[Torg] Possibilities: Better Results Now VS Character Advancement

[Stephen John Smoogen]

On Dec 7, 2007 1:08 PM, Kansas Jim <ksjim at sdc.org> wrote:
> Sam writes:
>
> >From what I've seen, and worse what I've heard from people on this list, not having possibilities
> > to raise a skill and succeed where needed is not the problem. Quite the opposite. Too many
> > possibilities available for the PCs is the issue. And when the game is played with knowledgeable
> > players, I too have seen this issue, though I have a tendency to not-so-subtlety drop a hammer.
>
> WEG claimed that the "too many possibilities" problem was what led them
> to split things into Life Points and Skill Points and put a maximum
> limit on the number of Life Points characters can have in Masterbook.
> But I think the real problem there was more a case of GMs giving out
> adventure awards that were too generous to begin with, they mentioned
> getting letters where GMs bitched about their players having so many
> P-Points they could spend them on almost every roll and never run out.
> Well how did they get so many P-Points to begin with, hmmm?
>
> I met one player who told me about a previous Torg GM he played with
> who gave out like a dozen P-Points as the Act Award! He said that at
> the end of adventures he was able to improve every one of his skills
> and still have more than enough P-Points to never fail at anything he
> did during the next adventure. When the PCs are running around with
> as many P-Points (and eventually skills as high) as the High Lords,
> something ain't right and I don't think it was the game system's fault.
>

Yeah I remember this game.. the average award for a game was about 75
possibilities per player. The act award was 12 (4 acts) and 24-36 per
adventure. He also gave out 12 possibilities per drama card. All of
the players had max stats by the end of the Possibility chalice and
were going toe to toe with High Lords a couple of adventures later.

-- 
Stephen J Smoogen. -- CSIRT/Linux System Administrator
How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed
in a naughty world. = Shakespeare. "The Merchant of Venice"