As some of you might know, I'm a big fan of zombies. It's one of the reasons I enjoy Savage Worlds so much--how could I not like a game whose examples of play inevitably include zombies? I've been playing a lot of Dead Island lately, and celebrating the premiere of the new season of The Walking Dead.
Because of that, I went and picked up War of the Dead, a fairly good adventure path style campaign set from Daring Entertainment. While I would recommend the adventures for people interested in running a zombie campaign, I find the infection rules a little harsh. Yes, I agree that genre emulation calls for a fairly lethal zombie plague, but fun is a higher concern than genre emulation--and seeing at least one PC die every fight isn't all that fun.
Since a lot of video games now posit the idea of player characters as immune to the zombie plague, here's some setting rules and material for a Savage Worlds zombie campaign to back that up.
Setting Rule:
Zombie Plague
All zombies, unless otherwise noted, are infectious. The disease commonly called zombie plague is blood-borne, spread through direct blood contact with a zombie. Just getting splashed with a zombie’s blood isn’t enough to spread the disease to wild card characters (usually), but since a zombie’s saliva has been replaced by blood, getting bitten is a surefire way to catch this terrible plague.
Most zombies attack with a slam--simply bashing their prey with fists and flailing limbs. With a raise on a slam attack, the zombie does not get the usual damage bonus; instead, the zombie has bitten a hero rather than bashed him. With two raises, the zombie gets both the bite and the +1d6 damage for a raise. If a character suffers a Wound from a bite attack, the character must make a Vigor roll at –2. On a failed roll, the character has become Infected.
Once a character becomes infected from a zombie bite, the rate of death and transformation depends on the seriousness of the wound. In Savage Worlds, this is indicated by the number of wounds the character received during the attack that made him Infected.
One Wound: If the character only received a single wound, the bite isn’t usually deep. The character begins to suffer from the infection after 2d10 days.
Two Wounds: When a character receives 2 wounds from a zombie’s bite, the injury is usually enough that the virus has entered the bloodstream directly. The character begins to suffer from the infection after 2d6 hours.
Three Wounds: If a character receives at least 3 wounds from a single bite, the depth of the wound pours infected blood into the character's body at a prodigious rate. The character begins to suffer from the infection after 1d6 minutes.
Once the infection begins to affect him, the hero gains a level of Fatigue as the fever starts. This Fatigue does not go away from the character resting. Every day, hour, or minute (depending on the severity above), the character must attempt a Vigor roll to avoid gaining a new level of Fatigue. When a character infected with zombie plague dies, he rises again as one of the undead in 1d6 minutes (unless the head is destroyed before then).
New Edges
Boom! Headshot! [Combat Edge]
Requirements: Seasoned, Agility d8+, Fighting d8+ or Shooting d8+
When your character makes a called shot against a zombie’s head, you only suffer –2 to the roll rather than –4. When your character takes this Edge, it applies only to the combat skill used to qualify for it (Fighting or Shooting). If the character has (or later gains) d8+ in the other skill, it applies equally to that skill as well.
Immune Survivor [Background Edge]
Requirements: Novice, Vigor d6+
For whatever reason, a few rare people are naturally immune to zombie plague. Your character has already gone through his first exposure to the dreaded disease and come out the other side unscathed. The hero suffers no special effect from a zombie’s bite (other than taking damage, of course).
A role-playing and writing blog.
Showing posts with label Edges. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Edges. Show all posts
Monday, November 7, 2011
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
TORG Redux
It occurs to me that I mentioned a while back that I was running a Savage TORG game, but I never mentioned any of the mechanical stuff associated with it. I used some of the things from the Savage TORG conversion at Dragonsfoot, but I also tinkered with a lot of the mechanics myself. Since I had an Orrorshan monster hunter and a Nile Empire superhero, I also had to throw together some special Edges for those guys. Here's a sample of some of the changed and new Edges I did for that campaign.
Kaiju Form [Legendary]
Requirements: Legendary, Spirit d6+, arcane skill d10+, must know shape change power
Your ability to assume new forms is no longer limited by mere size. You can change into the form of truly enormous beasts, creatures that dwarf buildings and blot out the sun.
