My first Savage Worlds experience...

Good Morning, All:

Here's a quick overview of my first experience last night with Savage Worlds. I ran the game, having had no prior exposure to the SW rules system. The essential scenario involved the rescue of some kidnapped children from a band of goblins before they were used for sacrifice on the eve of Winter Solstice. I had run this scenario under D20 before, and from experience, I knew that it could be handled in about three and a half hours. Essential scenes included some basic investigation, a minor combat sequence and a major combat sequence, a scene dealing with the environment, and a few RP scenes.

There were six players at first (and one guy who joined us about half-way through the game, to bring us up to seven players for the final climactic fight). With that many people, I still ran the scenario in three hours, and that included a lot of talking and rules discussion. In addition, in the final combat scene, I increased the number of goblins from four to fourteen, and the party just mowed through them as well as the cultist leader with incredible ease. With that in mind, system definitely runs faster than D20.

There were a few rules we missed from time to time, based on our combined lack of knowledge about the Savage Worlds rules system. In many cases, these were minor and would not have dramatically impacted the outcome of the scenario. I think that, with a little more experience, this would not have been an issue. Also, I hadn't gamed with over half the table before, and thus there was a need to develop a rapport over the course of the game that I already had with those whom I'd gamed with previously. In general, though, these impacts were to be expected, and so I am trying to separate them from the rest of my review, to make sure I identify things properly.

All in all, here are the things I liked about the system, as clumsy as I felt running my first session last night: First, prep time was a snap. At twenty minutes to write out cards for the encounters, and just two hours to create eight PCs for pre-generated characters, I felt that this was the easiest One Shot I had ever prepped for. Second, I liked the basic simplicity of the system overall, from character creation to combat to the rules in general. It's fast. Third, despite the simplicity, characters are easy to build and reasonably developed and deep enough to provide for a good gaming experience. Fourth, it was very easy to explain the basics of the system and bring a new guy in within five minutes at the middle of the game once we all had a little experience with Savage Worlds. Fifth, I like how the "extra" rules work, as it lets the heroes be heroes. Sixth, I like the initiative system, and I can tell it will work just as easily as my D20 initiative cards work once I get used to scanning the table for the cards still facing up. I could even notice an improvement in my reaction time by the end of the session, so I think it'll work out pretty well, and everyone can see when they get to go.

Things I didn't like about the system or am concerned about, once I remove the problems I had with dealing with a new gaming system based on a lack of familiarity: First, there is a definite mental shift that has to occur in how damage is determined. It's not a really bad thing, but it needs to be handled well when transitioning new players to the game. Second, the simplicity of the system could potentially lend itself to a certain amount of arbitrary rulings and possible rules discussions/debates in a manner similar to that of AD&D 1st Edition or Classic Traveller or Simple20 or something equally lightweight in the rules department. That's the nature of a rules light system, though, and not a problem with Savage Worlds itself. Third, with a rules light system, there is a definite paradigm shift away from requiring all characters to be fully detailed to making some basic assumptions about a character's capacities that aren't documented on the character sheet. I've mastered that for Traveller, but I need to pull that over into Savage Worlds. It should be a simple matter to do so, once I have integrated the rules to the point where I have achieved a basic "rules mastery" so I can think about other things, but it is a change of pace from the fully documented nature of a D20 character.

Looking at the gaming experience overall, it appears that a majority of my concerns could be lifted simply by getting used to the Savage Worlds rules. I probably should run another session before making up my mind to use this system for my next campaign, just to make sure, but I like what I've seen so far. Also, I still want to play the game as a PC to see if that helps clear things up for me and lets me see how the game runs as from the player's side. I will have an opportunity to play at a Game Day being held locally tomorrow, and there's a chance I can get into another One Shot after the Thanksgiving holiday.

Please let me know if you have any specific questions about the review or my experiences, and I'll do what I can to answer them. Also, your comments and feedback would be greatly appreciated.

With Regards,
Flynn

Any other details, particularly if in the mode of comparisons with D&D 3e's mechanics and tendencies, would be quite welcome.

Especially with regards to PC creation, NPC creation, combat and 'RP'.

My only house rule suggestion is not to let people convert more than 1 unspent Bennie into XP per session, especially if any PC gets extra bennies. The only 'problem' I had in my Savage World run was a kid who has some of the best dice luck I've seen in a while. He would have six bennies saved at the end of the session and the proceed to convert an average of at least 3-4 to XP every session. Sometimes he did all 5-6.

Hey, I like that thread. Please tell more, especially after I've picked up Savage Worlds yesterday in a spur-of-the-moment purchase (seeing stuff for 5.99 £ in your FLGS is... err.. dangerous).

Cheers, LT.

WayneLigon said:

My only house rule suggestion is not to let people convert more than 1 unspent Bennie into XP per session, especially if any PC gets extra bennies. The only 'problem' I had in my Savage World run was a kid who has some of the best dice luck I've seen in a while. He would have six bennies saved at the end of the session and the proceed to convert an average of at least 3-4 to XP every session. Sometimes he did all 5-6.

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The most updated rules set, the Explorer's Edition, gets rid of this mechanic for two reasons: 1st) to avoid the situation you described; and 2nd) to encourage the use of bennies during the game.

Hope This Helps,
Flynn

Aus_Snow said:

Any other details, particularly if in the mode of comparisons with D&D 3e's mechanics and tendencies, would be quite welcome.

Especially with regards to PC creation, NPC creation, combat and 'RP'.

Click to expand...

