Savage War of the Burning Sky

[Zadmar]

Someone recently informed me that War of the Burning Sky is now available for $10. I read up on it and it looks great, so I grabbed a copy - and I'm really impressed. It's exactly the sort of campaign I've been wanting to run for years.

However there's a catch; I'm a die-hard Savage Worlds fan. I've run several D&D 3.5 campaigns in the past, and I'm still very familiar with the system, but I don't want to run it any more. Fortunately, because I know D&D 3.5, converting the mechanics won't be a problem.

I figured that someone else must have given it a go before now, but googling just brings up discussions about people considering converting War of the Burning Sky to Savage Worlds, I can't find any discussions people having successfully done it.

But my searches did reveal that there was a Kickstarter for a Pathfinder conversion, and that it was created by Morrus, who is also the big boss on this site - and that he's even been showing a recent interest in Savage Worlds. So I figured perhaps this would be the ideal place to discuss it

So, has anyone successfully run War of the Burning Sky with Savage Worlds? Any pitfalls to watch out for in the conversion process? Any thoughts or suggestions? Any possibility that we might even see an official conversion in the future?

 

[Morrus]

I'm not aware of a SW conversion, but I think it would be something awesome to see. I would be really interested in seeing anybody's experiences.

 

[Jan van Leyden]

Nope, an I'm no Savage Worlds guy myself. I'm still very interested to read about your project as I have recently considered running WotBS with AD&D 2e.

 

[Zadmar]

I've already put together some conversion guidelines for the Player's Guide, although I'm not sure if it would be appropriate to post them here? It's pure crunch, none of the actual text has been copied (other than names), so players will still need to download the Player's Guide as well.

My monster conversion tool is having trouble with the format of the statblocks, but that should be easy to fix. It won't cover everything, but it'll massively speed up the process.

Most of the skill checks don't really need any special rules, they can just be handled with the standard Savage Worlds approach.

Magic items will take some work, but I've already converted a few hundred from Pathfinder, and they're individually quite fast.

 

[Zadmar]

As I'm going to be using the default setting for War of the Burning Sky, I decided to convert the D&D races. The Savage Worlds Deluxe rulebook (as well as the Fantasy Companion) have a number of fantasy races which could be used instead, but I'd prefer to keep as much of the flavour as possible from the originals. The races are all balanced at +2, which is the default for most settings.

Human
• Adaptable (+2): Humans tend to be far more adaptable than other races. They begin with one free Edge of their choice.
• Diverse (+0): Humans come from a widely diverse range of cultures. They have the option of choosing one additional Minor Hindrance in return for a free d6 in one skill of their choice. Both the Hindrance and skill should be related to their cultural background.

Dwarf
• Sturdy (+2): Dwarves are very tough. They automatically increase their Vigor by +1 die step during character creation, and can raise their Vigor to d12+1 through normal advances. The Professional and Expert Edges allow them to increase their Vigor to d12+2 and d12+3 respectively.
• Darkvision (+1): Dwarves can see in the dark up to a distance of 12".
• Stonecunning (+½): Dwarves have an intuitive feel for stone. They gain a +1 bonus to Notice rolls related to stonework, including traps, secret doors, unsafe surfaces, etc.
• Short (-1): Dwarves are short and stocky, and have a base Pace of 5.
• Gruff (-½): Dwarves tend to be gruff and short-tempered. They suffer a -1 penalty to Charisma.

Elf
• Low Light Vision (+1): Elves have superb night vision, and ignore penalties for Dim and Dark lighting.
• Keen Senses (+1): Elves have much sharper senses than humans. They receive a +1 bonus to all Notice rolls.
• Graceful (+*): Elves tend to be agile and graceful. They can increase their Agility to d12+1 with normal advances, and to d12+2 and d12+3 with the Professional and Expert Edges respectively.
• Slender (-*): Elves tend to be slender of build, and cannot increase their Vigor beyond d10 with normal advances. If they have Vigor d10, they may take the Professional and Expert Edges at Legendary to raise their Vigor to d12 and d12+1 respectively.

