Wannabe Sorcerer scores

[Nev the Deranged]

So, if I wanted an NPC who was a hardcore wannabe occultist, who stumbled into a real sorcerer coven and got apprenticed to a powerful adept.. who has devoted himself wholeheartedly to the study, scientific and philosophical, of the the craft... who has as close to an encyclopedic knowledge of demonology and sorcery as possible...

but who has never summoned a demon... too cowardly, or maybe just not interested in the actual application of the art...

Would I give them a really high Lore but maybe a low Will, or what? Should they still have a Lore of 0 since they technically aren't a "real" sorcerer?

Is it even possible to be technically competent in sorcery but unwilling for whatever reason to actually DO it?

I'm basically aiming for the epitome of the sorcerous wannabe. Someone who has read every book, memorized every graph, table, chart, whatever, knows the who's who backwards and forwards, can rattle off ritual components and their origins and uses off the top of his head, etc, but has no demon of their own and has no real interest in getting one.

The only example I can think of off the top of my head might be Wesley Wyndham Price from the Buffyverse- the early, bumbling Wesley, not the later badass Wesley, mind you.

I think you all get the idea... so the question remains... high Lore? Low (or zero) Lore? What about Will?

Could it be possible to maybe have low or nonexistent Lore but have a high Cover score in "Occultist" or something like that? Hmm...

Any suggestions would be welcome. ^_^

[Ron Edwards]

Hi Nev,

You're gonna hate this, but ...

... any set of scores is appropriate. Just consider how much oomph the character is expected to have in these three things:

- exerting force over physical objects and movements
- exerting force over others' actions and desires
- drawing upon sorcerous knowledge in the face of a crisis

It is absolutely no use to say, "This guy worked out all his life, so he's gotta have big muscles." It's the other way 'round - you want him to reliably hit things, so decide why and how he got that way.

So, for your wannabe, high or low Lore? Whichever. What matters is whether you think he's got Lore to draw on in a pinch. Remember, the Kicker is the thing which changes his life forever. So however incompetent or loser-like he's been in the past, it's what's about to happen that you're setting the scores for.

Maybe he only looks like he has lousy Lore, but when the shit hits, it turns out to be more than anyone ever thought possible. or maybe, yeah, once a poser always a poser, and he's just gonna have to get by on something else most of the time. Or whatever.

Best,
Ron

[Nev the Deranged]

Which would be all well and spiffy.... if NPCs had Kickers.

Unless they're supposed to? I don't think so, right?

So... I assume what you're saying is, it doesn't matter what scores I give him, I can play him however I want him to appear. The scores only relfect his potential, whether he actually realizes that potential is secondary. 'Zat pretty much it?

I should have figured...

[Ron Edwards]

Right.

Even without a Kicker. Or perhaps the best way to look at it is that whatever a player-character does, relevant to the NPC, is his Kicker.

Best,
Ron

[Nev the Deranged]

Gotcha. Thankies ^_^

[Henri]

From what Ron has said, there is clearly no right answer, but if it were up to me, I would go high Lore  (like 5 or 6) and wimpy Will (like 1 or 2).  A lot of sorcery actually is based on Will, not Lore.  So this would give you someone who was really knowledgeable but kind of a sniveling coward.  Looking at the rituals, he could contact and contain demons like nobody's business, but when it came to actually summoning, banishing, or punishing one, he would be up a creek.  Unless, of course, he is clever and can figure out a way to hook himself some roll-over victories with his Lore rolls.