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Post by savagedaddy on Nov 5, 2012 8:46:24 GMT -8
In my opinion, Experience Points are often overlooked and overshadowed by Ranks in Savage Worlds. However, every 5 points accumulated does grant an Advance, allowing a character to: - Gain a new Edge.
- Increase a skill equal to or greater than its linked attribute by one die type.
- Increase two skills lower than their linked attributes by one die type each.
- Buy a new skill at d4
- Increase one attribute by a die type (only allowed once per Rank).
Experience Points and Rank become important when creating a 'Replacement Character', because it adds points to the Replacement Character's build budget. For example, the XP range of a Seasoned Character is 20-39 points. If all you consider is Rank, the Replacement Character would more than likely only get 20 points for the build. Let's say, the fallen Character died with 35 points. This gives the Replacement Character 15 points for three additional benefits (New Edge, New Skill, Increase Skill, etc) they may not have otherwise. I hope that makes sense...
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Post by savagedaddy on Nov 5, 2012 9:14:45 GMT -8
HOUSE RULE: RANDOM HEAD SHOTS
Whenever a character rolls 2 raises on a Shooting or Fighting die, the hit is considered a lucky head shot. The character doesn’t receive the normal +1d6 to damage for a raise, but he does receive the +4 to damage for a normal blow to the head. (from War of the Dead)
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Post by jazzisblues on Nov 5, 2012 11:46:06 GMT -8
In my opinion, Experience Points are often overlooked and overshadowed by Ranks in Savage Worlds. However, every 5 points accumulated does grant an Advance, allowing a character to: - Gain a new Edge.
- Increase a skill equal to or greater than its linked attribute by one die type.
- Increase two skills lower than their linked attributes by one die type each.
- Buy a new skill at d4
- Increase one attribute by a die type (only allowed once per Rank).
Experience Points and Rank become important when creating a 'Replacement Character', because it adds points to the Replacement Character's build budget. For example, the XP range of a Seasoned Character is 20-39 points. If all you consider is Rank, the Replacement Character would more than likely only get 20 points for the build. Let's say, the fallen Character died with 35 points. This gives the Replacement Character 15 points for three additional benefits (New Edge, New Skill, Increase Skill, etc) they may not have otherwise. I hope that makes sense... That's true, but instead of giving them seasoned rank plus the 15 points why not just give them the same xp the previous character had and solve the problem in one shot. I'm confused. JiB
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Post by jazzisblues on Nov 5, 2012 11:47:12 GMT -8
HOUSE RULE: RANDOM HEAD SHOTSWhenever a character rolls 2 raises on a Shooting or Fighting die, the hit is considered a lucky head shot. The character doesn’t receive the normal +1d6 to damage for a raise, but he does receive the +4 to damage for a normal blow to the head. (from War of the Dead) I very much like that idea. Falls between, Oh look you rolled awesome but you still only get 1d6 extra damage and here roll all the d6 ever for extra damage. Good rule. JiB
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Post by savagedaddy on Nov 5, 2012 18:29:22 GMT -8
Applying Fear Rules Your players should rarely have to make a Spirit (Fear) roll because they see a zombie. However, they should make a check if they encounter a handful of them in an unexpected or supposedly safe location. Spirit checks should be required in especially grotesque or grisly situations that should induce vomiting.
Savage Worlds Deluxe (page 85) has nailed this flavor of Fear rules down very well and should be used in any zombie apocalypse setting.
However, the fear in a survival horror setting doesn't come from dice rolls or effect tables. It is about making the characters feel vulnerable, helpless, and hopeless. Zombies are easy to kill -- they're stupid and slow. But finding yourself surrounded by a hoard of them with little hope of escape and very little ammo is fucking terrifying.
This is what I'd like to talk about. As a GM in a zombie apocalypse setting, it is my job to set these situations in motion with the utmost subtlety. Sure, I could have a small group of players encounter 50 zombies in a Wal-Mart while scavenging for food. But that is just combat, not horror.
I'd rather let a player come to rely on a tool, then take it away at a critical moment. For example, flashlights. Few players with flashlights tend to remember that they run on batteries. Having a flashlight fail in a cramped dark building makes the moan of zombies a underwear changing experience.
While they may be conscious of the gasoline in their vehicles, few consider maintenance. Let them park their car in a housing community cul-de-sac while they loot the houses and come out to find zombies approaching -- no sweat, right? Guess what... the car won't start!
Players can also be too trusting of NPCs. Poor fools! Have the NPC steal everything while they sleep and leave them stranded with no firearms or supplies.
