Converting D&D Spells: Part 2

As a follow-up to my earlier post about converting D&D spells, I thought it would be interesting to see if the conversion process could be automated.

The resulting tool is available here: D&D 3.5 Spell Conversion

Sadly it didn't work too well. Although it's usually possible to convert things like range and duration, most of the spell comes from its description, which is very difficult to parse reliably.

Still, it might be enough to give someone a head start, so I decided to make the tool available to the public rather than just delete it.

Initiative: Why use cards?

One of the more interesting mechanics of Savage Worlds is the initiative system. Frequently dismissed by detractors as a "gimmick", the card-based approach actually offers a number of benefits that aren't immediately obvious - yet it works so well that some experienced Savage Worlds GMs will even try to port it to other roleplaying games. But what are those benefits?

1. No ties. Because each card is different, there are no longer ties (except on the rare occasion that both jokers are drawn in the same round). This speeds up game-play, because you no longer have to ask people to re-roll ties while you're working out the order of initiative.

2. No bookkeeping. You don't need to write down each character's initiative, because you can just place the action cards on the table beside the associated PC or NPC (this works particularly well if you place NPC stat cards on the table, as the action cards can be placed underneath them). You could in theory do this with dice, but I find dice slower and more difficult to read across the table, and they tend to get knocked over during play.

3. Initiative varies each round. Because card-based initiative is much faster to resolve and record than roll+modifier, you can recalculate initiative each round, which encourages tactical game-play - particularly in regard to holding and interrupting actions, but also because the sequence of actions changes every round.

4. Initiative can be kept secret. The GM has the option of keeping initiative secret and counting down through the cards. This is slower to resolve and not something I would do often, but it adds another dimension to combat, and can be used to add tension to certain special encounters (because nobody knows when anyone else is going to act). A variant used by some GMs is to deal the bad guys face-down and the players face-up.

5. Additional side-effects. Cards have suits as well as ranks, and the suits can be used to introduce additional side-effects, such as unexpected complications when you draw clubs (I also like to trigger poison effects when the victim draws hearts, for example). These can spice up encounters without additional rolls, and encourage creative narrative.

6. Jokers give a bonus. Jokers add a mechanism for gaining a temporary advantage that can help swing the tide of battle at unexpected moments, and this also helps balance the investment of initiative-based Edges, which would otherwise be too weak to justify their cost.

7. Ties in with special rules. Wild Card Edges and certain setting rules and abilities also tie in with jokers, providing additional benefits and tactical opportunities. The "Joker's Wild" setting rule in particular provides a good way of feeding the PCs extra bennies during combat, which is when the players usually need them the most.

8. Encourages player interaction. Asking players to shuffle the deck (in return for a benny) and take turns dealing the cards can help keep their attention on the game. It's also faster to calculate initiative when one person deals all the cards, but the same person doesn't need to deal the cards every round.

9. Special decks are fun! Thematic decks can help spice up the game, for example you might use a pirate-themed deck when playing 50 Fathoms, or a superhero-themed deck when playing Necessary Evil. This part admittedly is a gimmick, but it's a fun one!

10. Consistent with other mechanics. The cards aren't just used for initiative, they're also tied into other rules such as Dramatic Tasks, Chases and Interludes. Some people even use cards for adventure generators, random encounters, fumbles, and so on - personally I'm a big fan of Concept Cards, which have a dual-purpose in Savage Worlds.

But cards are purely random!

A common misconception is that the Savage Worlds initiative system is completely random. This argument overlooks two factors: the first is Edges, which are one of the main ways a Savage Worlds character is defined; the second is the nature of a deck of cards, where the deck is only reshuffled when a joker is drawn, allowing the use of card counting techniques to provide a tactical advantage.

Savage Worlds has two attributes which are associated with reaction speed. The first is Agility, which is described as "nimbleness, quickness, and dexterity". The second is Smarts, which covers "mental agility" among other things. An average human has d6 in their attributes, and someone with above average Agility or Smarts can purchase the Quick and Level Headed Edges respectively. However because these are Edges rather than innate benefits, you don't end up with the weird situation whereby an elderly professor (with high Smarts) or a dexterous surgeon (with high Agility) are able to react faster in combat than a veteran soldier.

As far as the probabilities are concerned, a character with the Quick Edge wins initiative around 64.6% of the time (against someone without any initiative bonuses), while a character with Level Headed (draw two cards and keep the highest) wins around 66.5% of the time, and a character with both Edges wins around 72.7% of the time. A character with Improved Level Headed and the Quickness power wins initiative around 80.5% of the time. Conversely, a character with the Slow Hindrance only wins around 35.9% of the time.

But I want initiative to be based on Agility!

Although I personally prefer to handle initiative through Edges (because of the professor and surgeon example mentioned previously), and would strongly urge new GMs to try running the rules as written before adding house rules, for those who prefer to base initiative directly on an attribute it's relatively easy to do so without giving up the use (and benefits) of cards. Just add a simple house rule like:

"If you draw an initiative card with a rank lower than half your Agility, draw a second card and keep the highest."

Then your chance of winning initiative against an opponent with Agility d4 would be 53.4% with Agility d6, 56.3% with d8, 58.7% with d10 and 60.7% with d12.

The Quick Edge could then be changed to work as follows:

"If you draw a card with a rank equal or lower than your Agility, draw a second card and keep the highest (treat ace, face cards and jokers as '12' for the purposes of this Edge)."

So if you had Agility d8 you'd draw a second card if your first was 8 or lower, with Agility d10 you'd draw if the first was 10 or lower, and Agility d12 would always draw 2 cards (i.e., with Agility d12 , Quick would work the same as Level Headed).

Converting D&D Spells

After designing my power creation guidelines in Savage Abilities, I decided to test their versatility by converting various D&D spells (converting the flavour rather than the mechanics). I also thought the spells might prove useful for my Savage War of the Burning Sky conversion, as the original Adventure Path was designed for D&D and made frequent references to specific spells.

I got part way through the level 2 spells before losing interest - yes, they could be converted, but I increasingly felt that I was trying to shoehorn the spells, particularly as I'd been hoping to balance them so that their PP cost was the same as their spell level.

However I thought it might be worth posting my notes, rather than leave them on my hard drive to rot. If nothing else, it's a reasonable proof-of-concept for my power creation guidelines, and shows how different spells can be built.

Cantrips

Resistance (Enchantment)

Abilities (+18): +0 PP

Range (Touch): +0 PP

Template (None): +0 PP

Duration (Rounds): +1 PP

Maintenance (Double): -1 PP

Power Points: 0

Grants +1 to Soak rolls, and +1 to resist opposed rolls against magic.

