Through Sorcerer's eyes - Oct 5, in which we trace some paths and sparks fly

Part of a series analyzing Roger Zelazny's A Night in the Lonesome October through Sorcerer.

Starts here.

October 5

Snuff goes to Jill's house, over the hill, and finds it empty. As he heads to Rastov's, he smells Graymalk and approaches her, to invite her to join her for some kind of activity. Her movement is pretty sneaky, suggesting Cloak.

She tells him that there was a killing in London, someone torn apart as by a vicious dog. Snuff denies that they were involved this time, but is not scandalized - this confirms that killing is one of the abhorrent actions sorcery involves them in. She says that more of these will happen as people seek their ingredients, leading to more patrols leading up to a big event.

When they reach Rastov's, Snuff traces a path in his mind between that and his home. They then continue to Morris and MacCab's, where they encounter Nightwind. Nightwind tells them he's seen the killing in town, although only after it's been discovered. Nightwind refers to both Morris and MacCab as his master's. He also refers to a certain prohibition against divulging too much information, but is placated by a trade. They pool their resources and find that they know of seven, potentially eight: Jack, Jill, Rastov, Morris and MacCab (counted separately), Owen (the name of the druid from yesterday, this identity confirmed), and a hunched man retrieving a lot of bodies from graveyards to the lighting-rod covered farmhouse under a never-ending thunderstorm, in which he lives with his tall master, which he refers to as the Good Doctor. Nightwind leads them there, and then departs. Snuff traces the paths he's walked in his mind - this seems important to him. From inside there is a crackling, the smell of ozone, and mad laughter.

They both return to their homes, and Snuff finds another paw-print, presumably referring to the one he saw earlier, but couldn't trace.

So we have confirmed that Owen, Cheeter's Binder, is a druid. We also have confirmed that actual murder is part of sorcery - no wonder it leads to foot-chases. Finally, it's clear that it's important who is counted and who isn't - just because two people work on sorcery together doesn't mean they're both sorcerers, although Morris and MacCab are. If the Good Doctor is a sorcerer, it seems that weird science might also be part of it. It is also possible that the Hunched Man is the Good Doctor's Bound demon.

Sorcerers and Demons

• Jack - Binder of Snuff, a wand, and a big knife, as well as a Container of several Things. Described as cursed and having to do much of his work at night - perhaps his Price has to do with insomnia?
• "Crazy" Jill - Witch, Binder of Graymalk
• Morris and MacCab- A pair of sorcerers who have both Bound Nightwind. They count separately for the purposes of conversation, although not clearly in terms of the rules of sorcery
• Rastov - Binder of Quicklime
• Owen - Druid, Binder of Cheeter
• Snuff - a Passer whose Cover is a watchdog. High Will. Possible abilities: Command: dogs, Hold, Perception: heightened senses, Special Damage: claws and fangs. Able to trace paths between sorcerers (see below).
• Graymalk - a Passer whose Cover is a cat. Possible abilities: Cloak
• Nightwind - a Passer whose Cover is an owl. Possible abilities: Special Damage.
• Quicklime - a Parasite living in the gut. Possible abilities: Cover: Snake, Mark, Special Damage.
• Cheeter - a Passer whose Cover is a squirrel.
• The Hunched Man and the Good Doctor - one and possibly both might be sorcerers, weird scientists - or maybe one is a demon Bound by the other

Sorcery and Setting

• The demons have restrictions on what information they can divulge to others, but are also eager to share information when it seems to be mutually beneficial.
• Snuff is intent on tracing lines between the sorcerers, this might be important.
• Sorcery definitely involves murder.
• Sorcery might involve weird science.

Through Sorcerer's eyes - Oct 4, in which we meet a squirrel and its master

Part of a series analyzing Roger Zelazny's A Night in the Lonesome October through Sorcerer.

Starts here.

October 4

Snuff starts by repeating the rounds more thoroughly described on October 1, making sure the Things remain secure, bantering with those who can banter, before going outside to make sure nothing suspicious is happening there. He finds a large paw print which was sheltered from the rain, but all other information was washed away. It's bigger than his own paws - possibly a bigger animal or demon in animal form. He can't find traces even going far from the house. Perhaps this means that whatever this is has Cloak?