You can become creatures larger than Size +4. Changing into such creatures costs 7 Power Points, plus 1 Power Point for every five full points of Size. So, changing into a Size +5 creature would cost 8 Power Points, while changing into a Size +10 creature would cost 9 Power Points. The duration of the power and all other limitations remain unchanged.
Storm Knight [Reality]
Requirements: Novice, Reality d4+
Your experience fighting against invading realities has given you an expanded ability to detect possibility energy. If you succeed in a Notice check against a target number of the target’s Spirit die (so d8 would be target number 8), you can detect whether or not they are possibility-rated as a blue and red aura around them. Doing so is an active use of the skill and requires a full round of concentration, during which time you can take no other action but movement.
You can also detect possibility energy in the environment as an intangible sensation. You always know whether a zone is mixed, dominant, or pure. If you pass within sight of a stelae, hardpoint, or other strong conduit of possibility energy, you automatically sense it.
Finally, you gain a +2 bonus on Reality rolls made for reality storms.
Storm Warrior [Reality]
Requirements: Seasoned, Storm Knight, Reality d6+
By spending a benny, you can infuse an inanimate object with a temporary reality field, creating a talisman. It functions similar to a reality bubble but has a radius equal to half your Reality die, and lasts for the remainder of the session.
Storm Lord [Reality]
Requirements: Veteran, Storm Warrior, Reality d8+
Over time, your experience with manipulating reality has made you a powerful force in the Possibility Wars. The number of eternity shards you can bond with is increased by 1, and you only disconnect from your home reality with a critical failure on a disconnect check.
True Sight [Weird]
Requirements: Novice, Spirit d8+, Notice d4+
Some characters from Orrorsh have cultivated a form of the “second sight” that allows them to see through the human-seeming guises of some types of monsters. A character with this Edge can peer through the veil that conceals such corruption.
The character makes a Notice check, opposed by the target’s Spirit roll, with a penalty equal to the creature’s Fear rating (if any). If the check succeeds, the hero sees through the disguise to the monster beneath. For each raise, the True Sight also reveals one of the creature’s personal weaknesses (GM’s discretion to which is revealed).
I'm thinking about starting a new Savage TORG game in the next few months, so I'll probably be posting more about that as time passes.
Kaiju Form [Legendary]
Requirements: Legendary, Spirit d6+, arcane skill d10+, must know shape change power
Your ability to assume new forms is no longer limited by mere size. You can change into the form of truly enormous beasts, creatures that dwarf buildings and blot out the sun.
You can become creatures larger than Size +4. Changing into such creatures costs 7 Power Points, plus 1 Power Point for every five full points of Size. So, changing into a Size +5 creature would cost 8 Power Points, while changing into a Size +10 creature would cost 9 Power Points. The duration of the power and all other limitations remain unchanged.
Storm Knight [Reality]
Requirements: Novice, Reality d4+
Your experience fighting against invading realities has given you an expanded ability to detect possibility energy. If you succeed in a Notice check against a target number of the target’s Spirit die (so d8 would be target number 8), you can detect whether or not they are possibility-rated as a blue and red aura around them. Doing so is an active use of the skill and requires a full round of concentration, during which time you can take no other action but movement.
You can also detect possibility energy in the environment as an intangible sensation. You always know whether a zone is mixed, dominant, or pure. If you pass within sight of a stelae, hardpoint, or other strong conduit of possibility energy, you automatically sense it.
Finally, you gain a +2 bonus on Reality rolls made for reality storms.
Storm Warrior [Reality]
Requirements: Seasoned, Storm Knight, Reality d6+
By spending a benny, you can infuse an inanimate object with a temporary reality field, creating a talisman. It functions similar to a reality bubble but has a radius equal to half your Reality die, and lasts for the remainder of the session.
Storm Lord [Reality]
Requirements: Veteran, Storm Warrior, Reality d8+
Over time, your experience with manipulating reality has made you a powerful force in the Possibility Wars. The number of eternity shards you can bond with is increased by 1, and you only disconnect from your home reality with a critical failure on a disconnect check.
True Sight [Weird]
Requirements: Novice, Spirit d8+, Notice d4+
Some characters from Orrorsh have cultivated a form of the “second sight” that allows them to see through the human-seeming guises of some types of monsters. A character with this Edge can peer through the veil that conceals such corruption.
