Game Geeks Reviews Savage Worlds: Fantasy and Horror Companions

Just checking out Savage Worlds books, so I thought I'd share this video.

The Lost Valley, Session 2 - Savage Worlds RPG

My friends and I gathered for another session of the Lost Valley campaign using the Savage Worlds RPG rules.

All of the original cast returned plus we had two new additions:

Daneth Orichar - The Prince of Atlantis (Played by Andy) Based on the Mage Archetype

Andy's own description:

Appearance: Tall, slim, and with a proud bearing. He wears a speedo made of scales for modesty but prefers to be otherwise unclothed.

Background: I was born rightful heir to the greatest civilization the world has ever known: Atlantis. I was given everything I wanted as I as I grew, made to believe that I was the most important person in the kingdom, perhaps the whole world. Everything I wanted was granted to me, and I became arrogant and stubborn.

But Atlantis was recently destroyed and I only narrowly escaped. I knew that many of my people had colonized in the Lost Valley, but the leader of the colony is a usurper and must face judgement. I came here to claim my own, but quickly realized it would take time and unfortunately allies.

Personality: He expects everything to be done for him and given to him. It is obvious that he is nobility and everyone should respect that fact, regardless of race. He may fight when pressed, but he would prefer to allow those of lower bearing to take care of things like that. Unless the foe is truly magnificent, in which case he would be first into the fray.

Notes: I made two of my spells specifically linked to my heritage: the Royal Scales and the Mark of Royalty. I was thinking they are a kind of proof that I am from the line of heirs as only they are given magical training or something like that.

All I carry are a trident and a conch shell that hangs on a golden chain around my neck (which I use to unleash my burst spell).

Ty-Rus Jurm - Loyal Atlantean Soldier (Played by Greg) Based on the Fighter, Great Weapon Archetype

Ty-Rus is older, but still a powerful warrior. He lived in the colony in the Lost Valley happily until a rumor surfaced that the heir of the throne had arrived. He heard that the prince escaped from the city, so he went searching for him. Now, he has found his lord and is committed to putting him on the throne.

He wields a giant trident made from coral and carries a short sword made from a shell.

The Adventure

The two Atlanteans stumbled into our heroes' camp and cause quite a stir. I quickly set the stage. Then, I had everyone draw an Interlude card. (This is becoming a favorite device of mine.)

After some great stories, I had two T-Rexs attack the camp. (I know not very inventive, but I still don't know the system very well. I wanted to get combat done before we get into awesome drama and I drop the ball.)

Mr. Donnelly nearly dropped the huge bull with one incredible shot from his Spencer, but fell just shy of the damage needed.

What followed was about two and a half hours of our heroes missing the beasts over and over again. Mr. Donnelly was severely wounded, in fact he was very close to death.

Finally, Daneth felled the female dinosaur with a spell. Then, Ayla finished off the bull with her spear.

When combat ended, Dr. Douglas tended to Mr. Donnelly. Following a couple rolls that aced multiple times, Mr. Donnelly was miraculously healed.

Daneth revealed he knows the way out of the valley, but will only share it if our heroes help him reclaim his throne first. After a bit of an argument, they agreed to help.

I had everyone draw Interlude cards and we had another story time.

Daneth told the story of his greatest love. Once while swimming he beheld a creature of unmatched beauty. He tried to capture it. He swam after for days. When he caught it, he realized that it was a mirror fish and that he had been seeing himself all along.

Impressions

I'm enjoying the Savage Worlds system more and more. Drawing cards for initiative is quite good and lends excitement to the game.

I'm looking forward to more adventures!

First Impressions of Savage Worlds Role-playing Game

I recently bought the rulebook and the PDF of the SavageWorlds RPG system. Last night, I got my first chance to play and GM. Unfortunately, I had only read through the rules a couple of times.

The Setting:

The Lost Valley

The year is 1928. An English lord assembles a group of explorers in hopes of mounting an expedition to explore Antarctica.  As their plane nears the continent, a strange phenomenon causes them to plunge into a strange valley. The valley turns out to be a lush rainforest filled with prehistoric beasts. Think, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s, The Lost World.

The Characters:

(Since I was still unfamiliar with the system, I had everyone use the preprinted character archetypes.)

Dr. Edgar Douglas (played by Jake) – A scientist who specializes in biology plus a university professor, who was recently widowed. By taking the elderly hindrance, medical doctor was added to his resume. He’s a grandfather and a veteran of the Spanish-American War. He adds a ton of value to the group not only with knowledge, but with repair and jury-rigging abilities.

Jedediah Donnelly (played by Don) – A trapper/mountain man using the marksman archetype. A WWI veteran with a secret lost love, who has taken to trapping and living off the land. He was recruited to trap exotic animals. He provides a lot of combat prowess.

Robert Foster (played by Caleb) – A movie director/producer based on the “Face” template. Coming off of a short, rocky marriage to a beautiful starlet, he’s broke and in debt.  Also, he is plagued by his heavy drinking habit. He convinced some Hollywood friends to give him a small crew and camera equipment. He’s hoping to make his comeback feature film.

Ayla (played by my lovely wife Erin) – A beautiful cavewoman who uses the Fighter, Fencer archetype. While out hunting, she saw a great silver bird plunge into the forest. She has befriended our heroes and has proved very helpful in their survival in the Lost Valley. Also, she has a bad habit of stealing shiny objects.

John Slaughter (played by myself, just for getting use to the system) – The WWI ace come daredevil and adventurer pilot. He's fun-loving and cannot resist any adventurous pursuit. Though, he has a bad habit of wanting to talk baseball at the worse possible times. 

Adventure:

I set the stage at the crash site. Our heroes had been there for eight days and they had already met Ayla. We determined the co-pilot and Dr. Douglas’ young assistant were killed in the crash.

Mr. Donnelly constructed a blind to watch the approaches to the crash site. Mr. Foster began secretly filming him wanting him to be the star of his next big hit.

Dr. Douglas created a water collection system that is quite ingenious.

The group decided to have Ayla lead them to a nearby river to explore plus the Doctor wanted to test the water and Donnelly wanted check the local fauna.

On the way, they were attacked by two giant spiders. Mr. Foster was hit, but suffered no ill effects. Mr. Slaughter drew his pistol and promptly it misfired (critical fail). Ayla and Donnelly quickly dispatched the spiders without any help as it turns out. Ayla quickly ripped off a leg and began munching on it. The Doctor took some venom and is planning on making a medicine from it.

Once at the river, the group was attacked by a T-Rex. It proved to be a challenge for the Novice group, but they prevailed in the end. I was treated with some interesting strategy including Mr. Foster using his whiskey and Ayla’s torch to breath fire at the beast. Finally the group tied a rope between two trees and lured the T-Rex in and tripped it.

First Impressions:

I loved this system. I bungled the wound status, but everything else was simple and easy to use. All of us enjoyed the initiative system using playing cards. I’ve never really had a system that was this easy to learn or teach. Don had never role-played before and he was onboard quickly. A fun, simple RPG system.

Also, it was fun to play in a new time period. I’ve been GMing a lot of Star Wars recently, so this was a great chance of pace.

I’m looking forward to playing in the Savage Worlds system for a long while.