The Layonara Community > General Discussion
Sorcerer: How do we play them?
Force_of_Will_:
To me I view Sorcerers as Machine guns.
Theyare the Spammers of spells.
Doc-Holiday:
I understand that sentiment due to improper use.. but how do you think it should be RPed? How should a sorcerer character be?
Dorganath:
Connor is a Sorcerer who took a few levels in Fighter for survival and RP reasons. I play him as a Sorcerer, but he has been known to draw his sword and beat up on things when the need arises.
The magic of Sorcerers is essentially identical to that of Wizards. A Wizard's magic is the result of what amounts to generations of study by countless Wizards and scholars. Theirs is an intellectual, scholarly pursuit, loaded with theory and mechanics. Sorcerers, as has been said by others, just know how to use magic, though they really don't know how.
As such, names of spells, unless told to them, are unknown to Sorcerers. Connor can cast Flame Weapon, but he doesn't know its name. Before combat, he asks who would like fire for their blades. Heck, he didn't know he was a Sorcerer at first. To him it's just a label, as are the names of spells.
I'd like to think that they identify spells based on the fluctuations in the Weave, whether they know of the Weave or not. It's like listening to another language spoken in context...eventually, you start to pick it up, and you'll learn a phrase or two.
Connor is drawn to things that enhance his abilities, though since he is also a fighter, he's also drawn to things like rings/amulets of Bull's Strength, Mage Armor and weapon enhancement rods.
Connor is Chaotic Good, so he's generally a nice guy but isn't afraid to ruffle some feathers to achieve a goal. Garent kind of annoys him some days, but mostly, he gives the authorities little attention. He will generally rush to help out his friends...and often those he does not know. Depending on the situation, he'll stay and see things through or only stay until the immediate problem has passed. True to the above-average Charisma for the class, Connor has frequently fallen into the role of diplomat, advisor and confidante....though frequently such roles have brought about some internal conflict within him.
On his spell progressions...The first few levels were hit and miss a bit....Cantrips were no-brainers, but specifically chosen were Light (his first "spell" that he unknowingly cast while fumbling in the dark for a lantern), Flare and a few other. Magic Missile was among the initial first-level spells he chose, being a very basic manifestation of magical energy. Shield came about due to a desire to protect himself (replaced Mage Armor one day....PRAISE LUCINDA!!!!). Invisibility...same deal. Flame Weapon...an elemental extension of his fighter tendancies and an enhancement to combat....Fireball...primal, basic, elemental (sensing a pattern here?). He recently "learned" Bull's Strength because he had observed it cast on him and others enough times that it started to resonate.
Connor knows several fire magics, but one of the few things that calms him is water (i.e. lakes, oceans). He carries a bastard sword (for use when needed) that is enchanted with Cold, and he'll cast Flame Weapon upon it before combat (he loves the contradiction there). He has a staff enchanted with Electricity and a sonic visual effect (He thinks of it as his Staff of Thunder and Lightning...no relation to the actual item by that name).
As a player, I have chosen his spells in a somewhat logical, justifyable progression. As he grows in power, some spells will "replace" others, such as Improved Invisibility replacing Invisibility or Issac's various missile storms replacing (or supplementing) Magic Missile, though to him, he will have simply figured out how to do it better by using a bit more energy. He really doesn't know how or why he can do what he does, though he has learned that magic comes from the Weave and he has Lucinda to thank for that.
I do strongly subscribe to the idea of Sorcerers being capable of manifesting magic through purely emotional means, though such magics may be unformed and indistinct. At one point, Connor was rather peeved at some recent events and had trouble controlling his anger. During conversations with friends a few times, his hands started to glow blue as magical energy coalesced around them. The more intense his anger, the brighter the glow. When someone got his attention and snapped him out of his funk, the glow dissipated.
At one point, Connor offered to help Tom understand his magic, which was RPed as manifesting randomly, and was most definitely linked to Tom's emotions. That was tough for Connor, because it was like describing how to breathe or walk. It was this situation that got Connor more interested in the Weave, and I think that knowing what the Weave is and how it kinda-sorta works is something that will allow Connor to improve his own power as he progresses through life.