Gnome
• Innate Magic (+3): Gnomes have a natural affinity with illusions, and are able to conjure glowing balls of light, or produce strange ghostly sounds. These are treated exactly like the Light/Obscure (dancing lights) spell and the Light/Obscure (Illusion) spell respectively, except that the latter produces sounds instead of images, and is always limited to a SBT. The gnome uses his Spirit die as the arcane skill, and suffers a level of Fatigue if he rolls 1 on the trait die.
• Low Light Vision (+1): Gnomes have excellent night vision, and ignore penalties for Dim and Dark lighting.
• Speak to Mammals (+½): Gnomes are able to understand and communicate with burrowing mammals, such as badgers and foxes. This is treated as Knowledge (Burrowing Language), which starts at d4 and can be raised normally. The animals won't be any more friendly or cooperative than normal, although the gnome may use the lowest of Persuasion and Knowledge (Burrowing Language) to try and befriend or negotiate with them, using the normal rules for Persuasion.
• Keen Hearing (+½): Gnomes have exceptional hearing, and gain a +1 bonus to listening-based Notice rolls.
• Robust (+*): Gnomes tend to be pretty tough for their size. They can increase their Vigor to d12+1 with normal advances, and to d12+2 and d12+3 with the Professional and Expert Edges respectively.
• Weak (-*): Gnomes are weaker than most races, and cannot increase their Strength beyond d10 with normal advances. If they have Strength d10, they may take the Professional and Expert Edges at Legendary to raise their Strength to d12 and d12+1 respectively.
• Little (-3): Gnomes stand 3 to 3½ feet tall. This reduces their Size (and therefore also their Toughness) by 1, and gives them a base Pace of 5.

Half-Elf
• Low Light Vision (+1): Half-Elves have good night vision, and ignore penalties for Dim and Dark lighting.
• Likeable (+1): Half-Elves tend to get along well with most people. They gain a +1 bonus to Charisma.
• Elf Blood (+0): Half-Elves are treated as both humans and elves for the purposes of Edges and magical affects.

Half-Orc
• Strong (+2*): Half-Orcs tend to be heavily muscled. They automatically increase their Strength by +1 die step during character creation, and can raise their Strength to d12+1 through normal advances. The Professional and Expert Edges allow them to increase their Strength to d12+2 and d12+3 respectively.
• Darkvision (+1): Half-Orcs can see in the dark up to a distance of 12".
• Persecuted (-1): Half-Orcs receive a rough time from other races. They suffer a -2 penalty to Charisma.
• Slow-Witted (-*): Half-Orcs aren't particularly clever, and cannot increase their Smarts beyond d10 with normal advances. If they have Smarts d10, they may take the Professional and Expert Edges at Legendary to raise their Smarts to d12 and d12+1 respectively.
• Orc Blood (+0): Half-Orcs are treated as both humans and orcs for the purposes of Edges and magical affects.

Halfling
• Serendipitous (+2): Halflings begin each session with an extra benny.
• Courageous (+1): Halfings receive a +1 bonus to Fear tests.
• Sneaky (+1½): Halflings begin with Stealth d6 and Climbing d4.
• Keen Hearing (+½): Halflings have exceptional hearing, and gain a +1 bonus to listening-based Notice rolls.
• Nimble (+*): Halflings tend to be quick and nimble. They can increase their Agility to d12+1 with normal advances, and to d12+2 and d12+3 with the Professional and Expert Edges respectively.
• Weak (-*): Halflings are weaker than most races, and cannot increase their Strength beyond d10 with normal advances. If they have Strength d10, they may take the Professional and Expert Edges at Legendary to raise their Strength to d12 and d12+1 respectively.
• Little (-3): Halflings stand about 3 feet tall. This reduces their Size (and therefore also their Toughness) by 1, and gives them a base Pace of 5.

 

[Zadmar]

Savage Worlds doesn't have classes, but it's common for settings to offer archetypes - pregens with the Hindrances (and occasionally a few skills) missing. They're ideal for players who aren't sure what sort of character they want to play, and the available archetypes can also help set the tone of the setting.

As War of the Burning Sky is designed for D&D, it makes a number of references to D&D classes - such as the distinction between wizards and sorcerers, or the role of clerics as inquisitors. Therefore I thought it would be appropriate to create a list of archetypes based on D&D classes.

Note that these are optional. Players can instead create a character from scratch, or they can use an archetype as a starting point and swap out things they don't like.

Barbarian
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d4, Spirit d6, Strength d8, Vigor d8
Skills: Climbing d4, Evading d6, Fighting d6, Healing d4, Intimidation d6, Notice d4, Riding d4, Survival d4, Swimming d4, Throwing d6, Tracking d4
Charisma: –; Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 7 (1)
Hindrances: One Major, Illiterate, and one additional Minor
Edges: Berserker Rage
Gear: Battleaxe, 2 throwing axes, thick furs (+1 armour)

Bard
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d8, Strength d6, Vigor d4
Skills: Evading d6, Fighting d6, Knowledge (Bardic Lore) d6, Lockpicking d4, Notice d4, Persuasion d8, Riding d4, Shooting d4, Stealth d4, Streetwise d4
Charisma: +2; Pace: 6; Parry: 7 (2); Toughness: 5 (1)
Hindrances: One Major, two Minor
Edges: Charismatic, Bard
Gear: Rapier, main gauche, dagger, shortbow, light leather vest (+1 armour)

