[Sorcerer]Sorcerers in Casablanca - AP
Paiku:
Sorcerers in Casablanca hit the ground last Thursday night!
The group of four veteran 20- and 30-something gamers has been playing story-now games together for over a year now, but it was our first time playing Sorcerer. Ron and Co had been very helpful with priming the GM (yours truly) with great advice, on Kickers and Bangs in particular. The players really rolled up their sleeves in the pre-game session to create some very detailed and lively characters. See the “Sorcerers in Casablanca” thread for said advice, plus links to the One Sheet, Setting and character concepts.
Read on to see what a group like this does with the Sorcerer system their first time out! (Thanks to Ry for providing some of the in-line analysis). The big issue for me was whether my planned Bangs were free enough of expectations, or if I'd feel lost and unprepared after a couple of player left-turns. On that front, I was mostly successful. Besides that, tome things came more easily than others, and we’ve already realized a few things that we’ll do differently going forward. We’re all eager to see where this tangled web will take us in session 2.
GM is me (John/Paiku), players are Ry (playing Serge, firefighter), Pete (Dr. Von Braun), and Mike (Jacques, fighter for La Résistance)
Jacques came straight from the resistance meeting to Dr. von Braun's house, leaving the dead bodies of his five Résistance comrades in the basement of the bar. He nervously fingered the NGF calling card which he’d found there. It was early evening. Arriving on the doctor’s doorstep at the same time was Serge, who was very concerned about the demon he had let loose, and wanted the doctor's advice.
The two men had never met before. Poised on the doorstep, each was hesitant to reveal his reasons for visiting Dr. Von Braun at this late hour. They recognized each others' telltales, which put them even more on their guards. When the doctor answered, each insisted that his business was more pressing.
The awkwardness continued inside the apartment, but after some urging by the doctor (and some evesdropping), the two visitors began to open up. It seemed they both had trouble with the authorities, and with demons. They spoke at length about what to do.
Ry: Pete contemplated for a moment and mentioned that he knew von Braun had little to gain from helping these men with their troubles… Ry and Mike interpreted that as Pete’s character hedging, and we responded a bit in the fiction, with Serge appealing to von Braun’s humanity, pointing to the danger of the demon loose in the city, and Jacques noting the mutual threat posed by the Germans. Pete proceeded to jump into his role as the brains of the operation, with Dr. von Braun choosing this role as the best way to head off further trouble.
This took the form, somewhat, of the instant party friendship formation, and Pete, Mike, and Ry are certainly comfortable taking those roles. However, this is an uneasy alliance at best. Serge keeps looking for ways to get out of all this.
John: This was the “slow start” of a Sorcerer game of which I’d been warned. I let it play out as the PCs established their relationships and motives, but I was anxious to get to the Bangs!
Pete chose not to reveal his character’s kicker yet: the letter which had arrived that day from the wife of the German doctor whose identity he had stolen. The letter had been sent en route; she would be arriving any day now.
The doctor telephoned the French hotel La Ville de Cloche, where the night concierge was a (prescription-drug abusing) patient of his. The concierge was able to reveal that a new group of Nazi officers had stayed at the hotel recently, then moved to a rented house in town. There was also a new team of soldiers camping in the desert to the south, where a digging operation was under way. Serge sent his demon Tack out on the town to snoop out further info. Eventually it was decided that it wouldn't be safe for Jacques to return home. Serge walked over to Jacques' apartment to get the NGF book of sorcery from under his bed, then back to his in-laws' bookstore to await the others. Jacques and von Braun killed time at the doctor's apartment a while, then walked across town to the Jewish quarter where the bookstore lay.
It was night time now and most of the town was quiet, but downtown near La Ville de Cloche the streets were well-lit and busy with night life. As Jacques and von Braun walked past La Ville de Cloche, (BANG) they crossed paths with a horribly scarred German officer wobbling to his car. Too late, Jacques recognized the officer as one of the NGF agents whom he had left for dead back in Paris! Apparently the agent had lost an eye and an arm in that struggle, but not his life. Thinking quickly, Jacques stepped to the door of the officer's car and opened the door, saying "mein herr."
Ry: John didn’t really know what Mike was trying to do – this was explained as “Act like you’re in control of the situation, and make it true – like James Bond.” Throughout the fight, Ry kept standing up and excitedly offered suggestions for Mike.
The NGF agent looked up as he was stepping into the car, and recognition bloomed on his face. He yelled "YOU! Istvan, kill him!" Jacques slammed the door on the agent's hand, struck him in the face, and shoved him into the back seat of the car, all while the agent tried to disentangle his pistol from his belt.
John: The square was crowded with onlookers, so the agent’s demon refused to get involved. The PCs assumed that “Istvan” was the driver – I had to bite my tongue! The PCs’ demons, if called upon, would also have remained on the side lines.
