This is a question for all you GM's and players out there. When you are palying Sorcerer, lets say "naked" Sorcerer in this instance, do you give a bonus for the descriptive use of Occult trappings? By this I mean the black granite altar, the cthulhoid mask, the sacrificial dagger, the ancient tome etc? Do you think those sorts of things are the sort of thibng that would boost a sorcery roll or is it too cliche/ lacking ingenuity?
I guess the question really is, do you give a bonus for the genuine descriptive effort of the player, or do you require some ingenuity for a bonus, especially with regards to sorcery rolls?
It may be a matter decided by theme, or by the premise of hopw sorcery is assumed to work in your particular game, butI am inclined to allow a bonus if the player seems to be genuinely trying to add to the game, even if it is with the less ingenius use of occult trappings.
How about you?
-Angelo
Hi Angelo,
I let the rest of the group be my guide, as well as my responses which rely on my being part of the group.
In other words, I don't decide on bonus dice based on my role as GM, but on my role as a fellow participant. If we go "uh!" when a person contributes something, or if my or anyone's attention is focused by a gesture they make or a detail they add, then there you go.
You'll find that this reaction automatically scales to the person in question. If it's a shy person who never adds much, then when he or she does anything like this, everyone grunts or otherwise gives positive feedback. If it's a person who routinely Colors what he or she contributes, then only sometimes it's "grunt-worthy."
Using this concept as a GM also means that you need to be close to the other people in terms of how they respond emotionally and aesthetically. One person might stay quiet, smile, look a little abstracted, and breathe in slowly. Another might make a fist and gesture. No matter what, there will always be a little "tremor" around the people at the right moments when someone deserves a bonus die or two.
People who try to check off lists in order to get bonus dice are boring in play. "I do this, I do that, I do this, I do that, then I hit him" - it's just stunting and stotting. Meaningless Color is like a spilled paintbox, it just makes a mess. Tune in emotionally, develop your participatory sense of enthusiasm, and breathe in what others contribute.
The GM in Sorcerer has all the fun - you get to play the demons, you get to bathe in everyone's imaginative contribution, and you don't have to write or script a goddamn thing. Just Bang'em, play the NPCs, bring in the pressure in every way. They make the story.
Best,
Ron
Heh. This was my most distinctive memory of the one time I played a demo with Ron -- when he assigned bonus dice based on the table's reaction to something I said, and pointed out that reaction and that he had done so. That was cool.
Ron, you need to write an article just about that kind of interpersonal mindfulness. I don't know if it's something that can be taught, but you're crazy enough to think that good roleplaying in general can be articulated, so it shouldn't be much of a stretch. ;)