Intended as a taster for the Sorcerer RPG, this is a short basic primer, less the artwork and much of the detail, giving an overview of the concept and how the system works.

It begins with an introduction that explains how each character is a modern-day 'sorcerer' with at least one bound demon. The normal rituals and spells of conventional 'magic' are, for them, so much bunkum. They command beings that Should Not Be Here. Just what a demon actually is, is a matter left to the GM to decide. Evil spirit, traditional Judeo-Christian devil or whatever.

Next, a very simple die-rolling mechanic is introduced. Characters have 'so many' dice in whatever skills and abilities they possess. It doesn't matter how many sides the dice have, as long as everyone is using the same type. To do something, roll that number of dice, and see what the highest number is. If it exceeds the highest number rolled by your opponent (or a 'target-setting' roll from the GM), you accomplished whatever you set out to do. In a tie, look for the next highest roll, and so on down. The more of your rolls that exceed the highest number got by your opponent, the better: and if ALL your dice come up higher than his highest roll, then it's a Total Victory and the GM may rule that something particularly in your favour happens.

The following section explains how a character is created. Start off with choosing - from a list of optional values - how many dice he has in Stamina, Lore and Will. This also determines his 4th attribute, Humanity. Next, work up a verbal description of how you came to have these scores - you might have a strong Will because you are an obstinate s-o-b, or it may stem from profound religious belief. Oh, and you choose your route into sorcery. You have apprenticed to a practising sorcerer (to whom you feel an obligation) but may have followed one of several traditions - sacrifice, lust, combat & honour or drugs - to acquire your skills. You also need to choose a 'cover' (what ordinary folk think you do for a living) and your first demon - a list of possibles is provided. Each demon has a 'Need' which you will want to satisfy at least once a week to keep it happy... anything from scritching it behind what passes for its ears to feeding it a small house pet! You also need to select a character deficit - perhaps an addiction or an unpleasant attitude or a physical injury - that impedes you under certain (very general) conditions, this is the Price you pay for your mastery.

After a bunch of examples showing how to use these rules, we then get on to sorcery itself. A sorcerer is able to Contact, Summon, Bind, Punish, Banish or Contain a demon. These are explained, as is combat and the ways in which demons can become free or otherwise get a bit of their own way. Finally there's an account of some 'styles' or Branches of sorcery, one of which your character practices.

Well, that's it. Enough to get you going, to try it out... it's worth a look if you want something a bit different, something that concentrates on the role-playing and on exploring the characters' intereaction with each other, the world and - most of all - themselves.

Return to the Sorcerer: The Apprentice Version page.