Torg Eternity Character Creation - Rachel Bradford
Since I'm about to start running the Torg Eternity RPG that is published by the folks at Ulisses Spiele North America on both my Friday night and Sunday afternoon gaming groups, I thought I would post up here a detailed example of character creation for the Torg Eternity Roleplaying Game.
Game: Torg Eternity Roleplaying Game
Publisher: Ulisses North America
Degree of Familiarity: Extremely familiar. I've run both the original Torg: The Possibility Wars RPG published back in 1990 and the current version published by Ulisses Spiele.
Books Required: Torg Eternity Core Rules.
Please note that this post is extremely long, as I've gone into the game mechanics a bit in terms of character creation, and have provided background on the character and the choices. Hence the majority of this post is behind the cut. That said, there is some of the game mechanics and descriptions of game world elements that I've skimped on in this write-up, so if you want to know more, just drop me a line in the Comments.
For those who don't know, Torg Eternity is a modern day science fantasy roleplaying game set on a world similar to our own, called Core Earth, that is being invaded by reality raiders who are attempting to impose their realities on our own and steal the Possibility energy of the people of Core Earth. Anyway, here's the character creation process. Bear in mind that this material is quite long, due to the way the background section is written up.
Step 1: Come up with a Character Concept for the player character that you want to play.
The first step that I always include in my games is to have the player come up with a Character Concept for the character they want to play. This is basically a one- or two-sentence bit that gives you all the essentials about what the character in question is. While Torg Eternity doesn’t include this step in the game, it’s a good one to use.
Looking over the options in the Core Rules and seeing what’s what, I decide that I want to play a Core Earther palaeo-archaeolgist who has spent a good deal of time on digs around the world. He’s returned to the Museum of Natural History in Chicago, and was present there during the initial invasion from the Living Land. I decide to make the character female, and I’ll call her Rachel Bradford.
Step 2: Choose a Race.
The second step in Character Creation is to choose a Race for the character. While most of those who fight in the Possibility Wars (called Storm Knights) are humans from Core Earth or one of the seven invading realities, there are also Edeinos from the Living Land, Elves and Dwarves from Aisle (the magical Cosm), and a couple of others. There are rules for creating non-Humans from among the three Races mentioned above.
I decide that I will make the character a Human.
Step 3: Choose a Cosm.
Every character in the game comes from one of the eight Cosms found in Torg Eternity - Aysle, Core Earth, Cyberpapacy, Living Land, Nile Empire, Orrorsh, Pan-Pacifica, and Tharkold. Each Cosm has a set of World Laws as well as a set of Axioms - Magical, Social, Spiritual, and Tech.
The player should choose their Home Cosm, and write down the Axioms that apply to them.
As noted in the Character Concept (see above), I decide that Rachel comes from Core Earth.
The Axioms for Core Earth are Magic 9, Social 23, Spirit 10, and Tech 23.
I record these on the character sheet.
Step 4: Determine Starting Possibilities.
Possibilities are tokens or chips used to track how much Possibility Energy a Storm Knight contains at any one time. Storm Knights reset to 3 Possibilities at the beginning of each new Act. Additional Possibilities are awarded for playing in character, accomplishing campaign goals, being a hero, or simply entertaining the group.
Players start with 3 Possibilities, but may gain more through Perks that they might choose.
As noted above, Rachel begins the game with 3 Possibilities. I note this on paper for the moment, as that may change depending on the Perks I choose for the character.
Step 5: Determine the Character’s Starting Attributes.
Each character in the Torg Eternity game has a set of five (5) Attributes - Charisma (CHA), Dexterity (DEX), Mind (MIND), Spirit (SPI) and Strength (STR). The Attributes are pretty self-explanatory (though if folks want more details, please ask me about this in the Comments of the journal entry), and Average Attributes are 6-7, High Average is 8-10, and High Average is 11-12. Most starting characters won’t have values higher than those.
A starting character receives 40 points to distribute between these five Attributes, and no Attribute may be less than 5 or higher than 13 (in the case of Humans).
Looking over what I want to do with Rachel Bradford, I decide to give her a MIND of 10. I give her Average STR, 7, a DEX of 8, a SPIRIT of 8, and a CHARISM of 7. That totals up 40 points. Rachel’s game Attributes look like this.
Charisma 7, Dexterity 8, Mind 10, Spirit 8, Strength 7.
I decide that Rachel is smart and intelligent and has good resolve. This will help her in her chosen occupation, but will also serve her well with what is to come when the Maelstrom bridge crashes down in New York shortly.
Step 5a: Determine the Character’s Starting Movement.
