Notes

Savage Worlds!
Welcome to Savage Worlds—a merger of
the best ideas in roleplaying and miniature
battles!
Savage Worlds was designed to be easy for
the Game Master to write adventures, create
new villains and monsters, track NPCs in
combat, and run epic tales, while still giving
players all the character development and
advancement they’re used to from more
system-heavy games.
Because combat requires little bookkeeping,
you can fi ght out your heroes’ most epic
battles to save the world right on the table-top
with dozens of allies and foes!
Finally, Savage Worlds was designed to be
used with any genre—from swashbuckling
pirates to superheroes and sci-fi . It’s easy
to create your own world or play in one of
our Savage Settings (information on our
current settings can be found at the end of
this book).
There’s lots more to tell you about, so let’s
get to it!
Getting Started
Here’s what you need to get started!
Dice
Savage Worlds uses all 6 traditional gaming
dice: 4-sided, 6-sided, 8-sided, 10-sided,
12-sided, and occasionally 20-sided dice.
All of these are available from your favorite
local gaming store, or online directly from
Pinnacle.
Like most roleplaying games, we abbreviate
the different dice as d4, d6, d8, d10, d12,
and d20. If you see something like 2d6, that
means to roll two six-sided dice and add
them up.
Players need only one set of these dice.
The Game Master might want a couple of
sets so she can roll attacks for several villains
at once.
Cards
Savage Worlds uses a standard deck of
playing cards with the Jokers left in. Cards
are used for initiative in combat and to
help keep things moving fast and furious.
You’ll even fi nd an offi cial set of Savage
Worlds oversized cards where you found
this book!
A Setting
Will you and your friends explore postapocalyptic
ruins? Lead a rugged warband
in your favorite fantasy world? Take on the
role of vampire lords? Or perhaps fi ght evil
in the many theatres of Weird Wars?
Pick up the book for your favorite game
setting at your local game store, or create your
own. Offi cial Savage Settings include new
Edges and Hindrances, Setting Rules, spells,
weapons, gear, monsters, and more!
Figures and Battle Mats
Figures of some sort are very useful for
running Savage Worlds games. Metal
miniatures are available from several
manufacturers, and cheaper full-color
cardstock heroes and monsters can be found
as well. In these rules, we assume you’re
using 28mm fi gures—the standard “large
size” hobby gaming miniature. Ranges for
weapons, movement, and everything else is
fi gured for this size fi gure on the table-top.
If you’re using larger or smaller fi gures, you
may want to adjust your ranges to make
things look a little more realistic.
It’s essential to have some kind of gaming
surface as well, either a terrain board or a
Chessex Battle Mat™. We recommend the
latter. That way the GM can draw out the
tactical situation with water-soluble markers
so that everyone can see what’s going on
and make the most of their surroundings.
Mapping out a battle can really help everyone
understand where their characters are, where
their allies are, and what terrain features they
might be able to make use of for cover or
clever tricks and maneuvers.
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Chapter One:
Character Creation
Creating awesome heroes
couldn’t be easier. The only
thing you need is a copy of the
character sheet found at our website WWW.
PEGINC.COM. This section assumes you’re
starting as a “Novice.” We’ll explain what that
means in more detail later in this book.
1) Race
Humans are the most common characters,
but some Savage Settings may feature
bizarre aliens, graceful elves, or other exotic
races. You can choose to play any race
available in your particular setting.
Humans are the standard race in Savage
Worlds, and start play with one free Edge
(see Step 3).
2) Traits
Characters are defi ned by attributes and
skills, collectively called “Traits,” and both
work in exactly the same way. Attributes and
skills are ranked by die types, from a d4 to
a d12, with d6 being the average for adult
humans. Higher is better!
Attributes
Every character starts with a d4 in each
attribute, and has 5 points with which to raise
them. Raising a d4 to a d6, for example,
costs 1 point. You’re free to spend these
points however you want with one exception:
no attribute may be raised above a d12.
• Agility is your hero’s nimbleness,
quickness, and dexterity.
• Smarts is a measure of how well your
character knows his world and culture,
how well he thinks on his feet, and mental
agility.
