<span style="font-style: italic">Here is the opening post for the Savage Worlds RP which I and a group of friends have gotten together. Invitation-only, sorry! Post your in-progress or completed characters here, and once we have ourselves a party the RP can begin. Rolls will be done by GM on <a class="postlink" href="https://rolz.org/dr?room=SavageForumVRP">https://rolz.org/dr?room=SavageForumVRP</a>, and card-draws will be done using <a class="postlink" href="http://playingcards.io/he28">http://playingcards.io/he28</a>. Setting information is fairly thin at the moment but I will append some text documents with more detail as soon as I get the chance. Post at will in this thread, but once the game begins, all OOC should be in italics.</span><br/><br/>Genre: Raygun gothic fantasy / planetary romance. Magic, weird science, and high tech<br/>mingle in a pseudo-medieval setting.<br/><br/>Similar settings and influences: Flash Gordon, Thundarr the Barbarian, the Herculoids, Dune,<br/>John Carter of Mars, Spelljammer, Star Ocean (series), WildStar<br/><br/>Setting (more to come later): For a dozen generations, the lushly-forested mountain world of<br/>Lulon has been ruled by the Lavendrian Empire, a feudal dynasty resting on the shoulders of<br/>many noble families with centuries-long traditions. Age-old tools and crafts co-exist<br/>harmoniously with technological wonders that are as elegant as they are powerful. With strict<br/>limits on the movement of commoners and the establishment of new townships, much of the<br/>planet remains as an unsettled frontier inhabited by wild beasts and low-tech clans.<br/><br/>Of course, the stability and prosperity of the Lavendrian nobles breeds (literally) a surplus of<br/>headstrong youths with not enough land or titles to go around. Intrigues are common, and in<br/>a society bound by codes of honor it is all too easy for would-be scions to fall from grace.<br/>However, now that the other inhabited worlds of the star system are experiencing their own<br/>greed for new holdings and coming to Lulon to carve out their own little empires, the<br/>Lavendrian hierarchy feels the need for a buffer against efforts by foreigners to expand into<br/>their frontier.<br/><br/>As a means of killing two birds with one stone, the Empire has begun issuing great numbers<br/>of charters for new townships and estates in the more dangerous and unsettled pockets of<br/>wilderness full of those who don't measure up to the civilized standards of the ancestral<br/>holdings. Euphemistically referred to as 'Shadetowns', these now holdings consist of<br/>thousands of citizens forcibly transported there (mostly debtors and petty criminals) and a few<br/>disfavored or disgraced noble scions to rule over them. If these colonies of misfits end up<br/>eating eachother (figuratively or, more likely, literally) or getting wiped out by aggressive<br/>barbarian clans or foreign interlopers, there is no great loss... and if they should happen to<br/>succeed in building a new bastion of civilization, they become a new source of revenue.<br/><br/>The latest Shadetown, too young to have even been given a name yet, has just been<br/>established on a mountainside pockmarked with natural caves and tunnels near the shore of a<br/>great lake. Aside from some ramshackle huts and log houses left behind by a nomadic tribe<br/>some months or years ago, there is nothing - and even though the roughly 6000 new<br/>'citizens' have been elevated from commoners to freemen and women, they are none too<br/>pleased to be dumped into the wilderness. The only thing these 'settlers' have been given is a<br/>months worth of supplies, a single under-powered generator, and twoscore rusting,<br/>malfunctioning labor robots. With everyone staying in huts, tents, or caves, this town-in-<br/>name-only is completely open to attack and has no real natural resources aside from<br/>abundant timber, game, and fishing. Rumors swirl as to why they were sent to this<br/>godsforsaken place - most of the new citizens think they've simply been sent here to die.<br/>Others say that the nobles who sent their scions here and sponsored the town's charter know<br/>of something valuable hidden within the mountain's twisting tunnels and ancient mines, and<br/>hope to profit from it without any personal risk. Regardless, trust is even more scarce than<br/>supplies, and whether these disposessed young nobles can maintain order and survive their<br/>first winter remains to be seen...