Sorcerer

by Ron Edwards

The core book for Ron Edwards' groundbreaking Sorcerer rpg.

Genres: Role Playing Games, Gaming, Fantasy, Games

143 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[John Willson · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most important books, and games, in the history of role-playing games. Also, it's just a great game.

In Sorcerer, players play driven people who are getting what they want in part by summoning and bargaining with demons. Demons can be powerful allies, but dealing with them has its dangers and surprises. How far are you willing to go to get what you want?

Sorcerer introduced a method of creating and running role-playing scenarios that maximally preserves the players' narrative control while still having all the mystery and challenges of a GM-lead game. The GM builds the scenario after character creation, and based on the characters and other inputs from the players. I say "scenario" and not "adventure" because the GM does not plan out a plot or even an ending to a game; they present a situation and they play the NPCs, that's all. The resulting story (created through play, in the moment) is often intense and extremely rewarding for all.

Okay, the book itself could be a better pedagogical text, and a better reference text. You finish your first read-through going "Wow, I can't wait to play this! But I don't know... quite... where to start." And you read it again.

The no-pre-planned-plots way of GMing can be challenging to learn if you're used to traditional GMing. You can get this part wrong and still run a fairly successful game of Sorcerer. But keep trying, reach out to people online for help, talk with other Sorcerer GMs. Once you get it, you and the other players will have some of the most satisfying role-playing experiences of your life. it will change the way you run every other RPG.

[C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since college, I have become a theoretical role-player. My friend Matt has only played D&D and Champions, but he flies home twice a year to game with friends. I've read dozens and dozens of games, but haven't rolled a die in about eight years. Sorcerer is one of the best games I've come across as a RPG-ologist. Ron Edwards is the most prominent figure in the current indie-rpg world, and with this game he pretty much spear-headed the independent game as a viable product. His essays on TheForge.net are required reading and changed the way I thought about roleplaying, especially his points about how you can't just take any system and use it for any style of game, that the system itself is vital to and will dictate the philosophy of the campaign you play.

[JJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sorcerer was not what I expected. It was one of those "must read" books for RPG game design. It was much more of a toolkit than what I thought it would be.

As a game (which I have only read and not played) it seems it would take a lot work to set up. Many of the attributes must first be defined in their scope. Demons must be defined, Humanity must be defined, reasons must be outlined for Humanity lost and gained. It very much leans toward a co-operative setting, now so commonplace in story games.

These aspects are what make the game so powerful. As I read the book, I thought of dozens of applications of what a "Demon" could be: an AI suit of armor, Cthonian minions, an inner voice in the mind of the Sorcerer. I saw how this game could be used to run games about being a Vampire or Werewolf. Hell, I think you could use it run most Old World of Darkness settings. The possibilities really are limitless. I can very well see where no two Sorcerer games would be alike.

Now it has me thinking of what sort of Sorcerer campaign I would run. Hmmmmmm

[Adam Windsor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't think Sorcerer itself is a game I would ever actually run, but I sure found it an interesting read. The mechanics seem to fit the game's intended style very well, and could be adapted to other genres with a little work. I especially liked the discussion of game-driving concepts like "Kickers" and "Bangs". Certainly lots of food for thought.

[Hans Otterson]

Re-read in preparation to play. Powerful, exciting stuff. Cuts out so much of the bullshit when it comes to roleplaying.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my continuing effort to learn about the history of modern RPGing, I found a cheap copy of Sorcerer on Amazon a few months back and finally got a chance to read it completely, and I’m really glad that I did. Ron Edwards is a strong writer with a particular skill in breaking things down into their component parts and logical steps. The text itself is easy and enjoyable to read, the layout of the book is solid, and the game itself looks like a ton of fun.

I don’t know what I was expecting the game to be like, but it was certainly not what I found. At the core of the game is, not surprisingly, the sorcerer—every player but the GM creates and plays a sorcerer who is herself powerless, but who has bound a demon with powers. As part of character creation, the player comes up with a “kicker,” which is the narrative moment that happens just before play begins that has thrust this character from their everyday life into the role of protagonist for the story about to be played out.

What sorcery is and looks like, what demons are and looks like, are all left open for the play group to decide. The story can happen in any time period and in any part of the world. The tone can be as goofy and comedic as you’d like or as dark and troubled as you’d like. The game is not anchored to any genre and can in fact be played as part of any genre. A particular theme is heavily recommended by the very situation of playing a sorcerer, and that is the lengths an individual will go to for power, and how that power will corrupt the very soul of those who wield it. Players are free to ignore that theme, but to some extent it is baked into the very concept. Sorcerer is, in short, simultaneously incredibly focused and unbelievably open.

I really appreciated the final chapter, in which Edwards gives you a tour of his own version of play when he plays the game. By saving it for last, you have already created your own ideas while reading the rules and you come to this last section both wanting guidance and wanting to play what’s been brewing in your head. It’s very easy at that point to take what you like, nod your head at what you don’t, and get to work thinking about your own game. It was a clever idea to present this information at the conclusion of the book.

The appendix is a copy of Edwards’s essay “System Does Matter.” I had read this essay in the middle of 2016 and it didn’t have any impact on me. This time through, given all the reading I’ve been doing and thinking about the wonderful games that have come out by designers who were heavily involved in The Forge, the essay had a powerful impact on me, and I started seeing the common threads between what I had been enjoying. I’m having what we called in graduate school a paradigm shift, and I’m enjoying the thrill of it. Now I’m off to read more of Edwards’s theory essays and more game texts. And off to play a lot more RPGs, of course. Hopefully, Sorcerer will get to be one of them.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting game. Not one that I'd normally have much interest in due to the theme, but one I felt that I should read since: A) it is often cited as inspiration for games that I have enjoyed. B) it plays an important role in the history of "indie-games." C) I received a free ding & dent copy as part of an order from IPR a couple of years ago.

I'm glad I did read it, because it looks like it could be a very interesting, if also very challenging, game to play. My group is scheduled to give it a try soon.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

A second edition without the drawbacks of making a second edition: namely that it doesn't in any way replace the first edition.

What it does is to allow the designer to convert 15 years of experience into clarifications, suggestions, and a few places where he would have changed things if he was actually doing a second edition.

I like the core rules, but am glad that I have this version as well.

[Brendan · Rating 3 out of 5]

< let me do the cover art next time >