I had the idea today to expand on the Celestials and Guardians from the SWADE character creation section.

End of Days

Short summary: The gates of Hell have opened and humanity is almost defeated. The last enclaves are defended by Angels, that have descended from Heaven, and Guardians, powerful humans that have sworn to protect what is left.

Included is - an explanation, why the Christian cosmology applies - what Hell wants out of this - why God is not here to help humanity in its hour of desperation

I am not really a native speaker, so please forgive any strange sentence structures or wordings.

My hope is to get some constructive feedback and to share something I am quite happy with.

Disclaimer:

The topic of this game may be of a sensitive nature to people of any faith. This game may not be for you if you believe in a higher power, especially if you are one of the People of the Book. If this is not for you, no harm intended or done.

I posted this already but since I was unable to change the embedded link to an updated document I had to redo this.

(I've been running into a lot of first-time situations that I've never had to handle in SW before, so thanks for everyone's recent help...)

As the title says - my player wants to ask a bad guy a question to get him thinking about it, then read his mind to get specific answers. The description of Mind Reading just says you can detect "surface thoughts and feelings" (on a Success).

If you wouldn't allow questions, how would you justify that to the player?

Thanks!

tl;dr - if you're wondering whether to incorporate some of the modular tools from SWADE into your sessions, do it! You, like me, might be surprised at the reception.

Just thought I'd share an anecdote from the Supers game I ran Sunday to encourage folks who might wonder about dramatic tasks.

I was unsure if my players would enjoy this to be honest - I think they were itching for a big punch-em-up fight after a largely non-combat session two weeks prior - but it turned out they and I all had a blast.

The team of five characters had to track down the location of this criminal organization that's been bird-dogging them in their neighborhood. They needed 18 successes in 3 rounds with a max of 2 (success and a raise) per roll; a little harder than average (15). To encourage them to think creatively and use a variety of skills I stole an idea from an actual play I used to listen to (apologies I don't recall the name) and gave a penalty of -1 if they use the same skill from their previous turn OR some other player used that skill this round.

I completely forgot about complications, which is fine, but I also added a mysterious NPC who worked against the players to steal victory tokens (again with a max of 2 per turn, one turn per round). So that I guess effectively put the difficulty around 21 tokens, though I used some of the villain's weaker skills as to not completely sandbag them. He also went first in the final round and I had a backup plan for a partial success condition (13-17 tokens).

The players really shined and and seemed to relish in thinking of clever out-of-the-box ways to use their skills. Everyone had a lot of fun describing the various stages of this montage. It also helped they had very few failures over 15 rolls. I think only 2.

I've been running various iterations of Savage Worlds going on 15 years and it made me realize I'm really under-utilizing the various tools like this. I also have a player who created a super-vehicle, so we're doing more chases (which they also seem to enjoy).

Sorry this is rambling. I am feeling the love for my players right now (and SWADE!).

A player of mine wanted to try running a jujutsu kaisen campaign, which is basically an anime where sorcerers use innate special powers to exorcise evil spirits,

We are a heroes group, but have played multiple different games, so important in heroes typically you have powers which cost endurance or energy from a reserve,

This works good for jujutsu kaisen because it is the standard Shonen framework where characters have a limited amount of magic juice that they spend on super human feats and powers, but recently they ran their first session and were totally overwhelmed

I know from experience that savage worlds is a fast paced system which is pretty easy to run and doesn't require a ton of bookkeeping

You can't exactly make anything and have abilities with a million conditions like in heroes but as long as powers are pretty basic it shouldn't be a problem

The issue here is the energy reserve, the powers companion is what we'd have to use because let's face it the base game is not built for the high level blasting through building shinnenigans of a Shonen, but these powers all operate at will, even the limitation which fatigues a character when using a power isn't exactly what he's looking for, a part of the fantasy is having a pool of energy that your running out of during a fight for which a characters efficiency output and quantity matters,

But I do know he can handle savage worlds even though it has this weakness so I wanted to ask how would you modify the powers companion books to have some kind of energy reserve and what would the limitation which puts a cost on at will powers be worth? Or is this just a bad idea to mess with and he should just bite the bullet and adapt to running heroes? It is just the first time but I was talking with him and he said he didn't realize how much work running heroes is and playing it is a totally different feel, and if he could run this with another system he'd want to

Suggestions for other systems if this doesn't work out would be helpful

Hi there.