Acid Splash (Invocation)

Roll: +1 PP

Range (Combat Short): -1 PP (reduced)

Power Points: 0

You fire an orb of acid with range 6/12/24. It inflicts 2d4 damage when it hits, and another d4 damage on the following round.

Detect Poison (Enchantment)

Abilities (+12): +0 PP

Range (Self): -1 PP

Duration (Instant): +0 PP

Maintenance (Free): +1 PP

Power Points: 0

You gain the ability to sense the presence and approximate location of poisons within 12". This is just as fallible as any other sense, and may require Notice rolls in certain situations. You need to use Knowledge (Poisons) if you wish to precisely identify the type of a particular poison.

Detect Magic (Enchantment)

Abilities (+12): +0 PP

Range (Self): -1 PP

Duration (Instant): +0 PP

Maintenance (Free): +1 PP

Power Points: 0

You gain the ability to sense the presence, type, and approximate location of magic within 12". This is just as fallible as any other sense, and may require Notice rolls in certain situations.

Read Magic (Enchantment)

Abilities (+12): +0 PP

Range (Self): -1 PP

Duration (Instant): +0 PP

Maintenance (Free): +1 PP

Power Points: 0

You gain the ability to decipher magical inscriptions that would otherwise be unintelligible.

Daze (Execration)

Stun: +0 PP

Range (Short): +1 PP

Resistible (Hard): -1 PP

Substitute (Spirit): +0 PP

Power Points: 0

You cloud the mind of one humanoid foe, who must make a Spirit roll at -2 (or -4 on a raise), otherwise they become Shaken.

Dancing Lights (Conjuration)

Illumination: -6 PP

Range (Medium): +2 PP

Template (Medium): +2 PP

Duration (Minutes): +2 PP

Power Points: 0

You conjure several glowing balls of light, which float together in the air, illuminating an area the size of a Medium 

Burst Template.

Flare (Execration)

Hinder: +1 PP

Range (Medium): +2 PP

Resistible (Easy): -3 PP

Substitute (Vigor): +0 PP

Power Points: 0

You create a burst of light in front of one target, who can attempt to resist with a Vigor roll (at -2 on a raise). If they fail, they gain the Bad Eyes Hindrance (or the Blind Hindrance if you cast the spell with a raise). The foe can attempt to recover on their turn with a Smarts or Spirit roll at -2 (or -4 if the spell was cast with a raise), on a raise they can also act on the same round.

Light (Conjuration)

Illumination: -6 PP

Range (Touch): +0 PP

Template (Medium/Large): +3 PP

Duration (Hours): +3 PP

Power Points: 0

You touch an object and cause it to glow brightly, fully illuminating an area the size of a Medium Burst Template, and providing dim lighting out to the distance of a Large Burst Template.

Ray of Frost (Invocation)

Roll: +1 PP

Range (Combat Short): -1 PP (reduced)

Power Points: 0

You project a ray of frost with range 6/12/24. It inflicts 2d6 damage when it hits.

Ghost Sound (Conjuration)

Illusion (Sound): -3 PP

Range (Short): +1 PP

Template (Small): +1 PP

Duration (Instant): +0 PP

Maintenance (Free): +1 PP

Power Points: 0

You can create sounds within an area the size of a Small Burst Template.

Disrupt Undead (Invocation)

Roll: +1 PP

Range (Combat Short): -1 PP (reduced)

Power Points: 0

You project a ray of positive energy with range 6/12/24. It inflicts 2d6 damage to any undead creature it hits.

Touch of Fatigue (Execration)

Exhaust: +2 PP

Range (Touch): +0 PP

Resistible (Medium): -2 PP

Power Points: 0

This spell is treated as a touch attack (i.e., if successfully cast, add +2 to the result and compare against the target's Parry). If you hit the target, they must make a Vigor roll at -2 or suffer a level of Fatigue.

Mage Hand (Invocation)

Boost (-32): -2 PP

Range (Short): +1 PP

Maintenance (Free): +1 PP

Power Points: 0

You're able to perform a simple physical actions (that wouldn't normally require a roll) on the specified object at a distance, as long as it remains within range, although your effective Load Limit for the actions is reduced to 6%.

Mending (Invocation)

Roll: +1 PP

Swift: +1 PP

Range (Touch): +0 PP

Limitations: -2 PP

Power Points: 0

This spell allows you to instantly repair damage, as if you'd used the Repair skill. Normally it would cost 2 PP, but it includes a few significant limitations to reduce the cost: It only works on inanimate objects (not constructs), it cannot restore magical items (it can repair them physically but doesn't restore their abilities), and it doesn't work on objects weighing more than one pound.

Message (Invocation)

Maintenance (Free): +1 PP

Limitations: -1 PP

Power Points: 0

This spell allows you to communicate with nearby allies as if you were all equipped with walkie-talkies (the Invocation simulates basic tools). Normally it would cost 1 PP, but the range is much shorter than most walkie-talkies (only 18").

Open/Close (Invocation)

Range (Short): +1 PP

Limitations: -1 PP

Power Points: 0

You're able to open or close one door, chest, or other container within range. Normally it would cost 1 PP, but this spell is easily foiled - it only works on objects weighing 30 pounds or less, and if there is anything that resists the action (such as a bar, doorstopper, etc) it automatically fails.

Arcane Mark (Invocation)

Power Points: 0

This spell allows you to inscribe your personal rune or mark onto something. It's effectively just a magical trapping for writing your signature.

Prestidigitation (Enchantment)

Abilities (+12): +0 PP

Range (Self): -1 PP

Duration (Instant): +0 PP

Maintenance (Free): +1 PP

Power Points: 0

This spell allows you to perform extremely simple magical effects (the ability is priced as a Minor Edge).

Level 1 Spells

Alarm (Conjuration)

Illusion (Sound): -3 PP

Range (Short): +1 PP

Template (Medium): +2 PP

Duration (Instant): +0 PP

Maintenance (Free): +1 PP

Power Points: 1

You can set an alarm around an area the size of a Medium Burst Template. This is effectively a sound-based illusion, except instead of being manually controlled by the caster, it is triggered whenever someone enters or leaves the area. Unlike most maintained spells, Alarm doesn't terminate if the caster sleeps. Note that the caster may spend +2 PP to extend the spell to cover a LBT.

Endure Elements (Enchantment)

Abilities (18 points): +0 PP

Duration (Instant): +0 PP

Maintenance (Free): +1 PP

Power Points: 1

The protected creature gains a +3 bonus to Vigor rolls when resisting hot and cold environmental hazards (note that this is technically two resistances, but the character can't benefit from both at the same time, and they can't choose resistance from other hazards). The caster can extend the protection to up to four extra targets, by spending +1 PP for each additional target.

