[Actual Play] Picking Over the Bones

[Brennan Taylor]

OK, I ran a Sorcerer demo this last weekend at Ubercon in New Jersey. This ran at 4:00 on Friday afternoon, so I was very pleased that I had a full roster of four players for the game. This game went really well, and I felt it was a perfect example of Sorcerer play. None of the players had ever used the system before, and most were pretty much D&D players with little experience outside that system in its several variations. One of the players had joined with the inspiring comment, "I guess I'll play this. Nothing else I'm interested in is going on." Even this player got something out of the game.

Here's the setup: A master sorcerer, Joseph Fagan, has died during a ceremony. The other characters all have some relationship to Fagan and his death, and most are out to score power and unattached demons left over from his death. I made all four characters, with various kickers relating to Fagan and his death, and just handed them out to players when we started.

Marlon Haring
A slim, elegant young man who favors white clothes. His cover is personal assistant, and he was the Fagan's apprentice, getting little dribs and drabs of knowledge for years of sycophantic service. His telltale is that he is an albino, but his eyes are brown instead of red.
Stamina 3, Will 5, Lore 2, Humanity 4, Price: Arrogant -1.
Kicker: He has waited and served, year on year, bowing and scraping. Now the old bastard is dead, and what was his should be Marlon's.

Marlon's demon:
Marlon Black, a passer who looks exactly like Marlon except is not albino. His telltale is that he has the original Marlon's red eyes.
Stamina 3, Will 6, Lore 5, Power 6, Confuse, Cover, Hint, Spawn, Cloak.
Desire: Sensual Gratification
Need: Physical Intimacy

Ihrina Pavlakis
A heavy middle-aged woman who dresses with casual luxury. Her cover is politician, and she was a friend of Fagan's. She helped him research his latest ceremony, a ritual wedding with each of the seven continents. She altered the spell so it would kill him when cast. Her tell-tale is a hollowed-out abdomen, since she is mad and believes that she can make herself immortal by removing her organs and placing them in canopic jars. Her demon is keeping her alive (vitality power).
Stamina 2, Will 4, Lore 4, Humanity 3, Price: cynical -2
Kicker: He thought she was an ally, but she slipped a poison pill into his ceremony. It worked! Now she can seize all of his secrets.

Ihrina's demon (stolen from the film Chronos):
Chaelon, a parasite in the form of a small gold device with spines and claws on one side. Chaelon attaches to its master's chest and looks like a metallic on the sternum.
Stamina 3, Will 6, Lore 5, Power 6, Armor (master), Boost Stamina (master), Boost Will (master), Protection (master), Vitality (master)
Desire: Power
Need: Fresh blood (which it sucks from its host).

Alan Rutherford:
A thin, sickly-looking man in shabby clothes (described by the player as looking like Riff-Raff from Rocky Horror). His cover is bookseller, and his telltale is a twisted, deformed foot. He had no previous relationship to Fagan, apart from his kicker.
Stamina 3, Will 3, Lore 4, Humanity 4, Price: lame -1.
Kicker: He has done his best to avoid other sorcerers, but received a threatening letter from Fagan demanding that he come to Fagan's house at a specified time.

Alan's demon:
Frost, a passer who takes the form of a white-haired and bearded dwarf in a white tux, top hat, and tails. His teeth are exceptionally sharp.
Stamina 6, Will 7, Lore 4, Power 7, Fast, Hold, Perception (sees in the dark), Special Damage (bite).
Desire: Cause pain.
Need: Eat flesh.

Qin Hai-Su "Susan":
A beautiful young asian woman. Her cover is student, and she has no previous contact with anything sorcerous. She was intended to be a victim of Fagan's ritual, but inexplicably survived while Fagan died. Her telltale is a mystical tattoo on the back of her neck.
Stamina 5, Will 4, Lore 1, Humanity 6, Price: still in denial -1.
Kicker: Today, she awoke naked in a room she's never seen before, with five other women lying dead on a mystic circle around her.

Susan's Demon:
Geddon, an object demon in the form of a massive leather-bound book with pages made from human skin. Geddon's telltale is a whispering noise when his pages are turned.
Stamina 6, Will 10, Lore 9, Power 10, Boost Lore, Cloak (master), Command (master), Confuse, Hint, Mark, Perception (scry, master), Taint, Protection (master).
Desire: Corruption.
Need: To be read.

One last demon was in the house, still bound to the dead Joseph Fagan. She was part of the failed ritual as well, since each of the women represented a continent (Susan was Asia). The demon was a passer in the form of a woman, representing Antarctica.

Antarctica:
A passer with blue skin and white hair.
Stamina 6, Will 7, Lore 6, Power 7, Boost Will (master), Boost Lore (master), Cloak, Daze, Special Damage (cold), Warp.
Desire: Mischief.
Need: Sexual intercourse.

I set the scene, starting with Susan since she had such a dramatic kicker. She awoke and immediately tried to leave the house, and was delayed by Marlon. Ihrina and Alan arrived shortly after and they all ended up in a sitting room in Fagan's house, discussing what was going on.

Both Marlon and Ihrina quickly figured out that Geddon had bound with Susan somehow during the ritual, and since Geddon was powerful demon, both were interested in somehow wresting him away from this uninitiated rube. Alan twigged to it too in a matter of a few minutes, and he was trying to keep Marlon from taking Geddon away from Susan. During the argument, Alan sicced Frost onto Marlon, and Frost knocked him down and bit off his ear. Susan was freaking out and trying to figure out what was going on, but quickly discovered that the book was her ally, giving her messages and answering questions with writing on its pages. This was all pretty tense and everybody did a great job thinking about their interests, strategizing, and antagonizing one another.

They then determined that there was a missing woman from Fagan's ritual, and learned from Geddon that it was a demon. This demon was still in the house, so they started searching for it. Susan slipped away using Geddon's cloak ability and had a quick, private chat with the book.

They found the demon Antarctica in the freezer, and it came out that Fagan had invited Alan in order to test his new powers by destroying the solitary adept, and Alan quickly left the scene. The others were all trying to woo Antarctica into rebelling against the dead Fagan and binding to them, even Susan at this point. The ironic thing is that all of them tried to give Antarctica her Need, which none of the other characters would have done voluntarily (two straight women and one gay man). The only straight man had already left!

It all ended with Susan convincing Antarctica to bond to her, because Susan thought that was what Geddon would want (which he did, since he had managed to corrupt this innocent into the depraved ways of sorcery by the end of the adventure).

It was a very interesting time, and the first time I have ever run or played this game. The rules really brought out the best narrative-style play in these players, all of whom had really only been exposed to D&D up to this point. They all had a good time, and at least one picked the game up as a result. I was very pleased, and I look forward to trying it again sometime.

[Ron Edwards]

Wow!

Brennan, you not only considered the advice I gave you, but really took the whole idea to a new level. I'm impressed!

Did anyone in the group have a "Sorcerer moment" when they decided (a) what they wanted and (b) that nothing would stop them?

Best,
Ron

[Brennan Taylor]

Did anyone in the group have a "Sorcerer moment" when they decided (a) what they wanted and (b) that nothing would stop them?

Yeah, the Susan player did that just at the end. It was very interesting, since the character never quite believed or accepted what was happening until the end, and then she decided to essentially cut out the more experienced sorcerers and take Antarctica for herself. Her ultimate goal was to repeat the marriage ceremony and get the power for herself! This, even though she knew that all of the "brides" would be killed by the ceremony. Geddon (desire=corruption) and Antarctica (desire=mischief) were totally on board with this.