Link (https://www.peginc.com/store/savage-worlds-adventure-edition-core-rules-pdf-swade/)
I'm pretty happy with it. It's like the old edition, but in the average more robust and intuitive. It's interesting to me how D&D 5e has influenced this version (Unlike Paizo, these devs admit that they do play D&D 5e from time to time).
Some skills are compressed, the couple tables they had for skills are gone/replaced. Overall though, the skill system is deeper and simpler with the Support and Test systems allowing for lots of shenanigans.
Edges and Hindrances got a face lift. Charisma has been removed as a mechanic. The action economy got reworked to allow for repeat actions, but now limits actions to 3 and all abilities that added actions instead reduce the multi-action penalty. This should mean that actions cap out at three, which should make combat go faster in Sci-fi or High Fantasy settings.
Magic got reworked such that it's less "combat focused". I used to have a bias towards no power points, but this version makes power points much more workable. Faster power point regeneration, longer durations, the "New Powers" edge gives 2 powers now instead of one, universal power modifiers, basic magic item crafting (by power points not by gold), new utility powers, etc. All good stuff for the prospective wizard.
Is there a legal free PDF of the changes?
Quote from: Christopher Brady;1069248Is there a legal free PDF of the changes?
There will be. I do not believe it's currently out because this pdf will get one more update before being sent to the printers.
Quote from: Christopher Brady;1069248Is there a legal free PDF of the changes?
There will be, but I do not believe it is currently out because this pdf is going to get one more update before being sent to the printers.
Also probably not completely free. The conversion guide will be available to owners of previous editions. (I think?)
Quote from: Rhedyn;1069251There will be, but I do not believe it is currently out because this pdf is going to get one more update before being sent to the printers.
Also probably not completely free. The conversion guide will be available to owners of previous editions. (I think?)
The problem is I have a hard copy of the last Deluxe Explorer's Edition and I'd like to know what exactly the changes are. I'm hoping there's a free update. I'll get the new book, some day. But drummin' up the 12 bucks (CDN) is sadly harder than it should be.
I like the rules on paper thus far. Gearing up to putting them in use in a couple of weeks. *Yes* - there will be a free update.
Culled from Reddit places -
Support Rules: This is a streamlining of Cooperative Rolls in the current edition of the rules, with an expanded scope that provides assistance through unrelated Skills and can be used in combat.
Test Rules: These are replacing Tricks and Tests of Will, which requires a Skill vs Attribute opposed roll; success allows you to inflict the Vulnerable or Distracted condition on the victim.
Core Skills: A rule that grants player characters a free d4 in five different Skills that "every reasonable character has at least a modicum of ability in." According to the Saving Throw ETU game, we also only begin with 12 Skill Points, rather than 15.
Multi-Actions: Characters can take up to three actions per turn, with a maximum Multi-Action Penalty of –4. You can now repeat actions. It is unclear how existing Edges have been changed to adapt to this change.
New Chase Rules: These have been released by PEG and are a total overhaul of the Chase Rules, using a token-based system to determine your distance from targets. The goals are to make it simpler to pull out and use on the fly and make weapons with different range brackets relevant in chases (such as a driver with a pistol vs a helicopter with a chain gun).
Quick Encounters: This is an expansion of the Quick Combat rules that were released a while ago, allowing for the quick abstraction of almost any challenge or interactions (listed examples include Chases, Combats, Crises, Heists, Missions, and Treks).
Wealth System: A very common house rule around these parts that eschews money for a general idea of "wealth" that could be very useful to a large portion of Savage Worlds settings that don't place an emphasis on managing funds (Rifts, Flash Gordon, supers games, and so forth). Possibly a Setting Rule, as there are a great number of settings that place a lot of emphasis on keeping track of your money (Deadlands: Noir, ETU, and D&D-esque fantasy). No information yet.
Distinction between "adventure gear" and setting-appropriate allowances--otherwise known as "how can I buy a motorcycle with $500 as a starting character?"
The Athletics Skill: A new Skill that combines Climbing, Swimming, Grappling, and Throwing into a single skill. It's linked to Agility, though there apparently will be an Edge to link it to Strength.
Grappling Rules: First appearing in Flash Gordon, the Grappling rules have been updated slightly to focus on the established design paradigm of "Skills are active, Attributes are passive."
