[Torg] Any ever thought of or tried reversing/altering Torg's Metapower vs Advancement struggle?

[Jeff Clough]

Hey now,

I'm not trying to kick anyone's puppy here.  I'm just wondering if 
anyone has any other ideas as to what could be used to limit the 
players' ability to meta-game that does not also mean they advance their 
character at a slower rate.  If you really like this particular Torg 
mechanic as written, just ignore my opinion.

Dominick Riesland wrote:
>>   Rather, success is *rewarded with* character advancement.
>>     
>
> There is a reason for that formula in other systems: there is no means
> of altering the chance of success or failure. As a result, the system
> rewards good character development and roleplay by encouraging people
> to solve the situations in a way that plays to the characters'
> strengths, and thus "success" at those tasks lead to "success" in the
> adventure, which earns its reward.
>   
As I said in my original message, I understand what Torg does and how it 
does it.  Torg provides players with an ability to pump their die rolls 
and shrug off damage, as well as being able to use magic in a cyberpunk 
cosm.  This "meta-ability" needs to be balanced against some trade-off 
to discourage players using this ability all willy-nilly.  In Torg, this 
trade-off is character advancement.  Whether this particular choice of 
balance (meta-gaming or improving your character) is good or bad is a 
matter of opinion.  I believe the hoped-for discussion was whether or 
not there is some other way to limit players' use of Possibilities for 
meta-gaming that does not also result in slower character advancement.

travisjhall at optusnet.com.au wrote:
>> In most other game systems, the players aren't faced 
>> with a choice between success and character advancement.  Rather, 
>> success is *rewarded with* character advancement.
>>     
>
> I think you need to look more closely at your definition of success and the reward scheme in use in your game.
>   
No, I'm pretty sure that my definitions are fine.  ;)

Jeff