Savage Marches

[nDervish]

You mentioned earlier that money won't be a big factor in the game and realistically I figure it would be pretty easy to find decent equipment in a city that only recently had a popularion of 2500.

Short answer: Yeah, you can find pretty much anything black-powder-or-earlier without trouble and pay for it with Reputation points instead of cash at a rate of 1 Rep = 1,000sp. Mithril versions of melee weapons (+1 damage) and metal armors (+1 Toughness) are available for an extra 1,000sp.

For any given expedition, the average Reputation of the participating Songs affects the number of henchmen available on a 1-to-1 basis. You can gear up to your heart's content without needing any money, but you'll pay for it with fewer henchmen willing to join you.

Long answer: I just posted On the Reputation of Songs to the wiki and hope to get another page up tonight, On the Availability of Henchmen, which will explain the exact details of how the number of available henchmen is determined.

BTW, I'm assuming that Enock's pack was probably in the cart, so that's still back in Elderone.

Also, God45, Gych's original riding horse was the one that the ghouls killed; he rode back on the borrowed cart horse. If you want a horse to return to Elderone on, you'll need to buy a new one with Bloody Verdict's Reputation. (Gych only has 90sp and a horse is 250.)

[Arcturus]

I am afraid that i don't have time to play tomorrow the 27:th. Next week i can play 1, 3 and 4 of july.

I'm gonna see if i can make a post on obsidianportal.

One thing i was wondering is that since i didn't spend any of my potions this session do they remain until the next session and at what rate do you recover power points. Could i in other words build up a stockpile of potions (and if you can't, can someone tell me why you should pick alchemy over sorcery/wizardry)?

Another thing i was wondering is if the Rich edge will have any effect after the start of the game? I does mention that you uphold a hefty salary in some settings. Will that apply in this setting? I could for instance see that Jonaleth would be able to trade for more equipment than some of the other thanks to the fact that he can brew up curatives and for that matter is one hell of a guy to lend aid if any of the more complicated devices in town breaks down.

I might have a friend lined up for play in this campaign. I'm working him over to get him to join up.

[Arcturus]

Oh, and by the way; I have now created an account on obsidian: Filipernsthugodanielsson

[bladerunner_35]

I just realised that next week starts the town festival (Landskronafestivalen) which means I am going to be crazy busy at work. We might be able to find a time that works for both you and I but in all likelyhood I won't be able to play the coming to weeks with exception of monday (1/7) or tuesday (2/7) next week. Forget what I said earlier and sorry for the confusion.

With that out of the way - I really like your Reputation system Dave. Simple and efficient. Although I would argue that we should start with at least a rep of 1. After all we're Devas!

That said we had two casualties on our expedition for -1. I guess it would be a stretch to claim that we have removed some ruin by killing a few ghouls but once cleared that village should net us +1 for clearing it out and +1 for the tech in the alchemists shop.

Do I have it right Dave?

Edit: I guess unless that git Spellbutcher clears the village single handedly and returns a hero!

[God45]

Not so much sense for Spellbutcher to go back alone though everyone knows he does not have any sense...

I'm not sure whether that's an attribute of Spellbutcher or the guy who's playing him.

Let us just say that we are in synch

Also, God45, Gych's original riding horse was the one that the ghouls killed; he rode back on the borrowed cart horse. If you want a horse to return to Elderone on, you'll need to buy a new one with Bloody Verdict's Reputation. (Gych only has 90sp and a horse is 250.)

A horse would be nice... But I was thinking more about dogs... and rats...


Anyway, it seems that both bladerunner_35 and Arcturus can play on Monday the 1st. Can you play that day nDervish? Because then that day seems like a good day to play

[nDervish]

One thing i was wondering is that since i didn't spend any of my potions this session do they remain until the next session and at what rate do you recover power points. Could i in other words build up a stockpile of potions (and if you can't, can someone tell me why you should pick alchemy over sorcery/wizardry)?

Yes, they remain, but no, you can't stockpile potions. Basically, your Power Points are locked into the potion and not released until the potion is used or destroyed.

So, why Alchemy rather than the other Arcane Backgrounds? Certainty. Your potions are guaranteed to work and you know now that this healing potion will restore 1 Wound and that one will restore 2 Wounds. If you were to heal someone with Arcane Background (Miracles), you would have to make a skill roll on the spot and not know until the die hit the table whether you'd heal 1 Wound, 2 Wounds, or do nothing at all.

Also, you can give your potions to someone else for them to take into battle and use as needed while you hang back in a safe place (and maybe do a little sniping with your crossbow...).

As far as your PP being locked into the potions, that doesn't really limit your ability to use powers because PP normally return at the rate of one per hour - the entire time you guys were in Elderone, Gych only recovered 1 of the PP he'd used. If Alaric had survived, he would have recovered 2, maybe 3. Making each of your potions takes an hour, which is less time than it takes for the PP to regenerate, so your rate of "re-casting" is ultimately the same as if you had Magic or Sorcery. (Although you do have to stop and actively make the potion, of course, while PP regeneration is passive.)

