Big robots?

[Joe Murphy (Broin)]

In the Sorceror rulebook, there's a list of different kinds of demons people have used in the past. One of the examples is robotic fighter jets.

Can someone expand on that a little? Any idea what they represented, or what Humanity meant in that version?

Joe.

[Bailey]

It's a matter of obsession.  Humanity represents a character's ability to connect with other people who are not sorceror/pilots.  Lore becomes the knowlege and ability to get a little bit more out of the vehicle by piling possessor demons into the jet.

As the pilot/mechanic/sorceror trapps more mojo into the jet they become more and more superstitious about how they must treat their jet, from rituals to who they let ride of gun with them.

The dual themes of action and alienation

[Bailywolf]

Look at all the Anime in which the line between supernatural creature, mecha, machine, and flesh blur.

In an anime fantasy setting, demons could easily be quisi-supernatural robot suits, combining both the supernatural and the technological.

Another way of looking at technology as demons---

Supertech AI fighters and robots might require direct human neural interface to function properly- esentialy using the human brain for what it is good for- hueristic reasoning, drawing conclusions, and making guesses.  For the speed and math heavy aplications, it uses its own mental resources.  

Humans with the correct mindset to link with such machiens would be sorcerers, and the breaking in and mental adaptation process is the binding actions.  

An additional wrinkle might be alien origins for the AI machines; humans can't build them, but a rare few can link with them.

[Joe Murphy (Broin)]

Thanks, guys. =)

Oh, I'm familiar with enough anime to see how one might run such a game, but I was mostly wondering about the specific example from the book. Thank for all the input, guys. Cheers. =)

I picked up Sorceror last week, so naturally, I've been looking at lots of source material, trying to spot the sorceror/demon relationship, or examining Humanity as a reward system. It's fascinating stuff.

Corporate and technological source material is particularly interesting to me at the moment. I mean there's Fight Club, with Jack having summoned up Tyler, and Humanity being sanity, or perhaps a rating of alienation. I watched 'In the Company of Men' last night, and the inter-office backbiting is beautifully described, and darkly inspirational.

I might propose a game based on these movies (and perhaps a little Dilbert) to my group next week. The older we all get, the more Dilbert makes sense...

Joe.

[contracycle]

Look at all the Anime in which the line between supernatural creature, mecha, machine, and flesh blur.

Clarkes Third Law states that "sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable form magic."  I think this should be rewrittemn to say that "sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from biology."

I was wondering if the sapient ships and things had been taken from Ian M. Banks Culture novels?  Sounded appropriate, although I'm not sure that the setting contains enough conflict to be interesting.

Something like Great Sky River might work well in that sort of idea too.

[Bailywolf]

contracycle

Ah, another person of obvious good taste and breeding.

Banks is on of my favorite writers, bar none.  His non-genera fiction (published under the name Iain Banks minus the "m") is prime sorcerer inspiration material.  Check out 'Walking on Glass", "The Wasp Factory", "The Bridge" or the creepy "Complicity".  I'm just about to start "The Buisness".

But I also love his scifi and especialy the Culture books... and have even toyed with using sentient ships as player characters...

Imagine Minds as sorcerer characters...

Stamina means the class of ship they are installed in

Will means their mental prowess

Lore... hmmm... perhaps Whiles instead, meaning how devious and inventive they are.

They can esentialy build lesser ships, drones, and modules as needed... but the real trick are the humans that facinate them.., give them a bit of challange- managing their lives, cleaning up their messes, and occasionaly being surprised.