The base mechanic for task resolution is very similar to a streamlined Deadlands or a variant D6 System or even Earthdawn. All attributes are different die types, from d4 to d12, and skills are rated in the same manner. The skill list is limited, somewhat like Star Wars Saga Edition. You roll the die type, and aim for your target number (TN). With the exception of melee combat, the target number for any check is 4. (For melee, it's a derived score called Parry, which can range from 4-8 and higher in very rare cases). If you roll max on a die, the die explodes, so you roll it again and add the total to the original roll. This continues until the die no longer explodes. This is called "Acing" the roll in Savage Worlds parlance. For every four points by which you exceed your target number, you get a raise, which usually translates to critical success benefits.

As a PC, you are considered a Wild Card. Wild Cards get an extra die, a d6, to roll with any action resolution, so you have two chances to hit your target. Each die is considered separately.

In D20, you tend to change the DC (or as Savage Worlds calls it, the TN) and generally keep your modifiers the same. In Savage Worlds, you modify the die roll and keep the TN the same. Essentially, it's the same thing, but just changes the location where the math is done when implementing modifiers.

I see a lot of great gems borrowed from a number of different systems. Edges remind me of talents, class abilities and feats from D20, and some are even named similarly. There are some combat maneuvers that remind me of HERO System, such as the "gang up" rules. The "Extras" rules remind me of "mooks" from Grim Tales and Spycraft.

The game has an action point mechanic, which are called "bennies" in the system. A bennie can be spent for two things: rerolling an action resolution, and attempting to soak damage. When rerolling, you get to keep the best result. If you don't like your reroll, you can spend another bennie and try again.

On the surface, attacks and damage are handled similarly to the Storyteller System. You roll for your attack. If you succeed, you roll the damage dice (which explode, but cannot be rerolled with a bennie, without a specific Edge anyway). If your damage roll is high enough, you inflict damage. "Extras" go down with only one wound. Wild Cards, whether PCs or NPCS, have three wound levels before they are incapacitated. You can spend a bennie when you are wounded to try and soak the damage. To do so, you roll your Vigor, and each success removes a wound you just took.

There is an adjustment in thinking to go from D20 to the Savage Worlds damage paradigm, but I think it should be easy to get used to within two or three sessions.

Initiative is not a skill or stat check like it is in D20. Instead, you deal out cards from a deck, and high card goes first. You keep the jokers in, and getting a joker gives you some special bonuses.

Roleplaying doesn't really change. The system gives you a task resolution mechanic, for when that becomes necessary, but I haven't found RP to change because the task resolution mechanic changed. Now, characters do have flaws (called Hinderances), so there's a bit more to help guide characters towards RPing their character. Also, there are some interesting non-fighting options for the non-combat character to use in combat, as well as a number of other mechanics that encourage diversity and creativity in combat, rather than the ol' "I swing, I hit, I do some damage" routine that D20 can become.

NPC creation is easy. The rules simply say that you give the NPC the die type you think they need for a particular skill or ability and that's pretty much it. The baseline tends to be d6, and incompetent people have d4s instead. The stat block for Savage Worlds fits on an index card, and take up maybe six to ten lines. There are guidelines for free download on the Pinnacle site for converting D20 monsters and NPCs to Savage Worlds, if you want a more specific translation in feeling.

PC creation can be done in 10-15 minutes, and likely faster when you get used to the system. The process is easy: 1) get a concept, 2) spend five points to buy your stats, 3) spend fifteen points to buy your skills, 4) choose your Hindrances and Edges, 5) pick your basic gear, 6) calculate three derived stats, and 6) choose a name for your character. Really, that's about it.

Magic requires that you choose an Arcane Background edge, which allows you access to a list of generic powers and a pool of power points. Power points return at a rate of 1/hour (although some edges give you points back much more quickly.) The powers provide the game mechanics for how they interact with the system, but you get to choose the "trappings", or special effects, when you choose your powers. For example, you can use the Bolt power to represent magic missile, acid arrow, force bolt, any of the elemental orb spells, and similar ranged attacks against a single target. The system is versatile and lends itself to creative presentation.

My goodness, I think I'm about typed out for the moment. Please let me know if this helps, or if you have any other questions.

Really, I'm just scratching the surface here. If you want to check it out yourself, please go to the Pinnacle website and download the Test Drive rules, which are kinda like the Basic Game for Savage Worlds, and it's free.

With Regards,
Flynn

Flynn said:

The most updated rules set, the Explorer's Edition, gets rid of this mechanic for two reasons: 1st) to avoid the situation you described; and 2nd) to encourage the use of bennies during the game.

Click to expand...

Good; I need to re-read my Explorer's Edition. I wish there was a comprehensive list of the changes made.

WayneLigon said:

Good; I need to re-read my Explorer's Edition. I wish there was a comprehensive list of the changes made.

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I do, too. I have gathered the following, though:

1. The "bennies for XP" rule is gone;
2. Melee damage follows the "Way of the Brave" methodology first introduced in "Deadlands: Reloaded", which can be downloaded for free as part of the DR preview #1 (for those that do not have the Explorer's Edition); and
3. The Chase rules were revised.

I think there are a few other changes, but these are the ones I've heard about the most, and I can't remember the others.

With Regards,
Flynn

Very nice, thanks.

I have the Exp Ed rule book and just bought the Evernight campaign. I'm seriously thinking of running this when the current 3.5 game ends.

rv

Wow, thanks. That's quite a bit of detail.

I'll also do as you suggest (i.e., download the quick start rules and read them.)

Cheers.