Cleric
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d8, Strength d6, Vigor d4
Skills: Evading d6, Faith d8, Fighting d6, Healing d6, Knowledge (Religion) d6, Notice d4, Persuasion d4, Riding d4, Throwing d4
Charisma: –; Pace: 6; Parry: 6 (1); Toughness: 6 (2)
Hindrances: One Major, two Minor
Edges: Arcane Background (Miracles), Holy Warrior
Powers: Healing (cure wounds), Succor
Gear: Warhammer, target shield, sling, light chainmail vest (+2 armour)

Druid
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d8, Strength d4, Vigor d6
Skills: Evading d6, Faith d8, Fighting d6, Healing d4, Knowledge (Nature) d6, Notice d4, Riding d4, Survival d4, Swimming d4, Tracking d4
Charisma: –; Pace: 6; Parry: 6 (1); Toughness: 6 (1)
Hindrances: One Major, two Minor
Edges: Arcane Background (Miracles), Beast Master
Powers: Beast Friend, Summon Ally (wolf for 2 PP, bull for 3 PP, or shark for 3 PP)
Gear: Staff, sling, light leather vest (+1 armour)

Fighter
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d4, Spirit d6, Strength d8, Vigor d6
Skills: Evading d8, Climbing d4, Fighting d8, Intimidation d4, Knowledge (Battle) d4, Notice d4, Riding d4, Shooting d8, Throwing d4
Charisma: –; Pace: 6; Parry: 7 (1); Toughness: 8 (3)
Hindrances: One Major, two Minor
Edges: Brawny
Gear: Longsword, target shield, dagger, shortbow, breastplate (+3 armour)

Monk
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d4, Spirit d6, Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Climbing d4, Evading d8, Faith d8, Fighting d8, Healing d4, Knowledge (Religion) d4, Notice d4, Stealth d4
Charisma: –; Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 5
Hindrances: One Major, two Minor
Edges: Arcane Background (Miracles), Natural Weapons (martial arts: Str+d4)
Powers: Smite (psychic infusion), Deflection
Gear: Robes
Note: You qualify for the Adept Edge, and can take it with your next advance.

Paladin
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d4, Spirit d8, Strength d6, Vigor d8
Skills: Evading d6, Faith d8, Fighting d8, Intimidation d6, Knowledge (Religion) d4, Notice d4, Persuasion d4, Riding d4
Charisma: –; Pace: 6; Parry: 6 (1); Toughness: 8 (2)
Hindrances: One Major, two Minor
Edges: Arcane Background (Miracles)
Powers: Healing (lay on hands), Smite
Gear: Longsword, target shield, dagger, light chainmail vest (+2 armour)
Note: You qualify for the Champion Edge, and can take it with your next advance.

Psion
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d8, Spirit d6, Strength d6, Vigor d4
Skills: Evading d6, Fighting d6, Notice d4, Persuasion d4, Psionics d8, Riding d4, Streetwise d4, Taunt d8, Throwing d4
Charisma: –; Pace: 6; Parry: 6 (1); Toughness: 5 (1)
Hindrances: One Major, two Minor
Edges: Arcane Background (Psionics), Mentalist
Gear: Spear, light leather vest (+1 armour)
Powers: Burst (psychic scream), Deflection (forcefield), Mind Reading (telepathy)
Note: If you wish to play a soulblade, swap Mentalist for Mind Blade.

Ranger
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d8, Spirit d6, Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Evading d6, Fighting d6, Healing d4, Notice d4, Shooting d6, Stealth d4, Survival d8, Tracking d8
Charisma: –; Pace: 6; Parry: 6 (1); Toughness: 7 (2)
Hindrances: One Major, two Minor
Edges: Woodsman
Gear: Shortsword, main gauche, dagger, longbow, light chainmail vest (+1 armour)

Rogue
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d6, Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Evading d8, Climbing d6, Fighting d6, Lockpicking d6, Notice d4, Repair d4, Stealth d8, Streetwise d4
Charisma: –; Pace: 6; Parry: 7 (1); Toughness: 6 (1)
Hindrances: One Major, two Minor
Edges: Thief
Gear: Shortsword, main gauche, dagger, light leather vest (+1 armour)
Note: You qualify for the Sneak Attack Edge, and can take it with your next advance.

