Prep for first-time Hellblazer-ish Sorcerer
James_Nostack:
Joel, one thing to watch out for is simply coming up with anything beyond the most minimal backstory at all. I find that the "relationship map" approach of Sorcerer's Soul is, in practice, far more heavy-handed than I need, at least given my relative inexperience with Sorcerer: if you've got an R-Map controlling your overall Situation, it can become very easy for the game to be about "resolving" that R-Map, rather than just rollin' with the player's Kickers and seeing where it takes you.
Take a hard look at the characters' Kickers. Figure out a couple connections between them. These might be causative connections ("this one Kicker happened because this one NPC is still reeling from this other player's Kicker"), or there might be some links between NPC's whose own goals are affected, at least in some way, by the upheavals in these Kickers. So long as a couple of these NPC's are "grabby", operating at cross-purposes (either with respect to each other, or with respect to some/all of the players), and get plenty of screen time, you're golden. Find the bare minimum number of NPC's you need to develop each character's Kicker, and then play the hell out of them.
Ron Edwards:
The relationship map method is explicitly designed for Sorcerer games which are directed toward the Humanity score as the primary interest-point of play. That direction is intended for people who are already pretty familiar with the game, which is why it's a supplement.
So I don't recommend using it for your game, Joel. I suggest instead merely working with the NPCs from the characters' sheets as well as anyone that you make up and feel especially inspired to play. James is right, though - a little bit will go a long way.
Best, Ron
jburneko:
Ron's post about the R-Map technique being supplementary to the core game reminded me of something. Have you taken a close look at the two sections in Chapter 4 titled, "The Sorcerous Technicality" and "The Back Story." Because I find those two sections to be really the core of "basic" Sorcerer prep.
Basically you start by considering potential ramifications of Sorcery and root that in a real-world human conflict. Then once you have that you attach the PCs via their kickers, demons, back of the sheet stuff etc. This isn't classic mystery prep. Play still very much focuses on the PC's kicker and their personal situation but it gives you a ready made stress (i.e. bang) generator.
The technique often makes the game a little more pulpy or comic booky because that central point of stress tends to get worked up into full fledged villain status. It also pushes things a little more towards the "group up" mentality, if not exactly "team up", as play tends to spiral in towards that central conflict, such that players often end up in a unified climax scene even if they're all working at cross purposes from one another. It very much harkens to Sorcerer's Champions roots.
The whole thing is a little bit like the GM creating his own PC and I often (but not always) do it before character creation. For example, for a Southern Gothic flavored game, I imagined an old family patriarch using a Contain the way some fathers use a belt as threat to misbehaving children. Since the game took place in New Orleans just after the Katrina Hurricane I imagined this huge cracked mosaic sitting under three inches of water in the basement of a sunken and flooded house. I imagined this demon, now free, whose total purpose was to punish members of the family. I created the eldest son of the patriarch, trained in his father's sorcerous ways desperate to save his family from the thing OUT THERE. The thing he has been so utterly terrified since childhood when his father would rattle the keys to the basement when he caught his son stepping out of line.
That's the same game where the players created characters that were all members of the same family. So I simply asked if the players were okay with the idea of having a rival family. They LOVED the idea. Indeed since most the PCs were black they liked the idea of their family once having been the slaves of the other family. There were rumors that the white family stole their sorcerous knowledge from their family.
It worked out very well in play.
Jesse
Joel P. Shempert:
Wow. I just got through re-reading my old over the Edge threads, and. . .holy shit, those things are good. Chock full of goddamn insight, a lot of it by my own hand. it's a far cry from my usual forum role of guidance-seeker and wisdom-receiver. You're right, Ron, the way I want to play and how to achieve it is all in there. I forget about these insights and breakthroughs over time and slip back into the pattern of "gee, i don't know how to do this why won't it turn out the way I want it!" in actual games and "Help, I'm in over my head, someone tell me what to do" online. I need a reminder like that from time to time, to kick me into confidence and proactive pursuit of my priorities.
Thanks.
Peace,
-Joel
PS. Thanks also, everyone, for the latest round of clarification and advice. I'm mulling it over contendedly, internalizing and applying.
Joel P. Shempert:
Well, we played last night, and it went very well! Just as you suggested, Ron, my methodology from the OTE threads was a perfect touchstone for effortlessly roleplaying NPCs and responding nimbly to player input, all free from pressure or performance anxiety. I'll post a full AP report with some observations and questions in a few days, when I have full internet access again (I post this missive powered by a Netzero dialup free trial!). Thanks for all the info and support.
Peace,
-Joel
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