Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 zombiegleemax Sep 01, 2004 14:56:32	Where do they get their arcane power from? Do the darklords have a hand in it? Or is it just a natural intuitive ability as it is in the Core D&D rules? Also how rare are Sorcerers in RL? Being that Wizards are as rare as they are, does that make Sorcerers even less common as an alternative arcane casting class?
#2 zombiegleemax Sep 01, 2004 16:18:09	Since the demiplane has a lack of dragons, one must assume there are alternate sources for sorcerous heritage. My theory is that sorcerers are those denizens of the demiplane that can tap into the magic of the land. It makes them more frightening to the average domain resident, if the magic of sorcery came from the black earth... --then again, Ravenloft has always been traditionally magic-poor NB
#3 The_Jester Sep 02, 2004 1:43:47	Well the 3E PHB doesn't say EVERY sorcerer decends from dragons or has dragon blood, just that it is a possibility and that some do. Sorcerers in Ravenloft recieve their spells from the same source as mages, manipulating magical energies. They are just naturally profiecient at it rather than studious. Perhaps the Mists grant their powers, or perhaps it is simply the power of nature and the universe. It's a kind of magic.
#4 Mortepierre Sep 02, 2004 7:15:04	They could be seen as the "favored" of Hala though ...
#5 zombiegleemax Sep 02, 2004 11:00:19	In my fantasy campaign world, Sorcerers have to belong or descend from a magical race. For humans, it's normally elven ancestry (IMC somes elves are true fey). In my Ravenloft, it'll be a similar source: Shadow Fey. Hag magic will also have it's role in it. Sorcerer looks like sorcière which is French for witch so I decided the two are linked. Elves will still be the most adept at becoming sorcerers (for the PCs).
#6 zombiegleemax Sep 03, 2004 8:27:47	Some possibilities: Fey ancestry Daemonic ancestry By-product of being a caliban Family curse (Deadlands fans might reference the Whatleys) Rakshasa ancestry (if you're from the Steaming Lands Cluster)
#7 zombiegleemax Sep 07, 2004 19:30:48	Sorcerors IMO fit into RL as well as if not better than the traditional D&D wizard. In a plastic univervese where force of will is often enough to propel curses, I'm not sure that *any* odd bloodlines are needed to explain spontaneous magic from the soul. That said I still think sorcerors would be a lot rarer than rogues, fighter, or rangers (etc). Even if you want a more traditional take on sorcerors there can be plenty of reasons why a sorceror's abilities might develop. Gaz 5 specifically mentions hagish influences but there are all the other possibilities, many previously posted. One not posted yet that I personally like is a distant blood relation to the vistani. One of the neat things about sorcerors is that (with the DMs permision) there is more "gothic horror" elements that can be worked into a sorceror than the other arcane casters. With a judges permission, consider a player who wants to call on the "spirits" of the world to get things done. Such a PC may justify "mage hand" as a benign ghost/spirit moving an object for them, or "invisibility" as spirits cloaking them from the sight of mortal eyes. The PC still need to perform the right ritual to invoke the spirit world on his behalf (ie cast spells), is subject to dispelling, and in all ways acts mechanically as "another sorceror." Consider even how the PHB describes the onset of sorcerous abilities at pueberty, "Their first spells are incomplete, spontaneous, uncontrolled, and sometimes dangerous. A hosehold with a budding sorceror in it may be troubled with strange sounds or lights, which can create the impression that the place is haunted." Even the fireball weilding sorceror may have begun his or her life like "Firestarter" or "Carrie" My two cents. Eric Gorman