Hold Portal (Invocation)

Maintenance (Free): +1 PP

Power Points: 1

This spell must be cast on a closed door, gate, window, etc. The target remains shut as if it were securely locked (the Invocation simulates the lock), but because magic is holding it shut (rather than a physical lock) it cannot be opened without force or magic. The caster can use this spell at Short range instead of Touch by spending +1 PP.

Protection from Chaos/Evil/Good/Law (Enchantment)

Abilities (+21): +0 PP

Duration (Rounds): +1 PP

Power Points: 1

You ward the target against one category of creature (Chaos, Evil, Good or Law, chosen when this spell is first taken). Creatures of the warded type suffer a -1 penalty to all attacks made against the target. The target also gains +1 armour against the warded creatures' attacks, and +1 to opposed rolls when resisting their magic. The caster can increase the duration from rounds to minutes by spending +1 PP.

Shield (Enchantment)

Abilities (36 points): +1 PP

Range (Self): -1 PP

Duration (Minutes): +2 PP

Maintenance (Double): -1 PP

Power Points: 1

You create a shield of invisible energy; attacks against you suffer a -1 penalty, or -2 if the spell was cast with a raise.

Grease (Execration)

Knockdown: +0 PP (variant)

Substitute (Agility): +0 PP

Resistible (Medium): -2 PP

Range (Short): +1 PP

Template (Small): +1 PP

Duration (Rounds): +1 PP

Power Points: 1

You cover an area the size of a Small Burst Template with slippery grease. Any creature within or moving through the area must make an Agility roll or fall Prone, and the area itself is also treated as difficult ground.

Mage Armour (Enchantment)

Abilities (16 points): +0 PP

Range (Self): -1 PP

Duration (Hours): +3 PP

Maintenance (Double): -1 PP

Power Points: 2

You grant yourself 2 points of Magical Armour. For an additional +1 PP, you can cast the spell on someone else, with a range of Touch.

Mount (Conjuration)

Minion: +1 PP

Maintenance (Free): +1 PP

Power Points: 2

You conjure a pony or light horse to serve as a mount.

Obscuring Mist (Conjuration)

Obscurement: -4 PP

Range (Short): +1 PP

Template (Medium): +2 PP

Duration (Minutes): +2 PP

Power Points: 1

You conjure a misty vapour, obscuring all sight within a Medium Burst Template.

Summon Monster I (Conjuration)

Minion: +1 PP

Range (Short): +1 PP

Duration (Rounds): +1 PP

Power Points: 3

You summon a creature to serve you in combat.

Unseen Servant (Conjuration)

Minion: +1 PP

Duration (Instant): +0 PP

Maintenance (Free): +1 PP

Power Points: 2

You summon an invisible shapeless force to obey your commands, although it has Pace 3 and Strength d4, and cannot engage in combat. It cannot be directly targeted by attacks, but is destroyed by area effect attacks if it suffers more 6+ damage.

Comprehend Languages (Enchantment)

Abilities (12 points): +0 PP

Range (Self): -1 PP

Duration (Instant): +0 PP

Maintenance (Free): +1 PP

Power Points: 0

You gain the ability to understand the speech of one creature or the writing from one source, although you're not able to speak or write the language yourself.

Detect Secret Doors (Enchantment)

Abilities (+12): +0 PP

Range (Self): -1 PP

Duration (Instant): +0 PP

Maintenance (Free): +1 PP

Power Points: 0

You gain the ability to sense the presence and approximate location of doors and other openings within 12". This is just as fallible as any other sense, and may require Notice rolls in certain situations.

Detect Undead (Enchantment)

Abilities (+12): +0 PP

Range (Self): -1 PP

Duration (Instant): +0 PP

Maintenance (Free): +1 PP

Power Points: 0

You gain the ability to sense the presence and approximate location of undead within 12". This is just as fallible as any other sense, and may require Notice rolls in certain situations.

Identify (Divination)

Depth: +1 PP

Precision: +1 PP

Power Points: 2

This spell provides information about one specific magic item. On a normal success it provides only a general overview of the item, while on a raise it provides more detailed information.

True Strike (Invocation)

Roll: +1 PP

Boost (32 points): +2 PP

Power Points: 3

Your arcane skill roll is treated as if it were also a Fighting roll. If the spell is successfully cast, then your attack never misses, although if it would normally miss it instead inflicts half damage. Your attack also receives +1 AP.

Charm Person (Invocation)

Roll: +1 PP

Swift: +1 PP

Repeatable: +1 PP

Power Points: 3

Your arcane skill roll is treated as if it were also a Persuasion roll for the purposes of improving the target's attitude towards you, although the change is immediate and there's no limit on how many levels the target's attitude can be improved (although the maximum is still Helpful).

Hypnotism (Execration)

Hypnotise: +1 PP

Range (Short): +1 PP

Resistible (Hard): -1 PP

Power Points: 1

The target can attempt to resist with a Smarts roll at -2 (or -4 if you cast the spell with a raise), otherwise they become Shaken. Furthermore, their attitude towards you increases by one level (or two levels on a raise) until they have successfully recovered from being Shaken, and they permanently retain that attitude towards any requests you made while they were Shaken (for example if you ask them to perform a reasonable task while they are Helpful, they'll continue performing that particular task even after they've recovered from being Shaken and returned to being Neutral).

Slumber (Execration)

Sleep: +1 PP

Range (Medium): +2 PP

Duration (Minutes): +2 PP

Resistible (Easy): -3 PP

Power Points: 2

The target must make a Spirit roll (at -2 if the spell was cast with a raise) or fall asleep, although they can still be woken up by loud noises (and a successful Notice roll). This spell only works on living creatures, and you can affect up to four additional targets for +1 PP each.

Burning Hands (Invocation)

Roll: +1 PP

Range (None): -2 PP (reduced from Medium)

Template (Cone): +3 PP

Power Points: 2

You spread your hands, and flames fan out towards your enemies. Everyone within a Cone Template must make an opposed Agility roll to evade the spell, otherwise they suffer 2d6 damage. Flammable targets must also roll to see if they catch fire.

Floating Disk (Conjuration)

Object: +0 PP

Abilities (12 points): +0 PP

Range (Short): +1 PP

Duration (Hours): +3 PP

Maintenance (Double): -1 PP

Power Points: 3

You conjure a disk of force, which can be directed to move around as long as it is within range. It can fly with Pace 6 and Climb 0, but the spell terminates if it moves more than a few feet above the ground. The disk can lift up to 50 pounds times the caster's Spirit die type, or twice than on a raise.

