Blood Relics

[Nev the Deranged]

I was thinking about cool Sorcerer ideas and came up with one that's pretty cliched, but still cool.

Demons are bound into ancient relics.  The blood of their master is what releases them.  When released, the Demon wraps itself around the body of it's master, transforming them into powerful warrior beings.

Sort of a cross between the Stands of Jo Jo's Bizarre Adventure and any of the Guyver-esque morphing warrior genre of shows.  I'm envisioning something fairly grim and gritty, not light hearted and colorful.  Some of my initial ideas for Relics are:

Minotaur: A laberth pendant that transforms it's master into a hulking ten foot tall beast with a huge hammer/axe (a laberth is an axe, but I thought a giant hammer would be cooler).

Virago: A spike studded bracelet that grants you the form of a leather clad dominatrix, complete with impossibly long whip and stiletto heels (which of course present no obstacle to amazing acrobatic maneuvers).

Baensidhe: (not sure what the relic should look like), morphs you into a ghastly apparition with sonic powers (ear shattering wails, shrieks that cause sonic booms, calls that can be heard over any distance, etc)

Paladin: A daggerlike letter opener that transforms you into an armored knight with sword, shield, and visored helmet.

that sort of thing.  The plots would be very action oriented, in the style of the shows previously mentioned.

An interesting note:  Blood activates the relics.  Therefore, to transform, the users must draw their own blood in significant amount... impaling your hand with the dagger, for instance, or firmly gripping the studded bracelet.  I'm seeing anime style transformation sequences... the mild mannered secretary clasps her hand around the bracelet hard enough to pierce her flesh, calling out some appropriately colorful phrase, wild dark energies spilling from the wounds in her hand to wrap around her and form a six foot vision of dark beauty strapped tightly in leather dominatrix gear, a coy smirk on her red painted lips.  "Alright, boys.  Who's been naughty?"

The second part of the interesting note is that whomever feeds the relic releases the demon.  That means if someone else's blood gets on it... you could end up facing your own demon wrapped around someone else.

The sorcerer-demon interaction would be necessarily softened here, but still relevant.  While the demon is fused with you, you share control of the fused body with it.  That means a constant battle of will if it's goals and yours are not the same.  Also, getting the demon to go back into the relic when you're finished with it would require an effort of will as well.  Even though a fused being is capable of superhuman feats and endurance, it's still exhausting, and if your stamina wears out before you get the demon packed safely away... well, you take a nap and the demon gets to run the show for a while.  Demons like to wreck stuff. =>

Comments, ideas, suggestions?

 ps., I have no plans to run a game like this, at least not until I've played Sorcerer prime enough to feel comfy running a game.  Oh yeah, and until I have players.  Heh.

[Ron Edwards]

Hey there,

You and Benjamin (Bailywolf) are going to get along fine ... but as with Ben's and my dialogues from about a year ago, one of the things that eventually crops up is the difference between cool visuals from a variety of media and the core of Sorcerer.

The game is attractive to a lot of people because it does lend itself well to grabbing visuals and concepts from all sorts of places, whether Clark Ashton Smith or Guyver-esque anime. Wow, we can play with all these different frameworks and tones, and the demon stuff is still solidly contributing to play! I think - and this is admittedly Narrativist preference in action - that Sorcerer does a much better job at this kind of customization than, say, Big Eyes Small Mouth or GURPS.

However, ultimately, the game only goes "sput, sput, varoooom!" when the core principles of Humanity, Binding, and Kickers interact with one another in stressful, fascinating ways. How would you see those working in the kind of game you're describing?

Best,
Ron

[Nev the Deranged]

Well, that's why I said that I haven't played and didn't want to suggest such in depth mechanical issues without having more than a faint inkling how the game actually works.  

From most RPG texts I can get a pretty good idea of how a game would go and just run with it.  Sorcerer on the other hand, still has me somewhat at a loss.  Partly because it's got some revolutionary twists to the classic RPG standbys, and partly that it's not as well organized (sorry Ron) as some of the more codified games.

I really really want to play, because I am damn sure that Sorcerer kicks serious heinie on the table.  Not only because it's been a while since I gamed seriously and I'm jonesing, but so I will have a better idea of the mechanics and can start playing with them, as I am wont to do with everything I come across.

I'm open to any kind of ideas or suggestions, though =>

[Ron Edwards]

Lemme see, lemme see ...

OK, let's take that brand of anime that we're talking about - and bear in mind I don't know it too well - and break down what sort of conflicts are faced by the character. And more importantly, what are the most important "crunch" moments he (usually he, right?) faces? What decisions matter most to the story?

Best,
Ron

[Nev the Deranged]

Actually, in this style of anime, female and male characters pretty much share the spotlight.  It's true the main character is often male, but strong female lead characters are not uncommon at all.

As for the main conflicts, it depends.  Sometimes it's the classic vigilante paradox... far are you willing to go to punish the guilty no matter what the cost?  Often the hero's humanity is the major stake... in the Guyver, the hero must increasingly trade his humanity for the power to defeat the villains, both on terms of his emotional connection to human morality, as well as his physical humanity, when his power derives from his connection to the alien symbiotic organism that he "wears" when doing battle.

That is almost the core theme of Sorcerer the game itself.  So it's rather obvious.  In more specific terms, I guess it would depend on the character.

In many of the more adult anime of this genre, sexual submission/freedom is a major driving force.  In, say, Princess of Darkness, the shy heroine is constantly abused and tormented sexually, prompting the release of her sexually dominating alter ego to punish the perpetrators.  This theme of righteous vengeance is a recurring one in this kind of anime, even ones where sex is not the primary focus of the story (it just happens to be a convenient theme for presenting a series of vignettes showcasing sexual power-trips in alternating top/bottom fashion).  The "depth" of these stories is usually pretty monothematic, IE presenting the same dilemma over and over with increasing drama until the hero/ine finally comes the whatever cathartic realization the show is aiming for and is released from the dilemma.

Good reference material for the broader genre (that I know of personally):

Jo Jo's Bizarre Adventures (anime)
Guyver: Dark Hero (live action)
Ronin Warriors (crummy Westernized cartoon show version)
Inframan (old movie so bad it's good)
An American Werewolf in Paris (movie)
and, I hate to say it, but Sailor Moon (anime)

there are lots more, of course.  Ranma 1/2 could almost fit in this genre.

My personal vision is more along the dark, grim lines with the cartoonish exterior... blood and gore and madness, psychological as well as visceral horror.