Savage Mondays – August 30, 2010

Written by Tyson J. Hayes on 2010/08/30 – 08:22 -

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 have questions or just want to talk to us in real time just drop by the #savageworlds IRC Channel. If you’re looking for more up to date news, here’s what’s happening now:

Update: Community News Added.

Pinnacle Entertainment Group

Space 1889: Red Sands Preorder Bundle | Pinnacle Entertainment Group

Pinnacle Entertainment Group - Space 1889 - Red SandsThis week Pinnacle announced that pre-orders for Space 1889: Red Sands and their Red Sands preorder bundle are now available.  Stop by Pinnacle’s store and check it out.

Since Thomas Edison first explored the worlds with the help of his marvelous ether propeller, the British Empire has grown to include the red plains and stately canals of Mars, the steaming, dinosaur-infested swamps of Venus, and even a remote outpost in the twilight zone of Mercury. In 1889, the sun truly never sets on the British Empire! But deep inside the Empire, a core of revolt festers and grows. Martian cults cry out for the Earthling’s expulsion. Britain teeters at the edge of war with the Oenotrian Empire. In the midst of seething turmoil, the being known only as Kronos siezes the technology of a forgotten race to threaten the very future of mankind!

Savage Licensees

Daring Tales of Chivalry Adventure Compendium | Triple Ace Games

Out this week TAG announces five new adventures for their Daring Tales of Chivalry line all brought together in one comprehensive book!  Be daring in these new adventures

  • A Knight’s Tales
  • Death at the Joust
  • The Danbury Curse
  • Castle Fairstone
  • The Madness of Sir Stephen

Hellfrost Encounters #1 |Triple Ace Games

Finally after months of teasing TAG released the Hellfrost Encounters Book #1.  Following up on their Preview Copy the book is finally released!

Designed with the busy GM in mind, this book contains 50 detailed encounters covering a variety of situations and locales.

Whether you’re after a random encounter that’s more than just a standup fight on featureless terrain, an exciting mini-adventure on the spur of the moment, something to break up the party’s travels, or a starting scene for an adventure of your own devising, this book has something for you.

To help speed up play, every encounter is designed to fit one or two pages containing all of its pertinent information, so there’s no need to flip between pages. Lavishly illustrated with maps, everything you need to play these encounters is within the covers of this fantastic book!

Although designed for the Hellfrost setting, each encounter contains the stats required for play, so it can be used in any Savage Worlds fantasy setting!

Hellfrost Region Guide #20: The Mistlands | Triple Ace Games

Out this week is #20 in the collectors series, The Mistlands brings even more guides to the Hellfrost setting.

Once famed for its prosperous silver mines, the Mistlands are now a haunted realm of perpetual mist and endless ruins. A realm of ghosts and memories, few adventurers are brave enough to explore the rugged hills, for many who do are never seen again.

This supplement explores the history of the former realm of Silverdale, and presents rules for adventuring in the mist-wreathed lands, as well as over half a dozen new locales. The cult of Niht is explored in greater detail, along with the minor gods of sleep and concealment. Finally there are three new monsters, including the much-feared shadow dragon.

Sundered Skies Companion |Triple Ace Games

Feeling a bit left out after all the releases forHellfrost?  Thinking that your Sundered Skies game needs a pick-me up?  Well your in luck! The crack team of writers at Triple Ace Games have released the Sundered Skies Companion.

The Sundered Skies Companion expands upon and compliments the information found in the Sundered Skies core book. Designed to be used by players and Gamemaster’s the Sundered Skies Companion is bursting with gaming goodness, including;

  • A host of new Edges and Hindrances.
  • Detailed information on day-to-day life in the Sundered Skies, including superstitions and commonly held beliefs. Game mechanics are included so they can have a direct influence on your game.
  • Advanced dwarven munitions add even more explosive options to your arsenal of equipment.
  • Several new ship designs, including the experimental flame dancer.
  • New magic and spells, including a new goddess, The Beautiful One, and Voidomancy—where the caster draws on the void itself as a source for his spells.
  • Holy days for god, each one dripping with role-playing and adventure potential.
  • Expanded information on the isles of the skies, including four brand new island—The volcanic Atrium; frozen Frostrock, the desolate and tragic Remorse, and the mysterious jungle isle of Savannah.
  • 16 cults and secret societies the heroes can join or oppose. Each goals and organisation is fully detailed, including unique Edges available to heroes who join.
  • Over 25 new Savage Tales designed to be used alongside, and within the existing Plot Point found in Sundered Skies.
  • Sundered Gods—a guide to what direction your campaign can take once the Plot Point is completed.
  • A veritable horde of new monsters, opponents, and allies.
  • And much, much more!

