Leamon Crofton Jr. (Torg Eternity: Pan Pacifica)

[7:35 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): Hi All! Forgive me for any bad punctuation/spelling/grammar etc. I’m Leamon Crafton Jr. one of the authors/developers for Torg Eternity. Right now we are having a Kickstarter for the Pan-Pacifica Wave, which is the last Torg “setting” realm to invade Core Earth. I started as a Playetester with Nile Empire, an author with Relics of Power Redux and getting more involved with each wave. With pan-Pacfica we have a great selection of Sourcebook, Mega-Adventure, Smaller Missions (Delphi Missions) and it looks to be our GenCon adventures all in a book as well. (done)

[7:36 PM] Catseye: okay, I’m a huge Torg fan. So you have my attention.

[7:36 PM] Dan the GMshoe: ( @ModernKnight54 , would you like to introduce yourself as well? )

[7:36 PM] PK: Leamon, mind if I ask what parts of Blood on the Blasted Land you did? I am a fan.

[7:36 PM] PK: Or would that be off topic?

[7:37 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Okay, looks like we’ve lost @ModernKnight54 for the moment, so I’ll open the floor to questions!

[7:37 PM] Dan the GMshoe: @PK No worries!

[7:38 PM] Dan the GMshoe: @Leamon (ZorValachan) For those unfamiliar, can you give us a brief overview of Pan-Pacifica?

[7:39 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): John (ModernKnight) and I were 2 of the 3 BotBL authors. The main parts i did was with Kyiv and Chernobyl. On to Pan-Pacifica talk

[7:40 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): Pan-Pacifica is the intrigue/corporate realm. In Torg a lof of the realities are “smashups” of genres and tropes. PP started as a *punk mash up with zombie apocylapse. but has evolved to bring corporate intrigue, bio-modification into the picture

[7:41 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): imagine james bond, Leverage, Wuxia, power armor, and gene splicers all working for/against mega-corporations

[7:44 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): In Torg a near Earth (called Core Earth) is invaded by different realities. The magic that works in the magic realm doesn’t work in the intrigue realm. The flashy Net does work in the primititve reality. And the Player Characters (Storm Knights) Are the few people who can make it work. Pan_pacifica streaches from Japan through Mainland Asia, up to India and then down into Indonesia

[7:44 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): (done)

[7:44 PM] davehaynes77: I love the Leverage influence! Such a great show

[7:45 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): tech *doesn’t work in primitive.

[7:45 PM] Dan the GMshoe: What was the thinking regarding adding “zombies” into Pan-Pacifica initially, and (if I understand correctly) what was the subsequent thinking about removing them?

[7:52 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): The original realm from Torg was “Nippon Tech” which was James Bond/Corporate in Japan. Very much a “afraid of Japanese buisinesses coming to the USA” mentality IMO. it also was probably a lesser liked realm. Tech wasn’t that different from what we have on “earth” back in the 90s. So basically the team wanted to change that concept a bit. So it stayed the Corporate realm, but how they did things were different. Release a problem then come in with the solution and get governments to relinquish power in order to have it solved. We wanted to link the Akashans (Space Gods) more and that is where the zombie infection came from. But like in Resident Evil it got out of control. We were getting ready for things to go further and then the real-world Pandemic hit – originating in Asia and we… um… cursed, and rescheduled things. There’s a cure, but it not a completely “gone” plus we wanted to show what the after looked like. It’s under control (mostly), and now this is the new normal of a biopunk corporate realm

[7:53 PM] davehaynes77: As someone who isn’t a huge fan of Zombies, I’m glad there is a LOT more to Pan-Pacifica now

[7:53 PM] Devil_Hawk: I agree Dave

[7:54 PM] Dan the GMshoe: How would you describe the tech level of Pan-Pacifica as compared to modern day Earth?

[7:54 PM] Catseye: has the new Space Gods book been released?

[7:54 PM] MrFurious: I am kinda sad to see the Contagion go. If only because we got to play so little of it so far

[7:55 PM] PK: How are you explaining the Contagion-Comaghaz connection? Is it going to be made explicit that this is something derived from an Akashan virus?

[7:55 PM] Dan the GMshoe: (Question pause, please!)

[7:58 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): Tech is familair, but advanced. Imagine someone from the 1980s seeing stuff today. most thngs would be reconizeable, or able to be explained, but it’s like that new gadget that comes out and blows your mind because you didn;t think it would be possible. In PP tech is similar to say a non-cyber cyberpunk. Meaning you have devices that link everything in your life, contracts with companies. everythings a subscription of a benefit of your job and job status. We understand EULA, but in PP if you stop your subscription to your pacemaker… bad to be you

[7:59 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): There’s not a new Space God book out. There are plans to explain the connections more. Gospog seeds were used to make the infection. Kanawa did not trust the Guant Man to make normal gospog. The infected become “xenogospog”

[8:00 PM] Dan the GMshoe: What sorts of powers are available for natives of Pan-Pacifica?

