The term definitely predates D&D - the term "twenty dollar gold piece" has been in use for the $20 Double Eagle and $10 Eagle coins of the late 19th century, and also the $5 gold coin, as well.
"Gold Piece" In Print
The term is used in the Lebanon Daily News, 1 Nov 1965, of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, bottom, in an advert for old coins under the left column of text (to the right of the comics)
Four gold pieces: One (1) $20.00 gold piece, two (2) $10.00 gold pieces and one (1) $2.50 gold piece.
This alone establishes the phrase "gold piece" for gold coins in routine use prior to D&D. But let us press a little further back... say, 1913? Here's a quote from the 5 August 1913 Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, page 4, top of the third column:
The five cent piece ls the day laborer of our coinage. It la the hardest working and most successful bit at money In use In these United States. The twenty dollar gold piece Is very popular and is madly sought after In the best society; the five dollar bill has millions of friends and the hard silver dollar can be found nestling In the pocket of almost every man. But none of these like the five cent piece.
We thus have established a pattern of use for gold coins of being called "gold pieces" in the press, spanning over 5 decades; clearly not a D&D origin; not even viably a wargaming origin, for 1913 is the year of the first printing of H. G. Wells' Little Wars, the first commercially released set of wargaming rules in book form.
Searching Project Gutenberg, several ebooks have it in use...
These without clear denomination prefixed:
- Pinocchio (1883, Tr. ??? )
Author: Carlo Collodi, 1826-1890
Translator: Carol Della Chiesa, 1887-
- The Younger Set (1907)
Author: Robert W. Chambers
- A Drama on the Seashore
Author: Honore de Balzac (1799-1850)
Translator: Katharine Prescott Wormeley (1830-1908)
- Tiger Cat (1938)
Author: David H. Keller
- Pâkia (1901)
Author: Louis Becke
And several with clear denomination in dollars:
Piece
Piece is, according to several dictionaries, a common term for coins in general, of whatever denomination is specified. The quote below is excerpted from the etymology online page:
piece
early 13c., "fixed amount, measure, portion," from O.Fr. piece (11c.), from V.L. *pettia, probably from Gaulish (cf. Welsh peth "thing," Breton pez "piece"), from O.Celt. base *pett-.
[...]
Piece of Eight is the old name for the Spanish dollar (c.1600) of the value of 8 reals.
Commentary
It's pretty clear that it's a generic term for a gold coin, and for several US gold coins as well. In the US, it seems to be predominantly the popular $5 coin of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but can be used collectively for the $2.50, $5.00, $10.00 and $20.00 gold coins; The silver coins of similar values were $0.10, $0.25, $0.50, and $1.00. Note that, still to date, "2 bits" is $0.25... a reference to the not uncommon practice of breaking Pieces of Eight (Dollares, or Reals) into 8 "bits" of an eighth-dollare each... I suspect that this is the origin of the 20:1 Silver:Gold ratio in AD&D...
The D&D Cleric, apart from its Blackmoor origins as a vampire hunter (as noted here), is a mish-mash that has grown into a trope of its own.
The D&D cleric as a trope, encompasses:
- undead hunter
- healer
- second rate combattant
- priest of a pantheon (or faction within a pantheon)
- non-direct-damage spellcaster
- no edged weapons
The Cleric was one of the three Original D&D† classes; the other two were Fighting Man and Magic-User.
The Cleric as evolved to add priest of specific cults - the original presentation almost ignored the deity.
In fact, the original published presentation is short enough to quote:
Clerics: Clerics gain some of the advantages from both of the other two classes
I Fighting-Men and Magic-Users) in that they have the use of magic armor and all
non-edged magic weapons (no arrows!), plus they have numbers of their own
spells. In addition, they are able to use more of the magical items than are the
Fighting-Men. When Clerics reach the top level (Patriarch) they may opt to build
their own stronghold, and when doing so receive help from "above". Thus, if
they spend 100,000 Gold Pieces in castle construction, they may build a fortress
of double that cost. Finally, "faithful" men will come to such a castle, being
fanatically loyal, and they will serve at no cost. There will be from 10-60 heavy cavalry, 10-60 horsed crossbowmen ("Turcopole"-type), and 30-180 heavy foot.
