Nightchilde-2
First Post
I love Savage Worlds. I've been runing some Deadlands with it as well as a post-apoc zombie fest and it works in both cases equally well.
Highly suggested.
Highly suggested.
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NOW LIVE! Into the Woods--new character species, eerie monsters, and haunting villains to populate the woodlands of your D&D games.
Savage Worlds - Experiences?
- Thread starter Thanee
- Start date
Savage Worlds is a great game. I ran it for 26 sessions over about 1 year using the Tour of Darkness campaign book. I didn't use the entire plot point campaign but elements from it. The random mission generator was nice. I, too, found myself focusing much more on the story than the rules as I ran the game. That was a nice switch from d20 for me.
One thing that was irksome was that the players became unafraid of guns, land mines & booby traps--the only thing that really scared them was an RPG (the other kind). Fortunately, Charlie had lots of RPGs.
There are many great resources for the game on the web. I used free material freely to save myself some work. It was nice.
I think the mixture of dice, cards & chips is very fun. Card-based initiative is fun, especially now that each character only gets one action. The original Deadlands system was a little broing if other players had several actions to your one in a given round. I'm waiting for adventures to come out for Deadlands Reloaded. In the meantime, I've contemplated Savaging an old Boot Hill module I picked up.
One thing that was irksome was that the players became unafraid of guns, land mines & booby traps--the only thing that really scared them was an RPG (the other kind). Fortunately, Charlie had lots of RPGs.
There are many great resources for the game on the web. I used free material freely to save myself some work. It was nice.
I think the mixture of dice, cards & chips is very fun. Card-based initiative is fun, especially now that each character only gets one action. The original Deadlands system was a little broing if other players had several actions to your one in a given round. I'm waiting for adventures to come out for Deadlands Reloaded. In the meantime, I've contemplated Savaging an old Boot Hill module I picked up.
Gundark
Explorer
In past threads about this it seems people either love SW or hate it. My group tried out the rules, I was very excited at the start, but was dissappointed with it. I guess I thought the character creation was a little cookie cutter. what I mean is that there are some Feats (talents I think they're called) that are so good you wonder why you wouldn't take them. For example the two weapon fighting feat is waay good, it outshines the other builds to the point that 3 of the 4 players in my group selected that build.
I'm not sure if I like the rolling to wound mechanic, with the core rules there are some builds that aren't feasible at higher levels. For example if I wanted to be a dagger fighter there are some creatures that i couldn't hurt. Now you could create feats to rememdy this, however something official would have been nice.
However it plays smooth, and fights are faster and prep time is quick.
I'm not sure if I like the rolling to wound mechanic, with the core rules there are some builds that aren't feasible at higher levels. For example if I wanted to be a dagger fighter there are some creatures that i couldn't hurt. Now you could create feats to rememdy this, however something official would have been nice.
However it plays smooth, and fights are faster and prep time is quick.
Thanee
First Post
Gundark said:
When looking through the Edges section, I can see myriads of good choices there, and you do not exactly have a lot of those initially. It also depends largely on what kind of character one wants to build. Also, I really fail to see how Two-Fisted is somehow the ultimate Edge; it basically gives you a +2 on one of two attacks in a round with the downside of having to use two one-handed weapons.
Bye
Thanee
Gothmog
First Post
BluSponge said:Love it! I've been playing it since it's release and it quickly became my go-to game. It's perfectly suited to my style of play. I will admit I was a bit concerned when I originally read the prerelease Test Drive rules, as the Shaken/Wounded system sounded very wonky, but that has since been put at ease. I was also concerned that powerful (Legendary) characters would walk all over an adventure. A brief sojourn to the Hall of the Fire Giant King by my players cured that misconception right up.
What are its strengths? It's designed for gamers who don't have a lot of free time on their hands, and succeeds. Combats are generally fast. Designing characters, even very seasoned ones, takes hardly any time at all. And designing NPCs takes scarely a few minutes. As a GM, I spend more time working on the evening's plot points than mucking with rules and stat blocks. Furthermore, the game itself is fun to play. It is solid enough to give players plenty to chew on, but light enough that it doesn't dominate play. The external fiddledy bits -- bennies, initiative cards, etc. -- add fun elements to the game. It's actually fun to deal out initiative while the players are eagerly watching to see if a joker comes up on their end. One of the biggest strengths is that the system is light and intuitive enough that most players can grasp and master it relatively quickly, as in within a few game sessions. Don't get the wrong idea, though. SW is definitely NOT a rules light game.
The weaknesses? The game does have a few, but how bad they are depends on what you want out of your game. It's very pulpy, with PCs being obviously superior to the average joe on the street. Combat can sometimes come down to a lucky roll of the dice, or drag on forever if you aren't careful (for beginners. Once you get the hang of it, you won't have to worry much). The powers system, while wonderfully versitale, does not lend itself to DnD-esque wandering spell arsenal type characters. And though generic, the game does not do four-color supers out of the box (for that, you'll want to invest in the Necessary Evil Player's Guide).
Something important to keep in mind is that SW plays much better than it reads. The rules text is very stripped down, and isn't very colorful. Going only by the text, the game may appear simplistic and shallow. Give it a few tries with your group and you discover you have no reason to switch back.