Further explanation as to fitting Athletics and Agility, and more of a deep-dive into design philosophy rather than a new mechanic. Interesting to note and possibly helpful to the "Athletics has to be Strength" detractors.
New Suppressive Fire rules: The Suppressive Fire in SWD, as we all know, was pretty rough and needed a fix. This is their attempt to rectify that in SWADE, along with making the maneuver available to any firearm instead of just those with RoF 2+.
Benny Uses: The Saving Throw podcast has outlined all of the new uses for bennies:
*Reroll a Trait roll, but not Critical Failures. If you reroll a Trait roll and end up with a Crit Fail, you don't keep the highest--you're stuck with the Crit Fail.
*Unshake in combat
*Soak rolls
*Draw a new Action Card--you seem to be stuck with the new card unless you spend a second Benny, you don't just keep the highest. Quick and Level Headed only apply to cards drawn normally, not to cards earned through Bennies
*Reroll a damage roll (No Mercy adds a bonus to re-rolled damage, according to the Saving Throw ETU preview) Regain 1d6 Power Points
*"Influence the Story;" there are no details as to what this entails other than that it requires the GM to "okay" the idea.
Charisma: Charisma has been removed entirely. In its place, effects that previously affected Charisma have been given new mechanics (such as Attractive giving bonuses to Persuasion, and Charismatic allowing characters to reroll failed Persuasion rolls).
Critical Failure: This has been changed. It appears to occur when a majority of dice roll a 1, rather than only needing to roll a 1 on one Skill die and one Wild Die. The specifics are unconfirmed.
Defend Maneuver: This adds +4 to a character's Parry, but the character cannot take any additional actions while Defending (movement is allowed).
Experience: XP has been removed, instead telling GMs how often players should apply an Advance (once every other game for long campaigns, every session for short campaigns).
Fatigue: Bumps and Bruises now appears to be a specific variation of Fatigue, rather than the "default" Fatigue option, and only takes one hour to recover from Bumps and Bruises.
Joker's Wild is now a core rule, not a Setting Rule; but if the GM draws a Joker for his NPCs, he gets a GM Benny and all enemy Wild Cards also get an extra Benny
Power Modifiers: These were "first previewed in Flash Gordon," but there is no other information revealed yet.
Skills: Thievery seems to combine Lockpicking with sleight of hand and pickpocketing. Performance is now a core Skill (it's unclear what exactly it entails). Hacking, Science, Electronics, Battle, and Academics are now distinct Skills, and it appears that generic "Knowledge" Skills are no longer available. You no longer need to spend a full Advance to purchase a new Skill.
Quote from: Christopher Brady;1069253The problem is I have a hard copy of the last Deluxe Explorer's Edition and I'd like to know what exactly the changes are. I'm hoping there's a free update. I'll get the new book, some day. But drummin' up the 12 bucks (CDN) is sadly harder than it should be.
I'm afraid that getting the new book will cost you more than $12 unless the exchange rate between Canada and the US has shifted dramatically. Pinnacle is dropping the low cost soft cover model for the core rule book. (I'm a backer, and like what I've seen so far in the PDF.) The new core rulebook will be hardcover and retail somewhere around $50.
Quote from: tenbones;1069254Fatigue: Bumps and Bruises now appears to be a specific variation of Fatigue, rather than the "default" Fatigue option, and only takes one hour to recover from Bumps and Bruises.
Fatigue recovers after an hour. Bumps and Bruises takes 24 hours or a healing check.
The general feedback from the community has been really spot-on with catching errors and making recommendations for clarity. PEG is doing an rock-solid job on the updates. I'm pretty surprised at the general positivity and *amount* of support. I honestly didn't really that SW was remotely this popular.
Sure there will be quibbly rules that I don't necessarily care for - but I've been reading their latest versions as they come out and I'm really happy with them getting all the core rules in alignment. It makes all the setting-specific stuff more special.
I'm really happy with PEG's work on this - even more pleased with the fan-response. It's not just people voting yea/nay - it's fans giving their honest feedback and PEG really listening and taking that feedback into consideration.
Performance? Dancing, singing, acting, etc. I'd assume. In the Crimefighting pulp game I'm running, one of the characters is a Lounge Singer/Dancer and we made that skill for her.