Savage Community

Forum Top Five | PEGInc Forums

Each week, I delve into the Pinnacle Forums to find you the very best stuff.  Here’s what this week has to offer:

Arcane Abilities: This subsystem is designed to add more magical flair to your fantasy campaign by augmenting the current edge and powers system.  Very cool stuff.

Multiple Personalities: Some people are of two minds about everything.  This covers a character who not only has multiple personalities, but how to integrate the two over time.

Vehicles and Chases: If you’ve ever had questions about how the rules for vehicles and chases work, this is your thread.

Animal Stat Blocks: The Savage Worlds: Explorer’s Edition doesn’t have a lot of animals listed, so this thread attempts to fill in some gaps.  Useful if you’re looking for a familiar.

Social Combat: This is a ruleset for social combat based on the Mass Combat rules.  I’d like to see it tested and developed further.

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 – August 23, 2010

Written by Tyson J. Hayes on 2010/08/23 – 08:34 -

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 have questions or just want to talk to us in real time just drop by the #savageworlds IRC Channel. If you’re looking for more up to date news, here’s what’s happening now:

Pinnacle Entertainment Group

Oh the Podcasts! | Pinnacle Entertainment Group

This week Pinnacle decided to highlight The Gamer’s Haven‘s Gen Con coverage.  The August 14 episode featured Clint Black, our Core Rules Brand Manager, and Sean Preston, founder of Reality Blurs. The August 15 episode features Jodi Black, frequent Pinnacle editor and proprietress of Beautiful Brains Books & Games, and Reality Blurs’ Dave Olson and Stacy Young.  So give it a listen and let us know what you think in the comments!

Savage Licensees

Applied Vectors Gone But Not Forgotten | Applied Vectors

Somehow we missed this in our coverage last week but none the less the sad announcement comes from one of the licensee’s.

As the seasons change so does the focus of myself and my wife and business partner Anne Liddle. For this reason, we have decided to cease trading as Applied Vectors. Our books will still be available as legacy products on RPGnow etc, but there will be nothing new from us.

You can read more on Applied Vectors’ blog.

Interface Zero | Gun Metal Games

While I haven’t had a chance to dig into this setting yet this does look to be Shadowrun for Savage Worlds.  With that in mind I know we can probably get Jeff to give it a fair shakedown.

Welcome to the Future!

Interface-Zero, is the first book in the Interface-Zero Cyberpunk Setting by Gun Metal games. IZ brings your Savage Worlds game up to speed with the dark, frenetic world of 2088.

Didja Bring Your Gun?

Within the pages of Interface-Zero, you can match wits with ancient triad lodge masters, anarchist hackers and digitalized corporate moguls. Thwart the machinations of the New Chinese Mandarinate, or the Theocratic North American Coalition. Stare down the end of your gauss rifle at or match nano-woven steel with ganglanders, gene-spliced hybrids and borg shock troopers.

Are ya Wired?

Life is fast in 2088. If ya wanna survive, you need to be faster. Don’t worry Ami, we got ya covered. Fast Furious and Fun cybernetic rules enable you to create any type of cybernetic implant or bioware modification you can imagine!

Wanna crash a corp Domain?

Interface Zero hooks you up with everything you need to hack a computer network or derezz an enemy hacker in 2088. But watch out, omae; ghost into the wrong system and you’ll get fried faster than your food vat can spit out NUTRIpaste!

Interface Zero is a game without barriers; a setting where you can be artificially intelligent robots, vat-grown simulacrum, transgenic hybrids or just plain old flesh and blood humans. You can jack into the world around you and program it to suit your needs. You can implant cyberware in your body, interface with machines, fly hover craft, golemmechs, jump bikes and even hover tanks and Low Altitude Vehicles complete with the latest weapons and cutting edge VTOL or anti-gravity propulsion systems.

You can assume the roles of shadow operatives who rage against the corporate machine, private detectives cut from a noir-inspired cloth, fearless, larger than life heroes piloting mecha in a futuristic, transhumanist Japan- even survivors gutting it out in a post-apocalyptic wasteland filled with mutant horrors or AI-spawned mechanical nightmares are viable concepts in Interface Zero. Interface Zero is more than just a game setting, it is a toolbox you can use, adding or dropping whichever elements you wish to create the sci-fi game world that you and your friends want to play in.

End of Chapter 1 | Daring Entertainment

Personally I’m curious what the next chapter has in store as Daring Entertainment builds its way to be the most highlighted Savage World Licensee on our Savage Monday coverage.

In explosive Chapter One finale, the town of Dalesbury has become a war zone as you discover a secret that could effect the future salvation of the human race.

Can you survive the attack by the Living Dead horde, rescue your allies, and escape to safety before the Living Dead consume you, and with you the salvation of humanity?

Call of Cthulhu Bennies | Reality Blurs

Reality Blurs has entered the arena of bennies!  Drop by the Reality Blurs Store today to pick them up!

Hellfrost Region Guide #19: The Unclaimed Lands | Triple Ace Games

Below the Icewall, far to the north of the Hearthlands, are the Unclaimed Lands. A vast swathe of forest and rolling hills wracked by near-constant winter, many southerners consider the wilderness uninhabitable. Yet life prospers here for those who know and respect the power of nature and winter. Life is hard and a constant struggle against the elements, but here a man can truly be free. This supplement expands on the Hellfrost Gazetteer.

This supplement expands the Finnar culture, providing information on their social hierarchy, education, religion, and military. The cult of Ullr is expanded, giving details of its clergy and major rituals. GMs have six new major locales, two minor gods, and three new monsters to unleash against the players.

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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Crowdsourcing: How it is Working

Written by Tyson J. Hayes on 2010/08/18 – 00:00 -

While I tapped out a merry tune of how crowdsourcing an entire RPG would never work, smug in my well thought out points, Jeff had to go and ruin it. Before posting the article he quickly made some points on how crowdsourcing was working, in smaller ways, the jerk. He quietly pointed out that the community at large made some great material that he’d used himself and dismissing it all as not working wasn’t quite the best route. I’m unfortunately, and with great sadness, forced to agree with him.

Rules Tweaks

I believe I did briefly mention this in my previous article that the community at large is fantastic for rule tweaks; anyone who has spent time reading our Savage Mondays knows this. It can be easily said that the crowd will create a better rule system then Pinnacle or Wizards ever could. Fans will spend countless hours tinkering with rules to get them to feel and play a certain way. All to make their lives easier, and sharing it just makes it easier for the rest of us. Even we here at Apathy Games, are guilty of the occasional suggestion, like modifying combat, and changing skills, all of these developed to make our lives easier that you.

Tips, Tricks, and Tools

We love good tools, but so does every gamer. The community has given us a tool for generating names, they’ve given us their time and feedback by showing up to the savage chat. We’ve in turn given back tips for keeping track of potential players, generating characters, and tips on using hindrances for writing prompts. Crowdsourcing is a two way street, without someone else giving feedback we’re creating in a void. You, our readers, inspire us to continue creating and writing. We’re like fairies, except we survive off of comments instead of claps (though we’ll take either when we’re within ear shot).

Grab and Go Material

The Savage community is really at its best when it’s producing grab and go material. I’ve seen blogs generate countless hooks, generate many characters, and more gaming aids then when could ever need. Without the community at large Savage Worlds would still be a part of the Great Rail Wars miniature game (that’s right I just busted some history up in here) and would never have attracted people like me to start developing for it.

So when it comes down to it, I can’t dismiss crowdsourcing all together. Without the crowd, no the community, we wouldn’t have the games that we do today.


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Why RPGs Can’t Be Crowd Sourced, Yet

Written by Tyson J. Hayes on 2010/08/17 – 00:00 -

Recently my brain has been mulling over Crowdsourcing by Jeff Howe. In which the author, with the breathless excitement of Wired writers, explains how “the power of the crowd” is going to eventually produce everything and change the shape of business. While I do agree with the points made thus far (I’m about half way through) I can’t help but apply it to my business of choice. While there have been some attempts to crowd/open source some RPGs it seems that the projects never quite get off the ground in any significant way; no one can seem to develop the Firefox of RPGs.

The Need for Change

Let’s face it, Dungeons and Dragons is not going to go anywhere any time soon, but why is that? Beyond the brand recognition we have a game that has gone through multiple incarnations, various parent companies and just keeps on going strong. What we don’t want to admit to ourselves, there just isn’t anything that wrong with the game. Sure it has its quirks and needs constant rule tweaking to make work the way we want it to, but there isn’t a driving need for something better. While I am a huge Savage World fan, I still play D&D; it’s like a comfortable pair of shoes. It’s easy to slip on and off when I want it. Without the driving need for change, it’s hard to get projects off the ground. We need a clear definable problem and the people to drive the change.

Lack of Brown Socks

In his book, Crowdsourcing, Jeff Howe cites a study that shows that given two groups the more diverse group will end up creating a better product. The study basically mathematically used a hyper smart, hyper focused group that they called Mensa. They then put it against a group that could have been picked from a collage facility lounge comprising of everyone, who in that room, happened to be wearing brown socks. The Brown Socks proved to be better decision makers then the Mensa group. Howe uses this study to prove his case that crowdsourcing yields better products. The problem with using this in our industry is that we really lack Brown Socks. Everyone who would be interested in a crowdsourced RPG would be put firmly in the Mensa category. In fact I would go as far to say that every one of our loyal readers would be put in this category. I mean, you are reading an RPG blog. It’s not to say that we can’t put out a good product, I know a number of savage licensees read this blog and make wonderful products. It’s just the community at large is to hyper focused to put out as good of a product if we were to get more casual interest in the project.

Good Writing is Hard to Source

Many years ago there was an article in Wired that discussed the idea of crowdsourcing news articles. The writer put out an idea for an article, and watched as the community tweaked it and expanded upon it until it became a full article. He then used it as a base for his article on examining the process. His biggest gripe was the fact that the writing was dry and informative but lacked voice. It got the point across without being compelling enough to print in the average news publication. Writing is tough job, getting across feeling, voice, and information in an interesting manner is something few can do. When too many hands are in the pot it makes the job nigh impossible. Too many different ideas can lead to boring and uninteresting work. Crowdsourcing works great for software development and problem solving when the objective and solutions can be clearly defined. As such I think it would be a great source for developing rules for a game. I’ve seen countless pages devoted to the art of tweaking a rule set to do what the GM wants and some are really great. Developing game content though, needs to be done on a much smaller scale.

With repositories of knowledge, advances in the field of science, and new daring ideas being take on every day it’s hard not to see the points Jeff Howe makes. Even his breathless excitement gets my mind racing from time to time, but it just can’t be used for everything.

I’d like you to prove me wrong. Tell me how crowdsourcing can be used for RPG development, and how it’ll eventually become the biggest game on the market. If there is a project heading that direction I would personally devote some of my spare cycles into its development.


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Savage Mondays – August 16, 2010

Written by Tyson J. Hayes on 2010/08/16 – 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 have questions or just want to talk to us in real time just drop by the #savageworlds IRC Channel. If you’re looking for more up to date news, here’s what’s happening now:

Pinnacle Entertainment Group

Gen Con Huge Success! |Pinnacle Entertainment Group

This was a triumph! I’m making a note here, HUGE SUCCESS!!! At least according to PEGInc, for a full recap on their GenCon experience head over to the Pinnacle front page and get all the juicy tidbits on how the con went.  And those that did go make sure to head over to this forum thread, to suggest improvements for Savage Saturday Night.

Savage Licensees

War of the Dead Week 12 | Daring Entertainment

With only one more week left in Chapter 1 how will the player survive?

The seemingly peaceful town of Dalesbury has become a powder-keg of a power struggle between the Mayor and the newly arrived military forces, with you stuck in the middle.

With more questions than answers, a new mystery has developed as to the true identity of the town’s newest Mayor, and his real reasons for assuming control.

Answers, though, will have to wait thanks to a horde of hundreds of Living Dead marching directly towards the town . . . .