Sorcerer
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d8, Strength d6, Vigor d4
Skills: Evading d6, Fighting d6, Intimidation d8, Notice d4, Persuasion d8, Sorcery d8, Streetwise d4
Charisma: –; Pace: 6; Parry: 6 (1); Toughness: 4
Hindrances: One Major, two Minor
Edges: Arcane Background (Sorcery), Summon Familiar
Gear: Spear, dagger
Powers: Burst (jet of flame), Deflection (entropic aura), Light/Obscure (illusion)

Wizard
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d10, Spirit d6, Strength d4, Vigor d4
Skills: Evading d6, Fighting d4, Investigation d6, Knowledge (Arcana) d8, Notice d6, Persuasion d4, Wizardry d10
Charisma: –; Pace: 6; Parry: 6 (1); Toughness: 4
Hindrances: One Major, two Minor
Edges: Arcane Background (Wizardry), Wizard
Gear: Staff, dagger
Powers: Armor (mage armour), Bolt (magic missile), Burst (burning hands), Deflection (shield), Fly (feather fall), Light/Obscure (dancing lights)

It should also be noted that I'm using a number of setting rules (as well as custom Edges). One of them is the introduction of an Evading skill: Parry is now half Evading plus 2 (the Fighting skill becomes purely offensive). Evading is also used in place of Agility when evading area attacks, diving for cover, avoiding the Entangle power, Full Defense, and (at the GM's discretion) avoiding certain traps. As compensation for spreading skill points a bit thinner, all characters begin with a free advance.

 

[Zadmar]

One of the more important things the conversion will need to deal with is the Difficulty Class for skill checks and saving throws. In D&D you get a flat bonus, so progression is linear, but Savage Worlds primarily uses different die types.

The approach that most Savages would suggest is to ignore the DC entirely, read the flavour text for the task you're trying to achieve, and come up with a fast Savage Worlds solution - and if you're confident enough with both systems, you can certainly do that, and ignore the rest of this post.

But some people may be new to Savage Worlds, or they might not be familiar with D&D (e.g., experienced Savage Worlds GMs who only buy WotBS because they want to run a conversion), or the flavour text might be a bit vague. So I think it's worth coming up with a simple rule of thumb, and this is mine:

DC 5: You get a +1 bonus to the roll.
DC 10: No modifier.
DC 15: You get a -1 penalty to the roll.
DC 20: You get a -2 penalty to the roll.
DC 25: You get a -3 penalty to the roll.
DC 30: You get a -4 penalty to the roll.

However the approach I personally favour is to change the Target Number (TN) instead of applying a modifier. Normally only Fighting and damage rolls are made against a variable TN, with everything else rolled against TN 4, but variable TNs are useful for any situation in which you don't want the player to know if their roll has succeeded or failed (such as Notice rolls).

DC 5: TN 3
DC 10: TN 4
DC 15: TN 5
DC 20: TN 6
DC 25: TN 7
DC 30: TN 8

This works particularly well for the various Knowledge rolls in WotBS, where players can roll to see how much they know about the Knights of the Aquiline Cross, the Warfarers, the Inquisitors, etc - because the result isn't a simple matter of success and failure; the higher you roll, the more you discover.

The following are the chances of success for a Wild Card in Savage Worlds (results based on 10 million rolls):

     d4-2     d4       d6       d8       d10      d12      d12+1    d12+2 
+2   62.52%   95.83%   97.22%   97.91%   98.32%   98.60%   98.61%   98.61%   TN 2
+1   49.99%   83.33%   88.90%   91.65%   93.31%   94.45%   98.61%   98.61%   TN 3 
+0   32.27%   62.48%   74.97%   81.25%   84.98%   87.50%   94.44%   98.61%   TN 4
-1   27.06%   49.98%   55.58%   66.69%   73.32%   77.77%   87.50%   94.45%   TN 5
-2   19.26%   32.29%   30.54%   47.94%   58.34%   65.26%   77.77%   87.49%   TN 6
-3   16.68%   27.08%   30.52%   37.52%   50.00%   58.33%   65.26%   77.77%   TN 7
-4   12.63%   19.26%   25.84%   24.63%   39.72%   49.75%   58.30%   65.27%   TN 8
-5   8.50%    16.67%   20.99%   22.23%   28.88%   40.73%   49.77%   58.33%   TN 9
-6   4.29%    12.61%   15.95%   18.35%   17.49%   31.25%   40.72%   49.77%   TN 10
-7   4.29%    8.51%    10.80%   14.39%   15.00%   21.27%   31.24%   40.77%   TN 11
-8   3.46%    4.29%    5.47%    10.38%   11.50%   10.89%   21.29%   31.24%   TN 12[B][FONT=Courier New]

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Shane Hensley (author of Savage Worlds) once wrote a d20 conversion document, in which he suggested the following guideline for skills:

D&D skill 1-3 = d4
D&D skill 4-6 = d6
D&D skill 7-9 = d8
D&D skill 10-13 = d10
D&D skill 14-16 = d12
D&D skill 17-20 = d12+1

That would put starting D&D characters at d4 in most skills, d6 in their specialties, and d4-2 in skills they've not trained at all. In Savage Worlds, d6 tends to be average for an attribute, and a skill at d6 indicates reasonable training.

