Converting D&D Armor and Shield Enchantments

In a previous post I discussed my ideas for converting magic weapons from D&D to Savage Worlds. This time I'm going to cover armor and shields.

The concept is pretty much the same, although one notable difference is that some of the magic bonuses for D&D armor and shields have a purely financial cost instead of a numeric bonus value. To keep things simple, I chose to stick to numeric bonuses (+1, +2, etc.). Some of the bonuses have also been merged (e.g., "Shadow" and "Silent Moves") or streamlined.

Standard Enchantments

Most magic armor and shields in D&D have a simple fixed bonus in the range +1 to +5, which is applied directly to the wearer's Armor Class. However Savage Worlds is far less granular, and even +1 armor is a potent bonus, so here is the approach I recommend.

+1 Armor: +1 armor, reduced to +0 if hit with a raise.

+2 Armor: +1 armor.

+3 Armor: +2 armor, reduced to +1 if hit with a raise.

+4 Armor: +2 armor.

+5 Armor: +3 armor, reduced to +2 if hit with a raise.

+1 Shield: +1 armor against ranged shots.

+2 Shield: +2 armor against ranged shots.

+3 Shield: +1 Parry.

+4 Shield: +1 Parry, and +1 armor against ranged shots that hit.

+5 Shield: +1 Parry, and +2 armor against ranged shots that hit.

This is also consistent with the ability prices listed in Savage Armoury. Note that if you're using Savage Armoury as well, enchanted weapons and armor should always have the Masterwork ability.

Special Enchantments

The following are some proposed conversions of the special armor and shield abilities used in D&D. As with the weapons, the goal is to retain the general flavor of the original ability, while significantly toning down the mechanical benefits to match those described earlier.

Acid Resistance (+1/+2): Acid damage against the wearer is reduced by 2 or 4 points.

Animated (+2): As a normal action you can release this shield from your hand, causing it to float beside you and protect you as if you were holding it. This is treated as if you were holding the shield for all purposes (including encumbrance and Arcane Spell Failure), except that you can use your hand for other things. You can grasp the shield again at any time as a free action, and cannot activate more than one Animated shield at a time.

Arrow Catching (+1): This shield can be activated as a normal action and deactivated as a free action. While active it attracts arrows, thrown weapons, and other ranged attacks, causing them to veer unerringly towards it. Any ranged attacks made against targets adjacent to you are automatically diverted towards you instead. All ranged attacks against you receive a +1 bonus to hit and halve any penalties for obscurement or poor lighting, but don't inflict any additional damage for Called Shots or raises, as they invariably strike the center of your shield. This ability does not work against spells or area-effect attacks, nor against particularly large attacks such as siege weapons.

Arrow Deflection (+2): This shield can be used once per round to try and deflect a ranged attack that would normally hit you, as long as you are aware of it and not Shaken; make an opposed Agility roll against the attack roll, if you win then the attack is deflected and misses you. This ability does not work against spells or area-effect attacks, nor against particularly large attacks such as siege weapons.

Bashing (+1): This shield inflicts +1 damage when used to make a Shield Bash maneuver.

Blinding (+1): This shield can unleash a flash of brilliant light up to twice per day as a normal action, filling an area the size of a Large Burst Template centered on the character. Everyone within the area (other than the character) must make a standard (TN 4) Agility roll or become Shaken; if a target rolls 1 on their Agility die (or rolls a critical failure if they're a Wild Card) they are also blinded until they recover from being Shaken.

Cold Resistance (+1/+2): Cold damage against the wearer is reduced by 2 or 4 points.

Electricity Resistance (+1/+2): Electricity damage against the wearer is reduced by 2 or 4 points.

Etherealness (+3): This armor allows the wearer to cast Intangibility on themselves, using Spirit for the arcane skill roll; the armor has 5 Power Points for this power.

Fire Resistance (+1/+2): Fire damage against the wearer is reduced by 2 or 4 points.

Fortification (+1/+2): This armor or shield produces a magical force which protects the vitals. Additional damage caused by Called Shots is reduced by 2 or 4.

Ghost Touch (+3): This armor or shield protects against both ethereal and non-ethereal creatures. It can also be picked up and used by ethereal creatures.

Glamoured (+1): This armor can take on the illusionary appearance of a normal set of clothing, although it still retains its normal weight and provides its normal protection. The illusionary appearance is always the same, but remains active as long as the wearer wishes; switching the illusion on or off is a normal action.

Invulnerability (+3): This armor increases the wearer's Vigor by +1 die step.

Reflecting (+5): This shield can be used once per day to reflect a spell that targets you personally (i.e., it doesn't work against area effect spells). Make a standard (TN 4) Spirit roll, with a -2 penalty if the spell was cast with a raise: on a failure you are affected by the spell, while on a success the spell is reflected back on the caster.

