Playing Exalted using Sorcerer

[Chris Chinn]

For the last few weeks, I've been playing Sorcerer on Google Plus with a couple of friends. We're using Sorcerer's rules to play Exalted ( bankuei.wordpress.com/2010/10/04/sorcerer-exalted/ ), which is working out great.

Two things which are really interesting - first, how much we get done in our short 90 minute sessions. Sorcerer's rules let you get a lot done in a couple of short rolls, and I only ask for rolls when something would actually make for an interesting contest.

Second, because most Exalted games are about "a group of people on the run", this dovetails nicely with the advice given in the Sorcerer & Sword supplement- the players end up at different places every 2-3 sessions and I get to paint a strange, messed up magical world.

Though all of that is fun to do as a GM, the core of play is really the players going to a new town, finding a lot of people embroiled in drama, and how the effects of the deeds of their past lives are still affecting people today. So far, that's been a lot of "How do I undo this epic bad thing my past life did?" but I'm guessing it'll be interesting to see other things as well.

The flip side is that Sorcerer is a little demanding on the GM - you don't have to prep a lot, or deal with serious math, but you do have to be really "on" and present throughout play. Because the players have "Demons" which act as NPCs, there's usually not a lot of time where you get a break.

It's also not a great game to bring players used to traditional play into- they don't necessarily pick up on the range of freedom they can do, and you end up using a lot of energy throwing Bangs at them. It needs to be more of a back and forth.

If anyone else has played Sorcerer and has advice OR, if you have questions about the game, let me know!

Chris

[devp]

In some ways, I'm used to thinking of Sorcerer as a relatively traditional game, in terms of player agency: you control your character, and try to achieve your goals.

However, beyond the mechanics, I suppose there are a large number of player responsibilities for creating their own drama?

[Chris Chinn]

Yeah, in a lot of ways I feel like there's an unstructured call for PTA style play - with players aiming a bit more to address their own issues that isn't really obvious in the game. (other than, Kicker, and the call for Author stance in Sorcerer & Sword).

I think, too, the folks who I'm playing with haven't figured out that their demons, are in fact, full on NPCs to be bargained with and negotiated with. I'm hoping they'll start exploring it more, because that will basically become a quick avenue for all kinds of fun stuff. Since in Exalted (at least, the fiction), you're supposed to get more of your powers back the more you learn about your past, engaging with your past-life-as-demon is really the best way to go about improving that situation.

Since they've both been pretty serious about denying their demons, I'm guessing it's about time for some consequences to kick in.

Chris

[judd]

Did you use the back of the character sheet to establish places in the present and the past? Feels like it might be useful for that.

How are the martial arts rules working for you? I honestly never quite fully grokked them and always wondered if I should use them in my Heavenly Kung-fu setting, where demons were martial arts moves stolen from spirits of Heaven and Hell.

[Chris Chinn]

The back of the character sheet actually is really helpful in tracking the characters across story arcs. The time issue isn't particularly special there, though, past events get listed as much as present situations.

More interesting, is applying those links across R-maps, which usually isn't direct in terms of blood and sex (though, one of the characters spent his past life making sentient paper-people who are still currently alive, which I treat as parent-child relationships), but it usually directly affects how the situations got set up in the present.

We used the martial arts rules for the first couple of sessions and they worked fine, though given our time format (90 minute sessions) and playing online, they've mostly fallen by the wayside. I've been finding fight scenes rarely lasting more than 3 rolls at the most.

Chris

[dogeared]

I've never played Exalted, so I don't know much about it. Do the PCs in that game have the usual WW special powers stuff? And are you applying that as demons? So powers have wants and needs? How does that work in play?

[Chris Chinn]

So Exalted, short:

An Anime Fantasy world, where at one point, magically empowered mortals (The Exalted) ruled over the world until they started getting proud and became tyrants. They got taken down by lesser, but also magical mortals and their powers sealed away for thousands of years.

Now the seal is busting and people are suddenly finding themselves with magical powers AND flashbacks to past lives.

True to classic WW fashion, there's tons of powers and abilities and splats. In the fiction, you're supposed to get more awesome the more you learn about your past life- which as far as WW rules boils down to classic GM Illusionism, under the guise of fetch-quests to find ancient items you once owned, or seeking knowledge, and sprinkled with past life flashbacks.

Using Sorcerer: the Demons need time to recharge (as it works in WW for their powers. I'm thinking of changing this, though) and they WANT you to learn about their past lives and/or become more like they once where.

The big Sorcerer change here is that it means players only summon 1 demon, but they can "resummon it" and rebind it to try to get more power or better Binding rolls. I'm stealing a lot of imagery from Bleach, Naruto, Paprika and other anime for having the "past life/inner self" show up and say/do things at the PCs.

Chris