Random Acts of Sorcery (The Familiar Series Book 3)

by Karen Mead

  Appendix

  Sorcery: The Happening: A Primer

  Sorcery: The Happening is a CCG (collectible card game) created by the company Mages of the Shore in 1998. The game first made a name for itself in the crowded CCG marketplace due to its unusually high-quality artwork and shiny, foil-embossed cards, leading to accusations that the game was all flash with little strategic depth. However, Mages continued to diversify the play mechanics with every release, as well as tweak the color balance in response to player feedback. Over time, the property developed a reputation as a game with fast, fun gameplay as well as beautiful visuals.

  The game focuses on summoning powerful monsters, culled from countless mythologies, and having these otherworldly creatures do battle. It’s possible to attack opponents directly without the use of a summoned creature, however, such tactics tend to be less effective than using summons. By design, it’s quite difficult to win with a creatureless deck; however, some adventurous players have not only pulled this off, but managed to win major tournaments using this strategy. Whether these rare victories were due to incredible skill or sheer luck is a matter of some debate in the Sorcery community.

  The title of the game refers to a “Happening,” a gathering of six monsters that represent each of the games main colors: Gray, Brown, Yellow, Orange, Purple, and Pink. In theory, the goal of the game is to accrue enough magic of each color to summon a Happening, in which case the player’s forces become so powerful that a victory is virtually guaranteed. However, there are many faster ways to win besides summoning a Happening, and most players prefer to play one or two-color decks, rather than taking the multicolored approach a Happening requires. At present, Happenings are almost never seen in serious play, however there are a few purists who believe that winning with a Happening is the only “pure” way to win and still construct their decks with this goal in mind.

  Here we present an overview of the major colors in Sorcery: The Happening and their attributes. The properties of Teal, to be featured heavily in the upcoming Medea vs. Circe expansion set, remain a mystery for now….

  Gray: The color that plays host to both divine and demonic creatures in Sorcery. Gray is perhaps the most versatile color in the game, featuring both powerful healing spells and vicious attacks, however, this flexibility comes at a price; many players say that Gray decks only really shine against other Gray decks. Trademark Gray creatures include Sweet Seraphim, Owl Daemons, and Wicked Imps. Incidentally, Arc Angels are the most expensive creatures to summon in the entire game.

  Brown: Creatures who hail from this color tend to be defensive in the extreme. Brown creatures don’t do much damage, but they don’t take much either, plus almost all of them heal over time. One popular saying about this color is that it’s really hard to lose with a Brown deck, but it’s even harder to win with one. If you ever encounter a match between two players with pure Brown decks, assume they’re going to be there a while; the longest official Sorcery match on record was between two such decks, with a final match time of 32:38:40. One habit among regular players is to yell “Slow Down for Brown!” whenever a Brown deck is put on the table. Notable Brown creatures include Swampy Titans, Shale Dragons, and Roaring Redwoods.

  Orange: This color is focused on summoned creatures that weaken enemy creatures’ attack and defense. Since Orange creatures have little ability to do damage themselves, Orange is always paired with another color, such as Brown or Yellow. Due to the lack of direct damage, some players deride this color as a waste of time, however the most skilled Sorcery: The Happening players tend to make good use of Orange as a general rule. Notable orange creatures include Potato Motes, Jupiter Flytrappers and Stink Slimes.

  Purple: Purple is a color for brutes, plain and simple. Creatures that belong to this color hit incredibly hard, and what they lack in finesse, they make up for by hitting incredibly hard some more. Due to the ease with which a smartly-constructed purple deck can steamroll over an unprepared opponent, some players scoff that Purple is a “win button,” and refuse to use it. However, even a great purple deck can run into plenty of trouble with the saboteur abilities of skilled Pink and Orange players. Notable Purple creatures include Manscaping Minotaurs, Troglo Trolls, and Ice Whales.

  Yellow: This color also focuses on attack power, but with some power spared for defense. Unlike Purple creatures, Yellow creatures tend to have some ability to defend themselves, but their damage potential is generally lower. While a Purple deck can win faster than a Yellow deck, a player who uses Yellow is more likely to react effectively to surprise plays and emergency situations. Since Yellow tends to moderate Purple’s excesses while still operating on the same principles, Purple/Yellow combination decks are popular. Prominent Yellow creatures include Dire Dolphins, Shrieking Harpies, and Forest Mammoths.

  Pink: Creatures of this color focus on turning the enemies’ strength against them by charming, or otherwise manipulating creatures of other colors. Turning the enemies’ strength against them can be devastating, but as a corollary, Pink players can find themselves handicapped against relatively weak decks. Also, a deck with strong offense can often shut down a Pink deck before the Pink player’s devious plans have time to bear fruit. While Pink is not a weak color by any stretch of the imagination, it requires the most planning and finesse to fully utilize, thus many players avoid it on general principle. However, a large percentage of tournament winners use Pink creatures to good effect. For this reason, the phrase “Real Men Play Pink” is growing in popularity. Prominent Pink creatures include Lulubelle Fairies, Sage Seahorses and Meandering Mockingbirds.

  Afterword

  These books seem to be getting longer and longer! If I get into George R. R. Martin territory soon, I promise not to kill off as many characters as he does. Probably.

  Book Four, which might be called The Invention of Werewolves (because frankly, I’m tempted to call it that even if there are no werewolves in the book) should be out in time for Christmas 2014; if it isn’t, it’s because some mean demon turned me into a rat. Have you ever seen a rat try to touch-type?

  Ah, enough silliness and let me just thank you for sharing Cassie and Sam’s adventures with me once again. For more information on The Familiar Series, including character art and whatever else we can dig up, visit the Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/TheFamiliarSeries.