He then runs into an old man gathering mistletoe from a tree with a sickle. My reading of Asterix and of many editions of Dungeons & Dragons sourcebooks suggest to me that he might be a druid. A squirrel is riding on him, and Snuff strikes up a conversation. It seems pretty clear that he expects to be able to just talk to him, although he does lead by asking him whether they're in the Game. Turns out that Cheeter the squirrel, and they are late arrivals. We find that it's not polite to ask whether someone is an opener or a closer - Cheeter is scandalized by Snuff's question. He does ask Snuff about a potential snake being involved, and Snuff tells him about Quicklime.

Snuff later accompanies Jack back into London. They pass unnoticed by the pursuer that Snuff bit the other night, still limping, a rotund companion of a dour detective. So far, the sorcerers we've met have not acted against each other, which suggests that these two are not of that nature.

Jack goes to the city center, using the wand to trap moonlight in a crystal container. If this is the  Snuff then hears someone yell out in the language of "[his] kind", but considering that he's not certain whether it is a dog or not, this suggests that he is referring to dogs as the kind. Again, more evidence that dogs communicate intelligently here even without sorcery.

Snuff contrasts the wand to the knife, suggesting the latter is involved in actions that would normally lead to pursuit. This might be the wand mentioned in the Introduction, so perhaps it, like the knife, isn't an Object demon after all, but is merely a tool of sorcery.

Sorcerers and Demons

• Jack - Binder of Snuff, a wand, and a big knife, as well as a Container of several Things. Described as cursed and having to do much of his work at night - perhaps his Price has to do with insomnia?
• Druid - Binder of Cheeter
• Snuff - a Passer whose Cover is a watchdog. High Will. Possible abilities: Command: dogs, Hold, Perception: heightened senses, Special Damage: claws and fangs.
• Cheeter - a Passer whose Cover is a squirrel.
• Wand - an Object demon, although possibly merely an implement of sorcery
• Thing in the Circle - a Passer of high Will, communicative. Possible abilities: Shapeshift: general or numerous
• Things in the Mirror - Unknown. Not communicating so far.
• Thing in the Steamer Trunk - High Stamina. Not communicating so far.
• Thing in the Wardrobe - High Stamina and Will, communicative.

Sorcery and Setting

• The sorcerers and demons are involved in something called "the Game", in which there are openers and closers. It is important who enters the game, and when. It is impolite to ask which side one is on.
• Some aspects of sorcery are not likely to draw as much attention, like waving wands around, or gathering mistletoe.
• Animal conversation is normal, dogs have their own language

Through Sorcerer's eyes - Oct 3, in which we meet a bat, and start learning about the Game

Part of a series analyzing Roger Zelazny's A Night in the Lonesome October through Sorcerer.

Starts here.

October 3

Snuff again reflects on the night before. The way he explains how he knows how his master wants the knife (presumably the Big Knife with Old Writing on the Sides) makes it likelier that it's simply something he detects in Jack's intonation that lets him know what he needs, rather than any of the game of demonic communication telephone I was speculating about in the past. It is now less clear that this knife is an object demon. Jack used this knife to procure some needed ingredients, but Snuff had to alert him that he'd been discovered, and then bit at a pursuer who discovered them in the act, whatever it was, which was enough to end the chase. Notably they did not attempt to kill the pursuer.

Snuff is then let out to walk another indication that this isn't modern day - a dog traipsing around alone would attract notice. He hears Jill talking to Graymalk - it is not clear how reciprocal this conversation is. Outside Morris and MacCab's he runs into a new potential Passer demon: Needle, who is described as a cluster of leaves taking form, and as flying around quickly and calling and speaking in a high voice, and is also illustrated as a bat. They exchange pleasantries and we find that Needle serves someone called The Count, that the others have been gathering ingredients as well, and that Snuff is curious about when the Count joined "the Game".

Finally, Snuff realizes that someone is following him, and is very much an adept in this. He doesn't know who this is, as he isn't able to spot him, although he does feel comfortable using male pronouns

When Needles flies away, Snuff complains that the situation has become more complicated, and that he doesn't know who are "openers" and who are "closers".

