New pbem game starting; characters welcome From: ken@netcom.UUCP (Ken Kofman) Date: Thu, 28 Jun 1990 07:58:10 +0000 After deliberating for a couple of weeks, I've decided to start up a pbem Torg campaign. Actually, that's a bit misleading. The game will be recognizably Torg, with alien cosms and all that, but with some of my own modifications, since I can't resist the urge to tamper. Other than during character generation, the rules will be utterly transparent. Any randomization will take place on my side of things, out of sight. The Drama Deck will not be used, at least not by the players. Pbem seems a better medium for character development than for hot and heavy combat, which is ok by me. The tone of the game will probably vary from character to character, as will the emphasis. The game itself begins before the invasion strikes. I don't want to spoil things, but players should know that the situation is a bit more complicated than what is described in my review, or even in the rulebook. ****Character Generation Guidelines Characters should be written up according to the Torg rules. All characters have Earth axioms, and have no idea what is about to happen. Players also shouldn't be too sure, even having read through the rules. The world is very similar to our own, until things begin to change. Your character's first turn will be on the eve of that change. More important than the statistics is a detailed character description. Who he is, where he comes from, whom he knows, and all the stuff that gives a character personality, and makes him human. I don't mind wading through gobs of character development. Honest. To be fluent in a language costs 1/2 an initial skill add (2 fluencies/add), or one possibility. To be a native speaker costs 2 possibilities or a full skill add. It is naturally impossible to become a native speaker in a new language once the game begins. I'm sure I'll be getting lots of questions, and that's ok with me. I realize that lots of people out there may want to play Torg, but are hesitant to plunk down $30 for the boxed set, and then spend more and more for supplements and poorly written novels. That's ok. If you prefer, you may send in 50+50 Champs 4 characters, five points of which must be spent on one point contacts. I assume that there will be at least five people that your character knows in your writeup, so the five points seems fair. Your character may use modern technology, if he has access to it. Normal characteristic maxima apply. Don't worry too much about trying to minimax on the disads; I use them mostly to get players thinking about who their character really is. ****Nutshell Torglike pbem game starting soon, send fully developed characters if you are interested. I'll send comments and answer questions. If you are reading this posting then you know where to reach me. The pulpiness of the game will vary from player to player; some like it, some don't. In any event, things like Drama Cards and Approved Actions and other stuff that gets in the way of the virtual reality are strictly nonexistent here. ken Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Jeopardy Seattle wgah'nagl fhtagn Up