[Torg] Reboot: 3 New Initiative Systems Part I: The Simple System (LONG)

[Benjamin Grant]

This is a reboot of the previous of the previous postings for two reasons:
first, mainly because I think it was a very bad idea for me to try to handle
all three Initiative systems in one post, and second, having gone through
the process now and analyzed initiative in RPGs in general I feel somewhat
more prepared.  Some of the below may be reposted, but there are countless
significant additions, deletions, and modifications, so it should probably
be approached as a complete rewrite from the other post.

I am still trying to come up with a system (or three) that permits
interrupts, held actions, and handles somewhat more sophisticated matters -
even in this the Simple version - than standard Torg does as written.

 

As I said before, different gamers have different needs.   Some people want
things extremely accurate, even if that slows down the game.  Some people
want things extremely simple and fast, even if that leads to some loss of
granularity and over-generalization.  And some people want a little of both.
That's why I have come up with three separate initiative systems called
Simple, Standard, and Perfect.  This post will be about the Simple
Initiative System only.

Note that the ideas here have obviously still not been play-tested, and
should be consider pre-alpha - working out the core concepts of the system,
but not yet perhaps consisting of a fully detailed and fully implemented
system (though it may be closer to release than thought.)  Some sections are
even more off-the-cuff and are so noted.

Also note that while I am wild to hear what you guys think of all this, I
have to admit I am not open at all to being told that this is unnecessary,
or a waste of time, or that I should use the rules as written.  This post
has a starting point of trying something *different* with the initiative
system, to permit some things that are not now possible, and to approach the
subject more generally and comprehensively.

Note:  Torg treats dramatic encounters (where the players are facing a
significant or possibility-rated foe) and standard encounters (where the
players are facing unimportant ords) differently for the purposes of
initiative, favoring foes during dramatic encounters but favoring the
players during standard encounters.  I have not implemented that feature in
any of the three following systems, but it would be easy to add it into the
Simple and Standard Initiative Systems:  just add 5 to the players
initiative for standard encounters, and add 5 to the antagonists initiative
for dramatic encounters.

 

Another Torg Note:  The Haste card is *not* included as part of this system.
What does that mean?  Either:

.         continue using Haste cards as a way to trump the following system,
the way Haste cards do, or 

.         remove the Haste cards from the game, or 

.         find a new use for them, such as "+10 to Initiative" or "1 Haste
card offsets 9 Action penalty points due to Rushing or Surging, or both", or
something else.  Your call.  Personally, I like the idea of them being able
to trump the whole system below.

 

Also, you guys may be thinking, "This 47 page post is the simple system?!
WTF?" - at least those of you who read this far.

 

This *is* the simple system.  There are five reasons that it probably seems
more complex than it is:

.         I am not good at explaining things simply and succinctly.  I tend
to be verbose and use more words than I need to.  A proper writer could
probably distill this essay to half its size.

.         I use a LOT of examples, one's that are more sidebar text than
rule text.  Remove all the examples and the core system is far shorter.  Of
course, the example are there for a reason so I will be leaving them in.

.         I included a few optional rules, such as simultaneous movement.
If that's too complex, chuck the optional rules.

.         Much of the remaining pieces that are a little less simple are for
unusual situations that should rarely occur.  The core of the system is
ultimately pretty basic, it's just some of the special circumstances get a
little more sophisticated.

.         This system has not yet been playtested.  It's quite likely that
after playtesting better ways to abbreviate, streamline, and more compactly
explain the rules would emerge.

 

So, without further ado:


The Simple Initiative System

Basic Order: 

All characters start with a 20 initiative.  When going into round-by-round
action, each character makes a roll to generate a bonus number, applying to
the 20.  That becomes their base initiative until the end of the
round-by-round action.  (Note: under the simple system this is the only roll
you make for initiative.)

Every time a character performs an action, the GM assigns the action an
Action Speed, which represent how much time the action takes to complete:
Very Fast 0, Fast +3, Normal +6, Slow +9, Very Slow +12.

The following sums up the guidelines for how the GM assigns Action Speeds:

Action Speed Chart

.         Very Fast: Speed 0 applies if your action is as fast as: thinking
a thought, shouting a command or warning, blinking, a prepped and/or held
action like pulling a trigger or pressing a button your finger is already
on, etc.

o   These are actions that can happen nigh instantly.  Rolled actions
generally do not operate this fast unless the action is already prepped,
like having drawn the gun and aimed last round.

o   Note: Because they have a speed of 0 and resolve the same count they are
begun, Very Fast actions are the only kind of action that resolves at the
bottom of the count.  However, since purpose of the bottom of the count is
for announcing and commencing actions, anyone who wishes to do so (and who
can) may announce their actions before any Very Fast actions are resolved.

o   Once any Very Fast actions are being resolved, all Very Fast actions
must be resolved.  Once all Very Fast actions are resolved, people may
announce further actions this count (assuming that their Base Initiative is
equal or greater than the current count, that they are not in the middle of
an action in progress, and that they have an appropriate action left to
use.) 