So we are in a position to potentially demote the Knife to a tool of sorcery rather than a demon, although that is not clear. Either way the communication situation is a bit clearer. We also learn of another potential demon, another sorcerer, and some unknown, potent entity. Finally, we learn that this is part of some Game, and that there are two sides, openers and closers.

Sorcerers and Demons

• Jack - Binder of Snuff, a wand, and a big knife, as well as a Container of several Things. Described as cursed and having to do much of his work at night - perhaps his Price has to do with insomnia?
• The Count - Binder of Needle, joined the Game two days ago (October 1st?).
• Snuff - a Passer whose Cover is a watchdog. High Will. Possible abilities: Command: dogs, Hold, Perception: heightened senses, Special Damage: claws and fangs.
• Needle - a Passer whose cover is a bat.
• Big Knife with Old Writing on the Sides - an Object demon, though possibly just a tool of sorcery
• Mystery Tracker - someone who is very good at both tracking and hiding. Not clear if a sorcerer, a demon, or something else.

Sorcery and Setting

• The sorcerers and demons are involved in something called "the Game", in which there are openers and closers. It is important who enters the game, and when.
• Some forms of ingredient gathering lead to intense pursuit when discovered in public.
• In the setting, dogs walking around unaccompanied do not draw special attention.

Through Sorcerer's eyes - Oct 2, in which we meet a cat, and hear rumors of an owl and a snake

Part of a series analyzing Roger Zelazny's A Night in the Lonesome October through Sorcerer.

Starts here.

October 2

Today Snuff starts by telling us of some preceding action: Jack taking particular care to collect an ingredient under specific circumstances, and immediately returning home with it, then bantering with the Thing in the Circle, which means that it can talk to Jack, not just to Snuff. He comments that ingredients and timing are important for his master's work.

He then detects an interloper: Graymalk, "Crazy" Jill's pet. He was able to note her peering in from the inside, which further lends credence to his overall enhanced senses. She does like sneaking and lurking, so if a demon, she may have Cloak. They are able to communicate, which could be either demonic or just a setting feature, as I've discussed. They are suspicious of each other, but willing to share information - Graymalk tells him that Nightwind, an owl working with Morris and McNab, has left him a feather with mummy's dust, which is supposed to hurt him, or maybe him and Jack - "you" being a bit ambiguous in English. This could either be an attack from Nightwind as demon, in which case it might be Special Damage (if we interpret combat very loosely), or some kind of indirect use of Banish or Punish by Morris and McNab. Snuff pays her back by telling her that Quicklime, a black snake who lives in the belly (Parasite) of the "mad monk" Rastov, has come by her house and rubbed some of his scales into it. This might be some kind of Special Damage, or possibly a Mark. Since this is from a presumed demon, it doesn't seem likely to be Banish or Punish. He makes it clear that the dealing is between the two of them rather than their masters.

This chapter is thick with characters but light on details. We learn of four potential new sorcerers, and three new potential demons. "Crazy" Jill has bound the cat-like Graymalk. We don't know much about the latter, so could be a passer like Snuff. Morris and McNab have bound the owl-like Nightwind. Again, we don't know much, so another passer, possibly. They're a pair, so either Nightwind is bound to just one of them, with the other helping, or perhaps they should be viewed as a single sorcerer entity, although that doesn't seem like a baseline game option. "Mad monk" Rastov has bound the snake-like Quicklime. The latter lives in the former's belly, so might be a Parasite. We also learn that Jack banters jovially with the Thing in the Circle, so that it communicates with at least one sorcerer, not just with Snuff, and that Jack is able to best it in wits, so its Will isn't overwhelming to him.

As far as sorcery and setting are concerned, we are told Jack needing to gather ingredients by their type and context, and that timing is critical for his work. We see a dog and a cat conversing intelligently and amicably - it's not clear yet whether this is because they are both demons, or whether it's a standard setting conceit, but neither of them is surprised by this communication, and we already have seen that Snuff can speak to regular dogs, so I'm leaning towards it. 

