[Sorc] Sacrifice Questions

[James_Nostack]

On page 87 of the 2001 printing, it says...

Furthermore, performing a sacrifice entails making another Humanity check.  If it is a human sacrifice, this check has a penalty equal to the victim's Humanity instead of the usual single-die penalty.

1. What "usual single-die penalty" is this?  Can someone give me a page reference?  I can't seem to find it.

2. This Humanity check--is it the sorcerer's Humanity vs. the victim's Stamina or Will?  Or is it the sorcerer's Humanity vs. the demon's Power?  Or the sorcerer's Humanity vs. itself?

3. The Sorcery Chart on page 86 lists "drugs" as a modifier for the ritual of summoning, but not "sacrifices."  Is this a typo on the chart?  Or is the reader meant to understand that the drug mechanics for contacting demons also apply to summoning them?  (I'm just asking because it's unclear to me.)

[Trevis Martin]

Hi James

p43, 2nd paragraph. Read 'Die' as point of humanity.  1 Point = 1 Die = 1 bonus = 1 victory = 1 penaty.  The usual penalty for a failed humanity check is 1 point (which is also 1 die as that score represents a pool.)

Sacrifice is a part of a summoning Roll.  Summoning (again p 43 under humanity) humanity check is Humanity vs Demon Power.  If the sorcerer looses a humanity check for a summoning roll where he has made a sacrifice then the penalty is not one as usual but the victim's humanity.

The last, I'm not sure.  I think drugs apply to summoning too.  Ron?

regards,

Trevis

[Ron Edwards]

Hello,

Actually, that's off-base about the single-die thing, Trevis, although it does represent a pretty good try at deciphering my vagueness.

I'll take it from the top.

1.-2. See the Sorcerer website Errata page. The sentence which has puzzled you is a complete and utter mistake, a holdover from more complex pre-print rules about sacrifices. Replace it entirely with the sentence from the Errata page. (This also renders Trevis' clever but tortured explanation unnecessary.)

3. The chart should have "sacrifice" where "drugs" is, for Summoning. That said, all such modifiers are really a function of your own group's local definitions (and more importantly, look-and-feel) of sorcery and demons. I was very much in a Kult, Obsidian, Over the Edge, and scary diagram (see Ch. 1, Sex & Sorcery) frame of mind, at the time I wrote up the chart.

Here are a few older threads, which don't really get at the immediate issue (could have sworn there was a really old thread which did), but do provide some useful related information.

Rules-thoughts
Demons rituals and Humanity checks
Question on Summoning rules

Best,
Ron

edited links to eliminate highlighted search terms

[Trevis Martin]

Ah...well I did think that penalty was awful high for a failed sacrifice roll, Heh.

--Scribbles in book furiously--

Trevis

[Ron Edwards]

Whoops, screwed up the second link:

Demons rituals and Humanity checks

Best,
Ron