TORG RPG: Revised & Expanded (Core Rulebook)
£21.99
West End Games

Just got released, according to my weekly email from my FLGS.

I have vaguely positive memories of this from when I was about 14, but I had fond memories of the movie Lifeforce from the same period and when I saw that again recently it was shockingly bad.  So, anyone know anything about this game generally and the release specifically?

Quote from: BalbinusTORG RPG: Revised & Expanded (Core Rulebook)
£21.99
West End Games

Just got released, according to my weekly email from my FLGS.

I have vaguely positive memories of this from when I was about 14, but I had fond memories of the movie Lifeforce from the same period and when I saw that again recently it was shockingly bad.  So, anyone know anything about this game generally and the release specifically?

Hi there, I'm new to the place.My bbrother used to play Torg and he told me about using a card to taunt a crocodile in the game.I don't know if he was spinning me a yarn but I thought having a game mechanic that allowed you to taunt a crocodile was a silly thing to do.

Quote from: JanHi there, I'm new to the place.My bbrother used to play Torg and he told me about using a card to taunt a crocodile in the game.I don't know if he was spinning me a yarn but I thought having a game mechanic that allowed you to taunt a crocodile was a silly thing to do.

Hey there, welcome aboard.

The game did have cards you could use to affect stuff, though I don't clearly remember how.  I suspect he had a card which gave him a taunt, and then used it against a crocodile, rather than it being a specific taunt crocodile card.  But I could be wrong.

I have to admit, I would see crocodiles as untauntable by virtue of their poor language skills and general crocodiletasticity, my guess is that was more a GM issue than a system issue, but again I could easily be wrong.

I've actually played it for three sessions, as it has been available through special order at WEG for some time.  I found it to be even more difficult to realize my character concept (Scientist) because many of the skills were further split and specialized.  I wasn't a TORG guru to begin with, but on the whole I didn't care for the system in play.

A) I'm not sure about TORG, but Lifeforce had super-hot inhumanly alien nudity to redeem it.  And Patrick Stewart chewing on the scenery.

B) Hello Jan.  If you're not here to sell cigarettes or Viagra, you're okay by us.

C) Crocodiles may be difficult to taunt, but once aroused are difficult to placate.  You shold try living with one.

D) Back in the day, TORG occupied a radar silhouette similar to that of Rifts -- multi-genre, "...and the kitchen sink" sort of goofiness.  I always gave it a pass, but it also always caught my eye when I scanned past it on the shelves (unlike Rifts, which never did anything for me).

!i!

I was quite fond of Torg at one point. It later got patched up a bit and remarketed as Masterbook, and then patched a bit more and became the d6 system.

Yes, you could taunt crocodiles.

Well, actually you could do a number of things other than just fight them: like you could 'trick', 'test of wills' or .. I forget. A couple of other options. I think there was an option for each stat.

The main weakness of Torg was it required the use of a chart for nearly everything. You roll 1d20, and compare it to a chart, which resulted in a bonus number, and then that number got compared to another chart... and that gave you the result (and the degree of success). Thats a bit too much referencing, really.

The 'subtle' weakness was something called the glass-ninja effect. You could create a character that was so dextrous, he was almost impossible to hit. However, if he ever did get hit, he would be automatically dead.

Thats a real flaw, right there.  

The magic system was neat if you stuck to the basic system. If you used the design-a-spell flow chart from Aysle, it got really totally confusing.

The Cosm's were neat, though.

Here's a pretty good page about it:
http://www.sdc.org/~ksjim/whattorg.html

Course, these days, you see the game as a GURPS setting beinging invaded by parasitic Forgie games looking for possibility energy - with their limited rule sets and narrow focus, these evil realms can only look on the flexibility of GURPS Earth, where any story can happen with evny. Can the heroic white knights of the gameing universe fight off these jelous

But seriously folks, I think it would be entertaining to play around with different rule sets interacting - so one guy is playing CoC, with another playing Dogs in the Vineyard and another playing DnD - but if you fail a disconnect role then you have to change rule sets.

