Torg Player Rules

Possibility-rated characters may also use possibilities to gain
rerolls when generating action totals and the Hero and Drama cards
in the Drama Deck can also be used for this purpose. The rules for
this can be found in Chapters Four and Five.
What if Your Character
Doesn’t Have a Skill?
Just because a character does not have a particular skill does
not mean that he cannot perform tasks associated with that skill.
When a character wishes to use a skill he does not possess, his base
attribute is used for the skill value.
There are drawbacks for attempting a task without having
the appropriate skill; some abilities are more difficult when used
unskilled and some cannot be used at all unskilled. Additionally,
when rolling the die a character’s chance of getting rerolls is reduced.
Skills that are more difficult when used unskilled are indicated
in boldface in the Master Skill List. Skills that cannot be used at
all unskilled are indicated in boldface italics in the Master Skill
List. The individual skill descriptions will also specify if a skill
is more difficult when used unskilled or if it cannot be used at all
unskilled.
Some skills may penalize or not permit unskilled use of only a
particular ability that falls under that skill. Acrobatics for example
has two specific functions listed, Vaulting/Springing and Falling.
Vaulting/Springing can be done unskilled at a penalty but Falling
cannot be done at all unskilled. Skills that have partial or separate
restrictions like this are marked with a cross (+) in the Master Skill
Chapter Three: Attributes and Skills
Unskilled Use Penalties
When a character attempts an unskilled use of a skill,
the gamemaster will assign a modifier to the difficulty
number of the attempt using the Difficulty Number Scale
found in Chapter Four. Depending on the skill being used
and the exact circumstances of the situation, the modifier
should range somewhere from Complicated (+2) to
Extremely Hard (+10).
As a rule of thumb, a complicated skill is one where it
helps if you know what you’re doing but it isn’t essential.
For example, firing a heavy machine gun is mostly a matter
of pointing it in the right direction and pulling the trigger.
If attempted unskilled, that would only be a Complicated
unskilled use of the heavy weapons skill.
At the other end of the spectrum, an Extremely Hard
skill is one where it’s almost, but not quite, impossible for
an untrained person to figure out how to do something. Correctly
aiming and firing a howitzer, for example, requires
training and familiarity with the weapon and how it operates.
Attempting it unskilled would probably be an Extremely
Hard unskilled use of the heavy weapons skill.
List and the skill description will explain what part of the skill is
restricted.
Result Points and Success Levels
Most of the time, a character succeeds at a task when their action
total equals or exceeds the difficulty number set by the gamemaster.
But occasionally success isn’t such a cut-and-dried matter; it may be
a matter of barely squeaking by or succeeding with flying colors.
In these cases, the amount by which the action total exceeds
the difficulty number is called the result points of the action. For
example, if the difficulty number is 8 and the player generates an
action total of 12, she got four result points. Result points are often
used to determine the success level of an action with the General
Results Table in Chapter Four.
Active and Passive Skill Use
Whenever a player generates an action total for their character,
that constitutes an active use of the skill. Skill and attribute values
are also used in some instances without requiring the generation of
an action total. This is called a passive use of the skill.
Passive skill use most often occurs during opposed actions, when
one character is trying to affect another character. For example, the
difficulty number for hitting someone with the unarmed combat skill
is the other person’s unarmed combat skill value. The defending
character passively uses his unarmed combat skill to avoid being
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