It is an absolute shame that more people haven't tried Savage Worlds. Coming from the standard D&D 3.5+ games that have been my addiction of choice since university, Savage Worlds is refreshing and new. Every player that I have introduced to this system has loved it. The system is simple, but still has depth for tactical players. The use of bennies is fun and the variability of hits and damage due to acing dice (exploding dice) keeps everyone on their toes. Players love the freedom of a classless system. System works for both experienced players and those that are completely new to the hobby.
Running Savage Worlds is much different from my Pathfinder and D&D experience. I don't worry about encounter balance which means that combat victory is never a fait accomplis. Players cannot assume that enemies are "level appropriate." They tell me that they like the challenge.
Powers (Magic) is very customizeable and the use of power points gives players the option to "amp-up" powers or alter them as needed. Yes, players can go supernova and use up all their power points (like spell points) in one round. To balance this the GM has bennies that they can use, though I'm careful not to use my bennies to just cancel a player's awesome moment.
As a component of powers is the concept of "trappings." At first my players glossed over this, but now it is a major part of character creation and theme. For example, our medic player has chosen light as a trapping for his powers (entangle creates chains of glowing light for instance) while another player has all of their powers work with an air trapping (smite on quiver of arrows creates swirling air that propels the arrow faster toward target). Players love the ability to have control over trappings. It also allows me to spice up the abilities of enemies with unusual trappings on familiar powers.
The Adventure Deck is a phenomenal addition that everyone using Savage Worlds should at least try.
I'm still trying to master the chase mechanic as I haven't used it enough to provide feedback. Same goes for dramatic tasks.
The only problem from my view, is that many more people need to try this system for their games.
Very highly recommended.
|