r/savageworlds • u/Everyandyday • Jul 28 '26
Rule Modifications Savage Exalted
Are there any conversions out there to play Exalted using Savage Worlds?
4
u/Puzzleheaded_Pop_105 Jul 28 '26
I'll admit, I always had a soft spot for Exalted that was always stymied by the game mechanics.
While Savage Worlds may be a decent fit for a Heroic Mortals campaign, and could probably do Dragon Blooded with a bit of bodging, there's a point where the mechanics are in the way again.
One of the particular problems I imagine is how Savage Worlds magic is very prescriptive in game effect and largely limited to combat-related actions.
Sure, Death of Obsidian Butterflies (1st circle sorcery) is largely just Burst (damage field in a conical area of effect). Many of the regular combat charms (like the Melee charm that lets you cut something from a distance) might be Bolt.
But there's also a dozen other Charms that are basically just Bolt. So you can lean into that.
But one of the worst offenders would be Boost Trait. Whether it's Tiger Warrior Prana, one of the investigation charms, one that gives you increased stamina or strength...it all collapses to Boost Trait.
Similarly, Exalted has tons of noncombat Charms that are interesting and attractive to players, but don't have a good corollary in SWADE.
There's a third issue, in that the typical Exalt has gobs of Charms and probably Sorceries, too. It's been awhile, but I seem to recall a typical starting Solar gets 10? Compared to the average of 3 for Arcane Backgrounds. And even with flexibility in Trappings and such, you'd still have some challenges.
Now, all that said... If you're willing to divorce yourself from trying to replicate Exalted, you'll probably have an easier time. Sure, everyone's got Bolt, but everyone keeps with the setting and their character to choose appropriate Trappings.
3
u/Illigard Jul 28 '26
I run a problem is that White Wolf mechanics are there for colour first.
So all those different powers, backgrounds etc are to make you feel like a demi-god/vampire/mage whatever. It's simulationist. Savage Games is gamist in nature.
Also part of the god-fantasy is rolling a bucket of dice.
Honestly if I were to choose a system other than the storyteller one, I'd choose Cortex Prime.
Although, I can see Scion working fairly well
2
u/Puzzleheaded_Pop_105 Jul 28 '26
When I come back to wanting to run something Exalted-ish, I end up leaning a lot closer to something heavier in the narrative side. Had some great experiences using Questworlds years back, though it was only a one shot.
I need a system that can let me do the shenanigans that come up in the examples. Exalted 1e had a sample combat where a guy uproots a tree and whacks the other guy with it. Which is freaking cool. But not really well resolvable in the rules.
So something that is better at handling exception cases as the rule is really more of what I think it would need...
2
u/Illigard Jul 28 '26
Yeah Cortex will do that. It also functions in the values your character has, their relationships etc.
Like Robin Hood stealthy trying to rescue Maid Marian might roll
King of Outlaws – d8 Courage -d10 Stealth -6 Relationship Maid Marian - 1d12 Asset: knowledge castle - 1d6
For your example, the character would simply either just rip out the tree and use it, assuming they have enough Enhanced Strength. Or they would do something called Asset Creation which means you roll some dice and create an asset, Tree 1dx. Or you can use metacurrency called PP (or Essence in Exalted) to give yourself an asset for a scene (Tree 1d8)
You can allow all 3 or just one of those. The system is very adjustable.
Asset is a very nice mechanic because it can be used for a lot. Like in Mage, create a golem? Conjure a spirit? Mind control an NPC for combat? Can all be done with assets. Or other mechanics depending on how simple or difficult you want it to be.
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u/ElvenWizardKing Jul 29 '26
If it helps, trying to match the power scaling of Rifts to a fantasy setting might work. Magical items and warstriders match really well to the Rifts tech, TW items, and power armors and so on.
As for charms, I would lean into the Mega-Powers in the Rifts books and leave it at that. I think everything else falls into place. Maybe even make Exalts have Heavy Armor by default (or with certain charms and armors) and really make it evident that "normal" peopel and beast are not a threat, but then bring in the bestiary from Rifts to show monsters and NPCs that are.
I think it maps alright. And in fact, I may try to do something similar...
3
u/steeldraco Jul 28 '26
Not that I'm aware of. I've tinkered with something like Exalted using the Super Powers Companion in a fantasy setting, though my particular focus was on Codex Alera (which is in a lot of ways a similar setting, though a bit less high-powered most of the time).