Possessors, Stamina, and Boost

[Sean]

The Sorcerer main book says Possessors can't have Boost. Why not? What's wrong with the force that takes you over and gives you, say, inhuman Stamina? Is this game-breaking in some way?

What is a Possessor's Stamina score good for? Does a Possessor's Host take on the Stamina of the Possessor? Can a Possessor ever take damage?

I'm sure this has already been discussed, but I can't find where, and I don't remember. Any help would be appreciated.

[Ron Edwards]

Hello,

Let's start with Stamina per se.

1. Stamina is the demon's battery for using its abilities. If the Possessor possesses you, and you have Stamina 5, then when it directs your body to do something, you use Stamina 5. However, when it uses its Daze ability on someone, then its Stamina is utilized as the Fatigue measure, not yours.

2. Conceivably, and depending on the local definitions of sorcery and that particular demon, a Possessor demon could break down the door using its own Stamina. This would follow the same rules as in the book with the Boosting example; excessive Stamina relative to the host's Stamina can damage the host.

3. Possessors do not have Boost because Boost is redundant or dangerous for them.

a) Boosting Stamina is redundant with using the Possessor's own Stamina in place of the host's.

b) Boosting Will is counter-productive to the Possessor; the last thing it wants is a more Will-ful host.

c) Boosting Lore is meaningless because the possessee can't do anything with his or her Lore. Even if the local definition of sorcery and that particular demon would allow it, such Boosting is still potentially counter-productive for the demon.

(pauses)

OK, now for the frenzied series of replies ...

Best,
Ron

[Sean]

2 and 3a are really what I was looking for. Thanks, Ron.

That does mean though that if you want a sort of berserker-demon-possessor you need to pay for say Power 9 to get Stamina 8, rather than paying for say Power 5 to get your own Stamina boosted from 4 to 8. That's cool though. It kind of fits with having to get a Power 7 Demon to get 6 dice of Special Damage Lethal whether your own Stamina is 1 or 5. The idea seems to be that demon powers are always independent from, never dependent on the abilities of the host, or rather are always dependent on the abilities of the Demon.

However, I guess that little calculator in back of my head is still wondering why I wouldn't take a bloodstream-Parasite berserker demon with Boost instead at Power 5. Ah. Here's one reason: the boost causes confusion if used repeatedly, while the supplanted stat only risks damaging the host's body. Yes?

[Ron Edwards]

There you go!

That's exactly the reasoning. I really wish I could describe the state of mind I was in, in December 1994, when I listed out the demon abilities and the demon types and said, "Huh! Got it!"

A few took a while to get tweaked, and maybe never did get just right (Hint, Spawn), but most of them just sort of ... clicked into place all at once. It felt very odd, cognitively speaking.

Best,
Ron