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<blockquote data-quote="scourger" data-source="post: 2847190" data-attributes="member: 12328">To each his own.&nbsp; I read about it &amp; followed it in the designer's notes, but I really didn't appreciate how much simpler it makes gaming until I read the revised book &amp; ran a few sessions.&nbsp; My prep time is down about 90%.&nbsp; I think Shane nailed it with these design goals:Shane's design goals: As a Game Master:1) I want a game that it's easy to make up monsters, NPCs, magic items, weapons, etc. on the fly. If I have to look up lots of charts and tables, add up points (as a GM, not a player), and so on, it's too complicated.2) I want a game where &quot;mooks&quot; are either up, down, or off the table. I don't want to keep track of wounds for lesser NPCs--only important bad guys, villains, dragons, and so on.3) I want a game that easily handles vehicles. The vehicle rules in many games require a PHD to decipher.4) I want a game a non-gamer friend of mine can look at and understand *at a glance.* The basic rules for Savage Worlds can be described in one sentence.5) I want a game that has a &quot;spine&quot; capable of gaming any genre, but allows me to insert special rules to tailor specific genres. Horror needs detailed fright tables, for instance, and a pulp heroes game needs to be less gritty and deadly than World War II.7) As a GM, I want to roll *one* attack die for my bad guys to see if they hit, and I don't want to do any math to it. If three orcs gang up on a hero, I want to roll 3 dice, look for hits, and be done.As a player I want:1) I want a game that provides real depth for characters. I want to see my character grow, gain new special abilities, and even increase my skills and attributes.2) I want a game that handles large battles fast. If my sergeant in World War II persuades the villagers to fight beside him, I want them on the table-top, not glossed over.Update: After going round and round on this one a bit, what I was really after was reasonable speed--but more importantly--ease. I just don't want to do a lot of bookeeping during a fight.3) I want my NPC allies to have names and at least a &quot;personality&quot; trait for each. If my Lt. in Vietnam needs to send someone to scout a hill, I want to know who's &quot;Gung Ho,&quot; &quot;Reliable,&quot; &quot;Shifty,&quot; &quot;Lazy,&quot; and so on.4) I want a little control over the dice--like Fate Chips or bennies--so the hero I've been working on for a year doesn't drop dead because of one bad die roll. Two or three I can handle, but not one.5) &quot;Open ended die rolls.&quot; If I get lucky and roll that high number, I want to keep rolling and feel like I just conquered the world.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="scourger, post: 2847190, member: 12328"] To each his own. I read about it & followed it in the designer's notes, but I really didn't appreciate how much simpler it makes gaming until I read the revised book & ran a few sessions. My prep time is down about 90%. I think Shane nailed it with these design goals: Shane's design goals: As a Game Master: 1) I want a game that it's easy to make up monsters, NPCs, magic items, weapons, etc. on the fly. If I have to look up lots of charts and tables, add up points (as a GM, not a player), and so on, it's too complicated. 2) I want a game where "mooks" are either up, down, or off the table. I don't want to keep track of wounds for lesser NPCs--only important bad guys, villains, dragons, and so on. 3) I want a game that easily handles vehicles. The vehicle rules in many games require a PHD to decipher. 4) I want a game a non-gamer friend of mine can look at and understand *at a glance.* The basic rules for Savage Worlds can be described in one sentence. 5) I want a game that has a "spine" capable of gaming any genre, but allows me to insert special rules to tailor specific genres. Horror needs detailed fright tables, for instance, and a pulp heroes game needs to be less gritty and deadly than World War II. 7) As a GM, I want to roll *one* attack die for my bad guys to see if they hit, and I don't want to do any math to it. If three orcs gang up on a hero, I want to roll 3 dice, look for hits, and be done. As a player I want: 1) I want a game that provides real depth for characters. I want to see my character grow, gain new special abilities, and even increase my skills and attributes. 2) I want a game that handles large battles fast. If my sergeant in World War II persuades the villagers to fight beside him, I want them on the table-top, not glossed over. Update: After going round and round on this one a bit, what I was really after was reasonable speed--but more importantly--ease. I just don't want to do a lot of bookeeping during a fight. 3) I want my NPC allies to have names and at least a "personality" trait for each. If my Lt. in Vietnam needs to send someone to scout a hill, I want to know who's "Gung Ho," "Reliable," "Shifty," "Lazy," and so on. 4) I want a little control over the dice--like Fate Chips or bennies--so the hero I've been working on for a year doesn't drop dead because of one bad die roll. Two or three I can handle, but not one. 5) "Open ended die rolls." If I get lucky and roll that high number, I want to keep rolling and feel like I just conquered the world. [/QUOTE]

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