There's A New Edition of Savage Worlds Coming!

Next month Pinnacle Entertainment Group will be launching a brand new edition of their popular game system, Savage Worlds. In a project which was previously codenamed "Savage Worlds Black", the new edition will simply be named "Savage Worlds", and will appear on Kickstarter in October.

​

What is there to know about it at this stage? Shane Hensley (the creator) revealed all over on Peginc's website:

First off, we want you to know that Savage Worlds “Black” is officially just “Savage Worlds.” The “Black” in the title was just a code name and a reference to an original cover concept, which was going to be solid black except for the Savage Worlds logo. We now have a very cool illustrated cover we’re using instead that ties it into all the Savage World Companions.

Second, the Kickstarter is currently planned for Tuesday, October 16th. That might change for a number of reasons—a big competitor launches something in the same time period, a component isn’t quite ready for us to show, personnel issues, etc.—but right now we are on track.

Third, the price will be $39.99 for the 192-page Limited Edition hardback while the softcover will be $29.99. (The price of the PDF has yet to be determined.) There will be other offerings during the Kickstarter as well.

Fourth, rest assured that the game is very compatible with previous editions and settings and we will publish a FREE conversion and update guide.

Finally, some of the changes we’ve already let slip are new Chase rules, tweaks to lots of Edges and Hindrances, Tests and Tricks, some skill, core rules, and Power Modifiers changes first previewed in The Savage World of Flash Gordon, the inclusion of Quick Combat (now called Quick Encounters as it handles more than combat!), and quite a few NEW sections, including new Setting Rules we think you’ll love.

The core book does not include the GM’s “advice” chapter found in previous editions. That will be released separately.

Much of this and more will be previewed leading up to and during the Kickstarter, along with many other great surprises as well.

Thanks for your patience amigos, and we look forward to you all experiencing the next exciting iteration of Savage Worlds!

So, Tuesday October 16th is the date to mark in your diaries. I suspect this'll be a big'un!

 

[ninjayeti]

I'm looking forward to his, but I really wish they had gone with a different title. It's hard enough for people to tell the difference between all these similarly named editions.

Eh, the 5E rulebooks are just titled "Player's Handbook," "Monster Manual" and "Dungeon Master's Guide" - same as they have been for the previous 4.5 editions. People seem to be figuring it out OK.

 

[Baumi]

I love the changes in Flash Gordon, but I hate seeing that they want to split up the book. The Philosophy of two Books (Core and Setting/Campaign) was always a great one.

Also 30$ Minimum for just the Player Book is a BIG jump from the previously 10$. While it doesn't matter to me (I bought every Edition so far, including Hard & Softcovers and German Editions) it will be hard to bring my Players to buy the book too (with 10$ I even bought books for the whole group). But there might be an "Explorers" Edition later on, so we will see..

 

[ChaosGenerators]

I'll take a look. Savage worlds is a great system which I've used for Deadlands, a fantasy campaign (after deciding DnD 4th wouldn't work) and a Transformers one-shot.

 

[Osgood]

I enjoy Savage Worlds, but I have always felt the books could be arranged better and some of the text cleaned up, so I'll be interested to see how this turns out.

I've actually never been a fan of the core rules and settings being separated, it makes character creation rough when flipping back and forth between two books (especially for new players). I do think that two book strategy can be improved on with (A) a cleaner presentation of setting rules in the core book, and (B) setting books containing complete references to relevant core rules (for example an appendix with a complete list of edges/hindrances available to the setting, which indicates if they are in the core rules or the setting book).

 

[Jer]

• Savage Worlds (2003)
• Savage Worlds (2004) *
• Savage Worlds Explorer's Edition (2007)
• Savage Worlds Deluxe (2011)
• Savage Worlds Deluxe Explorer's Edition (2012)
• Savage Worlds (2018)

How much has Savage Worlds changed across those publications? I'm not a huge Savage Worlds guy - I'll play it at cons and I have one of the Explorer's Editions on my shelf (couldn't tell you if it was Deluxe or not without digging it out) along with a smattering of supplements. Are those different editions or just repackaging the rules into new printings?

 

[Banesfinger]

Like other people have mentioned, I really had no issues with the previous rules that are changing with this new edition (so probably won't purchase it).
Our group liked everything about Savage Worlds, except for these two issues (which eventually made us depart from this system):
- Wonky math of 'exploding' dice (e.g.: better chance to explode a d4 than a d6).
- Combat's Whiff (I miss) and Ping (I hit but bounce off the armor). It was many rounds of players feeling they had not accomplished anything in combat. Pushing players to use the 'survival guide' fell flat, like a 'forced' Band-Aid for a flawed mechanic.

I understand these are two 'sacred cows' of S.W. system, and will probably never be addressed.

 

[jimmifett]

Update for jimmifett: Just so you know, I ordered a copy of Genesys (because you inspired me). If I have to wait for the new Savage Worlds, I need something to read until it gets released!

You should be happy with it. The only complaint i've ever heard is the dice, and 2 minutes of rolling and you'll have it figured out for life. Like savage worlds, you can build characters and npcs on the fly super fast, and adapt to any kind of setting. I've got a GI Joe setting, Naruto, Transformers, fantasy, and working on a DC supers setting.

 

[Netwatcher]

jimmifett, I hope you're getting compensated...now I have to pick up a copy of Genesys, if only to satisfy my curiosity. That said, I love SW and will be a backer of the kickstarter when it hits too.

 

[Retreater]

The price jump is very disappointing. It was nice having a cheaper alternative to D&D and Pathfinder. Oh well.

 

[77IM]

How much has Savage Worlds changed across those publications? I'm not a huge Savage Worlds guy - I'll play it at cons and I have one of the Explorer's Editions on my shelf (couldn't tell you if it was Deluxe or not without digging it out) along with a smattering of supplements. Are those different editions or just repackaging the rules into new printings?

They are more like heavy revisions than new editions; as a point of comparison, in most cases, the changes are less extreme than what D&D saw in the 3.0 -> 3.5 changes, but more extreme than the current accumulation of 5e errata.

Examples of some of the biggest changes:

• In the Explorer's Edition, damage values changed. Ranged damage went from being something like 1d6+3 to just being 2d6, and melee damage went from being Str+3 to Str+1d6 (where "Str" is a polyhedral die, d4 through d12).
• In the Deluxe Edition, the Guts skill was made a setting variant, and its use was replaced with a Spirit attribute check for the general game.
• In one of the early editions (either Revised Second or Explorer's), they changed XP so that your unspent bennies are no longer worth XP (bennies are points you earn for good roleplay that you can spend to reroll -- kind of like Inspiration but they stack).
• Deluxe Edition added some additional optional subsystems, like a Dramatic Tasks system, a formalized Power Trapping system, and a rudimentary Social Conflict system.
• Each edition changes the wording on certain edges (equivalent of feats) and powers (equivalent of spells, but more flexible) to be clearer.
• In each edition, they completely re-write the Chase rules.

They've done an amazing job of making sure adventures and setting books are almost 100% compatible between editions. Very old material with the old damage expressions might need to be converted, but even then, it's a super straightforward conversion (+2 -> +d4, +3 -> +d6, +4 -> +d8, etc.).