Quote from: wmarshal;1069257I'm afraid that getting the new book will cost you more than $12 unless the exchange rate between Canada and the US has shifted dramatically. Pinnacle is dropping the low cost soft cover model for the core rule book. (I'm a backer, and like what I've seen so far in the PDF.) The new core rulebook will be hardcover and retail somewhere around $50.
There'll not be a paperback? Damn. I'm seriously out then. I have to shell out for the D&D 5e AL adventure books (as it's my main way to interact with humanity) every year as well as any supplements that come with it, so that's my entire purchaseables budget... I mean, I can maybe swing maybe a 20 every couple of months, but not a whopping 65CDN.
Take care of your spine, kids, s'all I can say.
Quote from: Christopher Brady;1069281Performance? Dancing, singing, acting, etc. I'd assume. In the Crimefighting pulp game I'm running, one of the characters is a Lounge Singer/Dancer and we made that skill for her.
It's a base skill now.
Quote from: Christopher Brady;1069283There'll not be a paperback? Damn. I'm seriously out then. I have to shell out for the D&D 5e AL adventure books (as it's my main way to interact with humanity) every year as well as any supplements that come with it, so that's my entire purchaseables budget... I mean, I can maybe swing maybe a 20 every couple of months, but not a whopping 65CDN.
I recall that it was going to be $40 for a hardback (though that tier of the KS was $50 because of digital rewards). PEG is moving entirely to their Graphic Novel Hardback format for durability (cost/performance) reasons.
Quote from: Christopher Brady;1069283Take care of your spine, kids, s'all I can say.
Try rubbing magnets on it. I'm only halfway joking. A powerful magnetic field through the spine can stimulate nerve growth.
Though in the more likely event of bone, ligament, disc, and/or muscle injury, that sucks.
Quote from: tenbones;1069254I like the rules on paper thus far. Gearing up to putting them in use in a couple of weeks. *Yes* - there will be a free update.
Culled from Reddit places -
Support Rules: This is a streamlining of Cooperative Rolls in the current edition of the rules, with an expanded scope that provides assistance through unrelated Skills and can be used in combat.
Test Rules: These are replacing Tricks and Tests of Will, which requires a Skill vs Attribute opposed roll; success allows you to inflict the Vulnerable or Distracted condition on the victim.
Core Skills: A rule that grants player characters a free d4 in five different Skills that "every reasonable character has at least a modicum of ability in." According to the Saving Throw ETU game, we also only begin with 12 Skill Points, rather than 15.
Multi-Actions: Characters can take up to three actions per turn, with a maximum Multi-Action Penalty of –4. You can now repeat actions. It is unclear how existing Edges have been changed to adapt to this change.
New Chase Rules: These have been released by PEG and are a total overhaul of the Chase Rules, using a token-based system to determine your distance from targets. The goals are to make it simpler to pull out and use on the fly and make weapons with different range brackets relevant in chases (such as a driver with a pistol vs a helicopter with a chain gun).
Quick Encounters: This is an expansion of the Quick Combat rules that were released a while ago, allowing for the quick abstraction of almost any challenge or interactions (listed examples include Chases, Combats, Crises, Heists, Missions, and Treks).
Wealth System: A very common house rule around these parts that eschews money for a general idea of "wealth" that could be very useful to a large portion of Savage Worlds settings that don't place an emphasis on managing funds (Rifts, Flash Gordon, supers games, and so forth). Possibly a Setting Rule, as there are a great number of settings that place a lot of emphasis on keeping track of your money (Deadlands: Noir, ETU, and D&D-esque fantasy). No information yet.
Distinction between "adventure gear" and setting-appropriate allowances--otherwise known as "how can I buy a motorcycle with $500 as a starting character?"
The Athletics Skill: A new Skill that combines Climbing, Swimming, Grappling, and Throwing into a single skill. It's linked to Agility, though there apparently will be an Edge to link it to Strength.
Grappling Rules: First appearing in Flash Gordon, the Grappling rules have been updated slightly to focus on the established design paradigm of "Skills are active, Attributes are passive."
Further explanation as to fitting Athletics and Agility, and more of a deep-dive into design philosophy rather than a new mechanic. Interesting to note and possibly helpful to the "Athletics has to be Strength" detractors.
New Suppressive Fire rules: The Suppressive Fire in SWD, as we all know, was pretty rough and needed a fix. This is their attempt to rectify that in SWADE, along with making the maneuver available to any firearm instead of just those with RoF 2+.