A D&D character with +4 has a 100% chance at DC 5, 75% chance at DC 10, 50% chance at DC 15 and 25% chance at DC 20.

A SW character with d6 has an 88.9% chance at +1, 75% chance at +0, 55.6% chance at -1 and 30.54% at -2.

I think that's a passably close middle point. However it's important to remember that a character in Savage Worlds can start with d12 (sometimes even d12+2) in a skill if they heavily specialise. In D&D terms, it's like having characters pick all the skills for their entire career (up to level 20) in advance.

 

[Zadmar]

The following is my conversion of the mechanics in the War of the Burning Sky Player's Guide.

New Edges

The Player's Guide contains a number of new Feats and class abilities. I've attempted to keep the general flavour of them with my conversions (please see the original document for the flavour text, all I've described here are the mechanics of the conversion).

Spellduelist
Requirements: Novice, Arcane Background (Sorcery or Wizardry)
You can choose to use your arcane skill die instead of Smarts when making Smarts tricks. In addition, if someone on Hold attempts to interrupt you while you're casting a spell, you may use your arcane skill instead of Agility for the opposed roll.
Design note: This Edge sounds very specialised, but it's a bit more useful than it sounds, because the Ragesian Inquisitors (mage hunters with counterspell abilities) are a major part of the setting.

Mageknight
Requirements: Novice, Arcane Background (Wizardry)
You no longer suffer Arcane Spell Failure when wearing light armour or using shields.

Shining Warrior
Requirements: Seasoned, Fighting d8, Arcane Background (Sorcery or Wizardry)
You are able to make your weapon glow with an intense magical light. You can cast Light as if you had the power, however it can only be cast on a weapon you're wielding.
If you get a raise on your attack roll when using a glowing weapon, your opponent must make a Vigor roll or become Shaken. This is resolved before rolling damage, and doesn't apply to creatures that are blind or immune to being dazzled.
Finally, you can no longer be Shaken or blinded by light-based trappings and effects.

Vow of Healing
Requirements: Novice, Healing d6, Arcane Background (Miracles), Healing or Succor
Whenever you cast Healing or Succor, you have the option of paying an extra 2 Power Points in order to affect everyone within a Medium Burst Template, centred on yourself. Any undead within the Medium Burst Template are instead treated as if you'd cast Stun.

East Wind Style
Requirements: Novice, Arcane Background (Sorcery), Martial Artist, Spirit d8
You gain the Smite power with an Electricity (Armor Piercing) trapping, and it can be cast as a free action, although you may only cast it on yourself and it only applies to attacks made with your bare hands.
Characters with this Edge cannot cast spells with earth-based trappings.

West Wind Style
Requirements: Novice, Arcane Background (Miracles), at least one power with an air-based trapping
You can spend 1 Power Point as a free action to gain the ability to fly at your normal Pace until the beginning of your next turn. If you continue to activate this ability each round, you do not fall between rounds.
Each rank over Novice allows you to grant one additional willing target within Spirit range the ability to fly as well, using their own Pace. This doesn't cost any additional Power Points.
If you fall, either from using this Edge or from some other cause, you may spend 1 Power Point to negate the falling damage and land on your feet. You must declare this ability before rolling the falling damage.
Characters with this Edge cannot cast spells with earth-based trappings.

Leader Feats
Use the Leadership Edges from the core rulebook.


New Spells

The following spells are Power+trapping conversions in the style of Savage Spellbook.

Gabal’s Superior Missile
Rank: Novice
Power Points: 1 per missile
Range: 6/12/24
Duration: Instant
You fire a dart of magical energy at your target, inflicting 2d4+1 damage. This attack cannot miss - as long as you successfully cast it, it will always hit your opponent. However it cannot make called shots, and if your attack roll falls to reach the TN, the spell will inflict only half damage. You may fire up to 3 bolts at 1 PP each.
If this spell is cast as your only action for the round (i.e., you don't move or take any other actions) then you become aware of all creatures within the range of the spell (as long as they would normally be visible to you were it not for cover), and your attack ignores all penalties for cover, as long as there is a clear route between you and the target. The missile will swerve around corners and dive through open windows as it homes in on its target.
Design note: Based on Magic Missile from Savage Spellbook, except the range is halved, and it can ignore cover.

Stand the Heat
Rank: Novice
Power Points: 2
Range: Touch
Duration: 24 hours
The target becomes immune to all environmental damage and hazards caused by heat. They still suffer damage normally from heat-based attacks, but if they catch on fire they can automatically extinguish the flames as a normal action.
Design note: This is a variant of Environmental Protection with an improved duration, and it allows you to put yourself out if you're on fire, but it cannot be used for other environments.

