[Sorcerer] Wealth in a Campaign in the Depression
Mackie:
New to the Forge, and, by and large, RPGing.. I jolly well hope this is the right sectiom to post..
After recently being indocutrinated into Sorcerer, I am about to try a daunting task of GM'ing a campaign - experimentally at first.Im a fairly creative chap, and in conjunction with a more epxerienced player, we knocked up a "world". Its an "alternative history" setting, basically set on a fictitious Island in the Bahama's (geography unimportant) that is American, in the depression, with a "film nior" kind of quality. Voodoo/Hoodoo flavours, exotic drugs, corruption, gangs, femme fatales, etc etc.
My Idea was this: Humanity is a "code of honour" - dont shoot a man in the back, dont hit gals, pay your debts, look after your family, respect the old, take care of the young... and so on. The setting is really crumbling - its a real bad depression. Everyone is in a pickle, but the player had got a hidden resource, sorcery, which means hes got a huge advatage in keeping afloat and looking after people. I totally get where Sorcerer is coming from in terms of wealth: Either being "Broke", "Ok", or "Flush". However, this dosent quite do justice to the campaign. I want characters to feel the hunger, the debts, the loan sharks, the starving sister and her babies, etc etc. On the other hand, I dont want a ghastly system of "17 gold peices, 362 copper peices, and a partidge in a pear tree."
So, we are going to experiment with the following system: Any comments would be appreciated: we are introducing a "Para-ability" called Resources, which is intially equal to cover. This figure represents, loosely, wealth, reputation, charity from others, free drinks at the bar, singing for your meal, even your patch of ground outside the restaurant for picking up scraps. Every so often (perhaps like a need), Im going to ask for a Cover vs Resources check to stop Resources going down 1. At 0, its gonna be desperate, hungry, exposed, frightening. So, this forces a few situations: Use your demon to give you the fiddle of the devil at a show, and you walk out the joint with more resources, respect, and applause. But, you gotta look after a demon. Or, you could deliberately loose some resources to getyour sick ma into hospital (and gain humanity), but now you are hungry and the local loan sharks want your kneecaps... who you gonna call?. The player "got this" and with a smile on our faces, his Drifter Blues Guitarist has got a shadow (inconspicious demon) whose need is: Fine food, wine, and cigars.
I wonder if anybody has comments, advice, or experience to share? would this "para attribute" work?
Ron Edwards:
Hello, and welcome to the Forge, and to this forum!
It's not a bad idea. I'm not sure it's necessary, but it's not silly or misguided either.
Here's another interesting idea that doesn't involve any new values added into the system. You could say that current cumulative demon Binding strengths equal Resources. It wouldn't matter whether the binding favored the demon or the sorcerer. So basically, the more demons you Bind, the more stable, resilient, and enjoyable your wealth is.
As I'm seeing it, Resources wouldn't be used as a score, i.e., a number of dice to roll as an action. You would still use Cover as your primary "dealing with money" score. It might be a defensive value, though, against someone trying to ruin you or rip you off, used as a number of dice.
Also, as I'm seeing it, exactly what the wealth consists of would still be assessed in terms of Cover. The Resources are distinct from that - again, as you describe, being a matter of what the player can reasonably do to keep his character's finances stable, and also a guide to how other people's lives can be connected (and imaginably either helped or exploited) by those finances.
One point about Humanity: don't make the definition overly technical, nor always/only in terms of the spoken values of the characters. If you, the GM, think that a particular action really stinks, ethically, then call for a Humanity check and that overrides any other definition. Same goes for an action which makes you personally impressed with the integrity or protagonism of that character, for a Humanity gain roll. Your written definition is very good, but don't treat that as a legal document - it's a framework that should at most be providing context for judgment calls of your own.
Best, Ron
P.S. "Indoctrinated?" Shit, if my game indoctrinated people, I'd be a lot richer than I am. Plus the girls and bubble bath, which have yet to appear.
Mackie:
Thanks Ron, helpful comments (and yep, Humanity is very much a "Framework")
And yes, A Lawyers resources would be very different from a Bum's resources. You could also have a high Cover, Low Resources toon (Skilled, but given too much away, called in too many favours, gambled on cards, and loan sharks want his teeth), or a Low Cover, High Resources toon (Mediocre skill, but Demon boosted last big case, charmed the Judges Daughter at the last society event, and is a complete scrooge).
The reason we thought of resources as a fluctuant score (as opposed to your cunning idea on a static one based on binding strength) was to very loosely add something tangible to acts of charity (potentially raising humanity) or clever acts giving some material reward. In addition, with passage of time, Im going to do Cover vs Current Resources Checks: Fail, and its -1 Resources: This is to represent the insidious effect of the Great Depression, and to drive the show. The player really "got" the feel of the campaign by having his demon need fine food, wine, cigars etc! Oh, and Resources at 0 is going to represent "desperation" - and you know what that will mean for a sorcerer...
Im calling it a "Para ability" because I could potentially see it as a score to roll against, but not like the other attributes. Maybe resources checks, with roleplay bonuses, maybe not. Maybe use it to help persuade the loan sharks for "one more week", maybe not. Im always keeping in mind its definition is vague and tied to cover. A Lawyers way of helping the Orphanage (money) would be different from a Jazz Pianist (setting up a free charity gig). Its going to me as much of a "narrative shorthand" or "game aid" as it is a "attribute", even if it is a number.
Will be interesting to see how it works out
Mackie:
Pardon the slight derailment, but Im also wondering how to handle (voodoo stylee) Summoning a demon into a corpse. This feels most like a Possessor type demon, but I note the rules say that Posessors cannot "confer" abilities - and I would kind of like the corpses to have some abilities like armour (bullets just embed themselves in the flesh). Any reason that was probhibited?
greyorm:
Quote from: Mackie on June 29, 2009, 07:34:04 AM
Pardon the slight derailment, but Im also wondering how to handle (voodoo stylee) Summoning a demon into a corpse. This feels most like a Possessor type demon, but I note the rules say that Posessors cannot "confer" abilities - and I would kind of like the corpses to have some abilities like armour (bullets just embed themselves in the flesh). Any reason that was probhibited?
"Confer" doesn't mean what you think it does here. The corpse IS the possessor for all intents and purposes. It just can't give those powers to anyone else.
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