I'm working on a Sorcerer setting.  It's not ready yet, but I thought I'd share some of my thoughts as I work on it.

I'm getting back into gaming after an extended absence, and I'm building up a network of friends to play with.  I decided one of the games I want to run is Sorcerer; I've had Sorcerer and Sword and Sorcery for a while now and have really wanted to play it.  This weekend I started thinking about how I would run the game.  I was looking forward to establishing the setting collaboratively with the group... but almost as soon as I thought about it, a concept for a setting hit me, in one of those moments where an Idea takes hold and won't let go.  So now I know what the game is going to be about.  There's still lots of things to be decided by the group, but I've decided at least some things so far.

Demons:  Demons are the untapped mystical power within every human.  Humans are the source of all things supernatural, and every human has supernatural potential.  Most people keep this power repressed to the point where they are unaware that it even exists.  Sorcerers have the ability to unlock the potential in other people, but doing so also removes the inhibitions that normally keep that potential in check: humility, doubt, kindness, love - the very things that make one human.  The resulting creatures have great power, unbridled desires, and no regard for the consequences of their actions - in short, demons.

Feel and Flavor:  As soon as I had that much, I started thinking about the consequences.  I pictured how a sorcerer might interact with demons... and a mini-story immediately unfolded in my head.  It was another Idea that wouldn't let go; I couldn't sleep that night until I had written it down.  I normally hate "flavor text" in RPGs; I find them tedious, indulgent, trite, and unhelpful.  But I discovered it's completely different when it's your flavor text.  It helped me capture the feel of the game I was looking for and brought out more concepts to play with.  I'll post it below; please don't make too much fun of it for being tedious, indulgent, and trite. <sheepish grin>

Premise:  By the time I had the flavor text done, I had found my premise and a name for my setting.  Sorcerer is a game that asks: what will you do to get what you want?  Inner Demons is a setting that asks: can you strip others of their humanity without losing your own?

Hitting a Snag:  Next I started thinking about demons-as-changed-humans.  I figured demons would retain at least the shell of their former selves; in Sorcerer terms, they would all be Passers.  They would still pretend to be the people they were, going to work and school, having relationships, etc, but their new nature would dramatically change those relationships overnight (think of it as a Kicker for the NPC human).

Now I started worrying about character overload.  If every PC has a couple of demons, and if all of those demons are Passers, then any "adventure" is going to start with up to a dozen people standing around.  That's a big crowd to go skulking around in dark alleyways.  With "stock" Sorcerer, you've got Objects and Parasites and Inconspicuous demons which let the PCs keep their pets nearby without causing a stir...  In my setting, just getting the PCs together for coffee is going to take up half a Starbuck's.  So I started thinking about ways to give the PCs access to the demons without requiring a bunch of bodies taking up space nearby.  Maybe sorcerers have telepathic links to their demons, maybe they can use their powers through those links, maybe they can teleport onto the scene when required...

A Moment of Clarity:  I wasn't happy with the things I was coming up with.  Then I had my most important insight yet: I was ducking the question.  I was trying to work around the problem instead of confronting it.  The answer was staring me right in the face; I had already written it down RIGHT UP THERE!  "Inner Demons is a setting that asks: can you strip others of their humanity without losing your own?"

I was trying to write the demons-as-people out of the story because they were inconvenient, when I'd already decided they were exactly what the story was about!

That observation has crystalized the game for me.  As always, an act of sorcery is an act against humanity.  In this case, it's not just a matter of spilling blood or having degrading sex to bring something Unpleasant from Someplace Else into a world where it doesn't belong.  In this case, you are destroying the life of an innocent person to release that unpleasant thing.  Even worse, the demon doesn't come from nowhere; it has ties to a former life, the very life you destroyed.  Those ties are damaged, but not broken... and now they're your problem to deal with.  The demon you freed probably doesn't care about them... do you?

I'm still not sure what to do about the room-full-of-people problem.  But now I know that it's not a problem, it's the crux of our story.  The players and I will figure out how to deal with it, but we'll do it by focusing on the demons-as-former-people aspect rather than trying to sweep it under the carpet.

