[Sorcerer] Fullmetal Alchemist and Modern Necromancy
angelfromanotherpin:
I've been deep in fantasy and fairy-tale gaming for some time, and I have a hankering for some modern-day stuff, where the players can use contemporary slang and reference television shows without breaking character. I've also wanted to do a game inspired by the Fullmetal Alchemist anime (not the manga), which I regard as a perfect Sorcerer setting, if you can get past the super-power stuff and focus on the horrible relationship-fraught necromancy.
So, things I know:
• Setting is the real world, the present day.
• Sorcery is something very much like bringing back the dead; Passers are doppelganger-homunculi, Objects have spirits attached to them, Possessors and Inconspicious types are flavors of ghost. I don't think there's a place for Parasites. All the necromancy from S&S is in play.
• Humanity is respect for the boundary between life and death (both directions).
Things I'm not sure about:
• Fullmetal Alchemist sorcery frequently maims its users, sometimes creatively, and the maiming seems to function as both Price and Telltale. I'm not sure if it should function as an initiation, where the first Summoning always maims but later ones do not; or if (in the spirit of 'nothing never happens') if each failed Summoning roll still brings the Demon, but comes with a maiming. The second option will make players more cautious with their Sorcery (which is less fun), but will seriously encourage the use of sacrifice and Tokens (which is great fun), so I'm torn.
• FMA also has a strong thematic focus on family and history, which helps to keep the conflicts close to the bone. That strikes me as a job for the Will and Lore Descriptors. I'll have to think about how to set those up. It would be nice to get some resonant Stamina descriptors as well, relating to life and death.
More as it comes to me...
Ron Edwards:
Hi Jules,
You know about the modern necromancy Sorcerer game I did a few years back, right? If not, then run a search in this forum using "necromancy" and you'll find a few threads.
I recommend the Tanith Lee novel "Kill the Dead," too.
As far as maiming goes, one thing to consider is that one can be maimed as Color. A lot of characters in a lot media, but comics and movies especially, are horribly injured or crippled in ways which don't seem actually to impede the character. As long as the player is consistent with announced actions (and if the player defined the maiming, why wouldn't he be?), that should be fine. For really heinous maiming, for which a mechanics effect is desired, I suggest adding Prices (a minor rules-tweak) in the inter-Kicker portion of play.
Best, Ron
angelfromanotherpin:
Hey, Ron. It's taken me a while to respond because the group I had lined up to do this with dissolved temporarily and I lost motivation for a while.
Yes, I did see the threads for your game a while back, and I think 'modern necromancy' stuck with me as a phrase. I've re-read them recently. Cool stuff. I deeply approve of the 'no unknown demons' bit. The homunculi whose origins went unexplained by the end of Fullmetal Alchemist were far less satisfying as characters than the others.
I had a hilarious misadventure with the Tanith Lee book, and only got about halfway through. Still, one thing it immediately shares with the Fullmetal Alchemist source material is the importance of the mortal remains.
I like maiming as Color, that's a very good thought. My mind immediately went to Blind Pew and Long John Silver.
So, on to Descriptors. I was having a problem separating the Will and Lore Descriptors, because I wanted Lore to be tied directly to the characters' motivation, what they cared about enough to commit cosmic rebellion; in addition to the source of and lens for their knowledge. e.g. Edward Elric's Lore descriptor is Blood Ties, he learned his stuff from his absentee father's books, and he Summons demons based on his brother and his mother. Eventually I decided to run with that idea and just roll Lore into Will when it came up, and keep Will Descriptors as the way characters exerted social force. Then I based the Will Descriptors on the five stages of grief, 'cause that's how I roll.
This is what I've got so far:
Stamina:
• Clean Living
• Reckless
• Lean & Scarred
• Trained to Kill
• Vitality
Will:
• Angry
• Bargainer
• Egotist
• Heartless
• Tranquil
Lore:
• Allegiance (specify)
• Blood Ties
• Lover
• Narcissism
• Vow (specify)
Ron Edwards:
I like those descriptions.
As far as I can tell, your Will ones are based on modes of interaction, and your Lore ones are based on specific commitments. That's a reasonable split, I think.
Best, Ron
Frank Tarcikowski:
Quote from: angelfromanotherpin on May 09, 2008, 04:45:31 PM
• FMA also has a strong thematic focus on family and history, which helps to keep the conflicts close to the bone.
Hey Jules, this screams "double Humanity definition" to me! Especially as I'm finding your initial Humanity definition a little hard to grab. IIRC, the original example in Sorcerer's Soul (or was it Sex & Sorcery?) for double Humanity even has something very similar to your "family & history" in it.
In my games, I've found it incredibly useful to add to the abstract Humanity definition a very conrete description of what is a Humanity check and a Humanity gain. Could you do that for your "respect for the boundary between life and death"?
- Frank
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