Savage Mondays – March 8th, 2010

Written by Jeff Carlsen on 2010/03/08 – 00:00 -

It’s a Savage World out there, and Apathy Games provides the tools to survive it. First, check out our Savage Worlds Primer. Then if Portuguese is your native language, check out Retropunk.net’s translation. If you’re looking for more up to date news, here’s what’s happening now:

Pinnacle Entertainment Group

Showdown Meets Deadlands | Pinnacle Entertainment Group

The first scenario for Showdown, the Savage Worlds based wargame, is Raid on Fort 51.  Weird West War is awaiting your tabletop.

Help a Pinnacle Artist | Pinnacle Entertainment Group

Cheyenne Write is having some medical troubles, and Pinnacle is asking for help.  They’re offering two Savage Tales bundles, each including half of all their Savage Tales, for only $19.99.  The proceeds will go to helping Cheyenne.  Additionally, you can simply donate $5 to the cause.

Savage Worlds Licensees

Kristian Serrano Joins Reality Blurs | Reality Blurs

Kristain is responsible for The Dice of Life, one of our favorite gaming blogs.  It’s aimed at those of us with less time to game than we’d like.  So, we are greatly pleased to see him join one of the rising stars in the savage community.

New Runepunk PDF’s | Reality Blurs

Like pulp-style, steampunk flavored, science fiction?  RunePunk might just be for you.  The RunePunk Players Guide is now available as a PDF, and they have just released a set of paper figures for the setting.

Wellstone City Released | Silver Gryphon Games

Crime Noir is something we at Apathy can get behind.  It’s dark, gritty, and now available for Savage Worlds.

Free Hellfrost Supplement on Gem Magic | Triple Ace Games

Gems have always captivated us, with explains part of why they’re so expensive.  If you’re playing Hellfrost, they also have properties useful in hedge magic.

Savage Community

March Savage Sixth Posted | The Savage Sixth

While last month may have slipped past without a formal update, The Savage Sixth hits hard again this month with articles on building settings in a supers game, converting your favorite settings to Savage Worlds, and an article on bennies that links back to Apathy in a way that is most complementary.  They have our gratitude.

When Do You Shuffle? | PEGinc Forums

It’s not something that comes up often, but this discussion on when to shuffle your deck is interesting, and shows a few ways people go about keeping the game moving while having to shuffle.

Derelict Space Ship Adventure | PEGinc Forums

This thread goes into detail about, and has some wonderful ideas regarding running an adventure in a derelict space ship. Some of the advice could be quite useful in other contexts as well.

Do you like Savage News, but want it more than once a week? Subscribe to our Twitter. We won’t promise to drown you in a flood of news, but we won’t promise not to, either.  As always, if we missed something, let our readers know in the comments.


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Savage Mondays – February 22, 2010

Written by Tyson J. Hayes on 2010/02/22 – 00:00 -

It’s a Savage World out there, and Apathy Games provides the tools to survive it. First, check out our Savage Worlds Primer. Then if Portuguese is your native language, check out Retropunk.net’s translation. If you’re looking for more up to date news, here’s what’s happening now:

Pinnacle Entertainment Group

Foes of Solomon Kane Map Pack | Pinnacle Entertainment Group

As we covered last week The Savage Foes of Solomon Kane is full of enemies for your Solomon Kane game, and a bundle is being offered from Studio 2 of the print and PDF. However in order to entice some of you into ordering Pinnacle has released The Savage Foes of Solomon Kane Map Pack [PDF Link] free on their site. Buy the game, get every map free.

Savage Worlds Licensees

Preview of Garden of Miracles | Faster Monkey Games

Interested in what Faster Monkey Games has to offer but not quite sure if you want to spend the $6 on
The Garden of Miracles? Well they’ve got you covered with a new preview of their games. Check out The Garden of Miracles preview [PDF Link] now!

Congrats to Fabled Environments | 12 to Midnight

12 to Midnight came out of their dark hole to congratulate Fabled Environments on opening their new store on RPGNow.com. Fabled Environments work almost exclusively on maps and have been working hard to release 4 VOLUMES of maps for modern environments. While the maps are not Savage Worlds specific they are compatible with any game that uses 1 inch to 5 feet squares.

Serpent Scales #1 Slightly Delayed | Atomic Overmind Press

[UPDATE #2] Serpent Scales #1 is now available at RPGNow.com!

[UPDATE] Atomic Overmind Press updated their site to announce that the release would be delayed another day.  They apologize and say that it should be released tomorrow (February 23 2010) at 12:00 pm EST.

Serpent Scales #1 is ready! However, there has been a slight problem of snow on the east coast that has caused some delays in getting it out the door. They say it should be released at the time of posting. We, at Apathy Games, will update this post once a link has been provided.

War of the Dead | Daring Entertainment

Daring Entertainment this week went into more detail about their 52-week campaign War of the Dead.

“War of the Dead is a 52-week campaign that takes the player characters from the first days of the Outbreak all the way to a world overrun by the Living Dead.  There’s plenty of Savage Worlds zombie action, but this is not your average shoot-em-up zombie story.  This is also a personal journey as the Characters find themselves in situations where they will have to make tough choices . . . choices that begin to chip away at the core of who they thought they were!  It’s a world where you can’t just head down to the local Exxon or Wal-Mart for supplies.  Zombies are only one part of the threat as the Characters have to deal with their own continued survivor, other survival groups, a government and military in chaos, and many other obstacles.”

They also go on to say that “The year-long campaign is divided into Four Chapters of 13 adventures each.  Each Chapter will be uploaded to RPGNow.com all at once with a weekly, automated release day of every Monday.  There will also be a discounted subscription package available for each Chapter that basically gives 3 of the 13 adventures for free.” Not a bad deal if I say so myself. Personally I’m looking forward to this release.

New Staff | Triple Ace Games

For once Triple Ace Games is not releasing anything this week. While we spend the rest of the week recovering from shock you can head over to the Triple Ace Games Forums and say “Hi!” to Scott Alan Woodard, Matthew ‘Pookie’ Pook and Justin Russell.

The Year Ahead | Reality Blurs

Reality Blurs announces that they are not dead and are in fact working on lots of stuff in their latest blog post. While details were sparse and we could only speculate what some of what the products are we look forward to covering them in future news posts.

  • RunePunk will be getting Jobber’s Tales starting off with Clockwork Dragon
  • Agents of Oblivion is still under development but Case Files should be releasing sometime this year.
  • Realms of Cthulhu will be getting Mythos Madness and Mythos Tales #1 this year.
  • Iron Dynasty: Art of War is being updated for the new Showdown [PDF Link] rules and they tease that “a LOT of stuff is in development.”
  • Ravaged Earth is getting an update and a new plot point adventure called Secrets of Aetherium.

Do you like Savage News, but want it more than once a week? Subscribe to our Twitter. We won’t promise to drown you in a flood of news, but we won’t promise not to, either. As always, if we missed something, let our readers know in the comments.


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Savage Mondays – February 15th, 2010

Written by Jeff Carlsen on 2010/02/15 – 00:00 -

It’s a Savage World out there, and Apathy Games provides the tools to survive it. First, check out our Savage Worlds Primer. Then if Portuguese is your native language check out Retropunk.net’s translation. If you’re looking for more up to date news, here’s what’s happening now:

Pinnacle Entertainment Group

Preorder Bundle for New Solomon Kane Book | Pinnacle Entertainment Group

The Savage Foes of Solomon Kane is full of enemies for your Solomon Kane game. The book is currently at the printers, but if you order the bundle, it will be shipped to you when it becomes available, and in the meantime you get a copy of the PDF at half price.

Savage Worlds Licensees

New Cyberpunk Adventure | Triple Ace Games

Getting the band back together is always an adventure, but in the dystopic near future, it can be deadly. Band on the Run is a new adventure for Daring Tales of the Sprawl.

Faster Monkey Games Becomes a Savage Licensee | Faster Monkey Games

I like monkeys, so this may be the best news ever to hit Savage Worlds. They’re just getting started with an introductory fantasy adventure, The Garden of Miracles. They’re also showing off their self calculating character sheet, so give them a look.

Savage Community

Arcane Background (Telepath) | PEGInc Forums

Over at the PEGInc Forums, user thwill is attempting to create a set of telepath rules that fits the type seen in shows like Babylon 5 and other sci-fi shows or books. So far, his work is interesting, and has sparked a lengthy debate.

Do you like Savage News, but want it more than once a week? Subscribe to our Twitter. We won’t promise to drown you in a flood of news, but we won’t promise not to, either. As always, if we missed something, let our readers know in the comments.


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Savage Mondays – February 8th, 2010

Written by Tyson J. Hayes on 2010/02/08 – 00:00 -

It’s a Savage World out there, and Apathy Games provides the tools to survive it. First, check out our Savage Worlds Primer. If you’re looking for more up to date news, here’s what’s happening now:

Apathy News

Translation Partnership with Retropunk.net | Apathy Games

We are pleased to announce a new partnership with Retropunk.net! They will be translating our Savage Mondays posts  into Portuguese for all of the Portuguese speaking Savagers! Retropunk.net translated the Test Drive rules and we look forward to spreading more news about them.  If you are interested in translating the news into another language please let us know!

Breaking Out of Your Shell | Tabletop Armory

A guest post written by Tyson J. Hayes has been published at Tabletop Armory talking about breaking out of your shell as a player or game master.

Pinnacle Entertainment Group

Deadlands: Reloaded Screen Inserts Available | Pinnacle Entertainment Group

Pinnacle announced that Deadlands: Reloaded Customizable GM Screen Inserts are now available.  The screens have customizable backgrounds for all of your Marshal needs.

Dealands: Reloaded new One-Sheet Adventure | Pinnacle Entertainment Group

Pinnacle is showing the Deadlands lovin’ this week with a new one sheet for the setting called Scarecrow [PDF Link].  Take the posse down to Alder Creek and see what sort of reception you get.  Those who survive let us know how it went in the comments.

Savage Worlds Licensees

Wu Xing: The Ninja Crusade | Third Eye Games

Third eye games this week announced their new game Wu Xing: The Ninja Crusade with a release date of mid-2010.  While details are few we’ll keep you updated, or you can fan them on facebook.

Hellfrost Canvas Map – Road Wardens Edition | Triple Ace Games

Triple Ace Games announced the release of a canvas map for Hellfrost showing  you the frozen lands of Rassilon.  This map is “printed with eco-solvent permanent inks on archival quality canvas, then coated with a professional grade acrylic varnish for added protection.” It can be found at the Triple Ace Games store.

Daring Tales of the Space Lanes: The Black Guardian | Triple Ace Games

A new Daring Tale of the Space Lanes was released this week for sale now.

The heroes must wrest an ancient alien relic from the grasp of a dangerous crime lord, but this is only the beginning of their problems as the artifact is either the means to save a world or condemn it forever! Plus there are several others who wish to get their claws on it, as well!

Freedom fighters, an old enemy and new allies await the adventurers in the dry deserts of Gator.

Do you like Savage News, but want it more than once a week? Subscribe to our Twitter. We won’t promise to drown you in a flood of news, but we won’t promise not to, either. As always, if we missed something, let our readers know in the comments.


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Savage Mondays – February 1st, 2010

Written by Jeff Carlsen on 2010/02/01 – 00:00 -

It’s a Savage World out there, and Apathy Games provides the tools to survive it. First, check out our Savage Worlds Primer. If you’re looking for more up to date news, here’s what’s happening now:

Pinnacle Entertainment Group

Deadlands: Reloaded Limited Edition | Pinnacle Entertainment Group

The core book for Deadlands: Reloaded is out of stock, but you’re in luck. Pinnacle has lowered the price to their fancy Limited Edition to $39.99. If you like leather bound, foil stamped books, this one is for you.

Pinnacle Teases Us with New Solomon Kane Book | Pinnacle Entertainment Group

It’s called The Savage Foes of Solomon Kane, It’s full of adversaries and savage tales, and that’s about all they’ll tell us. Why must they be such cruel masters?

Savage Worlds Licensees

New Hellfrost Adventure | Triple Ace Games

If giant mind controlling spiders taking over small villages sounds like the start of an adventure to you, then Web of Deceit was made for you.

Space Pulp for Fantasy Grounds II | Triple Ace Games, SmiteWorks

Daring Tales of the Space Lanes and Slipstream are now available for the Fantasy Grounds II virtual tabletop.

New Adamant Website is Now Live | Adamant Entertainment

Not only do they have a new, functional, and rather attractive website, but they’re also discussing their plans for 2010.

Upcoming Releases for The Day After Ragnarok | Atomic Overmind Press

Atomic Overmind has a lot coming down the pipe for The Day After Ragnarok, including to City Packs, and books covering the dark Soviet Union and the Royal Society.

Shaintar is Now Part of Reality Blurs | Reality Blurs

Sean Patrick Fannon, creator of Shaintar, has joined the team at Reality Blurs, and has brought the setting with him. The first book announced under the new owners is Shaintar: Legends Unleashed.

Savage Worlds Community

Shadowflux Free Setting | The Black Orifice

This setting of Urban Horror is well put together, free, and comes in two parts. The Black Orifice has been doing terrific work lately, and they deserve all the praise and attention we can spare.

Plunder Cards for Pirates of the Spanish Maine | Captain Greywolf

While not new by any means, these just came to our attention. These item cards help make your looting and plundering easier, and add another layer of immersion to your pirate game.

Updating your Explorer’s Edition PDF to the Third Printing | PEGinc Forums

If you purchased the PDF version of the Savage Worlds: Explorer’s Edition from RPGNow or DriveThruRPG, getting the updated version can be tricky, and seems to be requiring that you email the store. More information on this, and what is happening, is available in this thread.

Do you like Savage News, but want it more than once a week? Subscribe to our Twitter. We won’t promise to drown you in a flood of news, but we won’t promise not to, either. As always, if we missed something, let our readers know in the comments.


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You Want Me to Run When!?

Written by Tyson J. Hayes on 2010/01/29 – 00:00 -

We’ve all been there.  It’s an hour till game time and you realize you’ve completely forgotten to prep anything.  You can’t cancel now that everyone is already on their way, so what do you do?

Break out a Savage Worlds One Sheet

One of the best things about Savage Worlds is the community and fan support.  While there are plenty of free settings to choose from, there are many more one sheet adventures for almost all of the official settings.  Go to Pinnacle, Triple Ace Games, or Tabletop Armory, find one that suits your fancy, and quickly throw together a game in the amount of time it takes to print it off your computer.

Create a Monster Hunt

It’s no secret that we’re fans of Privateer Press. Beyond their detailed settings and gorgeous art, they give more flavor in a single page than any other setting we’ve ever played in.  They also give some of the best examples of a monster hunt.  In their Monsternomicon, each monster is detailed with an adventure hook.  They tend to be as simple as, “A Collector wants you to go out and find the creature and collect rare gland/sac” to the slightly more complex, “Creature is harassing town–go kill it.”  However, when you’re out stomping the creature beneath your boot, your players won’t mind.

Pre-Prepped Adventure Hooks

While it does require a bit of forethought on your part, keeping a file filled with adventure hooks for your campaign is useful for situations like this.  While an entire post can be devoted to how to manage such ideas in a nice and searchable way, for now it can suffice to say that drawing upon your idea bin may prove to be more satisfying then looking for anyone else to help you.  After all, you know your players better than anyone else.  If you need some help building your adventure hooks, consider Rocks Fall Everyone Dies and their Sunday Hooks, or post some of your own in the comments!

What tricks do you use to prep at the last minute? What kind of success have you had?


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Savage Mondays – January 24, 2010

Written by Tyson J. Hayes on 2010/01/25 – 00:00 -

It’s a Savage World out there, and Apathy Games provides the tools to survive it. First, check out our Savage Worlds Primer. If you’re looking for more up to date news, here’s what’s happening now:

Pinnacle Entertainment Group

Sticks & Stones Hits YouTube | Pinnacle Entertainment Group

Rob Lusk and his crew have created a video for Sticks & Stones, the card game that time forgot. Watch as they show techniques that can clear a path to victory!

Bedlam City Now Super-Savage | Pinnacle Entertainment Group

Plain Brown Wrapper Games has joined the ranks of the other licensees with the release of Bedlam City for Savage Worlds and the super-powered rules set found in either the Super Powers Companion or Necessary Evil: Explorer’s Edition.

Savage Worlds Licensees

Necropolis 2350: Opener of the Ways | Triple Ace Games

Triple Ace Games continues their march towards having more products then everyone on the planet with their release of  Necropolis 2350: Opener of the Ways.

Knights are more than just soldiers, as the Lance is about to find out. Pulled off the frontline, the Knights are assigned to routine policing duties within the Preceptory Estate.

When security cameras catch an unusual murder, the team is immediately ordered to investigate. What they learn threatens the very soul of humanity, and the Church is not going to sit by idly and let that happen.

So the Knights must forgo their usual identities and head undercover into Salus’ seedy underworld–a world where violence and treachery is the norm. Their orders are simple–find Mr Big and put him out of business. But is everything as it seems? And who can the Knights trust when one wrong word might mean certain death?

Savage Community

Doctors Without Boarders

Gamers help Haiti DriveThruRPG offers a Mega-Bundle to Spur Donations $20 bucks gets you almost $1500 worth of games.

Much of this news could have been yours days ago, for the hefty price of free, if you had subscribed to our Twitter. Please don’t make the same mistake again. As always, if we missed something, let our readers know in the comments.


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Savage Mondays – January 18th, 2010

Written by Jeff Carlsen on 2010/01/18 – 00:00 -

It’s a Savage World out there, and Apathy Games provides the tools to survive it. First, check out our Savage Worlds Primer. If you’re looking for more up to date news, here’s what’s happening now:


Top Story

Shark Bytes Returns! | Shark Bytes

Shark Bytes is an online fan magazine for Savage Worlds that has been well known and well loved within the community, but it’s been dead for over a year. But a recent post in the PEGInc forums has announced its triumphant return! The next issue will be filled with One-Page Homebrew settings and House Rules. They are currently looking for submissions, so if you want your house rules published for the whole of the community to see, go to the forums and PM Lord Inar. The submission deadline is February 12.

Pinnacle Entertainment Group

Third Printing of Savage Worlds: Explorer’s Edition is in Stock | Pinnacle Entertainment Group

The title says it all. Pester your local game store for it, or order it through Studio 2.

Print and PDF Bundle Extended Through January | Pinnacle Entertainment Group

For the new printing, PEGInc is offering a bundle of both the print version and the PDF of the Savage Worlds: Explorer’s Edition. The deal is available until the end of the month, and then they kill it dead.

50 Fathoms Tokens for Fantasy Grounds | RPG Now

Continuing the trend of making special versions of the Savage Worlds figure flats for Fantasy Grounds, those for 50 Fathoms have been added to RPGNow.

Savage Worlds Licensees

New Ace Tale: A Stitch in Time | Triple Ace Games

The title may be cliche, but it’s an Ace tale and part of the Daring Tales of the Space Lanes series, so there’s a bit of an expectation toward the corny. Here’s what TAG has to say about it:

An old enemy Gunthar Krull has managed to infect the crew of the Blazing Star with a deadly virus. The crew have precious little time to find Krull and retrieve the antidote – can they succeed!

A Stitch in Time is available from the Triple Ace Games website.

Savage Community

Quick Adventure for Super Villains | Tabletop Armory

Our friends at Tabletop Armory have released Quick Adventure #5. Can your team of Villains keep the heroes from rescuing your prisoners?

Character Toe-Tags | PEGInc Forums

Character cards for easy reference are a common tool, but these ones are done up like toe-tags done up like toe-tags, and are just waiting for your Zombie game.

Non-Standard Benny Usage | PegInc Forums

Bennies are the sort of thing players love coming up with new uses for. The community discusses it in this blockbuster thread.

Alternate Combat Rules by Clint | PEGInc Forums

Pinnacle writer Clint was feeling creative, or challenged, and came up with a combat system where all the rolling is done by the players. Interesting stuff.

Rules for Silenced Weapons | PEGInc Forums

A healthy discussion ranging from reality to practicality of rules on the use of silenced weapons in Savage Worlds.

Much of this news could have been yours days ago, for the hefty price of free, if you had subscribed to our Twitter. Please don’t make the same mistake again. As always, if we missed something, let our readers know in the comments.


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Savage Mondays – January 11, 2010

Written by Jeff Carlsen on 2010/01/11 – 00:00 -

It’s a Savage World out there, and Apathy Games provides the tools to survive it. First, check out our Savage Worlds Primer. If you’re looking for more up to date news, here’s what’s happening now:

We’re trying a new format for Savage Mondays this week. Please let us know what you think in the comments.

Pinnacle Entertainment Group

Saddle Sore: Travel Adventures for Deadlands | Pinnacle Entertainment Group

Need something for your to throw at your players when they’re wandering around the Weird West? This book is full of short adventures that can take place while they travel. It’s available from Studio 2: Deadlands: Saddle Sore

Deadlands Token Packs for Fantasy Grounds II | Pinnacle Entertainment Group

These tokens have recently been added to RPGNow, and come in sets Weird West 1 and Weird West 2.

If you’re looking for the original tabletop figure flats, they can be found at the Studio 2 store: Starter Pack, Infernal Devices, and Horrors of the Weird West.

Savage Worlds Licencees

Sundered Skies Inserts for your Customizable GM Screen | Triple Ace Games

Hide your dice behind useful charts for Sundered Skies: Sundered Skies: GM Screen.

Necropilis Errata now Available | Triple Ace Games

Download it from the Triple Ace webside: Necropolis Errata

Savage Worlds Community

January Savage Sixth Posted | The Savage Sixth

This month’s issue is all about Superheroes. It has two Super game concepts, Leonid the Car salesman and Johan Klein the size changing thief. It also has a review of the new Super Powers Companion.

Extreme is full-throttle modern action for free! | The Black Orifice

While not a Officially Licenced Product, this free setting by The Black Orifice looks completely badass and has a handful of creative rules. Download Extreme from The Black Orifice Site.

Review of Gaslight | Flames Rising

The author is in love with Steampunk, so how could he not check out Gaslight? Read the Review.

Important Savage Worlds Links | Savagepedia

While this weeks news is only involves a slight update to the list, these links are a valuable resource to any Savage Worlds fan, and deserve special mention: Important Links on Savagepedia.

Wealth Systems in Savage Worlds | Community Buzz

The common theme of discussion this week has been the use of abstract wealth systems to reduce bookkeeping. These Dice Look Funny has a detailed proposal on the concept, with more in the comments, and this PEGInc forum thread discusses the same, as pulled from Dawn of Legends and Necessary Evil.

As always, if we missed something, let our readers know in the comments. For more up to date news, subscribe to our Twitter. Also, let us know what you think of the new format for Savage Mondays. It’s an experiment, so feedback is our lifeblood.


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Savage Worlds Rule Guidance: Bennies Part 2

Written by Jeff Carlsen on 2010/01/08 – 00:00 -

Yesterday, in Part 1 of this article, we covered what bennies are and how to use them as a player. Today we provide a system for Game Masters to handle giving out bennies, and various related house rules.

Game Master Advice

As a Game Master, you can help prevent player hoarding or overspending of bennies by carefully managing the number you give to players, but at the same time they are a great reward to give players. Here are some tips for keeping a smooth benny economy:

  • Use physical tokens to represent bennies. Sure, you could just mark them down, but all the advice that follows is reinforced when you have to actually hand the benny to someone, or recieve it from them when it’s spent. Poker chips work very well and fit the feel of the game, but cards, glass beads, or polished stones would be nice as well.
  • Give one benny per encounter to each player. As a rule, give this at the end of the encounter. The same advice holds true for any non-combat scene that involves a lot of rolling, because bennies may be spent. This ensures that the players have a steady flow of bennies that they can count on. Of course, if the encounter turned out to be easy and few or no bennies were spent, then don’t give out bennies at the end, lest the players wind up with enough to make future encounters too easy.
  • Take pity when bad luck strikes. Sometimes the dice really hate your players, and the only way they succeed or survive is to blow through their bennies. If this happens, give everyone some extra bennies. In essence, you can use bennies to help balance out bad streaks and keep the game fun. Still, don’t do this until it’s obvious that the players are struggling. This should never be a common occurrence.
  • Use your GM bennies, especially to soak damage or have wild cards recover from shaken on their turn. This helps remind players that they can do the same thing, but it also allows you to raise the difficulty of a challenge when the dice truly love your players.
  • Give extra bennies as a reward for behavior you want to reinforce. Often, this is good roleplaying, but there are other reasons. Every campaign has it’s own tone. In a lighthearted game, you might give a benny for a witty remark, but in a gritty, serious game, you should reward someone who plays the tone to the disadvantage of their character. Other reasons to reward bennies include playing up a character’s hindrances, clever planning, or just doing something that adds positively to the game.
  • Don’t hold every player to the same standard. A long time role-player who always gets into character should have to work harder to get a benny than the newcomer who you want to convince to stick around. Rewards don’t have to be equal so long as you’re giving out a steady minimum of bennies. Rewards are to encourage improvement in players and in the game. Make them earn them, but then overtly give the reward when they do.
  • Limit bennies for hoarders. It’s alright for players to be frugal with their bennies, but if a character starts to amass a pile because they aren’t using them, subtly avoid giving them reward bennies. If they wind up with too many during the big boss fight, they’ll be able to outshine the other players at the very point where you want all of them engaged.
  • Take Edges and Hindrances into consideration. A player who took the Lucky edge, with grants an additional benny each session, should see a reward for that in the form of an extra benny every once in a while. Similarly, a character who took the Unlucky hindrance should occasionally be denied a benny when everyone else receives one. In both cases, do this approximately a third of the time, and make sure to mention why you are doing it to reinforce the effect of the player’s build choices.

Common House Rules

Bennies are one part of the rules that people seem to love to play around with. but several house rules seem to crop up regularly.

  • No Re-rolling Snake Eyes. This is probably the most common rule variant, and it probably speaks ill of humanity, but many groups do not allow bennies to be spent to re-roll Snake Eyes, seeing this as the price wild cards suffer for having the wild die. Alternatively, you can allow a re-roll of Snake Eyes, but require that it cost two bennies.
  • Give a benny when a GM benny is used. Essentially, when the Game Master spends a benny, he gives it to another player, usually the one it most directly affects.
  • A true benny economy. As an extension of the previous idea, player bennies, when spent, are given to the Game Master to use. In this setup, there are a finite number of bennies in the game, and they simply pass back and forth among the players. If someone hoards bennies, he is actively denying them to others, but spending bennies empowers your enemies.
  • The Golden Benny. This is a special player benny that can be given to another player at will (this normally can’t be done without the Common Bond edge).
  • The Super Benny. This can take many forms, but essentially there is a single benny that does something very powerful, such as an automatic success with a raise. The Game Master can reward this to someone, or perhaps it gets passed to a new player when spent, or is handled like the true benny economy above.
  • Cookie Bennies. Use cookies as your bennies. When you spend it, you eat it. This will prevent hoarding, but there are other consequences.

Have we missed anything? Got a killer house rule you can share? Let us know!


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