The very first epic roleplaying campaign took place over 3,000 years ago. A band of heroes gathered to undertake an impossible quest, and among them were the children of Hermes, Apollo, Poseidon, and Zeus. They were the Argonauts—the legendary sailors led by Jason. Their ranks included Orpheus, the most talented musician in the world, and Peleus, the father of Achilles. They were even joined by Hercules, the famous warrior, who had recently completed his fabled Twelve Labors.

Why should we liken the heroes of the Argonautika to a party of roleplayers? Because in spite of their illustrious qualifications, and in spite of prophecies which foretold success, the Argonauts were ill-equipped for the challenges that awaited them. They abandoned their quest almost as soon as they set sail, and the rest of the story unfolds like a comedy of errors.

Fellow game masters, stop me if this sounds familiar. Jason of Iolcos bears an uncanny resemblance to your average tabletop roleplayer. When he isn’t accidentally slaughtering his own allies, he’s wallowing in self-pity and bemoaning his bad luck. He seems just as frightened to lead the party as he is of being usurped. At multiple points in the story, the gods are forced to step in and save the Argonauts from his terrible leadership. In the end, the Golden Fleece is secured through the magic of the sorceress Medea. She isn’t even counted among the so-called heroes.

The heroes of Greek mythology are very different from the super-powered, self-sacrificing paragons that we’ve come to idolize in Hollywood films. In the Greek epics, there is no clear line between good and evil, no villains to thwart, no alien invasions to repel. Heroic deeds are frequently puzzling and at times infuriating. Odysseus punctuates his harrowing journey home by murdering all the men who courted his wife. Achilles refuses to fight when his men need him most. Jason quickly abandons Medea once his quest is finished.

Because of their flaws, it is hard to shake the feeling that the heroes of the Greek epics were real historical figures. When might fails, they succeed through cunning, and when cunning fails, they succeed through luck. These were mortal men cast into impossible situations, forced to survive through spectacular means, and left to brood on the fickle whims of fate. In spite of their divine parentage, they were, above all, very human.

This is in large part what makes these characters so enduring in the Western imagination. But most importantly, it makes them the perfect archetypes for the heroes of your next roleplaying campaign.