<br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/>Character creation and equipment:<br/><span style="font-weight: bold">Edit: Important note - I have decided to increase the starting amount of money to $1000, to represent the characters' relatively privileged backgrounds and let them play around with magic and tech gear a little bit. This also means that each point of hindrances you devote to extra starting cash gives you another 1k instead of 500.</span><br/><br/>As well as humans or human-equivalent species (who are the default described in the Savage<br/>Worlds explorer's edition and gain a free edge), the new races from the Science Fiction<br/>Companion are available, as are the custom race creation rules.<br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold">Edit: In order to keep the focus on characters individual abilities rather than their racial traits, custom races are limited to +6 worth of positive racial abilities, including the +2 that they get by default.</span><br/><br/>Hinderances and Edges from the Science Fiction Companion are available in addition to those<br/>in the core rules, except for those related to cybernetics.<br/><br/>Of the arcane backgrounds listed in the Explorer's edition, the most appropriate are 'Weird<br/>Science', 'Magic', and 'Psionics'. (Note: In this setting, magic generally has a sinister,<br/>witchcraft-like aspect to it, and thus the powers in the Savage Worlds Horror Companion are<br/>available and appropriate choices). The 'Alchemist' and 'Artificer' edges from the Fantasy Gear<br/>Toolkit are also available.<br/><br/>WEAPONS AND ARMOR: From the Explorer's edition gear section starting on page 48,<br/>everything in the "Medieval Armor" and "Medieval Weapons" section is available to a starting<br/>character. Magic weapons and armor as described in the Fantasy Gear Toolkit are available at<br/>1/10th of the listed price, summarized here with the new prices:<br/><br/>Armor Enchantments:<br/>+1 Toughness +$100<br/>+2 Toughness +$200<br/>+3 Toughness +$300<br/>Arcane Resistance +$200<br/>Berserk +$200<br/>Charismatic +$200<br/>Command +$200<br/>Danger Sense +$200<br/>Dodge +$600<br/>Fleet Footed +$200<br/>Hard to Kill +$200<br/>Harder to Kill (2) +$800<br/>Improved Arcane Resistance (2) +$400<br/>Improved Dodge (2) +$14,00<br/>Quick +$200<br/>Shield Enchantments:<br/>+1 Parry (Block) +$600<br/>+2 Parry (Improved Block) +$800<br/>Arcane Resistance +$200<br/>Berserk +$200<br/>Charismatic +$200<br/>Command +$200<br/>Danger Sense +$200<br/>Dodge +$600<br/>Fleet Footed +$200<br/>Hard to Kill +$200<br/>Harder to Kill (2) +$800<br/>Improved Arcane Resistance (2) +$400<br/>Weapon Enchantments:<br/>+1 damage +$100<br/>+2 damage +$200<br/>+3 damage +$300<br/>+1 Fighting +$100<br/>+2 Fighting +$200<br/>+3 Fighting +$300<br/>Ambidextrous +$200<br/>Berserk +$200<br/>Block +$400<br/>Command +$200<br/>First Strike +$200<br/>Frenzy +$400<br/>Giant Killer +$600<br/>Improved Block (2) +$100<br/>Improved First Strike (2) +$120<br/>Improved Frenzy (2) +$100<br/>Improved Sweep (2) +$800<br/>Quick Draw +$200<br/>Sweep +$200<br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold">Edit: Other Magic Items</span><br/>Aside from weapons and armor, other magic items from the 'Fantasy Gear Toolkit' are available, also at 10% of listed cost. However, items which provide a flat, constant bonus to a stat or skill [bracers/brooch] of [strength/agility/intelligence/archery/etc] are not allowed for starting characters and can only be acquired in-game. Situational and activated items are encouraged, and items giving a flat bonus to non-combat skills are allowed. If it provides a flat, constant bonus to a stat you use in combat, it'll probably be on this banned list:<br/>Armbands of Strength<br/>Belt of Strength<br/>Bracers of Agility<br/>Bracers of the Mule<br/>Cloak of Protection<br/>Cloak of Shadows<br/>Gloves of Fighting<br/>Girdle of Endurance<br/>Headband of Intelligence<br/>Headband of Action<br/>Mask of Beauty<br/>Medal of Honor<br/>Skullcap of Intellect<br/>Stone of Boosting<br/>Torc of Authority<br/>Ring of the Archer<br/>Ring of Arcane Resistance<br/>Ring of Dampening<br/>Ring of Hammerhand<br/>Ring of Mastery<br/>Ring of Protection<br/>Ring of the Swordsman<br/>Staff of the Mage Lord<br/>Staff of Warrior's Blessing<br/><br/>Custom magic items (aside from weapons or armor) cannot be bought with starting money.<br/><br/><br/>Furthermore, as this is a science-fantasy setting, the following weapons and devices are<br/>available from the Sci-fi companion:<br/>Everything from the 'Personal Equipment' section except for the 'Personal Data Device',<br/>'Exoskeleton' and 'Weapon Gimble'.<br/>Available armor and weapons:<br/>Force Field, Personal: A personal force field typically worn as a belt.