• Spirit refl ects inner wisdom and willpower.
Spirit is very important as it helps your
character recover from being rattled when
injured.
• Strength is raw physical power and
general fi tness. Strength is also used to
generate your warrior’s damage in hand-tohand
combat.
• Vigor represents endurance, resistance
to disease, poison, or toxins, and how much
pain and physical damage a hero can shake
off.
Skills
Skills are learned trades such as Shooting,
Fighting, scientifi c knowledge, professional
abilities, and so on. These are very general
descriptions which cover all related aspects.
Shooting, for example, covers all types of
guns, bows, rocket launchers, and other
ranged weapons.
You have 15 points to distribute among
your skills. Each die type costs 1 point as
long as the skill is equal to or less than the
attribute it’s linked to (listed beside the skill
in parentheses). If you exceed the attribute,
the cost becomes 2 points per die type.
As with attributes, no skill may be increased
above d12.
Example: Fighting is linked to
Agility. A character with a d8 Agility
can buy Fighting for one point per
die type to d8. Buying a d10 costs
2 points, and a d12 costs another 2
points.
Derived Statistics
Your character sheet contains a few
other statistics you need to fi ll in, described
below.
Pace is how fast your character moves in
a standard combat round. Humans walk 6”
in a round and can move an additional 1d6”
if they run. Write “6” on your character sheet
beside the word Pace. This is 6” on the tabletop—
every inch there represents 2 yards in
the “real world.”
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Parry is equal to 2 plus half your character’s
Fighting (2 if a character does not have
Fighting), plus any bonuses for shields or
certain weapons. This is the TN to hit your
hero in hand-to-hand combat.
For stats such as d12+1, add half the fi xed
modifier, rounded down. For instance, a
Fighting skill of d12+1 grants a Parry of 8,
whereas a d12+2 gives a Parry of 9.
Charisma is a measure of your character’s
appearance, manner, and general likability. It’s
0 unless you have Edges or Hindrances that
modify it. Charisma is added to Persuasion
and Streetwise rolls, and is used by the GM
to fi gure out how nonplayer characters react
to your hero.
Toughness is your hero’s damage
threshold. Anything over this causes him to
be rattled or worse. Like Parry, Toughness
is 2 plus half your hero’s Vigor, plus Armor
(use the armor worn on his torso). Vigor over
a d12 is calculated just like Parry.
3) Edges & Hindrances
Great heroes are far more than a collection
of skills and attributes. It’s their unique gifts,
special powers, and tragic fl aws that truly
make them interesting characters.
Characters can take Edges by balancing
them out with Hindrances. You’ll find a
complete list of Edges and Hindrances in
the next section. Look for more in upcoming
Savage Settings.
You can take one Major Hindrance and
two Minor Hindrances. A Major Hindrance
is worth 2 points, and a Minor Hindrance is
worth 1 point.
For 2 points you can:
• Raise an attribute one die type (you
may raise your attributes before purchasing
skills).
• Choose an Edge.
For 1 point you can:
• Gain another skill point.
• Gain additional money equal to your
starting funds (if you start with $500, you gain
an additional $500)
4) Gear
Next you need to purchase equipment.
Some settings may provide your hero with
all the gear he needs. In others, you may be
assigned a certain amount of money with
which to purchase your starting gear. A list
of some common gear and weapons can be
found in Chapter Two.
Unless your setting book or GM says
otherwise, the standard starting amount is
$500.
5) Background Details
Finish your character by fi lling in any history
or background you care to. Ask yourself why
your hero is where she is and what her goals
are. Or you can just start playing and fi ll in
these details as they become important.
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Skills
Below are skills available in most Savage
Settings. These skills are very generic—you
don’t need fi ve different Shooting skills to
shoot pistols, rifl es, machine-guns, bows,
and rocket launchers. Nor do you need
different Driving skills for every common
vehicle in your setting. We’ve made the skills
as simple and comprehensive as possible so
that you can get on with the game instead of
keeping track of a shopping list of skills.
