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Torg Eternity - Core Rules $24.99
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Torg Eternity - Core Rules
Publisher: Ulisses Spiele
by Andre B. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 11/15/2022 12:18:36

Kudos to the other, far better reviews here than what I'm going to write :) .. but a few additional things you should know... (also edit and update .. forgot to include the page count, a whopping 282 pages and 282 pages of high quality .. in my opinion anyways.. material, you're definitely getting a lot of bang for your buck)

I would start by doing a google search for " writeups letsyouandhimfight evil mastermind torg eternity"... that will lead you to what is probably the best written review I've seen for Torg Eternity that mentions both the positive and negative aspects of this revamp of the original TORG game from the 1990's.

Like a lot of reviewers here I was a huge fan of the original TORG game from the 1990's... it was a lot of fun reading this rulebook and seeing how they've updated the material and I noted with delight that they included enough material in it to let you (in theory) run say the "Dancing on Needles" adventure supplement without even needing the Cyberpapacy sourcebook is a nice touch (Dancing on Needles takes place in the Cyberpapacy).

Honestly though to get your full enjoyment out of this game you should expect to at the very least purchase the seven sourcebooks... Cyberpapacy, Nile Empire, Orrosh, Living Land, Asyle and (when they are able to publish it apparently they're in the crowdfunding phase right now) the Pan Pacifica (replaces what we old guard TORG fans referrred to as "Nippon Tech") sourcebooks... honestly, if you don't buy these you're not going to enjoy the game as throughly as you normally would. I don't necessarily see that as an unfair thing - heck in order to play Dungeons and Dragons bare minimum you need the Dungeon Master's Guide, Player's Handbook and Monster Manual and more than likely you'll end up buying campaign settings and possibly pre published adventures too so this definitely isn't something outside the norm. At some point I'll be writing reviews of the three sourcebooks (Nile Empire, Living Land and Asyle) that I currently own here on the drivethru rpg website.

(another edit and update.. be honest with your players about the expectations of this campaign setting and if they can live with it... the campaign setting makes it very clear the PC's are expected to be the good guys who thrust themselves into danger's way to help hapless NPC innocents with no thought of reward, that sort of thing.. the Reality Choir book gives an intriguing look at a more morally grey sort of scenario if the players and gamesmasters would prefer that instead and it's theoretically possible to play Torg Eternity that way but it will definitely require some extra work especially if you're using the pre published Torg Eternity adventures ... also have a frank discussion with your players on their comfort levels regarding religion.. when people can use real life religions to call upon real life miracles.. something that was a part of the original Torg campaign setting in the 1990's and something that pops up again here... that's something you want to make sure everyone's comfortable with. It's been my experience that even religious players such as myself are comfortable with making the distinction between real life faith in the real world and imaginary scenarios in a campaign world but it's definitely worth talking to your players about anyways as a gamesmaster. Finally bear in mind the campaign setting assumes that the player characters will automatically " get scared" by certain threats to the point where they have negative in-game consequences.. while this totally fits horror themed dimensions like say Orrosh or , interestingly enough , Pan Pacifica with the whole "zombie" thing , there are players who will rile against this sort of thing " No I'm not scared ! " ... so that's something you have to have a discussion about too, if it upsets players you may have to simply leave that out but the bad guys will be all the weaker for it and less of a challenge which can pose it's own problems.. gamesmasters can try to adjust by beefing the bad guys up in other aspects as far as stats ).

(yet some more edits and updates... -this was originally part of my upcoming review of the fires of ra but it occurs to me that I should note this under my review of the torg core rules as well...

In the temple among the threats the PC's encounter are a swarm of spiders... which raises one issue I've had with the torg eternity write up of certain threats.. the adventure forces the PC's to test against fear.. I wince at the thought of the following conversation between the players and the GM

The next part of the adventure of course involves another temple , with traps..

" Why are we testing for fear?"

"because it's a scary situation?"

"In what way? Supernatural magical fear? Mind control against us to make us afraid?"

(gm shrugs shoulders) " It's just a scary situation"

Trust me when I say from my previous experience that this does NOT go over well with players - short of overt supernatural or psionic influence they do not like being told how their characters will react in a given situation since you're basically seizing control of the most precious of their assets in the game - their characters - and if you have a player who's deeply into the role playing out the PC's personality aspect (like say I am as a player, and not to give myself too much credit but from what I've seen the same kind of player a lot of GM's end up wanting to keep in the gaming group too ) they will especially be upset with this given that they already have very firm ideas as to how their beloved PC will react in any given situation.

