[Torg] Reality Storms

[Tommy Tanaka]

(Warning: This will ramble a little bit. That's my style. It does all have a
point, however.)



Coincidentally, we had an invoked reality storm in last Sunday's game. In
this case, it was invoked against a PC by the villain. The PC had no
particular desire to milk the storm for PP for two reasons:

1) The villain had a +2 skill advantage. PC needed luck and cards to win at
all.

2) The fight was taking place inside a munitions factory. Unpleasant side
effects if the storm got too big or lasted too long.



This was the 4th invoked reality storm in over 40 ten-hour sessions. (And
two of the other ones were PC against PC.) We've discussed the possibility
(hah!) of someone trying to abuse the Reality skill, and came to the general
agreement that anyone who did so successfully would quickly come to the
attention of the High Lords - something we're not particularly interested in
seeing happen any time soon. Honestly, we've had a lot more problems from
high FX skills (Magic, Miracles, Weird Science) than high Reality.
Everybody's campaign is different, of course. (Does that even need to be
said? Apparently so.)



Anyway, to answer one of Steve's questions, round play continues, using the
normal rules for initiative and Conflict Line effects, but there are no
approved actions. And while an IRS may be "dramatic", that doesn't make the
scene Dramatic. "A dramatic scene is one involving a conflict central to the
act or the adventure as a whole, and things are a bit tougher for the
players." If the scene wasn't already dramatic, invoking a reality storm
isn't going to change that any more than pulling out a plasma grenade would.





Let's see... Yes, the agent the DD has dimthreaded in can't do anything to
the PC while the storm is going on, but once the storm is over? And as you
said, the other PCs have to deal with the consequences of a ticked-off High
Lord. In at least one campaign, that was sufficient incentive for the other
PCs to convince Mr. High Reality Skill to stop abusing it.



And maybe it's just me, but I don't see it as "the rules lead to such an
abuse that you have to start creating what are essentially Nemesis subplots
to deal with use of the rule..." To my way of looking at it, it is in-game
consequences for in-game actions. You do stuff to get the High Lords'
attention and, well, you have their attention. This is generally not a good
thing. ;)



Lastly, if PCs using Maelstrom's to suck possibilities out of the Cosm is
unbalancing your campaign... Change it? Drop the rule that lets them drain
possibilities from the storm. Have the beatnik poet (aka the Avatar of
Apeiros) pop up and ask them what the heck they think they're doing. Have a
Darkness Device offer them a job. In my experience, having a DD, High Lord
or even one of their lieutenants tell a PC that it likes their style tends
to cause them to reevaluate their actions.
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