Heroes can walk up to their Dexterity in meters per round. They can also run at 3x their effective Dexterity.
Looking at Rachel’s relevant Attribute, a DEX of 8, she can walk up to 8 meters/round and run at 24 meters/round. Not too shabby.
Step 6: Determine the Character’s Starting Skills.
Skills are learned abilities that build off a character’s raw Attributes. Skill “Adds” are added to the base Attribute of the skill to get the value that is recorded on the character sheet. Adds of +1 or +2 indicate some experience or training; +3 or +4 indicate some advanced training. Only true experts have a +5 or more in a Skill.
The player begins with 16 points that can be assigned to Skills but at least one Add must be taken in the Reality Skill. No Skill may have more than 3 Adds assigned to it during character creation.
Looking at the list of Skills, I can see certain ones that will be of use to Rachel. I start by assigning 3 adds into the Evidence Analysis Skill, and 2 adds into Profession (Archaeologist) and Scholar respectively. That covers 7 of my 16 points. I put in 1 add into each of Dodge, Land Vehicles, Fire Combat, and Survival, as well as the 1 add that I must take in Reality Skill. That totals 12 of my 16 available points. I take 1 add in each of Persuasion and Trick, and 2 adds in Willpower, and that rounds out the Skills for the character of Rachel Bradford. This gives me a set of Skills that looks like this.
SKILLS: Dodge +1 (9), Evidence Analysis +3 (13), Fire Combat +1 (9), Land Vehicles +1 (9), Persuasion +1 (8), Profession (Archaeologist) +2 (12), Reality +1 (9), Scholar +2 (12), Survival +1 (11), Trick +1 (11), Willpower +2 (10)
Step 7: Determine the Character’s Starting Perks.
Every player character starts with two “Perks”, special abilities that let them start the game with cyberware, cast spells, use Nile Empire pulp powers, or simply be tougher or faster than most. Perks are often restricted by the character’s home Cosm or might have other pre-requisites.
I look over the various Perks to be found in the Torg Eternity Core Rules, and see several that I like for Rachel. In the end, I narrow it down to four Perks, and then choose the two that I want. I settle on Endurance (the character’s Shock limit increases by +2) and Situational Awareness (may play a single card from hand into pool per scene, and use it immediately if desired). I’m pretty pleased with my choices.
Step 8: Determine the Player Character’s Defenses.
The player character has four types of Defenses. These are detailed below.
Dodge is the total that foes must equal to hit the character from range. The character’s Dodge is equal to the Dodge Skill, plus any bonuses from Perks or equipment.
Rachel’s Dodge is equal to her Dodge Skill of 9. She has no Perks that add to this, nor any equipment that does so.
Melee is your score that foes must get equal to or better than to hit when the hero is armed.
Rachel's Melee is equal to 8. Since she doesn’t have the Melee Combat Skill, she uses the straight Attribute for this.
Unarmed is what enemies use to hit the hero when she’s unarmed.
Rachel's Unarmed is equal to 8. She does not have the Unarmed Combat Skill, so uses the straight value.
Toughness is used to resist damage, and is equal to the player character’s Strength plus armour.
Rachel's Toughness is equal to her Strength value, which is 7. She doesn’t have armour yet (see Equipment, below), so this may increase somewhat.
Step 9: Determine the Character’s Shock and Wounds.
Player characters suffer from Shock and Wounds when injured. These values are recorded on the character sheet.
Shock is the amount of damage the character can take before being KO’d. If accumulated Shock exceeds this number - KO! This is determined from the character’s Spirit and any applicable Perks.
Rachel’s Shock is equal to her Spirit, which is 8. However, she has the Endurance Perk giving her a bonus of +2 to her maximum Shock. Therefore Raven’s Shock is 10.
Wounds is the number of Wounds the character can take, and Wounds in excess of this value means the character is KO’d and must test for Defeat. If the character fails the Defeat roll, he dies. Normal characters such as Humans start with 3 Wounds. If they suffer the fourth Wound, they test for Defeat.
Being a normal, everyday kind of female archaeologist, Rachel starts with 3 Wounds.
Step 10: The Player Determines the Character’s Starting Equipment.
Each player character hero starts with $1,000 equivalent in “general” carried equipment. The character may also have a home, vehicle, and so on that can be used in his native Realm. Most Storm Knights won’t be able to stay home very often, however! :)
Going over the equipment in the Torg Eternity rulebook, I decide on the following items and weapons.
