Savage Marches

[nDervish]

One thing struck me when I purchased advancements. I got the Armour power for my Song and this will mean that Enock gets a Thoughness of 9 (11 on a raise) which is starting to feel a little over powered.

I was just going through the first issue of Shark Bytes (an old Savage Worlds magazine) and guess what I found in their "ask a rules guru" column?

"Q: Does normal armor protect against damage inflicted by
the bolt power? Does the armor power stack with normal
Armor bonuses?
A: Yes and No. Normal armor protects against damage from
the bolt power unless the specific trappings of the power
enable it to somehow bypass armor. However, trappings that
allow this kind of advantage should be rare and balanced by
an equal or greater disadvantage. The armor power does not
stack with normal armor. The description of Armor bonuses
in the Savage Worlds rulebook (p.43) states multiple layers
of Armor do not stack, and the description of the armor
power says its result is “effectively giving the target Armor.”

Granted, this was published in 2004, but SW Deluxe still uses the same phrasing, just on different pages:

p. 48: "A character who wears multiple layers of armor only gains the highest bonus—they do not stack."

p. 109: "Armor creates a field of magical protection around a character or an actual shell of some sort, effectively giving the target Armor."

If you want to take a different power instead of Armor because of this, go ahead. (Filip can change Armor to another power if desired, too.)

I'll check out house #11, the one with the paintings if it doesn't look like everythings to badly scorched (IE not good stuff left)

The fire damage is mostly to the west end of the building and it's more just blackened rather than structurally damaged. The most prominent features by far are, of course, the collected artworks. On the wall across from the entrance is a very large painting of a beefy barbarian, cooking a meal over an open fire on a mountainside. There are two paintings of cougars, the smaller depicting a cougar at the top of a waterfall and painted only in shades of grey, and the larger showing the cat in full color, stalking through a forest. The final large work is a gigantic sketch of the legendary holy man, Olrac Goldenbrow, rebuking his lifelong friend, Gareg Grimsabre - now better-known as Lieblade - for his treachery before deserting him to begin a new life; Olrac's golden eyes are the only color in the drawing.

There is a smaller picture on a nightstand beside the bed, a sheet of silver scrimshawed with a scene from the story of the seamstress Duskalia and Daeron, son of Adanur (Goddess of Forests and Wind), showing their first meeting. Inside the nightstand, you find a book of prayers to Afghar (God of Earth and Sea), a small pouch containing 2 blue diamonds, an 8cm corrugated marble key with a knot-shaped grip, and a brass candle snuffer. Under the bed, you also notice two copper ingots and eight iron ingots.

Bad news. I thought I had a morning shift the 11th but I have a afternoon shift so I dont`t get off work until 20.00. I can drive directly to DMF and be there by 20.45 but I can`t before that. I am really sorry, I was convinced that I would be able to start a lot earlier.

That's a bummer... I suppose we can bestow temporary Wildcard status on one of the henchmen when you arrive, since Gych will presumably be back in town.

I still want to start as early as possible though and I can also play late (meaning 23-00ish).

I figure I should be able to get to DMF early (sometime between 4 and 4:30) on either Monday or Thursday, but not both. I leave it to you guys to decide which you'd prefer.

[bladerunner_35]

Yes, then I'll probably switch to another more usefull ability.

Since we originally said we would try to start early on monday you guys should go ahead and do that.

[nDervish]

Alright, i have now posted Sir Camwyn on the obsidian page. He is the knight character i was talking about as a potential replacement if my current character dies. I'll post a bio for him tomorrow.
Tell me if something looks of with the build or if something needs to be added.

I just put him into my character database and he comes up with a -2 encumbrance penalty. It looks like you counted the Mail Hauberk as 2 SI and Steel Helmet as 1, when they're actually 3 and 2, plus you used the Target Shield stats (which is 1 SI), when the medium shield in the standard list is the Kite Shield (which is 2 SI).

Two options for resolving this:

1) Replace Brawny with Armor Proficiency (from Savage Armory). You'd lose the +1 Toughness and some Pack inventory slots, but Armor Proficiency allows you to ignore 3 SI of armor.

2) Add Muffled (-2 to hearing) to your helmet and Obvious (-2 Stealth), Slow Don (takes longer to put on or take off), or Uncomfortable (Fatigue roll after any scene where you roll double-ones) to your hauberk and use the points those save to reduce their weights by 1 SI each.

Or I'm sure there are plenty of other ways to do it. Those are just the first two that I thought of.