Benny Uses: The Saving Throw podcast has outlined all of the new uses for bennies:
*Reroll a Trait roll, but not Critical Failures. If you reroll a Trait roll and end up with a Crit Fail, you don't keep the highest--you're stuck with the Crit Fail.
*Unshake in combat
*Soak rolls
*Draw a new Action Card--you seem to be stuck with the new card unless you spend a second Benny, you don't just keep the highest. Quick and Level Headed only apply to cards drawn normally, not to cards earned through Bennies
*Reroll a damage roll (No Mercy adds a bonus to re-rolled damage, according to the Saving Throw ETU preview) Regain 1d6 Power Points
*"Influence the Story;" there are no details as to what this entails other than that it requires the GM to "okay" the idea.
Charisma: Charisma has been removed entirely. In its place, effects that previously affected Charisma have been given new mechanics (such as Attractive giving bonuses to Persuasion, and Charismatic allowing characters to reroll failed Persuasion rolls).
Critical Failure: This has been changed. It appears to occur when a majority of dice roll a 1, rather than only needing to roll a 1 on one Skill die and one Wild Die. The specifics are unconfirmed.
Defend Maneuver: This adds +4 to a character's Parry, but the character cannot take any additional actions while Defending (movement is allowed).
Experience: XP has been removed, instead telling GMs how often players should apply an Advance (once every other game for long campaigns, every session for short campaigns).
Fatigue: Bumps and Bruises now appears to be a specific variation of Fatigue, rather than the "default" Fatigue option, and only takes one hour to recover from Bumps and Bruises.
Joker's Wild is now a core rule, not a Setting Rule; but if the GM draws a Joker for his NPCs, he gets a GM Benny and all enemy Wild Cards also get an extra Benny
Power Modifiers: These were "first previewed in Flash Gordon," but there is no other information revealed yet.
Skills: Thievery seems to combine Lockpicking with sleight of hand and pickpocketing. Performance is now a core Skill (it's unclear what exactly it entails). Hacking, Science, Electronics, Battle, and Academics are now distinct Skills, and it appears that generic "Knowledge" Skills are no longer available. You no longer need to spend a full Advance to purchase a new Skill.
It's like a whole other game almost. I'll have to go on YouTube and see what players think.
Quote from: Christopher Brady;1069283There'll not be a paperback? Damn. I'm seriously out then. I have to shell out for the D&D 5e AL adventure books (as it's my main way to interact with humanity) every year as well as any supplements that come with it, so that's my entire purchaseables budget... I mean, I can maybe swing maybe a 20 every couple of months, but not a whopping 65CDN.
Take care of your spine, kids, s'all I can say.
I'm going to take this from a different perspective.
Utility.
The $40 Core Rulebook (physical quality aside since it's an unknown) - provides an entire PHB/DMG/MM all in one book that can, right out of the box, can replicate anything in the D&D core books with better fidelity (imo, which I'm more than willing to discuss), I think the value of the corebook is worth the price of entry alone.
GRANTED - you might have to do some setting conversion, but it's pretty straightforward. Heck most of the fandom will put out conversion rules for D&D5 (https://medium.com/@rodneyorpheus/converting-other-rpgs-to-savage-worlds-9ab60228f71d) which already is 99% compatible with SWADE (and will get updated in all likelihood).
Unless you have a total commitment with your group to only playing whatever label currently holds the D&D name... I think that's a reasonable choice to not do it.
Quote from: Shawn Driscoll;1069294It's like a whole other game almost. I'll have to go on YouTube and see what players think.
Honestly I thought that too...
But once I got my copy - it's really a collation and tweaks of ALL the rules that have propagated through various settings books since 2011 when the Deluxe rules dropped.
I'm still processing - but I'm pretty happy with their direction of sticking with a core conceit of Skills over Attributes and cleaning up a lot of Conditions. It's not really as crazy as it looks. It's a LOT of clarification and tweaks. It makes me *more* stoked to see the new updated setting books.
Quote from: tenbones;1069299Honestly I thought that too...
But once I got my copy - it's really a collation and tweaks of ALL the rules that have propagated through various settings books since 2011 when the Deluxe rules dropped.
Well that makes more sense then. Because I was thinking where all this new ruled stuff was coming from.
