First Impressions from the Savage Worlds Test-Drive

[amerigoV]

Other than this "sanity" mechanic, how good is the Realms of Cthulhu book? This is one of the options I'm exploring for a sourcebook purchase.

I really like the book myself. I am not a Cthulu fanboy, but it certainly made me want to play the setting. I used the scenario included in the book in a pbp netgame for one player - managed to kill him without a fight. Mmmmmm.

Which is great; this means I'll be able to use it for multiple genres. Which I really like.

This is the thing that sucks - every time you get a new book or read what a fan did, you want to play that!

This might not work very well for my hypothetical Isle of Dread/Lost game, though, of course, things could be changed a bit to allow this.

You can have 1 or 2 main characters the camera focuses on, and the others just provide a couple of skills needed that the PCs do not have.

Are the copies being sold by Amazon or Take 2 of the third printing, or the second one?

S/b all 3rd printing by now.

What are the mind-twists in these mechanics? I understand that you can get enemies to be Shaken by various tricks, then you just need a Shaken hit to get them wounded, is that the twist?

The one that gets people is if the target is a Wild and they are already shaken. Normally S + S = W (and still shaken). Normally every raise on damage is a Wound. The ugly one is if they are Shaken and you get one raise in damage over their Toughness, it is NOT 2 wounds. It is still one (ie, S + S + W <> 2W, it's S + S + W (raise) = S + W). It comes up all the time on PEG's board and there is an example in the book. I'll print a chart below that is handy, but PEGs boards can explain it better than I:

If You're Not Shaken:

Damage over Toughness--> Your Final Condition
0-3 difference --> Shaken
4-7 difference --> Wound+Shaken
8-11 difference --> 2 Wounds+Shaken
12-15 difference --> 3 Wounds+Shaken
etc.

If You Are Shaken:

Damage over Toughness--> Your Final Condition
0-7 difference --> Wound+Shaken
8-11 difference --> 2 Wounds+Shaken
12-15 difference --> 3 Wounds+Shaken
etc.

Hmmm... Seems like I'll have to print the Combat Survival Sheet for the player(s)...

Yes, then somewhere out there is an article on Tricks. Very useful.

---

Another question I have is about combat: how well does a hero (or a small group of heroes) fare against a larger group of (non-Wildcard) mooks? Do things go similarly to Conan mowing through a whole gang of lesser combatants, or will a gang of mooks be able to gang up on a hero and overrun him/her?

How well do tactics (cover, ambush and so on) work well under the SW rules?

These two go together. The system really grew out of that approach. The same place you downloaded the Test Drive there is a Making of Savage Worlds. Read it - it really helps with the philosophy behind the game. So (1) it does great -> its really the sweet spot. (2) Tactics are very important. Range weapons kill in this game, even for run of the mill guys. Cover and tactics become very important as the group gains mastery of the game.

And how interesting/cool/fun combat is? A problem I am having with BFRPG (which is a great ruleset, IMHO) is that magic is ULTRA-COOL (especially with creative players) but ordinary combat isn't that interesting.

It evolves, in my opinion. Until the players get comfortable with the all the rules can handle (and start thinking outside the D&D box), the initial fun is all the exploding dice. Once players get into the Tricks/Test of Wills and the trappings, then it really get interesting.

 

[magehammer]

Oh, one small correction: damage dice don't explode (or "Ace" as the game calls it), although the bonus +1d6 damage from a raise can explode/Ace.

The +1d6 comes from a raise on an attack roll. Damage dice of all stripes do indeed Ace unless the campaign you are playing in forbids it.

This is why the heroes have to beware even the lowliest goblin. That monster's little dagger could actually take you down.

Realms of Cthulhu is awesome on so many levels, btw.

I have been playing Savage Worlds for two years now. I will never GM another system. I will play in others if our other GM runs them, but with Savage Worlds, he doesn't have to. SW does it all to our satisfaction.

Anyway, GMing Savage Worlds is actually fun. I never really realized how much fun I wasn't having until I GMed SW for the first time. As one poster said above, my eyes are on the action and the players, not on my rulebook and only for brief glances when checking an NPC's stats.

Savage Worlds saved my gaming life.

 

[Greg K]

I like Savage Worlds, but the Test-Drive nearly turned me off to the game. However, I asked questions and checked out threads at Rpg.net and PEG's site to learn more about the actual rules.

I ran a six session monster hunter game for three players (with one session being only two players) to take a break from M&M and D&D. The game worked really well (honestly, I think D&D and other games can work that well if the GM takes into consideration the number of players and plans for it).

