I've always been interested in Savage Worlds, but every time I've had the opportunity to actually play there's been some sort of twat at the table who has ruined the experience for me.  It's worth noting that the local SW scene was dominated by a (somewhat) prominent game writer/designer who is an actual douche.  He's since left the area so things might be better, but I still see a lot of the old names on local game postings so I'm leery. 

However this thread has convinced me that I might be better served to take a different approach to getting the game on the table.  I'm thinking I just need to bite the bullet and run a game with my existing gaming group who I can trust to keep things fun at the table.  While this might seem like kind of a minor revelation, it's notable to me in that

a) I generally don't lay out a lot towards a new game unless I've had some substantial experience with it first.  In this case I've played some Savage Showdowns miniatures games, but have little actual experience with SW as a full on RPG.
b)  This well outside my groups wheelhouse.  While a couple have some experience with multiple systems, most know nothing but BXD&D (and a couple don't know even that very well) so this could be quite the stretch for them.

I'm wondering if there's some good resources online, say free adventures and the like, that I could use to defray the costs od this lettle experiment a bit?

I can sympathise a lot with not being able to find a group because everyone in your area is a cunt. On SW. Parhfinder for Savage Worlds is perfect for people who just play DnD. It takes a lot of the terms you're familiar with in DnD and converts them to Savage World Rules. A big trouble I used to have with getting people to play SW, is there's no classes. Yoy build your character through edges. And people just couldn't wrap their heads around that. Savage Pathfinder offers Class Edges. They are edges that give you the abilities of a class from DnD. And it's all the familiar ones. That alone convinced a long time group of mine to finally try Savage Worlds.

When I was still new to Savage Worlds, I too thought that Shaken would lead to a lot of "shield regen" moments. In actuality, that had only ever been a rare case. Most of the time, KOs are quick to happen. Usually when one is Shaken, unless their Parry is extremely high, it is unlikely they'll get away without any wounds after the following round.

I also have been thinking a lot about Toughness and Soaking. I like to interpret Soaking as using Bennies to give your Toughness an added +4 bonus, since in a way, you need to roll a 4 on Vigor to soak the Wound. This also means the attack had hit you as intended, past your armour, and also means you're bleeding. It's just that t'was but a scratch.

Sorry I don't know where I'm going with this post LOL. I just felt like making a SW-related post early in the day 

Tenbones, I'd like to get your opinion on something: what tools/tricks/tactics do you use to counter high Parry + high Toughness characters (talking about 13 Parry 15 Toughness that sorta character)? I tend to use Tests of Will and Wild Attacks, but I'd like to hear more from fellow experienced GMs (I don't trust reddit or the peginc forums, I am willing to bet I have more experience than 99% of their community).

Thanks for sharing, dbm! I may consider Stun and Entangle when I plan out my next encounters. I've also been thinking of doubling my NPC numbers. Usually the fighter of the party clears out a group of 4 extras very quickly (like within 2 rounds), so I may double that to 8.

Tenbones, I'd like to get your opinion on something: what tools/tricks/tactics do you use to counter high Parry + high Toughness characters (talking about 13 Parry 15 Toughness that sorta character)? I tend to use Tests of Will and Wild Attacks, but I'd like to hear more from fellow experienced GMs (I don't trust reddit or the peginc forums, I am willing to bet I have more experience than 99% of their community).

dbm and mudbanks nails it. Those are some *high* numbers. Even in my game where everyone was high Veteran/low-Heroic in a fairly high-fantasy setting, that's some hefty stats.

First and foremost - I always do things in context. It's not like PC's walk around advertising their stats, so I never make enemies do things with some foreknowledge (unless they have it) of what a PC's stats are. If they PC's have those stats, and start whipping the fuck out of my monsters, they earned it. Smart monsters run away, or try different tactics...

My first option: Ranged attacks. You can have all the parry you want... but a hail of arrows is still TN 4 unless you have some other means of protection. Getting past that Toughness? Well that's a different matter.

Second option - Could use poison with touch attacks, (works well in conjunction with ranged).

Third option - Gangup attacks w/ Grappling works good too. Ignore that Parry and start rolling Athletics against a mass of attackers. Grappling in general is a *very* good way to slap some penalties on that badass PC. Give them Vulnerable, and Distracted, keep them unable to move. Hell toss in friends with Reach on top of that... I'll bring that bitch down with Goblins.

Tests - I don't ever put this as a "thing" to consider doing, because I *always* use Tests with my NPC's. No PC typically has all their stats at high levels. SO targetting the stat they're weakest at for a Test is always a solid choice. And don't forget to use your GM Bennies! If my NPC's *know* they're going up against a beast with ridiculous fighting skill (13 Parry!) and they can take a hit like a freight-train (15 Toughness) then you bet your ass I'm going to do it dirty.

Do not forget your NPC's own Edges and Special Abilities - Blinding a PC is *BRUTAL* (Darkness is the same thing). Weapons with AP (be it magic or special materials). Support, Support, Support! Maybe one of your goblins has Pack Tactics! Then watch the fireworks!

Of course there's always Magic. Lower Trait, Entangle - BRUTAL. Oh that Fighting has that Parry real high? Lemme drop it a couple of dice. SPEND THE BENNY, MAKE THEM FEEL IT.

It depends on the circumstances of course. While those are high ratings, I've taken down PC's with slightly beefier stats with good old fashioned goblins that play smart and fight dirty. But I'm always respectful of any PC in my campaigns that reach those kinds of power-levels, because I make sure they earn it, and I like letting them throw their weight around. This way when they run up against NPC's that *do* fight smart, because they might know something about their abilities, or are on that same level - the PC's give them that respect right back. It's good to let the players show some fear in their eyes... hehe

I ran the Earthshaker adventure (one of the three adventures written for the Fantasy Companion) over the weekend using archetype characters from Savage Pathfinder. Two of the players were brand new to Savage Worlds.

I ran the chase scene blind. Hadn't read the rules up until hours before the session, because chases had never interested me very much. It went pretty smooth. Both the chase and the fight inside the mobile fortress took a while, but individual combat rounds flew by quickly. I like how SWADE handles chase mechanics. Using a second action deck to represent relative distance is a neat idea. If I'd had more time to prepare, I would have modified the encounter to use the quick chase deck.

Nobody got too fancy with using tests, support, ganging up, wild attack, or any of the other mechanics. Everyone pretty much played straight. Fights would have been over more quickly if people were using the rules to their advantage. However, with most of the group being brand new to Savage Worlds, that was to be expected.

Players liked the flexibility in character options, and the various hindrances went over well. They liked the flavor that went along with their hindrances.

Yup the Mass Battle mechanics are great. I had a lot of fun running MBs. Despite being heavily narrative driven, they are also tied to strategies and math, so there's still some mild number crunching going on. However, because everything is resolved so quickly, things never stop moving. You constantly feel like characters are moving, there's ferocious fighting going on, spells are being slung, etc. It's really something else and you have to play it to believe it.

I would LOVE to run an Hour of the Dragon-esque scenario using Savage Worlds one day.

Yeah I'm all in on the Print edition.

I *suspect* this is going to be the testbed for their Martial Arts Companion which is supposed to be coming out in the future.