Musing on OD&D Setting

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Sometimes I see people saying that OD&D setting is Sword & Sorcery, or this kind of setting, or that kind of setting. Although I believe first and foremost that everyone should play as they see fit (more later on that), I do think that OD&D/D&D isn't per se S&S: it's his own thing.

My thesis here is that D&D implied setting is not purely S&S. It doesn't mean that it's not influenced by it, or even that it doesn't 'want' to be S&S, but I think it cannot be reduced to it. Also, it clearly doesn't mean that you can't run a S&S game: you can run whatever you want! I'm not a fan of some type of setting/campaign in D&D*, but people can run whatever they want if it works for them.

For the record, some people out there, blog in particular, have a much deeper understanding of this than me. I cannot point to them all, but if you are interested in this, I encourage you to go on the web and search for it: I am NOT writing everything on the subject here; at best, it's a brainstorm to open a discussion. I know some people will be able to correct me on some facts, and some people will be mad at me. But hey, it's just a discussion okay?

*Especially: anything that's edgy for the sake of being edgy (dealing a lot with gore, sexual fantasies and gratuitous violence), anything that's grimderp to the point of all PCs being weak peasants, anything that's so gonzo it's more an artshow that it's an actual game.

Here are some random points of musing: 

• Chainmail: OD&D was influenced by Chainmail, there is no denying this. Chainmail is first and foremost a wargame with a strong European medieval mindset. Even the Fantasy supplement is centered around medieval fantasy, not S&S. 
• Influence of The Hobbit: In the fantasy supplement, there is a distinctive influence on Chainmail from the Hobbit. It can be seen in the army composition, the effect of heroes/wizards (which is much more akin to Tolkien than S&S), etc. Most importantly, if you take a look at the rules, they are operating on a level so that you can reproduce the battle of the five armies. Although this will look far-flong because I have no source, I do remember Gygax (or someone else important to the game) saying the same thing with regards to Chainmail (you can also see the army list in the early edition of Dragon magazine). Finally, even if Gygax later said disparaging comments on Tolkien and LOTR, his son did say in interviews (you can even find some on Youtube) that the only book Gygax that was read to all his children at bed time was The Hobbit from Tolkien. 
• Alignment - Moorcock and Poul Anderson: It is no surprise also that a lot of the wizardry spells and the alignment (including magical swords, especially in OD&D) have borrowed from Moorcock and Anderson. Again, those influence are very present in description and content and aren't S&S strictly. 
• The Two Cities: When you take a look at how Arneson and Gygax played, and even if you take a look at other early Referee or side content (such as Dungeon!), there isn't a strong S&S vibe: rather, the influence is very diverse. Where the S&S influence really shines through (and I agree it is a big input!) it's with regards to being a "band" or even a "small group" of heroes rather than a warband or an army that are tackling objectives for their own sake (generally treasure and fame), which is different than the more "value"-oriented quests of the other mentionned authors. 
• OD&D Implied Setting: If you take a look at the excellent "OD&D Implied Setting" document, you can see that there are some points that really stands out:
• Hierarchy, Power and Wealth: Those are definitively at the core of some of the S&S pulp themes, especially Conan. Him rising from nothing into lordship and figthing for wealth and power. 
• Wilderness vs Borderland vs Civilization: Although there is a sense of this in S&S, generally civilization is presented as wholly corrupt and destructive. In OD&D, wilderness and boderlands are so dangerous that civilization actually represents a force of Law, that is, a "haven" for people to live. The corruption does appear in part or totality (for example, ghouls being an early D&D urban encounter possibility), but it is much less a focal point since on the contrary, the players are "expected" to pacify and "civilize" the world. Finally, the way the borderland with its keeps, lords, jousts and quests operates is much more influenced by Arthurian Legends (running into enchanter/enchantress, knights jousting each other, etc.).
• Role of the Divine, i.e. Christianity's Influence: Finally, there is a distinct 70s proto/post-christian influence in the role of the divine, most notably as a force of good against the undead. 

As we can see, there are a very diverse range of important influences and I don't think we can say that OD&D is "basically S&S", although it does take a lot from it.