The gist of Savage Worlds is making the GM's life easy. You can easily jump into that TV series or movie setting that everyone is talking about this week, and into the next one a month or two later, OR spend some serious time explore some very original and unique published settings (I highly, HIGHLY recommend 50 Fathoms for your fantasy pirate-y needs). I was a dedicated GM of "the game that shall not be named" from the 80s until 2004. I was shelling out bucks for books only to find I was drowning in hundreds of very specific rules at the table. I looked around generic RPG forums and had Savage Worlds recommended to me several times. I'm now fond of saying that I'll play anything but I'll only GM Savage Worlds. It's definitely not rules-light, it's rules-fast. With the way the game is streamlined, the GM can run a large, epic scenario, and keep it interesting. This game goes to 11. It really is a game that needs to be GMed to grok how it all works and how streamlined it is. (I'm not going to criticize your format, I like it and I'm headed to your Numenera (sp?) review from here, I've always been interested in it, liked and subscribed 👍)
This is clearly a review through the mindset as a player, not as a GM. Compared to D&D and Pathfinder which each have a fairly strict limit, both Customization and Progression are extremely open-ended in Savage Worlds.
Fair enough. I can only make judgments based on what the book tells me. That can sometimes be wildly different in actual game play and I understand that. Thanks for the comments!
@@LogicianTim Or you can do a bit of research before making sweeping comments on a lack of settings or the necessity of backgrounds in a core book. This is not D&D or Pathfinder. PEG isn't trying to sell you a specific setting. It is mechanics for a wide range of settings all of which are extremely well priced.
@@colerapeI make judgments based on what I read only and that is the point. You want more in depth reviews, there are those that do that. I give opinions based on what is written and what I can derive from that information. Sorry I don't enunciate properly enough for you. Thanks for stopping by.
one very important thing about SW is that the bookkeeping is very minimal for the GM, you have plenty of ennemies against the PCs - it is very easy to see those who are dead (remove them) an those feared, stunned (you pout them down). It is light enough yet tactically you can do many things. A very robust system.
I think the universal nature of the system should be taken into account in the lack of mechanical background options. I think a character's background is necessarily tied into the lore of the game's setting and so the setting book would be the appropriate place for character background options. I'm not sure I'd ding a universal RPG set for not having lifepaths or things such as that in the core rulebook.
The card element isn't clunky, its faster than each person/NPC rolling the dice and taking time to see who goes first. In D&D/Pathfinder you have to record initiative each combat, but in SW you can just look the large card in front of them.
@@LogicianTim it also allows for edges and mechanics that attached specifically to the initiative phase. Jokers allow for a big cinematic roll. Edges such as Tactician allows the player to improve the initiative of other characters. In an older system such edges/feats would complicate an already time consuming process.
I've enjoyed watching your videos on Savage Worlds very much! It's been nice "companion" as I was skimming through the rule book (I borrowed it from a buddy) to get a sense whether this system is for me. The result, by the way, is that I've fallen in love with Savage Worlds ;-)
I appreciate all of your Savage Worlds reviews. It is a system I’ve known of for years but wasn’t interested in. Thanks to your videos I decided to drop big bucks on the Savage Pathfinder Boxed Set. It looks like the perfect fantasy system I’ve been wanting to play.
If you inflict a Shaken result with a damaging attack on an opponent who's already Shaken by a damaging attack, they get a Wound instead. If the target has the Hardy property, however, they don't get a Wound when you inflict a damage-based Shaken result while they're Shaken from damage; you must get a raise in order to inflict a Wound on them.
I believe you are doing the review on the wrong product for Savage Worlds Adventure Edition (SWADE). The boxed set is rather a novelty. The SWADE Rulebook costs 10 USD as pdf and MiniSettings costs 7 USD as pdf. You can not get even an AD&D module for the same price. MiniSettings have 4 one shot adventures in themselves so it adds some more value. The comments have mentioned different settings to check out, however, I will suggest something crazy. Please do search for Crystal Hearts and Titan Effect, free full sized and fully supported settings for SWADE. The shaken mechanics works better in game. Let us assume that bad guy A is shaken, if he takes damage again while he is still shaken, he gets a wound. Think of SWADE fights as movie scenes, the extras get slaughtered left and right and the hero gets beaten up pretty bad. The hero barely stands, and does a final swing at the big bad guy killing him with a final blow. The wildcard and the shaken mechanic reflects that. In the end, it was an overall good review. However, I should take note again, the 200 USD package is a novelty item. The 10 USD pdf is the real product. The 40 USD print is if you wish to support Pinnacle Entertainment. All you need is a set of dice, 10 USD worth of PDF, and 1 USD worth of playing cards, you are set. Thanks for reviewing SWADE.
The thoroughness of your deep dive into the rules is fantastic in the lead-up videos and makes them worthwhile, but you *really* need to play these games before you do the report card. This was like listening to someone review a music album who has only read the lyrics and hasn’t actually heard the songs! It was frankly, a little bizarre. 😆. Every assumption is speculative and some are way off the mark...
I realize that I'm late to the game. But I love these videos. I will say that I also love the trappings aspect. It allows characters to differentiate. A character could be a 'Farm Wizard' every bolt would be hardened needles of hay, or globules of Ox dung. Another might be a more traditional 'Fire Wizard', 'Frost Wizard', etc. It has the flexibility of keeping it simple to keep track of spells because mechanically they are the same but still allows for creativity and individuality for each of the players and GM at the table.
Fair review. Savage Worlds is a mix of great and mediocre to me. Some of the "wonky" is probably due to its roots in wargaming and it actually works pretty well as a skirmish wargame. There are some great world books written for SW and it is because of my enthusiasm for several published SW settings that I was finally brought to purchase the SW core rules. They are very flexible, easy to modify, easy to teach. The previous edition was priced at $10 for the core rules. It was definitely a better value at that price. Great series! Thanks.
I was really worried about doing this report card because of how beloved this system seems to be. But I had to stay honest and fair like every other review. If there are some world books you think are worth checking out (that has information I could share on streams without spoilers) let me know! Thanks for watching and the comment
@@LogicianTim Your review was fair and even handed, I love the system for many reasons, and it is the primary system I use, so I would rank it "maybe" 8/10 myself. 7/10 is reasonable. Of course I admit that 8/10 is the highest score of any game I own, with Early Dark and the English version of The Dark Eye being close at 7.5/10 each.
@@LogicianTim Savage Worlds core isn't going to have the flavor you mention that other games have due to its generic nature. To fairly compare it to other systems you would need to pick a setting to go with it. I would definitely checkout Deadlands or Rippers for a unique setting. And the Savage Worlds version of Rifts for a bit lighter and less crunch version. If you want to stick to fantasy there is Lankhmar, Hellfrost, Shaintar, or Beast and Barbarians.
The double shaken might make more sense if you allow players who are adjacent to each other in the order to declare their actions at the same time. Basically it effectively mimics cooperation to wound.
Answer to me, what is the setting for D&D? What setting is included in the Player's Guide, Dungeon Master's Guide, Monster's Manual? BTW its $170 for all three books.
The starter kit and the essentials kit of D&D both come with a lot of stuff for less that $30 and include a pretty well explained world. I know that is apples to oranges here. I am not bashing SW at all, just giving my honest opinion from a newbie standpoint. Thanks for the great comments!
@@LogicianTim I think your value rating is massively off the mark. The cost for Savage Worlds is so much less than DnD or other big RPG's. You can get the SWADE book which has everything you need to play for either $10 digital or $40 physical. Compare that to DnD where where just one of the 3 books needed to play costs more than this. For the price of the 3 core DnD books, you can get the core savage worlds book and a mix of 4-5 different settings books. Things like Interface Zero(cyberpunk) Last Parsec(scifi) Shaintar(fantasy) or some of the more unique settings like Deadlands(weird west) or Tesla and Lovecraft(steampunk horror). If anything Savage Worlds is one of best value buys.
@@LogicianTim I think you've pointed out the biggest flaw in SW. That of giving a distinct image of what exactly you are going to be doing when you play. I to am drawn in by the flavour of what I will be doing as a player (or GM) . Buying the rulebooks doesn't give me enough to begin to play- I now need to find a setting I like. With D+D I pretty much know what the setting is because of the exposure I've had via movies, TV and actual play. SW leaves me trying to emulate D+D with the given rules and suggestions. Buying a setting hopefully will help flesh it out a bit more. I do like so much of SW mechanics though and I would really like to play. I would really like to see some example of play to introduce me to the game. Without examples and definition I feel a bit daunted by the task of stitching so much together- while at the same time the lack of structure means you have so much freedom to create a truly amazing experience. I need a dumbed down easy to grasp setting that would familiarize me with the mechanics then leave me free do riff on it- like SW does so well.
I prefer the previous advancement system to this new one. If I were to run Savage Worlds I'd probably use that previous version for just advancement. Overall I think that the improvements to this edition of SW are solid and the experience advancement system would be the only thing I'd drag into this version from that previous version.
I've tried to like this system, but its quirky nature is just annoying to me, and the lack of research into certain elements felt lazy. Even though it's a chunkier system, I'll stick with GURPS as a universal system
What other RPGS offer you more. The digital version of SWADE is $10 and you could get a physical copy of the previous edition these days for about $7. How many other universal RPG systems are that cheap?
I like the Bottom Line Up Front format. As such I am going to give your video a 2 out of 5. You have a great understanding of production values. That frankly is the only positive. Being a Texan living in Washington state, I understand the necessity to enunciate. Derived statistics sounds like "drived statistics". Archetype sounds like "art type"; I thought you'd jumped to talking about the art in the book. I watched the intro vid and then skipped to the report card. You missed the key bit of information to understand this game...it is cinematic. Think Saturday morning cartoons, or action movies. Every rule and every decision in the game is presented with that view. The tagline is "Fast, Fun, Furious" for a reason. I was gobsmacked that you didn't know how to run combat. The Shaken rule is the cornerstone of the system. Based on your misunderstanding I can see how you think it is wonky. Advanced systems you failed to mention such as Test and Support directly impact the Shaken system. I can see how you perceived that the game has a lower value, you didn't understand the base rule for combat and therefore misunderstood the advanced systems. When someone pointed it out to you on the live stream you just glossed over it. There are plenty of opportunities out there to get clarification. You can play the game. You can check out the forums on the PEG website. You can watch other you tubers. You didn't do any of that. So at base from top to bottom you failed to give a fair depiction of the game. You are a noob and I understand that. I understand you are giving your first impressions as a noob; I understand that. Even as a noob your review is not fair, because you haven't taken the time to really understand the system you are reviewing. To sum up. You failed to look at the game through the lens of a cinematic style game. The PCs will be over the top and wildly competent. The rules are created to put the spot light on the characters and their stories, not on a single combat that takes an hour of your four hour game session. Really understanding the mechanics of the game takes playing a session or three. Then re-reading the rules. Or doing research somewhere else or with someone else. I know what you say your purpose is in making this video. A noob doing a review of his first impressions. They are first impressions so giving a meaningful rating is really beyond the scope of these videos; unless you decide to really try to understand the game by playing them first. 2 of 5
@@LogicianTim The comments were by no means meant to be personal in nature. I really do believe it is impossible to understand a game without playing it. When I first bought SW years ago I'd played a wide range of games, as well as a couple of generic systems. The learning curve was fantastically easy. The only fly in the ointment was the shaken system. I couldn't figure it out until I'd played a couple of times. I started playing when I was teaching the game to a tweenager and an elementary age child. (Both alas are gone on to adulthood) They both picked it up quickly. We had tons of enjoyment in a lot of different genres with one shots, regular settings, and stuff we made up ourselves. The really great thing about this game is how much you can accomplish play wise in a short period of time. This pared down aesthetic is what makes Savage Worlds shine as a game system.
@@colerape I get it. You are very passionate about SW and it is hard to see someone who hasn't had the time in the game give it less than stellar remarks. I was approaching things from a purely "newbie sees it on the shelf and buys it and then has to learn the game from the book only" point of view without any outside help. I understand that doesn't give a full review like others give. That's just my gig. Or was. I kinda got out of the game a couple months back but I still like hearing people passionate about the games they like.
I think it does Fantasy well, just not what I would call high fantasy(DnD style). Its more suited to dark, gritty, or low magic style fantasy. The Solomon Kane settings is a great example of this, brutal tactical combat with magic limited to enchantments and rituals.
Take a deeper dive into the system. Understanding trappings goes a long way toward understanding how you can use powers and even skills and traits work. A Mage using Stealth will look different than how a Woodsman uses Stealth. A Mage using bolt (Darts of Fire) versus how a Psyker uses bolt (Mind Spazz) is quite different sounding and looking and still can use the same mechanics.
The gist of Savage Worlds is making the GM's life easy. You can easily jump into that TV series or movie setting that everyone is talking about this week, and into the next one a month or two later, OR spend some serious time explore some very original and unique published settings (I highly, HIGHLY recommend 50 Fathoms for your fantasy pirate-y needs).
I was a dedicated GM of "the game that shall not be named" from the 80s until 2004. I was shelling out bucks for books only to find I was drowning in hundreds of very specific rules at the table. I looked around generic RPG forums and had Savage Worlds recommended to me several times.
I'm now fond of saying that I'll play anything but I'll only GM Savage Worlds.
It's definitely not rules-light, it's rules-fast. With the way the game is streamlined, the GM can run a large, epic scenario, and keep it interesting.
This game goes to 11.
It really is a game that needs to be GMed to grok how it all works and how streamlined it is.
(I'm not going to criticize your format, I like it and I'm headed to your Numenera (sp?) review from here, I've always been interested in it, liked and subscribed 👍)
This is clearly a review through the mindset as a player, not as a GM. Compared to D&D and Pathfinder which each have a fairly strict limit, both Customization and Progression are extremely open-ended in Savage Worlds.
Fair enough. I can only make judgments based on what the book tells me. That can sometimes be wildly different in actual game play and I understand that. Thanks for the comments!
@@LogicianTim Or you can do a bit of research before making sweeping comments on a lack of settings or the necessity of backgrounds in a core book. This is not D&D or Pathfinder. PEG isn't trying to sell you a specific setting. It is mechanics for a wide range of settings all of which are extremely well priced.
@@colerapeI make judgments based on what I read only and that is the point. You want more in depth reviews, there are those that do that. I give opinions based on what is written and what I can derive from that information. Sorry I don't enunciate properly enough for you. Thanks for stopping by.
one very important thing about SW is that the bookkeeping is very minimal for the GM, you have plenty of ennemies against the PCs - it is very easy to see those who are dead (remove them) an those feared, stunned (you pout them down). It is light enough yet tactically you can do many things. A very robust system.
I can definitely see how it could be really easy to keep up with things in this system.
@@LogicianTim Savage Worlds was at first designed to handle figurines simulations.
I think the universal nature of the system should be taken into account in the lack of mechanical background options. I think a character's background is necessarily tied into the lore of the game's setting and so the setting book would be the appropriate place for character background options. I'm not sure I'd ding a universal RPG set for not having lifepaths or things such as that in the core rulebook.
Fair point Patrick.
The card element isn't clunky, its faster than each person/NPC rolling the dice and taking time to see who goes first. In D&D/Pathfinder you have to record initiative each combat, but in SW you can just look the large card in front of them.
Yea I think it would play out nicely. I like the interaction of passing out cards etc
@@LogicianTim it also allows for edges and mechanics that attached specifically to the initiative phase. Jokers allow for a big cinematic roll. Edges such as Tactician allows the player to improve the initiative of other characters. In an older system such edges/feats would complicate an already time consuming process.
I've enjoyed watching your videos on Savage Worlds very much! It's been nice "companion" as I was skimming through the rule book (I borrowed it from a buddy) to get a sense whether this system is for me.
The result, by the way, is that I've fallen in love with Savage Worlds ;-)
I appreciate all of your Savage Worlds reviews. It is a system I’ve known of for years but wasn’t interested in. Thanks to your videos I decided to drop big bucks on the Savage Pathfinder Boxed Set. It looks like the perfect fantasy system I’ve been wanting to play.
If you inflict a Shaken result with a damaging attack on an opponent who's already Shaken by a damaging attack, they get a Wound instead.
If the target has the Hardy property, however, they don't get a Wound when you inflict a damage-based Shaken result while they're Shaken from damage; you must get a raise in order to inflict a Wound on them.
I believe you are doing the review on the wrong product for Savage Worlds Adventure Edition (SWADE). The boxed set is rather a novelty. The SWADE Rulebook costs 10 USD as pdf and MiniSettings costs 7 USD as pdf. You can not get even an AD&D module for the same price. MiniSettings have 4 one shot adventures in themselves so it adds some more value. The comments have mentioned different settings to check out, however, I will suggest something crazy. Please do search for Crystal Hearts and Titan Effect, free full sized and fully supported settings for SWADE.
The shaken mechanics works better in game. Let us assume that bad guy A is shaken, if he takes damage again while he is still shaken, he gets a wound. Think of SWADE fights as movie scenes, the extras get slaughtered left and right and the hero gets beaten up pretty bad. The hero barely stands, and does a final swing at the big bad guy killing him with a final blow. The wildcard and the shaken mechanic reflects that.
In the end, it was an overall good review. However, I should take note again, the 200 USD package is a novelty item. The 10 USD pdf is the real product. The 40 USD print is if you wish to support Pinnacle Entertainment. All you need is a set of dice, 10 USD worth of PDF, and 1 USD worth of playing cards, you are set.
Thanks for reviewing SWADE.
The thoroughness of your deep dive into the rules is fantastic in the lead-up videos and makes them worthwhile, but you *really* need to play these games before you do the report card. This was like listening to someone review a music album who has only read the lyrics and hasn’t actually heard the songs! It was frankly, a little bizarre. 😆. Every assumption is speculative and some are way off the mark...
Fair enough Nick!
I realize that I'm late to the game. But I love these videos. I will say that I also love the trappings aspect. It allows characters to differentiate. A character could be a 'Farm Wizard' every bolt would be hardened needles of hay, or globules of Ox dung. Another might be a more traditional 'Fire Wizard', 'Frost Wizard', etc. It has the flexibility of keeping it simple to keep track of spells because mechanically they are the same but still allows for creativity and individuality for each of the players and GM at the table.
Fair review. Savage Worlds is a mix of great and mediocre to me. Some of the "wonky" is probably due to its roots in wargaming and it actually works pretty well as a skirmish wargame.
There are some great world books written for SW and it is because of my enthusiasm for several published SW settings that I was finally brought to purchase the SW core rules. They are very flexible, easy to modify, easy to teach. The previous edition was priced at $10 for the core rules. It was definitely a better value at that price.
Great series! Thanks.
I was really worried about doing this report card because of how beloved this system seems to be. But I had to stay honest and fair like every other review. If there are some world books you think are worth checking out (that has information I could share on streams without spoilers) let me know! Thanks for watching and the comment
I agree with you the Deluxe was incredible for 10$, now with a hardcover and 1 inch larger it is 4 time the price.