Magic Missile (Invocation)

Roll: +1 PP

Range: 12/24/48

Power Points: 1

You shoot a dart of magical energy at your target, inflicting 2d4+1 damage. This attack cannot miss - as long as you successfully cast it, it will always hit your opponent. However it cannot make called shots, and if your attack roll falls to reach the TN, the spell will inflict only half damage. You may fire up to two additional darts at +2 PP each, using one arcane skill die per dart and a single Wild Die.

Shocking Grasp (Invocation)

Roll: +1 PP

Power Points: 1

Your arcane skill roll is treated as if it were also a Fighting roll, on a success it inflicts Str+d4 damage, or Str+d8 damage if the target is wet or carrying a lot of metal (such as wearing armour).

Colour Spray (Execration)

Stun: +0 PP

Template (Cone): +3 PP

Resistible (Hard): -1 PP

Power Points: 2

You spray shimmering coloured light at your foes. All creatures within a Cone Template must make a Smarts roll at -2 (or -4 if you cast the spell with a raise), otherwise they become Shaken.

Disguise Self (Enchantment)

Abilities (24 points): +1 PP

Range (Self): -1 PP

Duration (Hours): +3 PP

Power Points: 3

You distort and modify your appearance, your flesh shimmering as your features rearranging themselves. Note that you cannot impersonate a specific person with this power.

Magic Aura (Enchantment)

Abilities (12 points): +0 PP

Duration (Hours): +3 PP

Power Points: 3

You focus your spell into a concealing shroud (like an inverted Magic Sense) around the target object or creature, blocking all divination magic, or fooling it into registering something else (including a non-magical item appearing to be magical). Anyone wishing to penetrate your spell must beat the roll you made when you cast the spell.

Silent Image (Conjuration)

Illusion (Sight): -3 PP

Range (Medium): +2 PP

Template (Small): +1 PP

Maintenance (Free): +1 PP

Power Points: 1

You create a purely visual illusion no larger than a Small Burst Template. You can move and change the illusion as a free action, as long as it remains within range.

Ventriloquism (Invocation)

Range (Short): +1 PP

Power Points: 1

You're able to make your voice originate from any position within range.

Cause Fear (Execration)

Fear: +0 PP

Range (Medium): +2 PP

Resistible (Hard): -1 PP

Power Points: 1

The target must make a Fear check at -2 (or -4 if the spell was cast with a raise).

Chill Touch (Enchantment)

Abilities (24 points): +1 PP

Duration (Rounds): +1 PP

Maintenance (Double): -1 PP

Power Points: 1

The target's hands glow with blue energy, granting them the Natural Weapons Edge (with Light and Elemental Cold). They inflict Str+d6 damage, and on a successful attack the foe must make a Vigor roll (at -2 if the spell was cast with a raise) or suffer a level of cold-based Fatigue.

Ray of Enfeeblement

Abilities (36 points): +1 PP

Range (Short): +1 PP

Duration (Rounds): +1 PP

Maintenance (Double): -1 PP

Power Points: 2

A ray of sickly green light springs from the caster's fingertip, and can only be evaded with an opposed Agility roll. If the ray hits a living target, their Strength is reduced by one die step, or two die steps if the spell was cast with a raise.

Animate Rope (Invocation)

Range (Short): +1 PP

Duration (Rounds): +1 PP

Power Points: 2

You're able to animate one rope or ropelike object within range, and have it perform any actions you could normally perform with a rope (such as tie or untie a knot, coil into a stack, loop around something, etc).

Enlarge Person (Enchantment)

Abilities (12): +0 PP

Range (Short): +1 PP

Duration (Minutes): +2 PP

Maintenance (Double): -1 PP

Power Points: 2

You enlarge the target by one size category. This grants them +2 die steps to Strength and +2 Toughness, but they also suffer a -1 penalty to their attacks, and attacks against them are made with a +1 bonus.

Erase (Invocation)

Roll: +1

Dispel: +1

Range (Short): +1 PP

Power Points: 3

You're able to erase all writing (both magical and non-magical) from the target object. When used against magical writing, this is treated as an opposed roll, otherwise it is a standard roll against TN 4.

Expeditious Retreat (Enchantment)

Abilities (36 points): +1 PP

Range (Self): -1 PP

Duration (Rounds): +1 PP

Power Points: 1

You increase your Pace by +6".

Feather Fall (Enchantment)

Abilities (12 points): +0 PP

Range (Short): +1 PP

Maintenance (Free): +1 PP

Power Points: 2

The target floats gently to the ground instead of falling, moving downwards at a rate of 6" per round. You can cast this on up to four additional targets, for +1 PP per target.

Jump (Enchantment)

Abilities (12 points): +0 PP

Duration (Rounds): +1 PP

Power Points: 1

The target gains the ability to jump distances equal to its base Pace instead of taking its normal movement, springing over obstacles and difficult terrain.

Magic Weapon (Enchantment)

Abilities (40 points): +1 PP

Duration (Rounds): +1 PP

Power Points: 2

You enchant one weapon with a +1 bonus to its attack and damage rolls.

Reduce Person (Enchantment)

Abilities (12): +0 PP

Range (Short): +1 PP

Duration (Minutes): +2 PP

Maintenance (Double): -1 PP

Power Points: 2

You reduce the target by one size category. This grants them a -2 penalty to Strength and Toughness, but they also gain a +1 bonus to their attacks, and attacks against them are made with a -1 penalty.

Level 2 Spells

Arcane Lock (Invocation)

Power Points: 0

You're able to magically lock one door, chest, or other container within range. As the lock itself is a magical effect rather than a physical device, it cannot be opened except through magic.

Obscure Object (Enchantment)

Abilities (12 points): +0 PP

Duration (Hours): +3 PP

Power Points: 3

You conceal the target object from all forms of divination magic. Anyone wishing to penetrate your magic must beat the roll you made when you cast this spell.

Protection from Arrows (Enchantment)

Abilities (12 points): +0 PP

Duration (Minutes): +2 PP

Power Points: 2

The target suffers -4 damage from non-magical ranged weapons.

Resist Energy (Enchantment)

Abilities (12 points): +1 PP

Duration (Minutes): +2 PP

Power Points: 2

The target suffers -4 damage from one energy type, chosen when the spell is cast: acid, cold, electricity, fire or sonic.

Acid Arrow (Invocation)

Roll: +1 PP

Boost (damage): -2 PP

Boost (acid): +3 PP

Range: 12/24/48

Power Points: 2

You shoot a short stream of acid at your target, inflicting 2d4 damage on impact, and a further 2d4 damage the following round.