[8:01 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): while there is a vaccination, Not everyone will take it. and again. So main cities and such are “contagion free” but it’s still out there

[8:01 PM] Devil_Hawk: That’s a great hold over from OTorg, Kanawa didn’t trust him in the original game either, and frankly, why would he?

[8:01 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): Genemods take the Perk category similar to Cyberware and Occultech, but using other animal DNA.

[8:02 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): Power Armor expands on the Electric Samurai, giving other options (manufacturers)

[8:03 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): Priests of Palan are the spiritual side of PP, although the Spirit axiom isn;t very high

[8:03 PM] Dan the GMshoe: I read that the nature of Pan-Pacifica’s reality has changed since the invasion. Can you say a bit about that, and about the thinking behind it?

[8:04 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): And new Prowess Perks and Breath/Vitality Perks which are the specialized Martial Arts for PP. (The name keeps changing)

[8:04 PM] PK: You said there are plans to explain the connection between the Contagion and the Comaghaz — are you able to expand on that a bit here?

[8:06 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): PP is a “hidden” realm. it’s invasions are usually unannounced and one of thing that happens is that a World Law will swap out with the invaded realm. it’s basically they don;t leave cosms empty and devoid of life like the Gaunt Man, they keep the invaded cosms going as a “natural resource”

[8:07 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): the closer it is to the invaded realm, the easier it is to convince people it’s not an invasion

[8:08 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): Contagion/Comaghaz. You know how there are 5 Plantings for Gospog? xenogospog have got to 6 “plantings/generations”

[8:09 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): That’s about what I know. Something happens with that and Reiko has people on it

[8:10 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Is Marketplace still the home cosm for Pan-Pacifica?

[8:10 PM] PK: What’s your favorite new perk? Ideally something we haven’t seen yet.

[8:13 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): This is where Marketplace is different than Original Torg and other Realms. And since this was hashed out, it might have been tweaked a bit. Pan-Pacifica is the specific area or “resource” on Core Earth. A different Division/Board of Directors – basically a different team is the one that invades Australia. Marketplace is the home world and the Conglomerate is the 3 main cosm (including Marketplace) that make up the base reality

[8:15 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): I like the Genemods. I wasn’t directly involved in that but the others really did research into it things beyond me into what is out there now with splicing, CRSPR (or whatever).

[8:16 PM] Dan the GMshoe: The home cosm of Pan-Pacifica is actually three cosms? That’s different!

[8:16 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): Not sure if it was in the preview or not , but you could make yourself a renesaince artist with Genemods

[8:17 PM] Catseye: It’s good to see Torg under proper development.

[8:17 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): it’s one main cosm, Marketplace, but the others are still linked and continue to operate

[8:18 PM] Dan the GMshoe: I see… So do all of the natives of Marketplace still appear Asian? If not, how does Marketplace “stealth-invade” realities with no Asians? For that matter, how does it “stealth-invade” realities with very different axioms?

[8:19 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): Again, forgive my dyslexic typing. I think it’s better to get you more information than to spend time respelling stuff before hitting enter hehe.

[8:20 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): Great question! They have different divisions/boards. When they invade Australia its with caucasions, aborigines, polynesians. The people are prepared for that culture. Not every Asian with a camera is Kanawa.

[8:21 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): If they invaded Southern Missouri, Tenesse, Kentucky, they’d have that Southern accent and look and fit right in with a good back story

[8:22 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Interesting!

[8:22 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): And you;d have soemthinhg like Ozark

[8:24 PM] PK: What was the narrative reason to change Ryuchi from “basically co-High Lord” to “loser on the run”?1

[8:24 PM] Dan the GMshoe: When it comes to martial arts, it always struck me that the Shock damage cost was way too harsh. Shock is a very limited resource that you’re going to be losing during combat anyway. Perhaps as a result, I’ve yet to find anyone interested in taking martial arts. Any thoughts on the subject?

[8:25 PM] MrFurious: There’s a perk for that

[8:25 PM] PK: Yeah I was gonna say, just take the new Center Self perk

[8:25 PM] MrFurious: And a World Law

[8:26 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): I believe there is a new Center Self Perk that centers a person to recover Shock. It was something evolved from a threat special ability in Relics of Power. Otherwise shuffle those “Second Wind” cards

[8:26 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): Heh, beat me to it

[8:27 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): Reiko was written in the Core Book as the High Lord and Ryuichi was the Face. He basically messed up and she got tired. But. He is trying something new. and that’s what Operation: Soft Sell explores

[8:28 PM] MrFurious: The Law of Tenacity allows a character to recover all Shock at the cost of a Wound

[8:28 PM] PK: Oh wait, so Op Soft Sell is going to reveal more about what’s going on with Ryuchi?