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Comments and suggestions welcome.  I haven't read The Sorcerer's Soul yet, but it's on order and I'm eagerly awaiting its arrival.

  - Eddie

So This Guy Walks Into A Bar...

The neon sign says "Harry's".  Looks pretty busy for a Thursday night.  Not too upscale, not too seedy... a decent cross-section of middle-class folks relaxing after working all day, looking for companionship or escape.

Perfect.

I've never been in the place before; I'm looking for something new anyway, so again, perfect.  I find a table in the corner, order a beer, and start scanning the crowd.  By the time the waitress brings me my beer I've already begun my mantra; I barely notice her flirting with me.  Doesn't matter.  She's not what I came here for.

The beer helps me relax and focus.  I can hear the buzz of conversation all around me... more flirting (lots more), bragging, bullshitting... bitching about work, betting on the game... I go deeper into my trance and slowly the chattering fades.  The faces grow dim and blend together, then disappear entirely; the noise recedes into silence.

Only then, finally, can I hear the screaming.

Their faces are crystal clear now - their true faces - seething with anger, hungry and desperate.  Their howling and shrieking fill my head; their impotent cries are my siren's song.  One by one they turn and notice me...  The screams stop; the pleading begins.

Release me, she whispers.  RELEASE ME! he demands.  Next come the promises: I'll make you rich.  I'll bring you women!  I'll slay your enemies!.  The usual stuff.  I wait patiently for something worthwhile to catch my eye.  Eventually something does... and wouldn't you know it, it's the waitress.

She sees I'm watching her and wastes no time: What do you want?

You first.

Revenge!  The word hung blazing white-hot in the air.

Anyone in particular?

I've got a list.  We can start with that.

Fair enough.  What's in it for me?

You'll never be betrayed again.  I'll show you the true desires of the people you trust.

Ha.  Big deal.  I haven't trusted anyone in years.  Still, there's something here I can work with...  I know who my enemies are.  What I don't know are their secrets.

I can help you!  She's desperate, reaching, but not lying.  They can't hide from me!  I'll turn their minds inside-out and let you pick through the wreckage!  Okay, now she's just being melodramatic.  But I get the point, and I can tell she's got some real strength to back it up.

Looks like she was what I came here for after all.

Time to close the deal.  Okay, fine.  You're in.  Meet me in the sanctuary at St. Matthew's on Third Street, tonight, after the bar closes.

RELEASE ME NOW!

I saw that one coming.  Sorry.  We play by my rules.  You've waited this long, you can wait a few more hours.

I stand up to leave, and I see her aura turn from angry fire to cold fear.  Wait!  I've really got her attention now.  Good.  What if I can't get her to go?

If you can't control your meat puppet enough to get her to walk ten fucking blocks, you're useless to me.  Get her there or stay stuck in her until she rots.

And with that, I break my trance.  The other world comes back with all its noise and faces and illusion of safety.  I leave a big tip on the table and smile at the waitress as I walk out the door.  She nods and smiles back - she still thinks she's flirting with me.  Poor girl.

Anyone watching with human eyes - if they were paying close attention - might have noticed something a little odd tonight: one by one, the people in the bar would glance over at the quiet guy in the corner, then go back to their conversations.  Only another sorcerer would have seen the subtle gestures, the shifting stances, the small changes in facial expressions... the strange cross between sign language, charades, and ESP that your inner demon uses to talk to me.  While you remain completely oblivious, the monster inside you is calling to me, screaming at me, begging me to set it free.

God help you if I ever do.

God help us both.

Very cool.  I like the idea of humans being the source of demons.  How about Sorcerers, though?  Do they have inner demons that can be pulled out?  Could they possibly co-opt their own inner demon as a parasite or would that be an unheard of feat?  This setting has really gotten me thinking.  I just finished reading through Sorcerer and now I'm thinking of all the ways it can be played.  Very cool ideas.  Any thoughts on the possibilities of a Sorcerer's own inner demon?

