[Sorcerer] Deeper Underground
Jaakko Koivula:
So, got a group formed, sat together for an evening, ironed out the setting, the characters and demons. First play is in couple of weeks. I had a hand-out, but unluckily it's just in finnish. I'll get around translating it at some point and put it up for show too.
Showcase time!
Setting: Humanity living under the ground, surface world has been contaminated for centuries. Year is somewhere around 2400AD. Technology in the tunnels is effectively pretty much on the same level as what we have now. No materials or high-precision tools to build iPads and stuff like that, but on the other hand, the basic machinery, food industry, water-air recycling systems and such are highly advanced.
Stalker-twist: When humanity first dug down, they built lavish high-tech vaults (like Fallout). A bit later they realized that the climate changes, radiation, etc. was so severe, that the vaults were actually built too near to the surface. Humans had to dig down, fast. Number of people dwindled and they were forced to leave all the more energy and maintenance intensive and delicate stuff up there. All that high-tech stuff is still there, but only criminals and criminally insane ventury there, because of the radiation and who-knows-what.
Banishment to the upper levels is usually used as a severe form of punishment. Occasionally you are allowed to come back, if you find and bring back something truly useful for the community.
Humanity: Sense of community
Life underground isn't horrible at all, but it is tough. There is no slack for anyone. Everyone is needed. Humans have learned to look after each other. Humanity is thinking about the common good, putting the needs of the many above your own needs. Example of humanity loss roll: Blatant seflishness, stealing from the common stockpile, seriously challenging the community's values.
Demons and sorcery: The tunnels are maintained by a non-centralized computer network. The network takes care of recycling, air, lighting, etc. Demons live in, or are created from that network. Summoning a demon places a huge stress on the network, slowing it and causing light-outs, equipment malfunctions and sometimes even concrete cave-ins all around the ritual area.
Demons can be anything once they are summoned, but when they are initially contacted, they look like blood red code/symbols/faces on the network screens. The style how sorcerer summons demons is very varied. There is no precise technique: one sorcerer codes it out, one punches the monitor and drags the demon out of the network.
Characters:
Graham: Is a library clerk by day, self-appointed enforcer of community by night. He's an utter wimp, but insanely driven (stamina 1, will 6!). He was banished earlier to the upper levels, where he found his calling and his demon, Segfault. Segfault hides in his shadow and can also cloak him in shadows. And breath fire. Segfault Desire is sensual gratification and Need is to punish wrongdoers (people who have done something and lost humanity because of it). Kicker: Graham has heard there's a sorcerer (bastard!) in the town that he doesn't know. Played by Kaj.
Stamina: 1 - wimp
Will: 6 - high self-esteem, belief system
Lore: 3 - enforcing will
Price: Arrogant (-1 perception)
Willie: A farm-boyo. Young guy, who wants to become a scientist, even though his family and everyone in his town are mushroom farmers. Willie's demon is an inconspicious demon called <a>. It shows up as moving text on any object it clings to. It's Desire are people's personal problems and Need is to eat dreams (Eating dreams means sleeper doesn't really get rested at all. A healthy person doesn't yet get minuses from one random night of dreamless sleep, but otherwise frail or exhausted people get -1 for the whole next day) Kicker: Willie's beloved got banished into the upper levels, for some reason. Played by Uine.
Stamina: 4 - hardy farm-life
Will: 4 - Will to learn & study
Lore: 2 - Intuition
Price: Moral hangover over leaving farm-life (-1 to academic, cultured, etc stuff)
Kevin: Is a researcher of ancient history. At some point he's stumbled upon ancient knowledge of demons and learned to summon them. His demon, Oracle, is a parasite, that Needs to drink blood, Desires knowledge and can boost Kevin's will and make him big. Kicker: Kevin has heard for certain that some ancient cache of knowledge concerning demons has been found in the forbidden upper levels. Played by Tassu.
Stamina: 3 - clean living
Will: 5 - belief system, high self-esteem
Lore: 2 - forgotten knowledge
Price: Living in the past (-1 to any first roll in scene)
Alex: Is a trail-blazer, escorting caravans between different settlements in the tunnels. He was banished with Graham years back and at some point ended up summoning a demon when he could nothing else to save his life. His demon called import util.cerberus.*; is a shadow dog, with big teeth, armor and ability to affect shadows in the area. It's Desire is mayhem and Need is to eat bones. Kicker: A young woman has disappeared from the caravan he was escorting and as an old criminal, he is suspected. Played by Santeri.
Stamina: 4 - survivalist
Will: 3 - high self-esteem
Lore: 3 - some sort of macgyverism
Price: Stubborn (-1 to most social interactions)
That's about it. Suggestions and comments about anything are more than welcome!
Ron Edwards:
Cool. It strikes me as a Sorcerer & Sword game more than core Sorcerer, so check out the rules for scenario creation and the emergent setting creation in that book, if you have it.
