May 10, 2014
"As I have gotten older, I have realized that my learning style tends more toward the visual and experiential. With that, does anyone know of a good illustrated rules tutorial? I haven't seen any live action or actual play tutorials, but the ones that stand out for me in print are the Mentzer Basic D&D players guide, and more recently the upcoming Atomic Robo Fate RPG."F. Turfler from G+ Savage Worlds Community
Mr. Turfler color me intrigued, now I am admittedly an artist, but honestly I am not really much for illustration and comic books. They have always been a great source of inspiration and storytelling, for myself and so many fans of the tabletop genre. So, I am going to try to help fluff up the available education pieces for Savage Worlds out there. My first entry in the series, called Savage Write-ups, is on Character Generation, something that every player including the GM should know how to do. This one is a bit long, because I will detail the process kind of heavily. In reality this process should take less time than to read this entry.
Rules:
Savage Worlds Deluxe Edition only for simplicity, no setting rules, using the organic character build style.
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| Meet Baeldre |
Concept
Lets start with the Fantasy Genre, since people are mostly familiar with the basics of what you should expect to see in a game. Also, for now I am going to avoid magic, because that is a topic in and of itself. Baeldre is a character concept I have tried to force, into many different rule sets. I use force as the key word here, because in many settings wielding a dagger is about as combat awesome as a spoon. At least, if you use a spoon you will get a rep and be able to make intimidate checks on your enemies, while you spoon out some mook's eye. Sure, you can make a rogue and get sneak attack, but that's not the concept. Think about how deadly a knife is in the real world. In the hands of a skilled fighter, it doesn't matter if he has the drop on you (think S.P.A.S.). In Pathfinder, with almost every book that came out, I have tried and tried to make this concept work in game, but the rules don't encourage you to know armed and unarmed combat. You're encouraged to hyper specialize, something never seen in movies or TV shows (besides the fact that most characters in movies and shows by RPG stats are usually pretty powerful). That's really more of a combat style choice. The RP stuff is kind of easy to play up in any game. I want him to be a cross elf with a chip on his shoulder and penchant for grudges. Kind of a scoundrel type who is willing to do what it takes to get the job done. I wrote him up for a free form play by post once, and since I have not been really happy with his build, so here it goes in Savage Worlds. Note, this is not intended to be optimal or a god build that uses a knife. This is a character for a story.
Move on to Stats
Race: Elf
Attributes: Every stat starts at d4 and you get 5 points to bump/change those stats. As an Elf, I get to start with a d6 in Agility instead of a d4. Each point raises a die, easy enough, but I really want to focus on my concept rather than my stats at this point, so I skip this part and move to hindrances and advantages as a preference.
Hindrances: So he is a workaholic, with a chip on his shoulder... After reading through SWD I know I can take 1 Major and 2 Minor hindrances. As an Elf, I start with All Thumbs(minor), kind of a set back since I am kind of a rogue/scoundrel type, but I can work with it and it doesn't count against my total, that I can take. I really like the idea of Code of Honor(major). I have always played him super dedicated and takes his promises very seriously, even if it's something trivial. Vengeful(minor) sounds good too, plus I am going to throw in Enemy(minor) because I want to have a NPC from my past be the one person I can't seem to capture. In fact, I may go back to the concept with that and add a childhood friend who is now my most elusive quarry. While not super powerful, he is not super deadly to me as well. That gives me 4 points (2 for the major and 1 each for the minors)
Edges: Since this character has already been thought up, and made elsewhere, there are a few different edges that look great. Looking through the book, I found about nine different options that sound great, but I only get one at the start, so I want to look for the one that shows him at the start of his adventures. So Luck sounds pretty good, or maybe Brawler. After some deliberation, I have decided to go with Luck at least. No stat requirements are needed for it, but I may want to pick up brawler pretty early, if not at character creation, so I want to make sure I get Str d8.
Back to Attributes: I have the basic 5 points to spend first, then I have to decide if I want to pay for two edges, or buy something else like an attribute bump.
Edges: Since this character has already been thought up, and made elsewhere, there are a few different edges that look great. Looking through the book, I found about nine different options that sound great, but I only get one at the start, so I want to look for the one that shows him at the start of his adventures. So Luck sounds pretty good, or maybe Brawler. After some deliberation, I have decided to go with Luck at least. No stat requirements are needed for it, but I may want to pick up brawler pretty early, if not at character creation, so I want to make sure I get Str d8.
Back to Attributes: I have the basic 5 points to spend first, then I have to decide if I want to pay for two edges, or buy something else like an attribute bump.
| Original Attribute | Points Used | Modified Attribute | Gained points Used | Final Attribute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Agility d6
|
1
|
d8
|
||
Smarts d4
|
d4
|
|||
Spirit d4
|
1
|
d6
|
||
Strength d4
|
2
|
d8
|
||
Vigor d4
|
1
|
d6
|
Those numbers look pretty good, so far, but I don't want to commit the points earned from hindrances, just yet. I will move on to skills and derived stats first, to get their base line, so I can best decide how to use those points.