Boating (Agility)
Characters with this skill can handle most
any boat common to their setting. They
generally know how to handle most common
tasks associated with their vessels as well
(tying knots, simple engine repair, etc).
Rules for using boats on the table-top can
be found in Chapter Five.
Climbing (Strength)
This is the skill characters use to ascend
walls, trees, or cliff-sides. No roll is usually
needed to ascend ladders, ropes, or trees
with lots of limbs unless the GM feels there’s
a good reason (being chased, wounded,
etc).
Those who have high Climbing skill are
those who frequently climb cliffs, walls, and
other diffi cult surfaces.
Characters about to ascend a difficult
surface must make a Climbing roll every 10”
(20 yards). The skill roll is modifi ed by the
conditions below.
During combat, characters ascend at half
their Strength per round if using ropes or with
decent hand- or footholds.
See the Falling rules should a character
suffer a mishap.
Climbing Modifi ers
Situation Modifi er
Climbing equipment +2
Advanced climbing equipment +4
Scarce or thin handholds -2
Wet surface -2
Driving (Agility)
Driving allows your hero to drive ground and
hover vehicles common to his setting. You’ll
fi nd complete rules for driving everything
from motorcycles to hovertanks in Chapter
Five.
Fighting (Agility)
Fighting covers all hand-to-hand (melee)
attacks. The TN to hit an opponent is his
Parry (2 plus half his Fighting).
Gambling (Smarts)
Gambling is useful in many settings, from
the saloons of the Old West to the barracks of
most armies. Here’s a quick way to simulate
about a half-hour of gambling without having
to roll for every single toss of the dice or hand
of cards.
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First have everyone agree on the
stakes. Five dollars, 5 gold coins, etc.,
is recommended for a typical game.
Now have everyone in the game make a
Gambling roll. The lowest total pays the
highest total the difference times the stake.
The next lowest pays the second highest
the difference times the stake, and so on.
If there’s an odd man left in the middle, he
breaks even.
Cheating: A character who cheats adds
+2 to his roll. The GM may raise or lower
this modifi er depending on the particulars
of the game or the method of cheating.
If the player ever rolls a 1 on his skill die
(regardless of his Wild Die), he’s caught.
The consequences of this depend on the
setting, but are usually quite harsh.
Guts (Spirit)
Guts refl ects a hero’s bravery. Characters
are often called on to make Guts checks
when they witness grisly scenes or
encounter particularly horrifi c monsters.
The GM should see the Fear table for the
effects of failure.
Healing (Smarts)
Healing is the art of stopping wounds and
treating existing injuries. See the Healing
rules for specifi c information.
Intimidation (Spirit)
Intimidation is the art of frightening an
opponent with sheer force of will, veiled or
overt threats, or sometimes just really big
guns. This is an opposed roll between the
hero’s Intimidation and his opponent’s Spirit.
See Tests of Will for the game effects.
Investigation (Smarts)
A character skilled in Investigation knows
how to make good use of libraries, newspaper
morgues, the internet, or other written sources
of information. To get information from people
rather than books and computers, use the
Streetwise skill.
Knowledge (Smarts)
Knowledge is a catch-all skill that must have
a focus of some sort, such as Knowledge
(Occult) or Knowledge (Science). The player
can choose the focus of his character’s
knowledge, which should reflect his
background and education. An archaeologist,
for example, should have Knowledge
(History) and Knowledge (Archaeology).
The skill can be taken multiple times with
different focuses to refl ect different areas of
expertise.
General focuses such as Science are
acceptable, but the GM should give a bonus
to a character who has a more relevant focus,
such as Knowledge (Biology).
Some suggested Knowledge focuses
are: Area Knowledge, Battle (used in
Mass Combats), Computers, Electronics,
History, Journalism, various languages,
Law, Medicine (though actually caring for
someone is the Healing skill), Science, or
Tactics.
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Lockpicking (Agility)
Lockpicking is the ability to bypass
mechanical and electronic locks. Lockpicking
is also be used to disarm the catches and
triggers on traps, unless a more relevant skill
seems appropriate for a particular trap.