If you're interested in advice, I suggest asking what do you do?, a lot, for the players of these characters. They have just a little touch of passivity, shoved around by events, in my reading anyway. So before I'd be comfortable as GM by throwing things at them, I'd like to know what they do and how they do it, as driven by the players.
Best, Ron
Jaakko Koivula:
Hey!
Unfortunately don't have Sorcerer & Sword yet. I'm planning on grabbing all the supplements the moment I get any money, but for now I'll have to make do with the core book.
I got sort the same impression you got from some of the characters. Thinking I'll use the first session mostly to get to know the characters, more than on any "let's go on an adventure!" -stuff. I have quite a lot of info, NPCs and weaving possibilities from the diagrams actually, now I just need to know what the characters themselves want to do.
I translated the hand-out about the setting. It's pretty quick work and didn't really bother polishing the expression in english that much, but I guess it'll have do. I think the hand-out was a good starting point and set the mood nicely for the starting session, where we actually ironed out the setting properly and made the decisions on what to include and what to leave out. Excellent tool, especially for me as I think mainly through writing. Will have to make a habit out of making these.
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0BxKhHnw0caX_MTAxZDhkYTYtYjQwNC00NWEzLTlhMDItMDMzMjNhMGNkMzA5&hl=en
First play tomorrow evening, pretty excited to see how it goes!
Jaakko Koivula:
Whoa, first game down! Damn, I'm just impressed. I had a bunch of NPCs and their motives, but practically nothing else. I also had planned up some weaves between the PCs and NPCs, but that's it. Really different sort of prep than usually. Didn't need to think up any plots or storylines or anything. Quite frightening, actually. I didn't know at all what would happen when the game started.
I did this speech how the player characters are the important guys in Sorcerer. In traditional RPGs, the GM plays all the deciding characters like kings and archmages or Sauron. But in Sorcerer the player characters aren't just participants in some story, they are the whole point of the story. For example, Crime and Punishment isn't about a murder and the search of a murderer, but about Raskolnikov. Same thing here. It isn't about tunnels or demons, it's about you. So what do you want?
Players started exploring the setting and finding stuff about their kickers and met bunch of NPCs. It was just magical, how at first there was nothing, and then suddenly those guys were connected and this family had something to do with these guys and that thing didn't go like anything I expected, and it all still made perfect sense. Example:
I had a sheriff, who was investigating the disappearance of the teenage girl in Alex's kicker. He was a old likeable guy, with family roots somewhere in the USA. Wore a cowboy hat and spoke in as low and rumbling voice as I could manage. Basically, him.
This guy mentions Alex's criminal past to him and asks about the teenager: "You know how they are, she's just propably lost in the tunnels. I just had to ask you, if you perhaps had told her some wild stories about them adventures or something and she'd run off to have some, heh heh." ...and then Alex totally TERRORIZES the crap out of him. Alex's demon picks up on a subtle hint from Alex and basically blankets the whole tunnel in darkness. Underground pretty much everyone has fear of the dark, as light is so essential and there's no ambient lighting. Where there's civilization, there's electric lighting. Where there's no lighting, there's no civilization. Alex keeps pressuring the sheriff about the dangers of wandering around in the tunnels, while the darkness is creeping up on them from everywhere. Alex leaves the sheriff basically sobbing near a campfire and import util.cerberus.*; grins a big toothy grin to him, before disappearing into shadows.
And it was totally unexpected, but seeing how Alex is total bastard and his demon is a criminally intelligent sociopath and has a desire to cause mayhem, fear and chaos, it's was just.. proper.
Also, I was pretty much blindsided by an extra NPC, that Graham's player scripted in: Mr. Heart, a stage-magician/sorcerer. I had prepared a "wrong" NPC for this role and instead had to shake Mr. Heart out from the hat. He ended up being a smooth talking pimp/sorcery-pusher. In his magic show he exhibits unnaturally keen skills of perception. After his show, he leaves and Graham is tailing him. Suddenly, he spots the lonely farm-boy Willie, lost in a big city. He naturally sees the demonic telltales a mile away (with the huge perception bonuses) and pounces on the poor youngster. Out of all the player characters, Willie has the strongest urge to get something done: his fiancee has been banished and he needs to get her back, right now. So naturally Mr. Heart, the suave predator, bumps into him, realizes what's up and starts sweet-talking Willie into using more sorcery. "Anything can be yours, if you just WANT it enough. I can help you..."
And even though Mr. Heart was just invented, there could be nothing more natural than him finding the sweet, innocent and desperate young boy, WHILE Graham the self-righteous vigilante is watching them both from the shadows.
I don't know if we were just lucky, but as a GM I am just blown away how effortless all this was. Didn't have to create elaborate plans and trick the players into following railroads. I just had bunch of NPCs who had couple of small links between each other, and the rest fell into place when the characters got moving. I'm stoked. Whoo!
Ron Edwards:
Whoo yourself!
No luck is involved when the system is understood and used. But something else is involved - genuine creative drive and imaginative real-life dialogue. It sounds like you guys are well-equipped.
Best, Ron
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