Instead I would do the following and I'm slapping myself on the head wondering why I didn't think of this before in my previous reviews of other torg books.. announce to the players it's a very scary situation with being enclosed in a tomb and a swarm of spiders crawling all over them that can kill them due to their pincers and claws .. vividly describe what a possible death would look like, the PC vanishing from view disappearing under a constantly moving blanket of black colored deadly vermin.. then tell the players that PC's who choose to take a negative penalty in this situation .. say the Very Stymied result that is normally the result of a failed fear test (page 263 core rulebook)... gets one possibility (maybe even 2 if they role play out their PC's fear very well) for their efforts. This leaves it in the hands of the players as well it should be in my opinion.. make a point of clarifying to the players that they don't get this bonus in the case of supernatural (magical , spiritual produced by miracles or the like) or psionic effects that cause fear , only in situations where it's really up to the player whether or not the PC gets frightened in that particular situation. I would use this tactic for every threat in Torg where the GM feels the fear isn't supernatural or psionic in nature.. for example coming face to face with a high lord, one would assume the PC's feel the full weight of the high lord's darkness device supporting said high lord, which itself probably qualifies as a cosmic force ... or coming face to face with monsters from orrosh who inspire fear automatically due to the very nature of reality in the realm.. monsters from Tharkold or Asyle could have the same effect due to their obviously supernatural nature, let's say a fear aura that supernaturally radiates from them .. but threats the players could encounter in "real life earth" like this shouldn't automaticaclly call for a fear check in my honest opinion, nor should fights against say a ravagon just because the ravagon is a fierce warrior (unless the ravagon has been say turned into a monster of orrosh for example lost to the power of corruption).

another edit and update.. many, many torg eternity foes are listed as having the power to take away cards from a player's hand on a successful approved action or interaction attack.. I remember doing this as the original 1990's torg rules told me to do to my players and I remember the disappointed looks on their faces when I did that to the point where I just stopped completely .. while I do realize this could create a problem in terms of game balance I'm not sure I enjoy the thought of encouraging players to do something other than " I attack ! " , rewarding them for their efforts with a card, and then taking the same card away later on.... as a house rule I'd suggest instead that bad guys who succeed at such an action are awarded a possibility (maybe have them spend the possibility immediately on their following action so the GM doesn't have to do too much record keeping there) or in the case of non possibility rated bad guys simply have them recover one shock point of damage.

Also if you have the time to write up torg adventures of your own.. the superb Living Land and Orrosh cosm sourcebooks are great for this and packed with all sorts of information and resources that makes this a lot easier than one might expect.. much to my surprise reddit has turned out to be a great source for battlemaps if your gaming group is into this sort of thing, more often than not given away for free to the public.. so for example if a GM is writing up an adventure that involves say a ritual sacrifice in a cavern and s/he does a google search for " ritual sacrifice cavern rpg map reddit " , the inclusion of the word "reddit" will direct you to a number of reddit forums devoted exclusively to rpg maps ... I ended up joining a few of those forums just so I could follow them and download a lot of very, very impressive free to use maps.. for left wing leaning liberals like me :) who are nervous about using reddit I am pleased to say that they appear to have outgrown the reputation they had earlier on of having a ton of hate speech posts.. I supposes if you deliberately go looking for that sort of thing on reddit you can find it but if you don't I found that it doesn't just come out and slap you in the face I thought it would.. in other words don't be afraid of reddit's bad reputation in the past and give their map forums a chance .. or for that matter their other forums where I've found all sorts of useful advice on say computer components but that's a whole another story)

I also urge you to check out the "pay what you want" supplements though it's worth noting simply clicking on "Torg Eternity" and scrolling through the available products may not turn them up (or at least that was my experience), you may have to search for them individually by name but it's worth it... Torg Eternity Day One for example is a whopping 146 pages worth of material you can get cheaply if you choose to (grab the Day One Pre generated characters while you're at it too also pay what you want). The Reality Choir is another 146 pages worth (edit and update - I wrote a review on Reality Choir but short version, I consider it absolutely mandatory for Torg it's that good and at the pay what you want price it's a no brainer - grab it). (another edit and update - wrote a review of Torg Eternity Day One and despite the caveats I mention in my review absolutely worth picking up even if you pay say one dollar for it - don't feel guilty I'm sure the publishers intend for it to be your gateway drug to non pay what you want titles for Torg Eternity :) ) ... Other pay what you want adventures and supplments include "Burden of Glory", "Ruins of the Living Land", "Death of the Mystery Men" , "Rooting Out Orrosh", "Living Land War of Religions" and "The Storm Knights Guide to Monster Hunters" (see however my review of Burden of Glory if you like, at some point I'll write a review for the other ones too). Personally I think it was very generous of the publisher to make these pay what you want titles - yes I know I know, the publisher is trying to encourage purchase of their core rule books, cosm setting sourcebooks and so forth by making the adventures/bonus campaign material free but in today's day and age where corporations are all out to make a quick buck and squeeze a customer mercilessly (at least here in the USA - Cyberpunk rpg except in real life here we come) it's a welcome change. "Dancing on Needletips" which has a fixed price of $1.99 might also be worth checking out and which I've also written a review on.

Also definitely grab the Torg Eternity Drama Deck pay what you want option too, which I also thought was incredibly generous of the publisher especially for people who are playing the game online though I'm not sure how you could use that pdf to randomly select cards for the players (maybe the GM assigns each a permanent number and uses a random number generator?) ... You also want to grab " Beta Clearance Player's Primer" and " Beta Clearance GM's Primer " for some helpful game information, also pay what you want titles. Other pay what you want titles which may or may not be helpful include "Random Enchanged Items", "Program Cards", " Torg Eternity Players Mat" and "Torg Eternity Game Mats" (maybe the images from these can be imported into Roll20 somehow? See below...)

