From: bpoel04@Calvin.EDU (Brian Poel)
Subject: Re: Negating Possiblities
X-Gated-By: The Black Marble Wombat@morticia.cnns.unt.edu
X-Gated-From: torg mailing list
Organization: University of North Texas
X-Gatemail-Version: 1.0b
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1993 05:37:49 GMT

 	Regarding the tone that the GM desides to run his campaign in . . .
> 
> One of the things that frustrates me most about Torg, both fromt the PC and the GM perspectives is the overly heroic nature that is built into the system.  I know...that's how WEG wanted it.  I like so many things about the system, but I prefer more reali> sm.  After many instances of impossible deeds done and 
> unearthly amounts of damage ignored with the spending of possibilities or the  playing of a stack of cards . . . I've begun to devise a variety of alterations which I think may solve my perturbation.  Since the group I play in here at   college only play > sporadically and we alternate our GMing for variety and      experience, I've only tried this method once.  So I can't attest to it's 
> workability over the long run.  But hey, it's worth beating around the bush.
> 	First off, the role-playing of possibilites is an important concept    to discuss.  Why exactly does erasing a little number on a sheet of paper and  writing a smaller number in it's place allow a character to fall off a building and then simply shake th> e dust off and walk away.  What did this possiblity    energy do?  I feel it's important for the players to SEE the possibility which saved them from this certain doom or gave them that extra edge for that
> miraculous shot.
> 		EXAMPLE : which possibility, out of a variety of p's, was the
> one that saved the PC from going splat after falling of the 6 story high dino?
> The player must state what happened to prevent the mammoth amounts of damage
> impacted his frail form.  A really big bush, a small pond, a soft rock? As you
> can see I'm stretching it a bit.  Which is exactly what might happen to a PC
> who can't creatively use his possibilities to save his butt.  Guess what
> happens to our poor PC who lands on the "soft rock"?  SPLAT.
> 	So you see, the creativity of the player is challenged to choose a
> possiblity which can save him from harm, and only then can damage be reduced.
> A lame possibility may result in a lame character . . . pun intended.
> 	This also opens up the door in the other direction for possiblity
> cancelling.  If NPC1 shoots PC BOB at point blank range with a BIGGUN and PC
> BOB chuckles while he erases a possibility and hopes to erase the fact that he
> just had major open organ surgery done . . . he better have a good reason.  If
> it isn't plausible, NPC1 may cancel the use of that possibility in the logic
> that there was no way on earth that the event which just occurred did not
> occur.  The line gets awfully grey and fuzzy at this point.  Just what is a 
> plausable possibility?  Instead of saying that NPC1's gun missed at ptblank,
> maybe it just jammed?  What does NPC1 have to say to that?  Well I don't know.
> 	This cancelling of possibilites when your opponent removes damage is a
> really touchy issue.  Even this whole roleplaying of possiblities issue is
> dangerous.  It gives a lot of power to both the player and the GM.  Misused, it
> can become a sort of wish-parser, instead of a way to regulate the absolutely
> rediculous possiblity saves which sometimes occur.
> 	One method which could be explored is examining how much a player
> exceeds a difficulty number.  Exceeding it by a substantial amount of 20 or so
> sends it into the "untouchable" realm.  Beating a d.n. by 10 or 15 may require
> a pretty darn good reason to change it's reality of existence.  But say it was
> really close, then possiblities start gaining their power of versatility.
> 		EXAMPLE : Life Ender the ravagon of doom which has been
> hunting the party the whole campaign takes on Logan, his werewolf nemesis in
> our group.  A battle to the death ensues.  Armed with a huge two-handed silver
> blade, Life Ender eventually stands over Logan's bleeding, but "i'm not quite
> dead" form.  As long as Life Ender doesn't roll really pitfully for his final
> blow, there's no way in @#$% Logan's gonna shrug off being turned into a pin
> cushion.  Dramatic licence wins this scene and Logan finds peace for his soul.
> 	If Logan starts getting snippy and says LifeEnder slipped in some blood
> or something . . . oh please.
> 
> 	It's getting late. . . i suck at using this infernal terminal to
> write in email.  I'm not making much sense anymore and my first contribution
> to this mailing list probably sounds like the ramblings of some rookie GM who
> isn't up to snuff with the calabre of intellectual discussion of the group.
> (when it's late i get a bet self-defeatist)
> 
> 	If anyone sees a glimmer of hope to these ideas feel free to inquire
> further and i'll try to iron out my wrinkly ideas, some of which I devised as
> I was writing.
> 
> 		Brian Poel
> 			bpoel04@calvin.edu
> 

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