Another thing i was wondering is if the Rich edge will have any effect after the start of the game? I does mention that you uphold a hefty salary in some settings. Will that apply in this setting? I could for instance see that Jonaleth would be able to trade for more equipment than some of the other thanks to the fact that he can brew up curatives and for that matter is one hell of a guy to lend aid if any of the more complicated devices in town breaks down.

I had been assuming that the "salary" aspect of Rich wouldn't come into play, but you do make some good points. How would you feel about, rather than cash, getting a free point of Reputation at the start of each game month in return for your curatives and help with repairs?

Oh, and by the way; I have now created an account on obsidian: Filipernsthugodanielsson

Great! I've sent you an invitation to the campaign.

With that out of the way - I really like your Reputation system Dave. Simple and efficient. Although I would argue that we should start with at least a rep of 1. After all we're Devas!

It's all relative. I could give you all +1 Rep and change the base formula for henchmen to give one less available henchman, but there would be no net effect...

That said we had two casualties on our expedition for -1. I guess it would be a stretch to claim that we have removed some ruin by killing a few ghouls but once cleared that village should net us +1 for clearing it out and +1 for the tech in the alchemists shop.

Eastmere currently has 3 points of Ruin and one of them is from the Elderone ghouls, so, yes, you'll definitely get that Rep bump once they're cleared out.

You haven't explored the inventor's house well enough yet to know exactly what's there, but, in the fantasy context, I'm interpreting "Tech" more to mean manufacturing capability. Too bad the smithy burned down...

A horse would be nice... But I was thinking more about dogs... and rats...

Take a look through the price lists in the core rules and Fantasy Companion and spend all the Reputation you want on buying pets... but, for each point of Rep you drop, a randomly-selected henchman from the list I gave earlier will no longer be available.

Anyway, it seems that both bladerunner_35 and Arcturus can play on Monday the 1st. Can you play that day nDervish? Because then that day seems like a good day to play

I can do that, sure.

[Arcturus]

Another thing i was wondering is if the Rich edge will have any effect after the start of the game? I does mention that you uphold a hefty salary in some settings. Will that apply in this setting? I could for instance see that Jonaleth would be able to trade for more equipment than some of the other thanks to the fact that he can brew up curatives and for that matter is one hell of a guy to lend aid if any of the more complicated devices in town breaks down.

I had been assuming that the "salary" aspect of Rich wouldn't come into play, but you do make some good points. How would you feel about, rather than cash, getting a free point of Reputation at the start of each game month in return for your curatives and help with repairs?

I think that sounds fair, considering that our little town is probably running more on a barter economy nowadays rather than coinage since resources are thight.

[Ironjens]

Sorry that I haven’t chimed in before. It was fun to play and I’m glad to hear that everyone survived (even if it would have been entertaining if only the two bad(-ish) guys would have returned on a shared horse claiming the others to have been eaten by ghouls).

I could probably play on Monday but then I’m away on vacation for the rest of the week. The week after that would probably work but then I go away for two weeks again.

[bladerunner_35]

Monday at 18 it is.

@Dave: currently we are at -1 rep from the deaths then?

[nDervish]

@Dave: currently we are at -1 rep from the deaths then?

-2 (Alaric and Durla). I just updated the Reputation page to "Deaths on expeditions will reduce the Reputation of all involved Songs by 1 per death." since I hadn't noticed earlier that it was ambiguous.

Also , I got On the Availability of Henchmen up late last night, in case you haven't seen it yet. How clear is the section starting with "After these selections are made..."? The actual process and numbers are completely clear in my head, but I have a feeling that I didn't explain it very well. (The net effect is that, for any future expedition where Ramrach is not among the randomly-available henchmen, he has a 3% chance of volunteering to accompany any of you except The Bloody Verdict. Bloody Verdict is at -2% because Alaric died while possessed by The Bloody Verdict and Ramrach doesn't want that to happen to him.)

[God45]

It seems pretty clear

[bladerunner_35]

Yea I agree.

Though at a first glance it seems VERY easy to get bad rep and not as easy to gain good rep.

As I understand clearing out all the ruin around Eastmere nets +3 rep. Presumably a couple of sessions worth of playing. Just three deaths (in a pretty deadly game) erases all that effort.

Or am I misreading it?

[nDervish]

Though at a first glance it seems VERY easy to get bad rep and not as easy to gain good rep.

As I understand clearing out all the ruin around Eastmere nets +3 rep. Presumably a couple of sessions worth of playing. Just three deaths (in a pretty deadly game) erases all that effort.

Or am I misreading it?

No, you're reading it correctly, and I've asked myself the same question about the balance between gaining and losing Reputation many times. For now, I figure it's best to wait a few sessions to see what direction things are going and then make any adjustments needed based on that experience.

