Torg Eternity House Rules and Clarifications

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These are all minor tweaks that our group has made to the system. We recommend all of them, especially basing Reality skill on Charisma.

Note: We do not use the optional "(Cosm) Possibility Energy" rules from each cosm book. Cosm Cards already handle this concept just fine without the extra complexity.

Aiming into Melee

Normally shooting into a melee gives a 50% chance of hitting the wrong target. However, if you use the Aim maneuver first, you won't hit the wrong target except on a Mishap.

Card Changes

1. Cosm Cards "Played Immediately"

If a cosm card says "play immediately when drawn," do so, but then you get to draw another cosm card. If that one says "play immediately," ignore and redraw until you get one that doesn't.

2. "Trap!" Cosm Card

This inflicts 1d3 Wounds (roll a d6 and halve it), not 1BD. Afterward, the victim gets 1 Possibility per Wound.

Cross-Cosm Learning

It sometimes makes sense for a character to pick up (in play) a perk or arcane ability from a cosm they aren't native to. With GM permission this can be allowed, but such an ability always causes a personal contradiction! In other words, it's a one-case contradiction even in the cosm from which it stems (unless you have the Adaptable perk). In every other cosm, it's a one-case contradiction (even with Adaptable) -- unless it requires the cosm's laws (*), in which case it's a four-case contradiction.

Much like perks dependent on a cosm's laws are marked with a *, cross-cosm perks, spells, etc. should be marked with a ! as a reminder.

Glory

1. A Glory may only be played on an important roll. The GM should err on the side of allowing the Glory, but it shouldn't apply to things like requisition rolls or rolls to remember minor details.
2. Anyone who draws a Glory card may immediately choose to discard it and draw a new Destiny card to replace it.

Leveled Arcane Perks

If you take the same arcane perk multiple times (e.g., you already have Spellcaster and you take Spellcaster again), it adds two new miracles/powers/spells instead of one.

Mind Control

1. This follows the same paradigm regardless of source: Reality-rated subjects get a roll to break free each turn, while Ords get a roll each time they're given an "unacceptable" command, and anyone who successfully resists mind control is immune to further mind control for the rest of the scene.
2. The mentalist has control of the subject's body, not their mind. Thus they can put words in the subject's mouth to repeat, but cannot make the subject answer questions.

Racial Attributes

If a race has an attribute maximum of 16+, the minimum value for that attribute is (maximum - 10). For example, a Stalenger's max Spirit is 16, so a Stalenger PC must have a Spirit of 6+.

Skill Changes

1. Athletics skill exists, based on Strength

2. First Aid is part of the Medicine skill

3. Language is simplified (see Torg Eternity Languages)

4. Lockpicking is now called Thievery, and covers all sneaky sleight-of-hand

5. Reality is based on Charisma, not Spirit

Two-Handed Weapons

Balanced, two-handed weapons -- like quarterstaves and longswords -- are excellent defensive weapons. As such, anyone using such a weapon gets +2 to their melee weapons defense (just as dual-wielders do), unless the weapon has the Min Str or Unwieldy trait.

Upgrading NPC Allies

A player with an attached NPC ally (e.g., a follower or animal companion) may choose to spend XP on the NPC instead of on her own PC. The first perk added costs the usual 5 XP, regardless of how many perks the NPC's base template contained.

Note that, at Beta Clearance, the Intense Training perk is a wonderful way to upgrade a companion or follower! But it must be taken by the PC (not bought as part of the NPC's character sheet) and it can be taken only once per NPC.

Official Clarifications and Errata

• Torg FAQ and Errata (errata mirrored here)
• The falling damage table has been updated:

