[Sorcerer] First game

[Christopher VandeLinde]

Hi all,

This is my first post, but I've been reading these forums for a couple of days now.  I'm going to be running Sorcerer for my wife, using just the Apprentice rules for now (I should be able to get the main book in a week or so).  I've come up with some notes towards a One Sheet for that game (or as close to a proper One Sheet as I can deduce from forum posts), and I'd love some feedback, plus any advice you might want to toss to a first time Sorcerer GM.  As for my background, briefly, I started playing D&D about 21 years ago.  Since then I've played a lot of GURPS and some Vampire.  Tried Werewolf (the Apocalypse) once, but it didn't really grab my players at the time.  I also played in a short Cyberpunk 2020 game.  I've almost always been the GM, although I haven't played in a number of years now.  My wife has never played any RGP before; we tried Spycraft but the skill list was too much for her, and she dropped it.  She particularly likes the puzzle aspects of mysteries (James Patterson is her current favorite author, but she also likes Grisham), so I'm hoping to introduce investigative elements to the story.

As for my proposed game, I'm working from Lisa's favorite saying, "God helps those who help themselves."  Humanity is defined as Free Will, particularly the ability to act instead of reacting to one's environment.  Hence checks for humanity loss would be predicated on reacting to one's situation instead of trying to take charge and actively change them in some fashion.  At zero Humanity, one is no longer capable of independant action.  I'm thinking especially of the perpetual victim here, whose life is a mess but it's always someone else's fault, and the individual is incapable of accepting responsibility for their own life.

Demons would be the incarnation of instictive and emotional responses.  Sorcery involves ritualistic actions designed to bring those instincts and passionate emotions to the fore as a way of contacting and relating to Demons.  The instincts and emotions of Demons are somewhat alien, and have the effect of strengthening those drives in the Sorcerer, impairing the ability to act freely, apart from those driving forces.  Hence, the Humanity loss associated with Sorcerery.  The specific form taken by Sorcery may vary, provided there is some component involving strong emotions or desires.  I'm also assuming that the traditional Catholic view of mediums and necromancers as unknowingly contacting Demons impersonating the dead is correct, and so will allow the existence of "ghosts" who are actually Demons.

Finally, the premise I'm thinking of is, "Are you willing to lose your Freedom to get what you want?"

I'm planning on restricting characters to apprentices within one of the Branches of Sorcerery presented in the Apprentice, but otherwise to leave the field open.

Thanks,
Christopher

[Tim Alexander]

Hiya Christopher,

As for my proposed game, I'm working from Lisa's favorite saying, "God helps those who help themselves."  Humanity is defined as Free Will, particularly the ability to act instead of reacting to one's environment.  Hence checks for humanity loss would be predicated on reacting to one's situation instead of trying to take charge and actively change them in some fashion.  At zero Humanity, one is no longer capable of independant action.  I'm thinking especially of the perpetual victim here, whose life is a mess but it's always someone else's fault, and the individual is incapable of accepting responsibility for their own life.

The humanity definition in a Sorcerer game is a big deal, and having one that doesn't bite is a recipe for disaster. I'm a little confounded on how this one would work in play. Creating situations where it's to the player's benefit to react instead of being proactive, thereby endangering humanity, seem a tough row to hoe. Given your final comments I might gear you instead towards a humanity definition more focused on accepting responsibilty, with humanity loss or gain being predicated on whether you're willing to 'man up' in a given situation.

Make sense?

-Tim