[Sorcerer] Ordinary Tragedies

[Tim Alexander]

Hey Folks,

Yep, I've been gone for quite a bit what with the birth of my son, but I'm itching to get back to some playing. Towards that end I'm rolling around a Sorcerer idea in my head and putting together a one sheet. I'm looking for some input as to what the following evokes for you guys. What kind of stories do you see happening? What kinds of characters does this bundle bring to mind for you? Obviously a fair amount of the holes would be worked out in play, but I want to make sure that the basic content puts people in the same ballpark as me.

Humanity
•   Humanity is hope. Actions which inspire hope in others net gains, and those things which damp hope net losses.

Setting
•   In and around Las Vegas, present day. During the day scenes are shot with a harsh yellow filter to emphasize the oppressive heat, while the night scenes are washed in a cool grey-blue. Think of the cinematography in "Traffic," "Amores Perros," "21 Grams," and "Out of Sight."

Demons
•   Two distinct types, immanent (echoes) and standard demons

Properties of immanents
 •   As per normal rules for immanents they cannot be summoned, or bound. They may be banished under certain circumstances, and can be contained, contacted, or punished.
 •   They are brought about as 'echoes' of human events. Great violence, the remnants of a human life; think ghosts.
 •   Unlike normal needs their needs are the requirements needed before a banish can take place.

Properties of standard demons
 •   Manifest as human fallacies and feed off them. Addictions, bigotry, etc.
 •   I'm leaning towards strictly parasites, but I'm going to open the discussion to the players as I may be missing some cool ideas.

Sorcery
•   Rituals stem from 'normal' actions of human failing and are not overly ornate or classically occult in nature.
•   Contacts manifest in the 'dry lands,' a hazy layer over the real world reached through narcotics, alcohol, deprivation or the like. It looks much as if the world had been emptied of people and blown over with sand, the sun veiled and giving no warmth. Scenes in the dry lands are shot grey scale, with occasional points of color.
•   Bindings (as usual) relate directly to the demon. They are ordinary human vice. Characters shooting themselves up to bind an addiction parasite, smashing an immigrant convenient store in order to bind a rage demon, etc.

Descriptors
Stamina
 •   Juiced (see chemically heightened.)
 •   Abuser (your power comes from other's weakness.)
 •   Junkie (strung out and whip thin, but need gives you strength.)
 •   Left to Die (your body is well past it's prime, but you refuse to give up the ghost.)
 •   Morbidly Obese (gluttony has it's benefits; namely you pack a lot of power into your bulk.)

Will
 •   User (see standard rules.)
 •   Sycophant (you know what people want and are willing and able to give it to them.)
 •   Rageful (see standard rules.)
 •   Hollow (you've hit rock bottom and have nothing left to lose.)
 •   Arrogant (you're confident, maybe too confident, and you exude it.)

Lore
 •   Clinical (you've run the numbers, done the research. You're a scholar and well aware of the pathologies you give into in order to enact sorcery.)
 •   Tribal (you're grounded in the mythologies of the natives, and you know the facts from fiction. You're part of a tribe, though you may or may not actually be a Native American.)
 •   Naif (see standard rules.)
 •   Mad (see standard rules.)
 •   Bitch (you're someone's underling, but you're getting something out of the deal.)

That's what I've got so far. Thanks for taking a look.

-Tim

[Fabrice G.]

Hi Tim,

I really like what you have so far, but as it's almost what I want to play these days, I'm surely biased.

For the sort of story I'm envisioning, mostly story like those you refer to as visual for you setting. In term of parallel to other stories, I can definitely see something akin to Hubert Selby Jr. work, the Mike Figgis  movie Leaving Las Vegas (where the central character has lost all hope and is on the way to suicide via alcohol).
But, more generally, I see a bunch of characters damaged by life, who had to give in to sorcery to recover a meaning in their lives.

What comes to mind giving your one-sheet are too broad charaters types : those who,due to eventsin their lives, had to gave up Hope in order to recover it via sorcerous means ; those who maybe never had much Hope for themselves and happilly sacrified their own and that of other in order to achieve some (more) power.

The one thing that I don't immediately get my hands on is the definition of actions resulting in Humanity gain or Humanity checks. Also, is Hope a 'measure' of personal Hope or of the attitude of the characters about the Hopeness of other people ?

