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Good & Evil, Incorporated

Motive

Sorcerers cite a lot of different reasons for what they do. Greed, anger, freedom and love are the most common.

While interesting, these are all bullshit. Being a sorcerer is all about power. Sorcerers are, almost without fail, people who feel disempowered by circumstances in their lives. So they compensate by summoning fiends from beyond space and time.

Disempowerment

Why does your sorcerer feel helpless or hopeless? Often, it will be something very personal- the belief that they can never find love or wealth on their own, for example.

Sometimes, the feeling of disempowerment is externalized. Which is a fancy way of saying the sorcerer thinks they're an altruist. These sorcerers turn up frequently as vigilantes.

Other Kinds of Compensation

Frequently, a sorcerer didn't start their downward spiral by deciding to conjure the powers of darkness in their own home. More likely, they tried other things first, and this gives you an opportunity to flesh them out as characters.

Physical vices- alcohol or smoking, for example- are classics. Cliche, even- but they work. Violence is another good one; an angry sorcerer will likely have committed compensatory violence against targets he could get away with hurting.

There's always art, too. Power over a canvas or a lump of clay, the desire to make one single object right (even though it never quite gets there) can be a powerful vice.

Vices are a powerful GMing tool. They can make your sorcerers more human and/or help make them really repulsive.

The Caveat

We've just spent a little while discussing how sorcerers are pathetic losers who want power. Does that mean that's all there is to them? Not at all! Sorcerers can be pretty, witty, and bright as well. Heck, if you're being remotely realistic, they've got redeeming qualities. And if you're being remotely Batman, they've probably got some bastion of weird, noble sentimentality that both defies and defines their obsession.

The Dreams of Demons

Demons in the world of [i]Good & Evil, Incorporated[/i] are generally here for the opportunity to play in the physical world and the sacrifices that keep them here. Whatever smarts they possess are devoted to acquiring greater access to one of these things. As a result, they tempt their masters to greater and greater demands, then enjoy the greater freedom of action and sacrifices that follow.

On the other hand, yours might be more sophisticated than that. Maybe they're looking to change the world in specific ways, or they have a fondness for some particular material pleasure that goes beyond simple sacrifice.

Finally, it's possible that even an unsophisticated demon might emulate the desires and behaviors of its master.

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Page last modified on October 07, 2005, at 09:15 PM