Jack and Snuff were able to walk far and reach a field with a particular root in it with no special incident, suggesting a rural area, or bordering such. No modern technology mentioned yet. Usage of mummy's dust might indicate the 19th Century and its Egyptomania in the Anglophone world, in which this takes place because it's been established that they are outside London, but that could be a strictly sorcerous detail.

Sorcerers and Demons

• Jack - Binder of Snuff, a wand, and a big knife, as well as a Container of several Things. Described as cursed and having to do much of his work at night - perhaps his Price has to do with insomnia?
• "Crazy" Jill - Binder of Graymalk
• Morris and McNab - A pair of sorcerers or possibly effectively a single one, one or both Binders of Nightwind
• "Mad monk" Rastov - Binder of Quicklime
• Snuff - a Passer whose Cover is a watchdog. High Will. Possible abilities: Command: dogs, Hold, Perception: heightened senses, Special Damage: claws and fangs.
• Thing in the Circle - a Passer of high Will, although not as high as either Jack or Snuff, communicative. Possible abilities: Shapeshift: general or numerous
• Graymalk - a Passer whose Cover is a cat. Possible abilities: Cloak
• Nightwind - a Passer whose Cover is an owl. Possible abilities: Special Damage.
• Quicklime - a Parasite living in the gut. Possible abilities: Cover: Snake, Mark, Special Damage.

Sorcery and Setting

• Sorcery seems to involve material ingredients taken in specific contexts. Timing is of the essence. Parts of mummies, demons, and animals - or, possibly, of demons in animal form - are also important.
• Setting is near London, somewhat rural, possibly 19th Century. Animals able to talk to each other.

Through Sorcerer's eyes - Oct 1, in which we meet the Things

Part of a series analyzing Roger Zelazny's A Night in the Lonesome October through Sorcerer.

Starts here.

October 1

Today we follow Snuff on the rounds he alluded to in the previous chapter. We find that the Thing in the Circle can change shapes, although it doesn't have the scent right to fool Snuff - so we would add Perception: heightened smell, or possibly just generally heightened mundane senses to his repertoire to supersede sight from the Introduction. It verbally expresses its frustration. The Things in the Mirror actually seem to be spread through a few mirrors, and have some "space" to move in, away from Snuff when he shows his teeth. The Thing in the Steamer Trunk pounds on the sides, is aware when Snuff comes around, and takes a bit of growling on Snuff's part to quiet down. Finally, the Thing in the Wardrobe is scratching the sides, and tries to bargain with Snuff. It, like the Thing in the Circle, wants to be free, and offers to bring Snuff big, juicy bones with meat on them. We could surmise that its Need or Desire have to do with killing living beings, but it's not entirely clear.

Overall, Snuff's intimidation might come down to high Will rather than any particular power. In the Introduction he says he's able to handle each of them separately, but doesn't know what he'd do if they came together - maybe he simply has enouch Will that he's confident of success against each one's opposing Will separately, but not if they joined forces.

The annotated game book suggests that Contain can have a lot of variations, and it is automatic in the way it works - keeping a demon in place and preventing it from dissipating on account of unmet Need - until the demon attempts to break it. The ritual table suggests that it's the demon's Power that tests it directly, but we see demons attempting subterfuge, persuasion, and bargaining, which suggest Will, and physical prowess, which suggests Stamina. The Will seems to be getting an outside entity to breach the Contain rather than working against it directly, but the Stamina is a bit more puzzling, although perhaps it's inherently fruitless, and the demons psyching themselves up to use their Power.

As for the Things: the Thing in the Circle might be a Passer by default. The fact that it changes into several shapes suggests either many instances of the Shapeshift ability, or a more generalized version. It doesn't get the smell right, suggesting sensory imperfection might be its Telltale. It does communicate with Snuff. Since it is trying to negotiate, it might have high Will. We don't learn much about the Things in the Mirror or Mirrors, other than that they gibber and slither around in "there". It might be too early to decide what type they are. Nor do we learn much about the Thing in the Steamer Trunk other than that it has some physical presence, so potentially high Stamina. Similarly for the Thing in the Wardrobe, although it describes a lock and a key, which might be the actual form of the containment. It does try its limits physically by scratching. High Will, again, might be indicated. Since the containment is also physical, high Stamina is also possible.