The character makes a Notice check, opposed by the target’s Spirit roll, with a penalty equal to the creature’s Fear rating (if any). If the check succeeds, the hero sees through the disguise to the monster beneath. For each raise, the True Sight also reveals one of the creature’s personal weaknesses (GM’s discretion to which is revealed).
I'm thinking about starting a new Savage TORG game in the next few months, so I'll probably be posting more about that as time passes.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Savage Pathfinder: Edges
I'm currently gearing up to run a Savage Worlds conversion of the Pathfinder Chronicles setting on Monday nights in the near future. Character creation is done, and really all that's left is to finish up our current Monday night projects (one more session each of Don't Rest Your Head and Changeling: The Lost) before jumping into the savage world of Golarion.
In order to get ready for the campaign, I've been relentlessly savaging various feats and class abilities into Edges. Here are a few of the ones I've been working on.
Crossbow Mastery (Combat)
Requirements: Seasoned, Agility d8+, Shooting d8+
You can load crossbows with blinding speed and even fire them in melee range with little fear of reprisal. The time required for you to reload a crossbow is reduced to a free action, regardless of the type of crossbow used. You may also fire a crossbow at an adjacent foe engaged in melee, but the target number is his Parry score rather than the standard TN of 4.
Dart Cloud (Combat)
Requirements: Seasoned, Agility d8+, Quick Draw, Throwing d8+
You can throw a large number of small weapons in one quick motion, filling the air with deadly steel. When you use shuriken or daggers as thrown weapons, your Rate of Fire is 3. You can draw and throw as part of the same action when performing this maneuver. You suffer the usual –2 penalty to attack rolls for using a weapon with a Rate of Fire greater than 1 when you use this Edge.
Versatile Caster (Power)
Requirements: Wild Card, Seasoned, Arcane Background, Knowledge (Arcana) d8+
In a pinch, some arcanists can reach into a reserve of spontaneous creativity and use their powers in a different way than normal.
This caster may spend a benny when casting a spell to change its trappings to a different trapping approved by the GM. Until the end of the encounter, the caster can use either this new trapping or his original trapping interchangeably.
For example, a wizard who knows bolt as “flame arrow” could use this Edge to alter it to “ice lance.” This would allow him to inflict cold damage instead of fire damage with his attack, plus any additional effects the GM uses for cold spells.
Arcane Archer (Professional)
Requirements: Novice, elf or half-elf only, Arcane Background (Magic), Smarts d8+, Shooting d8+, Spellcasting d6+
You have trained in the twin elven arts of sorcery and archery. By combining the two into a fluid whole, you can use your arrows to greatly extend the range of your magical powers.
While firing a bow (not a crossbow or other ranged weapon), you can cast spells with a range other than Personal, Touch, or any Template and use the range of the bow instead of the spell’s normal range. You still use Spellcasting for the spell’s attack, modified by the bow’s range increment. The arrow is consumed by the magic when you use it in this manner and does not inflict its usual damage.
For example, the bolt power normally has a range of 12/24/48. A long bow has a range of 15/30/60. When using your Arcane Archer Edge, you would use the bow’s range to determine the bolt’s effective distance and range penalties.
Free Runner (Professional)
Requirements: Novice, Agility d6+, Strength d6+, Climbing d6+
Many of the great cities of Avistan boast communities of people dedicated to moving quickly and nimbly through the streets and across the roofs of their home. Free runners (sometimes called shingle rats or roof runners) are experts in urban navigation.
A character with this Edge gains a +2 bonus on Climbing rolls and Agility rolls made as part of a chase. These benefits apply only in urban environments. Because of their ability to roll with a fall, Free Runners get a free soak roll against any damage caused by a fall.
Hamatulatsu Initiate (Professional)
Requirements: Seasoned, Strength d8+, Pugilist, Stone Hands, Intimidation d6+
This character has mastered a deadly fighting style inspired by the devastating attacks of the barbed devil. Practitioners of hamatulatsu seek to not just kill their opponents, but to first cripple and humiliate them with memorable, scarring pain.
If this character makes an unarmed Fighting attack against a foe and succeeds in striking the opponent but fails to inflict enough damage to render that opponent Shaken, he may immediately attempt an Intimidation roll against that foe as a free action.
Additionally, a Hamatulatsu Initiate can choose to inflict Fatigue instead of wounds with his unarmed strikes. He must declare that he is doing so before making his Fighting roll, and suffers –1 on the attack roll when doing so. Such attacks are still compared against Toughness and the target can soak normally.
