Savage Worlds Character Build - The Fighter

One of the things I really like about Savage Worlds is how customizable the characters are. In both character creation and when advancing from experience point gain there are a range of options for you to choose from. But sometimes the sheer number of available options can be overwhelming for new players. Characters can end up lacking focus and I've seen some players become frustrated and want to make changes to options they've picked in the past.

This post is a first in a series of character builds designed for players new to Savage Worlds. I'm going to start with some typical fantasy "classes" and then go on to do builds for characters of other genres. The builds will go from character creation up to the first Legendary rank. Each build is of course only one of many possible directions a character can go. My builds tend to focus on Attribute and Edge advancement, and important skills start focused for the role.

Each build assumes the character to have 1 major and 2 minor Hindrances. These Hindrance points have been spent in the build. Builds do not include race abilities and bonuses, adjust accordingly. All builds are based on the current Savage Worlds Deluxe Explorer's Edition rulebook.

Builds do not include gear. Accordingly Toughness is at it's base number and is not modified by armor.

If you want to increase or gain skills and still follow the character build, just push the next step up another level and take those skills.

THE FIGHTER

Novice - Experience 0
Attributes:  Agility d8, Smarts d4, Spirit d6, Strength d8, Vigor d6
Skills:  Climbing d4, Fighting d12, Healing d4, Intimidation d4, Notice d4, Riding d4, Shooting d4, Stealth d4, Streetwise d4
Edges: Brawny
Charisma: 0; Pace: 6; Parry: 8; Toughness: 6
(Swap out Climbing for Swimming or Survival depending on the setting.)

Novice - Experience 5
Increased Spirit to d8.
Attributes:  Agility d8, Smarts d4, Spirit d8, Strength d8, Vigor d6
Skills:  Climbing d4, Fighting d12, Healing d4, Intimidation d4, Notice d4, Riding d4, Shooting d4, Stealth d4, Streetwise d4
Edges: Brawny
Charisma: 0; Pace: 6; Parry: 8; Toughness: 6

Novice - Experience 10
Gained the Hard to Kill Edge.
Attributes:  Agility d8, Smarts d4, Spirit d8, Strength d8, Vigor d6
Skills:  Climbing d4, Fighting d12, Healing d4, Intimidation d4, Notice d4, Riding d4, Shooting d4, Stealth d4, Streetwise d4
Edges: Brawny, Hard to Kill
Charisma: 0; Pace: 6; Parry: 8; Toughness: 6

Novice - Experience 15
Gained the First Strike Edge.
Attributes:  Agility d8, Smarts d4, Spirit d8, Strength d8, Vigor d6
Skills:  Climbing d4, Fighting d12, Healing d4, Intimidation d4, Notice d4, Riding d4, Shooting d4, Stealth d4, Streetwise d4
Edges: Brawny, First Strike, Hard to Kill
Charisma: 0; Pace: 6; Parry: 8; Toughness: 6

Seasoned - Experience 20
Increased Strength to d10. All Fighting damage increases accordingly.
Attributes:  Agility d8, Smarts d4, Spirit d8, Strength d10, Vigor d6
Skills:  Climbing d4, Fighting d12, Healing d4, Intimidation d4, Notice d4, Riding d4, Shooting d4, Stealth d4, Streetwise d4
Edges: Brawny, First Strike, Hard to Kill
Charisma: 0; Pace: 6; Parry: 8; Toughness: 6

Seasoned - Experience 25
Gained the Sweep Edge.
Attributes:  Agility d8, Smarts d4, Spirit d8, Strength d10, Vigor d6
Skills:  Climbing d4, Fighting d12, Healing d4, Intimidation d4, Notice d4, Riding d4, Shooting d4, Stealth d4, Streetwise d4
Edges: Brawny, First Strike, Hard to Kill, Sweep
Charisma: 0; Pace: 6; Parry: 8; Toughness: 6

Seasoned - Experience 30
Gained the Frenzy Edge.
Attributes:  Agility d8, Smarts d4, Spirit d8, Strength d10, Vigor d6
Skills:  Climbing d4, Fighting d12, Healing d4, Intimidation d4, Notice d4, Riding d4, Shooting d4, Stealth d4, Streetwise d4
Edges: Brawny, First Strike, Frenzy, Hard to Kill, Sweep
Charisma: 0; Pace: 6; Parry: 8; Toughness: 6

Seasoned - Experience 35
Gained the Block Edge. Parry increases to 9 accordingly.
Attributes:  Agility d8, Smarts d4, Spirit d8, Strength d10, Vigor d6
Skills:  Climbing d4, Fighting d12, Healing d4, Intimidation d4, Notice d4, Riding d4, Shooting d4, Stealth d4, Streetwise d4
Edges: Block, Brawny, First Strike, Frenzy, Hard to Kill, Sweep
Charisma: 0; Pace: 6; Parry: 9; Toughness: 6

Veteran - Experience 40
Increased Strength to d12. Fighting damage increases accordingly.
Attributes:  Agility d8, Smarts d4, Spirit d8, Strength d12, Vigor d6
Skills:  Climbing d4, Fighting d12, Healing d4, Intimidation d4, Notice d4, Riding d4, Shooting d4, Stealth d4, Streetwise d4
Edges: Block, Brawny, First Strike, Frenzy, Hard to Kill, Sweep
Charisma: 0; Pace: 6; Parry: 9; Toughness: 6

Veteran - Experience 45
Gained the Improved Sweep Edge.
Attributes:  Agility d8, Smarts d4, Spirit d8, Strength d12, Vigor d6
Skills:  Climbing d4, Fighting d12, Healing d4, Intimidation d4, Notice d4, Riding d4, Shooting d4, Stealth d4, Streetwise d4
Edges: Block, Brawny, First Strike, Frenzy, Hard to Kill, Improved Sweep
Charisma: 0; Pace: 6; Parry: 9; Toughness: 6

Veteran - Experience 50
Gained the Improved Block Edge. Parry increases to 10 accordingly.
Attributes:  Agility d8, Smarts d4, Spirit d8, Strength d12, Vigor d6
Skills:  Climbing d4, Fighting d12, Healing d4, Intimidation d4, Notice d4, Riding d4, Shooting d4, Stealth d4, Streetwise d4
Edges: Brawny, First Strike, Frenzy, Hard to Kill, Improved Block, Improved Sweep
Charisma: 0; Pace: 6; Parry: 10; Toughness: 6

Veteran - Experience 55
Gained the Combat Reflexes Edge.
Attributes:  Agility d8, Smarts d4, Spirit d8, Strength d12, Vigor d6
Skills:  Climbing d4, Fighting d12, Healing d4, Intimidation d4, Notice d4, Riding d4, Shooting d4, Stealth d4, Streetwise d4
Edges: Brawny, Combat Reflexes, First Strike, Frenzy, Hard to Kill, Improved Block, Improved Sweep
Charisma: 0; Pace: 6; Parry: 10; Toughness: 6

Heroic - Experience 60
Increased Vigor to d8. Toughness increases to 7 accordingly.
Attributes:  Agility d8, Smarts d4, Spirit d8, Strength d12, Vigor d8
Skills:  Climbing d4, Fighting d12, Healing d4, Intimidation d4, Notice d4, Riding d4, Shooting d4, Stealth d4, Streetwise d4
Edges: Brawny, Combat Reflexes, Frenzy, Hard to Kill, Improved Block, Improved Sweep
Charisma: 0; Pace: 6; Parry: 10; Toughness: 7

Heroic - Experience 65
Gained the Improved First Strike Edge.
Attributes:  Agility d8, Smarts d4, Spirit d8, Strength d12, Vigor d8
Skills:  Climbing d4, Fighting d12, Healing d4, Intimidation d4, Notice d4, Riding d4, Shooting d4, Stealth d4, Streetwise d4
Edges: Brawny, Combat Reflexes, Frenzy, Hard to Kill, Improved Block, Improved First Strike, Improved Sweep
Charisma: 0; Pace: 6; Parry: 10; Toughness: 7

Heroic - Experience 70
Gained the Quick Edge.
Attributes:  Agility d8, Smarts d4, Spirit d8, Strength d12, Vigor d8
Skills:  Climbing d4, Fighting d12, Healing d4, Intimidation d4, Notice d4, Riding d4, Shooting d4, Stealth d4, Streetwise d4
Edges: Brawny, Combat Reflexes, Frenzy, Hard to Kill, Improved Block, Improved First Strike, Improved Sweep, Quick
Charisma: 0; Pace: 6; Parry: 10; Toughness: 7