The two men briefly struggled over the car door before the agent suddenly disappeared. Jacques fired his pistol blindly into the car, and a yelp of pain was heard. An invisible figure escaped out the door on the other side, delayed briefly by the good doctor who managed to quite get in the way.
John: I wanted an early confrontation scene between Jacques and this NPC, to establish the NPC’s motives and his threat level. I think I succeeded.
John: I should have rewarded Mike's ingenuity a little more, when he snapped to attention and held the car door for the NGF officer. I should have had the officer get all the way into the car and seated before he recognized Jacques! Then Jacques would have had a distinct advantage thanks to his quick thinking. But I was too fixated on making sure a fight broke out. Anyway, the action that followed was wonderfully cinematic! So different from the “trading blows” that results from more traditional combat systems.
Jacques, settling into the role of resistance fighter, ordered the driver out of the vehicle and "kidnapped" the doctor. Once out of sight, they pulled over to search the car, whereupon they found NGF calling cards and a map. On the map, a red 'X' indicated a spot in the desert 10 miles south of Casablanca. Jacques continued on foot to the bookstore, while the good doctor took the car to the nearest police station where he told quite a tale.
At the bookstore, Jacques and Serge were talking in the basement (“all you were supposed to do was walk here! How did you screw that up?” – “There was a problem in my way. I solved it.”) when (BANG) a squealing sound was heard from the ground floor. Serge climbed the steps and peeked into the darkened bookstore to see the rope demon coiled across the front window, its iron hooks scratching across the glass like fingernails on a blackboard. Serge steeled himself, and went outside to talk to it.
Ry: Pete, whose character (von Braun) was off camera, looked a bit bored throughout this scene… Mike said something like “We’d love it if you’d show up.” Pete however was perfectly happy letting the extreme danger shake itself out without risking his character’s hide. Ry said “Off camera is the safest place to be!”
He got his first good look at the thing: heavy hemp rope dozens of feet long, with iron hooks at regular intervals. It spoke in a sound like dry rope rubbing together: "Huuuuungry..... Biiiiind meeeee...." Serge swallowed his revulsion and invited it in to parlay. Jacques’ demon Skar was not happy with the tactical situation. Once in the basement, Serge tried to trick the demon into entering a rain barrel, but the demon prevailed against that command. Instead it coiled up Serge's legs and wrapped itself around his body, arms and neck. It squeezed. "Neeeeeeed... muuuurrdeerrrrrr..." it whispered. When Serge refused to Bind it, it went to leave. Skar materialized and attacked. The PCs were witness to an epic battle between an animated heavy rope and an arachnoid demon with bladed limbs. Bookshelves were knocked flying. Serge took a few swings with a fire axe.
Ry: We had a little trouble here – if a character’s action has already “gone off” because they won initiative, do they get to roll full dice for defense?
John: (Yes. I looked it up afterwards.) I was frustrated that I kept defaulting back to “you hit, what’s the damage” type of combat narration. I have to remind myself that a combatant who loses the initial roll doesn’t necessarily take damage, he still gets to choose and roll his defence. And a “hit” does more than just damage, it should change the situation too.
After a few rounds, the rope demon broke free and was retreating out the door when Serge yelled "DEAL!" He agreed to Bind the rope demon. He and the demon arranged to meet in an empty warehouse on the waterfront the following night to perform the ritual.
John: Serge agreeing to bind the demon was a great dramatic moment, and something I really didn’t expect (of course, I should design Bangs without expectation of where they will take the game!) But it was totally in character: Serge feels responsible for releasing this amoral and violent demon on the city.
Ry: At this point Serge asked the doctor if there was some way to banish the demon. We could build a Contain at the warehouse, lure the demon into it, and then Banish it from there. But the PCs also want to use the demon to kill the Nazis. No one is confident we have a good plan.
Ry says “I don’t see a lot of ways in the rules to try to attain overwhelming advantage over this demon – no matter what we try (including just going through with binding). We’ll be risking a lot, but then we started risking a lot in character creation when we made Sorcerers.”
The next afternoon, von Braun went to meet his "wife" at the train station. *Kicker* The last time she had seen her husband was two years ago; still, the man presenting himself as "Wolfie" and carrying her favourite flowers did not look at all familiar. Von Braun was trying to play the role of Wolfgang without using the conferred Cloak ability. But Elsa’s joy was rapidly turning to confusion and she looked about to scream. Von Braun felt that failure was imminent; he triggered Cloak. Suddenly all aspect of unfamiliarity melted away, and she saw her Wolfie before her. They embraced.
Ry: It was nice that Pete had a scene to himself after being left out of the multi-character fight with the rope demon.
On their way back to his apartment, again she had doubts that this was really her husband. Pete had his demon strike her down with a sudden fever! (Special Damage: disease) Elsa briefly lost consciousness in the cab; Dr. von Braun took her home and put her to bed. With much talk of the exhausting effect of travel, and mention of many details of their life together in Germany, the good doctor convinced her that everything was alright. Once she was asleep again, he went through her luggage and replaced all pictures of her real husband with pictures of himself. But the deception weighed on his conscience (he failed a Humanity check).