Fog Cloud (Conjuration)

Obscurement: -4 PP

Range (Medium): +2 PP

Template (Medium): +2 PP

Duration (Minutes): +2 PP

Power Points: 2

You conjure a sphere of impenetrable fog which fills a Medium Burst Template. Those within the fog suffer a -6 obscurement penalty.

Glitterdust (Execration)

Hinder: +1 PP

Range (Medium): +2 PP

Template (Small): +1 PP

Resistible (Dive): -2 PP

Substitute (Agility): +0 PP

Power Points: 2

You fill a Small Burst Template with a cloud of glittering particles. Those within the area can attempt to dive out of the way with an Agility roll at -2, otherwise they gain the Bad Eyes Hindrance (or the Blind Hindrance if you cast the spell with a raise), and become clearly outlined if invisible. Victims can attempt to recover on their turn with a Smarts or Spirit roll at -2 (or -4 if the spell was cast with a raise), on a raise they can also act on the same round.

Summon Monster II (Conjuration)

Minion: +1 PP

Abilities (Stronger): +1 PP

Range (Short): +1 PP

Duration (Rounds): +1 PP

Power Points: 4

You summon a creature to serve you in combat.

Summon Swarm (Conjuration)

Minion: +1 PP

Range (Short): +1 PP

Duration (Rounds): +1 PP

Power Points: 3

You summon a swarm to serve you in combat.

Web (Execration)

Restrain: +1 PP

Resistible (Dive): -2 PP

Range (Medium): +2 PP

Template (Medium): +2 PP

Limitations: -1 PP

Power Points: 2

All targets within a Medium Burst Template must make an Agility roll at -2 to dive out of the way of the web. Those who fail the roll are partially entangled, or fully entangled if you cast the spell with a raise. Note that the web requires at least two diametrically opposed solid points in order to remain anchored, otherwise it collapses in upon itself and the effect expires immediately.

Detect Thoughts (Composite Enchantment/Divination)

Abilities (+12): +0 PP

Range (Self): -1 PP

Duration (Instant): +0 PP

Maintenance (Free): +1 PP

Power Points: 2

You gain the ability to sense the presence or absense of thoughts within 12". This is just as fallible as any other sense, and may require Notice rolls in certain situations. On a raise, you're able to pick up enough surface thoughts to ask a single question with a yes/no answer about the minds in general, or a single-sentence answer about one specific mind, although the target may attempt to resist with an opposed Spirit roll.

Locate Object (Enchantment)

Abilities (+60): +2 PP

Range (Self): -1 PP

Duration (Instant): +0 PP

Maintenance (Free): +1 PP

Power Points: 2

You gain the ability to sense the direction of a specific object within 60". You must be able to visualise the object you're trying to locate, and if there is more than one within range you are directed to the closest.

See Invisibility (Enchantment)

Abilities (+12): +0 PP

Range (Self): -1 PP

Duration (Hours): +3 PP

Power Points: 2

You gain the ability to see invisible creatures and objects as if they were visible. Note that invisible creatures can still hide normally from you, requiring the standard Notice roll opposed by Stealth.

Daze Monster (Execration)

Stun: +0 PP

Range (Medium): +2 PP

Substitute (Spirit): +0 PP

Power Points: 2

You cloud the mind of your foe, who must must resist with an opposed Spirit roll or become Shaken. This is considered a Mind-Affecting spell.

Hideous Laughter (Enchantment)

Restrain: +1 PP

Range (Short): +1 PP

Substitute (Spirit): +0 PP

Power Points: 2

The target must make an opposed Spirit roll to avoid being afflicted with uncontrollable laughter. If the spell is successful, the target is partially afflicted, while on a raise they are fully afflicted. This is considered a Mind-Affecting spell.

Touch of Idiocy (Enchantment)

Abilities (36 points): +1 PP

Resistible (Hard): -1 PP

Range (Touch): +0 PP

Duration (Minutes): +2 PP

Power Points: 2

The target must make a Spirit roll at -2 (-4 on a raise), otherwise their Smarts is reduced by 1 die step, or 2 die steps on a raise. This spell cannot reduce Smarts below d4.

Continual Flame (Conjuration)

Object: +0 PP

Permanent: +2 PP

Range (Touch): +0 PP

Power Points: 2

Conjures a magical flame on an object you touch, it has the same size and brightness as a torch, but requires no oxygen and generates no heat. This spell requires 50gp of gem dust, which is consumed.

Darkness (Conjuration)

Obscurement: -4 PP

Range (Touch): +0 PP

Template (Large): +4 PP

Duration (Minutes): +2 PP

Power Points: 2

You conjure a sphere of impenetrable darkness which fills a Medium Burst Template, centred on the touched object. Those within the darkness suffer a -6 obscurement penalty.

Flaming Sphere (Conjuration)

Energy: +0 PP

Abilities (+36): +1 PP

Range (Medium): +1 PP

Duration (Rounds): +1 PP

Power Points: 3-5

You conjure a sphere of fire 1" in diameter, it inflicts 2d4 damage to anyone passing through it. It has Pace 6 and the caster can move it as a free action, as long as it doesn't leave the range of the spell; if it is moved into contact with someone, it automatically inflicts 2d4 damage, and cannot move again this round.

We Be Savage Goblins! Part 3: The Adventure

In part 1 I covered the PCs, while part 2 covered the NPCs. This third and final part covers the adventure itself. I've decided to write it as an account of my session rather than as a generic conversion, but it should still be useful for anyone wishing to run the adventure for their own group.

Setting Rules

I used the Joker's Wild Setting Rule from SWD. I also let each player draw 3 adventure cards (after I'd removed any inappropriate cards from the deck); they could play the first card for free, and the others for 1 benny each.

Meeting at the Moot House

After reading the introduction to the players, I asked them to read out their respective descriptive blurbs, and offered them a benny each to sing or recite their character's song - they all took me up on the offer, and the humorous songs immediately set the mood for the adventure! Then I introduced them to Slorb and Chief Gutwad, and gave them an overview of their mission.

Dares

I handled the four dares as mini Dramatic Tasks, requiring three successes over three actions (instead of five successes over five actions), and I encouraged creative solutions. I only allowed each PC to participate in one dare, but I awarded a benny for successfully completing it.

Dance with Squealy Nord was based on Agility, and the player described kicking dirt into Nord's eyes before leaping onto his back. I resolved that as an Agility roll, with each success and raise giving the PC a +1 bonus to the first action of the task. The reward was a Dragon Brew Gourd, which could be consumed as a normal action and used once during the remainder of the scene to breathe a blast of fire (everyone within a Cone Template has to make an Agility roll at -2 or suffer 2d10 damage).