• Perks, even cosm-specific ones, are not necessarily lost upon transforming to a new cosm, just those that the GM rules are "incompatible" with the new world (like Spellcaster in the Living Land). Racial perks are the most likely to stay. Thus, you could create a starting PC edeinos who has transformed to Core Earth but still retains one or two Edeinos perks; however, she could not acquire any further Edeinos perks. These retained perks are not considered "cross-cosm" (!) as discussed above.
• Bonuses don't stack unless they explicitly say so. However, pay attention to the way damage is phrased; e.g., edeinos claws inflict a fixed "Strength +2 damage" just like a weapon, so they can receive a bonus on top of that fixed damage.
• "Unarmed weapons" (fists, claws, brass knuckles, etc.) and "melee weapons" (swords, maces, knives, etc.) are both "weapons". "Unarmed weapons", "natural weapons", and "bare hands" are synonyms for rule purposes. If something says "doesn't work on weapons", but then says it applies to unarmed combat, it actually means "doesn't work on melee weapons". For example, the Compte Power Fist, Brawler, and Telekinetic Strike would stack, but you couldn't also add brass knuckles because CPF is the "weapon base."
• Disfavored is a status not found in the core book. It cancels out Favored, or on its own, it negates the first additional die roll you'd get (e.g., from Up or from a Possibility). (House Rule: Disfavored and Favored cancel out 1-for-1, so if you have Favored from two sources and become Disfavored, you're still Favored; that's the only benefit of being Favored twice.)
• If you use a Multi-Action to attack the same target with two weapons or affect the same target with two different interaction attacks, the effects do not stack. Resolve both attacks (including damage/effect) and then apply the better result.
• A active defense cannot be combined with any other actions (just simple actions). You can declare it even if the villains have initiative (basically using your action early). It lasts until the end of the current round.
• Card and token play is simultaneous on an action. This doesn't normally matter, but if you were to play Drama and Hero on an attack, you could not then play Malestrom to prevent the foe Soaking because doing so would negate the Drama and Hero card play.
• When you Play For The Critical Moment, you discard all of your cards at the very end of the action(s). So even if an effect would cause you to draw cards during or immediately afterward — like Rally or doing an Approved Action — you'll just discard them anyway. (Confirmed by Deanna on Discord.)
• Casting an arcane power requires the target(s) to be in range, and within line of sight, but it can then be maintained until the duration ends (or for Concentration spells, until Concentration is broken).
• When forced to make a Concentration test, if the target of a spell isn't within line of sight and range, the spell effect ends regardless of the result of the Concentration test.
• If a "resisted" power (e.g., DN equals willpower or Spirit) is cast on a willing subject, the DN is unchanged but the subject can use Extra Effort to assist the caster.
• If a power inflicts a condition like Stymied or Vulnerable, always assume the condition lasts for the duration of the spell unless it is explicitly stated otherwise.
• If the Drama card shows multiple DSR (Dramatic Skill Resolution) steps that would apply, one character can attempt to fulfill them as a Multi-Action. Alternatively, multiple characters can attempt those steps individually, in order, but all attempts have a penalty equal to -2 per step attempted (harder than a Multi-Action would be, due to the added complexity of coordination). For example, if ABC is showing, one character can attempt A, then B, then C, all at -4 for the Multi-Action -- or two or three different characters can attempt A, then B, then C, all at -6 for rushed coordination.
• Armor has three pieces: torso, head, and leggings. Full body armor covers all three. Other armor misses one or more.
• Flash grenades (from the Beta Clearance Player's Primer) just do 8 damage in a Medium Blast. A Good hit also causes one condition (Stymied or Vulnerable, attacker's choice), but doesn't deal any extra damage. An Outstanding hit inflicts two conditions. They have Value 5 if requisitioned; they are not normally available for purchase.
• In Orrorsh, a Nightmare cannot attempt to Soak damage from a True Death. The True Death World Law implies otherwise incorrectly; use the rules in the Nightmares section.
• Surge: Determine the character's Contradiction level including all carried gear and passive abilities, even those not "in use" at the moment. Anyone not native to this cosm is a minimum one-case Contradiction. (Both of these rules only apply to Surge checks!)

• Repair Rules: Fixing something takes a skill roll, usually a Mind-based operation skill (e.g., Mind + land vehicles to fix a car) or science. Time required is around an hour for most things, a day for a Large item, or a week for a Very Large one. DN ranges from 8 for simple mechanisms with one or two parts, to 16 for a motor with hundreds of complex pieces, to 20 for microcircuits and advanced tech. Apply -2 to -6 if tools and/or parts aren't available. (From Ruins of the Living Land, plus skill notes from the forums.)

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