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Post by savagedaddy on Nov 16, 2012 11:55:09 GMT -8
Setting The Right Tone
I often find that many of the things I love about Zombie films don't translate easily to most roleplaying game systems. Or become far too clunky and overwhelming. Here are a couple of very simple House Rules you can impose to get that hopless feel in your zombie apocalpyse games.
IT IS A HARSH WORLD Survivors start with NO Wild Die and only 1 benny. As they progress in rank, they gain an additional benny and a d4 Wild Die – capping out at 3 bennies and a d6 Wild Die at Veteran rank.
FATE IS A CRUEL, CRUEL MISTRESS: Any time a player rolls snake eyes, they immediately forfeit ALL bennies.
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Post by jazzisblues on Nov 16, 2012 12:15:11 GMT -8
Setting The Right ToneI often find that many of the things I love about Zombie films don't translate easily to most roleplaying game systems. Or become far too clunky and overwhelming. Here are a couple of very simple House Rules you can impose to get that hopless feel in your zombie apocalpyse games. IT IS A HARSH WORLDSurvivors start with NO Wild Die and only 1 benny. As they progress in rank, they gain an additional benny and a d4 Wild Die – capping out at 3 bennies and a d6 Wild Die at Veteran rank. FATE IS A CRUEL, CRUEL MISTRESS:Any time a player rolls snake eyes, they immediately forfeit ALL bennies. OUCH !!! I like it, but OUCH! JiB
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Post by shadrack on Nov 16, 2012 13:17:45 GMT -8
there are similar ones to these in the Realms of Cthulhu book.
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Post by savagedaddy on Nov 17, 2012 12:38:11 GMT -8
Humanity Mechanic
I've been struggling with this for a few days. I don't want to create something that limits player actions. But the consequences of making hard choices that compromise your values/morality and suffering personal losses is something that I feel needs to at least be explored in a zombie apocalypse setting.
Does it lower your charisma? Do you suffer from depression? Do the members of your group come to view you as untrustworthy, or worse yet a threat? What if you have a Sociopathic Edge?
I want characters to chose their own moral compass, and follow it instead of meta gaming survival. I'm thinking of having characters choose 3 core values that reflect their characters life philosophy; e.g., 'the ends justify the means', 'thou shalt not kill', or 'family comes first', etc. When it applies in the game, the GM can compel them to follow their value despite the risk to their survival or the group. If they do so, they earn 1 Bennie. On the other hand, they can spend 1 Bennie to ignore their values - but have to make a Spirit roll and role-play a rationalization.
Success means they loose a Bennie. Failure costs them a Bennie. I want to create a Humanity and Sanity stat that must remain balanced. Loses to Humanity have social impact (ie - Charisma modifiers) and may require the PC group to play a Social Conflict against the individual or as a committee to decide what pvp action to take (thing Survivor tribal council). Sanity losses have, we'll, behavioral consequences like depression or mania.
I'd appreciate any feedback you may have on the subject.
Stay Savage....
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Post by savagedaddy on Nov 18, 2012 12:44:16 GMT -8
House Rule: Character Death & Replacement CharactersBecause a zombie apocalypse is such a lethal setting (if you're doing it right), character death is an inevitability. For this reason, players are allowed to transfer experience points, ranks, and unspent bennies from the point of death to a new character. I typically do the same thing whenever a character dies in any game. Only two comments: 1. Why make a distinction between xp and ranks? If you give a character 25 xp to spend they will be of seasoned rank. Not sure of the reason behind the distinction. 2. I would give either existing bennies or starting bennies whichever is higher. Cheers, JiB I don't know why I couldn't grok this when you originally posted it. You're absolutely right! It should be straight XP in 5 point steps. I don't know where I read it, but I agree that players earn XP, not characters. Depending on setting rules. I would let the player build a new character with the existing XP of the deceased character with zero bennies transfer.
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Post by savagedaddy on Nov 23, 2012 19:07:26 GMT -8
GMs ONLY : ZOMBIE PLAGUE META-SETTING RULE The following should not be shared with player characters; this is GM’s eyes only.
This meta-setting rule is intended to perpetuate player assumptions about how the zombie apocalypse works, while adding an interesting twist. Guess what? Everyone is infected. That’s the bad news. Good news? Being bitten or scratched by one of the Living Dead does not turn you into a zombie. You must die, regardless of the cause, in order to be turned. The Living Dead transmit a virulent bacterial infection that is nearly 100% lethal to humans, but this is not the ‘Plague Virus’.
This leaves the most critical tropes of the zombie apocalypse genre seemingly intact and operating in your setting. Most players will assume that ‘If you’re bitten or scratched you turn’ and ‘The only way to put a zombie down for good is to destroy the brain’. Guess what? Wrong! Well, okay, the last one is true. The truth is, the Zombie Plague is actually the result of two independent and separate diseases working simultaneously.