Heroic - Experience 75
Gained the Nerves of Steel Edge.
Attributes:  Agility d8, Smarts d4, Spirit d8, Strength d12, Vigor d8
Skills:  Climbing d4, Fighting d12, Healing d4, Intimidation d4, Notice d4, Riding d4, Shooting d4, Stealth d4, Streetwise d4
Edges: Brawny, Combat Reflexes, Frenzy, Hard to Kill, Improved Block, Improved First Strike, Improved Sweep, Nerves of Steel, Quick
Charisma: 0; Pace: 6; Parry: 10; Toughness: 7

Legendary - Experience 80
Increased Vigor to d10. Toughness increases to 8 accordingly.
Attributes:  Agility d8, Smarts d4, Spirit d8, Strength d12, Vigor d10
Skills:  Climbing d4, Fighting d12, Healing d4, Intimidation d4, Notice d4, Riding d4, Shooting d4, Stealth d4, Streetwise d4
Edges: Brawny, Combat Reflexes, Frenzy, Hard to Kill, Improved Block, Improved First Strike, Improved Sweep, Nerves of Steel, Quick
Charisma: 0; Pace: 6; Parry: 10; Toughness: 8

From this point on continue to increase Vigor than the other attributes as you are able to do so. Grab additional Edges and increase skills as needed. Your character is now a focused fighting machine!

And remember your character is not the sum of it's stats and Edges. It is the story of the character's deeds and adventures that everyone will remember.

Time Flies Even When You're Not Having Fun

Hi folks. I haven't posted in about a month! My only partially legitimate excuse is I've just started a new job and simultaneously come down what I'm pretty sure is valley-fever.

The plan going forward is to start posting some more D6 post-apoc rules, some old-school style stuff I've been working on,  as well as actual-play posts and a review of the Wellstone City setting for Savage Worlds.

In meantime, if you haven't heard of it already there is a nice sale going on at DriveThruGames. If you like Old School Revival (OSR) style games you need to check this out. Use this code for an additional 15% off the regular or sale prices: OSRF711F2

Go here for the good stuff: DriveThruRPG OSR Sale

and here too: Frog God Games Sale

I've been doing a lot of DriveThruGames shilling lately. But I promise more actual game posts in the near future! LOL

Print-On-Demand Map Tiles Review

Last week DriveThruRPG (One Book Shelf Inc.) announced a new POD product line: printed map tiles. Fat Dragon Games has a ship tile set for cheap so I ordered a set to review. The order arrived yesterday so here we go...

The tiles are printed on 12 pt glossy paper, the kind used for premium business cards, and have a nice snap to them. The colors are crisp and and the detail clear. Each tile in this set is 6" x 6".

The tiles are double-sided and the glossy paper/UV coating makes them slippery on hard surfaces. I'd recommend taping them together or placing them on felt to eliminate tile movement.

One of the tiles had the print order info on it and a white back (something the printer would use to keep track of the print job, not really part of the set) perfect for testing how the tiles respond to being written on. Highlighter and water-based markers do wipe off, but I found they didn't write very well on the tiles. Some of the fine-point markers left indentations on the tile, and others did not wipe off completely. So, yes, you can write and erase but I recommend using a soft wide tip marker to do this with.

As for the Medieval Ship tile set design itself, you get two ships. The ships are very similar with one ship a bit wider and longer than the other. One ship is about 4" wide and 13" long. The other is 5" wide and 16" long. Each ship is three tiles long and each tile can be flipped to change some of the features on the ship. Useful for battle scenes on small wooden ships, maybe as escorts of a larger vessel. Not real exciting but about what I figured to get for the price.

Overall: The tiles are pretty much what I expected. I'd prefer thicker paper and thicker UV coating but as is these materials should last for a good long time. I'm pleased with the tiles and will definitely be purchasing more sets in the near future.

Some Folks Are Just Downright Awesome!

I'm not sure why I didn't see this post before, as it was posted back in January, but it completely blew me away. Tim Snider, author of the post-apocalyptic RPG blog The Savage Afterworld has made an incredibly generous offer to would-be game publishers.

"...in an attempt to help out some DIY folks who want their products to have just an extra bit of polish, I'm offering my services as a professional editor / proofreader to the OSR community."