Quote from: Christopher Brady;1069253The problem is I have a hard copy of the last Deluxe Explorer's Edition and I'd like to know what exactly the changes are. I'm hoping there's a free update. I'll get the new book, some day. But drummin' up the 12 bucks (CDN) is sadly harder than it should be.
As others mentioned, it should only be $40 USD. The PDF is currently available on DrivethruRPG for $10 USD. And keep an eye on Amazon once the physical book comes out. (I'm a KS backer, as I like to support game companies and FLGS directly, but understand that's not practical for everyone.)
The definitely will be a free conversion guide. Pinnacle has stated as much.
Quote from: Oneiros;1069368As others mentioned, it should only be $40 USD. The PDF is currently available on DrivethruRPG for $10 USD. And keep an eye on Amazon once the physical book comes out. (I'm a KS backer, as I like to support game companies and FLGS directly, but understand that's not practical for everyone.)
The definitely will be a free conversion guide. Pinnacle has stated as much.
Oh the PDF is already out? Cool. I'll see if I can swing it this month. Probably not, but we'll see.
Too bad they're not doing a cheap softcover. I think their SW cheapo versions did lots to promote the game.
Looking forward to hearing about everyone's Actual Play with the new rules.
They might eventually though they are a rpg company and it makes sense for them to make as much money as they can off the more expensive version than release a cheaper PDF down the line.
Quote from: sureshot;1069401They might eventually though they are a rpg company and it makes sense for them to make as much money as they can off the more expensive version than release a cheaper PDF down the line.
OK. The Opening Post has a link to the new $10 PDF. Which is available right now before the physical book is purchasable.
The physical book is going to be a $40 hardback. They looked into softcovers, found out that with the price increase that it wasn't worth it to even offer that option anymore. Apparently they got a special one time deal for the $10 deluxe edition and that just isn't happening again. Based on products like Flash Gordon, a softback would have been $30.
Who here would prefer a $30 softback over a $40 hardback?
Quote from: Christopher Brady;1069372Oh the PDF is already out? Cool. I'll see if I can swing it this month. Probably not, but we'll see.
Might not be bad to wait a bit, if you're not going to use it right away. It's not currently in it's final draft form, but getting close. Finalized version should be ready to go early next month.
$40 for a hardback is good.
$20 for B/W softcover would be good too.
Of course, $60 for a hardback is perfectly fine if you play the damn game lots of time. RPG ROI is all based on actual play.
PDF it is for me then.
Blah.
Quote from: RPGPundit;1069563Blah.
https://youtu.be/9Jz1TjCphXE
Quote from: RPGPundit;1069563Blah.
Your opinion is duly noted.
So, it's still dice-step, the wild die is still there and it's still got exploding dice...
Quote from: 3rik;1069579So, it's still dice-step, the wild die is still there and it's still got exploding dice...
Why yes, it is Savage Worlds.
New editions are backwards compatible so being an entirely different game isn't really on the table for changes.
Quote from: Rhedyn;1069586Why yes, it is Savage Worlds.
New editions are backwards compatible so being an entirely different game isn't really on the table for changes.
It seems to me it's still pretty much the same game. They have just rearranged some skills and attributes in a way that makes more sense to me.
Quote from: 3rik;1069579So, it's still dice-step, the wild die is still there and it's still got exploding dice...
What is the reason you don't really like this system as much as some other systems?
Quote from: jan paparazzi;1069619What is the reason you don't really like this system as much as some other systems?
Dice-step, the wild die and exploding dice. Oh, and the whole Shaken, Wounded thing. I prefer hit points. IME there's just a whole lot of fiddly stuff going on for such a relatively light system. It also doesn't feel particularly Fast, Furious and/or Fun.
Quote from: 3rik;1069622Dice-step, the wild die and exploding dice. Oh, and the whole Shaken, Wounded thing. I prefer hit points. IME there's just a whole lot of fiddly stuff going on for such a relatively light system. It also doesn't feel particularly Fast, Furious and/or Fun.
Idk, I find that hit points adds a lot more crunch than Savage Worlds' basic wound system.
But to each their own. I like being able to run 30+ Kaiju on 6mm scale against the party in Mechs as a couple of one-off fights before the real encounter.
Quote from: 3rik;1069622Dice-step, the wild die and exploding dice. Oh, and the whole Shaken, Wounded thing. I prefer hit points. IME there's just a whole lot of fiddly stuff going on for such a relatively light system. It also doesn't feel particularly Fast, Furious and/or Fun.