Items
Archaeology kit (Tech 19), Flashlight (Tech 20), Field Guide (Tech 19), Notebook, pens, etc. (Tech 19), Mobile phone (Tech 23), Nylon rope (10m) (Tech 22), Backpack (Tech 8), Sunglasses (Tech 20)
Weapons
Dagger (Tech 8, Bonus +1 (8),Small)
.458 Colt Automatic (Tech 20, Damage 14, Ammo 7, Range 10/25/40)
Totalling the costs of my equipment and weapons, I see that I’m left with $270. Not a bad total, and not a bad set of expenditures.
*****
So when all is said and done, and the character is finished, we end up with the following:
PROFESSOR RACHEL BRADFORD
Quote: “There’s evidence of other cultures in this place, but I can’t be sure of the time period or even whether they were human at this point!”
Race: Human
Cosm: Core Earth
Axioms: Magic 9, Social 23, Spirit 10, Tech 23
Clearance: Alpha
Attributes: Charisma 7, Dexterity 8, Mind 10, Spirit 8, Strength 7.
Skills: Dodge (+1) 9, Evidence Analysis 13, Fire Combat (9), Land Vehicles +1 (9), Persuasion +1 (8), Profession (Archaeologist) +2 (12), Reality +1 (9), Scholar +2 (12), Survival +1 (11), Trick +1 (11), Willpower +2 (10).
Move: 8(24); Tough: 7; Shock: 10; Wounds: 3
Dodge: 9; Melee: 8; Unarmed: 8
Perks:
Endurance (The character’s Shock limit increases by +2)
Situational Awareness (The character may play a single card from hand into pool per scene, and use it immediately if desired).
Equipment: Archaeology kit (Tech 19), Flashlight (Tech 20), Field Guide (Tech 19), Notebook, pens, etc. (Tech 19), Mobile phone (Tech 23), Nylon rope (10m) (Tech 22), Backpack (Tech 8), Sunglasses (Tech 20)
Weapons
Dagger (Tech 8, Bonus +1 (8),Small)
.45 Colt Automatic (Tech 20, Damage 14, Ammo 7, Range 10/25/40)
And there you have the character that I created for the Torg Eternity Roleplaying Game. This character took me about 25 minutes, plus I would say another half-hour of leafing through the Races and world bits. Character generation in Torg Eternity is relatively simple and straightforward, though some of the decisions that need to be taken can make the process somewhat longer. If one has an idea of what one wants in the player character, the process can definitely take less time, but to be honest, this is a game system that is extremely fun to work with and gives an incredibly wide variation on characters.
Comments and feedback are welcome. :)
Game: Torg Eternity Roleplaying Game
Publisher: Ulisses North America
Degree of Familiarity: Extremely familiar. I've run both the original Torg: The Possibility Wars RPG published back in 1990 and the current version published by Ulisses Spiele.
Books Required: Torg Eternity Core Rules.
Please note that this post is extremely long, as I've gone into the game mechanics a bit in terms of character creation, and have provided background on the character and the choices. Hence the majority of this post is behind the cut. That said, there is some of the game mechanics and descriptions of game world elements that I've skimped on in this write-up, so if you want to know more, just drop me a line in the Comments.
For those who don't know, Torg Eternity is a modern day science fantasy roleplaying game set on a world similar to our own, called Core Earth, that is being invaded by reality raiders who are attempting to impose their realities on our own and steal the Possibility energy of the people of Core Earth. Anyway, here's the character creation process. Bear in mind that this material is quite long, due to the way the background section is written up.
Step 1: Come up with a Character Concept for the player character that you want to play.
The first step that I always include in my games is to have the player come up with a Character Concept for the character they want to play. This is basically a one- or two-sentence bit that gives you all the essentials about what the character in question is. While Torg Eternity doesn’t include this step in the game, it’s a good one to use.
Looking over the options in the Core Rules and seeing what’s what, I decide that I want to play a Core Earther palaeo-archaeolgist who has spent a good deal of time on digs around the world. He’s returned to the Museum of Natural History in Chicago, and was present there during the initial invasion from the Living Land. I decide to make the character female, and I’ll call her Rachel Bradford.
Step 2: Choose a Race.
The second step in Character Creation is to choose a Race for the character. While most of those who fight in the Possibility Wars (called Storm Knights) are humans from Core Earth or one of the seven invading realities, there are also Edeinos from the Living Land, Elves and Dwarves from Aisle (the magical Cosm), and a couple of others. There are rules for creating non-Humans from among the three Races mentioned above.
I decide that I will make the character a Human.
Step 3: Choose a Cosm.
