My "Savage" Experience

[MGibster]

Yeah, it's looking like I'll probably retire the entire system after running a few sessions. It's a shame because I bought into it pretty heavily, but I just can't wrap my head around the system.

For a game with such simple rules, I had trouble wrapping my head around it as well. Don't feel bad.

 

[Retreater]

And they weren't getting raises they could apply to damage to bring that damage up?

Not often. And when they did, it still wasn't enough to do more than Shake an enemy.
I gave them a pretty good allotment of Bennies as well. Just bad rolling coupled with really high Toughness.

 

[Retreater]

Is it possible the players weren't taking advantage of all the options offered to them? i.e. Were they getting gang up bonuses? Did they make wild attacks which do an additional +2 damage? Did they try using skills like Taunt to Distract or Shake their enemies?

Oh no. They weren't doing any of the more "advanced" combat stuff. We were lucky to be able to count raises, look at AP, and all that.
I did give each of them a players book to look over two weeks ago. I don't think anyone did that because they didn't even have the basics down.

 

[overgeeked]

The full combat rules are one of the things I bounce off of when trying to grok Savage Worlds. It's way, way too much. It's a lot simpler and less headache inducing to use Dramatic Tasks, Quick Encounters, and Social Conflict for everything instead of the full combat rules.

I gotta ask: Why did you buy "heavily" into Savage Worlds without playing it a few times first? A $120+ box set plus several player's guides before you even played it. Why?

 

[Reynard]

Oh no. They weren't doing any of the more "advanced" combat stuff. We were lucky to be able to count raises, look at AP, and all that.
I did give each of them a players book to look over two weeks ago. I don't think anyone did that because they didn't even have the basics down.

There are some really great cheat sheets for SWADE out there that dramatically speed up play for new players. SWADE isn't complex or hard, but it is kind of arcane in its presentation.

What adventure were you running? I would like to se how they set up the scene.

 

[Retreater]

I gotta ask: Why did you buy "heavily" into Savage Worlds without playing it a few times first? A $120+ box set plus several player's guides before you even played it. Why?

Several reasons:

• FOMO.
• Overspending on Kickstarter during COVID.
• One of my friends was really getting into the system, so I wanted to go on the journey with him.
• The group of people I was playing with when I started buying were better at learning rules and more tactical than my current group. (That group has since dissolved.)
• I really liked the idea of Rifts, but wanted a simpler way to play it.
• I really liked the idea of revisiting Pathfinder 1E, but wanted a simpler way to play it.
• It has a pretty devoted following, so it must be a great system, right?
• The folks at Pinnacle seemed pretty nice, and I wanted to support an "underdog."
• I wanted a good "generic" system since I tried GURPS years ago and didn't like it.
• I was getting burned out on d20 and liked some of the new mechanics.
• It seemed flexible enough to handle a variety of group sizes (unlike traditional d20)

 

[Retreater]

What adventure were you running? I would like to se how they set up the scene.

The first of "The Demon You Know" Deadlands: Lost Colony Plot Point Campaign, titled "Armageddon."

 

[Autumnal]

Retreater, I notice there’s no mention in your writeup of you giving bennies or of the players spending them, and I know from your previous accounts that you’re not one of those young men whose hearts turn readily to meta-currency in spring or any other season. I suspect that Savage Worlds would go better for your group if you had a list in your GM materials about times when you must award a bennie and if each player had an index card listing things they can spend bennies on.

 

[Retreater]

Re: Bennies. I felt like I gave out plenty, but maybe I'm wrong.
I had one player who had a stockpile of six at the end of the fight, others who had none. Just some of the players re-rolled nearly every roll and others didn't touch them.

 

[thullgrim]

Re: Bennies. I felt like I gave out plenty, but maybe I'm wrong.
I had one player who had a stockpile of six at the end of the fight, others who had none. Just some of the players re-rolled nearly every roll and others didn't touch them.

So the Bennie’s are there to be spent. By all means save 1 to soak but encourage players to spend them.

When you roll 2d6 that many time and don’t see a six to ace that’s pretty uncommon. Basic to hit math for ranged weapons in SWADE is a 4. It’s very unusual to not too see a couple of aces to generate raises. A raise on the hit gets you an extra damage die which puts you over the curve for toughness 9. Also using Tests to inflict the conditions is also helpful. ESpecially for characters that aren’t built to combat spec.