On what I'm pretty sure is the publisher's website, they have announced that for fans of online gaming that Roll20 has created, for about $10 American, a drama deck and apparently Roll20 is free to play online as well (I know nothing about Roll20 and have never used it so can't say too much about it , how much of it is really free to play and so forth... but heck if it only cost $10 to buy and use the drama deck and the GM and players have pdf's of the TORG files I can see how that would work out really well ).

I'd also strongly recommend you sign up for the bundle of holding newsletter to be sent to your email - the publisher kindly ran a bundle of holding special twice over the years since they've released TORG Eternity and who knows they might do it again? Basically you were able to get a number of TORG titles at a cheap price that supported charity - I'll be writing reviews of these books as I get around to reading them.

Also worth noting is the change in narrative tone.. the original Torg books from West End games tried to be very dark and broody and their common catchphrase was "the storm is coming"... honestly though if you try running a campaign in say the USA and you and your gaming crew are all American and you try to say with a straight face " There's a lizard-man dude riding a dinosaur down the Brooklyn Bridge trying to trample you - what do you do?" .. I'm sorry it's just going to provoke hilarity from the players, or at least that was my experience when I gamesmastered it for my friends.. such a scene is completely in tune with the nature of TORG and I encourage you to run stuff like that and have fun with it but - expect laughter and jokes. Likewise imagine a gaming group living in say England gaming through the Asyle cosm.. " Hey elf and dwarf dudes (blokes?) help the dragon is trying to eat me ! HEEEEELLLLLLPPP ! " or listening to the gamesmaster talk about some fantastic mythical creature kidnapping the Queen of England and/or threatening to do something terrible to Big Ben if their demands aren't met (haven't read the Asyle sourcebook but going to assume Big Ben is some sort of Core Earth reality hardpoint I could be wrong) .. it's going to be met with similar hilarity... I like how the revamped book isn't as dark and broody in tone because - let's face it dark and broody's not going to happen.. so hopefully you're a fan of your campaigns being "action-comedy" because that's probably what it's going to lean towards. I could be wrong I'm sure there are gaming groups who can MAKE it dark and broody , goes without saying each gaming group can and will be different from the others in terms of play style, mood and atmosphere.. I'm just saying what my experience was both times I ran this for two different gaming groups.

It's also worth noting that the original TORG West End games (look for the ones that do not say "Torg Eternity", just " Torg" when you click on the publisher's name, Ulisses Spiele, here on the RPG website) are available very cheap as well.. don't bother with the Relics of Power Trilogy only because Ulisses Spiele has already updated it to the revamped TORG Eternity rules so you might as well purchase that instead.. and to be clear Ulisses Spiele has already published a LOT of impressive module/adventure type stuff so that should probably be your first stop (hopefully I will be able to write reviews for the godbox, Revenge Of The Carredon and Fires of Ra soon - they are each very long in page count which in my opinion is a good thing lots of material for the gamesmaster to work with) and the aforementioned pay what you want adventures detailed above should absolutely be your first stop. Having said that as an old school TORG fan I would personally have a lot of fun taking say The Temple of Rek Stalek and updating that to the revised Torg Eternity rules (though the risk you run is that the Temple of Rek Stalek events may not be considered "canon" in Torg Eternity - on the other hand I'm sure the publishers would be the first one to say " It's your campaign, have fun with it ! " ).

Regarding the criticisms leveled by other reviewers as far as the modules being too linear and railroading the players along a path... it's true that strides have been made towards making it less that way in other campaign settings but.. honestly if you're running a pre published adventure railroading is something you simply cannot escape in my experience no matter what and hopefully your players are mature enough to understand that (if not then you have a problem). It was understood with both my TORG gaming groups that the TORG campaign was secondary to anyone having the time and energy to write up their own original adventure material in some other RPG, which by definition is almost always more open ended and "sandbox like" when it's your own original creation ... but no sane gamesmaster out there will ever tell you that such a thing does not require enormous amounts of time and effort that not everybody has especially say the average 9 to 5 working person with a wife and kids, dogs/cats et cetera... just warn your players in advance " Look this is a prepublished adventure that is probably going to railroad you along a plot line at some point I hope you guys can deal with that because I honestly don't know what to do if you "jump" in a direction that the adventure didn't expect". I was the subject of some good natured teasing from my friends " Go that way the plot line is thicker ! " :) ... but they understood.

I do understand why say for example the Cyberpapacy Armor and Weapons aren't nearly as powerful in Torg Eternity as they were in say the original TORG setting... if you have a player character from the Cyberpapacy cosm for example all said PC has to do is liberate Church Police armor and weapons and s/he suddenly became a heck of a lot more powerful.. having said that given the high tech nature of the cosm I was a bit dismayed to see they've been "nerfed" such that they're really not that much more powerful than say a Core Earth Flak Jacket or Ballistic Armor.. from a game balance perspective I understand why they did this but I find myself wondering if a group might be tempted to experiment with more powerful equipment from the Cyberpapacy (with the GM's understanding s/he'd have to ramp up the power of the opposition accordingly).