Quote from: Abyssal MawI was quite fond of Torg at one point. It later got patched up a bit and remarketed as Masterbook, and then patched a bit more and became the d6 system.

Yes, you could taunt crocodiles.

Well, actually you could do a number of things other than just fight them: like you could 'trick', 'test of wills' or .. I forget. A couple of other options. I think there was an option for each stat.

The main weakness of Torg was it required the use of a chart for nearly everything. You roll 1d20, and compare it to a chart, which resulted in a bonus number, and then that number got compared to another chart... and that gave you the result (and the degree of success). Thats a bit too much referencing, really.

The 'subtle' weakness was something called the glass-ninja effect. You could create a character that was so dextrous, he was almost impossible to hit. However, if he ever did get hit, he would be automatically dead.

Thats a real flaw, right there.  

The magic system was neat if you stuck to the basic system. If you used the design-a-spell flow chart from Aysle, it got really totally confusing.

The Cosm's were neat, though.

Here's a pretty good page about it:
http://www.sdc.org/~ksjim/whattorg.html

I gotta agree with Abyssal. The original game system stunk like road kill in the sun. Its definitely got to be better in d6. (I only ever played the original version) The setting its self is very fun concept.

Torg loved its tables... yessiree.  It was also one of those 90's games that had like 17 different kinds of damage, all of which transformed into each other.

The basic system was good (1 D20 to anywhere), better than sodding D6 with its dodge rolls and bucketloads of dice, but aside from the basic resolution mechanic it was a bit clunky.  Great game though if you played it properly.

Quote from: Ian AbsentiaB) Hello Jan.  If you're not here to sell cigarettes or Viagra, you're okay by us.

Actually I'm open to decent offers on either.

Welcome aboard

The Nile sourcebook. Dr. Mobius was one mean dude. I never really used TORG as it was written. I just stole stuff and ran a variety of different games with it. Sometimes not even using the original system.

Regards,
David R

I especially liked the D20 that came with the original set.  I thought the setting was awesome. The system wasn't horrible, but it wasn't great either.  Unfortunately, the progression of the metaplot ended up ruining the game for me; one more victim of 90s swine-dom.

RPGPundit

Yeah the dice was cool- it was blue shot through with red streaks, and you could use it as an example prop of the "magical element" that many Torg games revolved around: 'Eternium'

I've stolen a bit of the core plot of the game many times- the invading realm sets down stelae, and once they get three down it forms a triangle which is 'trasformed' over to the reality of the invader- I did that in a D&D campaign a couple of times.

Also the way each realm had a 'Darkness Device" was very cool in a Jack Kirby/Darkseid kinda way.

Everyone loved the Nile Empire. That and the Living land were kind of my favorites.

I still have that d20.  I need to re-ink it, though, as many of the numbers are falling off.

I loved the setting, but the advancing metaplot ruined it for me.  As a teenager, I didn't have the time or patience to deal with it.

I loved the cards, loved the pregen character "templates," and thought the world was just damned cool.

-O

Well....despite a certain wonkiness to the system, it somehow really clicked for my group at that time.  We took to it with no problems, despite some initial misgivings about the whole 'card' concept.  In no time, everyone really got into the spirit of the game and the cards became one of our favorite aspects of the game.  I ran a two year Torg campaign that was probably the most fun and enjoyable game I ever ran.

As to taunting crocodiles...that was up to the GM.  The player undoubtedly received a card that had 'Taunt' as an approved action.  That means that if he managed to successfully taunt his opponent, he gained a possibility point or two...some kind of bonus.  It was intended to encourage something other than 'Attack' 'Attack' 'Attack'-style gaming.  We used them sometimes and not others, although the GM had the final say as to whether or not the crocodile was tauntable.  (Actually, crocodiles are pretty easy to taunt.  Although I doubt you could intimidate one.)

Tom B.