Character Conversion

[Calithena]

Well, it's a little more subtle than that, I think. I have many different game-worlds, and different characters, etc., and some of them obviously don't fit the Sorcerer mode of play. But some seem to, or at least I'm exploring the possibility.

In Calithena's case, I'm very much envisioning a character-specific rather than campaign or world-specific application of the game. We (my GM and I) have been developing this character over a very long time, in fiction as well as in normal role-playing. She's not my main or my only project, nor my GMs, but she's one we enjoy working on for a variety of reasons. And what I can say is that

(1) the questions Sorcerer poses, about the tradeoff between keeping one's humanity and achieving one's goals, are precisely the questions that the GM's been hammering away at me with for two decades now;

(2) the 'relationship map' technique that Ron suggests to organize Sorcerer adventures is very similar to one my GM and I have been using, for Calithena and other characters, for quite a while

(3) game system issues have gotten in the way of playing this character for a while now, but when we actually try to play as opposed to just writing fiction, we need a system. why not pick one that seems designed to address the very kinds of question that the game seems to have been about all along?

Anyway, now that I see your question, maybe I can try to answer it more explicitly.

(1) It is possible for a variety of reasons already specified in play, but unknown in fact, that the child may be an actual demon - a fantasy demon, as they're understood relative to my GM's cosmology, sentient beings which may be bargained with for power, which have needs, which live just beyond a variety of veils, etc.

(2) Calithena's relationship to her unborn child is structurally similar in many respects to the dynamic between characters and demons in Sorcerer.

So anyway, I don't absolutely, positively know that the child is a demon; but given that it is possible that the child is an in-game demon and that it behaves like one I thought that if we did run the game this way that would be a good way of exploring that dynamic. It might turn out that the child wasn't a demon too.

Our interest is in telling stories; we've written some fairly good ones; we're having trouble using older game systems to facilitate that writing in the way that we used to; I thought Sorcerer might help. These postings are very much in an exploratory spirit; that's why they're on a message board instead of being written up for publication.

I'll think about a more well-defined answer to the Humanity question as well; I will say though that in the context of this particular character and my particular relationship with my GM I don't think we'd have much trouble recognizing when Humanity checks were called for. In general though I find it extraordinarily useful to think about how different worlds might be simulated in different game systems, and to think about the application of game systems to different worlds.

[Mike Holmes]

OK, let me try a different approach, because the earlier one wasn't working.

Let's say that I want to play in Calithena's world. I need to know what demons are, Humanity is, etc. What would you tell me? Or is this so personal that you can't recount it? Or just don't care to do so?

It may well work that you have some intuitive instinct that'll make it all work. OTOH, that's not how the game is run normally, and if I were Ron, I'd declare the warranty void for such a run. You might even get successful play. But it might not be Sorcerer play.

OTOH, maybe it's just my overwhelming sense of curiosity that demands an answer that's unneccessary. Who knows.

Mike

[Calithena]

Hm. It may also be my inability to answer straightforward questions, or actually, my ability to understand English well enough to know when a straightforward question is being asked me. Looking back over the thread, I'm shocked to realize how many of your and Ron's questions are amenable to a perfectly straightforward interpretation ("What's she all about? What does she think about things? What sort of world is she in? How do demons work in that world?")

I guess I'm so excited to discover people who actually theorize about their RPG experience that I temporarily forgot the material mode of speech. It happens. I'll try to do better if/when I come back to this. I was also trying to get my GM to come on here and join the discussion, but he's not an internet freak, and I don't think he made it past the first set of posts I made yet. I do have his copy of Sorcerer ready for him when I see him next - even if we don't use it for Cal, we will be playing this game.