Spes Magna Games

Our campaign using Savage Worlds Deluxe Explorer’s Edition has launched into its first full-blown adventure involving elements cobbled together from Keep on the Borderlands and West End Games’s The Destiny Map. As mentioned last Savage Wednesday, what I thought would’ve been a modestly challenging encounter with a doppelganger assassin ended up being pretty much a cake walk for the heroes. During the fight against Devris Poyer, I expected that either the characters would win or Poyer would escape. The heroes beat him pretty easily.

Interesting.

Now, I expected the heroes to win. I almost always do. I also had a probability warping run of low die rolls when attacking and inflicting damage. The heroes subdued what I thought was a pretty tough customer, all without any real damage suffered and not a whole lot of effort expended, especially once the grappling started.

During the down time between sessions, I’ve read more carefully the section on Balance and Combat Ratings. I think I grok them pretty well. (Some of what follows is a repeat of a social media post; if you’ve already seen it: Mea culpa.) So, I grabbed my son Christopher’s elven warrior character and studied him with combat rating in mind:

Haldir of Elveim
Half Maximum Damage of Typical Attack: +6
Combat Edges/Special Abilities: +2
Toughness over 5: +1
Total Combat Rating: +9

There are three other heroes in the group. I don’t have their characters at hand, but it’s safe to assume they are approximately the same Combat Rating as Haldir. That means the group’s total Combat Rating is about 36. During the last session, the group tracked down and subdued Devris Poyer, a doppelganger assassin:

Half Maximum Damage of Typical Attack: +6
Combat Edges/Special Abilities: +2
Toughness over 5: +2
Total Combat Rating: +10

If the guidelines in SWDEE are accurate (and I have no reason to doubt them), this means Haldir alone versus Devris alone should be a moderately difficult encounter. Devris alone against all four heroes? No challenge for the heroes.

I next looked at a orc and a chieftan orc:

Orc
Half Maximum Damage of Typical Attack: +8
Combat Edges/Special Abilities: +2
Toughness over 5: +3
Total Combat Rating: +13 ÷ 2 for not being a Wild Card = +7

Chieftan Orc
Half Maximum Damage of Typical Attack: +10
Combat Edges/Special Abilities: +3
Toughness over 5: +6
Total Combat Rating: +19

For a moderate encounter involving these orcs, I should pit the heroes against two orcs and one chieftan orc, for example. That’d be Heroes 36 versus Orcs 33. For a tough fight, add a couple of more orcs.

But back to Devris. I adapted his role from The Destiny Map. In that adventure, the assassin was from the Cyberpapacy. He had some pretty hefty stats, including cyberlegs and a really big gun. I remember running The Destiny Map while stationed in Hawaii. We had about a half dozen players in the group I gamed with most often. Those 5-6 heroes did not fare well against the cyber-assassin once he’d been cornered. If I recall correctly, he seriously injured one or two heroes, and then escaped, handily evading pursuit.

For doppelganger Devris to do the same, I guesstimate his combat rating would need to be close to doubled. That means adding 2 to 3 “adds” for each of the three categories, assuming things were spread out more or less evenly. This rougher, tougher Devris might look like this:

Devris Poyer, a Doppelganger Wild Card
Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d6, Spirit d6, Strength d8, Vigor d10
Skills: Climbing d6, Fighting d10, Persuasion d6, Notice d6, Stealth d6, Throwing d8
Charisma: +0
Pace: 8
Parry: 7
Toughness: 7 (2)
Gear: studded leather vest (+2), studded leather vambraces (+1), shuriken (STR, 3RB, range 1/2/3)

Special Abilities:

Change Shape: Devris can change his appearance to another humanoid ranging in size from -1 to +1. If Devris mimics a specific person, someone familiar with that person can see through the disguise with Notice -2.

Improved Extraction: Make an Agility roll when withdrawing from combat. If successful, one opponent doesn’t get a free attack. With a raise, all opponents currently in melee lose their free attack.

Improved Martial Artist: Devris is never considered unarmed. STR+d6 damage unarmed.

Improved Sweep: Make a single Fighting attack against all currently adjacent targets. Resolve each damage separately.

Mind Reading: Devris can read another’s thoughts by opposing his Smarts against his target’s Smarts. If Devris gets a raise, the target is unaware of the intrusion.

