Savage Lance

So, a bit of a wrist-off that I did in early 2014, just defining some ground rules for using Savage Worlds with the Dragonlance Setting. Someone had honestly been posting a message every six months for three years, asking if someone was going to get back to them on some conversions they'd done.

I took an hour and wrote a bit down, covering some of the more unique races and the three Orders of Magic:

Minotaur:
+3 Begin with d8 in Strength; can increase to d12+4 through Edges
+2 Size +1 (Includes a +1 to Toughness)
-1 -2 to Charisma
-2 Major Personality Hindrance; Arrogant, Bloodthirsty, Code of Honor, or Vengeful

Kender
-2 Curious Hindrance
-1 Small (compared to humans)
-1 Pace 5
+2 Brave (no Spirit requirement)
+2 Fortunate (extra benny; may combine with luck and Great Luck)
+1 Free d6 Taunt
+1 Free d6 Stealth

Gully Dwarf
-3 Smarts can never go above d6
-1 Pace 5
-1 Outsider
+1 +4 to resist disease
+1 +4 to resist poison
+1 Low light vision
+2 Free d6 in Vigor
+1 Free d6 Survival

Gnome
-1 Pace 5
-1 Small (size -1)
+2 McGyver Edge
+1 Free d6 Repair
+1 Low Light Vision

Magic in Dragonlance

Spells allowed by order:

White Robes
All except: Greater Healing, Healing, Succor, Zombie, Disguise

Red Robes
All except: Greater Healing, Healing, Succor, Zombie, Slumber

Black Robes
All except: Greater Healing, Healing, Succor, Disguise, Slumber

Three Ranger Limit

For those not familiar with 1st edition AD&D, there was a rule that you could only have 3 rangers in one party. There's not a big reason given for this, and so the whys of it aren't exactly clear, but since three rangers can do some fairly hefty damage to an army of humanoids or giants (adding their level to damage with each attack), it may be a balance issue. Since rangers have high ability score requirements, they are kinda rare, so it's hard to reach the "Three Ranger Limit". However, it also sounds like the name of a card game. Thus, from Deeper Pulleditoutofmyassistan, I bring you the game "Three Ranger Limit".

ODE: Metagame mechanics

So, I've been thinking about ODE recently, due to a couple discussions I've been having, and got to thinking about metagame mechanics; Hackmaster's Honor, Savage World's Bennies, and so on. In keeping with ODE's "gas station playable" system, I'm going to suggest pennies or similar coins, though pretty much any type of distributable counter would work. If you've got someone who simply CANNOT live without their dice at the table, use those... the mechanics of the meta-mechanics might throw them into paroxysms. It also adds an interesting twist if you can tell everyone's counters apart, though it's not necessary.

Each player starts with a certain number of counters; 3 would be a normal gaming session, but you might want more or less. The GM starts with none. As play progresses, players can spend counters to improve their play; I've got a few examples below. However, whenever they spend a counter, it is given to the GM, who can use it to influence ANOTHER play... not the one just influenced. When the GM spends a counter, it is given to the player who has the least counters (or one at random, if they're tied for the least), who can spend it to influence another play. This flow of counters can be stopped by either side... the GM can choose to sit on counters received to keep players from getting them back, then spend them in a flurry at the end. Or the players may hoard their counters, keeping the balls in their court, as it were. Players and GMs can also wage war with their own counters... the GM spends a counter, so you spend another to undo their counter, and so on. The only limitation is that counters, once used on a play, can't be used again on that same play (so you and the GM don't pass them back and forth infinitely).

Note that counters can be spent to influence ANY play which affects your character... you might provide a penalty to your opponent hitting you, or a bonus to your figuring things out. The only thing counters can't be spent on are metagame actions... you can't spend a counter to make an attribute raise play trump.

Uses for counters:
*Add +5 or -5 to a single play
*Make a single play trump (again, if necessary)
*Avoid or inflict a complication
*Draw a single card (which can take you above the hand limit) to either use for the play or to replace the one you choose to use for the play.

Counters can also be used to effect one's hand; if used this way, they don't count as having been used for the play.
*Draw up to 3 cards (subject to hand limit)
*Discard entire hand, shuffle the deck, and draw the same number of cards you just had.