Cancel
Rank: Novice
Power Points: 3
Range: Smarts
Duration: Instant
This spell allows you to counter another spell as it's being cast. You must be on Hold, and successfully interrupt the target while they're casting. If your arcane skill roll then exceeds theirs, their spell has been successfully countered.
Design note: This is a Novice version of Dispel, but it only allows you to counter spells as they're being cast. It ignores the normal penalty for dispelling powers from other Arcane Backgrounds.

Duelist’s Etiquette
Rank: Novice
Power Points: 1
Range: Touch
Duration: 1 hour
This spell creates a magical glowing barrier that surrounds an area the size of a Large Burst Template. All attacks within the barrier are automatically considered nonlethal. Whenever a creature enters the area (including when the spell is cast, if they're within the area), they must consciously agree to accept the conditions of the spell, otherwise the spell ends. Any creature within the area may also end the spell as a full-round action.
Design note: Unlike the other spells, this one isn't based on an existing power. It's really more of a flavour thing, and has no tactical value. You might want to give this spell for free to spellcasters from the Lyceum Academy, particularly if they have the Spellduelist Edge.

Wayfarer’s Step
Rank: Novice
Power Points: 3
Range: Smarts
Duration: 3 (2/round)
You are able to teleport distances equal to the range of this spell, but cannot pass through solid barriers, nor through gaps that are too small for you to fit through normally. You can attempt to surprise a foe with a Stealth roll opposed by their Notice; on a raise you get the Drop, on a normal success you gain half the benefit of the Drop.
Design note: This is a variant of Burrow that allows you to travel through air rather than earth. The range is halved, and there's no option for remaining submerged.


New Items

The following conversions are used for magical items.

Shatterspell
This vial can be thrown with a range of 3/6/12, and fills a 1" square on impact. Any creature within the area of effect must make a Smarts roll, on a failure they drop all of their currently maintained spells. The Smarts roll is made at -2 if the attacker got a raise on their Throwing roll. If the vial is frozen then the contents becomes liquid, and can be consumed like a potion, granting the drinker the Arcane Resistance Edge for 1 minute.

Potion bracer
This magical storage device can hold up to 10 potions. The wearer may also drink directly from the bracer if their hands are full.

 

[Zadmar]

In this post I'll elaborate on the setting rules I'm using for my campaign. I also use Savage Armoury for weapons and armour, and Savage Spellbook for spells.


Arcane Spell Failure

Instead of suffering Backlash when you roll 1 on your arcane skill die, you suffer Backlash whenever your arcane skill die rolls equal or below your worn armour value (to a maximum of 3), or the Parry bonus of your shield, whichever is higher. If you're not using armour or a shield, you only suffer Backlash on a critical failure.

Goal: This rule is specifically designed for setting conversions in which mages don't normally wear armour. This limitation isn't necessary for game balance, but can sometimes be important for flavour.

RAW: Mages don't suffer any penalties to their arcane skill rolls when wearing armour or using shields, although they usually have a low Strength, which can give them encumbrance penalties to many other actions (any skill linked to Strength or Agility) if they carry too much.

Impact: Most mages are already able to wear leather armour and/or use a small or medium shield without penalty, and those mages will be unaffected. However this does provide an incentive to go without armour, and gives a penalty to mages who load up with chainmail or plate.


Evading

In addition to Fighting, Shooting and Throwing, there is now another combat skill called Evading, linked to Agility. Parry is now half Evading plus 2 (the Fighting skill becomes purely offensive). Evading is also used in place of Agility when evading area attacks, diving for cover, avoiding the Entangle power, Full Defense, and (at the GM's discretion) avoiding certain traps.

The Dodge Edge now requires Evading d8 instead of Agility d8, although the requirements for Block remain unchanged (making it a special defensive Edge for Fighting-based characters). Extraction now requires Evading d8 instead of Agility d8, and uses an Evading roll to withdraw without provoking a free attack.

Goal: This rule splits the offensive and defensive aspects of Fighting into two separate skills, and opens up the possibility for characters who aren't very good fighters, but are still good at dodging attacks.

RAW: The Fighting skill is generally better than any core Combat Edge (with the exception of Sweep and Improved First Strike when facing multiple opponents, and First Strike when wielding a reach weapon), and offensive and defensive skill are tied together.

Impact: This rule slightly weakens Agility by moving some of its innate advantages to a skill, although the skill is linked to Agility so the impact should be minimal. Adding another skill also spreads starting combat characters a bit thinner, so all characters gain a free advance during character creation as compensation.


Non-Binary Action Resolution

When making a trait roll, you may choose to roll two fudge dice at the same time. Each "+" increases the result by +1, while each "-" reduces the result by -1.