This new Devris would be about an 18 Combat Rating:

Half Maximum Damage of Typical Attack: +7
Combat Edges/Special Abilities: +7
Toughness over 5: +4
Total Combat Rating: +18

Tags: Savage Wednesday, Savage Worlds, The Kids' Game

Our campaign using Savage Worlds Deluxe Explorer’s Edition launched into its first full-blown adventure this past Saturday. I’m cobbling together material from Keep on the Borderlands and West End Games’s The Destiny Map for the scenario. Overall, it went pretty well, but there were some rough spots:

I’m not familiar enough with the rules yet. Parts of the session were the metaphorical equivalent of riding through town in a vehicle with a standard transmission and a driver who’s not quite savvy on how to change gears.

The concept of “encounter balance” completely eludes me. What I thought would be a moderately challenging conflict turned out to be nothing of the sort.

The players, some moreso than others, were a bit lost about what their characters can and cannot do, to include the implications of certain Hindrances.

That said, I do think things went reasonably well. One player is more familiar with the rules than I am, and he was a big help. The players seemed to enjoy the game. Our next session is in about two weeks. Before then, here’s my list of things to do:

Re-read and grokk the guidelines for encounter balance and combat ratings.

Adjust the upcoming conflicts accordingly.

Combine the two different sets of notes about the campaign into a single document.

Prior to the last session, I spent most of my prep time (such as it was) going back over the guidelines for powers. My first skim of the rules didn’t make much of an impression, but a deeper reading has resulted in an appreciation for the system. It’s simple and flexible. I think I’m most fond of the Trappings and their suggested related effects. Right now, we have one character — bounty hunter Dark Halo — with an Arcane Background. I need to insist that Dark Halo’s player be a bit more narrative with the effects of his character’s magic.

Which brings me to the fantasy world of Aysle in which the kids have found themselves transformed into fantasy heroes. One of the aforesaid documents details the races of Aysle. I’ll get around to posting the Google document link eventually. For this post, I want to look at a few of Aysle’s deities and muse about treating those deities as Trappings for Arcane Background. Aysle’s deities are divided into three groups: the Gods of Honor, the Gods Between, and the God of Corruption. Here’s one of each.

Dunad
Major God of Honor

Dunad was once human. He freed his people from slavery at the hands of the giants. In the process, he brought magic to Aysle after he ventured beyond the Limit and returned with Aurel, a powerful magical sword. After defeating the giants, Dunad shattered Aural in the Valley of the Sword, unleashing magic into the world.

Trappings: The most appropriate Trappings for Dunad are Fire/Heat and Light. Dunad also represents Life.

Courage: All natural, living creatures have a level of Arcane Resistance versus the power, but unnatural creatures (including the Undead) must make Fear checks when hit with it.

Infuse with Life: A raise on the roll provides a -1 to be hit by Undead as they are less able to bring their strengths to bear against the subject.

Soul Sparks: Ranged attacks give off sparks of soul force that do +1 damage versus armored targets but -1 damage versus unarmored targets.

Minthod
Major God of Balance

Minthod appears as a huge minotaur, and he is a the deity most favored by the Half-Folk of Aysle. Minthod’s domain is the Land Between, and his followers seek balance between Honor and Corruption. Minthod is patient and reserved.

Trappings: Minthod prefers to be unnoticed. Darkness is an appropriate trapping. He is also associated with Rock.

Rocky Hide: Subjects affected with a raise by a beneficial power gain patches of protective rocks that provide AP +1. An attack that gains a raise ignores this additional protection.

Steadfast: Beneficial powers root the target more firmly on its feet at a cost a +1 Power Point. This reduces Pace by -2 but grants a +2 to resist being grappled.

Tremors: Harmful powers cause the ground to shake and buckle. The target has to make an Agility roll or be at a -2 Parry until his next action.

Arthuk
Major God of Corruption

Arthuk, a warlord giant, led the giants who enslaved Upper Aysle during the time of Dunad. In a fearsome battle, Dunad slayed Arthuk, but the giant triumphed over death to become the principal god of corruption. Arthuk seeks to bring Corruption to all, especially to those who live with Honor.