Shadowy (+1/+2): This armor grants you a +1 or +2 bonus to Stealth rolls when attempting to move silently or remain unseen.

Slick (+1): This armor grants you a +2 bonus to resist and escape from grapple, constrict, Entangle, and other forms of confinement.

Sonic Resistance (+1/+2): Sonic damage against the wearer is reduced by 2 or 4 points.

Spell Resistance (+2/+4): This armor grants the wearer a +1 or +2 bonus to resist opposed magic, as well as +1 or +2 armor against damage-causing magic.

Undead Controlling (+3): This armor or shield grants the wearer the ability to cast Puppet on any creature with the Undead ability, using Spirit for the arcane skill roll; the armor has 5 Power Points for this power.

Wild (+3): This armor or shield continues to provides its armor and Parry bonuses to the wearer while they are shapechanged into the form of an animal.

Converting D&D Weapon Enchantments

Converting magic weapons from D&D to Savage Worlds is a subject that's been raised on a number of occasions, particularly by people who are interested in adapting various campaign settings and Adventure Paths.

I've discussed my ideas for weapon conversions in general terms in the past, however my upcoming Vancian magic system needs something more concrete (particularly for the artificers), so I decided it was time to flesh out some actual guidelines.

Standard Enchantments

Most magic weapons in D&D have a simple fixed bonus in the range +1 to +5, which is applied to both attack and damage rolls. However Savage Worlds is far less granular, and even +1 to attack and damage is a very potent bonus, so here is the approach I recommend.

+1 Weapon: +1 damage on a raise.

+2 Weapon: +1 damage.

+3 Weapon: +1 to attack rolls.

+4 Weapon: +1 to attack rolls and +1 damage on a raise.

+5 Weapon: +1 to attack rolls and +1 damage.

This is also consistent with the weapon ability prices listed in Savage Armoury. Note that if you're using Savage Armoury as well, an enchanted weapon should always have the Masterwork weapon ability.

Special Enchantments

The following are some proposed conversions of the special weapon abilities used in D&D. The goal is to retain the general flavour of the original ability, while significantly toning down the mechanical benefits to match those described earlier. These also reference certain monstrous abilities (such as alignment-based abilities for supernatural creatures) which I use in my monster conversions - if you don't use those monstrous abilities, you can just base it on GM's discretion (which is how "good" and "evil" are normally defined in the core rules for the purposes of Edges such as Champion and Holy/Unholy Warrior).

Anarchic (+2): This weapon has been infused with the power of chaos. It counts as Chaotic for the purposes of Physical Resistance, and also inflicts +2 damage to creatures with the Lawful ability.

Axiomatic (+2): This weapon has been infused with the power of law. It counts as Lawful for the purposes of Physical Resistance, and also inflicts +2 damage to creatures with the Chaotic ability.

Bane (+1): This weapon is designed to kill a specific type of foe, such as humans, elves, dragons, etc, chosen when the weapon was forged. It inflicts +2 damage to creatures of the chosen type.

Brilliant Energy (+4): The striking part of this weapon has been transformed into intense light, causing it to illuminate an area the size of a Large Burst Template when drawn. This weapon ignores armour, as well as Parry bonuses from shields and weapons, but can only harm living matter; it inflicts no damage to undead, constructs, or inanimate objects.

Dancing (+4): As a normal action you can release this weapon from your hand, causing it to float beside you and fight your enemies. This is resolved as if you had a free attack at -2 each round; this must be a normal attack. You can grasp the weapon in your hand again as a free action, deactivating its Dancing power. You can only activate one Dancing weapon at any one time, and if you draw Clubs for initiative while the weapon is already active, it will automatically return to your hand at the end of your turn.

Defending (+1): The wielder of this melee weapon can use the Defend maneuver as a normal action if they wish, allowing them to perform other actions on the same turn (with the standard multiaction penalty).

Disruption (+2): This weapon inflicts +2 damage to undead, and if they are incapacitated by the attack they are automatically destroyed.

Distance (+1): This ranged weapon has its base range increased by +1/+2/+4 (missile weapons that use Shooting typically have their base range doubled, or tripled if they require both hands to use, see Savage Armoury for details).

Flaming (+1): This weapon bursts into flames on command as a free action. While flaming, the weapon illuminates an area the size of a Medium Burst Template, and any flammable targets struck by the weapon must roll to see if they catch fire. The damage caused by this weapon can be treated as either physical or fire, whichever is most effective against a particular foe.

Flaming Burst (+2): This weapon works like a Flaming weapon, except that when it hits with a raise it also explodes with flame, inflicting +d10 fire damage instead of the normal +d6 damage (the bonus die is always fire damage).