If you roll "++" you can choose to exchange the +2 bonus for an "advantage action". This can be any normal action of your choice (trick, Taunt, Push, etc), except you use d6 in place of your appropriate trait, as the action is based on luck rather than skill. The GM can apply a situational modifier of between +2 and -2 if appropriate. An "advantage action" gains no special effects from "++" or "--".

If you roll "--" and either the skill or wild die roll 1, you suffer a major setback comparable with a critical failure. Rolling snake eyes with the skill and wild die no longer has any special meaning if you're rolling fudge dice as well.

This rule should only usually be used for Wild Cards, but at the GM's discretion it can sometimes be entertaining to roll two fudge dice for an entire group of Extras, applying the results to all of them. This shouldn’t always be done, but in some cases it can add to the story (as it introduces the possibility of Extras botching their actions).

Goal: The idea is to separate the concept of success and failure from advantages and setbacks, so that a character might successfully decapitate their opponent (success) and break their weapon while doing so (setback), or miss their opponent with a swing (failure), but slice through a nearby rope, causing the chandelier to fall on their opponent (advantage).

RAW: Normally a critical failure only occurs on snake eyes, which means a setback is always combined with a failure.

Impact: This can have a very slight impact on playing speed, as it’s another modifier to apply, and it can occasionally grant an extra action. It also increases the chance of a setback, although this has to be offset against the chance of an advantage. This rule also removes the glitch in the Savage Worlds dice probability curve that some people find objectionable.


Simplified Encumbrance

Load Limit is defined in significant items rather than in pounds, but otherwise follows the normal encumbrance rules. A significant item is one that weighs roughly 5-14 pounds, and you can carry a number of such items equal to half your Strength without penalty (i.e., 2 significant items with Strength d4, 3 significant items with Strength d6, etc). The Brawny Edge increases your Load Limit in significant items by 1½ times (rounded up).

Particularly heavy items may count as two or more significant items; divide their weight (in lb) by 10 and round to the nearest whole number to determine how many items they count as. At the GM's discretion, multiple small items can be collectively classified as a significant item.

Note that this rule was taken from Savage Armoury, where is it used in the weapon and armour creation guidelines.

Goal: This rule makes encumbrance far easier to track, as most characters will be able to carry only 2-4 significant items without incurring a penalty.

RAW: Encumbrance is tracked in pounds, which can add significant bookkeeping if you use it, and nerfs the Strength attribute if you don't.

Impact: This greatly reduces the bookkeeping for tracking encumbrance.


Slice and Dice

If you score two or more raises on your attack roll, and haven't made a called shot, you can roll a Chessex Hit Location d12 alongside your damage dice to see where you've hit your opponent. The hit location is used for determining armour, and if it rolls "head" the attack is also treated as a headshot (i.e., +4 damage). If your opponent is incapacitated by the damage (and also fails the Vigor roll in the case of a Wild Card), then the hit location die indicates which body part has been maimed, crushed, or sliced off by the attack.

Goal: This rule provides a quick and easy way to determine which body parts are hit, which is ideal if you want a little crunch to back up the narrative when describing the fate of hapless Extras.

RAW: Incapacitated Wild Cards roll on the Injury Table, Extras just make a Vigor roll after the battle to see if they survive.

Impact: It's another rule to remember, but as it only occurs on two or more raises it shouldn't crop up too frequently, and as the Hit Location die is rolled alongside the damage dice it should be fairly fast. Note that the Hit Location die has a much higher chance of hitting non-torso areas, but as it's only used with exceptional attack rolls that doesn't seem unreasonable. This also makes non-torso armour more useful, as attacks normally always hit the torso unless they're called shots.


Stances

This rule replaces Wild Attack, Defend and Full Defense.

At the beginning of your turn, before making any rolls, you may choose a fighting stance. The modifiers apply until the beginning of your following turn.

• Powerful stance: Inflict +2 damage, or +4 if you hit with a raise. Parry reduced by 2.

• Offensive stance: Gain +2 to Fighting rolls. Parry reduced by 2.

• Defensive stance: Gain +2 Parry but can only perform one other action this round (including free actions such as movement), and if the other action requires a roll it is made at -2.

Goal: This rule splits up Wild Attack, and merges Defend and Full Defense together, resulting in three viable tactical options.

RAW: Wild Attack is mechanically speaking a no-brainer in almost all melee situations. Full Defense often causes confusion due to being a Fighting roll.

Impact: Stances offer the players more tactical choice, and streamline the defensive options.


Surrounded

If two adjacent foes are on directly opposite sides of you, they gain an additional +1 Gang Up, up to the normal maximum of +4. This bonus does not apply if you are adjacent to an ally, wall, or solid object big enough to fill a 1" square.