Ry: John, Mike and Ry were gaping at this… we got straight to the “Oh, my god.” “You’re the worst husband ever. Fake husband, I mean.” “That’s so evil!”
Also in her bags, he found a letter: (BANG)
Quote
"LSA, BWARE THE SEVEN BLESSINGS
MEYER WILL HELP
CASEBALNCA
BWARE DARLING."
Von Braun memorized it, and burned it!
Ry says: “We all left grinning at what a vortex we were getting into, and eager for more. Outside John’s house we were comparing how evil our characters are… I like how the game is putting us into situations we wouldn’t get into with other games. We’re definitely hitting the heavy bag.”
Ron Edwards:
Hi John and Ry!
Thanks for the detailed writeup. This is turning into a fine portrait of encountering the game, working through it, prepping for it, and playing it. I'll focus here on what your thread title describes as "imperfect," as far as I can tell from your account.
Quote
I was too fixated on making sure a fight broke out.
Well, you've stated the issue fairly, because making sure anything happens in terms of achieving results or implementing specific "do this" player-character decisions is something to abandon for this game. That's distinct, however, from playing an NPC who starts a fight by attacking, which is perfectly within your sphere of action as a GM. Still, in this session and scene, it doesn't appear to me that you strayed far into unwanted territory as a GM, nor with any un-fun effects.
Quote
Ry: We had a little trouble here – if a character’s action has already “gone off” because they won initiative, do they get to roll full dice for defense?
John: (Yes. I looked it up afterwards.) I was frustrated that I kept defaulting back to “you hit, what’s the damage” type of combat narration. I have to remind myself that a combatant who loses the initial roll doesn’t necessarily take damage, he still gets to choose and roll his defence. And a “hit” does more than just damage, it should change the situation too.
To be clear about the rules ... (1) In complex conflict, the rolls should not be construed as opposed. Their values set the order, but are not compared in terms of "hitting." We don't know if they hit until a defensive roll against them is made or missed, and that's conducted in order of the high values.
I recommend totally abandoning the term "initiative." It has implications due to its historical use in the hobby that are very distracting in Sorcerer and lead to misplaying the rules. Think of it as an action roll, period. When your action comes along in the order, which is based on an intrinsic feature of its own roll (high value), then you either stick with the action you were engaged in, or, if something awful is barrelling at you based on someone's faster action, abandon it in order to deal with the incoming problem. It's quite simple once you get used to it. Action rolls with ordinal information included. Not initiative.
(2) You automatically get to roll full defensive dice against incoming attacks once the sequence has proceeded past your spot in the order. This means that the fastest person is this round will always be rolling full defensive dice.
So, next ... Wait a minute. Nothing else to describe as problematic? That's a whole little bit of not-quite-perfect. I mean, a very little bit. Is there something you left out of the account which detracted from what appears to be, as I see it, a remarkably successful, thematically charged, and even comparatively action-packed first session of Sorcerer?
Best, Ron
Roger:
Thanks for the excellent write-up, John. I have some questions about the characters:
What were their initial Binding and Humanity results for their starter demons?
When was the last time each of them met the Need of their respective demons? How did they do so?
Thanks,
Roger
Roger:
In a mental lapse, I failed to realize that there's some good reasons why John might not want to publicly publish the Binding results.
If you want to message me with that information, or disregard that part of the question entirely, please feel free.
Paiku:
Quote from: Roger on February 12, 2010, 11:49:25 AM
In a mental lapse, I failed to realize that there's some good reasons why John might not want to publicly publish the Binding results.
*LOL* I was just thinking "I'm not sure I want to post that yet..." when I read your second reply ;-) I've messaged you the info (Ron too).
I didn't play up Need and feeding of the PCs' demons very much, though the PCs did feed their demons after combat without me having to bring it up. It's a weighty issue for Jacques in particular: if there's no incapacitated opponent from which Skar can drink some blood, then Jacques has to feed him from his own arm (1 long-term penalty die).
Oh yes, we started the evening with the initial Humanity checks from the Bindings - all three PCs failed!
Ron, thanks for the feedback. Regarding "imperfect": I meant it as the mildest of criticisms. The night was successful over-all and we're all anxious to continue the game next week (curse real life and this bi-weekly gaming schedule!). We're still on the learning curve, and some aspects will go better next time. With any new game, one expects pauses while rules are looked up. It's more the hallmarks of Sorcerer and story-gaming that I want to be sure that I pay more attention to: the GM role-playing the PCs' demons, Need, letting the players tell the story, and putting pressure on Humanity.
Another question: we're playing with d10s. I was expecting more opposed rolls to result in 2,3,4 or more victories. But almost all our rolls that night were +/- 1, even when the rope demon rolled 17 dice (!!). Does that align with others' experiences? Or did we have a shockingly "average" night? ;-)
Thanks guys,
-John
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