Frost (+1): This weapon becomes coated in frost on command as a free action. While frosty, the weapon gains AP 1. The damage caused by this weapon can be treated as either physical or cold, whichever is most effective against a particular foe.

Ghost Touch (+1): This weapon is capable of harming both ethereal and non-ethereal creatures. It can also be picked up and wielded by ethereal creatures.

Holy (+2): This weapon has been infused with holy power. It counts as Holy for the purposes of Physical Resistance, and also inflicts +2 damage to creatures with the Evil ability.

Icy Burst (+2): This weapon works like a Frost weapon, except that when it hits with a raise it also explodes with frost, inflicting +d10 cold damage instead of the normal +d6 damage (the bonus die is always cold damage).

Keen (+1): This piercing or slashing weapon is particularly sharp. If it hits with two or more raises, it inflicts a further +d4 damage (on top of the standard +d6 damage for a single raise).

Ki Focus (+1): This weapon channels the wielder's ki. If the wielder has the Adept Edge, and uses it to gain AP 2 until their next action, the AP applies to attacks made with this weapon in addition to unarmed attacks.

Merciful (+1): This weapon can be used to inflict nonlethal damage without incurring a penalty to the attack roll.

Mighty Cleaving (+1): If the wielder of this weapon has the Cleaving Blow Edge, they can now use it twice per round, although not on the same foe.

Returning (+1): This throwing weapon can be summoned back your hand as a action, as long as it's within its maximum range. This is the same as readying a weapon, meaning that if you have Quick Draw you can summon the weapon back to your hand as a free action.

Seeking (+1): This ranged weapon can ignore up to 1 point of attack penalty from cover or concealment (but not both at the same time).

Shock (+1): This weapon becomes wreathed in electricity on command as a free action. While electrified, the weapon illuminates an area the size of a Small Burst Template, and gains AP 1 against metal armour. The damage caused by this weapon can be treated as either physical or electricity, whichever is most effective against a particular foe.

Shocking Burst (+2): This weapon works like a Shock weapon, except that when it hits with a raise it also explodes with lightning, inflicting +d10 electricity damage instead of the normal +d6 damage (the bonus die is always electricity damage).

Speed (+3): This weapon allows you to make an additional attack when using it to perform an attack action. When you use this ability, roll an extra Fighting die with your attack roll, and apply a -1 penalty to all of your attacks for the turn.

Spell Storing (+1): This weapon can store a single Novice or Seasoned spell, which must be cast into it; the caster cannot recover their Power Points until the spell is discharged. Whenever you strike a foe with a raise, you may choose to discharge the spell as a free action instead of adding the standard +d6 damage for a raise. The arcane skill roll for the spell is made when the spell is discharged, not when it is placed into the weapon; if the roll results in Backlash, apply it to the wielder rather than the spellcaster.

Thundering (+1): Whenever this weapon hits with a raise, it releases a thundering roar, inflicting +d10 sonic damage instead of the normal +d6 damage. This sound can be heard from quite a long distance away. Creatures incapacitated by this damage always suffer deafness instead of rolling for a random injury.

Throwing (+1): This melee weapon can now be thrown with a range of 3/6/12.

Unholy (+2): This weapon has been infused with unholy power. It counts as Unholy for the purposes of Physical Resistance, and also inflicts +2 damage to creatures with the Good ability.

Vicious (+1): This melee weapon inflicts +2 damage, but it also inflicts half as much damage to the wielder (rounded down) as it does to the victim - e.g., if you hit someone for 15 damage, you also suffer 7 damage yourself.

Vorpal (+5): This exceedingly sharp weapon inflicts +d6 damage die for every raise on the attack roll (rather than just the first raise). If you incapacitate a foe with a vorpal weapon, they are automatically decapitated.

Wounding (+2): This weapon causes particular horrible wounds; Soak rolls against damage inflicted by this weapon suffer a -2 penalty. Creatures who don't suffer additional damage from Called Shots (such as undead and constructs) are not affected by this weapon.

Fighting Schools

From time to time I see posts from people looking for a way to handle fighting schools. I know there are a few existing solutions out there, but I fancied having a go at creating my own, which I felt should be generic enough to handle both martial arts and swashbuckling styles of combat. Much like the weapons in Savage Armoury, I also wanted the fighting styles to be customisable by the player, rather than writing a laundry list of premade schools.

A fighting style is represented by a series a customisable Edges, and members of a particular school will typically have the same abilities for each Edge. Players can select whichever abilities they wish, representing either their own unique style, or membership to a particular school (which they should then describe as a plot hook for the GM).

For a martial arts school that teaches unarmed techniques, the character should also take the Martial Artist Edge; the GM may even wish to add it as a requirement for the Fighting Style Edge.


