[Torg] Points-based

[Kansas Jim]

Phil writes:

> In Hero (probably the epitome of the points-based comparative
> system), you can take Effect X and Effect Y and put a relative
> cost on each. 

> I'd like to be able to introduce similar rigour into Torg, so I
> would know just how much cyberware to allow PC1 to ensure he was
> roughly balanced with the Ayslish Mage, Werewolf and Jackatt
> PCs. At the moment it's down to GM experience, knowing the style
> of player involved and a fair bit of guesswork. 

> I want to know how much is a Bullet spell worth compared to a
> EyeKill Mk 2. I want to know how does Faith & Focus of 3 compare
> to Alteration Magic 3 and Fire 3. That's the sort of thing I'm
> getting at.

The closest I've come to something like that has been a couple of
attempts at creating a point-based advantages/drawbacks system
for chargen but I never got into that much detail. Being able
to cast spells was a cost of X for Ayslish characters but what
spells they chose wasn't part of the cost, a Cyberpapal character
who paid Y points could get up to Z Cybervalue in 'ware but the
choice of cyberware was completely up to the player, and so on and
so forth.

Every time I've attempted it, it's quickly turned into way too
much work for the return. Pretty much the only way you can make it
work is to start from scratch and build everything on a common
framework - spells, miracles, psionics, attribute packages, martial
arts, natural tools, pulp powers, etc etc. And don't forget to
figure in the effects of axioms and world laws, what if a player
wants the Core Earther he's generating to cast spells, have cyber-
ware or know Weird Science? Should an Akashan character pay some
cost at chargen for all those skill bonuses he gets from the Way
of Zinatt?

By that point, you're basically converting the mechanics from some
other game which allows you to build every possible effect, like the
aforementioned HERO/Champions, over into Torg terms. It can
certainly be done, I'm just not sure the payoff will be worth the
huge amount of effort involved.

-- 
Kansas Jim, Torg guru (ksjim (at) sdc (dot) org)
Torg website: http://www.sdc.org/~ksjim/index.html