[Sorcerer] Sorcerer's In Suburia : Prep
The Dragon Master:
As usual I put off prep till the last weekend figuring it'd be fine as is. Until I ran across a reminder that I hadn't yet really nailed down the flavor of sorcery that is. 'Doh! Disclaimer here: Due to the nature of Humanity in this game, sorcery can be fairly dark to modern sensibilities, and honestly is feeling a bit more dark than I'm generally comfortable with. Squeemish folks, you've been warned.
The first thing I did was expand my definition of Humanity. It centers around a sort of 1950's vision of the suburban family. The one you grew up with on show's like Leave it to Beaver. Dad goes to work every morning, and is home for dinner every night. Mom is cooking dinner by 4, and cleaning scrapes and the house during the day. The kids go to school and do their homework before going out to play. I stretched it a bit to include the safety, trust, and security (including financial) of the family unit. I'm thinking the unit, rather than the actual family as it would give high humanity types more of a... pod people feel. I thought about a second Humanity definition, but this'll be my first real campaign, and I'll have enough to worry about without adding another twist to the game (though I'll probably run this again in the future and will do so then if it feels appropriate).
I figured the easiest way to define what Sorcery looks like was to think about the summoning rituals. I like the idea that the rituals cause Humanity loss rolls because you have to do things that would cause these rolls even without their involvement in the ritual, and that the flavor of these would be tied up in the nature of the Demon. So the battered wife summons her Demon by meeting it at the old no-tell motel, for instance.
Demon types are limited to Passers, Inconspicuous, Possessors, and maybe Parasites.
To begin with I was envisioning a sort of uneducated latin/greek/arabic pidgin being used, while the Sorcerer partakes in somewhat ritualized actions that would put the family unit at risk. Such as the father going to work on Saturday, promising he'd make it to the baseball game, and making a "business" call when he is at the last minute he can leave and still make it on time. If all goes well, the Demon answers the call and as such is Summoned (the Demon I had in mind for this ritual is actually just a voice on the phone line). The issue I'm running into is that the more I try to envision these rituals, the more the pidgin, and the ritual figures, and really most of the sorcerous trappings, begin to feel unnecessary. It almost feels like I could drop them entirely, and just... I don't really know. Have the acts themselves be the entirety of the ritual.
I guess my main question is: What effect would it have on play if I dropped the Sorcerous trappings entirely, and let the actions lay bare in the fiction? Really I do like the way the trappings make it feel more like the actions are being deliberately taken, but do I gain something by letting them stand alone?
Ron Edwards:
I had to stop reading halfway through the post.
Do you believe this version of Humanity? Do you personally buy into it to any extent? Do you see standing up for it, against adversity, as something you could or would do?
Because it reads like a total pod-person abstraction, something you cooked up bloodlessly. As written, anyway, I don't believe you.
Best, Ron
Vortigern:
Quote from: The Dragon Master on September 19, 2010, 08:06:19 AM
I'm thinking the unit, rather than the actual family as it would give high humanity types more of a... pod people feel. I thought about a second Humanity definition, but ( snip )
Quote from: Ron Edwards on September 19, 2010, 09:41:33 AM
I had to stop reading halfway through the post.
Do you believe this version of Humanity? Do you personally buy into it to any extent? Do you see standing up for it, against adversity, as something you could or would do?
Because it reads like a total pod-person abstraction, something you cooked up bloodlessly. As written, anyway, I don't believe you.
Best, Ron
Ironic?
Anyway. Can this work?
I am confused a bit by this because it seems to set up a situation where having a higher humanity score is perceived as a flaw unto becoming a 'pod-person' kind of thing, exactly put. Whereas I thought the entire idea of Humanity is that it represented the core of "good" or "normal" in the game, and that the deviations from there come from lacking it.
In other words, to me, if you are interested in pursuing a 'pod-people' kind of theme, wouldn't a better option be to say that Humanity = Individuality, and thus -low- humanity people are more pod-people-ish? Or am I missing the point of where you are trying to go with this?
Ron Edwards:
Add my voice to Vortigern's. I'm kind of confused as well and he put it better than I did.
Best, Ron
Paiku:
I think Sorcerer in general can be played either way.
(a) normal society is Humane; sorcery (and Humanity loss) mean doing socially abhorrent things; or
(b) normal society is inHumane, or societal norms have nothing to do with the game's definition of Humanity; sorcery (and Humannity loss) run counter to the PCs' personal values.
Hmm, this seemed like a simple idea until I tried to write it out. Anyway, the 1950s utopia would be an example of (a). Marr'd, I think, would be an example of (b). In Dictionary of Mu, Humanity = hope, but Marr'd is a pretty desperate and hopeless place; sorcerers who hold onto their Humanity tend to do things that give people hope, i.o.w. act like heroes, but the acts of Sorcery themselves destroy hope (at least symbolically). It's a paradox but, well, Sorcery is crazy-making.
I think the "perfect Norman Rockwell home" thing is an interesting thought experiment, and could make an interesting game depending on the players. But would it be a visceral experience?
As for the OP's original question of what would be lost if sorcerous acts were simply these inHumane acts done purposefully: well I just have one question. Sorcerers aren't the only people in this utopian neighbourhood who are breaking the rules. What happens when the bored housewife bangs the plumber; does a demon get his wings? As you implied, I think intent has to be important. But is having intent enough, or should the would-be sorcerer have to show it somehow, ie. through ritual: pidgin mumblings or the like?
-John
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