[Arcturus]

Alright, i have now posted Sir Camwyn on the obsidian page. He is the knight character i was talking about as a potential replacement if my current character dies. I'll post a bio for him tomorrow.
Tell me if something looks of with the build or if something needs to be added.

I just put him into my character database and he comes up with a -2 encumbrance penalty. It looks like you counted the Mail Hauberk as 2 SI and Steel Helmet as 1, when they're actually 3 and 2, plus you used the Target Shield stats (which is 1 SI), when the medium shield in the standard list is the Kite Shield (which is 2 SI).

Two options for resolving this:

1) Replace Brawny with Armor Proficiency (from Savage Armory). You'd lose the +1 Toughness and some Pack inventory slots, but Armor Proficiency allows you to ignore 3 SI of armor.

2) Add Muffled (-2 to hearing) to your helmet and Obvious (-2 Stealth), Slow Don (takes longer to put on or take off), or Uncomfortable (Fatigue roll after any scene where you roll double-ones) to your hauberk and use the points those save to reduce their weights by 1 SI each.

Or I'm sure there are plenty of other ways to do it. Those are just the first two that I thought of.

Right, then i am exchanging Brawny for Armor Prof.
How do you tell how many SI an item counts for? I have only gotten hold of Savage worlds deluxe, fantasy companion and horror.
About the medium shield... In savage worlds deluxe p 53 the medium shield gives the stats that i have written while the kite shield or pavise gives more. Are their stats changed in armory or have i missed something? The knight edge says that it gives you a medium shield... *confused*

[Arcturus]

The fire damage is mostly to the west end of the building and it's more just blackened rather than structurally damaged. The most prominent features by far are, of course, the collected artworks. On the wall across from the entrance is a very large painting of a beefy barbarian, cooking a meal over an open fire on a mountainside. There are two paintings of cougars, the smaller depicting a cougar at the top of a waterfall and painted only in shades of grey, and the larger showing the cat in full color, stalking through a forest. The final large work is a gigantic sketch of the legendary holy man, Olrac Goldenbrow, rebuking his lifelong friend, Gareg Grimsabre - now better-known as Lieblade - for his treachery before deserting him to begin a new life; Olrac's golden eyes are the only color in the drawing.

There is a smaller picture on a nightstand beside the bed, a sheet of silver scrimshawed with a scene from the story of the seamstress Duskalia and Daeron, son of Adanur (Goddess of Forests and Wind), showing their first meeting. Inside the nightstand, you find a book of prayers to Afghar (God of Earth and Sea), a small pouch containing 2 blue diamonds, an 8cm corrugated marble key with a knot-shaped grip, and a brass candle snuffer. Under the bed, you also notice two copper ingots and eight iron ingots.

I'll grab the diamonds, the sheet of silver, the copper and iron ingots.
As for the paintings; If we can we get them back with us i'll bring them along otherwise they'll have to wait.
Is there anywhere the marble key seem to fit? If there are no suitable doors i start looking for a marble statue that seem to be missing a key or that has a keyhole. I also tell the others about it so they can tell me if they have seen something that might fit the bill.

[nDervish]

Right, then i am exchanging Brawny for Armor Prof.

OK. That effectively negates the weight of Camwyn's hauberk and leaves him at 5 SI in ready items, out of a maximum 6.

How do you tell how many SI an item counts for? I have only gotten hold of Savage worlds deluxe, fantasy companion and horror.

They're listed in the tables on the last two pages of Savage Armory, as "Weight" in the notes column for weapons or in the "Weight" column for armor. The default weight is 1 SI if it's not listed.

If you use the system in the earlier part of the book, you can design custom weapons/armor and calculate them in that process, although I've modified it slightly by adding 1 SI to the weight of all two-handed weapons.

About the medium shield... In savage worlds deluxe p 53 the medium shield gives the stats that i have written while the kite shield or pavise gives more. Are their stats changed in armory or have i missed something? The knight edge says that i gives you a medium shield... *confused*

Yes, it's changed in Armory. Or, rather, it makes "light/medium/heavy shield" into categories rather than specific items, based on the amount of cover they give and the Kite Shield is the only one giving Light/Medium Cover (which matches the "medium shield" category). Its full stats are:

Str+d4 Damage; AP -1; 2 SI; Toughness 15; Parry +1, +d4 on raise, Light/Medium Cover (5 armor), must roll to ready

For ranged attacks, Armory changes shields to behave like cover instead of armor; in the case of a medium shield (such as a Kite Shield), it gives Light Cover (-1 to be hit) from the front/left, or Medium Cover (-2 to be hit) if you're crouching or prone behind it. If an attack misses, but would have hit without the shield's cover bonus, then it hits the shield and you get an extra 5 armor against it.