MetalBard wrote:
Very cool.  I like the idea of humans being the source of demons.  How about Sorcerers, though?  Do they have inner demons that can be pulled out?  Could they possibly co-opt their own inner demon as a parasite or would that be an unheard of feat?  This setting has really gotten me thinking.  I just finished reading through Sorcerer and now I'm thinking of all the ways it can be played.  Very cool ideas.  Any thoughts on the possibilities of a Sorcerer's own inner demon?

emaise wrote:
I'm not sure what makes sorcerers in my setting different from other humans.  Maybe their first act of sorcery is to Contact their own demon and Banish it, leaving a kind of vacuum behind.  Dunno yet.

I like this. It's on a tangent to what I'm trying to do with Sorcerer.

-Lisa

MetalBard wrote:
What do you think would initially make the sorcerer aware of the demon to prompt them contacting it?

I don't know.  I kind of like the idea that the banishment of a Sorcerer's own demon ends up making them "more human than human" in a way.  At that point, it's all too easy to think that this power is easily managed and other people's demons shouldn't be too much trouble.  That, I think, would be a great premise on the hubris of this power.  Maybe Sorcerer's believe that they have inherently corrected Adam and Eve's mistake by banishing their own demon.  It could be considered the ultimate form of baptism where the rest of humanity are merely servants to those who were able to excise original sin.  It could create some interesting conflict with major humanity loss or gain as the stakes.  Maybe this doesn't fit in with your vision and I should save it for something I end up doing.  Since I'm just riffing off of your original idea, let me know what you think.

Lisa wrote:
I like this. It's on a tangent to what I'm trying to do with Sorcerer.

MetalBard wrote:
Since I'm just riffing off of your original idea, let me know what you think.

Cool, I'm glad you like it.  So how are you defining humanity at this point?  Is it human desires and compassion, as you mentioned earlier, or humility (the inverse of hubris) or will it be some amalgam of the two?  I can see that as sorcerers become more prideful they no longer feel the need for human emotions, since they think of themselves as so far beyond them.

About the "room full of people" problem...

In actual play, the repeated Humanity risks in contacting/summoning/binding make it difficult for a player to amass a big stable of demons.  I've only run a few Sorcerer campaigns, but none of my players has ever managed to get three active demons; they hit zero Humanity first.  (A cautious player might be able to assemble a large group of low Power demons, but cautious players tend to be scarce.)

In addition, the "room full of people" problem isn't unique to your setting (which is very cool, by the way).  Every demon, in every campaign, is an NPC that requires the GM's attention.  Passer demons arguably have more scope for taking overt roles in a game's action, but that usually makes them easier to run.  It takes more work to do justice to "subtle" demons like parasites.  One way or another, if a game has lots of demons, the GM has to play them all to the hilt.

Finally, game styles differ from group to group, but I suspect you'll seldom get all the player characters and all their demons in one place at one time.  The nature of Sorcerer seems to induce players to go off in their own directions.  Rounds of action can still take place "simultaneously" around the game table, but you may find that the player characters are all in different places playing out different conflicts -- tricky to handle, but a lot of fun.

jagardner,

Thanks for the insights and the reassurance.  I'm definitely going to stop worrying about having too many people in a scene.  I'm still a little uncertain, but I'm confident that my players and I will handle it (the same way that I'm confident an improv sketch will come off even though I have no idea how before it happens).

One thing I've been considering is stealing a page from Ars Magica: troupe play.  Think of the PCs as magi, and the demons as companions / grogs.  They are like companions in that they are secondary in importance to the PCs, but still important; they are like grogs in that they are community characters rather than being exclusively played by any one player.  See also shadows from Wraith.  The one restriction is that nobody can play a demon belonging to their own PC.

At first I thought of this as a way to lighten the load on the GM.  Even without that consideration, though, I think it might still be worthwhile.  I want the players to develop the personalities of their demons and make them such good characters that the other players fight over who gets to play them.  This also fits with my intention to focus on the consequences of ruining innocent people's lives by turning them into demons; again, the demons themselves won't care, but the people who used to know them will, and the PCs will have to deal with that.

All that said and done, the primary focus still needs to be on the protagonists - the sorcerer PCs.  Playing a demon as a secondary character needs to be, well, secondary; if it becomes a distraction for the players, out it goes, and I'll take all the demons back on myself.  I think the players I recruit can handle two characters at once... it remains to be seen if they'll enjoy it.