Note that Clerics of 7th level and greater are either "Law" or "Chaos", and
there is a sharp distinction between them. If a Patriarch receiving the above benefits
changes sides, all the benefits will immediately be removed!
Clerics with castles of their own will have control of a territory similar to the
"Barony" of fighters, and they will receive "tithes" equal to 20 Gold Pieces/
Inhabitant/year
(D&D Original Edition, 6th printing, Vol 1, page 7.)
So, we have hybridization to some degree directly in evidence
- The D&D cleric is aligned not to a deity, but an alignment. This is
counter to almost all historical models, save those of the dualistic
religions (Zorastrianism, especially).
- We have the Hammer Films anti-vampire hunter (Holy Symbol, Holy
water, repels undead that others can't).
- We have the Medieval "Fighting Priest" of the Romances (ahistoric,
but historically loved) coupled with the priest-friar tending to a
fighting company as chaplain (historic, but best beloved because of
the legends of Robin Hood containing Friar Tuck, who combines both).
- We have also priest as landowner - a nod to medieval abbots and
bishops.
- The use of no edged weapons isn't explicitly given an origin that
I've seen, but appears to be a "thematic" element arising from the
early Christian Conciliar prohibition on clergy causing the shedding
of blood, coupled to a lack of grasp that blunt weapons also are
quite capable of drawing and shedding blood. (A grazing mace will in
fact rip you open nicely if you aren't armored.)
More evidence of mashup are the titles for the levels:
Acolyte
Adept
Village Priest
Vicar
Curate
Bishop
Lama
Patriarch
(D&D Original Edition, 6th printing, Vol 1, page 16.)
Acolyte, Vicar, Curate, Bishop: All used in western churches, including Roman Catholic, Church of England, and Lutheran (tho' not all Lutheran Synods).
Patriarch is used in the Roman Church for 4 particular Archbishops; its use is far more common in the Eastern Churches - The Eastern Rites of the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches. Orthodoxy also uses Acolyte, Priest, and Bishop.
Adept and Lama are borrowed from elsewhere -
- Adept from a variety of pagan traditions,
Lama from the Tibetan... for Abbot.
Which is itself an interesting placement - Abbots rank below bishops in Orthodoxy and Catholicism - but in the Early Irish church, were the ones appointing bishops.
Notably missing are the subdeacon, deacon, archdeacon, dean, and archbishop of the Catholic and Orthodox churches, and the High Priest common in pagan traditions, with the gaps filled by other traditions' titles. A sure sign of mish-mash. (Evil High Priests are listed as anti-Clerics in Men and Magic, p. 34, and on p. 9 under alignment tables under Chaos)
Later editions, in addition to expanding the spell repertoire, add priests of specific mythoi, and priests of specific deities within a given mythos. They also provide alternate titles.
D&D has had an influence, however. Fighting priest-spellcasters have become an accepted trope in fantasy fiction, even tho' the majority of priests in the Sword and Sorcery genere were one of three facets: Bookworm preacher, spellcasting priest, or warrior monk; all three can be found in the Conan stories. The D&D cleric has migrated into the video games and into a few Manga and Anime series. It has infected later RPG's, as well - the Shugenja of L5R has more in common with D&D clerics than with Shinto or Buddhist monks.
† Ignoring supplements for the moment.
Best Answer
As mentioned in SevenSidedDie's answer, this seems to have entered the gaming lexicon after appearing in a Something Positive comic.
I was the DM in the D&D game Randy was playing when he started S*P (other than Mike and PeeJee, the players in this comic and the next few are based on our group). If I remember correctly one of the other players mentioned "Rocks fall, everyone dies" during a moment of levity. He said that he had a DM that he used to play with that used it when he got frustrated with the players.
It was a long time ago, and I may be conflating the memory with something else, but I believe the original form as related at our table involved the DM picking up all the dice he had and dropping them on the table as if they were damage dice, and then pronouncing "Rocks fall, everyone dies".
So the expression pre-dates Randy's use, but he certainly did popularize it.