[Torg] A Challenge: Teach Me Torg in Four Days

[Kansas Jim]

James Knevitt wrote:

> Like the subject line says.

I'm late but there's still a couple of days left. :)

> I played Torg about ten years ago (as a player, not a GM) and back then 
> I knew the system pretty well, probably well enough to run it. Since 
> then my system knowledge has dwindled to practically zero, and the 
> kicker is that I may end up running a Torg campaign, with my first 
> session being this Saturday!

It's not quite like riding a bicycle, but I'm sure your previous
experience will come back after you get a few sessions under your
belt.

> So, teach/tell me enough to get by as a GM. I can read the box and R&E 
> rules, sure, and I have, but I need those vital quick-and-dirty things 
> that are essential to a smooth-running game.

Remember the Bonus Chart, because a lot of your players are bound
to keep forgetting about it and adding their die rolls directly.
The rules for using cards during round play (ie, hands vs pools)
will probably also trip people up.

Bookmark important sections of the rulebook and sourcebooks so you
can quickly look things up. There's too much to the game to hope to
keep it all in your head, even after years of experience.

But skip the chase rules in the original rulebook, they don't work
real well. And ignore the chase rules in the Kanawa Land Vehicles
Catalog, they're too complicated.

Not exactly quick and dirty, but when designing your own adventures be
sure to clearly identify where or when Scene and Act breaks occur. This
is one of the bigger problems I still have when running the game, my
Scenes tend to drag on and on and the players use up all of their cards
before getting to the point where they'll actually need them because
they keep expecting I'll call a Scene break and they can refill their
hands before they get to it, but I don't. And then I'm forced to call
a Scene break at an awkward point because I notice everyone's out of
cards and they're about to go into a big fight.

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