Revised Savage Worlds Magic

All spells are expanded to 5 levels. If you have the according rank you can cast the new power level.

Spell Novice Seasoned Veteran Heroic Legendary Notes

Boost Trait 1 trait+ fitting skills Lower Trait is seperate power
Bolt 2x2d6 3x2d6 + 1x3d6 2x3d6 3x3d6 too weak on higher levels? Range?

Fat pirate sketch for Savage Worlds

Race: Gnome (Quick Thinking: Starts with a d6 in Smarts. Mechanically-inclined: Free d6 in Repair. Short: Gets "Small" hindrance.)

Attributes
Agility 8
Smarts 6
Spirit 6
Strength 6
Vigor 6

-1/+1 = normal Toughness...

Skills (not finished yet)
Boating (ag) 4
Climbing (st) 4
Fighting (ag) 4
Guts (sp) 4
Lockpicking (ag) 4
Notice (sm) 4
Persuasion (sp) 4
Repair (sm) 4
Stealth (ag) 4
Taunt (sm) 4
Throwing OR Shooting (ag) 4


Edges

Quick
Ace

Hindrances

Obese

Brulus III.

The first thing Brulus remembers was begging with older kids in the big city - a common fate for street kids. He must have been around four at that time.

He was a lousy beggar, but even worse in his rare attempts of thievery and therefore on the lowest level of the streets' hierarchy. At least he survived..

His fate changed somewhat, when he met the dirty old pharmacist Adalbert. Adalbert had lost his license for making regular mistakes. No wonder - he had tried once to often to cure his bad temper himself.
Brulus took care of him, being basicly a misfigured butler in the beginning, but also showing lots of promise as an assistant in the crazy old man's experiments.

After his career as pharmacist was stopped by the clergy, Adalbert turned to more "interesting" experiments, plotting revenge. Brulus gave him the support he needed.
But when Brulus understood what Adalbert was up to, and was not able to convince him to stop, the hunchback turned his sole friend in.

Maybe there was hope that he would be seen as a hero, that let Brulus make this decision, maybe he really cares about the well being of the people. At the moment probably not even Brulus himdelf knows for sure, but with enough evidence Adalbert was convicted to death. The last time he saw Brulus, he called him a damn traitor.

Brulus was treated with disgust by the commisar taking care of the case, but given an opportunity to run off, with the hint that actually he would have needed to get a trial too.

So Brulus ran off, where this will take him, we don't know yet.

A Plot Point campaign inspired by really early Perry Rhodan

As I am often gaming with groups that know nothing about the biggest German pulp scifi series, it would be great to play through the set up of the first cycle:

The PCs find an alien spaceship with incredible power (and some sick aliens) and it is left to them what do with it? Leave to space? Rule the Earth? Both!

Obviously it would be a sand box game, with a set up on Earth level (countries, military, economics and secret services) and one on galaxy level (a mighty decadent empire and different power groups in it that all want to take over Earth).

A proactive play style would be encouraged, but it would definitely be necessary to protect Earth - or to sell it out to the aliens?

Obiously while the basic ideas would be similar to Perry Rhodan, the window dressing would be different - especially the way the Aliens look. Maybe some transhuman elements would be fun, but that could already lead too far off.

Instead of finding the space ship on the moon (and restricting the PCs to beastronauts), the first adventure should be more like X-Files or Indiana Jones.

A potential place for the crashed space ship would be Northern China or Tibet. A question is if there should be Greys. And if it would make sense to have a Pirates/Ninjas/Robots/Monkeys aliens conception. And are Greys the fairy archetype? What other fantastic archetypes exist? Dwarves? Elves? Klingons? Are Orcs Monkeys? And what's with Zombies and Sharks? And Dinosaurs and Bears?

Also there should be a possibilty for characters to turn alien in the long run, without having to loose the inital character. Here the transhuman factor could come into play.

And don't forget the robot ruler!! ;)

Some research about real life alien esoterics could inspire me. Check here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_alleged_UFO-related_extraterrestrials

Reprise: The Band - Savage Worlds and drugs

I handled hard drugs in my cyberpunkish game that way, that they would give you bonuses, but once you were on them, forced to buy certain drug-related edges, and skills like Knowledge (Drug scene) when you were leveling up. Somewhat like a drug skill/edge path...
The edges had mainly negative effects, so players really tried to get rid of their addiction as they could not get any positive character development while on it. But going turkey was not easy either...

I looked through my old notes.
Actually it was even simpler than I remembered.

There was this drug that gave you +2 on songwriting (it was a campaign about the PCs having a band in a postapocalyptic city), but as long as you were on it, you had to raise your Knowledge (Drugs) skill every time you leveled up, as this was the main thing on your mind: where to get the drug, when, and from whom...
So people became real pros with the whole drug trade and had to give up other character development. For people with high Smarts it was a little bit better, as they were longer able to raise at least another skill too.
Obviously everyone wanted to kick their drug habit quite early, which could be achieved by a Spirit test, you could try once a week.
But if someone offered you the drug later on, you still needed to pass a Spirit test not to fall back into your old habit. Especially nasty, when you would soon get your next possibilty to level up...