[nDervish]

I'll grab the diamonds, the sheet of silver, the copper and iron ingots.

OK

As for the paintings; If we can we get them back with us i'll bring them along otherwise they'll have to wait.

There's plenty of room for them in the cart, unless someone wants to dispute Enock's decision to leave the wheat and flour here for others to collect, and taking them down from the walls is no problem, especially for someone with Jonaleth's talents.

Is there anywhere the marble key seem to fit? If there are no suitable doors i start looking for a marble statue that seem to be missing a key or that has a keyhole. I also tell the others about it so they can tell me if they have seen something that might fit the bill.

IC: Nobody has seen any likely-looking locks.

OOC: It doesn't open any lock in Elderone. If you want to RP looking for one, that's fine, just don't get frustrated when you fail to find it.

[Arcturus]

IC: Nobody has seen any likely-looking locks.

OOC: It doesn't open any lock in Elderone. If you want to RP looking for one, that's fine, just don't get frustrated when you fail to find it.

Duly noted. IC Jonaleth is going to keep looking of course. Something interesting like this key with no obvious solution tickles his fantasy. That and his insatiable curiosity is gonna drive him crazy.

[Arcturus]

BTW Bladerunner_35: Bogumir can't have Block as an edge. He needs to be Seasoned before picking that one up.

[nDervish]

BTW Bladerunner_35: Bogumir can't have Block as an edge. He needs to be Seasoned before picking that one up.

Good catch! I completely missed that...

The Encumbrance system is now up at http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/ ... nce-system Let me know if anything is unclear, seems unreasonable, or if I forgot something. Although it didn't seem like something common enough to be worth including there, enough animal traps to make a single area of them is also 1 SI (so you brought 3 SI of traps with you to Elderone last time).

Since Raktskjutarn hasn't given any looting requests from Dree, here's what turned up in Spellbutcher's search of the New Lich Anvil:

First off, there is a cellar, but it's burned out pretty thoroughly along with the rest of the building. You find no evidence of spikemonsters or Song artifacts there.

Digging through the ashes, you turn up two adult skeletons, a child-sized skeleton holding a small metal box with 4cp inside, a hooked poleaxe, 3 large iron boxes, 3 iron buckets, a suit of ring mail armor, a grindstone, and a lot of melted or otherwise ruined metal goods. You also find 10gp, 251sp, and 890cp, bringing the total looted cash to 32gp, 729sp, and 1763cp (including the 4cp in the small metal box).

• The poleaxe does Str+d6 damage, has 1" Reach, AP 2, T8, and is Carried. If it hits with a raise, it gets +d10 damage and the target is knocked prone (riders are unhorsed and take falling damage normally). It weighs 3 SI.
• The ring mail provides 2 armor (1 if hit with a raise), weighs 2 SI, and covers torso, arms, and legs. (Basically identical to standard leather armor, but gives 2 armor if hit without a raise.)

I still don't have Advances for Dree/Weird Science or Jonaleth/Song of Farewell. (I know you told me last Monday what Advances you wanted for Jonaleth/Farewell, Arcturus, but I forgot. )

Once I get a response to this post with what you want to take from the ashes of the smithy, I'll post a preliminary list of what everyone has said they're taking, then we can hopefully get everyone's inventories updated tomorrow and have that done before we meet for Monday's session.

[God45]

Nice

I am taking the poleaxe and the grindstone for our armoury. I am taking the ring mail and upgrades to it from my spiked leather. The leather I put into the armoury.

[God45]

Since I don`t have the entire ring mail, how do I handle my armour? I can`t seem to figure it out if some pieces are ring mail and some are leather.

[nDervish]

Since I don`t have the entire ring mail, how do I handle my armour? I can`t seem to figure it out if some pieces are ring mail and some are leather.

I don't understand the question. The ring mail covers torso, arms, and legs, which is the same as your spiked leather.

[nDervish]

New reference material available at http://sherohman.org/savage_marches/party_summary.html (I put it on my server instead of Obsidian Portal because trying to get it formatted correctly on OP would have been a PITA.) It's a nice little chart showing edges, quirks, and most combat-relevant stats for all members of the current party. PC names are in bold. Dree and Jonaleth have a star after their names and a yellow background because they have unspent Advances.

Although the names are links, don't bother clicking them. They won't work unless you're on my laptop.