Every character in the game comes from one of the eight Cosms found in Torg Eternity - Aysle, Core Earth, Cyberpapacy, Living Land, Nile Empire, Orrorsh, Pan-Pacifica, and Tharkold. Each Cosm has a set of World Laws as well as a set of Axioms - Magical, Social, Spiritual, and Tech.
The player should choose their Home Cosm, and write down the Axioms that apply to them.
As noted in the Character Concept (see above), I decide that Rachel comes from Core Earth.
The Axioms for Core Earth are Magic 9, Social 23, Spirit 10, and Tech 23.
I record these on the character sheet.
Step 4: Determine Starting Possibilities.
Possibilities are tokens or chips used to track how much Possibility Energy a Storm Knight contains at any one time. Storm Knights reset to 3 Possibilities at the beginning of each new Act. Additional Possibilities are awarded for playing in character, accomplishing campaign goals, being a hero, or simply entertaining the group.
Players start with 3 Possibilities, but may gain more through Perks that they might choose.
As noted above, Rachel begins the game with 3 Possibilities. I note this on paper for the moment, as that may change depending on the Perks I choose for the character.
Step 5: Determine the Character’s Starting Attributes.
Each character in the Torg Eternity game has a set of five (5) Attributes - Charisma (CHA), Dexterity (DEX), Mind (MIND), Spirit (SPI) and Strength (STR). The Attributes are pretty self-explanatory (though if folks want more details, please ask me about this in the Comments of the journal entry), and Average Attributes are 6-7, High Average is 8-10, and High Average is 11-12. Most starting characters won’t have values higher than those.
A starting character receives 40 points to distribute between these five Attributes, and no Attribute may be less than 5 or higher than 13 (in the case of Humans).
Looking over what I want to do with Rachel Bradford, I decide to give her a MIND of 10. I give her Average STR, 7, a DEX of 8, a SPIRIT of 8, and a CHARISM of 7. That totals up 40 points. Rachel’s game Attributes look like this.
Charisma 7, Dexterity 8, Mind 10, Spirit 8, Strength 7.
I decide that Rachel is smart and intelligent and has good resolve. This will help her in her chosen occupation, but will also serve her well with what is to come when the Maelstrom bridge crashes down in New York shortly.
Step 5a: Determine the Character’s Starting Movement.
Heroes can walk up to their Dexterity in meters per round. They can also run at 3x their effective Dexterity.
Looking at Rachel’s relevant Attribute, a DEX of 8, she can walk up to 8 meters/round and run at 24 meters/round. Not too shabby.
Step 6: Determine the Character’s Starting Skills.
Skills are learned abilities that build off a character’s raw Attributes. Skill “Adds” are added to the base Attribute of the skill to get the value that is recorded on the character sheet. Adds of +1 or +2 indicate some experience or training; +3 or +4 indicate some advanced training. Only true experts have a +5 or more in a Skill.
The player begins with 16 points that can be assigned to Skills but at least one Add must be taken in the Reality Skill. No Skill may have more than 3 Adds assigned to it during character creation.
Looking at the list of Skills, I can see certain ones that will be of use to Rachel. I start by assigning 3 adds into the Evidence Analysis Skill, and 2 adds into Profession (Archaeologist) and Scholar respectively. That covers 7 of my 16 points. I put in 1 add into each of Dodge, Land Vehicles, Fire Combat, and Survival, as well as the 1 add that I must take in Reality Skill. That totals 12 of my 16 available points. I take 1 add in each of Persuasion and Trick, and 2 adds in Willpower, and that rounds out the Skills for the character of Rachel Bradford. This gives me a set of Skills that looks like this.
SKILLS: Dodge +1 (9), Evidence Analysis +3 (13), Fire Combat +1 (9), Land Vehicles +1 (9), Persuasion +1 (8), Profession (Archaeologist) +2 (12), Reality +1 (9), Scholar +2 (12), Survival +1 (11), Trick +1 (11), Willpower +2 (10)
Step 7: Determine the Character’s Starting Perks.
Every player character starts with two “Perks”, special abilities that let them start the game with cyberware, cast spells, use Nile Empire pulp powers, or simply be tougher or faster than most. Perks are often restricted by the character’s home Cosm or might have other pre-requisites.
I look over the various Perks to be found in the Torg Eternity Core Rules, and see several that I like for Rachel. In the end, I narrow it down to four Perks, and then choose the two that I want. I settle on Endurance (the character’s Shock limit increases by +2) and Situational Awareness (may play a single card from hand into pool per scene, and use it immediately if desired). I’m pretty pleased with my choices.
Step 8: Determine the Player Character’s Defenses.
The player character has four types of Defenses. These are detailed below.