Trappings: Cold/Ice and Necromantic are Arthuk’s most appropriate Trappings. He is also a god of War.

Bleed: A harmful power that causes damage reduces its die type by one. On the next caster’s next action, unless counteracted by healing of some sort, the target suffers one less die of damage from bleeding. For example, a bolt does 2d6 damage normally. With the Bleed effect, it would do 2d4 damage, and the target would suffer 1d4 damage on the caster’s next turn.

Fury: Beneficial powers imbue the target with bloodlust. The power costs +1 Power Point to cast, but on a success add +1 Fighting for the duration of the power. On a raise, increase Fighting one die type for the duration of power instead.

War Cry: A raise with the power results in a Fear check at a cost of +1 Power Point.

Tags: Savage Wednesday, Savage Worlds, The Kids' Game

Our campaign using Savage Worlds Deluxe Explorer’s Edition continues this Saturday with Miami school children John, Bin, Ganke, and Mario transformed into fantasy heroes in a frontier region of the world of Aysle. This next game session marks our first full-blown foray into the rules-(more-or-less)-as-written. The kid characters were created with a modified set of rules. The fantasy characters were not.

Last Savage Wednesday post, I talked a bit about Aysle’s Laws of Observation, Magic, Honor, and Corruption. Those rules will be in play, of course, and we’ll also be spending and earning Bennies for the first time. Bennies have all their standard uses: reroll any Trait test, Soak damage, recover from being Shaken, et cetera. Heroes earn Bennies the usual ways as well: doing clever things, advancing the plot, great roleplaying related to Hindrances, and so forth.

The guidelines indicate that most players “should get one or two extra Bennies” per game session. With systems that use things like Bennies, I often forget about awarding them. I’m considering putting two to three Bennies per player in a bowl, sticking the bowl in the middle of the table, and letting the players handle the lion’s share of the Bennie awarding.

I also want to implement Beliefs, Goals, and Instincts from Mouse Guard. These three aspects of a character are specific means by which Bennies can be earned. I might tie them to Experience Points as well, but I’m still mulling that option.

Beliefs

“A Belief is a code or ethical stance. It’s a snapshot view of how your character thinks. Sometimes you’ll act in accordance with your Belief, sometimes you’ll act against it” (Mouse Guard, page 42).

A Belief lets the other players know what a character is most like. It signals what sorts of themes or activities the player wants to include in the game. A well-written Belief tells what motivates a character. It tells what higher purpose guides the character. A Belief should balance between being too general (“I must help people.”) and too specific (“I must help only women and children who beg me for assistance.”). Sample Beliefs from Mouse Guard help illustrate the principle:

“A guardmouse needs to be able to think with her head and act with her heart.”

“A guardmouse never gives up no matter what the danger.”

“The best solution is always found at the point of my sword.”

“It’s not what you fight, but what you fight for.”

In each case, the Belief indicates a course of action with the potential for conflict when the Belief is challenged. For example, the second Belief above most obviously presents the choice between continuing on a hopeless path and dying, or else giving up and/or retreating, which might also have serious negative consequences.

A character’s Belief can change at the beginning or end of a session, and this represents a change in worldview that ought to result from events during the game session.

Goals

“At the beginning of each session, write a Goal for your character. A Goal is some action or deed you want to accomplish in that session” (Mouse Guard, page 44).

A Goal is always something appropriate for the current session and the character’s duties as a hero. Of course, a Goal must be something possible to accomplish during the session. Any Goal has states an action and a target, and should probably include a condition as well. For example:

“I must find evidence that will determine if the grain peddler is a traitor or not.”

“I will protect [character] and [character] on this patrol.”

“I will show [character] and [character] that I am a valuable member of the patrol.”

“I will discover why [someone’s] communications from [location] have stopped.”

A Goal must include an imperative (“I will” or “I must”, for example) and a specific action verb with a target. Session Goals are written once the players know what the focus on the session is. One player’s character must have a Goal that addresses the session’s main focus. Each player gets one Goal per session. Unaccomplished Goals at the end of one session are rewritten at the start of the next session.

Instinct

“Your character’s Instinct represents a gut reaction or ingrained training. It represents something that he does naturally, without even really thinking abou it” (Mouse Guard, page 47).