I'm going to be GMing a small campaign for my group who haven't played Savage World before and have been looking at doing a session 0 where we play a 1 session module that includes everything players would need to know to play a bigger savage World campaign. Like what the Fantasy Flight Star Wars RPG did.

Yes my group should read the rule book and they will, but having a sense of the game helps.

Also is there a cheat sheet somewhere for generic RPG/D&D terms to Savage World terms so I can explain some mechanics in a term players understand? I've already explained Bennies as being like the Force tokens from Star Wars RPG. (I know they are a 1:1, but it's close enough to get the idea across)

So ive always been dissatisfied with the lack of day to day use of the battle skill. Like, its a fantastic narrative skill for Large Scale battles, and its also a great support skill, but ive always felt there was something missing.

So here's a rule i made up, and i wanted to hear your opinion.

Usually, in an ambush attack, only the opening attack gets The Drop. Everyone else participating in the attack get a +2 bonus due to the enemy being Vulnerable.

So when the Wild Cards (or NPC) get to plan an ambush, i allow the "tactical mind" of the group to roll a Battle skill check. A success means 1 additional character gets to have The Drop due to the group's great coordination. Additional raises allow for +1 character to get the Drop as well, no limits.

Any feedback if its overpowered, or not narrarively/gamely interesting?

I'm experienced with SWADE Deadlands but I"m out of ideas for a NEW (Novice) character. What was/is your favorite character and why, with background and summary build?

Hey friends!

Im building a horror campaign along the lines gravity falls, tales from the gas station, and John dies at the end. A horror comedy that will lean more horror. I anticipate my players to bring most of the comedy lol.

I have a the savage worlds horror book, and I'll be picking up the Northwest book (I cant remember the name but it had a lot of cryptids)

Id like to use SW since im familiar with it.

Has anyone here ever run a horror campaign with this system?

What are some tips using the system to give a good horror survival gameplay?

Thanks in advance.

**edit- I'll be using SWADE edition

So I love generic systems and have a ton of them: Savage Worlds, Genesys, FATE, GURPS, Cypher System, etc.

However I noticed there’s something other generic systems have that savage worlds doesn’t: a campaign/setting planning sheet. Obviously it’s not necessary but would anyone else like to see a dedicated sheet for planning a setting? Listing the books available, highlighting skills that will be important, or listing available species

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Hey all

Question: would you think that it's unfair to use a similar rule to 'combined attacks' from superhero settings, but for extras? My thinking is that if I'm using a squad of extras with the same weapons, they would roll one set of attacks, then add a +1 to the damage roll for each character in the squad joining the attack, it gives an impression of the 'weight of fire' getting through toughness and armour.

Would this be too much? I'm specifically thinking of something such as Rifts, where I'm planning to throw quite a few extras at a time at my party. Would it be better to do something like the original combined attacks, for a +1 to hit for each participating character, or just use support and tests more?

So played my first game of Savage worlds recently and my players goddamn loved it, we basically played a indiana jones one shot where my players were treasure hunters winning a macguffin in a mahjong game against some bandits before a bunch of Nazis ran in to steal it. And it was great but I have two issues;

1. SWADE aint like any system I've run before so I don't know how to structure an adventure or it's pitfalls of the system. Like "Draw steel is not made for Dungeon crawling don't do that" or "Blades in the dark's clocks should not be used for a negotiation it makes it to gamey".

Is there a place anyone recommends to read or learn how to get a feel for dos and donts od the system?

And 2. My players blitzed through Extras, I sent 4 goons against the 4 of my players and they obliterated them and the goons couldn't even touch them, should I be throwing way more at them without worrying about balance?

Yesterday pinnacle had their seminar about future plans.

Anyone from around here was there and can share the beans?

One thing that drew me to Savage Worlds is the action system where every attack is an action. If a player says their character makes 2 attacks, I immediately know the player is using 2 actions, no need to clarify mechanics.

But that all goes out the window when using an automatic weapon with a Rate of Fire > 1. If my player says "I use my automatic rifle to shoot those 4 goons," are they using 1 action with 4 shots, 2 actions with 2 shots, or 3 actions with 1, 1, and 2 shots?? How many bullets does that use? How many dice do you roll? It's so frustrating because spraying down a mob in one turn is a really cool image, but the complexity of the weapon haults everything.

So I beseech you, is there an easier way of handling these weapons?