Dodge is the total that foes must equal to hit the character from range. The character’s Dodge is equal to the Dodge Skill, plus any bonuses from Perks or equipment.
Rachel’s Dodge is equal to her Dodge Skill of 9. She has no Perks that add to this, nor any equipment that does so.
Melee is your score that foes must get equal to or better than to hit when the hero is armed.
Rachel's Melee is equal to 8. Since she doesn’t have the Melee Combat Skill, she uses the straight Attribute for this.
Unarmed is what enemies use to hit the hero when she’s unarmed.
Rachel's Unarmed is equal to 8. She does not have the Unarmed Combat Skill, so uses the straight value.
Toughness is used to resist damage, and is equal to the player character’s Strength plus armour.
Rachel's Toughness is equal to her Strength value, which is 7. She doesn’t have armour yet (see Equipment, below), so this may increase somewhat.
Step 9: Determine the Character’s Shock and Wounds.
Player characters suffer from Shock and Wounds when injured. These values are recorded on the character sheet.
Shock is the amount of damage the character can take before being KO’d. If accumulated Shock exceeds this number - KO! This is determined from the character’s Spirit and any applicable Perks.
Rachel’s Shock is equal to her Spirit, which is 8. However, she has the Endurance Perk giving her a bonus of +2 to her maximum Shock. Therefore Raven’s Shock is 10.
Wounds is the number of Wounds the character can take, and Wounds in excess of this value means the character is KO’d and must test for Defeat. If the character fails the Defeat roll, he dies. Normal characters such as Humans start with 3 Wounds. If they suffer the fourth Wound, they test for Defeat.
Being a normal, everyday kind of female archaeologist, Rachel starts with 3 Wounds.
Step 10: The Player Determines the Character’s Starting Equipment.
Each player character hero starts with $1,000 equivalent in “general” carried equipment. The character may also have a home, vehicle, and so on that can be used in his native Realm. Most Storm Knights won’t be able to stay home very often, however! :)
Going over the equipment in the Torg Eternity rulebook, I decide on the following items and weapons.
Items
Archaeology kit (Tech 19), Flashlight (Tech 20), Field Guide (Tech 19), Notebook, pens, etc. (Tech 19), Mobile phone (Tech 23), Nylon rope (10m) (Tech 22), Backpack (Tech 8), Sunglasses (Tech 20)
Weapons
Dagger (Tech 8, Bonus +1 (8),Small)
.458 Colt Automatic (Tech 20, Damage 14, Ammo 7, Range 10/25/40)
Totalling the costs of my equipment and weapons, I see that I’m left with $270. Not a bad total, and not a bad set of expenditures.
*****
So when all is said and done, and the character is finished, we end up with the following:
PROFESSOR RACHEL BRADFORD
Quote: “There’s evidence of other cultures in this place, but I can’t be sure of the time period or even whether they were human at this point!”
Race: Human
Cosm: Core Earth
Axioms: Magic 9, Social 23, Spirit 10, Tech 23
Clearance: Alpha
Attributes: Charisma 7, Dexterity 8, Mind 10, Spirit 8, Strength 7.
Skills: Dodge (+1) 9, Evidence Analysis 13, Fire Combat (9), Land Vehicles +1 (9), Persuasion +1 (8), Profession (Archaeologist) +2 (12), Reality +1 (9), Scholar +2 (12), Survival +1 (11), Trick +1 (11), Willpower +2 (10).
Move: 8(24); Tough: 7; Shock: 10; Wounds: 3
Dodge: 9; Melee: 8; Unarmed: 8
Perks:
Endurance (The character’s Shock limit increases by +2)
Situational Awareness (The character may play a single card from hand into pool per scene, and use it immediately if desired).
Equipment: Archaeology kit (Tech 19), Flashlight (Tech 20), Field Guide (Tech 19), Notebook, pens, etc. (Tech 19), Mobile phone (Tech 23), Nylon rope (10m) (Tech 22), Backpack (Tech 8), Sunglasses (Tech 20)
Weapons
Dagger (Tech 8, Bonus +1 (8),Small)
.45 Colt Automatic (Tech 20, Damage 14, Ammo 7, Range 10/25/40)
And there you have the character that I created for the Torg Eternity Roleplaying Game. This character took me about 25 minutes, plus I would say another half-hour of leafing through the Races and world bits. Character generation in Torg Eternity is relatively simple and straightforward, though some of the decisions that need to be taken can make the process somewhat longer. If one has an idea of what one wants in the player character, the process can definitely take less time, but to be honest, this is a game system that is extremely fun to work with and gives an incredibly wide variation on characters.
Comments and feedback are welcome. :)