I'm a bit confused about the other reviews on here stating that the Torg Eternity drama deck is impossible to get a hold of, at least here in the USA.. I just did a quick google search and I immediately saw that a deck was available from at least one online merchant and two listings for the drama deck on ebay if you don't mind buying it used (I don't)... on the other hand I can see how given there isn't a large and readily available supply of said decks it would get frustrating as opposed to say being practically guaranteed to be able to grab a copy of the D&D player's handbook for purchase whenever you feel like it .. as a former Torg gamesmaster from the 1990's West End game version let me say the Drama Deck is FUN .. really fun ! :) .. it takes some getting used to and your players will joke about it (one of mine loved to yell " trump ! " when he played his cards as he tossed them onto the table.. as in " I trump your hand" no reference intended to the former USA president this was in the 1990's people :P ) ... there was a criticism in one review about how one reviewer missed that "hard decision" as far as whether to spend possibilities as experience to upgrade your ability scores or skills or perks or what not or to spend them during gameplay.. personally I'm very happy that the publisher made experience points an entirely different category - I had one player express severe disappointment (later on circa.. hard to remember maybe 2010? .... with a different gaming group after I moved) that they had to quote "spend experience points to survive"... it's not going to be everyone's cup of tea but my players and I throughly enjoyed the old West End published drama deck in both groups where I ran the original TORG west end rules and I'm sure the Torg Eternity drama deck will be no exception ... I'm loving the cosm specific cards in particular which is a new and nice added touch.

As far as a virtual version of the Drama Deck for people who like to play online.. I tend to talk about Fantasy Grounds only because it's the only online RPG program tool type thing I'm familiar with as opposed to say roll20 for example... having said that I did a quick check on Fantasy Grounds and it looks like Torg Eternity is definitely an ongoing project over there with a lot of people putting a lot of hard work into making it viable for FG... however unlike Roll20, FG is NOT free so you'd have to decide if it's worth the purchase price or not (I think you can pay a minimal amount for one month's worth of subscription... mind you it's been a LONG time, over a decade since I last did FG but looking at the website it would appear a GM can pay four dollars American for a month's subscription, players can log on for free (not sure how long for though) and you could give it a trial run that way. Sadly with covid being a thing we have to pay attention to online gaming now in a way that people who prefer face to face gaming have never had to before. (edit and update - looks like the publisher has embraced Roll20 in particular ... if you do a google search for the words "torg eternity drama deck roll20" you'll come up with an online version of the drama deck that was apparently released by the publisher themselves... also if you do a google search for " stay at home and play torg eternity" it will come up with a link to a page on the publisher's... Ulisses .... website that mentions a lot of their pay what you want products ... keep scrolling down and you'll see a link to a video that shows you how to set up roll20 for Torg Eternity and they also give a link to the Fantasy Grounds extension to apparently get Torg Eternity up and running on there too)

edit and update - personally as a gamesmaster I would automatically give everyone the perk that allows a PC to utilize the results of a Glory card given how important those cards are in terms of refilling transformed citizens of Earth and thus not destroying them when you rip out the stelae the dimensional invaders are using to steal Earth's possibilities.. it goes without saying this is a BIG DEAL and a hugely important goal in the game .. forcing players to give up a perk they could use to "power up" instead seems rather unfair especially given the at times extremely deadly nature of the other-cosm conquered areas of Earth they will end up adventuring in (Orrosh comes to mind). Also I've written reviews of Orrosh and the Living Land which are my two absolute favorite cosm sourcebooks, grab either one of those first so you can be impressed by just how awesome a game Torg Eternity is (will eventually get around to writing reviews of the other cosm sourcebooks which I was less impressed by but only because Living Land and Orrosh raised the bar so high - you still should plan on buying all the cosm sourcebooks to fully enjoy the game).

Okay enough rambling :) .. long story short I think you're going to love Torg Eternity and in my humble opinion it's well worth the purchase price... buy the Core Rules, download the pay what you want stuff I mentioned above and give it a try with your gaming group :)



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Torg Eternity - Core Rules
Publisher: Ulisses Spiele
by Luke S. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 11/04/2022 10:10:07

I played Torg when it came out in 1990 and immediately fell in love with the theme - warring realities trying to conquer/convert our own reality (despite Core Earth's production of 'the Macerana' in Year 3 of the Possibilty Wars - that should have led to defeat!).

The original game gave me the tools to play a game with so many concepts at the same time and I and the friends I played with had many great adventures (with the occasional ability for players, as a collective to, as a matter of canon, effect change on the Possibility Wars directly - you didn't often see that in RPGs then).

So when I became aware of the reboot, I had high hopes and Torg Eternity did not disappoint.

The core rules neatly explain all the cosms and the laws of their realities (and include from the get go in the core rules, one of the early examples of player community influence on a game from the original incarnation - Tharkold), then go on to explain character creation for all the cosms, the game rule structures, reality itself (not as existential as you think), equipment, magic, miracles and psionics, followed by the usual 'under the hood' stufff for the GM and a bestiary.

I'm impressed with the content, although there are several typos here - how hard can it be to run a spellchecker through a manuscript before it's published!

Despite this, the reboot is excellent and I look forward to all the cosms being more fleshed out as, I assume, the cosm sourcebooks are released.

Well done!