It's faster than mid-level D&D in MY experience.
Quote from: sureshot;1069570https://youtu.be/9Jz1TjCphXE
As funny as this was, please don't post blind links. You must include description for links here.
Quote from: 3rik;1069622Dice-step, the wild die and exploding dice. Oh, and the whole Shaken, Wounded thing. I prefer hit points. IME there's just a whole lot of fiddly stuff going on for such a relatively light system. It also doesn't feel particularly Fast, Furious and/or Fun.
I thought this, and after playing it, I feel differently. Have you played it with an experienced GM? Because the game plays to me, differently than it reads ( seemed alot reading it,playing, it was fast furious, and most importantly, fun). I think high defenses or toughness does turn into a series of exploding dice needed to land a big shot, and I can not say how a high point/level encounter plays out.
My experience is that once you get the tempo of the combat system down - SW runs a lot faster than D&D. The Shaken rules simulates the whittling down of HP - including the Wounds rules which simulates the Death Spiral that the D&D HP system does not.
Plus you have many more mechanical options that plug directly into the fast-and-loose SW combat system. 5e does too... but I find the implementation to be less cohesive and tacked on.
Takes some getting used to if you come directly from D&D. But once you ride around in it with a decent GM that understands the system, it flows really nicely as long as you like over-the-top cinematic combat.
Quote from: oggsmash;1070937I think high defenses or toughness does turn into a series of exploding dice needed to land a big shot, and I can not say how a high point/level encounter plays out.
I think this is a *feature* of combat. It makes combat more dramatic and satisfying.
Quote from: tenbones;1071001I think this is a *feature* of combat. It makes combat more dramatic and satisfying.
I like how it reduces the "I attack it again" rounds and increases the "I do something creative to help other people kill it".
Quote from: Rhedyn;1071006I like how it reduces the "I attack it again" rounds and increases the "I do something creative to help other people kill it".
yeah! I can do more with a "thief" in SW that directly impacts combat for the whole party - including *everything* I could do with a thief in D&D without losing anything. Tricks, Taunts, etc is a HUUUUGE tactical benefit to the party. Opening up with the standard backstab (The Drop) feels better than the Sneak-Attack of post-3.x D&D. Couple that with things like Called Shots and whatever Edges you have that define your character... only makes it better.
And that's just one concept. Stand-and-bang melee have tons of possibilities that play very differently. You don't need classes. You just need to decide what your PC is about and their MO and proceed with wild abandon because you have no limits outside the scope of your setting constraints. Which for Savage Worlds is a tall bar.
Quote from: tenbones;1071001I think this is a *feature* of combat. It makes combat more dramatic and satisfying.
The experiences I had it seemed to add drama and tension and I would agree it seemed a feature, I guess It looked like high skill combatants could get interesting, where it takes a 12 to explode the die, and statistically that can get harder to do. But that is more me theory crafting than in game experience. I know with combat skills around d10 and parry 8 to 10 or so it did look more a feature (where people used gang up, distractions, etc) to create tension and drama in a fight. How does it go when the numbers get way up, like a 11 or so parry and d12+ skills? I know for our group the wild die exploding was the cavalry riding in on a few encounters.
Quote from: oggsmash;1071036How does it go when the numbers get way up, like a 11 or so parry and d12+ skills? I know for our group the wild die exploding was the cavalry riding in on a few encounters.
Oh I've been there.
It basically plays the same. For my campaign there came a point when the party was basically the boss encounter fighting waves of plucky mooks, that is until they fought someone with bigger numbers than them.
Quote from: oggsmash;1071036The experiences I had it seemed to add drama and tension and I would agree it seemed a feature, I guess It looked like high skill combatants could get interesting, where it takes a 12 to explode the die, and statistically that can get harder to do. But that is more me theory crafting than in game experience. I know with combat skills around d10 and parry 8 to 10 or so it did look more a feature (where people used gang up, distractions, etc) to create tension and drama in a fight. How does it go when the numbers get way up, like a 11 or so parry and d12+ skills? I know for our group the wild die exploding was the cavalry riding in on a few encounters.
Yeah a lot of people forget that if you have a d10 in any skill - you're among the best in the world at that skill. In D&D terms it would be like being a 10th level fighter or better, with d12 representing 15th+. So combat at that level *should* be difficult.