To write an Instinct for a character, think of action or reaction, and then “turn it into a statement that includes always, if/then or never” (Mouse Guard, page 48). An Instinct has to be something that a character can accomplish quickly. An Instinct is what a character is most likely to do when a split-second decision is needed, and characters tend to follow their Instincts even in situations where they might not be appropriate. Some more examples:

“Always consult [character] when trouble arises.”

“Always draw my sword at the first sign of trouble.”

“If there’s work to be done, always offer to help.”

“Never delay when on a mission.”

An Instinct does not dictate how a character must act. A character can resist his or her Instinct, but there is no reward for doing so. An Instinct can also change, but a player may only write a new Instinct for his or her character at either the beginning or the end of a game session.

Bennies

A hero earns a Bennie for accomplishing a Goal, for acting in a difficult situation in which his or her Belief is challenged, and/or for following his or her Instinct. Since it may be the case that a Bennie earned from accomplishing a Goal is not earned until near the end of session, I’m considering one of two options: either the Goal Bennie carries over to the start of the next session or the Goal Bennie converts to an Experience Point. I’m leaning more strongly to the former option than the latter.

Tags: Savage Wednesday, Savage Worlds, The Kids' Game

This past Saturday, the link to the work-in-progress The Kids’ Game campaign using Savage Worlds Deluxe Explorer’s Edition began. Four players created four 13- to 14-year-old characters: John, the rich kid; Bin, the bookworm; Ganke, the honor student; and Mario, the troubled teen. All four kids reside in a Miami suburb in the 1980s. They’re not necessarily friends, but they still managed to get into trouble together after loose talk moved into dares about breaking into Old Man Sutherland’s house at the end of a street in a well-heeled neighborhood. The kids were caught, and Mario’s police officer dad organized the punishment: clean Sutherland’s vast attic over the course of a Saturday afternoon.

Sutherland, wheelchair-bound and aged, lives alone, but every room of his spacious home is wired for intercom. Hidden cameras monitor the interior and exterior. Kids being kids, half the group went to work while the other half didn’t. Mario moved an over-stuffed box. The bottom fell out, dumping its contents, which included a handsome, leather-bound manuscript.

Within the covers? A handwritten description of something called a “role-playing game” titled “Savage Worlds”. A true oddity, for in the kids’ world, no such thing as a role-playing game exists. There is no TSR or Mayfair Games. Gary Gygax publishes mediocre fantasy fiction, not culture-changing games. During lunch, Old Man Sutherland explained the game, and offered to show the kids how to play.

“Better than attic cleaning,” he said.

And so the kids made up fantasy characters, guardians in a magical world called Aysle. John made up Dark Halo, magical bounty hunter. Bin created Books, a golem. (“Android!” Bin insists.) Ganke’s character is Lander Foxglove, cat-man warrior, and Mario made up Haldir, elven archer. Sutherland explained that their characters were on the road through the woods, returning to a keep in a frontier region.

With a pop!, the lights in Sutherland’s house went out. Floodlights glared through the front windows, and a voice boomed, “Come out slowly! Bring the Book and the Dice!”

Old Man Sutherland thrust the book into Mario’s hands and the dice into John’s grip. “Run!” he said. “Protect the Book and the Dice!”

And so the kids ran out the back door and across the lawn, pursued by men in bulletproof vests and ski masks. Men armed with firearms they proved willing to use, but — thank goodness! — the weapon aimed at Mario jammed when the trigger was pulled. The kids scattered and hid.

And then all the lights went vanished. The buildings vanished. Miami disappeared. One second, it was there. The next: nothing but forest and hills. John, Bin, Ganke, and Mario were changed. They’d become their characters in a frontier region of Aysle….

The World Rules

The magical realm of Aysle is borrowed from Torg by West End Games. Aysle differs greatly from Miami in the 1980s. Specifically, there are four immutable Laws that govern life in Aysle.

The Law of Observation

What can be observed through the senses is real. Every real thing is the result of a previous observation. That which cannot be sensed is not real. This does not, however, mean that every individual creature lives its own reality. Solipsism is not possible in Aysle. That castle is real because it has been observed. Maybe not by you, but by others. In Aysle, observation creates theories, rather than the other way around, where theories require testing by observation. What is or has been observed is true.