I'm glad you like the setting concept.  I'd welcome any ideas or suggestions you have.

  - Eddie

MetalBard wrote:
So how are you defining humanity at this point?

Is it human desires and compassion, as you mentioned earlier, or humility (the inverse of hubris) or will it be some amalgam of the two?  I can see that as sorcerers become more prideful they no longer feel the need for human emotions, since they think of themselves as so far beyond them.

Hi Eddie,

Have you checked out The Sorcerer's Soul? It's all about Humanity, demons, demon-to-human, human-to-demon, parasites and possessors, and interrelationships as the key to play.

Best,
Ron

What you've got looks good.  I think you're at the point where these things need to be solidified with your group.  Going with straight compassion as humanity might keep things simple and driven, which is probably what you want.  It shows the stark fact that after dealing with demons (and losing Humanity) your Sorcerer is just not as much of a good person anymoe and that it's very possible to become a very bad person.  I need to get Sorcerer's Soul at some point since I find this aspect of Sorcerer so interesting.

A few thoughts about a sorcerer's inner demon:

If I were running this (and I'm strongly tempted to steal it!), I'd say that you become a sorcerer by totally subjugating your inner demon.  This isn't the same as destroying it, nor does it map into standard game concepts like binding, banishing, or containing.  Basically, your inner demon loses its free will (something that never ever happens with other demons), and it gives you the ability to perform sorcery on others.  In other words, sorcery becomes your demon-given superpower.

Because your inner demon is subjugated, it doesn't have needs or desires.  (It's not really a demon as defined by the game system; it's just a rationalization for why you're a sorcerer.)  Your telltale would typically be some "leakage" from the subjugated demon -- some overflow of the demon's nature that you can't quite suppress.

Acts of sorcery and inhumanity have the potential to weaken the inner demon's subjugation.  In other words, every Humanity test reflects a battle with the demon.  When you hit Humanity 0, the demon breaks free of its subjugation and subjugates you.  Forever after, the demon is in command of your body, and you're a horrified but powerless observer.

So how do you become a sorcerer in the first place?  There are lots of options.  The most straightforward is that someone teaches you how to subjugate your inner demon.  With this scenario, anyone could become a sorcerer with the proper training.

Another option is that the demon itself teaches you.  Somehow, your demon wakes up and attempts to subjugate your mind.  You win the battle of wills and subjugate it instead.  Once it's your slave, you learn from it how sorcery works.

In a similar option, the demon wakes up and willingly offers to be your slave.  It's only after you take the bait that you learn the full truth: yes, the demon is subjugated for now, but it fully expects you to drop to Humanity 0 eventually, at which point you're toast.

Alternatively, perhaps some people are sensitive enough to hear "leakage" from their inner demon's mind.  Most sensitives just go nuts, but some hear enough to learn how demons can be subjugated...

Those are just a few possibilities.  Your set-up has such potential that I could spew out more with no trouble at all.

  ---Jim Gardner

Ron wrote:
Have you checked out The Sorcerer's Soul? It's all about Humanity, demons, demon-to-human, human-to-demon, parasites and possessors, and interrelationships as the key to play.

MetalBard wrote:
What you've got looks good.  I think you're at the point where these things need to be solidified with your group.

Going with straight compassion as humanity might keep things simple and driven, which is probably what you want.  It shows the stark fact that after dealing with demons (and losing Humanity) your Sorcerer is just not as much of a good person anymoe and that it's very possible to become a very bad person.

Jim,

Wow, great stuff!  My spine tingled when I read your idea about sorcerers becoming trapped in their own bodies - the very same way that the demons they deal with are (or were) trapped in humans.  Oh the irony!  Oh the horror!  Sorcerer suggests that zero humanity could mean fire-and-brimstone damnation if that's your bent.. but what better damnation for a sorcerer than that?