Of course, all of these are in addition to the Faith Edges I posted about previously. If there's any interest in my players or readers of this blog, I might also post up campaign notes about the Curse of the Crimson Throne adventure path.
In order to get ready for the campaign, I've been relentlessly savaging various feats and class abilities into Edges. Here are a few of the ones I've been working on.
Crossbow Mastery (Combat)
Requirements: Seasoned, Agility d8+, Shooting d8+
You can load crossbows with blinding speed and even fire them in melee range with little fear of reprisal. The time required for you to reload a crossbow is reduced to a free action, regardless of the type of crossbow used. You may also fire a crossbow at an adjacent foe engaged in melee, but the target number is his Parry score rather than the standard TN of 4.
Dart Cloud (Combat)
Requirements: Seasoned, Agility d8+, Quick Draw, Throwing d8+
You can throw a large number of small weapons in one quick motion, filling the air with deadly steel. When you use shuriken or daggers as thrown weapons, your Rate of Fire is 3. You can draw and throw as part of the same action when performing this maneuver. You suffer the usual –2 penalty to attack rolls for using a weapon with a Rate of Fire greater than 1 when you use this Edge.
Versatile Caster (Power)
Requirements: Wild Card, Seasoned, Arcane Background, Knowledge (Arcana) d8+
In a pinch, some arcanists can reach into a reserve of spontaneous creativity and use their powers in a different way than normal.
This caster may spend a benny when casting a spell to change its trappings to a different trapping approved by the GM. Until the end of the encounter, the caster can use either this new trapping or his original trapping interchangeably.
For example, a wizard who knows bolt as “flame arrow” could use this Edge to alter it to “ice lance.” This would allow him to inflict cold damage instead of fire damage with his attack, plus any additional effects the GM uses for cold spells.
Arcane Archer (Professional)
Requirements: Novice, elf or half-elf only, Arcane Background (Magic), Smarts d8+, Shooting d8+, Spellcasting d6+
You have trained in the twin elven arts of sorcery and archery. By combining the two into a fluid whole, you can use your arrows to greatly extend the range of your magical powers.
While firing a bow (not a crossbow or other ranged weapon), you can cast spells with a range other than Personal, Touch, or any Template and use the range of the bow instead of the spell’s normal range. You still use Spellcasting for the spell’s attack, modified by the bow’s range increment. The arrow is consumed by the magic when you use it in this manner and does not inflict its usual damage.
For example, the bolt power normally has a range of 12/24/48. A long bow has a range of 15/30/60. When using your Arcane Archer Edge, you would use the bow’s range to determine the bolt’s effective distance and range penalties.
Free Runner (Professional)
Requirements: Novice, Agility d6+, Strength d6+, Climbing d6+
Many of the great cities of Avistan boast communities of people dedicated to moving quickly and nimbly through the streets and across the roofs of their home. Free runners (sometimes called shingle rats or roof runners) are experts in urban navigation.
A character with this Edge gains a +2 bonus on Climbing rolls and Agility rolls made as part of a chase. These benefits apply only in urban environments. Because of their ability to roll with a fall, Free Runners get a free soak roll against any damage caused by a fall.
Hamatulatsu Initiate (Professional)
Requirements: Seasoned, Strength d8+, Pugilist, Stone Hands, Intimidation d6+
This character has mastered a deadly fighting style inspired by the devastating attacks of the barbed devil. Practitioners of hamatulatsu seek to not just kill their opponents, but to first cripple and humiliate them with memorable, scarring pain.
If this character makes an unarmed Fighting attack against a foe and succeeds in striking the opponent but fails to inflict enough damage to render that opponent Shaken, he may immediately attempt an Intimidation roll against that foe as a free action.
Additionally, a Hamatulatsu Initiate can choose to inflict Fatigue instead of wounds with his unarmed strikes. He must declare that he is doing so before making his Fighting roll, and suffers –1 on the attack roll when doing so. Such attacks are still compared against Toughness and the target can soak normally.
Of course, all of these are in addition to the Faith Edges I posted about previously. If there's any interest in my players or readers of this blog, I might also post up campaign notes about the Curse of the Crimson Throne adventure path.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)