[Torg] New Core Earth World Laws, Essentials

[Jones Jasyn]

The articles I post on the list are multi-parters (3 of 7 and so forth), generally because the article itself is too long to comfortably fit in one email. Sometimes, I worry that the sheer length of stuff zonks people out, so any feedback they might have gets lost. (In retrospect, “The GodNet and The Grid” should probably have been trimmed down.)

Unfortunately, sometimes there are things that need to be explained, and the explanation takes some room. I’m going to try and be as concise as possible up front, and leave the explanations to the extended material. That way, people who want the quick-and-dirty summary can read this message, while those with the patience for a more in depth explanation can read the multi-parter.

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Summary: Core Earth’s World Laws are bad. Core Earth needs good World Laws.

Taking the game material about Core Earth, as well as inspiration from Core Earth’s genre, I’ve written World Laws that are, IMHO, much better. The World Laws start with Core Earth’s genre.

Core Earth’s Genre

Torg is a “cinematic” game, where “cinematic” means “reflecting the pacing and action of Action Movies.” Core Earth is the real world as it exists in Torg. Therefore, Core Earth is “cinematic” Earth: The real world as it is depicted in Action Movies. Core Earth’s World Laws draw inspiration from “nearly real world” action movies.

Not only is this a logical inevitability (if you have a “real world” setting in a cinematic game, it has to be the “cinematic real world”), but it also matches the nature of Earth as explored in the game material.

The Threat of Villainy

Heroes and villains exist. Villains plot to get power or wealth, heroes protect the innocents from villains. Transcendence isn’t random, Earth chooses to transcend people who are either heroes or villains.

Heroes and villains are larger-than-life. They both have abilities ordinary people don’t. This is, in part, because they’re possibility rated, and so have higher attribute and skill values than ords. Also, they get a free trademark specialization or type specialization, as well as one roll-again per module to use solely with the specialization. This represents their own unique style, it becomes their trademark or calling card.

Villains find their plots going well (during the initial stages of their plot, villains are considered to be Up) until they become so dangerous, larger-than-life heroes are needed to stop them. At this point, heroes stumble across the plot.

Heroes often find people they love being caught up in a villains plot (whether the villain intended this or not). At the option of the GM, they can take a Personal Stake subplot that represents a loved one being threatened.

The Power of Hope

When villains plot, heroes respond. Heroes are drawn (through apparent coincidence) to places where villains are carrying out their plans. If no heroes are available, the reality of Core Earth creates one by transcending an ord.

These two effects work in the Possibility Wars as well. As detailed in the Torg Rulebook, Core Earth has drawn heroes from across the cosmverse, through this World Law. Core Earth also creates Storm Knights to fight the High Lords. This World Law is why.

Similarly, Core Earth works to bring heroes together in groups, so they can learn and wield Group Powers.

The Gift of Inspiration

Possibility Energy inspires, and no cosm has more of it than Core Earth. The PE of Earth inspires scientists, leaders, mystics and prophets: CE can raise axioms quicker than most realities, and has many realms of higher axioms. The cosm is almost all Dominant, making it easier to build cutting-edge devices and thus raise the axiom.

Characters from Earth can be from one of the realms of higher axioms in the cosm, this is determined at character creation. If they encounter a zone during play, they can either spend a PE or gain an add in a skill related to the increased axiom in the zone, and thus gain access to the higher axiom.

When fighting villains, heroes are outnumbered and outgunned. In moments of exhaustion and despair, Inspiration acts to bring Hope. Once a module, a Core Earth character can Inspire their party (as the conflict line result). In addition to the normal effects of Inspire, they gain a clue to the villain's plans, his intended target, or his weaknesses.

This same World Law has additional effects in the Possibility Wars. CE’s Possibility Nexus drew possibilities to it, these inspired CE’s fiction.

Many people became enamored of other realities, these people are more easily transformed (ords and Storm Knights). Conversely, some people reject other realities, and they are harder to transform (both ords and Storm Knights).

When planting a story seed, this World Law inspires the storyteller and the listeners, reminding them of their former reality. Characters from CE gain a bonus to plant story seeds.

Last, Core Earth characters are among the most flexible. Their innate insights into other realities enable them to appropriate and use the High Lord’s tools against them. A Core Earth character can choose one skill, normally not native to their reality, and use it as if it were.

Powers

Core Earth’s World Laws are in effect in Core Earth, the realms of the High Lords on Earth, and in the High Lord’s home cosms. Core Earth can create Storm Knights in the home cosm of an invader, which no other reality can do. This is because the World Laws are Powers, like in Orrorsh. (There is an in-game explanation as well.)

Because Core Earth broadcasts its World Laws into other realities, Core Earth natives gain access to their World Laws in the realms of the High Lords and their home cosms (as if in a Reality Bubble).
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Jasyn Jones
jasynj (at) gmail (dot) com

"To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."
Ulysses, Alfred Lord Tennyson

Check out my Torg webpage, Storm Knights:
web.me.com/stormknights/