So, then, the items that I have you down as taking from Elderone:

• Arman's Electric Leech
• Scrolls of Armor, Deflection, Flight, and Speed
• Pouch of pipe tobacco
• Small brass mirror
• Assorted mechanical parts
• Savage Witch Stein strongbox
• Platinum candlestick
• Hooked poleaxe
• Suit of ring mail armor (already claimed by Spellbutcher)
• Grindstone
• 2 copper and 8 iron ingots
• Small pouch containing 2 blue diamonds
• Silver etching of Duskalia and Daeron's first meeting
• 32gp, 729sp, 1759cp

That's it, or did anyone want to take anything else?

What's going into common storage, what's being gifted to henchmen, and what are you taking as personal equipment?

[God45]

Since I don`t have the entire ring mail, how do I handle my armour? I can`t seem to figure it out if some pieces are ring mail and some are leather.

I don't understand the question. The ring mail covers torso, arms, and legs, which is the same as your spiked leather.

Oh, sorry. Then I was just confused.

Savage Witch Stein strongbox

This one will be taken back and be broken open by an expert.

Hooked poleaxe
Grindstone

These two should go in the armoury if nobody wants them.

32gp, 729sp, 1759cp

This should go into a party funds account so that those of us who need the money can spend it. We should also see about spending some of it to buy up all of our reps.

By the way, how much silver is one gold worth? AN how many copper is equal to one silver?

Platinum candlestick

If nobody wants it this should be turned into money.



But we have the question: Do we loot for ourselves our do we share everything with the group? I am leaning towards nobody having their own money and everybody sharing what we loot. What do you guys think?

[Arcturus]

Since I don`t have the entire ring mail, how do I handle my armour? I can`t seem to figure it out if some pieces are ring mail and some are leather.

I don't understand the question. The ring mail covers torso, arms, and legs, which is the same as your spiked leather.

Oh, sorry. Then I was just confused.

Savage Witch Stein strongbox

This one will be taken back and be broken open by an expert.

Hooked poleaxe
Grindstone

These two should go in the armoury if nobody wants them.

32gp, 729sp, 1759cp

This should go into a party funds account so that those of us who need the money can spend it. We should also see about spending some of it to buy up all of our reps.

By the way, how much silver is one gold worth? AN how many copper is equal to one silver?

Platinum candlestick

If nobody wants it this should be turned into money.



But we have the question: Do we loot for ourselves our do we share everything with the group? I am leaning towards nobody having their own money and everybody sharing what we loot. What do you guys think?

My vote is share the loot.

[Arcturus]

I still don't have Advances for Dree/Weird Science or Jonaleth/Song of Farewell. (I know you told me last Monday what Advances you wanted for Jonaleth/Farewell, Arcturus, but I forgot. )

For Jonaleth: Increase agility to d6.
For the song: Powerpoints edge.

[nDervish]

Savage Witch Stein strongbox

This one will be taken back and be broken open by an expert.

Fortunately, you have an expert with you. On the trip back, somebody makes the mistake of leaving the strongbox next to Dree and (assuming Raktskjutarn has no objection) he starts playing with the lock. A bit over an hour later, it opens, revealing 2gp, 42sp, and 1564cp. (New total: 34gp, 771sp, 3323cp)

32gp, 729sp, 1759cp

This should go into a party funds account so that those of us who need the money can spend it. We should also see about spending some of it to buy up all of our reps.

Don't forget to pay your henchmen (or their surviving relatives...) their half-shares first! You set out with 7 henchmen, so you have 7.5 shares total (4 full shares for the Devas, 7 half-shares for the henchmen) and the current value of each share is 183sp, 6cp.

By the way, how much silver is one gold worth? AN how many copper is equal to one silver?

I kind of like WFRP's 1gp = 20sp = 240cp. Does anyone object to that? If so, we can do 1gp = 10sp = 100cp instead (and adjust the cash loot to keep a share at 183.5sp).

For Jonaleth: Increase agility to d6.
For the song: Powerpoints edge.

Thanks! That also increases your Ready Inventory size to 6 SI.

I've updated my local records and will update the online reference sheet tomorrow.

[AshesFall]

Hello!

After some very positive comments from Arcturus I thought I'd ask if I could tag along for the next session? This sounds like a lot of fun!

I made a basic character (still something of a work in progress) to use if that's alright.

The background is still very much up in the air and I havent decided absolutely on the song.

The very bare bones of the background is that he's an elderly fellow that once tutored Arcturus character in the fine arts of wizardry (to the chagrin of them both). During the apprenticeship Gamrell (my character) usually had lots of gadgets and doo-dads lying around that either broke in use or were broken to begin with (they looked interesting, and he brought them home). He never could repair them (he's "all thumbs") but Jonaleth picked them up and started tinkering when he was bored with all the highly "arcane" wizardly gibberish.

