In any case, in Savage Worlds Deluxe, your Strength score is indicated by a die - D4 would be the low end of the chart, D12 would be the normal mortal high end of the chart. Skills are linked to attributes, in that it costs 1 point per die "step" to increase a skill up to it's matching attribute and 2 points per die "step" to surpass the matching attribute. As you have limited pools of points to increase your Attributes and your Skills as a new character, there is a bit of a balancing game that needs to be achieved.Oh, and there are Edges and Hinderances, that add bonus or penalties depending on the circumstances, but I'll get back to that at a later point.
In addition to the die that is linked to your Attribute or Skill, all PCs get a Wild Die. This is an extra D6, and the PC or Wild Card (some NPCs are Wild Cards) gets to chose the higher number rolled of the two dice. If you roll the max possible on a die, you get to roll again and add the total. So if you roll an "8" on a D8 during a Trait test or Damage roll, you can "Ace". I'm not sure if a Wild Die can "Ace". I think they can, but I'm not 100% sure (just found it - yes, they can Ace).
If both dice come up ones, or "Snake Eyes", it's a critical failure, and the GM gets to screw with you. Hey, shit happens ;)
Can't forget bennies. They are similar to Fate Points from Warhammer RPG's 1st and 2nd editions. They can be used as a do-over, or to mitigate damage. Use 'em or lose then, you get them back at the next session, so holding them for too long can be a waste.
Again, presentation is key, and SW Deluxe "feels" much more user friendly then it's predecessor.
More in Part II
Thanks for the review! More and more people are bringing this game up! The people I game with are really into Savage Worlds, and they keep extolling its virtues. I sort of like the fact that SW will basically make you use the dice that may not be used all that often in one's collection ;-) Looks like it's inevitable that I will have to play SW!
ReplyDeleteI might have to pick up a hardcopy of the Deluxe Edition. I appreciate the Explorer's Edition low price-point, but I too felt a bit let-down by the writing and presentation.
ReplyDeleteDRANCE: My two go-to systems these days (Basic Roleplaying and Savage Worlds) both appealed to me in no small part due to the fact they utilize the full range of standard polyhedrals. That's something I always enjoyed about D&D, all the fun dice. Systems that use only one kind of dice are kind of boring to me in that sense.
I'll probably pick this up, but I'll wait for the smaller version. I really like that format for rulebooks, as it's a handy size for a crowded table.
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