[Torg] Possibilities: Better Results Now VS Character Advancement

[Benjamin Grant]

I know that this must have been talked about before, can anyone fill me on
what conclusions were reached?  To be specific, almost all rpgs have awarded
points used for character advancement.  Many (if not most) rpgs also have
points that can be spent to increase one's task/conflict resolution result.
In TORG, one pool of points - Possibilities - are used for both.  Even
though there are other resources one has available - the drama deck -
players can and probably will find themselves in a conundrum, that of the
following dilemma.

 

You have used all non Possibility resources open to you and are still not
satisfied with your results.  You could spend a possibility, which would
most likely save a dismal roll and turn it into a success, OR you can choose
to let things stand as they are, knowing that for every Possibility you
don't spend, you are that much closer to raising your skill, which is a
permanent bettering of the situation.

 

So there you are, caught between spending resources to make the story turn
out better, and saving resources to make your character turn out better.

 

This seems an odd dichotomy to create.  Do we really want our players to
have to be self sacrificing to accomplish story goals?  Or to put it in a
more likely fashion, do we really want the players that hoard their
possibilities for self-advancement to be choosing to accept results that are
less desirable?

 

Perhaps the simplest fix (if one is even desirable) would be to have
separate pools for story influence (roll again) points and character growth.

 

After all, why should a character have to fail a task to raise a skill?

 

Any thought or ideas?  Is this a solved problem? What are the solutions?

 

 

-Benn Grant

 

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