.         Fast: Speed 3 applies if your action is as fast as: speaking a
short sentence, drawing your weapon, pressing a button near you, moving half
your maximum movement, any other simple action

o   These are usually what Torg calls Simple Actions, which are not usually
rolled.  Under some circumstances a rolled action can be this fast, such as
a mental power, a perception check, using a fast weapon like a dagger, or
possibly firing a gun in the same general direction it is already pointed.



.         Normal: Speed 6 applies if your action is as fast as: speaking an
average sentence, a standard attack with a standard weapon, a standard
dramatic action or skill roll, or moving your full maximum movement.

o   A large number of actions in Torg are, all other things being equal,
Normal actions.



.         Slow: Speed 9 applies if your action is as fast as: speaking a few
sentences, using a slow firing weapon or a weapon that takes time to rev up,
swinging a large, cumbersome, and/or heavy weapon like a great axe or a
large broadsword.

o   These are usually normal actions with a Complication - a very heavy
sword, an unreliable gun, a normal weapon used while inebriated, and so on.
Of course, some actions simply take this long - such as, perhaps, an
Evidence Analysis attempt, depending on the GM.



.         Very Slow: Speed 12 applies if your action is as fast as: speaking
a paragraph or two, picking up a disassembled weapon, assembling it
(assuming you know how) and firing; closing to melee then executing a melee
attack.

o   These are usually actions such as First Aid, Language, and other actions
where time must be taken and there may be several steps.

Normally in Torg one gets to do several things in a single round: a simple
action, a full move action, a dramatic action, and (if that dramatic action
was not an active defense) a passive defense.  Under this system that
remains true.

Let's say Andy is going into round-by-round, so everyone rolls an initiative
bonus number - Andy's is a -2.  That means that Andy's BI (Base Initiative)
is going to be 18.

On Andy's first turn he can start his actions when the GM counts down to and
reaches 18.  Let's say that at the bottom (end) of count 18 Andy wants to
draw his gun and fire at Brad.  The GM says that drawing the gun is a simple
action with a Speed of 3, and that means that Andy's simple action would
resolve at the top of count 15.  The GM continues counting down, and at the
top of count 15 resolves Andy's simple action, informing Andy that he now
has his gun out.  After resolving any other action due this count, but
before progressing to the next count, the GM asks Andy if he would like to
take the shot at Brad, which the GM notes would be a speed 6 action and
resolve at the top of count 9?  Andy says yes.  The GM resumes counting
down, taking care of other actions along the way, until the top of count 9,
where the GM asks Andy for a roll, and resolves the attack.  Andy still has
his full movement action left, if he wishes to do so.

In this way, actions are announced at the bottom of the appropriate count,
and resolved at the top of the next appropriate count.  Note: if two actions
resolve on the same count, and the order in which they resolve is important,
the one with the higher action total resolves first.  If that ties, than the
higher Base Initiative goes first.  If that ties, flip a coin.

Also, if two players announcing their actions at the bottom of the same
count do not want the other to be able to be informed as to their action
prior to their announcement, they can announce their action to the GM in
secret, by written form or some other private method.  Of course, it's far
easier to have players that get along.

Movement note:  The easiest way to handle movement is to assign a speed of 3
to a character moving half his full movement allowance.  There are a few
different ways to handle combining movement with other actions:

.         The easiest is to simply prohibit simultaneous movement and
action.  Move before or after an action, but not during.

.         Or, you can permit a character to move half his movement amount
while performing a simple action (since both have the same speed of 3), but
not to move while performing a dramatic action.

.         You can of course choose to permit simultaneous movement during
any action at all, without penalty.

