# Sorcerer tags: #game/rpg/sorcerer ![[Sorcerer (cover).png]] **Sorcerer by Ron Edwards: A Sarcastic Guide to Befriending Your Inner Demon** Welcome to **Sorcerer**, a game that reminds us why we don't invite demons to tea parties. Created by Ron Edwards and published through Adept Press, this indie role-playing game puts you in the shoes, or potentially the cloven hooves, of sorcerers who summon, bind, and interact with demons because, apparently, human companions just don't cut it anymore. **A Setting Vaguer Than Your Memories of High School:** The game prides itself on not having a default setting, offering only "guidelines" like the unknown nature of demons and the fact that authorities are as clueless about the supernatural as a cat is about quantum physics. The modern fantasy world assumed by rule examples is about as detailed as saying, "It's like our world, but with more hellish creatures and probably fewer tax returns". **Core Mechanics, or How to Gamble With Your Soul:** The heart of **Sorcerer**'s mechanics revolves around the thematic concept of "Humanity", which players risk in their dealings with demons, making gameplay as morally safe as jaywalking in front of a police station. Then there's the "Bang", a term Edwards coined for a situation requiring a choice, presumably because "dilemma" was too mundane for dealing with hellspawn. Combat and conflict resolution are as straightforward as a demonic contract, with opposed rolls in dice pools deciding the fate of your sorcerer's soul. The size of the dice doesn't matter, as long as they're uniform, teaching players the valuable lesson that consistency is key when defying the natural order. **Character Creation, or How to Design Your Doomed Alter Ego:** Creating a character involves allocating points among three stats and designing your very own pet demon, which sounds more like a twisted version of Pokémon than traditional character creation. Each demon has needs, because apparently, eternal beings of chaos also crave attention. The game's simplicity extends to using any type of dice, proving that in the world of **Sorcerer**, flexibility is the name of the game - right next to "imminent doom". **Edwards' DIY Ethos:** Ron Edwards' approach with **Sorcerer** is very much a "do-it-yourself" ethos, encouraging players to customize the game to their heart's content. This game is as much a manifesto on independent game creation as it is an actual game, serving as a rallying cry for those who believe in taking the road less traveled - preferably one that's haunted. So, if your idea of a good time involves making pacts with entities from the netherworld and navigating the ethical minefield that comes with power, **Sorcerer** might just be the game for you. Just remember, when your character inevitably meets a grisly end, it's all part of the "fun". For those intrigued by this compellingly complex and customizable descent into darkness, further musings and mechanics can be explored through the game's primary source and insightful reviews - **General Overview and Mechanics**: - [Sorcerer RPG Overview | Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorcerer_(role-playing_game)) - **Reviews**: - [Sorcerer Review: A Modern Dark Urban Fantasy Setting | RPGnet](https://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/9/9104.phtml) - [Sorcerer - A Game of Ethical and Power Dilemmas | Blasphemous Tomes](https://blasphemoustomes.com/2017/11/15/sorcerer/) > [!quote] Neurothrope-00 ![[Neurothrope Avatar.png|100]] > [!note] Editor's Note > > By the way, good luck trying to find a place to buy this thing anymore. Despite the fact that it's one of the best, tightest, and shockingly earliest indie RPG designs and [had a Kickstarter for a combined and annotated version](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/847190685/sorcerer-upgrade/description) – you can't find it for sale on any of the usual suspects. You can find a few of the hard copy editions floating around but that's it. > > I'm starting to think that my collection of rare, original, first edition RPGs might be worth something. > > If you're looking for a copy, let me know. We'll work something out. > > **Addenda - 2024-10-14 16:05** > > Looking for a place to buy it, you say? > > > [![[Pasted image 20241014160626.png]]](https://payhip.com/b/JDT8) > > -- https://payhip.com/b/JDT8