Region Guide #18: The Freelands | Triple Ace Games

Unfortunately as I have not yet had the opportunity to crack open the quickly becoming tomb of Hellfrost material I have no idea how many regions we have left?  If you know let us know in the comments!

The Freelands are a sea of grassy hills and small woods, its scattered communities are islands of civility in a land plagued by orcs, giants, and undead. It is a land where mighty heroes can carve out a fief and be master of their own destinies, for no sovereign holds sway over the Freelands; or meet a painful death at the hands, teeth, and claws of the many horrors that haunt the land between settlements.

This supplement explores the Freelands in greater detail, providing information on religious view, military might, and the vital trade network, as well as giving GMs over half a dozen new major locales to wave into their adventures. Expanded information is provided for the cult of the Norns, along with two new minor deities and three new monsters.

Savage Community

August Edition of the Savage Sixth | The Savage Sixth

Last month, the Savage Sixth was absent from the Internet.  This month, though, it is not.  This month is a lot of behind the scenes and personal posts surounding the Savage Worlds community.

Forum Top Five | PEGInc Forums

Each week, I delve into the forums so that you don’t have to.  Here are, in my opinion, the top five threads from the past week:

Future Explorer’s Editions: People seem to really appreciate the smaller, less costly explorer’s editions of the core rules and of Necessary Evil.  As other settings sell out their print runs, Pinnacle is working on making Explorer’s Editions of them as well.  Next up is Rippers and Evernight, but this thread includes some other tidbits and details directly from Pinnacle’s mouth.  As this news is still considered unofficial, we’re only going to point you at it, instead of broadcast it directly.

Viking Setting: What’s more savage than Vikings?  Reader Grubman is putting together a setting inspired by the 13th Warrior.  It’s called The Mistland Saga, and it sounds pretty awesome.

Cyberware and Mutations: Like magic, there are many different approaches to handling cyberware in your game.  This thread gets into a bit of the theory behind the various ideas.

Nanotech Augmentations: Cyberware seems to be a theme this week, so here is a well developed and solid example of using Nanotech Augmentations in your games.  Thanks go to OSIAdept for sharing his work.

Transformers: The only thing cooler about a man that turns into a robot is a robot that turns into a car.  This thread is a fun discussion of playing a Transformers game in Savage Worlds.

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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Dave “Viz” Pryzblya talks Kith’takharos

Written by Tyson J. Hayes on 2010/08/11 – 00:00 -

Dave Pryzbyla was kind enough to answer a few questions for us for us while we were researching Kith’takharos.  Below is a full transcript of the e-mails and his responses.  Normally I write a question to the audience at the end of the post but due to it’s length I’ll post my follow up question up here.

Do you have a question for Dave? Let us know in the comments! While we can’t guarantee he’ll respond to every question we will pose any questions to him and post any responses he gives.

To begin the interview Dave told us a bit about White Haired Man.

Dave (viz) will answer most of the questions. When an answer requires contributions from both of us, the name will precede that portion of the text.

Before I answer your questions, I want to provide background about White Haired Man. Some of this has been adapted from an adventure introduction and will help you understand our goals and how we fit into the Savage Worlds universe.

The creative personnel of White Haired Man have been Gamemasters for many years. We have experienced the pressure of developing new campaign material every week. Like many other Gamemasters, we have also wished for a little help every now and then. White Haired Man was created to provide this help.

As Gamemasters, we generally had a developed campaign world and did not want our whole campaign planned out for us. That is why White Haired Man offers small-scale settings and adventures that can easily be introduced into a campaign and reduce the Gamemaster’s preparation time. Our settings do not force the Gamemaster to rework an existing campaign setting.

Our work also reflects the roleplaying styles we enjoy: a low level of magic, high drama, intense roleplaying opportunities, and realistic consequences for character actions. We must stay true to the types of adventures that generate our passion for roleplaying, and hope that others will be equally as excited.

The settings themselves are available for free on the White Haired Man web site (www.whitehairedman.com) in a rules agnostic format. That is, the free setting contains no rules that tie it to a particular game system. On the other hand, the adventures created for the settings comprise our core products, and do contain the information necessary to run the adventure in a particular game system such as Savage Worlds.

Each setting will include a number of linked adventures. While the adventures are designed to follow one another in a series, most of them can also stand alone if the Gamemaster desires.