.         Finally, (my favorite) you can permit simultaneous movement, but
only as a multi-action using the one-on-many chart.  Normally one doesn't
have to roll for a movement or simple action, but this changes when one or
both occurs as a multi-action.  Now the difficulty for either roll is 8, and
of course, you also have to factor in the multi-action penalty:

o   On his Base Initiative count of 18, Andy tell the GM that he wants rush
Brad (who is Andy's full movement value away) while pulling out his dagger
and attacking him.

o   The GM decides that Andy can get to Brad by moving half his movement
rate in 3 counts twice.  During this time, the GM continues, Andy will have
his dagger drawn after 3 counts and will be able to resolve his attack after
3 more counts (since a dagger attack is Faster than Normal.)

o   However, the GM does rule that for the first three counts Andy will be
simultaneously running flat out and pulling his dagger, and that this counts
as a one-on-many multi-action.  This means that Andy has to take a -2
penalty to one for the actions (Andy's choice) and a -4 penalty to the
other.

o   Also, since usually under these kinds of circumstances Andy doesn't
roll, now he will have to roll for both actions, an 8 or better.  If Andy
fails the movement roll, he probably stumbles, if Andy fails the "draw
dagger" roll, he fumbles at the dagger without managing to draw it.

o   Andy makes that roll at the top of count 18 - 3, or 15.  Let's assume
that Andy succeeds at both checks.

o   At the bottom (end) of count 15 the GM asks do you still want to move
the other half of your movement rate while attacking Brad with the dagger?
Andy says yes.

o   At the top of count 12 (15-3) the GM has Andy choose which action gets
the -2 and which gets the -4 from the one-on-many penalty.  Andy rolls.  If
Andy succeeds at both checks, then he has successfully attacked Brad, and
the GM needs to calculate damage.

Note:  In order to resolve an action that requires certain circumstances,
you only need to have the appropriate circumstance present at time of
resolution, unless the GM rules otherwise.  In other words, you do not have
to be in melee range at the start of your melee action, but you do have to
be in melee range at its resolution.

Optional rule:  You can resolve your action if the appropriate circumstances
were present at some point between the start of the action and it's
resolution.  This is a very tricky idea to implement, and should be used
with caution.  This would permit a swordsman to begin a melee attack outside
of melee range, move into melee range and back out, and still resolve the
melee attack, having been performed on-the-fly.  It may be a good idea to
assign this kind of maneuver a -3 or -6 action total penalty.  This rule is
truly optional, since even without it you can perform a melee action that
begins outside of melee range, and immediately follow it with a speed 3 half
full movement, if you have movement left in this round.

Holding one's Action

Holding an action is simple:  when your initiative count is reached, tell
the GM you are Holding your action.  At any point later in the round, you
can announce that you are done holding, and wish to act.  You are then
treated on this round only as having a Base Initiative(BI) of whatever the
current count is.

 

If the round ends, and your action is still held, you may choose whether or
not you wish to reroll your Initiative, adding that to 20 as usual.  You
also automatically get to go first next round, regardless of your
initiative, whether or not you choose to reroll.  The initial count is
assumed to be either a) three higher than the Max Base of those who did not
hold their action for the whole round, or b) your own BI, if that is higher.

 

If multiple people hold their action to the end of the round, each gets to
act next round before everyone else who didn't hold, in the order of their
Base Initiative.  They may also reroll their Base Initiative is they wish.
Each person gets a Count of their own to act on, and there must be at least
3 counts between them.  Of course, one can always choose to instead act on
one's actual BI if that is more favorable.

 

(This means that if 3 people hold their actions through the end of the
round, and the highest BI of a person who didn't hold last round is 20, then
the count would start at 29 for the person who has held the longest, 26 for
the person who has held the next longest, 23 for the person who has held the
shortest, and 20 for the best BI of those who did not hold, and so on.)

 

It is also possible to Hold a prepped action in some cases.  For example,
you can point a gun at someone and tell them to "Stop.", or pause your sword
thrust a foot from their heart. Pointing the gun at someone (for example)
still takes a Normal speed action of 6 counts, but at the end the shooter
can pause the resolution of the action, perhaps saying to the GM "I wait one
count to see if they stop."  At any time while the action is still paused,
it is a usually a Very Fast action to resume and resolve the action, should
one want to.

 

Also, if multiple Very Fast actions are announced on the same count, as
mentioned before, they resolve in order of action total.  

Optional Rule:  When rerolling one's Base Initiative, one can choose to keep
the old roll if that was more favorable.

 

Improving One's Initiative: Surging

If you feel like you need to improve your Initiative you can Surge.  To
Surge you need to decide how many Surge points you want to add to your
initiative total, from a minimum of three to a maximum of ten.  Ideally you
would inform the GM of this at the very beginning of the round, but you can
announce this as late as right before you roll for your action.  As soon as
you begin to Surge you add the Surge points immediately to your initiative
total for this round only, but you must subtract the same number of points
from every other action total generated this round.