Fighting Edges

Fighting Style
Requirements: Novice, Fighting d8
  Choose a core principle for your fighting style. When fighting someone who is also using a Fighting Style, if you have the advantage due to your core principle you receive a +1 bonus to your attack rolls. This bonus only applies when both combatants are using a Fighting Style.
  Select 1 point worth of abilities from the technique list for your principle. You may choose multiple abilities if you wish, as long as they add up to 1 point.
  This Edge may be taken up to three times, once for each of the three core principles, however you may only use one Fighting Style Edge at a time. You must declare which Fighting Style (if any) you are using at the beginning of your turn, as a free action, and the benefits last for the remainder of the scene or until you declare a different Fighting Style.

Improved Fighting Style
Requirements: Veteran, Fighting Style
  You've mastered the principle of your fighting style. When fighting a foe who is also using the Fighting Style Edge, if you have the advantage due to your core principle you now receive a +1 bonus to Parry (in addition to the attack bonus).
  Select another 1 point worth of abilities from the technique list for your principle, this may include an Improved ability if you wish. You may choose multiple abilities, as long as they add up to 1 point.
  This Edge may be taken up to three times, but must be applied to a different Fighting Style Edge each time. You only benefit from this Edge when using the associated Fighting Style.

Muscle Memory
Requirements: Heroic, Improved Fighting Style, Fighting d10
  This Edge applies to one specific Improved Fighting Style Edge. You've trained so extensively with one of your styles that you no longer need to declare it at the beginning of a scene; it is now always active, as long as you are conscious, even if you are Surprised or attacked with the Drop (although you may still change to another Fighting Style on your turn with a free action as normal).

Fighting Stance
Requirements: Seasoned, Fighting Style, attribute d8+
  You've learned how to use a particularly effective fighting stance, although it's difficult to use. Spend a benny as a free action while using any Fighting Style to gain the benefit of this Edge for the remainder of the encounter.
  Select 2 points worth of abilities from any principle, this may also include 1 point of Improved ability if you wish. The most expensive ability also determines the attribute requirement for this Edge (in the case of a tie, the Edge requires all of the joint-highest attributes at d8+).
  This Edge may be taken multiple times, but you can only use one Fighting Stance at a time. Changing stance is a free action, and doesn't require the expenditure of another benny (i.e., spending one benny allows you to freely use all of your stances for the encounter).

Fighting Discipline
Requirements: Seasoned, Fighting Style, attribute d8+
  Select up to 1 point worth of abilities from any principle. The most expensive ability also determines the attribute requirement for this Edge (in the case of a tie, the Edge requires multiple attributes at d8+). You benefit from this Edge when using any Fighting Style.

Improved Fighting Discipline
Requirements: Seasoned, Fighting Discipline
  Select 2 point worth of abilities from any principle, however these abilities must also include whatever abilities you took for the Fighting Discipline Edge - i.e., both Edges combined give a total of 2 points worth of abilities (this may also include 1 point of Improved ability if you wish). For example you might take +1 damage (worth ⅔) with Fighting Discipline, then upgrade it to +3 damage (worth 2) with Improved Fighting Discipline. You benefit from this Edge when using any Fighting Style.

Secret Technique
Requirements: Wild Card, Seasoned, Fighting Style, Fighting d10
  You've mastered a particularly deadly yet highly specialised fighting technique. Select 4 points worth of abilities from any principle, this may also include up to 2 points worth of Improved abilities if you wish. You only benefit from these abilities when you are dealt a Joker during combat while using a Fighting Style, and the abilities remain until the beginning of your next turn.

Core Principles

Each fighting technique belongs to one of the three core principle: Rock, Paper or Scissors. Rock represents strength and resilience, Paper represents a more spiritual or intellectual focus, and Scissors is based on speed and reflexes. Each core principle has the advantage over one other core principle (Rock overpowers Scissors, Scissors outmaneuvers Paper, and Paper outsmarts Rock).

Rock Principles

• Bonus Damage (⅓): +1 damage on a raise (Strength, Stackable, Improved).
• Combo Attack (Push) (1): When performing an attack and a Push maneuver the same round, reduce the MAP by 1 (Strength, Improved).
• Damage (⅔): +1 damage (Strength, Stackable, Improved).
• Focus (Power) (⅓): Increase the bonus damage on a raise by +1 die step, cannot exceed your Strength (Strength, Stackable).
• Free Strike (Cleave) (1): Free Fighting attack against a second foe after incapacitating someone (Strength, Improved).
• Hardy (½): A second Shaken result is not upgraded to a wound (Vigor).
• Ignore Pain (½): Ignore 1 point of penalty from wounds (Vigor, Improved).
• Knockback (1): Opponents are knocked back 1" for each raise on your attack roll, if they hit a solid object they suffer an additional +d6 damage (Strength).
• Natural Armour (⅓): Armour +1, doesn't stack with worn armour (Vigor, