I've fixed the link to the second part of the Bennies article, but to save you some time, here's the link: http://www.apathygames.com/2010/01/08/savage-wo…

Unfortunately, I can't find which link to the primer is broken. If you could point me to it, I'd be grateful. In the meantime, the here's the link to that as well: http://www.apathygames.com/2009/12/16/savage-wo…

Chris

I've fixed the link to the second part of the Bennies article, but to save you some time, here's the link: http://www.apathygames.com/2010/01/08/savage-wo…

Unfortunately, I can't find which link to the primer is broken. If you could point me to it, I'd be grateful. In the meantime, the here's the link to that as well: http://www.apathygames.com/2009/12/16/savage-wo…

Chris

7th Sea and Legend of the Five Rings were a modified WoD engine, instead of counting successes, you tried to get a certain number of dice to equal something. It's called roll and keep. Basically, you could be rolling 5 dice and can keep 3 and need to get a total of 20. 7th Sea and Legend of the Five Rings had void points/drama points which added dice, making it rolling 6 dice, keep 4. Certain spells, items or special abilities allowed for an entire re-roll like bennies. 7th Sea's drama dice did better in that you got a certain number based on your character build and then could earn a (theoretical) unlimited amount via role-playing, much like players (theoretically) can earn bennies in Savage Worlds.

Warhammer RPG (Hogshead edition) had fate points, allowing for someone to both 1) ignore damage and 2) re-roll. They were limited at character gen and refreshed according to either the feel of the campaign or never, depending on the feel of the campaign.

Shadowrun had the Karma system, where you had a limited pool that let you get a certain number or re-rolls (Shadowrun in all editions have been more or less dice pool/buckets of dice games). The current edition has a luck attribute which does the same or similar things.

Deadlands Classic had fate chips, which are the forerunners of the bennies and their effects in DL: Reloaded. There are also bennies as drama points in Cinematic Unisystem (Buffy, Angel, Army of Darkness from Eden Studios). Not having those books, I'm unsure of the refresh rate off the top of my head, but I think it's a per-session thing.

I would hazard that they exist to mitigate situations in games where death by a single blow is a very viable outcome, such as in Savage Worlds or in 7th Sea or Warhammer. I wonder if they aren't present in, say D&D or d20, as these systems are set up so that a character cannot or only in extreme circumstances die via a single blow.

Also, you are correct about points (1) and (2) and it has been changed.

As for number (5), I'm forced to rely on experience, but I've very rarely met a roleplayer who's greatest experience isn't with D&D. But even when I have seen a mechanic like bennies, it's mostly a re-roll mechanic. In Savage Worlds, they aren't just tied to your ability to stay up in combat, they are the biggest shield you have. They represent more of your character's power than similar systems in other rule-sets.

Though, while on that topic, I would love to hear more about how Warhammer and 7th Sea handle it, as I've admittedly never read or played those games.

It's true that I'm in the camp that believes in a high flow of bennies, but I like to see players get their re-rolls. They seem to have more fun that way. It comes to taste, but I'd like to guide others to do what I see as fun.

Definitely stay tuned tomorrow for the Game Master advice. I look forward to your insights on it.

1) On re-roll, you can re-roll and take the best, where best is the highest result. If your first result was a minimal success and you want or need to try for better but don't make it, you're stuck with your minimal success, not with a failure.

2) On recover from shaken, it should read that this can take an entire turn. Having a high spirit, a couple edges which add to the roll or reduce wound penalties means that you will more often have a raise and be able to act after recovering from shaken.

3) Your most role-players will be unfamiliar with bennies seems to pre-suppose a certain segment which haven't played games like Warhammer Fantasy Role-Play, Legend of the Five Rings, Shadowrun, 7th Sea, Deadlands (classic iteration) or other games with a re-roll/bonus mechanic. It might come across as either demeaning or insulting. Having never played a d20 game despite 14+ years in the hobby, your comment appears to focus on those persons coming from that background rather than those from a possibly different gaming background.

4) Your number 3 on how to manage is possibly wrong, especially if a player is looking at trying to soak 6+ wounds, at which point that last bennie is probably better served as a 2nd chance at a better result on the incapacitation table. It's one of those situations where players want (and need) to succeed at stage one when it might be best to risk it all on stage 2 with the promise of possibly only being shaken and at -3 wounds or surviving but unconscious.

5) The expectation of how many bennies the GM awards may appear slightly inflated; I've seen games that hand out more and some that hand out less. Certain settings, like Realms of Cthulhu, encourage an almost miserly approach to handing out bennies in certain atmospheres, while something like 50 Fathoms or Solomon Kane might be a bit more generous to encourage a more “swash-buckling” feel as opposed to a gritty military game a la Tour of Darkness.

On the whole, I like the article, although I as a long-time SW player am probably not the intended audience. Regarding the handout of bennies, I hope you'll also note how the GM tends to hand out bennies affects their use by the players.