[8:28 PM] Dan the GMshoe: From the preview, it appears that Vitality Perks go well beyond what could be considered “martial arts”. Can you say a bit about that? And to what extent do Vitality Perks cover martial arts? Please tell me that there are still ninjas…

[8:29 PM] PK: Because I understand what happened, but was wondering what y’all’s reason behind it was.

[8:29 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): Ryuchi has a mission. Soft Sell interacts with it1

[8:29 PM] Mark Malcolm: Where/when are we going to get more about Australia and the two zones established there?

[8:31 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): One question I’ve seen is why not just call Vitality perks “Martial Arts?” What we would call Martial Arts are Prowess Perks. I believe Brawler (or another of the Core Book Perks) basically has this written in it. Vitality are the Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, type stuff that goes beyond “normal” martial arts1

[8:32 PM] Mark Malcolm: That’s a great juxtaposition of those perks.

[8:33 PM] Dan the GMshoe: (Huh. My Nile Empire bruiser is a martial artist, then. )

[8:33 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): I think it’s really cool that they advance in a way that pays homage to the original, as you go up in adds in a skill you get abilities (even Perks that might not be very tempting on their own). similar to how you had to learn techniques one at a time in the original Torg1

[8:34 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): Those are called “Paths” they can be taken separate or with Vitality

[8:34 PM] Devil_Hawk: More martial arts, less glass jaw Ninja

[8:35 PM] Dan the GMshoe: The core rules already took care of the Glass Ninja.

[8:35 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): There are Corporate Assassins. If you want to call them Ninjas you can

[8:35 PM] Devil_Hawk: yes Dan, I was failing at being funny

[8:36 PM] Dan the GMshoe: You didn’t fail. I chuckled.

[8:37 PM] Dan the GMshoe: If I recall correctly from the preview, one Vitality perk path involves gunfighting. Can you give us some other examples?

[8:40 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): People have been asking for Gun Fu since before the Original crowdfunding. So there is the Gun Fu Perk and the Path of the Gun. Other Vitality and Path examples. Unfliching (take shock to remove Stymie/Vulnerable) . Path of Palan for those warrior-monks, Path of the Sword which incorporates whirlwind and something akin to a “flourish” if you hit, take shock to stymie your target

[8:42 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Cool.

[8:43 PM] Dan the GMshoe: There was mention made of spirits awakening in response to the Spirit Axiom rising. Can you say a bit about that?

[8:45 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): One thing that sets Core Earth apart from other “Earths” like Gaea, Magna Veritas, etc. is that we have stories that inspire and scare. With the axiom rising, miracles are on par with Core Earth. Along with that comes ghosts, spirits, and similar beings that previously were only in Hard Points

[8:46 PM] PK: I think Mark’s question about Australia got missed. (edited)1

[8:46 PM] PK: What’s the difference between the Path of the Gun and Gun Fu perks?

[8:48 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): Sorry, yep I missed that. Australia zones were at the very end of Year one. The Abomination attack on Sydney gave a perfect opportunity for expansion, so a new division invaded there. The DC headquarters was ruined. More is to come, but as that was just a few days before the 1 year mark. But there is a Delphi Mission which interacts with the rebuilding of the DC HQ

[8:51 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): Gun Fu is an individual Prowess Perk. Path of the Gun is a PP only Perk that leads to Gun Fu, but has other things as well. Gun Fu is dabbling, Path of the Gun is devotion

[8:51 PM] Mark Malcolm: Is there more than one DC mission related to Down Under coming? That seems like a seed that NEEDS to grow into a friggin Banyon Tree of a plant.

[8:54 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): Australia bridge was something added later (sorry Aussies, I couldn’t resist uriging to have a bridge dropped on you). I am hoping we can do more, but I think as of now it’s just the one mission.1

[8:55 PM] Dan the GMshoe: In Torg 1e, the Nippon Tech part of the Land Below introduced kaiju into the realm. I’m guessing that’s not going to be the case this time?

[8:56 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): The “Abomination” was basically a Kaiju in another name. I am not aware of when/if that is going to be a more common thing

[8:57 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Oh? What was the origin of this Abomination? Or is that a secret?

