[Torg] New Basic Skills

[Benjamin Grant]

Phil wrote:
>>Haven't used any new skills for my Torg game, although it did annoy me
>>that there were a few stat-based functions that didn't have an
>>associated skill (e.g. what order you go in within initiative) and so I
>>toyed with the idea of introducing skills to fill those gaps.
>>
>>I did introduce a sort of mandatory specialisation, so that with skills
>>like Fire Combat and Melee Weapons you had to pick 2 items in which you
>>were considered Skilled, and anything else would operate at skill-level
>>-1.

I sometimes worry that I am letting my players off too easily by allowing them to use Fire Combat to shoot all gun type weapons without penalty, but it honestly hasn't seemed a big problem, and there's something to be said about simplicity.

>>
>>I like your Notice skill - it's kinda what "Find" was used for anyway,
>>but the name better fits the use.

I may have been missing it, but I make my players roll Perception checks all the time to notice stuff, and it seemed like the Find skill was only used when actively looking for something, so I figured a Notice skill that subsumed Find could do both.

>>
>>Determination may make logical sense, but I'd be a little concerned of
>>the effect on game balance. Apart from anything else, it would remove
>>the glitch my players discovered that Ninja had dreadfully low SPI so
>>could be intimidated into anything the players wished!

I am not sure I follow you - if the Ninja had dreadfully low Spirit, then purchasing Determination (based on Spirit) will probably be of little use to him?

Willpower is used in a lot of defense rolls that just seemed to me like people who weren't above average in intelligence could none the less stick to their guns, and looking around for a stat to base it on, Spirit seemed like the best choice because it is woefully underused and it kind worked for me that one could find one's way to being stubborn not just intellectually but also through sheer force of internal spirit.

After all, aren't there many devout folks who may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but whom do not yield easily?

>>
>>I wouldn't like to comment on your MIN/PER changes without full
>>consideration, but I would agree that the whole balance of
>>psychological and intellectual traits did feel a little muddled and not
>>very intuitive.
>>
>>Phil

I did struggle with that until I decided for myself that Mind = left brain and Perception = right brain.  Everything else fell into place:

Thinking, cogitation, analysis = Mind/left brain
Intuiting, feeling, expression = Perception/right brain

It still remains an oversimplification of course.  But without adding great complexity to the game, that cannot be avoided.

For example, consider the Dance skill.  One could argue that it should be based on Dex, on Per, on Min, or even on Str or Tou - they all play a role.  One could even use a complex formula like Base Dance = (dex + 2*Per)/3, or state that Dance is based on Per, but has a minimum Dex requirement.

However, it does seem to keep things simple just to use Dex and not worry about the rest.

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