Oh, and I forgot, what about the demons ? I mean, how do you picture them ? I ask, because that's mostly my problem at envisioning demons in that kind of setting that blocks me to play this kind of Sorcerer.


Anyway, nice idea !


Take care,

Fabrice

[Ron Edwards]

Hiya,

Well, I want to play. That's pretty much all I can say ... let's see ... I know that for any character I'd make up, the Kicker would definitely be an apparent opportunity to "make good" - you know, the classic one-last-chance or the sure-fire-winning-scheme.

Ever see the movie Hard Eight?

Best,
Ron

[Tim Alexander]

Hey guys, thanks for the feedback.

Fabrice: Sounds like you've definitely gotten the idea I was hoping to get across. Those are exactly the sorts of character types I'd be hoping to see. As for what demons look like they're not very visual in the real world since I'm leaning towards only parasites, but if that changes I think I'd talk it out with the group. You bring up a good point though; I want them to look differently in the dry lands but I hadn't really thought of how. At the moment I'm thinking of extending the echoes metaphor and having them being reflections of the respective characters. For example your rage demon might show up as your abusive father in the dry lands; that sort of thing.

Ron: Sounds like you're on the same page too, and the kicker idea is great; right on for the game. I've never seen Hard Eight, but just from the title it sounds like a movie I ought to pickup. Same sort of broken dreams stories? Oh, and as for playing, I'll make it a point to give you a call when I get this together. :)

-Tim

[Fabrice G.]

Tim,

cool !

For the Dry Lands, I cannot help but, in some way, think about some twisted Shadowland from Wraith. I mean, it's a darkened, "over-gritty" reflection of the world. That sound quite like what you did envision...
I don't know if you're familiar with the game, but it could be some good source of inspiration as to the visuals of the Dry Lands.

I'm eager to know more about your game, so keep us posted about it !


Take care,

Fabrice

[Ron Edwards]

Hello,

Hard Eight is one of the (if not the) first full-length movies directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, who went on to direct Boogie Nights and Magnolia. Apparently its non-U.S. title was "Sydney." It's a classic hard-luck Vegas crime-ish drama, and features outstanding performances by folks that you'll recognize in the later movies, like John C. Reilly, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Philip Baker Hall.

I cannot recommend it too highly for the kind of genre/focus that you're describing in this thread. Absolutely required.

Best,
Ron

[Tim Alexander]

Hey Guys,

Ron: I'll definitely pick up Hard Eight, sounds right up my alley anyhow.

Fabrice: I envision the Dry Lands as less... decayed than the Shadowlands in Wraith. In my head it's based on Ursula K. LeGuinn's descriptions of the land of the dead in her Earthsea books. It's twilight, and the landscape is somewhat disused, but not in ill repair, more just empty of the human touches. I also realized that I hadn't answered your humanity question. Basically I see it as both personal hope and instilling or quashing hope in others. This will obviously be at odds at times; especially if folks are clawing their way out at the expense of their fellow man. I think it will warrant a pregame discussion amongst the players to make sure everyone is on the same page.

I'll keep people informed of things as it progresses. My wife is headed back to work this week and we'll all be adjusting for a bit to the new routine, but I'll hopefully get something together in the coming weeks.

-Tim

[Judd]

Tim,

This is great stuff.  I love how the descriptors are simple but very evocative of the setting.  Just reading them I get ideas for characters, which is precisely what they're supposed to do, I think.

Are you running this anytime soon or thinking out loud?

Thanks for posting,

Judd

[Tim Alexander]

Hey Judd,

Thanks for the compliments, especially the stuff on the descriptors. Ron's always called for descriptors when these one-sheets get posted and for a while I wondered why. It finally clicked for me that it's really the best tool to invoke character types to people. There are several up there that are practically straight out of the book, but the retooling process brought them into the feel of the setting. I especially wanted them to be 'flaws' as strengths, since I'm hoping to see characters that are really broken, really edgy people.

In terms of timing, I suppose it depends on how you gauge soon. Before anything happens I'll have to see how the new routine with the baby works, but assuming that goes ok I'm hoping to get a character building session and roundtable together in a couple of weeks time.

-Tim