[Sorcerer] Convention Workshops: Definitions

[The Dragon Master]

So I mentioned a while back that I plan to be running a Sorcerer Workshop at Phoenix Comicon in a couple months. I've since been reading the book (yet again), and I'm now trying to make a list of important definitions.

Here are the ones I have come up with so far. I've borrowed some of these from the forums and the book, but want to know first if these are good, generic definitions for these topics, and second if there are any other concepts I should include here. The basic goal is for me to end up with two to three sentence definitions that give an overview of the concept (the inclusive/exclusive definition as I've mentioned elsewhere).
We start with some basic definitions.

Magic: All the traditions, cultures, rituals, and bodies of knowledge surrounding what we call magic or the occult are wrong. It is hogwash, flimflam, swindlery, and lies.

Sorcerers: A sorcerer is one of the most arrogant and desperate people on the face of the earth. He is so desperate to achieve his goals that he will sacrifice anything, up to and including the very core of his being for a chance to achieve them. He is so arrogantly sure of his abilities that he is willing to gamble with ever increasing risks in order to achieve them.

Demons: Demons do not exist. They are not a part of the world or creation. And you have one. And it does THIS.

Sorcery: The techniques and thought processes a Sorcerer will use to summon things that don't exist, and bind them to this world by sheer force of will.

I know I'm likely missing a few concepts. I'll be running another either split over the next two fridays, or on Sunday after a trip to the Renaissance Festival. After that I'll know better what I'm missing outside of these definitions, but I really want to get this done right as close to the first time as possible.

[Ron Edwards]

Hi,

Instead of "desperate," I'd say "driven" or "determined." Desperate implies some specific emotions, and any emotions are eligible to be at the core of a given given sorcerer's mind-set.

Instead of arrogance concerning one's abilities (although it may), I'd say "so arrogantly sure of his chosen course of action." When thinking of sorcerer characters, I like to think of Jack Vance's characterization of the five villains of the Demon Princes series: each one considered his confrontation with the rest of the universe to be no more nor less than a contest between equals. That's what a sorcerer thinks of what he or she has chosen to do with the demons.

For crucial terms to add, I suggest Humanity and the Kicker. And of course, Binding and Need.

Best, Ron

[The Dragon Master]

Okay, so to modify it somewhat, we end up with:

Sorcerers: A sorcerer is one of the most arrogant and driven people on the face of the earth. He is so driven to achieve his goals that he will sacrifice anything, up to and including the very core of his being for a chance to achieve them. He is so arrogantly sure of his chosen course of action that he is willing to gamble with ever increasing risks in order to achieve them.

I'm in a hurry now, but will work up definitions for the other two later today and post them.

[The Dragon Master]

Here's the next two.

Kicker: A life altering event in the characters life, and the one that kicks off the current adventure he finds himself in. The kicker represents what conflict in the characters life the Player is interested in exploring.

Binding: Binding is an agreement made between the Sorcerer and the Demon whereby the Demon will assist the Sorcerer, and the Sorcerer will assist the Demon in meeting it's need. It is also the means by which the Sorcerer takes personal responsibility for the demons actions.

Need: Demons are addicted to their need, in much the same way the Sorcerer is addicted to having food. They can get by for a little while without it, but skip out for too long and they will begin to die. They MUST have it to keep going.

Looking over the definition I came up with for Humanity tells me I need to reread that portion again to fix it in my mind. I don't quite have it yet.

In the meantime, how do these look?

[Ron Edwards]

Hi Tony,

My amendments are:

Kicker: A life altering event in the characters life, and the one that kicks off the current adventure he finds himself in. The kicker represents what conflict in the characters life the Player is interested in confronting.

Binding: Binding is an agreement made between the Sorcerer and the Demon whereby the Demon will assist the Sorcerer, and the Sorcerer will assist the Demon in meeting it's need. It is also the means by which the Sorcerer takes personal responsibility for the demons actions.

Need: Demons are addicted to their need, in much the same way a person can be addicted to heroin. They can get by for a little while without it, but skip out for too long and they will begin to die. They MUST have it to keep going.

Best, Ron

[The Dragon Master]

Okay. I can see where those differences come up. Now the last one (for now) is Humanity. That feels like a tough one. I want to get across that it represents the Players morals, not necesarily the characters morals. I want to get across that even so it's valuable to the characters. I'm going to reread the section in the book (and also in Sorcerers Soul) and some threads on here as a refresher before tackling that one. The game is on Sunday so I don't have much time to delay though.

[The Dragon Master]

Yesterday was far more hectic than it was supposed to be. I meant to post this last night before bed, and just now checked to find the text sitting here waiting for the "Post" button to be pushed. GAH!

Now that that's out of my system...

Humanity - A core value for the game, though not necessarily the setting. A Sorcerers Humanity is the core of his being. The thing that makes him, him. But it has value to the player as well as the character, in that once it hit's zero, the sorcerer becomes an NPC and is in the GM's control.

I know that isn't as well thought out as the others, but I only got a chance to reread the Humanity section in the core book last night, and didn't get around to a reperusal of Sorcerer's Soul as I'd intended.