGs ever.

Diablo 1 is also up your alley.

 

[mondblut]

Darklands is the best representation of this

Until you encounter your first asshole priest and have to suck up to him if you want to keep your precious not-mana. Much chivalry, very virtue.

 

[Generic-Giant-Spider]

Darklands is the best representation of this

Until you encounter your first asshole priest and have to suck up to him if you want to keep your precious not-mana. Much chivalry, very virtue.

ACCUSE OF SATANISM.

 

[Generic-Giant-Spider]

Also it's not an RPG but Blasphemous is worth looking into, imo. One of the cooler visual settings and carries a very heavy religious-horror tone to it using Roman Catholicism iconography as its main inspiration. Not exactly clean-cut warrior of light vs. forces of darkness but if you want something a bit twisted since Halloween is coming up I'd give it a shot.

 

[Nutria]

Darklands is the best representation of this

Until you encounter your first asshole priest and have to suck up to him if you want to keep your precious not-mana. Much chivalry, very virtue.

This is very much an intentional choice by the writer. You're supposed to be actually role-playing as a Christian in the 1400s, and that means that you can't just chop off the head of the first crooked friar you meet even if you think he's dodgy. And it's not a situation that you can talk your way out of yourself. If you want to show him up, you're gonna need a saint to do the talking for you.

What you have to understand about Darklands is that it's not about your religion. It's about what people in that part of Europe believed at that time. If you're Christian, that will overlap a lot with what you believe, but it won't be identical.