Hi there,

I'm looking for constructive suggestions for what you think a game-store retailer ought to know about Sorcerer.

Blurbs are best - one or two lines.

Remember, these guys aren't interested in playing the game, but in moving it. What do they need to know that helps them understand that the game isn't just a hype-based point-and-shoot short-term thing?

Actual-play based comments are useful insofar as they represent something about that issue.

Best,
Ron

Some ideas here, Ron. Good luck.

Fast-moving, easy to learn rules and an innovative perspective on the structure of play makes Sorcerer a game for intense character development and storytelling, one that can be customized to any setting.

A pithy take is: Easy entry, deep play, innovative system.

A marketing monkey take might be: Now in hard copy after enjoying years of underground popularity as an electronic book sold over the internet, Sorcerer brings its innovative, streamlined system to give players the creative tools to create compelling stories and worlds of dark glory and otherworldly passions.

Best,

Blake

Well, based on what happened when I asked a local retailer if they had it, I'd say "It should only cost $20" would be good. Also, "You might want to put it in your inventory system as both 'Sorceror' and 'Sorcerer' if you want your surly sales people to be able to find it when someone asks."

They said they could order it, but it would cost $30.

Hi,

They said they could order it, but it would cost $30.

Is there access to demoers? I do know that you provide demo materials (Lincoln High and In Utero, IIRC). Would this be a selling point to include?

Seth Ben-Ezra
Great Wolf

Don't. Please. Use the word innovative. It's /way/ overused in gaming and while may very well be apt for Sorcerer--try something else. Find a positive review and ask to quote that review, or other similar things.

Game store retailer? Who sells to traditional gamers? Uh - does that mean we consider the sorta thing that might seem a bit . . . simplistic?

Like "Supports a contemporary horror setting like the WoD, but with REAL darkness and YOU control the world." And "Powerful demon-summoning magicians done right - power really does come at the the price of Humanity (a defined-by-the-group in-game stat)." And "Rules that really support and encourage roleplaying, at all levels."

"An easy-to-use but sophisticated game engine that puts the GM and players in control of what's really FUN about roleplaying. And once you get the hang of it, it's very extendable - there are supplements available that extend it to pulp fantasy, cyberpunk, and more."

And I think the "Both the player's and the GM get to build the demons that will drive play" is an interesting "marketing" point - everyone in a play group has good reason to own the book, not just the GM.

Not exactly polished copy, but it sounds like you want sound bites that'll play in the standard gamer community. Referring to other published games and slipping in a cliche or two is generally an asset rather than a drawback, IME.

Gordon

How about something along the lines of:

"Facilitates the creation of consistent themes without pidgeonholing or dictating your character's actions."

Jesse

Easy entry, deep play...she'll scream your name out loud.

I'm truly sorry Blake.

Paul

Paul Czege wrote: Easy entry, deep play...she'll scream your name out loud.

I'm truly sorry Blake.

Paul

*ahem* Put your comma back in, Paul. No worries.

And because I know my own warped sense of humor, I'll forego any further comments lest I end up hijacking the thread. *laugh*

Hmmm. X years in the designing, and out now for Y years, Sorcerer offers a unique alternative to the run of the mill onslaught of mainstream RPG fare. Perfect for players who want no-holds-barred, sanity-threatening, walk-on-the-dark-side kind of story-intense roleplaying. Leave your soul at the door, sweetheart, and go gibbering into the night.

Along the personal experience kind of take: Moments after Sorcerer play started, we were rocketing along, caught up in a helter-skelter mix of demons, imperiled humanity, transgression, and lost innocence. Very, very cool. And that's no joke. This game's like a fuckin' jet engine.

Best,

Blake

I think this would be the place you'd use the "...makes you shudder...then play..." thing. I forget the actual quote.

Fang Langford

Just thought of a couple actual play related comments.

"This game moves FAST. In just a few sessions of weekly play my group had covered as much in-game material that took months or years of play with other systems. It really cuts to the chase."

Also,

"The results of play were more like a movie or novel than any other game I've played."

Jesse

"Dark, dangerous, and deadly...terror isn't from beyond, but within...Welcome to roleplaying without rails, Sorcerer, the game of hard choices between humanity and power, desires and dreams, hell and heroism. The choice is yours."

A bit dramatic, but I tend to think in terms of movie trailers anyway.

Chris

For retailers; not for gamers. This isn't about why you would play the game (as important as that is) but about why you need to have it on the shelves.

I'd mention the "prestigious Diana Jones Award". Hey, I'm not impressed so much by awards myself, but if you're a retailer you need something that tells you this game is different from several hundred others, and the fact that the author won such an award is a definite indicator.

--M. J. Young

Hello,

Thanks everyone!

M.J.'s right though - many of the testimonials are sounding like what we'd like to have a retailer say to a customer, rather than what I need to say to a retailer.

Although part of my pamphlet is going to be "customers say," which I now have some good stuff for.

Most of these guys have heard about Sorcerer, and a solid minority of them are confirmed re-orderers, just as I was hoping would be the case a year ago. My target now is the retailer who did order the game, and sold it, but had the whole process pass right under his radar as he debated how he'd split his buying among D20 D&D hardbacks, Exalted supplements, and Yu-Gi-Oh.

Any ideas for that guy?

Best,
Ron

I'd tell him

It's hardcover
It has high production values
It's cheap
It doesn't take up much space on the shelf
It's something to sell to those strange people who don't want D20

Actually, what I told MY FLGS was "I want this. Get me one." It worked for me...

Wulf

Any ideas for that guy?

"More than a game, the Sorcerer line is a powerful reference source for any game group ramping up the dramatic intensity of their play."

Paul

"Are you tired of listening to gamers whine about the cost of supplements, then complain about how the supplements don't offer anything new?"

"Show then Sorcerer. Show them the site. Show them the supplements. Soon, they'll show you a character from their Sorcerer games that won't bore the snot out of you!"

"Sorcerer. Simple. Challenging. Oh so cool."

Hope this helps a little...

Hi all.

I don't have a specific blurb right now.

But I would offer this: Avoid, if possible, the negative comparisons to other games.

I don't care what something isn't -- because that doesn't tell me what the thing is. (The "What is Sorcerer?" blurb at the fron of the Sorcerer web page is almost only this, and I think, is a bit of a problem. Read it as if you've never cracked open Sorcerer and you'll find you know actually very little about what's between the covers of a book you're being asked to buy.)

I'd offer the problem is even bigger when looking to sell to Retailers: They *like* the games that Sorcerer is not like -- because many of them sell. (Or think they sell... or whatever.) Why do they want to invest in a game that isn't like other games that sell?

So, whatever the pitch is, keep it POSITIVE. Sell what the game is, not what it is not. Demons may be NaN, but game books better be something.

I'll put this on the back burner and see what I can think of.

Christopher