@@LogicianTim Your review was fair and even handed, I love the system for many reasons, and it is the primary system I use, so I would rank it "maybe" 8/10 myself. 7/10 is reasonable. Of course I admit that 8/10 is the highest score of any game I own, with Early Dark and the English version of The Dark Eye being close at 7.5/10 each.
@@LogicianTim Savage Worlds core isn't going to have the flavor you mention that other games have due to its generic nature. To fairly compare it to other systems you would need to pick a setting to go with it. I would definitely checkout Deadlands or Rippers for a unique setting. And the Savage Worlds version of Rifts for a bit lighter and less crunch version. If you want to stick to fantasy there is Lankhmar, Hellfrost, Shaintar, or Beast and Barbarians.
Also, if you do shake someone already shaken, they take one wound.
If the attack is physical damage a second shaken causes a wound.
The double shaken might make more sense if you allow players who are adjacent to each other in the order to declare their actions at the same time. Basically it effectively mimics cooperation to wound.
Answer to me, what is the setting for D&D? What setting is included in the Player's Guide, Dungeon Master's Guide, Monster's Manual? BTW its $170 for all three books.
The starter kit and the essentials kit of D&D both come with a lot of stuff for less that $30 and include a pretty well explained world. I know that is apples to oranges here. I am not bashing SW at all, just giving my honest opinion from a newbie standpoint. Thanks for the great comments!
@@LogicianTim I think your value rating is massively off the mark. The cost for Savage Worlds is so much less than DnD or other big RPG's. You can get the SWADE book which has everything you need to play for either $10 digital or $40 physical. Compare that to DnD where where just one of the 3 books needed to play costs more than this. For the price of the 3 core DnD books, you can get the core savage worlds book and a mix of 4-5 different settings books. Things like Interface Zero(cyberpunk) Last Parsec(scifi) Shaintar(fantasy) or some of the more unique settings like Deadlands(weird west) or Tesla and Lovecraft(steampunk horror). If anything Savage Worlds is one of best value buys.
@@LogicianTim I think you've pointed out the biggest flaw in SW. That of giving a distinct image of what exactly you are going to be doing when you play. I to am drawn in by the flavour of what I will be doing as a player (or GM) . Buying the rulebooks doesn't give me enough to begin to play- I now need to find a setting I like. With D+D I pretty much know what the setting is because of the exposure I've had via movies, TV and actual play. SW leaves me trying to emulate D+D with the given rules and suggestions. Buying a setting hopefully will help flesh it out a bit more.
I do like so much of SW mechanics though and I would really like to play. I would really like to see some example of play to introduce me to the game. Without examples and definition I feel a bit daunted by the task of stitching so much together- while at the same time the lack of structure means you have so much freedom to create a truly amazing experience. I need a dumbed down easy to grasp setting that would familiarize me with the mechanics then leave me free do riff on it- like SW does so well.
I prefer the previous advancement system to this new one. If I were to run Savage Worlds I'd probably use that previous version for just advancement. Overall I think that the improvements to this edition of SW are solid and the experience advancement system would be the only thing I'd drag into this version from that previous version.
I've tried to like this system, but its quirky nature is just annoying to me, and the lack of research into certain elements felt lazy. Even though it's a chunkier system, I'll stick with GURPS as a universal system
D&D is a generic rpg as well. There have been several big ones over the years. GURPS is a classic generic.
I'd like to do a GURPS dive one day
What RPGs do you consider having complicated character creation?
I'm with you on the point of value and book size compared to other rpgs. other books offer more
What other RPGS offer you more. The digital version of SWADE is $10 and you could get a physical copy of the previous edition these days for about $7. How many other universal RPG systems are that cheap?
They offer more fluff. They offer more complexity. Complexity means more rules lawyering and less time playing.
I like the Bottom Line Up Front format. As such I am going to give your video a 2 out of 5. You have a great understanding of production values. That frankly is the only positive. Being a Texan living in Washington state, I understand the necessity to enunciate. Derived statistics sounds like "drived statistics". Archetype sounds like "art type"; I thought you'd jumped to talking about the art in the book. I watched the intro vid and then skipped to the report card. You missed the key bit of information to understand this game...it is cinematic. Think Saturday morning cartoons, or action movies. Every rule and every decision in the game is presented with that view. The tagline is "Fast, Fun, Furious" for a reason. I was gobsmacked that you didn't know how to run combat. The Shaken rule is the cornerstone of the system. Based on your misunderstanding I can see how you think it is wonky. Advanced systems you failed to mention such as Test and Support directly impact the Shaken system. I can see how you perceived that the game has a lower value, you didn't understand the base rule for combat and therefore misunderstood the advanced systems. When someone pointed it out to you on the live stream you just glossed over it. There are plenty of opportunities out there to get clarification. You can play the game. You can check out the forums on the PEG website. You can watch other you tubers. You didn't do any of that. So at base from top to bottom you failed to give a fair depiction of the game. You are a noob and I understand that. I understand you are giving your first impressions as a noob; I understand that. Even as a noob your review is not fair, because you haven't taken the time to really understand the system you are reviewing. To sum up. You failed to look at the game through the lens of a cinematic style game. The PCs will be over the top and wildly competent. The rules are created to put the spot light on the characters and their stories, not on a single combat that takes an hour of your four hour game session. Really understanding the mechanics of the game takes playing a session or three. Then re-reading the rules. Or doing research somewhere else or with someone else. I know what you say your purpose is in making this video. A noob doing a review of his first impressions. They are first impressions so giving a meaningful rating is really beyond the scope of these videos; unless you decide to really try to understand the game by playing them first. 2 of 5
Thanks for taking the time to type this review of my review and thanks for watching!
@@LogicianTim The comments were by no means meant to be personal in nature. I really do believe it is impossible to understand a game without playing it. When I first bought SW years ago I'd played a wide range of games, as well as a couple of generic systems. The learning curve was fantastically easy. The only fly in the ointment was the shaken system. I couldn't figure it out until I'd played a couple of times. I started playing when I was teaching the game to a tweenager and an elementary age child. (Both alas are gone on to adulthood) They both picked it up quickly. We had tons of enjoyment in a lot of different genres with one shots, regular settings, and stuff we made up ourselves. The really great thing about this game is how much you can accomplish play wise in a short period of time. This pared down aesthetic is what makes Savage Worlds shine as a game system.
@@colerape I get it. You are very passionate about SW and it is hard to see someone who hasn't had the time in the game give it less than stellar remarks. I was approaching things from a purely "newbie sees it on the shelf and buys it and then has to learn the game from the book only" point of view without any outside help. I understand that doesn't give a full review like others give. That's just my gig. Or was. I kinda got out of the game a couple months back but I still like hearing people passionate about the games they like.
I found that savage worlds was pretty awful at medieval fantasy. I'd probably only run it in settings that are focused on ranged combat.
It's stronger as a pulp adventure game or a horror game for sure.
@@unit18nate I feel like it would be a little slow for horror, but I've never tried it.
@@DiomedesRangue Realms of Cthulhu(think call of Cthulhu for SW) is an excellent horror settings.
I think it does Fantasy well, just not what I would call high fantasy(DnD style). Its more suited to dark, gritty, or low magic style fantasy. The Solomon Kane settings is a great example of this, brutal tactical combat with magic limited to enchantments and rituals.
Take a deeper dive into the system. Understanding trappings goes a long way toward understanding how you can use powers and even skills and traits work. A Mage using Stealth will look different than how a Woodsman uses Stealth. A Mage using bolt (Darts of Fire) versus how a Psyker uses bolt (Mind Spazz) is quite different sounding and looking and still can use the same mechanics.