Eat a Bag of Bull Slugs Real Quick was based on Vigor, and the player drew Clubs for the last round (a complication); I described the final slug as being particularly swollen with throbbing green pustules. The reward was the Gorge of Gluttons, a weapon that granted +1 to attack and damage rolls against horses.

Hide or Get Clubbed was based on Stealth, and the player drew Clubs for the last round (a complication); the goblins found his hiding place! Fortunately (with a good roll) he was able to crawl away through the mud before he could be found. The reward was the Ring That Lets You Climb Real Good, which granted the wearer the Wall Walking ability.

The Rusty Earbiter was based on Agility, and the player smothered himself in grease, so I gave him a +1 bonus to his rolls. He scored three successes on the first roll, and I described how he dived into the Rusty Earbiter, sliding all the way through on his stomach without touching the sides! The reward was the Chief’s Personal Very Useful Robe That Is Useful.

The Big Bonfire

I postponed this scene until after the dares, and described a crowd of goblins fighting to reach the barrel of beverage provided by the chief. Everyone drew initiative to determine their positions relative to each other, and I positioned their minis on the table accordingly, then I placed four more goblin minis in front of them. I explained that it was an abstract representation of their approximate position in the crowd, and that they should describe each round how they wished to make their way to the front (this determined which trait they would roll).

The trait rolls were made at -2, with Clubs giving an additional -2 and a complication (similar to Dramatic Tasks), but I provided a +2 bonus for creative narrative. Each success and raise on the roll allowed the PC to move one place up the queue, until they reached the front (at which point they were removed from the queue). Of course when a PC moved past another PC, that other PC was effectively pushed back one place - I clarified that the PCs weren't necessarily pushing each other aside, but that it represented them being pushed back by the jostling crowd.

One player tried to sneak around the back, but drew Clubs and failed the roll. One of the guards whacked her over the head for queue-jumping! The rest of the PCs used a mixture of stealth and brute force to reach the front, at which point they drank themselves unconscious.

I described how they all woke up the next morning with headaches (from either alcohol or a blow to the head), and then the chief sent them off into Brinestump Marsh.

Lotslegs Eat Goblin Babies Many

I fielded Lotslegs along with three giant spiders, and had them Surprise the PCs by jumping down from the trees; everyone had to make a Notice roll or miss the first round of combat, and the NPCs all started on Hold. But despite their initial advantage, the NPCs were rapidly torn to shreds.

At this point I decided to go off the rails a bit, as I fancied running a Chase scene for a bit of variety. The PCs heard loud crashing sounds as something huge moved through the swamp, smashing through the rotten trees - another spider, this one far bigger than the others. The players realised that this must be the real Lotslegs, and the bigger spider they'd fought earlier was probably her mate or perhaps her offspring. The PCs tried to attack, but I described the spider as being too big and strong to harm (i.e., Gargantuan with Heavy Armour), and explained that their only chance was to flee to somewhere where the spider couldn't follow.

The Chase lasted about three rounds, until one of the players drew a Joker and decided to go for its eyes. I allowed "cool narrative" to trump "planned chase" (and chose to overlook the fact that the Heavy Armour from Gargantuan should also apply to the eyes), and so the insane little goblin leaped onto Lotslegs' head and started burrowing into one of her eyes. It required another round of Chase actions (and of Lotslegs stamping on goblins) before the PC was able to reach her brain, and then some Agility rolls to avoid being crushed by the falling body, but the end result was a victory that really felt like an achievement.

The Horrid Horse Pen

I ran this as a very quick and aggressive fight, with Stomp charging the PCs and attempting to inflict as much damage as possible. Two of the goblins jumped onto Stomp's back (where he couldn't reach them) and clung on tight, while another ran away, and the last goblin sliced Stomp apart with the Gorge of Gluttons.

Front Gangplank

Two of the PCs approached the gangplank, so I had them make Notice rolls at -2; one of them spotted the trap and they were able to avoid it. The PC with the Ring That Lets You Climb Real Good walked around to the back of the ship and climbed up the side, while the last PC leaped (thanks to his potion of jump) straight up onto the deck.

Upper Deck

Instead of just Scabtongue and Tickletooth, I had six feral dogs on the deck, and they attacked on sight. However one of the goblins used his Dragon Brew Gourd to kill three of the dogs and shake a fourth, so in retrospect I should probably have fielded more dogs.

The second round the Shaken dog recovered, and I decided to immediately bring in Cuddles, Vorka and Lord Longtung (so that we could have an epic final battle rather than the PCs picking off the NPCs one at a time). Cuddles charged up from below deck, and moved straight into melee combat, using Wild Attack and gaining Gang Up from the remaining dogs. Vorka revealed that she'd been hiding in a crow's nest, and starting shooting fireworks at the PCs. Lord Longtung had been hiding in the other crow's nest, and he leaped down onto the deck, attacked Mogmurch (and missed) then leaped back up again (provoking a free attack which also missed).

On the third round, Lord Longtung repeated his previous tactic, and this time succeeded. He leaped back up to the crow's nest with Mogmurch in his stomach! Mogmurch then played on all three of his Hindrances: Curious (always likes trying things to see what happens), Deranged (mentally unstable and prone to doing crazy things) and Quirk (loves blowing things up); he set off a bomb inside Lord Longtung!

I ruled that Lord Longtung was blown apart (I didn't bother rolling) but that the PC was hit with a raise - he suffered 4d6 damage, which ended up causing several wounds. Fortunately he was able to play an adventure card to negate the damage, but I then ruled that he was blown off the crow's next onto the deck below. The player reminded me that Mogmurch is Bouncy, so as well as halving his falling damage I also ruled that on a d6 roll of 4-6 he would bounce right back up to the other crow's nest - and he did! I then had him roll again to see if he slammed into Vorka, but he didn't.

While this was going on, the rest of the goblins had taken down the dogs, and focused their attention on Vorka. Poog ran up the side of the mast (using the Ring That Lets You Climb Real Good), while Chuffy leaped up to the crow's nest and tried to hit Vorka in the back, and Reta started chopping down the rotten mast with her enchanted dogslicer.

Reta finally caused enough damage for the mast to snap, and it collapsed with everyone else still in the crow's nest, crashing to the ground far below. I resolved it with an Agility roll: a failure caused 4d6 damage, a success caused 3d6 damage, and a raise caused 2d6 damage. Poog and Chuffy managed to roll well, Mogmurch hit the ground hard (but bounced), and Vorka botched the roll (I ruled that she was pinned to the ground by her head).

Reta charged down the mast (which now served as a bridge to the ground below the ship), and I described Vorka's head being squashed into the ground with every step. She slid the last few feet, with her dogslicer extended beside her, taking off Vorka's head like a guillotine.

