[Sorcerer] Sorcerers in Casablanca
Paiku:
Hi folks,
as promised in an earlier thread, I have posted on my blog the One Sheet and player-character concepts (backstories, demons and kickers) (PC 1)(PC 2)(PC 3) for our upcoming Sorcerer game. The setting is Casablanca Morocco 1940, the characters are rich and detailed, and we're really looking forward to kicking this off!
As this is our first game, any discussion of the One Sheet or chr concepts would be most welcome.
I'm tying the kickers into a relationship map, and am currently generating bad-guys, NPCs, setting detail, and BANGS. What's the consensus on resolving kickers, do you guys favour resolving all kickers in a scenario (/story/adventure), or just one kicker per scenario? We have three PCs, and the kickers aren't related (except through the R-map).
Thanks,
-Paiku
Paiku:
A post by The Dragon Master on the Necromancy thread made me realize that I'm still partially thinking about planning a Sorcerer game in terms of planning an adventure, ie. present the characters with threats and watch them fight their way through.
It's not necessarily that the characters want to achieve something, and I throw increasingly difficult obstacles in their path. It may be that the characters just want to keep something that they have, and I keep raising the stakes.
For example: Perhaps the character posing as Dr. von Braun just wants to live in peace. Now, how do I threaten that? Put his false identity in danger of being discovered. Keep raising the stakes. Who will he lie to, to keep his secret? Who is he willing to kill? Will he call up a more powerful demon? Will he share his bed with the dead doctor's wife under false pretenses? Will he kill her to keep his false identity secret? Although not as cinematic as a grand battle with an uber-demon, a scene in which he must decide whether to kill the doctor's wife or let his secret be revealed would be a climactic moment in a Sorcerer game. His life wouldn't hang in the balance, but his Humanity would.
I'm currently re-planning my bangs from scratch...
Christoph Boeckle:
Hi Paiku
After a campaign with mitigated results (check out the "Carnival Bizarre" threads in the AP forum), I can only encourage you to ask yourself two questions: (1) are you as a GM ready to go to a session without feeling the need to offer a story to your players, and (2) are your players interested in playing a game where they are expected to author substantial parts of the story?
It's not just a question of "as long as everyone is on the same page". Sorcerer just doesn't work half as well if not used for what it is intended.
In my case, one player responded "yes" to (2), another one "maybe" and a third one "no" (more or less). This shifted me into the position where I had to bring in the story a lot myself (which amounts to me effectively answering "no" to question 1), especially towards the end. And then... it came out rather flat.
Thus, I would beware of a character who does not really want anything. I don't know if it's absolutely necessary, but it's going to help. Seriously, why would you have a demon if you weren't very intent on getting something in the first place? You can't just summon a demon by accident.
Of course, as the GM you do have to frame scenes like a madman (even the Kickers should not be more than a suggestion that the GM actually "implements" when starting play), so you do actively participate in the creation of the story too.
Check out this discussion between Tony (Dragon Master) and Ron, it's quite informative.
Have a great game!
Ron Edwards:
Hello,
The very fact that you talked about Kickers as if you could plan their resolutions, i.e., when they will happen, means that you must re-boot your entire attitude toward GMing. You may have taken a step toward doing so due to the comments in the other thread, which is good. But I suggest you'll need to go further.
Not only must you abandon all thoughts of when any Kicker will be resolved, but most especially of how and about what. It's not up to you in terms of planning. You must relinquish control of any such planning. Typically, you realize that a Kicker has been resolved only after it's happened, when you look at the material you're ready to play with (your NPCs and what they're about to do), and say, "Huh, I guess that whole hassle has been taken care of, and we've seen why it was the most important thing ever to have happened in that sorcerer's life. Oh! Hey guys! We just resolved so-and-so's Kicker!"
Best, Ron
Ron Edwards:
Also:
You've probably seen this as it's a recent thread, but I think my points in [Sorcerer] How do you play it? may apply here too.
Best, Ron
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