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Tuesday, January 11, 2011

The Games I Own, But Have Never Played - Savage Worlds

There are a crapload of games I own but have never played.  Strangely enough, back in my high school and college years, pretty much every game I bought was played at least once, even if I didn't really understand the system completely.

The Pacesetter line was played, the Fantasy Games Unlimited line was played, Runequest, Traveller, MERP, Rolemaster, Spacemaster, GURPS, Rifts... on and on the list goes.

I think we even ran a session or two of Deadlands (1st Edition), which went over about as well as Boot Hill - everyone had the Star Trek episode with the Tombstone shootout in their heads I think.  Not a good scenario for a western.

All this leads me to Savage Worlds.  Apparently a system loved by many, with a decent number of assorted genre sourcebooks and adventure paths, I just have never been able to wrap my head around it and it's "dice size" for stats concept.  I want to.  The SW Explorer Rules Digest has been in the backseat of my car for years, handy when you have time to kill and need something to read.  Still, I'm left scratching my head.

I can never seem to figure out just how the powers / spells system works, probably because this game isnt well suited for fantasy and that is where I am fairly rooted.  More likely, I'll need to actually play in a session or two before it really "clicks".

Then again, there is just so much other stuff out there that is also good, why should I keep at trying to grock a system that I'll probably never play anyway.  Good thing everything I own for Savage Worlds, with the exception of the core rules, is in PDF.  Not much to pack away ;)

11 comments:

  1. I've never played SW. My wife bought me The Savage World of Solomon Kane for Christmas a couple of years ago, after finding it at the FLGS for half-off. It's a complete game, featuring a SW version, slightly altered for the Solomon Kane universe. I'm gonna break it out one day. :)

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  2. It's a great read. Almost forgot I had it until you mentioned it. Hmmm, big book too. Time to pack it away sadly.

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  3. Tenkar, I have met a couple people that feel the same way. In my opinion, it's a shame, because Shane's a genius when it comes to fast, flexible and fun.

    I think the problem really lies in looking at the game in a totally different way- Shane puts a lot more RANDOM in games than most people are used to. I happen to love it for the 'weird and inexplicable' kinds of settings I like to play the most.

    It lends itself to camp/pulp pretty easily, which tends to be one of the "downsides"- but again it goes to personal preference.

    Gamer garage sale?

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  4. @Loqacious - I am a game horder ;)

    Seriously, my more recent purchases (from 3e, so late 90s) I might be able to purge, but the older stuff all has "gamer memories" imprinted on them, and at best will be put into storage.

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  5. I had Savage Worlds in my closet for about a year before I tried it, and then I was totally enchanted with it. It really is a great little system that is an awful lot of fun to play. For SW fantasy, Shaintar is the ticket.

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  6. I share the same plight. I've combed through the manual several times now, and the rules are not explained in...a traditional manner, I suppose. Coming off of FATE, I thought I would gain some insight with Savage Worlds, but each time I try, I'm a little more clueless.

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  8. damn typos ;)

    FATE will be a whole nother post ;)

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  9. I have only played Savage Worlds twice, both at a con in Denver I went to a year ago. I played one game of Solomon Kane and one rather humorous version of Chickens in the Mist. I really enjoyed the system and the read for some of the sourcebooks (Tour of Darkness looks like it might actually be a blast to run), but my higher calling always seems to be D&D.

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  10. Currently White Haired Man creates adventures in support of Savage Worlds and D&D 3.5/OGL. I also just ran my 50th Savage World session and I am extremely pleased with how Savage Worlds works in conjunction with Fantasy Grounds II. It is an elegant system that removes barriers for both players and GM's. Got a great idea to try out, it handles it easily.

    For me Savage Worlds is what D&D should have been all along: Fast, Fun & Furious.

    P.S. If anyone reading this would like to sit in and watch a Fantasy Grounds II based Savage World session contact me at Andugus@whitehairedman.com. I'd be happy to set you up to see it in action.

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  11. I ran "The Keep on the Borderlands" for my family entirely in Savage Worlds. It was a hoot. It's a great system and it plays quick and fun. I need to codify a few houserules for bennies, but you should give it a try.

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