AD&D Appendix N: Poul Anderson "Three Hearts and Three Lions"

 

I didn't read this gem until much later in my Dungeons & Dragons life, but I was simply amazed at how clearly the book shaped Gary Gygax's formation of D&D. It is actually one of my favorite genres of fantasy called "gate fantasy". It features the hero Holger who is fighting in World War II and gets transported to the legendary world of medieval France. At first, of course, I just assumed it as an early gate fantasy, the book was published in the early 60's. However, as I read on how found that the mixture of legend, myth and inner longing to be so powerfully evocative of my own feelings about what AD&D did for me so many years ago. 

For early D&D players Three Heart and Three Lions reads like a textbook of inspiration. Herein we have a world caught in the grip of the struggle between Law and Chaos. Chaos includes the realms of faery as well and the struggle of it's better creatures such as elves and dwarves who lie between the realms of men and the other. The portrayal of the doughty dwarf Hugi, Holger's companion, is so much more accurate to my view of dwarves than the four feet wide musclebound cubes presented in modern fantasy games.

Race Comparison 1e PHB

Dwarf in 1e Monster Manual

Today's Dwarf

Also included in the tale are numerous monsters that would become iconic within the AD&D monster manual such as nixies and trolls. In fact I dare say I never used nixies in my games, nor was familiar with them. But here they are with a clear idea for their use. Magic swords, polymorphing maidens, and the like were all here on fantastic display. The tale reads as a strange and lovely mix of fantasy and fairy tale, much like my own initial experiences with the game as a youth. 

Moreover, we have in Three Hearts and Three Lions a world that is steeped in legend and myth. The Cycle of Charlemagne, the Wild Hunt, Morgan le Fay and the Arthurian Cycle permeate the book as principal sources of dynamic action and drama. Some might have been puzzled by the inclusion of the Arthurian Mythos in the Deities and Demigods and fewer still used them that I knew of. But I now understood that Gary saw them as ripe pickings for fantastic adventures that could be had within then D&D. 

As the plot plays out we find Holger intimately interwoven with the deeds of the past. His role revealed as an ancient hero of yore, and that his defeat of the forces of chaos mirroring his defeat of the forces of the Nazis. The tale kept me spellbound in this regard. And played out for me the desire to be a part of such adventures, just like Holger. Indeed it was my strongest dream as a young man growing up in central Texas, to do so. AD&D gave me that opportunity. Cause such cravings within me to return to just such a fantasy world, who like Holger longed to return himself. 

Anderson clearly wove potential messages in his fanciful tale that give us pause today. Holger's return to Catholicism as a flight of fancy or an identification with the beyond is but one. However, what it gave Gary Gygax was clearly much fruit with which to offer to the world a chance to play at Holger's game and become Ogier the Dane ourselves.