Who says you can't fall in love with something again ;)



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Torg Eternity - Core Rules
Publisher: Ulisses Spiele
by Chad D. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 06/20/2021 20:04:18

As a huge fan of the original edition, I was intrigued  and excited when I heard about the Kickstarter. Reading the final product, however, I'm more than a little disappointed by it. Don't get me wrong, the book is beautiful to look at and is obviously a labor of love. For those aspects, I can only commend the writers. That said, this is not the Torg I fell in love with. The setting changes don't bother me (differences in cosm interpretation were always part of the fun), but the grafting on of yet another tired Advantages/Disadvantages system needlessly complicates things IMO: e.g instead of your character simply acquiring a piece of cyberware or a new spell in the course of play, now you must buy the appropriate advantage to get it. Likewise, certain aspects like Magic seem dumbed down from the original, and splitting PP and XP has much the same effect in terms of resource management. Original Torg wasn't perfect by any means, but the bones were great and you could use it as a springboard for creating your own characters, adventures, and even worlds. In contrast, like a lot of newer games Torg Eternity seems less of that and more geared toward solely using pre-gen products. Better for the bottom line, maybe, but it's not what I'm looking for.

Summary: Torg Eternity is a good-looking product that seems as if it would play well enough, but it doesn't feel like Torg to me. It's kind of like an android duplicate of an old friend with the personality of an internet chatbot. I can't get over the Uncanny Valley effect.



Rating:
[2 of 5 Stars!]
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Torg Eternity - Core Rules
Publisher: Ulisses Spiele
by Vincent G. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 02/03/2021 11:23:47

I played all of the old game and was very happy to try this new version. Frankly, it more than works, the world has been updated, the art is better, the system is still very efficient and balanced. I love it a lot.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
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Torg Eternity - Core Rules
Publisher: Ulisses Spiele
by A customer [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 05/13/2019 12:19:10

I never played the original Torg. I did play a hack that a friend of mine wrote for Fate and I really enjoyed it so I was looking forward to Torg Eternity. I loved the playtest beta so much I bought the rules as soon as I could because I wanted to support the product. But the more I learned about the rules the more evident it became that Torg Eternity is simply a clunkier, poorly written, and incomplete Savage Worlds.

How long do some spells last? Can you cast the equivalent of Dimension Door without Line of Sight? Can you tell when a psychic power is being manifested? What can you do with an Interaction Attack? Do attacks that deal fire damage obey the fire rules? A medium blast can hit 3 targets under "typical battlefield conditions", but what exactly does that mean? The core rules don't answer these basic questions. You might find the answer on the forums or in the game's FAQ but you're essentially left to fend for yourself when, not if, you find yet another grey area. Torg isn't the first game I've played that requires some GM Fiat to make the rules work but it is the first one I've played where it felt like a cop out on the designer's part.

The core book also doesn't have much reality specific content. I can't fault the designers for that due to how much material it has to cover. But the perks available to some realities are flat out broken compared to the others, an issue will only get worse until more of the reality specific sourcebooks are out. On the subject of sourcebooks, the power creep is already obvious. That's to be expected as higher level spells and technology become avilable. But I fear Torg's reached a tipping point where you either play with all of the sourcebooks or none of them, lest you risk leaving some of your players in the dust until their own reality books come out. Given that as of this writing only 2 of the 7 realities have fully released books with a third about to be posted to kickstarter, it could be years before your Pan Pacifica street samurai is on par with the Nile Empire mystery man.

You need Torg's Drama Deck to play. So the PDF may cost $25, but to go from zero to being play ready you also need to spend another $25 on cards. Groups with more than 5 players may find that they need a second deck. I like the card play, but having to spend an extra $25 for a second initiative desk and set of cosm cards when all I need is the Destiny deck is annoying. That's a minor complaint though.

With all of that said, the lore of the game is original and fairly well written and the core mechanics are fun if you can wrap your head around the logarithmic d20 chart. The card play is enjoyable. There's fun to be had here but it doesn't outweigh the frustration of trying to understand the system.

The bottom line: if reading about Torg Eternity's setting is your cup of tea go ahead and buy it. But as a game I can't recommend this tabletop equivalent of a fixer-upper.



Rating:
[2 of 5 Stars!]
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Torg Eternity - Core Rules
Publisher: Ulisses Spiele
by ANDREY G. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 05/04/2018 10:39:45

Well.

I was never a fan for original Torg. I discovered its existence three years ago, when my friend, who is a fan of obscure RPG systems (and Torg IS obscure here in Russia) and loved Nile, pointed it to me. I read fluff and never even tried to play (because system was... well, I read it in 2015!). So I have a position of... I don't know... fresh look? I mean, I have no expectations, and, when said friend bought this book (to try playing Nile module or two with our group), I looked on this product with fresh eye. Now I bought it myself because I'm planning to use it, and I can recommend it - if you want to play this kind of games, sure. Everywhere downthere I'm using "Torg" for Torg Eternity. When I'm speaking about old Torg, I'm saying so.

Setting. Setting is good. Not sure if it should be placed on the current development team wholly - as far as I can tell it's still an old Torg in a majority of points. It is written with broad strokes, but I'm ok with it. I don't need a core rulebook that would allow me to play it "right way" (whatever it is) - core ruleset should give, in system and in setting, basic guidelines and some kind of "catching the wind". In my opinion Torg Eternity Core Book do its job. I got a feeling how world here works and I have only one concrete question about it unanswered ("how many information Core Earth Ords without special access have about inner working of High Lords realm and Transformation?"), and one which is really unclear ("how do evil Stormers transcend?"). That's a very, very good result in my opinion. Now I need details; details, I believe, would be in sourcebooks, and I'll need to work some of them myself, and it's ok.

