[Torg] Torg Initiative & Torg Combat Options

[Kansas Jim]

Benn writes:

>> A Location Attack is one that you make as soon as a target presents
>> itself in a location you're covering (original rulebook p78). Normally
>> this is supposed to be things like "I shoot anyone who comes through
>> that door" but I figure that you can cover a person the same as you
>> can cover a location, so as soon as the person makes themselves into
>> a target you can take the shot.

> A "person that makes themselves into a target" sounds an awful like "a person that does X".  Does this mean that by your reckoning that a Andy's Location attack can be "I attack the person named Brad that attacks Gary" - meaning that if Brad does attack Gary, he "provokes" an interruptive attack from Andy first?

If Andy is pointing his gun at Brad already, makes his declaration and
then Brad goes to attack Gary, then Andy would get to take his shot
first.

> Can you remind where in the original Torg Rulebook the rules about Holding your Action are, I am having trouble finding them.  Or are the rules on Location and Opportunity Attacks all the book has to say about held actions?

Location and Opportunity Attacks are pretty much the only things in the
original rulebook dealing with held actions.

>> In a case like that I would probably just go with the initiative order.
>> Andy's action may not take as much time to perform but Brad is reacting
>> faster and gets to do his first.

> This is kind of key.  The way I figure it, let's say that Brad and Andy have the same Dex and Brad wins the initiative simply because he got lucky - either the flipped card has him going first or he rolled 1 higher on his die roll.

> If the round starts of with no held actions, no location or opportunity attacks declared last turn, and starts out with Andy pointing a gun right at Brad, while Brad's gun is holstered, how does it make sense for Brad to go first?  In other words, am I the only one being bothered that the winner of the initiative always goes first, regardless of the situation, circumstances, or comparative speed of the actions each has chosen?

If you're bothered by it in one-on-one situations, think how weird it
looks when you have large groups on both sides, everyone on one side
taking their actions regardless of what they are before anyone on the
other side gets to go.

But no, it doesn't bother me. It may not be realistic but considering
that Torg is supposed to be modeling action/adventure/cinematic fights
rather than realistic ones, having all the characters on one side go
at the same time is not that much of a mental stretch for me to accept.
And it is a lot easier to gamemaster that way.

> It's just an off the top of my head idea.  Any other ideas for "fixing" this problem?

If you're going to go with initiative based off of dice rolls, my only
suggestion is to give the heroes a bonus on their values during Standard
Scenes and give the villains a bonus on their values during Dramatic
Scenes.

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