I reckon that my "old man" was something of a warrior-mage in his younger days, fighting for some cause or other. Maybe in the army, or just in some sort of mercenary/partisan capacity depending on the history of the region and what would be fitting. He since retired, and have been quietly herding sheep and minding his own business since, in and around his slowly decaying hermits cottage in some inaccessible location.

The character so far:

Song Character

Song; Carina Round – For everything a reason
Arcane Background: Magic (Backlash; if roll 1 on spellcasting die = Shaken)
Powers: Summon Ally, Analyze Foe, Bolt (Fire/Flammable)
Power Points: 15
Agility: d4
Smarts: d6
Spirit: d4
Strength: d4
Vigor: d4

Later ideas: Boost/Lower trait, Bolt, Armor, Blind, Burst, Deflection, Entangle, Light/Obscure

Host Character: Gamrell
Agility: d4 Charisma: +0
Smarts: d8 Pace: 6
Spirit: d6 Parry: 7 (+1 for staff)
Strength: d4 Toughness: 7 (+1 for leather armor)
Vigor: d8

Skills:

Knowledge [Arcana]: d10
Fighting: d8
Stealth: d4
Survival: d4
Notice: d6
Persuasion: d4

Edges:

Familiar (Raven)
Wizard
Power Points
Hindrances:
All thumbs, Cautious, Curious

Gear:

Staff: str+d4, Parry +1, Reach 1, 2 hands, 2SI [Cost 10]
Leather Armor hauberk: +1 Armor, 2SI [Cost 50]
Backpack/pack animal bags [Cost: 50]
Lantern [Cost: 25]

(How much of the everyday stuff do I need to buy? Like waterskin/bedroll/Flint&steel and so on?)

(How much would a gnarled and ill-tempered mule cost? Generally not for riding, more for carrying stuff, under protest!)

[nDervish]

After some very positive comments from Arcturus I thought I'd ask if I could tag along for the next session? This sounds like a lot of fun!

Certainly! We currently have sessions scheduled for tomorrow (Monday the 8th) and Thursday (the 11th).

As I keep saying (I hope nobody is getting tired of hearing it yet...), my ideal for this campaign would be to eventually have 10-15 active players with a random mix of five or so of them in each session rather than a single, unchanging party. So new players are very welcome.

I made a basic character (still something of a work in progress) to use if that's alright.

Looking over your character writeup, it looks like you may have made the same mistake that came up when we first put Arcturus' characters together: Mixing the host's abilities and the Song's abilities. They're joined now, but each existed independently before joining, so you should create them as two completely separate characters. The main thing that caught my attention is that (from a quick look, without actually adding things up) is that it looks like both Gamrell and the Song have Arcane Background magic. This is fine, but:

1) They can have different ABs if you like. Just because Gamrell is a mage doesn't mean his Song has to be one.

2) Even if they both have the same AB, they know separate sets of Powers, have separate Power Point pools, etc. So if Gamrell takes the Power Points Edge, it adds to his Power Points, not to the Song's; he needs his own Spellcasting skill; and his Wizard Edge will only apply to his own spells.

I reckon that my "old man" was something of a warrior-mage in his younger days, fighting for some cause or other. Maybe in the army, or just in some sort of mercenary/partisan capacity depending on the history of the region and what would be fitting.

By fantasy setting standards, Eastmere itself has always been well-defended and relatively secure, but that's more because of the strong garrisons at the mine and around the Mithril Quarter of the city rather than from a lack of bandits or monsters. The immediate area hasn't been affected by a real war in quite some time, so Eastmere's population would have mostly retired guardsmen and mercenaries, but retired marines and soldiers are more common in Brassport. You could easily have been any of those.

(How much of the everyday stuff do I need to buy? Like waterskin/bedroll/Flint&steel and so on?)

You're assumed to have common clothing, including warm winter clothes, belts, boots, minor carrying pouches, etc. Any type of basic survival gear, such as a pack, food, water, bedroll, etc. will be gladly provided at no cost by the citizens of Eastmere.

(How much would a gnarled and ill-tempered mule cost? Generally not for riding, more for carrying stuff, under protest!)

Fantasy Companion lists a mule at $150. Clint Black (the reigning authority on official Savage Worlds rules) suggests doubling carrying capacity for each point of Size, so, with Strength d8, Vigor d8, and Size +2, a mule should be able to carry 32 Significant Items in Pack Inventory without penalty. (It has no Ready Inventory, of course.)