<br/>Provides +4 Armor against all types of attack*. It’s powered by enough energy for 24 hours of<br/>continuous use, then must be recharged for one hour. Force fields stack with all other types<br/>of armor except other personal force fields, and are not affected by AP. Force fields ONLY<br/>function against energy weapons, explosions and supersonic projectiles. Arcane attacks,<br/>melee attacks, and sub-sonic projectiles (such as arrows or thrown weapons) bypass them<br/>entirely. (4 lb, $400)<br/>Polymer Shield: These devices function<br/>exactly like regular shields, but are much more lightweight and durable. They add<br/>+4 Armor vs ranged attacks instead of +2. (Small: 2 lb, $200; Medium: 4 lb, $300; Large:<br/>6 lb, $400).<br/>Glide Suit: A lightweight bodysuit that allows a user to glide extended distances<br/>at high speed—Pace 48 (120 mph), Climb –2. Distance is roughly equal to 10 times<br/>the height at which it launched, so the user could glide a maximum of ten miles from a<br/>mile-high peak (they can’t gain significant altitude). The Piloting skill is used for<br/>maneuvering and landing. A failed landing roll results in 3d6 damage.<br/>Glide suits add +1 Armor and are formfitting so they can’t be worn with any other type of<br/>protection except personal force fields. (8 lb, $1500)<br/><br/>Close combat weapons:All the close combat weapons listed in Savage Worlds are generally<br/>available in science fiction settings. Any close combat weapon (including a simple glove or<br/>gauntlet) can be enhanced with one (and only one) of the Modifications below.<br/><br/>Power Packs: Powered weapons require “power packs.” They continually recharge using<br/>a combination of kinetic motion, ambient radiation, and even body heat, but can burn out.<br/><span style="font-weight: bold">Edit:</span>The power pack rules listed in the Sci-fi comapanion will not be used; rather, technological<br/>weapons roll on the weird science mishap table when a 1 comes up on the fighting die (see below).<br/><br/>Energy Weapon: A weapon with a blade of pure energy or high<br/>frequency vibration. It increases the weapon’s damage by one die type<br/>and grants +4 AP in addition to any other special abilities of the base<br/>weapon. Energy weapons have no minimum Strength limitation and<br/>count as a Heavy Weapon. They are unusable when unpowered.<br/>Weight: +1 Cost: +$500<br/><br/>Power Weapon: The weapon contains a variable burst of energy that’s<br/>released on impact. It adds +1d6 to the character’s damage. With a raise<br/>on the attack roll, the character’s damage is a d10 instead of a d6. Power<br/>weapons function as their base type when drained of energy.<br/>Weight: +1 Cost: +$500<br/><br/>Stun Charge: Blunt weapons can be rigged to deliver a stunning charge<br/>of energy. After a target is hit by the weapon (including a Touch Attack),<br/>resolve damage. Then the victim must make a Vigor roll or fall prone and<br/>Incapacitated. At the start of each subsequent action, he makes a Vigor<br/>roll to revive. Success means he revives but is Shaken for the round and<br/>can recover on the next as usual A raise means he revives instantly and is<br/>not Shaken. An unpowered stun weapon does normal damage.<br/>Weight: +1 Cost: +$500<br/><br/>Particle Accelerators (Blasters)<br/>Electromagnetic accelerators propel tiny particles at high rates of speed. They cause more<br/>damage than traditional slugthrowers and can hold a large amount of ammunition since<br/>each particle is so minute.<br/>.........Range Damage RoF Shots Min Str Weight Cost<br/>Pistol 12/24/48 2d6+2 1 100 — 1 $300<br/>Notes: SA, AP 2. Particle packs cost $20 and weigh .25 pounds each.<br/>SMG 12/24/48 2d6+2 3 100 — 1 $300<br/>Notes: AP 2, SA. Particle packs cost $20 and weigh .25 pounds each.<br/>Rifle 24/48/96 2d8+2 1 100 — 5 $500<br/>Notes: SA, AP 2. Particle packs cost $20 and weigh .25 pounds each.<br/>Gatling Blaster 24/48/96 2d8+4 4 100 d6 12 $800<br/>Notes: AP 2. Particle packs cost $20 and weigh .25 pound each.<br/><br/>Gyrojet Weapons<br/>Gyrojet rounds have their own propellant, like miniature rockets, and offer several types<br/>of warheads:<br/>• Boomer: Damage 5d6, LBT, HW. Cost is doubled. Boomers have a minimum arming<br/>distance of 20” (40 yards) and can only be used in rifles.<br/>• Heat Seeker: Damage 3d6. Use the rules for missiles (see Savage Worlds), except the<br/>attacker uses Shooting and the defender uses Agility.<br/>• Rocket: Damage 3d6, HW. The basic line-of-sight projectile tipped with a microexplosive<br/>warhead.<br/>Range Damage RoF Shots Min Str Weight Cost<br/>Gyrojet Pistol 12/24/48 By Type 1 10 — 3 $400<br/>Notes: HW. Ammo costs $40 and weighs .5 pounds per 10 shots.<br/>Gyrojet Rifle 24/48/96 By Type 1 30 d6 10 $600<br/>Notes: HW. Ammo costs $60 and weighs 1 pound per 10 shots.