After the battle the PCs explored the ship, recovering the fireworks and several other treasures, then headed back to their village to celebrate.

Summary

The entire adventure took around 3 hours to run, and it felt like a lot happened in that time (by comparison, it took my other group around 6 hours to play the same adventure in Pathfinder, even though there were fewer enemies to fight). The players pulled off a lot of crazy and hilarious stunts, and I handed out a lot more bennies than usual (I'd estimate around 1 benny per player every 15-20 minutes on average, normally I only hand out around 1 per hour).

If I ever have the chance to run We Be Goblins again, I think I'll use more Extras, perhaps double the number of giant spiders and feral dogs.

Overall it was a very fun adventure that works extremely well with Savage Worlds, and it makes a great one-shot. It's definitely geared towards a group of 4 players though - I don't think it would work quite as well with more (or fewer) than 4 players.

We Be Savage Goblins! Part 2: The NPCs

In We Be Savage Goblins! Part 1 I covered the PCs, in this post I will cover the NPCs. I'm focusing mainly on the stats here, and will provide more detail about their tactics and usage in the next post.

The first combat encounter pits the PCs against the giant spider called "Lotslegs Eat Goblin Babies Many". This is a reasonable challenge for level 1 characters in Pathfinder, but for Savage Worlds I felt I needed something more, so I had Lotslegs (as a Wild Card) plus three other giant spiders (Extras):

❄Lotslegs
Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d4 (M), Spirit d6, Strength d10, Vigor d6
Skills: Fighting d10, Climbing d12, Notice d6, Stealth d8
Charisma: -; Pace: 8; Parry: 7; Toughness: 9 (2)
Special Abilities
• Armour +2: Carapace.
• Bite: Str+d6; Poison.
• Darkvision: No vision penalties for darkness (range 12").
• Tremorsense: Can sense and accurately pinpoint anything within 12" that's in contact with the ground.
• Web: Can walk on webs without penalty. Can also shoot webs as a normal action, treated like the basic Entangle power except using Agility as the arcane skill.
• Mindless: Immune to mind-affecting magic.
• Fearless: Immune to fear and Intimidation.
• Wall Walker: Can automatically move across vertical or inverted surfaces with Pace 6".
• Immunity: Mind-affecting effects.
• Poison: Bite inflicts poison if foe is Shaken or wounded.
• Size +2: Increases Toughness by +2.

Giant Spider
Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d4 (M), Spirit d6, Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Fighting d6, Climbing d12, Notice d6, Stealth d8
Charisma: -; Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 5
Special Abilities
• Bite: Str+d6; Poison.
• Darkvision: No vision penalties for darkness (range 12").
• Tremorsense: Can sense and accurately pinpoint anything within 12" that's in contact with the ground.
• Web: Can walk on webs without penalty. Can also shoot webs as a normal action, treated like the basic Entangle power except using Agility as the arcane skill.
• Mindless: Immune to mind-affecting magic.
• Fearless: Immune to fear and Intimidation.
• Wall Walker: Can automatically move across vertical or inverted surfaces with Pace 6".
• Immunity: Mind-affecting effects.
• Poison: Bite inflicts poison if foe is Shaken or wounded.

In the second combat encounter, the PCs face off against a foul tempered horse named "Stomp". I decided that I wanted this to be a quick fight, so I made Stomp a strong Wild Card but didn't add any Extras to back him up.

❄Stomp
Attributes: Agility d12, Smarts d6 (A), Spirit d10, Strength d12+1, Vigor d12
Skills: Fighting d6, Tracking d8, Notice d8
Charisma: -; Pace: 10; Parry: 5; Toughness: 11
Edges: Berserk, Frenzy
Special Abilities
• Hooves: Str+d4.
• Low Light Vision: No penalties for dim or dark lighting.
• Scent: Can navigate, track and detect creatures by scent (range 6", halved for upwind and doubled for downwind, doubled again for very strong scents). Only adjacent creatures can be pinpointed accurately, and attacks made using scent are made at -2.
• Fast Runner: Roll d8 when running instead of d6.
• Size +3: Increases Toughness by +3.

The third encounter is the final confrontation, so once again I beefed up the opposition - instead of just two feral dogs (Scabtongue and Tickletooth) I had six, with Cuddles, Vorka (with spider climb already cast) and Lord Longtung joining the action in the second round.

Feral Dog
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6 (A), Spirit d6, Strength d6, Vigor d8
Skills: Fighting d4, Survival d4, Tracking d8, Notice d8
Charisma: -; Pace: 8; Parry: 4; Toughness: 5
Special Abilities
• Bite: Str+d4.
• Low Light Vision: No penalties for dim or dark lighting.
• Scent: Can navigate, track and detect creatures by scent (range 6", halved for upwind and doubled for downwind, doubled again for very strong scents). Only adjacent creatures can be pinpointed accurately, and attacks made using scent are made at -2.
• Size -1: Reduces Toughness by -1.

❄Cuddles
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6 (A), Spirit d6, Strength d8, Vigor d8
Skills: Fighting d8, Survival d4, Tracking d8, Notice d8
Charisma: -; Pace: 8; Parry: 6; Toughness: 6
Special Abilities
• Bite: Str+d6; Go for the Throat.
• Low Light Vision: No penalties for dim or dark lighting.
• Scent: Can navigate, track and detect creatures by scent (range 6", halved for upwind and doubled for downwind, doubled again for very strong scents). Only adjacent creatures can be pinpointed accurately, and attacks made using scent are made at -2.
• Go for the Throat: Target least armoured location on a raise.

❄Vorka
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d4, Spirit d8, Strength d6, Vigor d8
Skills: Fighting d8, Climbing d6, Repair d4, Tracking d4, Notice d4, Shooting d10, Faith d10
Charisma: -; Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 9 (4)
Gear: Scimitar (Str+d6; 2 hands), firework (Shooting; range 12/24/48; 2d6; SBT)
Edges: Arcane Background (Miracles), Endurance (+2 to Soak and other Vigor rolls), Level Headed
Powers: Wall Walker (spider climb), Healing (cure wounds)
Special Abilities
• Armour +4: Barkskin spell.
• Darkvision: No vision penalties for darkness (range 12").
• Size -1: Reduces Toughness by -1.