Sorcerers and Demons

• Snuff - a Passer whose Cover is a watchdog. High Will. Possible abilities: Command: dogs, Hold, Perception: heightened senses, Special Damage: claws and fangs.
• Thing in the Circle - a Passer of high Will, communicative. Possible abilities: Shapeshift: general or numerous
• Things in the Mirror - Unknown. Not communicating so far.
• Thing in the Steamer Trunk - High Stamina. Not communicating so far.
• Thing in the Wardrobe - High Stamina and Will, communicative.

Sorcery and Setting

• Details of containment depend on the demon. Breaking out of a Contain focus might be a combination of Stamina and Power, unlike with the default expectations in the game book. Containments can involve symbols, objects, and physical restraint.

Through Sorcerer's eyes - A Night in the Lonesome October

I've run into writer's block trying to summarize my experience writing and running a Sorcerer one-shot set in Troy, New York, loosely inspired by Roger Zelazny's A Night in the Lonesome October. And wouldn't you know it, it's October already, which is time for me to spend about the whole month reading the book chapter by chapter, as, except for the introduction, they are all numbered by the days in the month.

So instead of continuing to procrastinate on my previous assignment, I'm going to try and analyze the story through a Sorcerer lens. This should explain why I thought this would be a good system in which to create a scenario inspired by the story. Hopefully I can do this once a day from October 1st to November 1st, but singly or in batches, I will go chapter by chapter, applying the structure and details of Sorcerer to the various entities and situations introduced. Doing so piecemeal should make for easier going. Spoilers abound!

Introduction

Strictly speaking, "A Night in the Lonesome October" is the title here, but it is the only chapter not associated with a day of the month, and acts to introduce us to the first-person protagonist, Snuff.

Snuff is an intelligent watchdog who works for Jack, who is cursed, and has to do bad things at night to avert worse things. Snuff keeps watch when Jack's on his business, and fetches him his wand and a knife with old writing on it when necessary - he knows when that is. Snuff used to be something else, but was summoned into watchdog form, which he likes. He and Jack keep certain "Things": one in a circle, one in a wardrobe, one in a steamer trunk, and an assortment in a mirror. Snuff can help block them from escaping, and intimidates mundane dogs, but can converse with the latter when he wants to.

In Sorcerer terms, Jack is a sorcerer, and his sorcery involves abhorrent actions performed in secret, which is the game's baseline. In this chapter we explicitly see him going into a graveyard and digging for some necessary ingredients, while Snuff makes sure the old guard dog doesn't raise the alarm. Since Jack is using his powers to avert great evil, he might have a reasonable amount of Humanity, even though he has Bound at least three demons: Snuff himself, a Passer; and the wand and dagger, presumably Objects. The Things that they keep suggest Contained demons - that would not require a Humanity check, and is a way of allowing a demon to remain manifest without having its Need supplied. However, that does mean that Jack does not have any control over them beyond keeping them in their containers, nor does he benefit from their powers.

That Snuff knows when to fetch Jack his Objects could be rationalized as an implementation of the game text's insistence that Object demons can move and communicate with their Binder - Jack unconsciously communicates to the wand or knife that they are needed, they communicate this to Snuff, and Snuff physically brings them to him.

Snuff talking to mundane dogs might just be a setting conceit. There are no abilities that correspond to this. Being able to boss them around may be an ability, though, possibly Command: dogs, as is whatever allows him to keep the Contained demons in check if they manage to break through their containers, possibly Psychic Force. Since he is a dog, he can probably bite and scratch, and he keeps talking about watching, so Perception: heightened sight is likely. It is too early to speak of his Need or Desire, although he clearly takes his job of watching and knowing very seriously.