Setting is for the type. There are lizardmen invoking miracles, heroes with some sort of super powers, magic, demons, cyberware, vampires, werewolves, zombies, and even benevolent, trustworthy, effective international organization created by US government. I am the type. But if you don't like an idea of mixing different styles and realities, Torg isn't useful. If you want an eclectic setting where "throw everything into the pot", I would not recommend it either. Torg actually has concrete rules of engagment for different aestetics, and it don't feel like this rules should be violated easily.

And if benevolent, trustworthy, effective international organization created by US government is too much for you and your suspension of disbelieve, I think it can be removed. It's here to help new players to enter the fray, otherwise they could just stand and scratch their heads with "hell, what are we supposed to do now?..". If your party can manage it by themselves, well, lucky you. I'm not so lucky quite often, so having Delphi Council around allow me to give players quests when it's looks ok. By the way, in old Torg, I believe, characters were legally obliged to follow governmental orders; as I can see it's gone. Now DC are just guys who knows stuff and trying to herd cats... sorry, organize actions of multiple Storm Knights to prevent horrible defeat and make them somehow efficient.

Just keep in mind that Core Earth is not EXACTLY our world, so don't allow players to draw you in fruitless discussions about "how high is REAL WORLD Axioms are" or "which our Laws really should be" or "current Law set is too westerncentric" (yes, it is... probably... maybe... until you don't invoke things like classical chinese literature... ahm, sorry). Just use it as you see fit, and you'll be ok.

Rules. Rules are optimized for action game with high stakes, and they're doing their job, as far as I can tell. By awarding Possibilities GM really can regulate the pace, every Law having mechanical effect would allow to moderate changing genres (for instance, between cyberpank of France to dark fantasy of Aysle - to change it this way you'll need to cross the Channel) nicely. Of course, that's a thing master should be able to do himself; so people should not commit crimes - but world is inperfect. Rules should give instruments, they do so. In a way system looks like "old Torg meets Savage Worlds", and both system benefitted.

Rolls are simple enough. You roll d20 and get bonus (or malus) to your stat+skill. My character I created for test Nile play had her professional stat+skill sums at 10-11, with rolling 9+ that means she would achieve normal success. When I need more, I have Possibilities. Linear system of success is quite understandable (5 points beyond difficulty = level of success), and, what's more important, is quite rememberable.

Finite skill lists with specialized skills, broad enough, is quite adequate approach - to prevent a need to have eight rulebooks opened for every second to manage every character in play. Familiarity system and limiting number of skills worked good for Savage Worlds, and familiarity actually can be nicely achieved with Axioms. As our test rule we set a familiarity penalty at 1 per axiom difference - that means human with Fire Combat and Tech Axiom at 21 would fire AK-47 with 1 penalty, and same for Tech Axiom 23 - until he used to (try to shoot old AK-47 when you was learning shooting with M16A4, or drive 30s year car when you learned drive on modern car with electronic controls and AT, and you'll get why penalty came), and human with Tech Axiom 16 would have -6. Looks like it worked nicely.

Perks can be disbalanced (I didn't test it, but by sight it's quite possible), and I foresee a problem with new sourcebooks. In my experience, system that works on perks tends to give more intresting things in later sourcebooks (and it's quite understandable - in basic books you get basic things, for generation, and balance of system isn't tested hard yet), and that's making old characters obsolete - new perked character would be so more effective. Also moving specialized perks into sourcebooks makes situation uneven for different cosm characters, and that's kinda sad. I mean, imagine Orrorsh sourcebook published last one (I don't really know exact order in developers mind, but some book should be the last!). That means that Orrorsh characters would have their improved content so later then, let's say, Living Land one. If I'm to offer suggestions, I'd offer developers to publish "Clearance Compendiums" with perks for every cosm for some Clearance Level (level of experience). I believe something like that "Beta Clearance Primer for Players" supposed to be, but we'll see. I'm not sure that 8 pages for all cosms would be on par with special LL miracles and perks.

Combat modifiers and actions of note also can be put into one page, and actually quite logical and understandable. Tons of status effects changed into two, one which gives you -2/-4 on rolls (something hinders you), and second gives +2/+4 on rolls against you (something put you in the jeopardy). "Effect" skills (like Taunt, Trick or Maneuver) allow you to impose this statuses on enemies, against their defences, like attacks. Multiaction, multiattack and grapple (things I always check myself to see if combat system esoteric) also are streamlined and don't need to check rules every time player says "ok, I'm going to shoot full auto on this group of characters". Now came my primary objection with a system, and store method. Drama Deck.

Yes, I know, Drama Deck is what made old Torg special. Yes, I can see how it helps to control flow of battle and give players options without overwhelming. But.

Firstly, personal preference. I'm conciously against any kind of mechanic that can't be replaced with a notebook (paper, not computer) and dice. Card rules are build around reshuffling deck, playing cards on table and playing them from table. If I wanted to play MtG, I'd play MtG. And even if I found replacement for Drama Deck (and it looks nice and graceful - thanks Carl Matthews for Torg Eternity Playing Without Cards!), I can't find one for Cosm deck. And to play without Cosm deck I would need to rewrite quite a lot of Laws.