❄Lord Longtung
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d4 (A), Spirit d6, Strength d12, Vigor d10

Skills: Fighting d8, Tracking d4, Swimming d6, Notice d4, Stealth d10
Charisma: -; Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 11 (1)
Edges: Strong Willed
Special Abilities
• Armour +1: Spongy skin.
• Bite: Str+d6.
• Tongue: Str; Reach 1"; Grab.
• Low Light Vision: No penalties for dim or dark lighting.
• Scent: Can navigate, track and detect creatures by scent (range 6", halved for upwind and doubled for downwind, doubled again for very strong scents). Only adjacent creatures can be pinpointed accurately, and attacks made using scent are made at -2.
• Grab: Pin your opponent if you hit with a raise, they require a raise on an opposed Strength roll to escape.
• Swallow: After successfully pinning a victim with a bite attack, this creature may make an opposed Strength roll as a normal action. If successful the victim has been swallowed, and automatically suffers Str+d6 damage every round after that. A swallowed victim can attempt to climb back up to the creature's mouth as a normal action with an opposed Strength roll, although it still remains pinned by the bite. This ability only works on targets of Size 0 or smaller.
• Natural Swimmer: Swimming Pace of 6", and +2 to resist drowning.
• Size +3: Increases Toughness by +3.

Personally I like to print out the NPCs on cards, so that I can lay them on the table in front of me. Here are the NPC cards I used for We Be Savage Goblins (click on the image to enlarge):

In We Be Savage Goblins! Part 3 I'll describe how I converted and ran the adventure.

We Be Savage Goblins! Part 1: The PCs.

A few months ago I played Paizo's We Be Goblins, which was really great fun - it's a fantastic adventure, and free, I strongly recommend taking a look. But I couldn't help feeling it would work better with Savage Worlds instead of Pathfinder. Last weekend a friend came to visit, and joined my group for the weekend game, so I finally had the chance to put my theory to the test.

The first step was to create a goblin race, which was fairly straightforward, as I already had a prototype race converter and access to the Pathfinder goblin stats. The only thing I changed was the flat +1 Stealth bonus to a d6 starting die:

Goblin (+2 race)
• Agile (+2): +1 die step to Agility.
• Darkvision (+1): No vision penalties for darkness (range 12").
• Stealthy (+1): Stealth starts at d6.
• Size -1 (-2): Three feet tall; Toughness -1.

For a long-term campaign I'd probably also restrict their Strength to d10 and rule that their Agility can be increased to d12+1, perhaps also give them a Charisma penalty and a Riding bonus, but for a one-shot I wanted to keep things simple.

The four pre-generated PCs were created by feeding their stats into my NPC converter and then fine-tuning to balance them against each other and make sure they each excelled in their own way. They're all 10 exp characters.

Reta Bigbad
Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d6, Spirit d6, Strength d6, Vigor d8
Skills: Fighting d10, Riding d10, Notice d6, Stealth d8, Shooting d10
Charisma: -; Pace: 6; Parry: 7; Toughness: 6 (1)
Gear: Leather armour, dogslicer (Str+d6), shortbow (range 12/24/48; 2d6), potion of cure wounds (automatically restores 1 wound), potion of spider climb (grants Wall Walking for the scene)
Hindrances: Risk Taker (loves taking risks to scare her enemies), Big Mouth (LIKES TO SHOUT ABOUT EVERYTHING), Quirk (enjoys tormenting small animals)
Edges: Dog-Sniff-Hate (can detect and track canines by scent; +1 attack and damage against canines), Balloon Head (trapping for Alertness)
Special Abilities
• Darkvision: No vision penalties for darkness (range 12").
• Size -1: Reduces Toughness by -1.

Chuffy Lickwound
Attributes: Agility d12, Smarts d6, Spirit d6, Strength d4, Vigor d8
Skills: Fighting d8, Climbing d6, Lockpicking d6, Notice d6, Stealth d8, Riding d6, Throwing d6
Charisma: -2; Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 6 (1)
Gear: Leather armour, dogslicer (Str+d4), 6 darts (range 3/6/12; 2d4), potions of cure wounds, potion of jump (gain the ability to jump d6" as a free action for the remainder of the scene)
Hindrances: Bloodthirsty (loves stabbing people), Quirk (enjoys fires and explosions), Ugly (face covered in pimples and boils that have a tendency to pop at inopportune moments)
Edges: Thief, Weapon Finesse (roll Agility instead of d6 for bonus damage on a raise)
Special Abilities
• Darkvision: No vision penalties for darkness (range 12").
• Size -1: Reduces Toughness by -1.

Poog of Zarongel
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d4, Spirit d8, Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Fighting d6, Repair d4, Riding d6, Notice d4, Stealth d8, Faith d8, Healing d6, Throwing d6
Charisma: -; Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 6 (2)
Gear: Chain shirt, dogslicer (Str+d6), 2 javelins (range 3/6/12; Str+d6), wand of cure wounds (roll Faith, on a success it heals 1 wound, on a natural 1 the wand is drained and the roll cannot be bennied)
Hindrances: Overconfident (particularly in combat), Quirk (loves setting things on fire), Vow (sworn to kill a dog)
Edges: Arcane Background (Miracles), Quick, Power Points
Powers: Healing (cure wounds), Bolt (firebolt), Burst (burning hands)
Special Abilities
• Darkvision: No vision penalties for darkness (range 12").
• Size -1: Reduces Toughness by -1.

Mogmurch
Attributes: Agility d12, Smarts d8, Spirit d4, Strength d4, Vigor d6
Skills: Fighting d6, Healing d4, Repair d6, Riding d6, Survival d4, Notice d4, Stealth d8, Throwing d12
Charisma: -; Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 5 (1)
Gear: Leather armour, club (Str+d4), bomb (range 10/20/40; 2d6; SBT; 1 PP), 2 potions of cure wounds, smokestick (range 3/6/12; obscures a LBT for a couple of minutes)
Hindrances: Curious (always likes trying things to see what happens), Deranged (mentally unstable and prone to doing crazy things), Quirk (loves blowing things up)
Edges: Power Points, Arcane Background (Alchemy), Bouncy (halve falling damage)
Powers: Blast variant (bombs: increase to MBT/LBT for +1/+3 PP; increase to 3d6 damage for +2 PP)
Special Abilities
• Darkvision: No vision penalties for darkness (range 12").
• Size -1: Reduces Toughness by -1.

The potions were intentionally kept very simple for the one-shot, requiring a normal action to consume, and granting an automatic benefit. I also made sure to write all of the other gear from the module onto each of the character sheets, such as the half-drunk perfume bottle, the child's doll with the eyes removed, the eye patch with a hole cut in it, and so on - lots of humourous items that really helped set the mood for the game.

I also took some liberties with the Edges and Hindrances, renaming and customising a few to better fit the characters, but I made sure I kept them easy to understand. Mogmurch's bombs were handled as an Arcane Background - effectively Weird Science (thus he could use Throwing), with a weakened variant of Blast (reduced range, although with the option of using a Small Burst Template).

In We Be Savage Goblins! Part 2 I will cover the NPCs.