Savage Worlds

[Particle_Man]

If we are talking house rules a few of my favourites:

1) For easy and fast advancement, everyone gets 5 xp just for showing up for a session, but bennies don't turn into xp.

2) If a player doesn't want to make a character, just give him Mr. d6. He has a d6 in all stats. Mr. d6 is still a wild card (so gets a wild die, and can take 3 wounds). He collects xp but can't spend it until he actually makes his character. He has no hindrances or edges at chargen but can get them when he actually makes his character. You wouldn't believe how far some of my casual players can go just using Mr. d6.

3) If you don't remember to give out bennies, just have a player remind you to give a benny to all players for every hour (or whatever interval you like) of play. Believe me, they will remind you.

 

[Thanee]

1) ...but bennies don't turn into xp.

Yeah, that's something I also do. I really dislike the thought of bennies being turned into xp, because that leads to benny-hoarding, and that is pretty much the opposite of what they are for.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Qualidar]

Yeah, that's something I also do. I really dislike the thought of bennies being turned into xp, because that leads to benny-hoarding, and that is pretty much the opposite of what they are for.

Bye
Thanee

I thought they got rid of that in the latest edition of the rules anyway. No?

 

[Particle_Man]

I think so, but there are older liscenced games that still had it.

Oh, another option I heard of. Saved bennies don't turn into xp but spent bennies do.

 

[oldboy]

I just had a quick question about SW. I've been reading the books, but have yet to actually play it.

Me and my group play D&D since it's the only thing we're familiar with. But I'm curious about Savage Worlds as a Sword and Sorcery style system. Something with the feel and flavor of Leiber's Lankhmar. Plus, I love the idea of a rules light system with dangerous combat that emphasizes cunning over stats. Would SW be a good system to use for this?

 

[Kunimatyu]

Savage Worlds in fact perfect for that, and handles "cinematic" combat far better than its d20 counterparts.

I'm running a swords-and-sorcery world in a prehistoric setting heavily flavored by the Cthulhu Mythos, and it's a ton of fun. We've decided that due to the time period, it's a little more like "club and sorcery", though.

The only thing I recommend is that you think about the flavor of your magic system before starting, tweak the Arcane Backgrounds appropriately, and make sure your players add trappings to their powers.

Savage Worlds' magic system is incredibly flexible, but it's designed to be slightly modified for the campaign setting and the caster (a fire mage versus a psychic government assassin, for instance).

 

[oldboy]

I'm all about extremes with magic. I love the low magic style with it being dangerous and misunderstood. I was hoping to include something similar to WFRP's Tzeentch's Curse to emulate the deformities caused by black magic in Leiber's world. However, I also love Eberron-esque magic as technology in some of my campaigns. So I'm glad to hear the system can cover both. Are there any good supplements that deal with different types of magic systems in SW?

 

[Kunimatyu]

I'm all about extremes with magic. I love the low magic style with it being dangerous and misunderstood. I was hoping to include something similar to WFRP's Tzeentch's Curse to emulate the deformities caused by black magic in Leiber's world. However, I also love Eberron-esque magic as technology in some of my campaigns. So I'm glad to hear the system can cover both. Are there any good supplements that deal with different types of magic systems in SW?

The basic rules cover sorcery and magic-as-tech, no supplements needed.

The about-to-be-released Fantasy Companion discusses alternate magic systems and adds new Powers and Trappings.

The core rules don't have anything like the curse, but it would be very easy to port it over to Savage Worlds. Most magic types have Something Bad Happen when you roll a one on your spellcasting die - yours could be the curse?

 

[GlassJaw]

I'm running a swords-and-sorcery world in a prehistoric setting heavily flavored by the Cthulhu Mythos, and it's a ton of fun. We've decided that due to the time period, it's a little more like "club and sorcery", though.

Not to derail the thread too much, but that sounds wicked cool. I like your ideas and wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

Can you give a quick overview of the world and how you've tweaked the SW magic system?

 

[Kunimatyu]

Not to derail the thread too much, but that sounds wicked cool. I like your ideas and wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

Can you give a quick overview of the world and how you've tweaked the SW magic system?

Sure - if you want more than this, I'll fork the thread.

The World: The Old Ones rule over primitive humanity. There are rare Bronze Age weapons (usually connected to one of the Old Ones) but most of humanity lives in squalor -- mud huts, clubs, and primitive magics rule the day.

Geography: two big super-continents - the western one has "civilization" and lots of politicking around sites where the Old Ones live. The eastern continent is mostly wilderness with pockets of civilization (often nonhuman and hostile). My game is set in the eastern lands.

Type of game: West Marches - players earn XP by bringing treasure back to civilization (and then spending it on alcohol and loose women until they run out and have to go adventuring again). Players can also earn XP by killing big lumbering monsters and bringing a trophy back to civilization.

The creatures: total prehistoric mashup, because dinosaurs+cavemen is fun. Lots of horrific Lovecraftian things lurking in the shadows too, and because Fear/Shaken is an integral part of Savage Worlds combat, fighting elder things feels very different from going toe to toe with a dinosaur.

The magic system: Surprisingly little modification - basic magic in Savage Worlds leaves you Shaken if you botch the casting, which is already a nice match with the setting. PC mages can find new Trappings for powers via books and artifacts, and occasionally they can learn simple powers like Detect/Conceal Arcana without needing to spend Edges.

No divine magic exists in a PC-playable form, though if you want to bargain for favors(like beneficial mutations) with the priests of Shub, have fun...

Mad Scientist gadgets *do* actually exist, but so far the players haven't looted a Mi-Go laboratory, so it's off limits for now. The psionic background is also completely okay, but none of my players have really been into it yet.

All in all, it was incredibly easy to use Savage Worlds with this setting, and the game is going great so far!

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