SirGunky:
Well, Doc, we've had this discussion before :D
I tend to view arcane magic users as allegorical to musicians.
Wizards are the studious types, the precise and very deliberate and nuanced players. Classical violinists.
Sorcerers are wilder and sort of "dirty" and "untrained," having a natural affinity for the art and a feel for the emotion of it rather than the theory. Rock guitarist.
Sorcerers do not cast by "force of will." Clerics cast by force of will. Sorcerers cast by feel, like they empathize with the ebb and flow of magic. They read it as a bard reads the emotions of his audience.
As for how they are able to identify spells cast by other mages... I guess that would be dependant on the sorcerer in question, and how they learned to control their own magic. If a person taught himself to cast spells by how they felt, that would likely be how he would identify other spells. IF he had a mentor who taught him how to control his abilities, he would likely be more studious.
As for items/artifacts/etc., again, that would be dependant on how the sorcerer in question learned to control his own abilities. If he went by feel, he would likely feel a synergetic connection to powerful magical auras.
As far as a preference... that depends on the ego of the sorcerer, which is not going to be the sasme from person to person. An egotistical sorcerer with the blood of a dragon in his veins would likely be highly egotistical and would feel that his own powers are superior to any given item (though he would likely covet the item anyway, owing to his natural draconic greed).
I agree that sorcerers should be somewhat mysterious. "Undefined" seems a little broad. The mystery part is how they are able to innately tap the weave of magic without formal training. It places them somewhat above everyone else, in that they are more spiritually attuned to magic than other people of their race.
Unfortunately, a lot of people do use them simply as "spell spammers" and artillery. The class has amazing potential for roleplay, but it has been my experience that the potential of the sorcerer often goes unrealized in favor of raw firepower.
Doc-Holiday:
Brilliantly said Gunky.. I know we talked about this before and that's why I posted this (and was waiting for you response). You really hit an important point I was haveing trouble communicating, how a Sorcerer is trained in his abilities WILL INFLUENCE HOW HE ACTS in reguards to magic and his skills. Weston was trained by a wizard, he is somewhat studious and intelligent. He identifies items partialy from inate understanding and part historical and arcane lore. Another brilliant point was the draconic blood. How thin is it? what type of dragon( what color?) all these would influence your character. For Weston, his family has regularly produced sorceres of some power (i.e. not so thin blood). And I chose the Gold Dragon due to his alignment Lawful Good. He is almost unwavering due to the natural affect of his heritage. Egotism is another important aspect to bring about, Sorceres would often be naturaly egotsitical. Weston's ego is alot more humble due to alignment, training, and upbrining... but ask Aleister... he can be very bubble headed.
I like hearing how everyone defines their sorcerers... but lets talk about HOW to RP them... how should they act in situations? How would they be diffrent from a Wizard?
In the Pranzis Knght sky quest Weston was peresent with one other Sorcerer and a Wizard. The Wizard knew more about lore and items than Weston... However... Weston knew more about items and lore than the other... less disciplined Sorcerer. Two sorcerers who are VASTLY diffrent due to training and upbrining... one explodes is she stands still... the other will make her explode if she doesn't. Weston was an example of a wizard trained sorcerer.. the other.. self taught. When arcane effects are being examined I would emote that weston was "examining the item with his inate connection to the weave." When I tell someone I am going to cast Inviso Sphere, I don't say.. I am going to Cast Invisibility Sphere.. instead I say "I am going to hide us all in the weave... do try to stay close." When asked "What spell is that" I will respond "Em...I believe wizards call it.. Magic Missile." Weston has a great deal of self control, both from his training and lineage. He will often stop and think criticly about what he is feeling and examine the emotions inorder to properly respond without going overboard or loseing sense of what is ultimate goal. Compared to a wizard though, he is still far more likely to be angered or swayed by the emotional pull of a situation, the same with magic, he avoids items and spells and spell casters who use alot of "disagreeable" magic.
I think Sorcerers will naturaly distinguish themselves from Wizards, after all they are two completely DIFFRENT diciplines of magic.. though they achive the same result.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version