When people have Parry 10+ you should let that PC indulge in how good they really are at turning blades, avoiding blows, etc and let them feel how badass they really are - so that when the eventual exploding die pierces that high Parry value, they know shit just got real and they're dealing with something clearly on a special level.
When it happens in my games, it immediately becomes an "ohhhh shit!" moment and the fight is on. I like my players with high combat stats revel in their badassery. They should feel heroic and above the lesser combatants. Until it's time for them to meet their martial peers. Its one of the most attractive parts of Savage Worlds for me, where your primary defenses are tied directly to your skills (mostly) and less to your gear. Unlike D&D.
And yes - when going up against someone with a Parry of 10+ you should be trying to use every possible advantage to bypass that in order to hit them. Tricks, Gang-up whatever it takes. It keeps those PC's with high Parry ratings on their toes and lets them know that not every mook or NPC is a dummy that can't deal with them on an even footing but still be dangerous.
All of this keeps the tensions high at that level.
I want to run a fantasy campaign (I haven't ran a game as a gamemaster in aeons) and I was trying to figure out which system would be best. I may buy the PDF and check it out. I have the Deluxe edition, and it seems like they may have fixed some of the things that bothered me about Savage Worlds.
Quote from: Redforce;1071745I want to run a fantasy campaign (I haven't ran a game as a gamemaster in aeons) and I was trying to figure out which system would be best. I may buy the PDF and check it out. I have the Deluxe edition, and it seems like they may have fixed some of the things that bothered me about Savage Worlds.
I really like running Savage Worlds, more so than any other system so far.
Quote from: Redforce;1071745I want to run a fantasy campaign (I haven't ran a game as a gamemaster in aeons) and I was trying to figure out which system would be best. I may buy the PDF and check it out. I have the Deluxe edition, and it seems like they may have fixed some of the things that bothered me about Savage Worlds.
I just started a Savage Worlds campaign using the 4.0 PDF.
Set in my former Forgotten Realms campaign (which I ran for about 5-years using 3.x/Pathfinder), it's *very* high-powered, Gritty and Epic all at once. So I've created a document to cite my races, some new Edges specific for my setting. I started everyone out at Novice and everyone gets the Linguistics Edge for free (as a setting rule).
I'm using the following:
SWADE Core 4.0 rules - Baseline. The only modifications I'm doing are for my races, which are all +4 instead of the standard +2. For humans they get a free Regional Edge which I've created a bunch for my campaign.
Fantasy Companion- Mostly gear, some Edges. I've brought them all into line with SWADE (with a caveat to my players that once the new Fantasy Companion comes out, expect further adjusments as needed)
Shaintar - Mostly for gear. Magic in the Core Rules are already *very powerful*. Some Edges as well. But all Edges and gear are being modified to be in-line with the Core. I'm also using Defining Interests (Half your Smarts in "topics" of interest to your character - netting you a +1 bonus when dealing with that topic).
Deadlands - I'm using Weird Science for Gondmen and Tinker Gnomes (one of my PC's is a Tinker Gnome). So while it's not widespread, it's a thing in specific locales. I'm also converting Hexslinging into being it's own "art" for Arcane Archery. But that's something that will happen later when I introduce it. I'm also using Psionics in my game - it was big part of my campaign last time, so there are parts of the Psionics I've culled from Deadlands (for Monks) as well as the core book to reproduce in the game (I have an entire kingdom that is a Psiocracy, where psychics rule).
Savage World Rifts - I'm converting portions of the Savage Rifts' Cyberknight, piecemealing it out to be a distinct Arcane Background: Physical Adept to simulate Psychic Warriors with several edges to support it (Psi-Blade, Psi-Shield etc). Originally I was going to fold it into Arcane Background: Psionics - but a player convinced me to make it it's own thing.
I'm open to other books content (Guild of Shadows, Beasts and Barbarians, Hellfrost, Pirates of the Spanish Main, and 50-Fathoms are all on the table) - but I'd have to convert that content to be in-line with the SWADE Core which is pretty easy. I'm going all out on this - it's starting out bog-standard D&D adventuring, but there are/will be elements of the Underdark, Spelljammer, Planescape in here at higher Ranks of play. The sandbox is vast. The starting place small. The goal is to see if the PC's can get to the 20th-lvl + power-level equivalent and beyond. Of course, Ivan Drago D.O.N.G. Blackbelt rule #1 applies (If they die. They die).