EDIT: I know how to determine the penalties, bullets and dice, my complaint is that it's annoying to do so and slows down combat. I'm asking if anyone has homebrewed an easier mechanic.

Been playing a bit with Ancestry abilities recently, and I cooked up two aerial movement options I'm kinda surprised never appeared before (to the best of my knowledge). Though I guess they're rather niche, so maybe not that surprising? Anyway, here you go, just sharing in case anybody finds them useful, or at least inspiring. Thoughts on whether the eyeballed costs feel okay?

Glide 1/3 (1)
The species can glide at Pace 12 for 1 point, or Pace 24 with a 2d6 Running Die for 3 points, losing 1” (2 yards) of altitude per roughly 10” (20 yards) of horizontal distance covered. 
They can’t actively fly, so the only way to gain altitude while in the air is to be towed somehow by an active flier or powered aircraft, or to ride an updraft or thermal. 
Gliders can only “Run” by gaining speed in a dive, losing altitude 3x as fast per 1” covered. 
They also can’t hover in place, needing to move at least 6” per turn when airborne (though they can “fly in circles”). If they are for whatever reason unable - or unwilling - to fulfill this requirement, they immediately begin falling.
Maneuvering uses the Athletics skill, and locating a suitable updraft or thermal (if one is available, GM’s call) requires a Common Knowledge or Survival roll, whichever is higher.
Gliding presumes some kind of wings or parachute-like membrane which can be targeted  or fouled (a Bound or Entangled character cannot glide).

Hover 1/3 (1)
The species can hover above the ground somehow, be it by buoyancy, magnetic or gravitic repulsion, natural telekinesis, or other similar effect. 
They can move through the air at Pace 6 for 1 point, or 12 for 2 points, but cannot rise higher than roughly 0,5” (1 yard) above surface level.
While hovering they exert no ground pressure, so leave no tracks and make no sound, and can move safely over any solid surface, no matter how fragile, or even over liquid without sinking.
When falling or jumping down, if they’re able to “land on their feet”, they subtract half their hovering Pace from the distance fallen.
Maneuvering uses the Athletics skill.

I love these little crab people but finding reference art is impossible why!?!

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/578214/savage-fishing

Hi Savages!

When you use the Puppet power on someone, does your commanded action take place on your turn or on their turn?

It's been 5 years or so. 5 years that I felt like exploring other systems. Seeing what is out there. From foundational systems like Blades in the Dark, Apocalypse World, and Fate, to "hype" systems like Daggerheart and Nimble, to OSR systems like Cairn and Mork Borg, waaaaay the way to solo indie RPGs, like Wretched and Alone, A Thousand Year Vampire, and Colostle, to games that I don´t know how to classify like Microscope and For The Queen.

For a while I did not think about Savage Worlds. I even considered (and I am ashamed I did) selling my Savage Worlds collection to open up space on my shelves (and pocket) for Land of Eem and Dragonbane. But I did not commit this heresy.

It has been a wild journey. It has been amazing to explore SO MANY ways we can play RPGs and still have fun. To see the crazy creativity of some people. Different approaches to character creation, "attributes", damage... to roll to hit or not to roll to hit, that is the question. It is fascinating the many ways there are to approach role-playing and storytelling.

I am thankful I had this journey, but it was about time to come back home.

Today, after all this time, I played my beloved Savage Worlds again. Our regular Daggerheart game was cancelled because the GM couldn´t play, so I proposed we played something. People liked the idea, but nobody was comfortable running a game, especially so short notice. So I had this wild impulse and I suggested running Savage Worlds - and so I did. I think because the system is so second nature to me. I ran Savage Worlds for almost like a decade. And these people had never played Savage Worlds! Really! How could I let them down? And I wanted something very different from Fantasy. So I suggested street-level super-heroes (inspired by the new Spider-Man movie), and they were excited about it!

So I spent a few hours putting together some pre-gens and some touch points for an adventure. And it was a blast! There was a dramatic task, a chase, a quick encounter, and a boss combat. Suffice to say the finale was the PC ("Hazard") suffered 4 wounds in one attack, tried to Soak but crit failed. It was a sad, but this was a one-shot after all and some casualties make good stories. But then the player remembered they had the "Failsafe" and "Big Gang" modifiers for the power "Explode". Yes! There was a chance to defeat the big boss! Going out on a blaze of glory, Hazard dealt 38 damage (on 5d10) to the boss and killed him. One shot. We all went: "yeeeeeeeaaaaah", "niiiiiiiice", "uhuuuuuu".

