Demon Con I!

[Ron Edwards]

Hey Tim,

Great comments. I'm currently writing up a formal version of the demo, and I agree that one thing worth adding is a wee bit more depth in terms of high school memories for each character. Not much though - I think I may even frame it as a couple of high-test questions that each player can answer in writing. The neat thing about that idea is that they don't have to show anyone, it's just personal "work." But a couple more concrete social factoids isn't a bad idea either.

Oh, and there was a relationship map. Kelly, Alison, Martin, a fellow named Steve who didn't get into play, and the five PCs were all solidly linked, and actual play did indeed proceed along the lines of strengthening or reinforcing the map. Not much, granted, and I could have emphasized it a bit more, but it was happening throughout.

Remember that relationship mapping in classic Sorcerer play is a GM technique, and "revealing the map" is irrelevant to conducting the scenario. That's not the only way to go, of course. Alyria takes a very different and more explicit approach that works really, really well.

Best,
Ron

P.S. Any time you or Mike visit th'Big City again, let me know.

[GreatWolf]

. That's not the only way to go, of course. Alyria takes a very different and more explicit approach that works really, really well.

Thanks, Ron.

I'm glad to hear that Demoncon went well.  Of course, there's no way that I could have made it this year.  But, since I will be much closer next year, I'm hoping to be able to make it then.  (There will be a "next year", right?)

[Ron Edwards]

Hey,

Another Demon Con? Oh, yeah. This is intended to be an ongoing thing.

So: late May or early June, 2003 - Demon Con II. Be thinkin' about it ...

Best,
Ron

[Mike W]

Ron,

First of all I would like to thank you for what could be considered one of my favorite roll playing experiences.  I thoroughly enjoyed the day and I'm glad that I took the trip into Chicago to play.  As for Sorcerer, I was blown away with the demo.  Not only did I truly enjoy playing my character but I felt very close to both him and my demon.  When my demon was lets just call it "lost", I was very taken aback and rather pissed. I think this proves that Sorcerer had a strong effect on me as a player and I think that is important.  As Tim stated, I wanted to have the game last longer both to see how much more I could explore with my character and I wanted to explore the relationship with my demon closer as well.  The only cons I can think of would be the size of the group. I have always been a fan of small group Roleplaying and in Sorcerer I can definitely see its strengths. Large groups may make the game difficult to handle for even the most experienced GM.  This can become especially true in Sorcerer when in essence each player is playing two characters.  Though I think you handled it very well, I would reccomend that in future demos you maybe hold two demos of four people each at most or even three to be safe.  All in all it was a wild ride and one I hope to take again and again. Thanks.

Mike W.

[Tim C Koppang]

I really like that idea of a few questions that the players get to answer.  I know that in demo games, playing pre-gened characters kind of comes with the territory.  I can deal with a bunch of numbers that someone throws at me and pretty much run with it, but even a small amount of control over the characters' past is valuble to me.  It means that I know where this character is coming from - and either playing that out or discovering more about it is one of my favorite things to expirience while role-playing.

As a side note: I so had a picture of my standoffish character seeing one of his old girlfriends and trying to dig up old feelings about her.  That would have been great: The cool, confident agent meets his match... at his high school reunion.  Dun Dun Duuuun.

And as far as the relationship map is concerned, I kind of figured you had one working, but as you already stated I just wanted some stronger relationships between my character and the NPCs.  Again, this is hard to do in a demo, and really depends a lot on how much effort I put into it as well.

Ron said:
"P.S. Any time you or Mike visit th'Big City again, let me know."

Will do.