The Law of Magic

Magic has been observed; therefore, magic is real. Every sentient being in Aysle has at least the potential to use magic. Most beings do not invest the time and effort into honing their preternatural senses. Nevertheless, magic is common in Asyle. One might meet a humble farmer whose soothing words repel vermin from his fields. The interaction between the Law of Observation and the Law of Magic has consequences for illusions. An illusion, once perceived, might become real, at least for a time. An illusion that becomes real might behave as appropriate for whatever it is. Illusionists take note: That image of a chimera might scare off those guards, but it might also become a chimera, at which time it’s no longer under your control.

The Laws of Honor and Corruption

The Law of Honor declares that good deeds cannot be hidden. The honorable creature embodies honor, which is reflected outwardly in appearance and bearing. Likewise, the Law of Corruption declares that evil deeds cannot be hidden, but is reflected outwardly as well. Most denizens of Aysle do not exhibit exceptional honor or corruption. They seldom perform heroic deeds. They seldom perform evil deeds. Their lives includes many minor decisions for good or against good, and the net effect is negligible. Some creatures, however, dedicate their lives to honor or corruption.

For the heroes in Aysle, this means that their actions will see an accumulation of Honor Points and Corruption Points based on the actions the hero performs during the course of an adventure. Think of Honor Points as positive numbers and Corruption Points as negative numbers. At the end of an adventure, if the total is positive, the hero gains Honor. If the total is negative, the hero gains Corruption. These points are tracked like XP. For every 5 Honor Points, the hero gains a step up on his Honor skill (starting with 1d4, then 1d6, et cetera). For every 5 Corruption Points, the hero gains a step up on his Corruption skill. Unlike other skills, Honor and Corruption do not increase based on XP, but only due to Honor Points and Corruption Points. Honor and Corruption skills can also decrease or even be lost (no die assigned). Honor and Corruption cannot be used unskilled.

Nota Bene: The specific effects of Honor and Corruption are beyond the scope of this post. I’ll be typing them up as part of the The Kids’ Game document or as part of a separate document about Aysle. When it’s ready, I’ll post the link.

Tags: Savage Wednesday, Savage Worlds, The Kids' Game

As promised last Savage Wednesday, here’s the link to the work-in-progress The Kids’ Game campaign setting for the Savage Worlds Deluxe Explorer’s Edition game that starts this coming Saturday.

Now that you’ve read over the document, you can see the heavy borrowing from Torg by West End Games. I played Torg quite a bit while stationed in Hawaii. I was publised in two of their monster books and even got to rep WEG at a gaming convention in Honolulu. Good times.

Two key concepts from Torg are that there are alternative realities ruled by malevolent powers and that the heroes can bend the rules of reality. I’m keeping both of these concepts for The Kids’ Game, albeit in altered forms.

Speaking of those Torg monster books, they were Creatures of Aysle and Creatures of Orrorsh. One my contributions were the shadow dogs, the idea for which I took from a Grant Morrison Doom Patrol comic book.

A shadow dog is an Aylish creature which resembles a canine to some extent, but is in truth a magical creature gifted with the ability to track virtually anything with uncanny success. The shadow dog’s head is a flat wedge split by a great, drooling mouth filled with long, needle-sharp teeth. It has no eyes or ears, and relies solely on its enhanced sense of smell and its sorcerous talents. The lean, hard flesh of the shadow dog is covered with short, wiry black hairs that serve as olfactory receptors. Its large paws sport thick, curved talons.

Shadow Dog

Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d4, Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Climbing d6, Fighting d6, Notice d10, Stealth d6, Tracking d10
Pace: 8″
Parry: 5
Toughness: 4
Special Abilities:

Bite: STR + d4.

Detect: The shadow dog detects the “scent” of its quarry’s aura in a 100 yard radius with a Notice or Tracking roll.

Fleet-Footed: Roll a d10 when running instead of a d6.

Senses: A shadow dog is blind and deaf. Its sense of smell is supernatural, removing trait roll penalties for physical action. The shadow dog’s sense of smell functions out to 12″ under normal conditions.

Size -1

Tags: monsters, Savage Wednesday, Savage Worlds, The Kids' Game