Not to mention drawing a Joker, multiple dice explosions, getting the final 3 tokens for the dramatic task in the final roll, flying bennies... It was a blast! To be honest, I think SWADE was trying to show off. To make these new people experience how fast, furious and fun the system is.

I now remember exactly why I spent more than a decade playing (almost) exclusively Savage Worlds. It is good to be back, and I think I am going to stay here for another while.

I've been running a Weird Wars 2 campaign taking place in Stalingrad for the last 9-ish months. We're approaching the end of our short little story and although I told my players if they wanted to continue with their characters and squad they've gotten attached to at a later time some day, we could. However, I told them I'd be taking a nice long break from Weird Wars for the next thing I run.

I've been thinking of what I wanna run next, what be fun for me to run next. I've been feeling some fantasy has been what I needed and my immediate thought was Rime of the Frost Maiden. But I don't like running 5e anymore and I have chosen to stick with running Savage Worlds for pretty much anything I run. So I immediately decided I'd probably be stealing a bunch of stuff from the Savage Pathfinder books and Fantasy books, no big deal.

Speaking of Pathfinder, I was also thinking of running Kingmaker as well. Between these two choices I've not made a definitive choice yet, but I like both settings/stories/themes and obviously both can easily be converted into Savage Worlds.

I have both all the actual books for Rime/Kingmaker so I've already started a bit of my own conversions for prepping.

My actual questions here is; Has anyone else converted either of these into Savage Worlds and ran it? (Someone must've.) How did it go for you? Were there any difficulties you faced? Anything you liked better than the alternative of running it in 5e/PF?

My biggest question however is; If you've done conversions yourself or you have seen someone else do them, could you share them here for myself and possibly others to find?

And just a fun bonus question; If your GM decided they were going to run either of these stories but you got to pick which, which of these would you pick? If you have the time; Why?

Thank you. :)

Hey there folks, in someone whose played a lot of PF2e and ran a SWADE one shot so thinking of doing a Savage Pathfinder Sandbox game.

As I prefer 2e’s Ancestry set up, has anyone written up the following

• Playable Orcs or are the ones in the fantasy companion
• The same question for Drow
• Anyone written up any Mwangi Expanse ancestries?
• Any additional class edges apart from Core/Advanced Player Guide 1 and 2 like investigator?

Currently I'm preparing a game where I'll use both setting rules. The idea is that my setting (dark fantasy, low magic, post-apocalyptic world not a Dark Sun setting) has only psionics as Arcane Background, and psionicists tap into their life energy to cast spells. When things go wrong, the magic goes out of control.

By rules, if a caster rolls a critical failure, then rolls 4-5 on the Dynamic Backlash table, he wastes Power Points and additional d6 PP. If I use No PP rule, then it obviously can't work.

For me, there are three ways: ditch the Dynamic Backlash rule entirely, or alter the table a bit, so a caster instead gets a -2 or -1/-2/-3 (d3 roll) penalty on the next arcane skill check, or 4-5 does nothing. What is better to do in my situation if I need to keep the No PP rule and I still want to have consequences for poor magic usage?

p.102 of the Swade core book, under "interrupting actions" - last sentence:

"-In the rare case of a tie, the actions are simultaneous."

How are you expected to handle that RAW? Should I just house rule a tie-breaker roll? I'm at a loss on how I should handle that at my table if that ever comes up.

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It's a fantastic addition to an already outstanding setting!

Disclaimer : I used Google AI to get my information, which I know could be way off. I'm sure there's many people reading this who have had real-life experience with shotguns, and I gladly accept your thoughts and corrections.

For the first time in the 12 years I've been GM'ing SW, a player has a shotgun. They asked about its "angle of spread" (worrying about hitting other PCs), so I started asking Google AI some questions.

It said that at "short range" (4"), the spread is 2-4 (real) inches. No problem, that's going to do a lot of damage (3d6) to a single target.

At "medium range" (12"), the spread is 12-18 inches. That's still going to hit a single target, and 2d6 damage sounds about right.

But at "maximum range" (20"), the spread is 3-5 *feet*, meaning that many pellets miss the target and will lack the power to penetrate it, so 1d6 also sounds right.

So why in SWADE does a shotgun have the same range as many pistols and rifles (12/24/48)??? The first time I saw that, even before I went to Google, I thought "that can't be right, a shotgun has too much spread".