Tom
I have to agree, Savage Worlds is my RPG of choice now- its so quick and easy to prepare and play that the GM's job is MUCH easier than with a D20 game. Also, players don't have to plan out characters from the beginning to get into prestige classes- the player can select what makes sense for their character at the time and not get as wrapped up in builds (which is a BIG plus in my book). We also LOVE the card initiative system, and how quick and easily it plays- we get a LOT more gaming done during our sessions, and the tendency people had to get bogged in rules doesn't exist with SW. Also, I've taught several newbies SW, and they picked up the rules and concepts within 30 minutes.
What you cite as its weaknesses aren't weaknesses at all to me- its exactly what I wanted from an RPG. Anybody can be taken down by a lucky roll, and characters of any power level should be somewhat careful. If you want to make the game more lethal and less pulpy, its easy- just give the extras the full wound levels the PCs have, and it becomes a whole different game. The powers system is a big breath of fresh air too- no more endless books of spells to sift through that all do basically the same thing. The powers let you use the same mechanics for various effects- so a Blast power can be a fireball, a cloud of biting insects, or a vortex of death energy. The various PDF toolkits are great too- they expand the game for fantasy, sci-fi, horror, or pulp, and expand options from the core book without overcomplicating it.
Definitely give Savage Worlds a try. The support print and PDF products are incredible too- especially Deadlands, Low Life, and Rippers, and the forthcoming Soloman Kane and Pirates of the Spanish Main settings promise to be great. The Adventure Deck is a great investment too, and helps keep the GM on his toes, while allowing the players to have some control over the plot of the game. I can honestly say this game changed the way I view RPGs and what I want out of them. I've done Star Wars, Deadlands, Fallout (post-apocalyptic survival/horror), hard sci-fi, fantasy, modern espionage, and pirates, and SW did a great job in each game. Its changed my expectations to such a degree that I'll play d20 games, but I'll never run them again.
pawsplay
Hero
Didn't like it. It's got some cute concepts, but too often seems to devolve into "let's roll some dice and see what happens." What I mean by that is PC competence is based far more on bennies and external factors than their actual stats. Kind of reminds me of Marvel Super Heroes (maybe a plus for some).
To me: quirkiness of Torg, the skeletal mechanics of 1st edition D6 Star Wars, the genericity of 1st edition GURPS, randomness and strangeness of Marvel Super Heroes.
To me: quirkiness of Torg, the skeletal mechanics of 1st edition D6 Star Wars, the genericity of 1st edition GURPS, randomness and strangeness of Marvel Super Heroes.
Pepster
First Post
Savage Worlds opinion with positive bias
Let me say upfront that I love the Savage Worlds system. It's the only system I run right now, and only for family members (new to roleplaying). I play Savage Worlds games at conventions.
You've asked for areas where Savage Worlds doesn't do well, and I'll throw out my opinions.
The core book doesn't do equipment well. There's a small list of common fantasy items using a dollar-based cost system. I think that's to keep the book "generic", but I love stuff lists and actually rely on a fan-generated equipment and cost list for fantasy equipment.
Keep an eye on the encumbrance as well, because if the warriors wear any kind of armor and don't have a high strength, they'll suffer penalties to strength and agility tests.
Bear in mind that the skills list is small as similar skills are combined into one skill. That may make your characters look similar on paper, but hopefully your players will make them come alive and unique.
Though not required, I find that minis or tokens add a lot to the game. I did buy the "official" bennies, action deck and adventure cards and they make the game that much more fun.
Finally, the support for SW is fantastic. If you'll locate the forums on the Great White Games website, you'll find the answers to most questions you may have.
Pepster
Let me say upfront that I love the Savage Worlds system. It's the only system I run right now, and only for family members (new to roleplaying). I play Savage Worlds games at conventions.
You've asked for areas where Savage Worlds doesn't do well, and I'll throw out my opinions.
The core book doesn't do equipment well. There's a small list of common fantasy items using a dollar-based cost system. I think that's to keep the book "generic", but I love stuff lists and actually rely on a fan-generated equipment and cost list for fantasy equipment.
Keep an eye on the encumbrance as well, because if the warriors wear any kind of armor and don't have a high strength, they'll suffer penalties to strength and agility tests.
Bear in mind that the skills list is small as similar skills are combined into one skill. That may make your characters look similar on paper, but hopefully your players will make them come alive and unique.
Though not required, I find that minis or tokens add a lot to the game. I did buy the "official" bennies, action deck and adventure cards and they make the game that much more fun.
Finally, the support for SW is fantastic. If you'll locate the forums on the Great White Games website, you'll find the answers to most questions you may have.
Pepster
Particle_Man
Explorer
If you are playing Deadlands:Reloaded, and your players are used to D&D, they are going to be under the Delusion that Stone is just some medium level bad guy that they will kill and loot.
Expect shock, suprise, anger, denial, etc. (what, the stages of grieving?) when their characters tpk after their first encounter with him.
Myself, I plan to run 50 Fathoms on the SW system. So far the reaction is: "Hey, can I play a Pirate?" "Wait, I could be from anywhere on Earth? So I could play a Ninja who becomes a Pirate?"
Expect shock, suprise, anger, denial, etc. (what, the stages of grieving?) when their characters tpk after their first encounter with him.
Myself, I plan to run 50 Fathoms on the SW system. So far the reaction is: "Hey, can I play a Pirate?" "Wait, I could be from anywhere on Earth? So I could play a Ninja who becomes a Pirate?"