Example:  Andy is going into round-by-round action, and rolls his starting
Initiative roll getting a 6, for a Bonus Number of -5, applied to the
starting Initiative total of 20 means that Andy's Base Initiative for the
rest of the fight will be a 15.  Andy knows that his opponent is probably
faster, so Andy decides right at the start of the first round to Surge for
10 points.  This makes his initiative a 25 for this round only.  However,
the price is that Andy must subtract 10 from all action totals for the rest
of the round.  Andy doesn't think his opponent has any kind of legendary
dodge ability, so Andy rolls and gets an 18!  Andy spend a Hero Card and
rolls again and gets a 7, transformed into a minimum 10 by the magic of
possibilities, for a 28 total roll and a +9 Bonus Number.  Andy also spends
an Adrenalin Card for a further +3.  His Fire Combat total is his 12 Dex
plus his +4 Fire Combat, plus his 9 Bonus Number and his +3 from the
Adrenalin Card, minus the ten point penalty - a total of 18 when all is said
and done.  Turns out this is enough to hit his opponent!

At the end of the round his initiative goes back down to 15.

Improving One's Action Speed: Rushing



Rushing is different from Surging.  When you Surge, you are trying to be
start acting sooner.  However, being starting sooner doesn't make your
actions themselves happen any faster - firing a gun still takes 6 counts.
You Surge to go *sooner*, but you Rush to go *faster*.  You Rush, for
example, to fire a gun as a Fast action instead of a Normal one, or to draw
your gun as a Very Fast action instead of a Fast one.

 

.         Very Fast actions cannot be Rushed.

.         Fast actions can be Rushed into becoming Very Fast actions.  The
cost is a 3 point total on all subsequent action totals this round.

.         Normal actions can be Rushed into becoming Fast actions.  This
also has a 3 point penalty.

.         Slow or Very Slow actions can be Rushed either one or two steps,
again for 3 points of penalty per level of improvement.  Therefore Very Slow
actions can become either Slow (-3AV) or Normal (-6AV) actions, and Slow
actions can become either Normal actions (-3AV) or Fast actions (-6AV).

.         The maximum number of level improvements (Rushes) possible is one
for Normal and Fast actions, or two for Slow or Very Slow actions.

.         Therefore, a Normal or Slow action can never become a Very Fast
action.

.         Likewise, a Very Slow action can never become either a Fast or
Very Fast action.

 

The Action Total penalties from Surging and Rushing *do* stack.

 

Example: Andy has a lackluster Base Initiative of 16.  He really wants to
begin *and* resolve his action before Brad can do anything.  Andy tell the
GM that Andy is going to Surge for 10 points.  This gives Andy a Base
Initiative of 26 for this round only.  If Andy announces this early enough
(say before the initiative countdown starts for this round) than Andy will
get to act (that is, announce what action he is starting) on count 26.

 

Let's say that Andy was half-asleep and only announces that he is going to
Surge when the GM is calling count 21.  Then Andy can only surge for 5
points, since the earliest he can act is the bottom of the current count,
and 21 - 16 = 5.  On the positive side, he would only take 5 points of
penalty.

 

But let's say that Andy was not half asleep, and told the GM at the very
start.  When the GM hits count 26 (which may be the first count that round)
the GM asks Andy what he wants to do.  Andy says that he wants to draw his
gun and fire at Brad, and that he is Rushing both the Simple Action of
drawing his gun and the Attack Action.

 

The GM rules that drawing his weapon is usually a Fast action, so that
becomes Very Fast.   Shooting a gun is usually a Normal action, so that
becomes a Fast action.

 

Since a Very Fast action has a speed of zero, the action happens immediately
- Andy's gun is out.  (A Very Fast action is the only kind of action to
resolve at the bottom of a count.)  Since it's still the bottom of count 26,
everyone can still announce/start actions, even Andy.  The GM asks Andy if
he wishes to follow through with a Fire Combat attack on Brad, to which Andy
agrees.  Since his attack has been Rushed from Normal to Fast, it will
resolve in 3 counts at the top of count 23.  The bad news for Andy is that
with a ten-point Surge and two 3-point Rushes, Andy is looking at a SIXTEEN
point action total penalty - he will have to use some resources for sure.
On the other hand, this penalty only penalizes his action total, not his
effect total, so if he can manage to *hit* he should do some good damage.