My opinion of SWADE 4.0 thus far - it rocks my socks. There are things I wasn't so sure about - and I'm still not sure about how I feel about some them (the Shaken rules). But that said, nothing has even remotely come up as an issue. And there are a lot of new sub-systems I wanna try in game.
Once you GM Savage Worlds for a bit, you start stealing crunch from all the other books and mashing them into your campaign.
That is not to say that the Core Book isn't serviceable by itself, at least for a few campaigns.
Quote from: tenbones;1071768My opinion of SWADE 4.0 thus far .
I though they were only on 3.0 so far. When did 4.0 become available?
Quote from: Rhedyn;1071771Once you GM Savage Worlds for a bit, you start stealing crunch from all the other books and mashing them into your campaign.
That is not to say that the Core Book isn't serviceable by itself, at least for a few campaigns.
Absolutely. And it's by design. The new Core is pretty impressive. I could do everything with just that alone. But for the sake of ease lifting stuff from other books and tweaking them for the Core conceits saves time.
Quote from: HappyDaze;1071777I though they were only on 3.0 so far. When did 4.0 become available?
Earlier this week. It's the ready-to-print version, unless something
really glaring shows up.
Quote from: Armchair Gamer;1071782Earlier this week. It's the ready-to-print version, unless something really glaring shows up.
Odd. My Drivethru page says it's still 3.0 and doesn't give a PoD option.
Quote from: HappyDaze;1071791Odd. My Drivethru page says it's still 3.0 and doesn't give a PoD option.
That's because PEG doesn't PoD (for the most part) they just have stock. They will be printing this version probably after their editor goes through it again.
So I kicked off my new campaign. Players were travelling to discover the disappearance of two caravans that were scheduled to have arrived a week earlier. They get to a fort. What was supposed to be a series of scouting and skirmish missions with a tribe of invading Scarback Hobgoblin tribe, where the Hobs would be whittled down slowly... turned into a huge invasion of Hobgoblins on the PC's fort.
So 15 NPC's + the group of 5-PC's vs. 120 Hobgoblins led by a Hobgoblin witch and her three captains (Wildcards) with a few small catapults. We ended up using the Mass Combat rules in the Corebook (first time) and despite my skepticism it worked marvelously. It allowed me to adjust the bonuses for each side based on tactics made by the PC's during each phase. It allows *each* PC to do things based on what they think their characters would be doing to help out - you can usually use any skill and leaves it to the GM to allow it (so my "rogue"-types were using their Athletics skills to pull out the wounded off the wall, those with Healing were tending the wounded), but my melee guys were "On the walls splitting Hobgoblin skulls!" etc.
In the end - the PC's and 5 NPC's survived... and the Hobgoblins despite superior numbers (though poorer tactics) were repelled and destroyed. Half the PC's were Incapacitated due to fatigue. Some had nasty Wounds.
My overall feelings were - the Mass Combat rules were cool and fun. 7/10 (I'd rate it higher but it was my first time using it). It feels like an open-ended Ship-Combat fight where *everyone* matters.
I can immediately see that you could use these rules from everything like a small skirmishes to *MASSSSSSIVE* army vs. army, Planetary invasions capital-ship armada vs. planet, etc. It's super flexible and "feels" right.
I need to try the Chase Rules now (though I confess I'm more interested in them for vehicle combat as I can run foot-chases fine without these rules).
So I got the SWADE PDF from a friend for Xmas/my birthday, I've been going through it. For the most I like it, and some of the new Edges are cool, although I'm not to keen on the Two Fisted/Two Gun Kid split. I'm currently running a 1930's pulp crime fighter campaign, that I've 'switched over' with a couple of friends.
I'm not sure I like the Disarm rule, mind you. Not that it was all that hot to begin with in older editions. I'm also not sure I like the stacking damage for Martial Arts and Brawler... A die bump seems odd to me.
Oh, right, almost forgot, apparently Pinnacle is opening a similar creators option like DM's Guild on DriveThru. I just got an E-mail from them.
yeah a lot of these settings look really good. I'm seriously considering tossing my hat into the ring.
As for the rules - yeah I'm playing through first. I want to get a good taste of it all. I'll make changes once I see how it all pans out. Thus far, it's working really well.