Savage Worlds
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| Savage Worlds | |
|---|---|
 Savage Worlds revised rulebook |
|
| Designer(s) | Shane Lacy Hensley |
| Publisher(s) | Great White Games |
| Publication date | 2003 |
| Genre(s) | Universal, Pulp, Horror, Fantasy, Science Fiction |
| System | Savage Worlds |
Savage Worlds is a universal generic role-playing game and miniatures wargame, written by Shane Lacy Hensley, and published by Great White Games doing business as Pinnacle Entertainment Group. The game emphasizes speed of play and speed of preparation over realism or detail.
Contents |
[edit] Settings
Savage Worlds is a generic rules system, but Pinnacle has released "Savage Settings" - campaign settings or modules designed specifically for the Savage Worlds rules. These include:
- Evernight
- 50 Fathoms
- Necessary Evil
- Rippers
- Low Life
Pinnacle also publishes setting books based on the company's earlier lines, including:
- Deadlands: Reloaded
- Weird Wars: Tour of Darkness
- Weird Wars: Necropolis
A licensing system in in place for electronic and book publishers to release material for the Savage Worlds game. Such "Savaged!" licensees are allowed to use the Savage Worlds mascot "Smiling Jack" as a logo on their products. Multiple PDF adventure scenarios are available using this licensing system, as well as setting related supplements like the Vampire Earth RPG Sourcebook and the Shaintar Player's Guide.
[edit] System
[edit] Traits
Savage Worlds details characters with statistics. These "traits", as they are referred to in the rules, are divided into "attributes", which are inherent and "skills", which are learned.
"Attributes" in Savage Worlds include:
- Agility
- Smarts
- Spirit
- Strength
- Vigor
Some examples of skills in Savage Worlds include:
- Fighting
- Healing
- Stealth
All traits are rated by a single polyhedral die. The more sides a die has, the better the trait is. So a character with a Strength trait of a ten-sided die (d10) is stronger than a character whose Strength trait is rated with a six-sided die (d6).
[edit] Edges and Hindrances
Characters are also customized with advantages and weaknesses known as Edges and Hindrances. Edges and Hindrances, unlike Traits, are not rated with dice.
[edit] Derived statistics
In addition to Traits, Edges and Hindrances, a character has the following derived statistics:
- Pace (ground speed)
- Parry (the ability to defend one's self)
- Toughness (resistance to damage)
- Charisma (presence and charm).
Some setting supplements add a fifth derived statistic such as Reason, Sanity or Grit.
[edit] Character creation and task resolution
Player characters are built using a point allocation system, though game masters are encouraged to design non-player characters to the needs of the game rather than to fit the system.
Dice are rolled to determine the outcome of character actions and interactions in the game. Usually a trait die is rolled against a target number of four. If the roll equals or exceeds the target number, the action succeeds; otherwise it fails.
If a player rolls the highest number possible on a given die (such as an 8 on an eight-sided die), the die may be re-rolled and its result added to the initial roll. This is known as "Acing". A die may continue to Ace as long as the highest die number is rolled.
Player characters and significant non-player characters are known as "Wild Cards". Wild Cards get to roll a second die, known as a "Wild Die", alongside their trait rolls. This roll may Ace as normal. The player of the Wild Card uses the higher of the two rolls (trait die or Wild Die) to determine the actual result of the roll.
Combat initiative is determined by playing cards; characters act in sequence according to the fall of the cards. Jokers allow greater bonuses.
[edit] History
Savage Worlds was first released in 2003 and was derived from the earlier Great Rail Wars miniatures game, itself a simplified derivative of Hensley's Deadlands RPG. The main rulebook was revised and released as a PDF format eBook in late 2004, with a print version following in early 2005. The same year, Great White Games began releasing rules expansions in the form of several PDF format genre toolkit books. Self-contained miniature skirmish games based upon the Savage Worlds engine were also been released in print and PDF form.
In late 2005, Pinnacle entered into an agreement with WizKids to publish self-contained RPGs set in the worlds of Pirates, Rocketmen, and MageKnight using the Savage Worlds rules. Deadlands Reloaded, a version of the classic Pinnacle game using the Savage Worlds rules was released in May 2006. Pinnacle has announced that another licensed game, The Savage World of Solomon Kane, will be produced in spring 2007.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Shane Lacy Hensley Savage Worlds Revised (Great White Games, 2005) ISBN 0-9763601-0-1
- Shane Lacy Hensley Savage Worlds (Great White Games, 2003) ISBN 1-930855-57-5
[edit] External links
- Savage Worlds homepage Official site
- Savage Heroes system and setting conversions
- Shark Bytes A fanzine
- Shaintar: Immortal Legends Th Shaintar epic fantasy setting developed for Savage Worlds by Talisman Studios