The Plague Virus that reanimates corpses lays dormant in brain. Upon death, regardless of the cause, it reactivates the brain – albeit at a primitive level, and begins to spread. Body chemistry, organ function, and cellular metabolism are all dramatically altered to support the replication of the virus. This delays the natural rate of decay, allowing a typical zombie life-span that ranges from 3 – 9 years depending on environmental conditions.
A Zombie Bite or Scratch is a delivery system for a unique cytotoxic bacterium that targets the human immune system, annihilating it in a matter of hours, allowing infection run rampant through the body. The bite does not reanimate the victim. It simply kills them. However, once dead, the dormant infection inside their brain reanimates them as zombies.
WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS? Immunity: Regardless of the scope of any disease, there is always a percentage of the population with natural immunity. If one of these individuals dies for any reason, they do not reanimate as a zombie. There are also those who have resistance to the bacteria delivered by a zombie bite. They display extreme flu symptoms but usually recover in a matter of a few days.
Determining Immunity: During character creation, the GM secretly deals an Action Card for each character. Anyone dealt a Joker or an Ace has ‘natural immunity’. If the Ace is also Spades or Clubs, they are also resistant to the disease from zombie attacks.
Amputation: Because the bite doesn’t cause the victim to turn, it is possible to save someone via amputation. Depending on the location of the bite, hacking off a limb might save their life if done quickly.
DRAMATIC OPPORTUNITIES Immunity comes with conflict and drama. A character who is bitten and selfishly decides to keep it hidden from the rest of his group may be doing the right thing --- if he has immunity. If he survives a zombie bite and doesn’t turn, how do the members of his group react to him? Is he less trustworthy? Does a character with a scientific background want to use him to create a vaccine? What if your character shoots her father in the head because he was bitten, and later discovers that she is immune? Did her father die needlessly? How does she live with the truth?
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Post by jazzisblues on Nov 25, 2012 19:07:13 GMT -8
Observation, if by rule a percentage of the population is immune to the virus, then theoretically one could use the serum drawn from the blood of an immune person to make an anti-virus or vaccine. Whether it would work or not is a totally different question, but it would at the very least be a good story line.
Cheers,
JiB
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Post by savagedaddy on Nov 26, 2012 10:02:00 GMT -8
Observation, if by rule a percentage of the population is immune to the virus, then theoretically one could use the serum drawn from the blood of an immune person to make an anti-virus or vaccine. Whether it would work or not is a totally different question, but it would at the very least be a good story line. Cheers, JiB Yep... way ahead of ya
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Post by savagedaddy on Nov 26, 2012 11:27:46 GMT -8
Playing Card Zombie Encounter GeneratorHere's a way for GMs to determine how many Living Dead occupy an area using a standard deck of playing cards with both jokers. Card ValuesThe suits of the cards serve as incremental multipliers of 2 in Savage Worlds Action Deck order (Spades: 2, Hearts:4, Diamonds:6, Clubs:8). Cards 2 - 10 are counted at face value. Jacks, Kings, and Queens have a value of ten. Aces have a face value of 10 and add 1 to the multiplier of the suit; e.g., Ace of spades equals 30 zombies ((1+2)*10). A Joker has a face value of 10. Draw 1 card for a Black Joker and 2 cards for a Red Joker. Use the card and suit value to determine how many additional zombies are nearby and how many rounds equal to the suit before they appear. If you draw two cards, use the lowest suit value. For example...If you draw a Red Joker, the group has stumbled on 10 zombies. Draw two more cards immediately. Let's say you drew a 2 of Clubs and 8 of Hearts. It means that in addition to the 10 zombies, 40 more (16+24) zombies are only 6 rounds (36 seconds) away. Just how scary is that? Well if 1" on the table top equals 2 yards in the “real world. Zombies have a maximum pace of 4" (44 yards, 148 feet). Less than half a football field's length away.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 27, 2012 18:07:07 GMT -8
You know a huge focus of this thread has been all about how the zombies take damage... I would be interested in hearing people talk about the kind of things you can do in a zombie game to force the kind of hard decisions that characters in the situation would face.... the real DRAMA that happens between characters.
eg: Give each character 3 extras that they are responsible for keeping alive. And to give them a little incentive to do it make a house rule that they only start each session with 1 benny per extra that is still with the group ie: not dead, exiled or left behind. Then to complicate things, make the extras have very strong reasons to get into fights with each other. Make them do stupid, selfish or downright greedy things to kick off problems that the PCs have to diffuse while still surviving.
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