I will now prove that old-school Dungeons & Dragons is sacred, with profound mythological significance hidden in its experience point (XP) system. #OSR #gnosis

Constantine the Great, the emperor of Rome, went to war with the labarum as his battle standard. What is the labarum? It is a banner bearing the Greek letters "Chi" and "Rho", also known as the Chi-Rho.

The character for Chi is X and for Rho is P, so that the Romans fought under the banner of XP. Constantine the Great, then, held XP to be sacred. But what does XP mean?

XP, or Chi-Rho, was the first letters of three important words. First, the word "Chrysos", which means "gold". So we see that XP is associated with gold. This association is obvious to anyone familiar with #OSR #DnD, where XP is earned from gold.

Next, the Chi-Rho also could mean "Chrestos," or "good." Aristotle defined the good as that to which all ends are directed. In D&D, all play is directed towards the acquisition of XP; and of course XP is good. But, importantly, acquiring XP also makes your character better.

Third, the Chi-Rho could mean "Christos," or "anointed one," a term for "king". In D&D, and especially in #ACKS, characters who accumulate sufficient XP can become kings. So, again, we see the embedded symbolism.

Famously, "Christos" also became the title of Jesus, called in English Christ. And what does Jesus do? He saves us from death. And what does every character have to do to advance in D&D? He has to Save vs. Death.

Add this together and it is clear. Constantine waged war for XP. By winning the treasures of Rome, he would level up, or "get good,"' which is itself good, and be able to become an anointed one, or ruler; such a person was surely one who had saved versus death.

When today's #OSR gamers play old-school D&D, gathering treasure to gain experience points, they thus share in a mystic tradition that dates back over 1,600 years and perhaps before that.

In this tweet, you can see the image of the Chi-Rho as it appeared on Constantine's battle flag. XP.

What really confirms the theory is the archeological evidence, however. It has now been established that the twenty-sided die, or D20, used in Dungeons & Dragons, was used as early as 300 BC. https://geekologie.com/2012/11/move-over-ancient-romans-new-oldest-d-20.php