I was inspired by reading "Please kill me", the book on the 70ies NYC punk scene. :-D

As none of my players' characters had the skill before taking the drug or wanted to raise it by him-/herself, I simply ruled that at Knowledge(Drugs) d8, your skin would turn greenish, even greener on d10 and d12, and at Knowledge(Drugs) d12+1 you would be able to buy the edge "Complete Memory" and remember the time before the Orange War (don't ask..).Obviously you could streamline this basic system and make it more elegant, with real paths for different drugs.

Edges to make Savage Worlds more of a D&D 4th rip off

This should add some more features of crowd control and marking in Savage Worlds.

Block the retreat!
Prerequisite: Fighting d8
If an opponent tries to leave melee your character you get an extra +2 against your free attack.
[Old version: your character can adds one extra d6 to damage, if he hits with the free attack.]

Double trickster (I)
Spirit: d6
You are able to use tricks and test of wills against anyone under a small burst template.

Crowd trickster (II)
Prerequiste: Double trickster, Spirit d8
You are able to use tricks and test of wills against anyone under a medium burst template.

Mass trickster (III)
Prerequiste: Crowd trickster, Spirit d10
You are able to use tricks and test of wills against anyone under a large burst template.

Sniper's Mark
Shooting: d8
You aim on a enemy you can attack with Shooting. In case he moves or does any action your next attack against him is +2 (additional to the normal aim bonus), in case you attack anyone else or do any other action instead of moving, you loose the bonus.

Leader of the Brave
Prerequiste: Spirit d10
You can use Leadership-Edges that normally only work with Extras on Wild Cards as well.

Campaign (?) rule: Broken
If you acieve 2 raises on a Test of Will, the opponent flees or gives up.

Brulus - My Luftenwelter Savage Worlds hunchback character

Brulus Gelmon

First draft:

"You are my friends!"
"You got this face for free!" (VCR)

Brulus is a hunchbacked mongrelkin rogue who never had a place to fit and follows his new found friends around like a dog.
He does not have any extrordinare qualities except that he does not feel abuse and pain any more.
He speaks funnily through his broken teeth and likes to hug.

Despite all the abuse he naively easily trusts anyone who shows him some respect or even sympathy.


Second draft:

Brulus is a deformed and hunchbacked human that looks as if he had blood of all kind of races in him. He is always tinkering with all kind of magic potions and disgusting ingredients.
He was shunned all his live in the big city and treated as an outcast. Now that he finally found a "family" he will try his best to keep them together.

Attributes

Agility 4

Smarts 6

Spirit 6

Strength 4

Vigor 10

Skills

Boating (ag) 4

Climbing (st) 4

Fighting (ag) 4

Guts (sp) 4 (-2)
Lockpicking (ag) 4
Notice (sm) 4

Persuasion (sp) 4
Repair (sm) 4

Stealth (ag) 4

Taunt (sm) 4

Throwing (ag) 4
Weird Science (Alchemy) (sm) 6

Edges

Arcane Background: Weird Science (Alchemy)
Nerves of Steel
Improved Nerves of Steel

Hindrances

Ugly (min)
Loyal (min)
Yellow (maj)


Powers

Heal (Trapping: Hertie - slimey toad that licks off wounds)

Idea Brainstorming for the last CmC episode.

Okay, we played it already and we had to go for a cliff hanger end because after more than 3 hours our creative juices were all ejected, but it was amazing, especially until we nearly got stuck in the last scene. The next day I realized, it was the perfect first partof a 2 eposiodes season finale, but we will probably never play the last one. Still I got inspiration for a "hail the formless one!" conclusion for Tali.

This was some brainstorming I did before. Not everything was used though.


The captain was a integral part in creating the chemical weapon that ended the Freedom Wars.

The blue fog is the the chemical weapon.

The Federation left the soul of the captain on the holodeck, as a trap for the crew of the Gilgamesh.

The female captain ESTENGRA that abducted him is waiting down in the weapon factory with his body.

WAINE has to find a way to reconnect body and soul of the captain.

The captain's body was supposed to be the key to set free the ULTIMATE WEAPON.

TANI will be able to take over the factory with help of CLARA and ALGERNON.

Captain JAMES J. HERBERT will make an unpopular decision, once he is back alive.

He will be able to jump to the FEDERATION homeworld and blow it up - with his old crew?

The story board game

I will set an agenda for my story board game.