[8:59 PM] Dan the GMshoe: (brb) (edited)

[8:59 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): I could be completely wrong, but my understanding it was a game ran officially. basically a big amalgamation of xenogospog or one of a higher generation. It came, destroyed a bunch of Sydney and was defeated. Then whatever remains just disolved/dissappeared and everyone has a different description on what it looked like

[9:00 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): “Abnormal” is the word instead of abomination

[9:01 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): Checked, yes it was basically a xenogospog “voltron”

[9:02 PM] Catseye: sounds like the setting is seriously in need of more Godzilla

[9:03 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): Having said that, the link of contagion to comaghaz asked way earlier. Contagion made xenogospog. Comaghaz is the hive mind that xenogospog of stormers make

[9:05 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): Any more Qs for PP books or perhaps teases for year 2?

[9:05 PM] Dan the GMshoe: What are the Orrorsh/PP mixed zones like?

[9:06 PM] EarthElement: Can you tease the conflict zones between the high lords?

[9:07 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): Orrorsh/Pan-pacifica mixed zones. Imagine Nightmares being experimented on. Horrors getting infected. Not a nice place

[9:09 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): Yes, I can talk a bit about the future conflicts

[9:09 PM] PK: Torg has been teasing an eventual Pharoah Mobius / Gaunt Man confrontation. Where does Reiko fit in if that happens?

[9:11 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): War of the Century! one of the 4 war fronts. The Gaunt Man is absent. Mobius sends Battle Groups to Invade Orrosh. Pan Pacifica does that experimenting mentioned above

[9:12 PM] Devil_Hawk: I’m looking forward to seeing the book and seeing if my submission made it whole

[9:12 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Seeing what book, @Devil_Hawk?

[9:13 PM] Devil_Hawk: Pan Pacifcia

[9:13 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Oh! I thought you were referencing that NE/Orrorsh bit.

[9:13 PM] Devil_Hawk: no, I was just late hitting enter1

[9:14 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): there will be an “intermediate” mega-adventure Fractures of Shadows and Light. This will transition things between year 1 and year 2. After that there will be 4 warfronts.

[9:15 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): Fractures will introduce new reality concepts (think When Cosms Collide) and you’ll learn more about Eternity and the Void

[9:15 PM] Dan the GMshoe: That sounds promising. I don’t suppose you can tell us what the other 3 will be…?

[9:16 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): of course Crucible will be Aysle and Tharkold invade the Cyberpapacy

[9:17 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): Spirit of the Americas is Malraux goes against the Living Land with Aysle landing in Canada

[9:18 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): And Dawn Never Breaks is the messed up scenario of what happens when Tharkoldu meet Orrorsh and Tharkold and Pan-Pacifica go on corporate/propaganda/media warfare

[9:19 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Wow. Total chaos!

[9:19 PM] PK: All four happening at once?

[9:20 PM] PK: Fun

[9:20 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): Yes, and as a teaser. Whatever you know about “mixed zones” from original Torg being like CE+Invader mixed zones is not always what happens when different realities collide.

[9:21 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Oooo… Intriguing!

[9:21 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): Yes at once. Fractures will be a single mega-adventure, but the other 4 war fronts will have season. 4 seasons for year 2. each season being roughly about 3 months of the war

[9:22 PM] Dan the GMshoe: In the time remaining, is there anything we haven’t covered that you’d like to bring up?

[9:22 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): So what Tharkold is doing in Pan-Pacifica may (or may not) have connections to the war in Crucible which are occuring roughly at the same time.

[9:23 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): I just want to thank everyone for showing up and you for hosting. We have great content coming out. Torg is not disappearing, we hope to blow minds

[9:24 PM] PK: Definitely looking forward to all of this. I’ve been so looking forward to seeing Year 2

[9:25 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): While there are homages and nods to Original Torg, Year 2 will be very different than the Possibility Wars of the 1990s

[9:25 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Thank you to all of you who showed up this evening! Please know that we are always open for regular TTRPG chatting and that you are all always welcome here.

[9:25 PM] Dan the GMshoe: And thank you for joining us, @Leamon (ZorValachan)!

[9:25 PM] PK: Thanks Leamon

[9:26 PM] Leamon (ZorValachan): Thank you for having me!

[9:26 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Usual reminder: If you’ve enjoyed this Q&A and would like to treat me to a coffee or two, you can do so at https://www.ko-fi.com/gmshoe. Anything’s appreciated! Ko-fiBuy Dan Davenport a Coffee. ko-fi.com/gmshoeBecome a supporter of Dan Davenport today! ❤️ Ko-fi lets you support the creators you love with no fees on donations.

[9:26 PM] Dan the GMshoe: Now, if you’ll give me a minute, I’ll get the log posted and get you the link!