Goal: The intent of this rule is to make it viable for two characters to fight back-to-back against multiple opponents.

RAW: When facing between 3 and 9 opponents, two characters would be mechanically better off splitting up and fighting a short distance away from each other, as this would force the opponents to divide their Gang Up bonus rather than allowing them to combine it.

Impact: It's another rule to remember.

 

[Zadmar]

In this post I'll give a quick breakdown of the non-core Edges I'm using in the archetypes mentioned earlier.

Natural Weapons is from Savage Armoury, although for the monk you could just use Martial Artist instead.

Summon Familiar is an Edge I'm still working on. For now, you could substitute it for the Familiar Edge from the Fantasy Companion.

The other Edges are as follows:

Arcane Background (Bardic Magic)
Requirements: Novice, Bard
Arcane Skill: Persuasion (Spirit)
Starting Power Points: 10
Starting Powers: 2
You've learned how to channel your music into magic, using Persuasion as your arcane skill (note that Charisma is not added to Persuasion when used for casting spells). You use the Arcane Spell Failure rule when using medium or heavy armour, or large shields (i.e., if the penalty is 1 then you ignore it, but if it's 2 or 3 then it applies in full). Your spells should generally have a sound-based trapping, and unlike sorcerers and wizards you can even learn healing magic (but not Greater Healing).

Arcane Background (Sorcery)
Requirements: Novice
Arcane Skill: Sorcery (Spirit)
Starting Power Points: 15
Starting Powers: 2
This works the same as Arcane Background (Magic), except with +5 PP and 1 less power, the arcane skill is linked to Spirit, and it uses the Arcane Spell Failure rule. Sorcerers cannot cast spells with a healing trapping.

Arcane Background (Wizardry)
Requirements: Novice
Arcane Skill: Wizardry (Smarts)
Starting Power Points: 10
Starting Powers: 3
The number of powers a wizard has represents the number of spells he can memorise at any one time (i.e., 3 + however many New Power Edges he's taken). A wizard begins with 6 different spells in his spellbook, and gains 2 new spells each time he takes the New Power Edge. He may also learn additional spells from books and scrolls. Each spell is a power with a specific trapping, much like the examples in Savage Spellbook.
Whenever a wizard rolls 1 on his Wizardry skill die, the spell he's just cast vanishes from his mind, and needs to be re-memorised before it can be cast again. After 8+ hours sleep the wizard can memorise up to his full quota, with each spell requiring 10 minutes per rank to memorise.
Wizards use the Arcane Spell Failure rule, and cannot cast spells with a healing trapping.

Bard
Requirements: Novice, Charismatic, Persuasion d8, Knowledge (Bardic Lore) d6
You are a talented musician and entertainer. You gain the Command Edge, representing your ability to inspire people with your songs - you must sing or play an instrument in order to use Command, but the benefits applies to all allies within range, rather than just subordinates. The same trapping extends to any other Leadership Edges you take. If you take Tactician, replace Knowledge (Battle) with Knowledge (Bardic Lore).
If you wish to take Jack-of-all-Trades, you may ignore the Smarts requirement. If you wish to take Attractive and Very Attractive during play, you can have it represent the attraction of your growing celebrity status.

Berserker Rage
Requirements: Novice
Whenever you are Shaken or wounded by an attack, or successfully Taunted, you must make a Smarts roll to resist entering a berserk rage. You may also spend a benny to automatically enter a rage as a free action.
While in this state you gain +2 Toughness, ignore wound modifiers, and must automatically declare either Powerful Stance or Offensive Stance at the beginning of each turn.
Whenever you roll 1 on your Fighting die, you hit a random target within range, not including yourself or the original target. While in a berserker rage you cannot perform actions that require concentration, typically you can only draw weapons, perform Fighting attacks, and make Intimidation checks.
Ending the rage requires a Smarts roll at -2 (although others can help you with Cooperative Rolls), and once it expires you must make a Vigor roll or suffer a level of Fatigue.
Design note: This is a replacement for the Berserk Edge. It's easier to activate, but not as powerful.

Sneak Attack
Requirements: Novice, Fighting d6, Stealth d8
When you initiate close combat with an opponent, or when attacking an opponent against whom you gain a Gang Up bonus, you can choose to first make a Stealth roll opposed by their Notice as a normal action. On a success you get half the benefit of the Drop (+2 attack and damage) against them, while on a raise you get the full benefit of the Drop (+4 attack and damage). This bonus only applies to your next action, which must be taken before the beginning of your opponent's next turn, otherwise it is lost. It also doesn’t stack if you already have the Drop.
If you make both the Stealth roll and the attack in the same turn then you incur the normal multi-action penalty.