More Sorcerer Anime + a new line of thought

[Bailywolf]

I just rented the Shamantic Princess complete DVD.  It had all 6 episodes of the OVA... and I've got to say, I don't think I've seen a better example of Sorcerer in Anime.  You could run a Shamantic Princess style Sorcerer game (taping Demon Cops for the anime flava) with Sorcerer almost from the box.  

Just about evey kind of demon was represented... as well as some bad-ass anime style summoning, binding, punishing, and compelling.  

It also offered a great scheme for player-character demons- Partners.  These are a sorcerer's first Demon, and generaly have some fairly innocuous Need and a strong Desire to protect and serve their sorcerer... and as seen in the later two episodes of the OVA, this can sometimes cause just as much trouble as your old-school  blood-drinking chaos-desiring demon.

The sorcerer's call up and command their demons (called powers in the series) fairly easily once they have been properly bound... and tend to have a fairly superior relatioship with their demons.

Anyway, check it out if at all possible.


But the further thought.  In Shamantic Princess, there is a (surprisingly nice and pastoral) alternate reality called The Guardian World which is home to a society of magic-users.  It is this that struck my fancy.  What of a society in which many (and all the ruling class) use sorcery.  All have demons- most have numerous demons (Tiara, the lead from the series, has her pertner demon, a shadowy combat demon, a parasite power-up alternate form demon, a shadow-sword/flying mist demon).  One of her demons (the parasite) was in all likelyhood even a psychodemon- a power given life by her own sorcery and shadow-side.

What if sorcery isn't Trangression, but Status Quo.  What if Sorcery is the norm?  How would a society of sorcerers function?  And in such a society, what would be transgression?

[Bankuei]

One of my favorites in anime...

It's also interesting to note that all of their demons came from the Uber demon: the Throne of Yord, which caused more trouble from its love of humans rather than hate...

If you notice, much of the idea of transgression was based on tradition, and it only makes sense.  Given the powers they're working with, it's very important not to screw up.  Whoever has proven themselves responsible and meticulous with their power is going to be obeyed and respected.

In this case, the societies' rules(ultimately coming from the rules of sorcery) created a highly structured caste system, but the system itself was in constant conflict with human compassion.  "Forget about your sister",  "Forget about your first partner", "Do your duty"...  Just getting ahead in the society costs humanity.  Your duty to tradition is more important than the people whom its supposed to serve.

Chris

[Bailywolf]

It's also interesting to note that all of their demons came from the Uber demon: the Throne of Yord, which caused more trouble from its love of humans rather than hate...

Yeah!  I hadn't figured on that angle so much.  It's almost as if the Guardian World's traditions formed some kind of ages-long Contain on this god-demon.  The focus of an entire sorcerous society is to keep the great thing apeased and bound... while milking it for power.  Another scale entirely for Sorcery... binding Gods with religion...

If you notice, much of the idea of transgression was based on tradition, and it only makes sense. Given the powers they're working with, it's very important not to screw up. Whoever has proven themselves responsible and meticulous with their power is going to be obeyed and respected.

In this case, the societies' rules(ultimately coming from the rules of sorcery) created a highly structured caste system, but the system itself was in constant conflict with human compassion. "Forget about your sister", "Forget about your first partner", "Do your duty"... Just getting ahead in the society costs humanity. Your duty to tradition is more important than the people whom its supposed to serve.

A damn fine assessment.  Lore act as both measure of occult power and wisdome as well as social status- how much one has made the society's traditions of sorcery a part of their life.

Humanity is interpersonal empathy- the ability to let compassion for another to guide instead of simply knuckling under tradition... indead, a teribbly cool dynamic... and a dangerous one... just look how badly passion and sorcery mix...


Give me a couple of days, and I'll see if I can post some setting rules mods and character writeups... my first attempt at modeling a secondary source character under Sorcerer...

[Bankuei]

The other great thing is that in this case, much of the power of the heroes is based off their relationships and motivations for each other.  WHY they're fighting is more important than anything else.  You could easily have Humanity rolls boosting sorcery.  Also, would the demons(partners) have their own humanity scores?  One can easily see the difference between the golem-like powers that fight as avatars of the shamans, the partners who care about their masters, and the "powered up" forms of the sorcerers, which, when properly demoralized can be deflated of their power.

Chris

[Clay]

What if sorcery isn't Trangression, but Status Quo.  What if Sorcery is the norm?  How would a society of sorcerers function?  And in such a society, what would be transgression?

In that case you'd be playing a very different game; probably looking a lot like Dungeons & Dragons.  Transgression probably wouldn't look any different: it would still be a violation of the blood/sex ties that underpin human behavior.

Clay