Good riffs; I may steal them from you wholesale or at least play them for the group.  Lemme change keys now though and run a lead line for a few bars:

Humans are inherently supernatural.  A human's mystical potential is as much a part of themselves as their outward appearance, but it's a part they don't see and wouldn't recognize if they could.  Your demon isn't an alien being, it's you - different from you in many ways, but with many things in common.  How much someone's external self resembles their inner demon varies from person to person, which accounts for the wide variety of demons you might encounter.

The magic powers a demon has can alter reality in ways that Just Ain't Right.  Sorcery isn't magic, though, it's psychic surgery: the ability to cut away those parts of a person's self that keep the magical parts in check.  But even the most skilled sorcerers are more like butchers than surgeons; what gets removed takes along so much other stuff with it that what's left may have only a tenuous similarity to what was there before.

When sorcerers learn to do that thing they do, their first project is themselves.  But instead of cutting away their external selves which they have spent their whole lives believing is their actual identity, they proactively protect themselves by cutting out the mystical part before someone else gets a chance to set it free.  Like all sorcery, it's an imperfect hack job; enough magic gets left behind to give them a telltale, and enough humanity gets cut away to give them the nerve to go do this to other people in reverse.  But at least there's enough left for a single whole person instead of two, and what's left is enough like what they were before that they can call it a victory.

When a sorcerer's Humanity score hits zero his careful self-surgery unravels.  The stitching holding his personality together falls apart, and the first thing to go is humanity.  The demon and its magic is already gone and can't come back... but now the human is gone as well.  All that's left is sorcery and desire.  A demon's desire may be unfettered, but the demon itself is restrained by the laws of Binding and Need.  Sorcerers with unfettered desire can do anything they want, as often as they want, for as long as they want; they are probably the most dangerous creatures in all of creation.  They don't last long, they don't die happy, and they don't go quietly.  And they definitely don't get to stay PCs.

Oh, and Banishing a demon?  It doesn't restore the human that used to be there; that poor soul is lying on the cutting room floor somewhere in a hundred bits and pieces.  It removes the demon... and doesn't leave much else behind.  At best, you get a tabula rasa: a person with a child-like innocence, some key remnants of what they were, and a lot of rebuilding to be done.  At worst, you get an awful mess.  Still, either way, you got rid of a demon, and heck, you did your best, so that counts for something... go ahead and roll for humanity gain.

I like the imagery here.  Psychic violence, butcher's knives, torn holes with ragged edges... brutal, messy, dangerous... sorcery as an act of willful destruction.  My group may go for something completely different.  I kinda hope they do.  But maybe someone will draw some inspiration from it.

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In the back of my head, I can hear Ron saying "You're thinking too much!  Pick something and go with it! Story Now, Dammit!".  Maybe Ron is my inner demon...

  - Eddie

emaise wrote: I noticed that.  I did a forum search on "inner" and found your ideas about people's inner animalistic spirits.  I think you've got a very workable concept with humanity being civilization vs. animalism.  I hope your game is going well...

Well, we finally met to start character generation. I wrote about that here: http://www.indie-rpgs.com/forum/index.php?board=14.0

This thread tossed around several ideas about demons and humanity.  Here's what I've decided to go with for my game.

Demons: leave it open.  I don't want to define them too clearly, lest my players focus on the mundane aspects of demons instead of the mysterious and horrific.  Here's what's in my players' handout:

No one is certain about the true nature of demons.  Perhaps they are psychological manifestations of people's inability to comprehend the power they have.  Perhaps they draw strength from the dreams and fears of all mankind.  Perhaps they truly do come from Hell and are bound to work their will through men, a remnant of Original Sin that God has not yet washed away.  In practice, few sorcerers devote themselves to such questions.  Understanding demons is incidental to a sorcerer's true aim: controlling them.

One thing about demons is known for certain: releasing a person's inner demon destroys the person.  The person's humanity is keeping their supernatural potential in check - for the demon to come out, the human must go.  Whether a demon is merely part of someone's subconscious or is an actual being from outside our own world is irrelevant.  What emerges from the summoning ritual is not the person that was there before; that person is gone and will never return.

Some sorcerers see this as a tragedy, albeit a necessary one.  Others see it as mere side-effect.  Either way, every sorcerer has obliterated an innocent person at least once, and most will do it again... and again, and again.