Notice (Smarts)
Notice is a hero’s general alertness and
ability to search for items or clues. This covers
hearing rolls, detecting ambushes, spotting
hidden weapons and even scrutinizing other
characters to see if they’re lying, frightened,
and so on.
Persuasion (Spirit)
Persuasion is the ability to talk or trick
others into doing what you want. Nonplayer
characters start at one of five different
attitudes: Hostile, Uncooperative, Neutral,
Friendly, or Helpful. A successful Persuasion
roll improves the NPC’s attitude one step, or
two with a raise. Failure, on the other hand,
decreases the character’s attitude by a step,
or two if a 1 is rolled on the Persuasion die
(regardless of the Wild Die).
Persuasion is always modified by a
character’s Charisma. The GM has more
detailed information on nonplayer characters
and their reactions.
Piloting (Agility)
Piloting allows a character to fl y airplanes,
helicopters, jet packs, and any other fl ying
devices common to his setting.
Repair (Smarts)
Repair is the ability to fi x gadgets, vehicles,
weapons, and other machines. Characters
suffer a -2 penalty to their rolls if they don’t
have access to basic tools.
Riding (Agility)
Riding allows you to mount, control, and
ride any beast common to your setting.
Players should note that mounted characters
use the lowest of their Fighting or Riding skills
when fi ghting from horseback.
Shooting (Agility)
Shooting covers all attempts to hit a target
with a ranged weapon such as a bow, pistol,
or rocket launcher. The basic Target Number
to hit is 4 as usual, though there are a number
of important modifi ers such as range that
frequently come into play.
Stealth (Agility)
Stealth is the ability to both hide and move
quietly, as well as palm objects and pick
pockets. In many Savage Worlds games,
knowing exactly when your hero has been
spotted and when he’s not can be critical.
Here are detailed rules for how to sneak up
on foes and infi ltrate enemy lines. Start by
fi guring out if the “guards” your heroes are
sneaking up on are “active” or “inactive.”
Inactive guards aren’t paying particularly
close attention to their surroundings. The
group need only score a standard success
on their individual Stealth rolls to avoid being
seen. Failing a Stealth roll in the presence of
inactive guards makes them active.
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Common Knowledge
Instead of forcing characters to have dozens of “background” skills they rarely need,
we use the concept of “Common Knowledge.” Your hero knows the basic history of his
land, common etiquette, how to get around geographically, and who the major players
in his locality are. This is called “Common Knowledge,” and is covered by your hero’s
Smarts attribute.
If a character’s background suggests he should know something about a subject,
add +2 or more to his roll. If the subject is foreign to a character, subtract 2 or more
from the roll. Everyone else breaks even and gets no modifi er.
Anytime an adventure asks for a Common Knowledge roll, the GM should ask for
Smarts rolls and subjectively and on the fl y grant bonuses or subtract penalties to
account for each character’s particular background.
Here’s an example. Let’s say an adventure reads: “Anyone who makes a Common
Knowledge roll detects that this cavern was carved by civilized hands, not formed
naturally.” A dwarf knows more about stonework than an elf, so give the dwarf a +2 to
his roll. A human has about average knowledge, so no bonus is granted. An elf, who
has spent most of his life in a tree, won’t be able to tell unless there are obvious signs,
and so gets a -2.
If it becomes important to know how well a character performs a common task, the GM
can ask for whatever roll is appropriate. Knowing how to do a dance, for example, is a
Common Knowledge roll. If it becomes important to see how well a character performs
the dance, the GM might ask for an Agility roll (with no bonuses or penalties).
Specifi c Knowledges
Sometimes a character might want more detailed or specifi c knowledge. This is
encouraged and adds a whole new level of expertise to the character’s information. In
the example above, a dwarf with Knowledge (Stonework) not only knows the dungeon
was carved, but might just know what race did it, and the era in which it was carved.
Knowledge of a particular region is also handy. In a fantasy campaign, for example,
locals might know the Dread Mountains are home to vicious harpies. Someone with a
specifi c knowledge of that area can make a roll to see if he knows a safe route through
the mountains, or the specifi c peak the creatures’ aerie is in.
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