This, secondly, summon a convenience issue - subjective again. I'm living in Moscow, Russia. My players live in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Russia (625 km from me), Voronezh, Russia (464 km), Kiev, Ukraine (755 km) and Haifa, Israel (2,564 km). Let me say using a physical non-standard deck (Savage Worlds using poker deck, that is emulated by dozens of apps) is not convenient. Even using non-physical non-standard deck isn't convenient. That's why, if I had a deck, I'd rewrite it's descriptions into table and make players roll d10 when they, by rules, should got a card; then they would write it and play as they want. Virtual deck emulator.

And then third thing occured. I can't buy PDF deck. I can't find list of all texts written on Cosm cards, only some examples from previews. I can, theoretically, order a deck from USA or Europe (by Amazon, by friends or somehow else), then wait until it would be delivered (if it would - our mail service isn't exactly reliable), just to rewrite texts by hand - to be able to play a game as it written.

So, I urge developer team. Please consider including card texts into Core Book (because it IS part of rules you need to play, and Core Book advertising like "include all the rules and setting information you need to create characters and play the game". Or at least sell (and better just publish!) non-formatted, non-illustrated list of EFFECTS cards have, not cards itself.

In a nutshell, it's good game with a glimpses of outstanding, and it would get 5 stars from me if problem with cards were solvable for me. Before it I'd give it 4 and recomendation - if you like games with a lot of action about worlds with different rules meet each other.



Rating:
[4 of 5 Stars!]
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Torg Eternity - Core Rules
Publisher: Ulisses Spiele
by Jeffrey A. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 03/29/2018 13:24:22

Love the material! Very well-done update / 2nd Ed. / Reboot!!

The Good:

  • The rules no longer require each person to have a Bachelors+ in Math.
  • The rules are a bit better organized.
  • Personally, I like that XP and Possibilities are no longer a shared resource.
  • Tharkold from the start!!
  • Psionics, not only from the start, but now properly a Social Axiom ability (Note: in other games this might not work, but in Torg it makes perfect sense.)
  • The High Lords are not immediately portrayed as dim-wits who just failed-up into super-powerful beings (well, except maybe Uthorion).
  • Rules simplifications, beyond just the math, the rules are presented in a more easily grasped format.
  • Perks!! An awesome way to add a dimension of expansion; basically similar to Feats in DnD/Pathfinder or Advantages in GURPS/Hero/etc..
  • Clarifications! Many rules are actually explained as opposed to just stated!
  • Extended examples - as above, but worth their own mention!! Very useful, helpful and cool!
  • color art! And it looks good!
  • Revised Axiom tables. (I like the 0-30, personal taste there)
  • Quinn - awesome nod to the old, and enrichment of the new product - Good job!
  • We finally have more Torg to love!!!!!!!!!

The Bad:

  • Perks
    1. Way skewed, some are immensely powerful, others barely count as fillers.
    2. Punishing - for any caster- / Cyber-type the initial perk gives three "spells" / 10k for Cyber, but then each additional perk gives only 1 spell / 5k. At a static Perk purchase price this might be annoying, but when each perk increases the price of the next perk, this is a crushing weight to put on the player. Especially assuming future Cosm & Expansion books have more of these in them (a virtual certainty).
    3. Restrictions - some of the perks are restricted in ways that don't really make a lot of sense (either by being too available, or not available enough). To be fair, this is somewhat rare.
  • Depth/breadth: What I mean here, is that, without knowledge of the 1st Ed., it would be next to impossible to "correctly" (ie. flavor, personalities, etc.) run a game with nothing but this book. The original set came with a Worldbook that gave a bit more detail and depth to each Realm. A few spells/miracles, and some commentary on how to get the feel for it. It then also included an Adventure Book, which included a full short adventure across many realms, but then also gave a whole slew of adventure outlines, with bits of flavor included. This book has a tiny smattering of that information but, really just glosses over it, occasionally mentioning "future books" for more/greater detail. On this, I'd say they went about 2/3 where they should have gone. The adventure-making section in the back helps some, but still isn't enough, in my opinion. Having said all this, I do fully understand that the vast majority of "early adopters" are, like me, 1st ed players, which is why this really only barely makes it on to the "bad" list.
  • Errors. (This happens to everyone, of course). Some of the Index references are incorrect, meaning you have to search through the whole book to find what you're looking for. Also some grammatical errors make understanding a few rules kinda tough. This is a bad, but not terribly common, thus not in the "Ugly" section below.

