The "I Didn't Comment in Another Thread" Thread

[Ryujin]

What was I arguing about again?

One of these two, I think.

Rock. Or Lobster. Or Rock Lobster.

Down...down...

 

[Evaniel]

One of these two, I think.

Rock. Or Lobster. Or Rock Lobster.

Down...down...

Well that’s gonna be in my head for the next forever, thanks.

 

[Gradine]

I know you're not supposed to respond to moderation in thread but... that just sounds like such an extreme but specific simile that there has got to be a story behind it, right?

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

YouTube personalities ("influencers," I guess they're called?) have a very strange job. Every day, they log onto social media, figure out what people are yelling about, and then ask themselves "okay, how can I make them yell louder? and involve me?"

It's even worse for the Twitter political influencers. You can actually see them in real time watch the trending topics and then figure out how to tie even the most innocuous topics into the larger political and cultural wars.

On one level, it's kind of impressive -- "how can I make 'trampoline' into a topic that generates outrage?" -- but on the other, ugh, what a way to debase yourself for money 24/7.

 

[Thomas Shey]

I hear that was very much a thing in original Torg.

It really was back then. One of the players in my game was, indeed, a ninja type and it was nearly impossible to hit him, and actually impossible to just hit him and not take him down.

 

[Thomas Shey]

I think they did something similar to what you describe in Masterbook, in the Shatterzone SciFi RPG (same guys), however, I only played it 2-3 times and don't have a clear memory of it.

Shatterzone was very similar to Masterbook, so probably so.

My favourite character, that I have talked the most about, was an Elven Monk. I specifically didn't boost either DEX or SPI, knowing that I'd need them if I became disconnected. Bonus melee weapon damage from Monk. Miracle casting, primarily for healing, but a few other tricks too. I ran into the Glass Ninja situation far more often than I'd have liked.

My first character in the game was a Nile Mystery Man with Super Firearms skill and Super Dodge. It didn't take much to figure out how to handle using two .45 cal pistols in the game (treat as constant multi-fire). In one of the early canned adventures there's a couple of combat robots that pop out of a closet and start wailing on the PCs. I think it was a Dramatic Situation too. My character unloaded both .45s at the thing, with a Haste Card. Just managed a KO on one. The party's Nippon Tech Ninja flipped a shuriken at the other and it basically exploded.

Well, if you wanted anything resembling game balance, TORG wasn't the place to go. And disconnecting only helped so much. (Don't get me started on Reality Boy builds, which I had one of in my game...)

 

[Scribe]

Man, thats now multiple threads ruined with this stuff.

 

[Ryujin]

Shatterzone was very similar to Masterbook, so probably so.

Well, if you wanted anything resembling game balance, TORG wasn't the place to go. And disconnecting only helped so much. (Don't get me started on Reality Boy builds, which I had one of in my game...)

Disconnecting only helps when the players aren't the type who scoop up their 1s before anyone can see what they rolled, then declaring it a 4. Or maybe a 20.

I don't mind lack of balance, as long as the game is fun. If I can make a character that I enjoy playing without someone specifically trying to overshadow what I've built, on purpose, I'm good. I like to come up with character concepts and then make them fit the rules as best I can, rather than looking at the rules and wondering how badly I can break them. Sometimes I even come up with something that's mechanically impressive, but that's mostly by accident.

 

[niklinna]

I don't think TORG Eternity has pushes in quite the same way, and supernatural methods of buffing just add a straight bonus nowadays.

That they do. Bonuses don't stack on the same thing, but there's ways to cheese that too. A bonus to an attribute or skill, for example, stacks with a bonus to action totals (die rolls), which stacks with a target's penalty to the number you're rolling against, and they all stack with the Vulnerable condition (+2/+4 to be hit). And of course there are spells/miracles/psi powers that affect each of those. And then there are cards that grant bonuses too.

Well, if you wanted anything resembling game balance, TORG wasn't the place to go. And disconnecting only helped so much. (Don't get me started on Reality Boy builds, which I had one of in my game...)

Reality Boy builds are still a thing in Torg Eternity!

Disconnecting only helps when the players aren't the type who scoop up their 1s before anyone can see what they rolled, then declaring it a 4. Or maybe a 20.

If someone scooped up their die before I could see it, I'd say "That's a fumble."

I don't mind lack of balance, as long as the game is fun. If I can make a character that I enjoy playing without someone specifically trying to overshadow what I've built, on purpose, I'm good. I like to come up with character concepts and then make them fit the rules as best I can, rather than looking at the rules and wondering how badly I can break them. Sometimes I even come up with something that's mechanically impressive, but that's mostly by accident.

The bolded is surprisingly difficult in Torg Eternity, for quite a lot of concepts. You can get in the ballpark though.

 

[Ryujin]

That they do. Bonuses don't stack on the same thing, but there's ways to cheese that too. A bonus to an attribute or skill, for example, stacks with a bonus to action totals (die rolls), which stacks with a target's penalty to the number you're rolling against, and they all stack with the Vulnerable condition (+2/+4 to be hit). And of course there are spells/miracles/psi powers that affect each of those. And then there are cards that grant bonuses too.

Limiting things to a single bonus, of a single type, is definitely a good thing.

Reality Boy builds are still a thing in Torg Eternity!


If someone scooped up their die before I could see it, I'd say "That's a fumble."

I've never GMed TORG, or I'd likely do the same.

Many years ago, in the 1e days, I had a player who would roll his dice so hard that they would frequently roll right off the table. The rule was that if it's not on the table, the roll doesn't count, because I wanted to see the rolls. After a while I realized that he was letting the bad rolls slide off the table and saving the good ones, so my rule became "if it's off the table, it's a fail."

The bolded is surprisingly difficult in Torg Eternity, for quite a lot of concepts. You can get in the ballpark though.

That's not good to hear because it tends more towards mechanical play, than role play, in my experience. I like systems that give you some leeway, because of the options available. Sometimes, though, all that you can manage is to flavour what you do around the existing mechanics. Sort of like the D&D 4e Eladrin Warlock/Bard multi I made so that I could flavour it in a Tolkienesque "magic is music" way, with using a sword as a spell focus just being a bonus.