Good Evening, All:
At the RPG.net Game Day here in Austin today, I was able to play in a Savage Worlds scenario set in the World of Solomon Kane setting. There were five players in the game, and the basic scenario was pretty good, with a varied use of skills both out of combat and in combat. While we, as a group, probably split the party more than we should at times, all in all it was a good gaming experience. The GM had a more laid back style than I am used to with D20 DMs and the like, as we played with no minis or gaming mat (pretty old-style, if you ask me.) However, the scenario proved to me that Savage Worlds does not need minis to be played, another bonus as far as its versatility.
Overall, my experience as a player was a positive one. I had a good time, and enjoyed the level of roleplay to which we were able to rise and still complete the scenario, which demonstrates the caliber of the GM and the other players at the table. I found the system a lot easier to implement with a little experience under my belt, and I really didn't have to look anything up aside form the data on the Combat Survival Guide printout from the Pinnacle website.
With it being only my second experience with Savage Worlds, once again I found the system easy to use and fun, this time as a player instead of as a GM. This time around, with less to worry about in terms of rules mastery, I found that I noticed a heightened degree of randomness that exists with the way die rolls are handled in Savage Worlds. Having a high skill still left room for failure, and with the exploding die, even low dice could attain very high numbers (such as the 32 we saw today in damage, or the d4 notice where I rolled a total of 21). The zone for failure might be system deterrent for some, but there's an easy remedy in terms of picking up edges that grant a +2 bonus to a particular skill. That raises the occasional 1 you might roll to a 3, and since the TN is generally a four, it pretty much means you almost always succeed on anything except a natural one. The system compensates for that error range by offering these edges, so this issue might be self-correcting for those players that would have an issue with it.
Otherwise, Savage Worlds is a great system with light prep work and fulfilling play. I still want one more shot at it as a GM before I can say for a fact that Savage Worlds will be the system of choice for my next campaign, but my mind is pretty close to being made up now that I've at least tried it once from each side of the screen. I just want to see if things improve for me as a GM after removing some of the rules mastery issues from my first effort. Already, I have one volunteer for a One Shot this week. Wish me luck!
With Regards,
Flynn