Sorcerers and Demons

• Jack - Binder of Snuff, a wand, and a big knife, as well as a Container of several Things. Described as cursed and having to do much of his work at night - perhaps his Price has to do with insomnia?
• Snuff - a Passer whose Cover is a watchdog. Possible powers: Command: dogs, Hold, Perception: heightened sight, Psychic Force, Special Damage: claws and fangs.
• Wand - an Object demon
• Big Knife with Old Writing on the Side - an Object demon
• Demons Contained by Jack, none of which we know much about at this point
• Thing in the Circle
• Thing in the Wardrobe
• Thing in the Steamer Trunk
• Things in the Mirror

Sorcery and Setting

• Sorcery here seems to involve cadaver-sourced ingredients, magical and physical containment, and demons as foul creatures, with Snuff as an exception, although he is the narrator, so he might be unreliable. It is kept secret from society at large.
• The setting is near London, in the fog. The graveyard in this chapter is guarded by a dog, so it can't be too modern, what with no electronic surveillance. Dogs being able to talk to each other might be part of the setting as well.

Problems with Blades in the Dark

I've written quite a few play-fueled posts about Blades in the Dark, indexed here. I enjoyed the experience of running a one-shot, followed by an open table campaign lasting several weeks, but also felt extremely worn out after each session, and found myself dreading the next. At first I thought it was just down to general nerves, but this segment from a video of a conversation with Ron Edwards (of The Forge fame/infamy), titled "Constraints for consequential play" (link should start at 7:49), diagnosed a shortcoming of the system that really corresponded with my experience. I don't necessarily agree with the entirety of his views or characterization, but the main thrust feels right.

A good metaphor to extract from the video is an imagined situation where you are playing a ballgame, like soccer or basketball, and are thrown the ball, only to have it immediately empty out, so you have to fill it up again before you can continue. A lot is made of the explicit negotiation process whenever players want their characters to do anything challenging in Blades, but even once Position and Effect have been agreed upon, and an Action Rating roll is made, I've felt the same thing that Pawel bring up in the video, that I have to exercise my mind to improvise something that will implement the expected outcomes, both good and bad. Even if I have enough to work with from what has already been established, there is such a variety, from Heat, going through starting clocks, ending clocks, to actual Harm, that the game doesn't really force you to contend with what's happening now in a way that just flows into the next step without a lot of work by the gamemaster. And that's before you bring in Resistance rolls, which can downright eliminate Consequences, or mitigate them significantly.

One way I can see to fix this could be to agree in advance on certain constraints on the possible Consequences. For example, require that adversarial clocks are all introduced on Score start, and then the Consequences have to include Harm when using physical Action Ratings, in addition to potential contributions to clocks. There's discussion in the Blades book about the level of lethality that results from this kind of status quo establishing itself naturally through play, but I think setting it up in advance is a better way to address this issue. This is especially true in the context of an open table, where there isn't a consistent group to crystalize into any particular style. Contrast this with other aspects of the game which don't require this - the out-of-Score state of the PCs, Crew, NPCs, Factions, and relations between them in the world is easy to represent mechanically, as well as reassess at start of play, even with no consistent game group.

Moving beyond the context Edwards brought up, while keeping his metaphor, as I noted in my previous Blades post, another place where I felt a lack of constraints or structure is Free Play. The game book suggests that it should naturally lead towards a Score plan and an engagement roll, but in my experience, again, it requires that type of reinflation of the ball. It might be better to insist that if the players do not come up with a Score for their characters, hostile factions will act against them and they will have to react to this. Which to me suggests that a structure missing from the game is the reverse Score, namely, having the PCs have to deal with NPCs coming to cause them trouble, steal things from them, or what have you, with an appropriate adjustment to the subsequent Downtime phase.

Finally, the overabundance of variety also shows itself in the setting of Doskvol and the Shattered Isles, that the game mechanics are strongly tied to. For me, at least, it's too busy. Post-apocalypse, ghosts, crime, corruption, cults, all tied to action ratings. I understand that the fact that killing is such a big, supernatural, immediate deal (because each death is signaled by a gong, resulting in a crow coming to the scene of the crime with scary Spirit Wardens in tow) is important for forcing certain constraints on character actions, a vital counterweight to the baseline almost super-powerful things they can pull off in the fiction, but the way it's done is just too contrived for me. This is an aspect I'm not sure can be fixed without hacking things significantly, or starting from a different Forged in the Dark game entirely.

None of this is insurmountable - but I have so many other, different systems to learn, and my own adventure ideas to develop, that I will probably not be pursuing this further in the near future. Do get in touch if you have come up with solutions to these problems, or if you're inspired to test something I've suggested.