[Torg] Skills now....

[Kansas Jim]

Benn writes:

[...]

> Take Dance for example.  (Or Art(Dance)) I just got done watching So You

Dance is a DEX based skill in the R&E. Artist (dance) would apply
to creating the choreography of a dance.

[...]

> However, when it came down to the judging, the Strength and Dexterity helped
> nail the Technique of the dancing, but what the judges were really looking
> at is the style and expressionism - the performance factor, and while Dex
> and Str let you pull off moves, creativity comes from Perception.  (I do't
> know if this is Torg cannon or not, but in my interpretation of Torg, Mind
> governs left brain activities while Perception governs right brain
> activities.)

MIND covers the creative side of things, the presence of the Artist
skill there seems like a fair indication of that!

> Well, you *could* have multiple skills:  Dance-Technique, based on Dex,
> Dance-Tricks, based on Strength, Dance-Performance, based on Perception.
> But this would require a LOT of extra rolls and management, and is not my
> preferred solution.  It also makes being a dancer very expensive skill wise.

It's not going to be that expensive. Most dancers are going to be at
least somewhat physically fit and will probably have enough Strength
to lift their partners without requiring a skill to do so. Heck, as
long as they're not trying to lift them over their head or hold them
there for more than a few seconds I probably wouldn't even require a
Lifting check to do it unless they're a weakling or their partner is
unusually heavy for a dancer.

As for Artist (dance), unless you're going to be creating new dance
routines yourself it's not a necessary skill. Most choreographers are
experienced dancers themselves, obviously they've had time to improve
their skills and buy new ones! :)

[...]

> For example, to be a master dancer, you need to have a minimum Dex of 11 and
> a minimum Strength of 10. Nevertheless, when you roll your Dance skill, you
> are rolling Dance + Perecption (right brain).

What if I have Strength 8 and Lifting skill +2? Or do I have to be a
big, muscular guy with a natural Strength of 10?

> Or you can make it slightly more sophisticated: At adds 1-3, Dance is linked
> to Dex, because you are learning the techniques.  Strength still has a 10
> requirement.  At adds 4+ Dance becomes linked to Perception, but gains a 11
> Dex requirement.  Someone who does not have an 11 Dex cannot proceed past
> the third add of Dance.

That seems a bit more than "slightly more sophisticated" to me! It seems
that it would eliminate a lot of character concepts. What if I want a
character who most of the time seems kind of clumsy but out on the dance
floor she dazzles everyone with her talent, a dance prodigy like we
often seen in movies about dancers? A prodigy with DEX 8 and Dance +6 is
just as good on the dance floor as DEX 11 with a tag skill of Dance +3.

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