Savage Worlds and Deadlands…

[thullgrim]

I’ve used SWADE for Deadlands, Masks of Nyarlathotep, Coriolis, Savage Pathfinder, fantasy (pre swade). It’s on my radar to combine with Blades in the Dark and Numenera. Games whose tone and setting I love but whose rules (I like tactical combat) I’m not a fan of. Except clocks. I used clocks in SWADE. It’s fantastic.

50 Fathoms has the most widely regarded plot point campaign in it. It’s a fun age of sail meets the apocalypse setting.

I’ve been think of moving back to my Coriolis game for my in person group. Savage Worlds was working pretty well for it.

 

[Greg K]

And the support. Damn. Savage Rifts. Savage Pathfinder. Supers Companion. Fantasy Companion. All the older settings like Flash Gordon and 50 Fathoms and Spanish Main. Insane.

Then, there is the excellent third party support. Agents of Oblivion, Beasts & Barbarians (Sword & Sorcery), Thrilling Tales 2e (Pulp), Mars: Savage Worlds (Sword & Planet), Fort Griffin (traditional Wild West), and Gaslight, to name just a few.

 

[overgeeked]

Except clocks. I used clocks in SWADE. It’s fantastic.

How do you treat clocks in Savage Worlds? At a glance, it looks like the same idea is basically covered with Dramatic Tasks for short-term stuff...like 4E skill challenges. Do you mean the long-term clocks of Blades and PbtA?

50 Fathoms has the most widely regarded plot point campaign in it. It’s a fun age of sail meets the apocalypse setting.

Yeah it looks really cool. My immediate reaction is to try to turn it into Pirates of Dark Water.

 

[thullgrim]

Short and long term clocks as you would have in Blades. I’ve never been able to smoother transition into skill challenges and dramatic tasks. Clocks just work for better for me and then I leverage raises to add and subtract segments.

 

[overgeeked]

Short and long term clocks as you would have in Blades. I’ve never been able to smoother transition into skill challenges and dramatic tasks. Clocks just work for better for me and then I leverage raises to add and subtract segments.

I think I know what you mean. Like the awkward transition form the conversation of regular play into the structured rigidity of combat. Formal subsystems like dramatic tasks or chases probably have that same feeling. "We interrupt your regularly scheduled roleplaying for this bespoke minigame..."

 

[thullgrim]

I think I know what you mean. Like the awkward transition form the conversation of regular play into the structured rigidity of combat. Formal subsystems like dramatic tasks or chases probably has that same feeling. "We interrupt your regularly scheduled roleplaying for this bespoke minigame..."

Exactly. I’ve tried being open with mechanic, I’ve tried being narrative, it just usually ends up being awkward. I throw a clock out and start filling or emptying segments and let people intuit what’s going on. You can see time is a factor or the number is successes is a factor. You can ask me questions which I’ll answer but I want to skip all the awkward ‘ok you jeed 4 successes before three failure and you can use the following’.

 

[Reynard]

I think I know what you mean. Like the awkward transition form the conversation of regular play into the structured rigidity of combat. Formal subsystems like dramatic tasks or chases probably have that same feeling. "We interrupt your regularly scheduled roleplaying for this bespoke minigame..."

That seems strange to me. Clocks are just another minigame. You make checks and move the clock based on the results.
EDIT: I mean specifically for immediate scene clocks, not long term clocks.

 

[overgeeked]

That seems strange to me. Clocks are just another minigame. You make checks and move the clock based on the results.
EDIT: I mean specifically for immediate scene clocks, not long term clocks.

I think it’s about how they’re handled. In regular RPG conversation you don’t have things like initiative and rounds to worry about. You just declare what you do and the referee might ask for a roll or otherwise adjudicates it. Using clocks, to me, is that same process plus keeping track of successful actions. The referee decides this obstacle needs three successes to overcome and just keeps narrating and keeps the same conversational flow going. Not bothering with initiative and rounds. So it’s smoother to use. Stopping the conversation and doing some procedure to determine what structured order people get to speak in then running through a minigame isn’t the same conversational flow.

 

[Reynard]

I think it’s about how they’re handled. In regular RPG conversation you don’t have things like initiative and rounds to worry about. You just declare what you do and the referee might ask for a roll or otherwise adjudicates it. Using clocks, to me, is that same process plus keeping track of successful actions. The referee decides this obstacle needs three successes to overcome and just keeps narrating and keeps the same conversational flow going. Not bothering with initiative and rounds. So it’s smoother to use. Stopping the conversation and doing some procedure to determine what structured order people get to speak in then running through a minigame isn’t the same conversational flow.

Right. I don't think there is much a difference between the by-the-book Dramatic Task from SWADE and a clock for something like sneaking into a warehouse undetected or convincing the Baron to give you men at arms or whatever.

 

[overgeeked]

Right. I don't think there is much a difference between the by-the-book Dramatic Task from SWADE and a clock for something like sneaking into a warehouse undetected or convincing the Baron to give you men at arms or whatever.

Maybe it’s different for you, but for me the imposed structure of initiative through dealing out Action Cards and doing actions in strict rounds makes it feel quite different that the regular narrative flow of conversation plus a clock the referee is tracking. Drop the cards, initiative, and rounds and it would almost be the same.

ETA: I’m new to Savage Worlds so maybe I’m calling it the wrong thing. Dramatic Tasks are the structured thing like skill challenges with cards and rounds. Quick Encounters are basically a loose bunch of skill checks. Right? I can see Quick Encounters being very much seamlessly mixed into narrative conversational flow. Not so much with Dramatic Tasks given the cards, strict initiative, and rounds.