<br/>NOTE: Gyrojet weapons are sometimes designed to use underpowered sub-sonic rockets in<br/>order to bypass energy shields. These 'slow rockets' are very clumsy and unstable, and suffer<br/>a -4 penalty to hit. This same penalty applies to arrows or crossbow bolts equipped with<br/>explosive heads, which are otherwise treated as standard gyrojet ammunition.<br/><br/>Lasers<br/>Lasers fire intensely focused beams of light to penetrate and burn their targets.<br/>• Cauterize: Anyone Incapacitated by a laser blast adds +2 to his Vigor rolls to keep from<br/>Bleeding Out.<br/>• Overcharge: The lasers below can overcharge to cause an extra d6 damage, but if any of<br/>the Shooting dice are a 1, the weapon must recharge for a round before it can fire again.<br/>• Recoil: There is no recoil modifier for firing lasers on full-auto.<br/>Range Damage RoF Shots Min Str Weight Cost<br/>Pistol 15/30/60 2d6 1 50 — 2 $250<br/>Notes: AP 2, SA. Energy pack: $20, .25 lb.<br/>SMG 15/30/60 2d6 4 100 — 4 $500<br/>Notes: AP 2, SA, no recoil penalty. Energy pack: $20, .5 lb.<br/>Rifle 30/60/120 3d6 3 100 d6 8 $700<br/>Notes: AP 2, 3RB, SA, no recoil penalty. Energy pack: $20, .5 lb.<br/>Gatling Laser 50/100/200 3d6+4 4 800 d6 20 $1000<br/>Notes: AP 2, no recoil penalty. Energy drum: $50, 4 lb.<br/><br/>Stun Guns<br/>These weapons stun foes with a beam of disruptive energy. They have no effect on creatures<br/>without nervous systems.<br/>Range Damage RoF Shots Min Str Weight Cost<br/>Stun Gun 5/10/20 — 1 12 — 1 $300<br/>Notes: After a target is hit, he must make a Vigor roll or fall prone and Incapacitated. At<br/>the start of each subsequent action, he makes a Vigor roll to revive. Success means he<br/>revives but is Shaken for the round and can recover on the next as usual A raise means he<br/>revives instantly and is not Shaken. An unpowered stun weapon does normal damage.<br/>NOTE: The +4 armor bonus from a personal force field is added to the defender's vigor roll.<br/>Furthermore, stun guns cannot be used to 'stun-lock' a target. Once someone has been<br/>affected by a stun gun and recovered from it, he or she is immune to stun-gun attacks for the<br/>rest of the encounter. This restriction does *not* apply to 'stun charge' melee weapons.<br/><br/>CYBERSPACE RIGS:<br/>For those who are interested in exploring the arcane and often-dangerous workings of<br/>computer technology, the 'rigs' from the Sci-Fi Gear Toolkit (pg 16 - 22) are available at the<br/>listed prices. For simplicity's sake, characters should stick to the listed example rigs rather<br/>than making a custom one.<br/><br/>VEHICLES AND OTHER MECHANICAL CONSTRUCTS:<br/>Wheeled ground vehicles are very rarely used in this setting due to cultural reasons: most<br/>commoners are legally forbidden from riding (which is to say, controlling) any 'mount',<br/>organic or mechanical, and must rely on trains and carriages for transit. Those privileged to<br/>own their own mode of transportation prefer to ride horses or various exotic creatures, and<br/>those who desire something mechanical tend to opt for lumbering robotic walkers. However,<br/>vehicles and robots are mostly out of the price-range of starting characters and will have to<br/>be acquired in-game. Power armor and military vehicles are relatively rare: There are no<br/>main battle tanks, attack helicopters or the like. Those military vehicles that exist are usually<br/>huge, clumsy robots specialized in laying siege to shielded fortresses, or bipedal droids that<br/>simply function as tireless guards or disposable infantry.<br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold">EDIT: MORE HOUSE-RULES!</span><br/>In order to help produce the feel of a dramatic setting with larger-than-life battles and a dynamic balance between the arcane and the technological, we'll be using a couple of rules changes:<br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold">Weird Science Weapons:</span>Although incredible high-tech wonders exist in this setting, they are not the utilitarian devices mass-produced in central factories  like their equivalents in most sci-fi settings. Whether it is laser pistols, robots, holograms, or force fields, most high-tech devices are made by guilds of the so-called "Clockmakers". These devices are not crude or primitive; most Clockmakers take enormous pride in their work and use only the highest-quality materials possible. But neither are their creations designed with user-friendliness in mind, and the fact that most technological devices are manufactured in small runs of a few dozen or hundred means that most have design flaws which manifest under certain circumstances. The upshot of this is that all technological weapons and other devices are considered to be 'weird science' devices, and thus,<span style="font-weight: bold">all technological devices roll on the Weird Science mishap table when a 1 is rolled to activate (shoot, strike, or otherwise use) them.