In addition to the linked adventures, White Haired Man also offers Simple Scenarios for each setting. A Simple Scenario is a set piece encounter or very short adventure the Gamemaster can insert when needed to fill a gap or spice up an ongoing adventure. The Simple Scenarios are not necessarily connected to one another or any published adventure.

We have published one setting based in the swamp village of Kith’takharos, with three linked adventures and two Simple Scenarios. We also run a biweekly online Savage Worlds Kith’takharos campaign.

Our current focus is providing adventure modules for virtual tabletop (VTT) software such as Fantasy Grounds II. Each of our adventures contains a Fantasy Grounds software module as well as a PDF. The software module includes everything necessary to run the adventure within Fantasy Grounds. The PDF includes all the adventure material, and can be used as an aid to running the adventure in Fantasy Grounds, or as the basis for a traditional face-to-face roleplaying session.

We are also exploring print editions of our adventures, and should have a firm idea of the viability within the next two or three months.

Read more »


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Savage Status Report – Kith’takharos

Written by Tyson J. Hayes on 2010/08/10 – 00:00 -

Each week we take a look at one setting or genre in the Savage Universe and see how it’s doing and what the developers have been up to.  This is not a review, but a guide to what’s available today.  Updates to each Savage Status Report will occur more or less twice a year.

This week we take a look at the remote swamp village of Kith’takharos come back tomorrow while we do a bit of Q&A with Kith’takharos scribe Dave “Viz” Pryzbyla.

What is it?

Kith’takharos is a setting available from White Haired Man.  The setting itself is best described by it’s creators:

From the White Haired Man website:

The remote swamp village of Kith’takharos provides the known world with valuable plants that are processed into drugs both beneficial and malevolent. Envious of this monopoly, the powerful Transit Guild schemes to wrest control of the swamp plant trade from the leaders of Kith’takharos.

Tribes of reptilian Swamp Men live in an uneasy truce with the village. Scattered throughout the swamp, the ruins of the lost Harlass Orn civilization lay hidden beneath the murky waters and dense foliage. Some scholars view the Swamp Men as fallen remnants of this advanced race, but most people would laugh at the idea that Swamp Men could build anything of stone or steel.

What I find interesting about the setting is that the setting itself is free in a rules agnostic format. All available on White Haired Man’s website.  What you have to pay for is their adventures.  I asked David “Viz” Przybyla about the decision to release the setting for free.

Andugus and I knew that we wanted to create roleplaying material. We are driven to do it. Yet how could we get others interested in our work? We decided on two approaches. First, we had to get our work in front of people. We had to convince them to take a chance on our products. It seemed that we could put the basic setting on the web for everyone to see. The value added by purchasing our products would be the adventures and the game mechanics for the setting.

Read more »


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Savage Mondays – August 9, 2010

Written by Tyson J. Hayes on 2010/08/09 – 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 have questions or just want to talk to us in real time just drop by the #savageworlds IRC Channel. If you’re looking for more up to date news, here’s what’s happening now:

As GenCon just concluded the news seems to be holding its breath waiting for the right time to unleash the tide of news and announcements at GenCon.  Unfortunately as our news cycle ends on Sundays you’ll have to wait another week to pick up on all the news.  We’ll report everything we can find, until then this is the news we’ve managed to pick up.

Pinnacle Entertainment Group

Deadlands Map & New Deadlands Released | Pinnacle Entertainment Group

The Weird West just got a little less weirder with this new map released from Pinnacle.  If you want a full sized map that’s nice and poster sized you’ll have to pick up the Marshal’s Handbook or Player’s Guide that were just released.

Savage Licenses

War of the Dead Week 11 | Daring Entertainment

Only two more weeks left until the end of Chapter 1! This weeks adventure brings the heroes ever closer to the end.

After being rescued from impending death thanks to an Apache helicopter that crashed into your vehicle, you have been nursed back to health and accepted by the people of Dalesbury.

Assigned to patrol duty as a means of contributing to the town’s welfare in exchange for your medical treatment, you encountered a convoy of soldiers that survived the Jacksonville massacre. Taking them back to Dalesbury, you have ignited the fuse to a possible powder keg.