One player, however, thought the rp between the players is what made the game so enjoyable and could be done with any game. He has a real problem with the d4 compared to the d6 and is refusing to play if I run SW, because of it.

I do have a quibble with the skill list- I want a few more skills, but other than that I am happy. I just wish RPGObjects would hurry up with the Savage Edition for Darwin's World and Dog House Rules would, finally, release a Savage Edition of Sidewinder.

 

[usdmw]

Heh. You're right about all damage rolls being able to Ace (SWEX 74). The really odd thing is I thought that was the rule all along, and then I thought I found an explicit statement in the rules otherwise. Apparently, I must have imagined that statement, however. Dementia I suppose...

Lots of love in this thread for Hellfrost. It is a nice setting, but I prefer the advantages of the single-volume campaign books with an included plot point campaign myself. Sundered Skies is very cool, as is the OOP 50 Fathoms (pdf still available).

Actually, if the topic creator likes both fantasy and horror, he could do worse than the Soloman Kane book.

 

[Stormonu]

I'm mostly having a good time with the SW system (I have the full rule book), but the one thing that has put a crimp into the game I want to run is the futuristic armors. I want my players to be able to use them (I made them take an edge to get them) for a "Starship Troopers" sort of game, but the high armor values (we're talking +10 to +14) looks like it is going to make it almost impossible to harm them with enemies. Any ideas (besides giving everything Armor Piercing (AP) or outrageous Damage dice to keep things on the exciting side? Are there certain tactics or the like available to keep the armor from being too good?

 

[frankthedm]

Any ideas (besides giving everything Armor Piercing (AP) or outrageous Damage dice to keep things on the exciting side?

Rather than a higher flat armor rate, give the armor a bonus vs. ballistic or some other common gun type for the setting.

IME damage will explode more often than even a armored up super-soldier would care for.

Heck, I kinda think melee damage explodes too much from weapons dealing damage dice. {they used to be flat bonuses to the STR die roll, rather than another die that could explode]

 

[Shades of Green]

Thanks to all of you for the comments!

I've just ordered the Explorer's Edition from Amazon, and hopefully I will have the book in my hand in about two weeks.

 

[TheNovaLord]

I have a home made sci SW i changed from a d20 game

i dont think you need to make the armor bonus outrageously high, otherwise the maths becomes hard work and you loose some of the F,F,F

I think armour in the 4 to 8 range should be plenty

i have some high end blaster rifles that do 3d8 damage
AND
have lasers that do less damage, but being more precise do an extra d8 damage on a raise

as long as the armor means a hero can roll with a hit from a beasties (so say 2d6+1 damage) that would wipe out a 'civilian', that should do really i think.

You also dont need to increase the skill range too much., this is explicit in the rules.

 

[amerigoV]

One player, however, thought the rp between the players is what made the game so enjoyable and could be done with any game.

The one thing I really like about SW is the combo of the Hindrances and Bennies. Bennies are the currency to change the large Swing in the game to your side (roll at a key moment, soak that massive hit, etc). Getting more bennies usually comes from role playing your hindrances.

In my short time of playing, I feel the roleplaying in my group really has improved, especially between the players themselves. In D&D, it always felt to me like I had to run my PC as The Hero (tm) and if I role played a personality flaw too much I was just being an Ass (tm). Savage Worlds system give "permission" to do not always do the right metagaming thing.

Let me give an example: in the middle of a tough combat, the rogue happens to sneak up and kill an enemy cleric. The cleric has a big, shiny holy symbol made of gold. Other PCs nearby are clearly in tough, close fights.

In D&D, the rogue could spend an action grabbing the holy symbol. In some groups, that would be ok and the player would have miscellaneous food items thrown there way. In some groups, one of the players would run to ENWorld and start a thread on how not playing your PC optimally is rude. At the end of the day, the system itself does not provide any incentive to play your character's personality when the chips are down.

In Savage Worlds, a character with the Greedy hindrance would earn a Bennie for such an action. They may still get random objects thrown at them, but the player was justifiably running the character and not just being an ass.

He has a real problem with the d4 compared to the d6 and is refusing to play if I run SW, because of it.

The lowly d4 finally gets a bit of love and someone always has to rain on its parade . The math is a touch wonky between the d4 and d6. I think it just mimics "beginners luck".

 

[frankthedm]

D4s explode frighteningly often IME. Almost like the little mooks have their weapons made from C4.