1. Find artists from the German Manga fan scene or from Deviant Art that can do semi-professional work
2. Decide on a setting

Captain, My Captain - Episode 2 - Scene Overview

Scene 1 (Producer): Plot
A space ship appears and the ship's captain tells that for crossing the Triton sector (where they ended up after the fail jump in the last episode) they need to pay customs to pass. They are undecided.
Waine (and Tali) decide to offer their nemeses as price.
Conflict: ?
Outcome:

Scene 2 (Tali's player): Plot
Captain Xis and 3 of his minions come on board- Tali takes the personality of Captain Bob.
Conflict: none
Outcome:

Conflict ideas afterwards that would have been easier to integrate with the agenda given by the players:

Scene 3 (Algernon's player): Plot

Conflict:
Outcome:
(Added scene:)

Scene 4 (Waine's player): Character
Captain Xis checks out the lab of Waine. After he meets Algernon and explains himself.
Conflict:
Resolution:

Scene 5 (Producer): Plot
Mafalda and Captain Xis steer near the black hole.
Conflict:
Resolution:

Conflict ideas afterwards that would have been easier to integrate with the agenda given by the players:

Scene 6 (Tali's): Plot
They leave the ship and Xis explain the shape changer conspiracy.
Conflict:
Resolution:

New opened plot developments: what influence do the shape changers really have?

Old open plot thingies: the memory crystal with Tali spying on Algernon & Co., the cooks collar of

My 3.5 D&D character - now

While I am waiting for Dungeons&Dragons 4th Edition, and generally think that everyone who is staying behind is an enemy of innovation, I was invited to join a 3.5 game now. Ironic?

Anyways this is my basic character idea. I wanted to fill a niche in a party with a sorcerer and a rogue/sorcerer. Obviously a defender would be needed, but also a healer. So Paladin seemed pretty obvious.
I decided to go for something angsty that is not introverted. I want to have a character that I can't turn into the funny relief guy. Happens too easily with me.
I also try not to go for the lawful stupid archetyp - as a Palladin screams for that.

Rius Diovrie

Rius is the first born of the current generation of a noble family, rulers over a small barony in the borderlands. Rius' parents, grandfather and countless generations before have served as Paladins. So it was pretty obvious since his birth that Rius would one day become a divine fighter too.
At the age of 14 Rius finally told his family he had heard his calling - everyone was already waiting hard if it would happen at all - and for the better part of the next decade he received his training - lessons in swordplay, morale, the arts and especially how to serve Dalanos - the father of the gods.
Sometimes Rius was a little worried that he did not feel many of the things he was told about, like compassion or charity, but he just pushed himself in studying harder to come up for that.
The closer the day of his final test and knightly accolade came, the more it became clear to him that all the studying would not help in front of the priesthood examining his heart. They would see that he just pretended perfectly all the years and that following the code with discipline was not enough.
So that very morning - waiting for the ceremony in his shiniest armor - Rius ran off.
Since this day he tries to do his duty as a paladin although he is missing the divine powers. Rius may look like a paladin and behave like one, but in the end he is just a fighter with a strict code. He follows this noble code the same way a lifeless machine would do.

He wants to be good and believes in divine law, he just does not feel compassion, charity or any of those things that would make him a real paladin. At the moment Rius thinks that if he serves as one, one day he will be "healed".

In the meantime he sometimes pretends to others to be a palladin and sometimes he whines about not being one instead. He also fights his tendencies to be a braggart.

His biggest wish is that one day he will be able to return to his parents' land and prove that he always was a palladin. Nearly a paradox as he would have to lie to a certain degree to prove that.

Important people to Rius:

Reto and Estenda, parents, palladins

his younger real palladin sister Franja, a prodigy,
his left behind (female) squire Sorin

(he also was sent as a kid for some time to other noble families/castles)

Stats:

Strength: 16 +3
Dexterity: 12 +1
Constitution: 16 +3
Intelligence: 12 +1
Wisdom: 9 -1
Charisma: 13 +1

Rius is 190 cm in height and athletic. He wears his blond hair long and bound and seems to be perfectly shaven all the time.

Alignment: LN

Human
Language: Common + 1 bonus
1 extra feat
4 extra skill points (+1 extra/lvl)

Palladin
Skills: (2+int)x4 start; +2+int/lvl

Feats:
Power Attack (double with 2 hands...)
Cleave
Mounted Combat [next: Ride-by-Attack]

Age: 19

Attack Bonus: 6 = 3 (BAB) + 3 (Str): Greatsword (2d6(+4,5) 19-20/x2 Slashing)
Power Attack: Attack Bonus: +3 Dmg: 2d6+10
AC 19 (Full Plate: Armor Bonus 8)


Skills: Rank Skill
Climb 3+3-6= 0 (+6 without Armor)
Diplomacy 3+1 = 4
Handle Animal
Heal
Knowledge (Nobility/Royality)
Knowledge (Religion)
Ride
Swim