Now the place of safe haven and support is threatened to be torn apart in a power struggle between the politicians of Dalesbury and the newly arrived military forces, with you stuck dead in the middle.

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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Practice Makes Perfect

Written by Tyson J. Hayes on 2010/08/04 – 20:38 -

My wife has decided to kill me. Oh sure she guises it under the “let’s get healthy together” like “but water is good for you,” and stop drinking so much coke.” I know the truth however; I know what the half marathon, she signed us up for, is really about; my end. I know the body needs to be worked, and it really would be nice not to get winded walking to the fridge. I can’t help but think of another muscle that needs to be worked and with GenCon looming soon it may be time to go through some GM calisthenics to prep for your con game.

Give it a Solo Run

Even if you’ve ran the adventure before it’s a good measure to make another run through by yourself. This will get all the encounters fresh in your mind and give you a chance to think about how different people might react to it. Try to really think outside the box here, the idea is not to be able to predict everything your players might do, far from it. We’re doing some mental gymnastics to train up for the big show. The crazier and wackier you can come up with the less likely you’ll freak out come game day. After all con goers can be an intimidating bunch, mean the stench alone may cause some vigor rolls.

Prep Your Materials

Your solo prep will also remind you of all the handouts and prep work that needs to be done before the game. While you still have a minute to scratch your head and get everything printed out, organized, and packed. Organizational tip: Bring a binder with Sheet Protectors to keep everything in. This will keep you organized and all of your nice new print outs safe and dry until you can get to the con. Also this would be an excellent time to label everything you need so you don’t look like a buffoon digging the sheets out of whatever bag of holding you brought them in.

Memorize Everything

Well I guess not everything; I mean who really needs to remember Plank’s Constant at a time like this? However now is the time to brush up on any rules that you may not be familiar with, organize some mock combats and get a really good hold on the item table, assuming you’re letting your players pick their own equipment. Be prepared to answer all kinds of questions about the setting, rules and general play as you’re going to get all comers to the table.

In the end it’ll come down to being quick on your feet and the ability to deal with everything coming at you, but much like the marathon ahead of me, the more practice you get the better off you’ll be.

What kind of success have you had running con games?


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Picking the Right Setting

Written by Tyson J. Hayes on 2010/08/03 – 00:00 -

Ever had the need to end your current campaign and pick up a new setting? Have you gotten a bit tired of dwarves and elves for one veterans lifetime? Not ready for a sabbatical but need a fresh idea to get you cooking? We all have, it’s part of being a GM. One of the vast numbers of problems can be, “What setting do I switch to?”

Jane Austin’s Fight Club

This video came up in the Savage Worlds chat room and while watching this hilarious piece of cinema I couldn’t help but wonder if it wasn’t being turned into a full feature length film. While a great short parody film I couldn’t help but think it would make a terrible movie. Adventures can be like this, one adventure might have a great story and craft a fantastic world around it but in the end there really isn’t much more of a story to tell when you’re done. The evil has been vanquished; the day is saved and so on. There is a reason Happily Ever After is placed where it is in the story, its cause it’s all downhill from there.

Prime Source Material

Consider also how much material is out there supporting your new found setting. While we all may be good at drafting up our own ideas and adding on to a world if all of the material just exists in the one adventure it may prove to be interesting expanding on the same feel. Tone and theme can be big parts of a world, and should be taken into consideration. Taking careful stock in if the setting is right for your table should be done with care. If a setting is too cartoonish or is to adult themed it can really drag down a game. Always take consideration into the feel of the game before switching settings.

Choosing the right style

I’ve never played a proper Horror campaign; I wouldn’t even know where to start crafting one. If I really wanted to run a horror campaign I’d likely fire up a pre-built adventure to get me going. I would have to tread lightly though moving into an entirely different genre of game can alienate not only your players but yourself. It can be tough to get your mind working in a new way. I mean let’s be honest, once dwarves have a Scottish accent they all tend to. So replacing Sauron with Cthulhu may end up making your brain hurt rather than getting it excited to continue running adventures. So consider what you’re switching to carefully, is this something that you have experience with, or have a passion for? Your players will be able to tell the difference even if you want to pretend it’s not that noticeable.

Switching settings or game styles is fairly common, how do you make it a success?


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