Skills: You get 15 to spend. So I take a quick look at the skill list... and these are my winners:
| Selected Skill | Points Used | Modified Skill | Gained points Used | Final Skill |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Fighting(Agility)
|
3
|
d8
|
||
Stealth(Agility)
|
2
|
d6
|
||
Throwing(Agility)
|
1
|
d4
|
||
Notice(Smarts)
|
3
|
d6
|
||
Streetwise(Smarts)
|
3
|
d6
|
||
Tracking(Smarts)
|
3
|
d6
|
Okay, not bad. My choice to make him have a d4 in Smarts kind of cost me, a bit, when I made his skills, but I am kind of digging the RP value of it. Those skills are things he does not come to naturally and he had to work to get them there, a cool concept you don't really see that much of, in tabletop games anymore.
Spending the Gained Points: I have four points to spend from my hindrances. I know I want to pick up the Luck edge, which will cost me 2 points. For the remaining amount, I can buy more skills, another edge, bump and attribute, or get more starting money. I don't really need much money, since he starts off as a street-tough with little more than dagger. I am thinking about bumping Smarts, since it will lower the cost of three of my skills, giving me 3 more skill points to spend. Which is more cost effective than just getting one skill point. And then there is the Brawler edge, as it complements my combat style and vision of the character well. After some thought, I go with a Smarts bump for the last 2 points and reassign my skills. Plus, with adding to Smarts, I would meet the requirements for another edge, I want later.
Back to Attributes: I have the basic 5 points to spend first, then I have to decide if I want to pay for two edges, or buy something else like an attribute bump.| Original Attribute | Points Used | Modified Attribute | Gained Points Used | Final Attribute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Agility d6
|
1
|
d8
|
Agility d8
|
|
Smarts d4
|
d4
|
1
|
Smarts d6
|
|
Spirit d4
|
1
|
d6
|
Spirit d6
|
|
Strength d4
|
2
|
d8
|
Strength d8
|
|
Vigor d4
|
1
|
d6
|
Vigor d6
|
Adjusted Skills
| Selected Skill | Points Used | Modified Skill | Gained Points Used | Final Skill |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Fighting(Agility)
|
3
|
d8
|
Fighting(Agility) d8
|
|
Stealth(Agility)
|
2
|
d6
|
Stealth(Agility) d6
|
|
Throwing(Agility)
|
2
|
d6
|
Throwing(Agility) d6
|
|
Notice(Smarts)
|
2
|
d6
|
Notice(Smarts) d6
|
|
Streetwise(Smarts)
|
2
|
d6
|
Streetwise(Smarts) d6
|
|
Tracking(Smarts)
|
2
|
d6
|
Tracking(Smarts) d6
|
|
Taunt(Smarts)
|
2
|
d6
|
Taunt(Smarts) d6
|
You will notice I added Taunt and increase Throwing. I wanted taunt in the first place but I ran out of points, so this seemed like a good place to add it since I gained 3 back.
Derived Stats: Charisma is 0, because I invested nothing into it. My Pace is 6, my race did not alter that. Parry requires a little bit of math, 2 plus half your fighting skill plus any bonuses from gear... so my baseline Parry is 6(2+4). Toughness uses basically the same formula but with Vigor and armor(over torso) instead, meaning the baseline is 5(2+3).
Gear: You get $500 to spend on gear, unless otherwise dictated by the GM so a quick look at the list... and I get 3 Daggers for 75(can be thrown so I might want a few), Leather Armor for 50, Backpack for 50, Bedroll for 25, Waterskin for 5, Flint and Steel for 3, Manacles for 15, 60 ft of rope for 60, Whetstone for 5, Normal Clothing for 20, Trail rations for 10. That leaves me with $182 left over at the start of the game.
Flavor: At this point, I would come back and add trappings to flavor the character. Maybe, I will want to talk to my GM about making blinding into a crowd as a trapping on stealth, because I have made it a point that he is more a thug than a true rogue. Maybe I will just call it Blending(stealth) on my sheet, and talk to the GM about having the fault that he is actually bad at real stealth. Maybe it lowers a die type by one. Even without, powers I have room for trappings.
Stat Block
Baeldre
Rank: Novice
Race: Elf
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d6, Strength d8, Vigor d6
Skills: Fighting d8, Blinding (Stealth d6), Throwing d6, Notice d6, Streetwise d6, Tracking d6, Taunt d6
Charisma: 0, Pace: 6, Parry: 6, Toughness: 6
Hindrances: Code of Honor, Enemy Minor (Rhodes, Half Elf), Vengeful Minor
Edges: Luck
Gear: 3 Daggers, Leather Armor, Backpack, Bedroll, Waterskin, Flint and Steel, Manacles, 60 ft of rope, Whetstone, Normal Clothing, Trail rations
Background: Baeldre is a street hardened elf, who grew up in Alona. The boy always a touch of luck, in everything he did, probably the one thing that kept him alive all these years. As he grew up, he learned that life is not cheap, in fact it can be very profitable. He picked up bounty hunting to pay the bills, but since he has taken a liking to it. It has caused him to make a few enemies, in the past, but none more than Rhodes, the man has defied him at every corner. Always evading capture, through magical and vile means such as putting innocent people him harms way to get away. He has become somewhat jaded, causing him to become a bit more violent when on the job, but he always follows his Bounty Hunter's Code.
- No bounty is worth dying for
- People don't have bounties, only "acquisition" do
- Capture by design, Kill by necessary
- No hunter shall slay another (unless they have become acquisitions)
- No hunter shall interfere with another's hunt (competition is not interfering)
- One captures or kills, never both
- No hunter shall refuse aid to another hunter.
Next week time I will make a caster to highlight the best part of characters in SW, trappings. A little less crunch and more story elements.
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