[Sorcerer] Kind of a Weird, maybe Sad Story

[Troy_Costisick]

Heya,

I went to my FLGS (named Something 2 Do) a couple weeks ago for the Morningtide set release tournament for Magic: The Gathering.  It's on the second floor of one the upscale malls in Louisville, KY.  I'm a regular there for Vintage Magic tournaments as well as Set Releases even though it's a 45 minute drive.  My wife does a lot of scrapbooking, and there's a store on the first floor of the mall where people can come in and scrapbook from 10am to 11pm.  While she scrapbooks, I play games. 

The tournament didn't start until 2pm, so I had a few hours on my hands.  I brought my copy of Sorcerer to the store to read.  I really want to play this game with my group, so I'm re-reading it and trying to pick up as much as I can.  One thing Ron has always said about the book is that it's meant to be a physical thing.  The book itself is meant to be a source of pride and love for the owner.  When a player picks up the book, it feels different from other games.  He's right.  I was very proud to be reading it in a store stocked full of D20 manuals that have been nailed to the shelves for the last year.

Anyway, while I was reading it, one of the workers came over to me and asked, "Is that the White Wolf Sorcerer game?"

I was confused.  I said, "No, this is written by Ron Edwards from Adept Press.  I'm not sure White Wolf ever had a Sorcerer game."

His reply, "Oh, that's the game I'm always running into online when I search for the White Wolf one.  I've been looking for it for years, but never found it."

"Have you tried this one?" I asked, while trying to remember if WW ever had a game called Sorcerer: the "Whatevering".  But I couldn't.

"No, but I saw some guys playing the White Wolf verson one time.  It had a cover pretty much like that one.  They looked like they were having a lot of fun."

I smiled and said, "Let me write down the website for Adept Press for you.  You can maybe order this one and see if it's something you'd like, especially if you can't ever find the White Wolf one.  One thing tho, this game isn't really like the White Wolf games.  It's a lot more intense."

He shrugged as he took the paper and shoved it in his pocket.  I said, "Give it a try," before returning to my seat and resuming my reading.  I was kind of sad.  I knew the game he watched was a my Sorcerer game, but he couldn't get past the idea that someone other than White Wolf would do a game like this.  In fact, I'm not sure he's been exposed to much outside of WotC and WW.  He had no idea what EnWorld was when I talked to him about 4e coming out.

So anyway, Ron, I hope I got ya a sale out of it.  I thought I'd share it because, no doubt, you've been in similar places.  I did want to ask, how do you explain Sorcerer to someone who knee-jerks "It's gotta be White Wolf" when he sees it?  Saying, "Well it's not really like that at all..." which is all I could stammer out didn't convince him, I don't think. 

Peace,

-Troy

[jburneko]

The Dark Ages version of Mage was called The Sorcerer's Crusade.  I believe that is what most White Wolfers knee-jerk to when they hear Sorcerer.

Jesse

[rafial]

There was also a  Sorcerer supplement for Mage: the Ascension

http://whitewolf.wikia.com/wiki/Sorcerer_Revised

...I've occasionally seen it huddled in the huge wads of cast of WoD material you find at any store with a used game section

But strangely, it does seem to be rarer on the ground than copies of Ron's game.

[Ron Edwards]

Hiya,

I appreciate the promotion, but I think Sorcerer is definitely a game that will only make a person happy if they really want that game, the way it is. If the guy is so cemented to his brand, then it probably really is his priority to see the WW product and maybe own it. Since the late 1990s, that brand is based on the concept of "hey! never mind last time, this book will finally give you fun this time," ... so the more I think about it, the more I kind of wish he never finds it. That way, the fun will always exist for him somewhere, if not actually in his hands.

Best, Ron

[Finarvyn]

... so the more I think about it, the more I kind of wish he never finds it. That way, the fun will always exist for him somewhere, if not actually in his hands.

Ron, you always have the best way to look at things. I think of the number of times that I hoped to find a book for years, only to discover it wasn't so great once I finally got ahold of one ... well, your quote made me smile!