He further clarifies this by saying:

"...I am offering my services for free. I do not expect payment for this. It's my way of contributing to the DIY RPGers."

Wow! That's mighty generous of you Tim!

Now just so you all know Tim has the skill to back this up, he tells us:

"I'm not gonna post my resume, but suffice to say I have 15+ years of copyediting / proofreading experience. I'm the managing editor of a tradebook publishing company. I've personally edited or proofread hundreds of magazine articles, manuscripts, screenplays, and books (both trade and text) over the years. I'm fluent in several editorial styles with a keen eye for consistency, continuity, and clarity..."

I must say I'm rather envious of anyone fortunate enough to be benefiting from Tim's editing skills. Wish I had someone like this to look over Menace from the Wasteland. Fortunately for me, I had a good friend who was willing to be bullied into giving it a critical read. But even with some help I still had to do a revision and undo a number of grammatical errors (and it's still not perfect I'm sure).

This post is to say thanks to Tim for his outstanding and generous offer to the OSR community, and a shout out to his inspiring work on The Savage Afterworld.

Thanks Tim!

Edit: Here's a link to the post mentioned:

"Free Service: 15th Level Copyeditor With +3 Red Pen Of Correction. Speaks Chicago, AP, Goblin"

Print-On-Demand Map Tiles and Terrain!

When I was in the fifth or sixth grade I saw an article in the old Dynamite kids magazine of some folks playing D&D using miniatures. Since that day my preferred games of choice use mini's. This is in fact one of the reasons I love Savage Worlds so much.

I'm always looking for mini related game materials and needless to say I am very excited about a new product line from DriveThruRPG:
Print-On-Demand Map Tiles and Terrain.

These printed tiles use playing-card stock and are UV coated. Here's one of folks from Fat Dragon Games talking about the tile materials:





And here are some photos:

DriveThruRPG has two very low priced introductory sets for sale:

Fat Dragon Games' E-Z TILES: Medieval Ship

DramaScape's Power Room and Computer Room

I'm going to order the Medieval Ship, test out the quality of these tiles, and give you further review on them. I really like tiles and other paper game pieces which have the UV coating on them so I'm looking forward to this new offering.

In case you missed the link at the top of this article here it is again: 

Print-On-Demand Map Tiles and Terrain

If you order any of these for yourself I'd like to know what you think of them.

Edit: I noticed the default item on the DriveThruRPG product pages is for the PDF. If you want the printed cards make sure you check the correct box before ordering.

Good Times

Listening to Dio and working on my long neglected D6 Post-Apocalypse Mutant game. What a great afternoon.  :)

Here's some RJD for your own Friday listening pleasure. Enjoy!

International Tabletop Day

Geek and Sundry is promoting March 30th as International Tabletop Day, both to promote the playing of games and to celebrate the one year anniversary of their show Tabletop.

In step with this event DriveThruRPG is offering some great deals on selected games (50% off Doctor Who Adventures In Space and Time) and...here it comes...a whole mess of sweet freebies! What kind of freebies you ask? Well take a look:

• A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying Quickstart PDF
• Altus Adventum Primer
• Brass & Steel Quickstart: The Case of the Croquet Mallet
• Conspiracy X 2.0 - Introductory Game Kit
• Dresden Files RPG Casefile: Neutral Grounds
• FirstFable
• H1 Keep on the Shadowfell & Quick-Start Rules (4e)
• Legacy of Disaster
• Leverage: The Quickstart Job
• Little Fears Nightmare Edition
• Mistborn Adventure Game Primer
• Nightmare on Hill Manor
• Outbreak: Undead - Quick Start Guide
• Parsely #1: Action Castle
• Qin: The Warring States free demo kit
• Rogue Trader Forsaken Bounty - Quickstart
• Savage Worlds: Test Drive
• Scion: Hero
• Shadowrun: Quick-Start Rules (Free RPG Day 2012)
• Station Zero: The Abusement Park, a Maschine Zeit Toolkit
• The Esoterrorists Tabletop Day Offer

Phew, that's quite a list! Granted some of these have been around for a while as free quickstarters but there are a number I haven't seen until now. At the very least it's a convenient way to get them all in one bundle. 

You can find the DriveThruRPG offerings here:  Tabletop Day Deals 

(the bundle o' free stuff is on the right)

Enjoy!