Would you say that, in general, an attribute of a "proper" Sorceror R-map is that it describes the past rather than the present, the NPC histories rather than present emotions?

I'm no expert on Sorcerer, but I'd say that, on the contrary, R-maps are precisely about the present.  The present emotions are what you, as a GM, need, in order to tell you how NPCs might act, what they want, and how they are likely to react given the actions of the protagonists.

However, I have a sneaking suspicion that I may not entirely understand your question.  I don't have my copy of Sorcerer beside me at the moment--where do you get the idea that an R-map describes the past?  Such a thing hadn't actually occured to me, except in that a R-map could get rapidly outdated by events in the game, especially if a lot of characters get killed.

Charles Wotton

Wait, wait guys.

Charles, it's wonderful to have you here, but hold up and let me dunk Fred in the tequila. I'll be nice to you in a minute.

Fred, c'mere. Hammerlock!

1. Don't ever ask me "would you say" in this forum. I hate that phrase. It's almost as bad as "So you say" to start a sentence.

2. I have no confidence that you even know what a relationship map is, as defined by The Sorcerer's Soul. Your question, I'm afraid, indicates that you don't.

That whole biz about "emotions" is totally off the beam; there's nothing in the technique that has anything to do with how anyone feels about anyone else. Ties of kinship and sex are primary, and if necessary, some followup ties of association. These apply equally to past and present, as you'll see if you check out some of the maps in the book, or look up some of the ones that've been posted on-line for Sorcerer play.

In other words, past vs. present is a totally nonsensical distinction for the relationship map technique associated with Sorcerer. The line between two brothers who lived 100 years ago looks exactly the same as the line between two brothers who are alive right now.

Best,
Ron

Phrases like "Would you say..." and "So you say..." and "What I hear you saying is....", I've been taught, state one's understanding of what another person is saying.  It's supposed to be good conversational courtesy.  I put them in as qualifiers, so that my statements aren't as overbearing.  I'll stop using them.

So forget I said anything... I have no basis for asking questions about R-maps.  The term only applies to "Sorceror's Soul" and has no broader application.

I strongly think that Vaxalon's question was valid if not paticularly well defined, as I don't think he's talking so much about the relationship-map itself as much as the definition of its backstory.

I'd agree with it wholeheartedly. There's a lot more to work with when I know that "A killed B's mother" rather than "A is generally disrespectfull of B because of his low pedigree in the group.". The most extreme cases of the latter you don't tend to find in "relationship maps" per se as much as similar-looking devices like that found in setting books for something like Vampire.