Also, even if you were to clear all of Eastmere's Ruin, don't forget about collecting supplies - that's probably going to be your major source of Rep gains. The Other Dust rules I based the faction Tier/Progress/Ruin system on suggests that PCs should get a number of points of supplies (or Ruin reduction) from each adventure equal to their average level. It's not entirely clear how to map Other Dust character levels into Savage Worlds, but I figure you can probably expect to average at least a point or two of supplies per session early on and more as you get more experienced.

[bladerunner_35]

Ok sounds like supplies should even things out then. I like that! It makes sense and makes the game more gritty, which I like.

This is shaping up to be a very interesting campaign indeed. I especially like how well Obsidian portal works in setting the mood and help with planning.

[bladerunner_35]

So, how did it go? Did Spellbutcher kill the king and steal all the glory?

Also, Dave, do you make the maps of the villages yourself? They are very nice.

[God45]

No it went great

Me and raktskjutarn went to one of the other villages, Camedge and cleared it of zombies and spike monsters We also found a raven statue with more of the song in it and raktskjutarn used it to extend how far from eastmere is proteced from the song Only one guy died (and four of my wardogs but what will you do? ) Read the adventure log I posted on obsidian portal for more details.

Oh, and I am not turning into a spike monster! Not even a little!

[nDervish]

So, how did it go? Did Spellbutcher kill the king and steal all the glory?

You can read about how it went in Spellbutcher's journal, although there is one slight retcon in that two of the incapacitated henchmen recovered, so there was only one human death rather than the three that the journal entry (currently) states. Or I've also done a very brief bullet-point summary of the session.

Also, Dave, do you make the maps of the villages yourself? They are very nice.

They are, aren't they? I found a site called Wizardawn which has a bunch of map and other-random-stuff generators for D&D- and Gamma World-style games. For the villages, I generated maps for the smallest available size, then chopped a few sections off and renumbered the buildings accordingly.

The overall map of the region is the only one I've made myself so far. (And I stole Wizardawn's terrain and settlement icons for it...)

[bladerunner_35]

Oh, and I am not turning into a spike monster! Not even a little!

You do realise we have to kill you know. It's nothing personal. Not even a little!

I'll have to check out that link Dave, thanks.

I am looking forward till monday.

[God45]

You do realise we have to kill you know. It's nothing personal. Not even a little!

I have already threatened people with a warhammer to the face over it! The healer says I am fine! That means that everything is good!

[nDervish]

So speaking of Monday... Does everyone just want to go back to Elderone and take revenge on the ghouls or would you rather go and scout out a new location first?

And, in other news:

More Options!

I've discovered this page which has all kinds of Savage Worlds goodness on it. In particular, I would like to call your attention to the Savage Arcanum, Savage Armory, and Savage Spellbook PDFs linked near the bottom of the page. I've looked over all three and I give them my blessing for use in the Savage Marches.

Savage Arcanum: This one covers creating custom Arcane Backgrounds. It includes descriptions of all the standard ABs as defined under its system; none of your ABs change under the Savage Arcanum versions with the exception of Enock's Psionics explicitly not requiring any words or gestures and Jonaleth's Alchemy only needing 10 minutes to make a potion rather than an hour.

You may, optionally, use the Savage Arcanum system to tweak the details of your Song's magic if you wish, or even create a completely new AB if you can convince me that it's a better fit for your Song.

In addition to the material in the PDF, I'll also throw in a new Edge related to it: Arcane Mastery. Each time you take the Arcane Mastery Edge (up to a maximum of one time per Rank), you gain an additional +1 point to customize your Arcane Background.

Savage Armory: This one is all about custom weapons, armor, and helmets. Ignore the "Optional Rules" section starting on page 17, but, aside from that, anything goes, subject to tech level limits. Any of the non-"Exotic" example weapons in this PDF (or any of the vanilla weapons from SW Deluxe/Fantasy Companion) are available immediately. If you want to design something else, you can place an order and we'll determine how long it will take for Eastmere's smiths to produce it.

Savage Armory uses a "significant items" system for tracking the encumbrance of its weapons and armor, so may as well introduce that now, too:

- Unless otherwise specified, vanilla equipment counts as a number of significant items equal to its weight divided by 10, rounded normally. (0-4 weight = 0 significant items, 5-14 = 1 SI, 15-24 = 2 SI, etc.)
- A character can carry a number of ready significant items equal to the lower of his Strength or Agility die. Exceeding this limit imposes a -1 to all physical rolls for each additional significant item.
- A character can carry a number of significant items in his pack equal to the lower of his Strength or Vigor die. Exceeding this limit imposes a -1 to all physical rolls for every (Strength die / 2) additional significant items.

Savage Spellbook: This one is mostly just a book of examples of how to apply trappings to make spells that aren't completely generic. It doesn't contain any actual rules, but it might give you some ideas to make your powers more flavorful.

As always, the rules and numbers above are just my largely-untested initial thoughts. If they seem off to you, they're open for discussion and adjustment.