Mundane Lore
Ron Edwards:
In discussing protagonists, my response would be "yes." However, themes arise from protagonist actions in context, and I think the context for Howard's stories, and nearly all of the material I talk about in the book, is more brutally existential than I'm reading in your post.
Conan is a hopeful figure. The actual realization of that hope is not, as I see it, fully affirmed by the stories. Sometimes it's even overtly squelched, as in Beyond the Black River. Even the final in-chronology Conan story, Hour of the Dragon, ends with only a hope for sustained civilized rule in Aquilonia, with no guarantee.
I'll be curious to see how this works out in your game.
Best, Ron
Christopher Kubasik:
Hi Ron,
Would it make sense if I were to reply, "Yes?"
In other words, I think you're reading in some sort of contradiction that we don't, in fact, have. Did I seem to suggest I see Hyboria and all the events of Howard's story as rosy? If so, I'll be clear now: I don't think such a thing. Do I think Conan avoids being bruised upon the heart by the world he lives in? Nope. Did I gave the impression I think Conan’s good nature and sense of camaraderie changes the nature of the universe one iota? Because, if I did, let me be clear: No, I don’t think that.
I am saying, simply, that Conan doesn't start with a dysfunctional relationship with a demon. That the stories don't depend on such a relationship on the part of the protagonist. And you built a game, Sorcerer & Sword, which, in contrast to Sorcerer, allows exactly that. This doesn't mean the "world" of either setting is a nicer place. But I find the difference between the two games profound.
Finarvyn:
Quote from: Per Fischer on October 11, 2008, 04:08:48 AM
Mundane, naturalistic Sorcerer, as per Ron's post above. It might be a whole new subset of the Sorcerer rules, with central mechanics like Lore, Power and, I assume, demonic abilities removed.
Quote from: Christopher Kubasik on October 11, 2008, 09:47:48 AM
Using Sorcerer's flexible application of mechanics, we end up creating something new -- which would -- over several weeks of play end up being re-worked and formalized. More work would then produce cleaner mechanics that could be communicated to other people (and not just remain a shared-understanding "we know how this works at this table.") In this case, I'd be building a variation on Sorcerer that is might or might not be Sorcerer. What these solutions/sorting out of ideas might be I simply cannot predict at this time.
These quotes got me to thinking that it would be interesting to have a “core rules” book or two not specifically arcane in nature. In other words, it would be possible to create a Detective Noir RPG or a Space RPG or the like, based on the general mechanics of Sorcerer but at no point actually mentioning demons as supernatural entities.
I know that such books might be really similar to some of the content found in the various Sorcerer supplements, but at the same time they might really open up to a whole new audience. Kind of like the Trollbabe and/or Elfs niche, these would be essentially self-contained RPGs.
Just my two cents.
Christopher Kubasik:
Hi Marv,
Well, we'll see.
My own view is that while the core conflict mechanic might be ported, the pieces of Sorcerer work really well together and have been balanced carefully.
My own guess is that I might be about to break the game with my Traveller play, and end up going under the hood and having to do a lot of work. Or not! It's a very good question (in my view) -- how far can a stretch Sorcerer before it snaps? Maybe very far, maybe not so far.
I was on the phone two days ago with Ron, and he was giving me the run down of games he tinkered with and was inspired by when designing Sorcerer. My own guess is that this would actually demand a lot of thought and time for each kind of story.
Ron Edwards:
Hi Christopher,
I don't want to have an adversarial exchange about what "my/your post meant." My goal was to agree with your post and add nuances to it, not to oppose it. When you say that Sorcerer & Sword is a warmer game, I am saying, "Because the protagonists are warmer, not necessarily the stories as wholes." Again - this is agreement. Let's not fight over how we agree.
Best, Ron
edited to alter an annoying typo - RE
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