</span>This is the reason that powerful weapons such as gattling-barreled particle blasters are eschewed in favor of swords, shields and halberds made from advanced super-materials: knights and warriors are reluctant to rely on a weapon that might explode in their face when they need it most!<br/><br/>Devices such as personal shield generators which don't normally require a roll to activate require a character to make a smarts roll when turning on the device for the first time in a day with a TN of 2. If a character somehow fails this roll but doesn't score a malfunction, they must try again. If the device is working when turned on the first time, it doesn't require any more activation rolls for the rest of the day, until it is turned off for an extended period.<br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold">Wounds from non-physical sources:</span>I want to encourage attempts to talk/frighten/trick enemies into submission. Therefore, unlike in the base rules, combatants<span style="font-style: italic">can</span>suffer a wound if a psychological or magical effect that would cause them to be shaken affects them while they are already shaken,<span style="font-style: italic">if</span>the attacker scored a raise. That means that if a target is shaken and a hero uses an intimidating 'test of wills' or a fear spell against them and beats the defender's opposed roll with a raise, the defender suffers a wound. This doesn't necessarily represent physical damage (though it might - say a rogue taunts an enemy henchman into lunging for her and sidesteps just in time for the foe to plunge off a rooftop), but it affects the victim all the same. If a 'wound' is purely psychological, it can be healed in a few minutes with a successful persuasion check by an ally or a guts roll (standard TN) by the one who suffered it.<br/><br/>VORE RULES:<br/>Even though most do not practice it (at least not regularly), all humanoids and predatory<br/>animals/monsters are assumed to be capable of vore.<br/><br/>Swallow whole: Predatory characters can swallow prey as large as Size +2 whole. If the pred<br/>scores a success on its Fighting roll it has grappled its prey.<span style="font-weight: bold">Edit for clarification: This<br/>is resolved the same as any other grappling attempt as described in the combat chapter, except<br/>the would-be pred must have her hands free, and the target is swallowed if it can't escape, and<br/>instead of the prey being shaken on a raise, they get instantly swallowed.[b]<br/> A pred must have both hands free in order to make a vore attack. Unless the foe can escape,<br/> it Swallows him or her on its next <br/>action. On a raise, the victim is grappled and Swallowed in the same action. If a predator has <br/>already swallowed someone, he or she suffers a cumulative -1 penalty to any further swallow <br/>attempts per prey already in the stomach. Even prey smaller than the predator make it hard to <br/>stuff more victims down due to their struggles.<br/><br/>Being swallowed is very shocking and terrifying turn of events for most folk - and those who <br/>don't fear it often enjoy it a little too much. A predator who successfully swallows someone <br/>may use their action to make a 'test of wills' attack against their prey (intimidate vs. spirit, or <br/>taunt vs. smarts) with a +4 bonus. The predator also gets this bonus on intimidate or taunt <br/>attacks against the prey's allies.<br/>(Note: Because of the way that damage works in Savage Worlds, being 'shaken' essentially <br/>counts as any target's first layer of defense. Therefore, it is just as effective at 'softening up' <br/>an uninjured target as a physical attack would be.)<br/><br/>While engulfed, the target is at [b]–4</span>on all rolls including damage, to hit and Strength rolls to<br/>free himself, and suffers 1d6 damage per round from digestive juices. (Armor offers no<br/>protection.) The predator can also 'gurgle' the target as an attack action, dealing Strength +<br/>d6 damage. This is treated as an opposed fighting roll just like the initial attempt, and the pred does<br/>deal an extra d6 damage on a raise as usual.<br/><br/>Anyone who is incapacitated by a stomach can roll their Vigor, and multiply the result by 10<br/>minutes to see how long they endure inside before they perish and are considered digested.<br/>After 30 minutes per point of the prey's size, they are considered completely digested and<br/>ready to be passed.