Episode at the Old Mine

This short story, set on Hackmaster's Tellene (better known as the "Kingdoms of Kalamar" setting) started as something of a joke, but got worked into a full, fairly serious story, while keeping the joke just out of sight. I've hid it beneath the cut, since it's almost 3000 words long. Now available from DriveThruFiction!

Hackmaster Talent [Hackmaster]

Broad Training (8/16/24/32)

Someone who with Broad Training is familiar with a variety of weapons and can learn to use unfamiliar weapons rapidly. For 8 points, they ignore 1 point of non-proficiency penalty with any weapon. For 16 more points (24 total), they ignore 2 points of non-proficiency penalty. For 24 more points (48 total), they may ignore up to 3 points of non-proficiency penalty, and they may ignore four points of penalties for an additional 32 points (80 points total). Note that this does not make them proficient in weapons that have no penalties; they must still purchase proficiency before purchasing any relevant specialization. If your class is able to purchase all weapon proficiencies at half cost, then you may purchase this talent at half cost.

Commentary: I didn't like any of the suggested names, but Handy seemed universally unpopular, so I hit the thesaurus for another. You will note that I didn't double the cost for those who pay double for weapon proficiencies; off the top of my head, no one actually does that (though magic-users come close), and that just seemed unnecessarily punitive for an already expensive option... like someone else said, you're more of a combat monster by specializing in one weapon than being able to not hurt yourself with several.

Mass Effect: Volus, and how they suggested a setting rule

On the Giant in the Playground boards (where I am a mod), I've been getting some feedback on my Savage Worlds/Mass Effect... including someone who wished I'd included the Volus. I shied away from them because they seemed difficult to do, but I thought of a method on the way home, and decided to post it.

Since Volus are native to high-pressure, ammonia-based atmospheres, the Earthlike conditions that prevail on most Council worlds are deadly to them. As such, they live in heavily armored pressure suits, and breaking those pressure suits is deadly to them. However, it occurred to me that, in Mass Effect, you frequently find yourself in hostile environments, buttoned up inside your armor. So, I'm adding a general setting rule: Armor Breach.

Any attack whose AP exceeds your Armor bonus, or which causes 2 or more wounds, represents an armor breach, and the full effects of the environment you find yourself in begin. Breaches may be repaired using the Repair skill, or by using the mechanical application of the Healing power.

In short, really big hits, or hits with weapons that blow through your armor, might kill you a lot easier.

However, let's look at the Volus. The numbers given are for the purposes of race creation, from the Savage World's Explorer's edition; Volus are +2, which is where every race is supposed to be.

-2 Pace 4, with d4 running die (similar to Lame Hindrance)
-2 Agility requires 2 points to raise during character generation. Volus are not clumsy, per se, but they are also not very agile.
-2 Strength requires 2 points to raise during character generation. Volus are small and physically weak.
-2 Fragile: Volus whose armor is breached must make a Vigor check at -4 to avoid instantly dying from explosive decompression and fatal oxygen poisoning. This check must be repeated each round until the volus is returned to their proper environment, either in a pressure chamber, a Vol-formed world, or by repairing their armor. During a breach, all actions taken by the Volus are at -4.
+2 Free Edge: Rich. While the Vol Protectorate doesn't have the wealth to field vast fleets, individual Vol have a lot of money compared to the average citizen, and can draw on clan funds.
+2 Start with d6 Smarts.
+2 Start with d6 Spirit.
+2 Free Equipment: Armor suit. Volus pressure suits are equivalent to Medium Armor (+8), providing indefinite life support and a +4 v. environmental hazards. It does not have a strength minimum. Volus armor does not incorporate HUDs, but frequently incorporates omni-tools and shield generators.
+2 +2 to Charisma. Though some volus are abrasive, their trade-based society gives them a great advantage in wheeling and dealing.

I find it amusing that the Charisma-mavens in SW Mass Effect are the grumpy hobbits, not the alien hot chicks. As one of the few races without the Outsider flaw, they have great advantages on top of their +2 to Charisma.

Savage Worlds: Mass Effect Page

I created a page for my previous Savage Worlds Mass Effect posts, cleaned up and with most of the redundancies and errors removed. As I get more feedback (or, as I call it, "Validate me, you bastards!"), I'll fix problems, and hopefully keep a change log.

http://rpgcrank.blogspot.com/p/savage-worlds-mass-effect.html