[Torg] special d20

[Benjamin Grant]

By the way guys, while I am (temporarily) throwing caution to the wind and stepping out of lurker mode on the list, I should tell you guys that I altered a d20 as a test and it worked well.  I took a white d20 and with an ultra-fine tipped permanent marker very carefully added the Torg bonus chart numbers to each face.  I put a -12 on the "1" face, a -10 on the "2" face, etc.  This way when I rolled the d20 I not only saw the number from one to twenty, I also saw the bonus chart number without consulting any chart.

You wouldn't *believe* how much time this saved and how much this smoothed out and sped up combat and conflict.  I *highly* recommend doing this or something like it.

-Benn Grant
eFix Computer Consulting
benn at 4eFix.com
603.283.6601


>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: torg-bounces at justintimeadventures.com [mailto:torg-
>>bounces at justintimeadventures.com] On Behalf Of Phil Dack
>>Sent: Sunday, November 09, 2008 2:29 PM
>>To: torg at justintimeadventures.com
>>Subject: RE: [Torg] Possibility Spending
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>--- On Sun, 9/11/08, Benjamin Grant <benn at 4efix.com> wrote:
>>> From: Benjamin Grant <benn at 4efix.com>
>>> Subject: RE: [Torg] Possibility Spending
>>> To: torg at justintimeadventures.com
>>> Date: Sunday, 9 November, 2008, 4:59 PM
>>>
>>> :: After a roll, you can choose to spend a possibility for
>>> a reroll.  Any opponent can choose to spend a possibility
>>> to cancel the possibility you just spent.  You then may
>>> spend one further possibility for a reroll which cannot
>>> be cancelled. ::
>>
>>At the end of the day it's your game, go with what's best for you. It
>>strikes me as something important that hasn't been considered is Cards.
>>Do you play with cards? The reason this is important is that cards
>>duplicate ppoints - the player with a Hero/Drama card in his pool
>>already has a way of spending a possibility after his initial
>>possiblity has been countered.
>>
>>Also, PCs will almost always have many more ppoints than NPCs. As such,
>>this tactic is entirely a PC-centred one. It is going to be a rare NPC
>>who has enough Ppoints to buy off damage from 4 or 5 opponents AND
>>spend 2 ppoints each time he wants to get off a bigger attack. As such,
>>I'd only implement this approach if - in your game - you think your PCs
>>need a bit more of an edge. And even then, i'd be inclined to give them
>>that edge through the cards rather than ppoints (increase Hand size to
>>5 and/or let them all play 1 or 2 cards into their pool as soon as
>>combat begins)
>>
>>> :: In any scene with a major conflict, the villains' side
>>> should have a fixed number of possibilities that that side
>>> has access to, depending on the dramatic quality of the scene.
>>> All scenes involving possibility rated villains are dramatic,
>>
>>I'm not sure why this should be the case? I certainly don't implement
>>this. It might be a good rule of thumb, but it's not a given. Take the
>>scene in the Possibility Chalice Trilogy where the PCs fight a
>>cyberknight (deVries, I think he's called). He's p-rated, but I'm
>>pretty sure from memory that it's a Standard scene. And quite right
>>too.
>>
>>> but some are epic, movie-ending kind of scenes.
>>
>>Now THEY'RE the Dramatic scenes! If a scene isn't dramatic, it isn't
>>Dramatic!!
>>
>>> Of course, I suppose the GM could simply house rule
>>> that out, so that just because we are fighting a super
>>> we aren't necessarily having what Torg calls a dramatic
>>> scene.
>>
>>Opposite I'm afraid. You've house-ruled this yourself! I checked the
>>wording of v1.5 and there's no guidance there that suggests this. Maybe
>>the boxed-set Adventure book has something more solid though, i don't
>>have that to hand.
>>
>>
>>> So I guess I would like to know if anyone thinks if using
>>> the above rules and ideas will cause our group any problems?
>>> If so, what and why, and what might be the solutions?
>>
>>I don't like being an old curmudgeon, but your changes seem unnecessary
>>and complicated, that will lead to slowing combat down. I'd stick with
>>card play, enhanced if necessary, and go back to using mostly Standard
>>scenes.
>>
>>Phil
>>
>>
>>
>>
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