The Ugly:

  • Perks. (Yep, they are good, bad, and ugly!)
    1. When I said the power is skewed, and the restrictions are somewhat off, I wasn't kidding. The Reality Perks are THE WORST offenders. Powers that, in 1st Ed were inherent to ALL possibility-rated characters, are now available ONLY to Core Earth. Worse yet, the rules talk about NPC's having such abilities, meaning that apparently such restrictions apply only to players, which is not only skewed, but in fact makes no sense.
    2. One Reality Perk pretty much begs players to break the (whole) game. "Increased Personal Axiom" take it 7x to build a "mad man with a blue box", allowing you to build literally anything you want; 7x (+1 Psionics perk)instead lets your mind expand into everyone else’s within 1km (assuming it's a contradiction where you are), and (reasonable extrapolation here) rearrange matter and maybe even reality to your liking. Raising the Spirit or Magic to 30 this way would be tremendously expensive, but still possible, to similarly game wrecking abilities/effect.
  • The book itself (the PDF file). Ok, here I really could be wrong, but it looks like this PDF is basically their page layout for the physical book. OK, no big deal. But that means the PDF itself cost them $0.00. Now, I'm all for making a profit, but I'm also not appreciative of getting screwed. A PDF for $25.00, should, at the ABSOLUTE LEAST be thoroughly bookmarked. Frankly, it really should be cross-linked. Bookmarking a title like this would have taken them less than 30 minutes (trust me). Cross-linking considerably longer. But if I'm right, and the total production cost of this file was "click a few buttons", I truly believe it would have been excessively reasonable to bookmark the thing!
  • The Drama Deck (/accessories) this is required to play, but isn't included in the PDF, AND isn't for sale as a PDF (at the time of this writing...), which means you can't play the game when you buy the game... (I almost knocked off a whole star just for this one). The only way to get the cards (again as of this writing) is to mail-order them for $20 - correction, with shipping $30! No clue how long that'd take, and frankly, I'm just re-using my old deck (which is NOT directly compatible, yay more work and confusion...). The most irksome part of this is that the cards ARE available in PDF, they just won't sell them... In fact, that is a star. Originally I was going to give this 4 stars, but in all honesty, selling a game that you can't play (as sold; and keep in mind none of my local stores carry this) is just of wrong-headed!

[Edited 03-29-18; Reality Perks; Drama Deck price]



Rating:
[3 of 5 Stars!]
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Torg Eternity - Core Rules
Publisher: Ulisses Spiele
by Jason F. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 03/09/2018 14:00:16

I am a veteran of Torg since it originally launched and I can handily endorse this new product. I backed the kickstarter when it launched, and my current group has been playing with the digitial materials since October and its a smash hit. I am the only one in the group with previous experience with the game / system, but the players absolutely love it. Combat is fun and dynamic, the characters feel heroic and the fact that it takes place on Earth allows for players to feel connected to the game and those struggling against the Cosm Raiders. The party is exremely diverse, with a pulp, fantasy, noire, sci fi and modern day characters mixed together into a just motley crue of awesome. It's a great buy and I could not recommend a game higher at this time.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Torg Eternity - Core Rules
Publisher: Ulisses Spiele
by Marcus T. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 01/24/2018 14:40:36

This was clearly a labour of love for someone, which is why it's such a crying shame it's so dreadful. 'Fixes' for problems that didn't need fixing, like glass-jaw ninja. Keeping the clunky system that feels every one of its 27 years. Worst of all, the mechanics - pitifully weak, disposable characters that die easily and barely ever succeed at anything - actively fight the action-movie feel it's going for.

The writers clearly loved the NPCs which is whyt the new game is all about them and the players are a pathetic afterthought.

As flawed as the original game was, it's a million miles better than this.



Rating:
[1 of 5 Stars!]
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Torg Eternity - Core Rules
Publisher: Ulisses Spiele
by Kevin E. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 07/21/2017 18:30:55

I'd been a diehard fan of the original Torg, running a campaign for 5 years--longer than any other campaign I've ever run. So when a reboot was announced, I had great trepidation about my beloved classic being remade.

As it turns out, the game was greatly improved. It still maintained a lot of the core mechanics that made it so revolutionary in 1990, but years of RPG evolution have revealed some of its ugly flaws that were smoothed over nicely.

Much of the game has been simplified to be more accessible to the general populace, but it still has a lot of crunch. The crunch may still turn off some of the lighter gamers, but it's nowhere as chart-heavy as its predecessor. Admittedly, there were some aspects that were simplified that didn’t thrill me, but I can work with those. Certainly, the payoff is well worth a few glitches—many of which can be house-ruled pretty easily.

It was my favorite game in the early 1990s, and now Torg Eternity has reclaimed the crown in 2017.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Torg Eternity - Core Rules
Publisher: Ulisses Spiele
by Jimmy D. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 07/21/2017 17:45:06

I was a fan of the original TORG and I must say that the new version live up my expectation and some.

The story is great, the rules are more simple, my only complain is that I want more! I can't wait for each individual cosm to have their book.

Thanks!



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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Torg Eternity - Core Rules
Publisher: Ulisses Spiele
by Paul E. [Verified Purchaser]
Date Added: 07/21/2017 17:23:21

I am forty (40) pages from the end of reading the new Core Rules through for the first time. This is what Torg: Role-Playing the Possibility Wars should have been in 1990. This game is elegant, streamlined, fast and, although I don't agree with two of the changes (Awarding XP and Possibilities instead of just Possibilities, and the Bonus Dice, which will not actually solve the glass-jaw Ninja problem), this game is beautifully done, in layout, artwork, and the way it's written. I'm also glad Ulisses Spiele North America is taking the time to collect information on corrections to spelling, syntax, structure, etc. before releasing the Core Rules in October for those of us who participated in the Kickstarter that brought this most magnificent of RPGs to life.



Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
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