Magic in my Sands of Sakhrat setting is powered by pledging souls to patron demons, and uses my rules for improvisational magic.
Improvisational Magic Rules
The magic system Jeff Vandine and I developed for Blades & Black magic is heavily based on that in the game Barbarians of Lemuria. I really like the elegant way that the features of a spell can be baked into how it is played mechanically. These spell "requirements" just fit into the dark mood that a real Swords & Sorcery story needs.
These rules are very different from those found in The Fantasy Trip, or even Dungeons & Dragons. There are no set spell lists (God forbid, "slots"). Costs are not in fatigue–but in damage to the caster. The player describes what he wants to do, then works with the Referee to determine a general magnitude, or "rank" for the spell. That in turn determines costs, and what the player can do to mitigate them. None of this is set to start with.
What I really like about improv magic is that it really lets the player be more creative in playing a sorcerer. It also takes the magical game from a tactical one to a strategic one. The spells that we see described within novels and movies really are possible–but with a heavy cost. It truly makes magic unknown and mysterious when the players really do not know what the sorcerer is capable of.
Now these rules apply to all sorcerers, too–including priests. (So in Sakhrat, not all priests are sorcerers, but higher level priests always are–they have pledged themselves to a demon, so they get powers in return).
Pledging Souls to Demons
That brings us to the major story requirement I am enforcing in Sakhrat: sorcerers must pledge their souls to demons to gain their powers. Mechanically, game-wise, there really is no real impact on the game with this, but there is a huge one for story purposes.
For roleplaying purposes, players must select a known demon, or come up with one of their own. They have to come up with the character’s backstory of how they pledged to their patron demon, and what they have to do to keep the demon appeased.
But how does that work with the cost in blood for magic, you ask? If the patron demon is providing the power for the spell, why does it cost the character ST loss in damage to cast it?
Great question! I think the answer is that while the demon is providing the magical energy for the spell, the character must provide some form of sacrifice–in blood–to either appease or just feed the demon. This can be his own, or someone/something else’s.
Baked into the IQ test to cast the spell is the test of the casters ability to cast it–as well as the appeasement of the patron demon. I could have added another dice roll into the casting, but it is just simpler and cleaner to have the one.
But Why Build Magic This Way?
Another good question. I think this just really fits more with my concept for this setting as a Swords & Sorcery setting. I remember the concept of patron demons in many Conan stories by Robert E Howard, Kane stories by Karl Edward Wagner and Elric stories by Michael Moorcock.
I’ve really liked that idea as a concept for magic, so this works for me. It also gives the setting a darker, grittier tone, too. I like that, too. It may not work for everyone, but it definitely does for me.
Another thing. This system of doing magic also gives players one more way of being more creative in their character development, from pledging to their patron as well as what they have to do to appease it. That adds tons of story hooks to the character and the campaign itself.
All of this makes using my improv rules, coupled with the use of patron demons, a perfect way of having magic work in my campaign. I think it will be fun. What do you think? Let me know!
Marko ∞
Two thoughts. One, your FRP concept is really a cross of regular FRP and story-telling FRP. You like a somewhat procedural gaming concept, but at the same time, you have the soul of a story-teller and really, REALLY, like to enable that in your games. I too have the heart of a story teller; I keep it in a jar on my desk…
Second, I love that we are getting away from the “slots” concept for magic. I get that it’s everyone’s comfort zone, but at the same time, it takes all the joy and mystery out of magic and sorcery. Being a sorcerer is more or less like being an accountant in most games. It really interferes with the “suspension of disbelief” so necessary for me personally in playing RPGs. Honestly, that’s why I like Call of Cthuhlu so much — it enables the mystery and terror of magic simply because it is so dangerous for anyone to use. Oh, players will still do it, but you can see that they pause and seriously consider the alternatives and consequences before they do. That sense of terror and mystery is completely gone from the more mechanistic FRPG games these days.
Don’t get me wrong, I love TFT and Blades & Black Magic (and I really hope CR DOES get the Black Magic part of it done one of these years — preferably before I pass from this vale of tears), but I still want a bit of mystery and suspense in my games, especially when it comes to magic.
Well, true. Over the years I have gotten to be more of a storyteller than a gamest. Some of that probably comes from just doing solo gaming. I guess I have also gotten to where I like rules-lite games more than rules-heavy ones, too. It goes back to the adage of rulings, not rules.
And yes–I guess my complaint is using magic as a replacement for technology. With a magic system that is both very flexible and dangerous to the caster and recipient… that really takes things back to that mysterious force again.
Well, Jeff–I hope CR gets it done, too–and that you are on the mortal coil for many more years as well!