 

Let's say Andy rolls an 8, spends a possibility to roll a 15, and spend a
hero card to roll a 3, which is applied as a 10.  That's a 33 for a +10.
Andy also plays an Adrenalin card for a +13 total bonus.  12 Dex plus his +4
Fire Combat, plus 13 bonus number minus 16 penalty = 13 Action Total.  If
that's enough, than Andy is happy.  If it's not enough, then perhaps Andy
should have Surged and/or Rushed less.

 

Optional Rule:  Make the Speed Rating of your action worse by six to get a
+3 Action Total bonus for taking your time.  This could be in place of the
existing Aiming rules or in addition to them.

 

Interruptive Actions:

 

What if Andy want to act reactively or interruptively?  What if Andy does
not want to shoot Brad, but will try to interrupt Brad's attack action if
Brad tries anything?

It's pretty simple.   You may successfully interrupt an action when you can
begin your action after your opponent has begun his(possibly the same count)
but resolve your action at least one count before your opponent's action
does.

 

Note that there is a huge difference between interrupting an action and
simply going before an action.  If the bad guy has his finger on the button,
and is ready to press it, interrupting his action (acting after he begins to
press the button but before he completes the button press) is going to
almost impossible.  However, acting before the bad guy is able to start
pressing the button is a lot more possible.  Interruptive Actions are the
former, and are not always possible.



To interrupt an action with your own action you must of course have an
action of the proper kind left to use this round, such as Simple or
Dramatic. You must also have a Base Initiative high enough to permit you to
start the interruptive action you wish to take before the action you wish
interrupt resolves.  You also have to be doing an action that is fast enough
to resolve at least one count before the other action.

 

For example, Brad's Base Initiative is 19, and on count 19 he announces that
he is going to shoot the hostage.  The GM rules that since Brad had his gun
out but not pointed in any particular direction, that this is a Normal Speed
6 action, due to resolve at the top of count 13.

 

Andy knows that if he wants to stop Brad he needs to resolve his action
before that.  However, Andy's Base Initiative is currently 14.  Andy doesn't
have many options - he is thinking of either throwing himself in the path of
the bullet or tackling Brad.  Throwing himself in the path of the bullet
would be potentially faster, but much more dangerous, so Andy says he's
going to tackle Brad before Brad can fire.

 

Andy knows that he has to resolve his tackle on or before count 14 to
effectively interrupt Brad's shot at count 13.  Andy asks the GM what action
and what speed are involved in tackling Brad.  The GM rules that a Maneuver
is the most appropriate skill, and also reminds him that Andy is half his
movement rate away from Brad.  However, since Maneuver is about movement,
the GM informs Andy that the 3 counts necessary to close the distance can be
part of the Maneuver action and simultaneous with it, no multi-action or
penalty necessary.  The GM also says that a standard Maneuver is a Normal 6
count action.

 

Andy tells the GM he is going to Rush his Maneuver, making it a Fast action
and penalizing his action total by 3. He also Surges his Base Initiative
from 14 to 17, incurring a further 3 penalty.

 

However, when the bottom of Initiative count 17 is reached, Andy can now
announce he is doing his Fast Maneuver action, which as a speed 3 action
resolves on count 14.  Andy is taking a 6 total action penalty, but if he
can make the action check, he will tackle Brad in time.

 

What if Brad, seeing Andy rush him, had tried to fire even faster, Rushing
his own action?

 

You cannot Rush your own action after it's begun, the best you can do is
abort it, and start a new action with a new speed.  (However, if Brad had
started the round with his gun aimed right at the Hostage and finger on the
trigger from the last round, and held that action paused there, Brad would
be able to take Very Fast pull the trigger action at any time

 

Aborting or changing actions

 

To abort an action, simply tell the GM you are no longer doing it.  You will
not be able to start to take a new action until two counts after the current
one.  

 

Optional Rule:  With some skills, such as Fire Combat, you *can* (at your
GMs discretion), instead of aborting your action:

.         Commit the same action with a different target, resolving at the
same Initiative count but with a -3 Action Penalty, or

.         Commit the same action with a different target, take no Action
Penalty, but resolve the attack at the same Initiative count plus three


The final note is that if one is afraid of being interrupted, the way to
make sure that you are not is to make sure that you have a higher initiative
and a faster action than anyone who would interrupt you.  Also, interrupting
an action does not necessarily prevent the action that is interrupted, but
can render the interrupted action no longer possible, such as if Andy kills
Brad in one shot.

Conclusion 

 

I have been writing and rewriting this for three days now, I hope it does
not fall on deaf or unkindly ears.

 

I eagerly await your comments, and look forward to what I hope will not be a
tree falling in the middle of the forest.

 

-Benn Grant

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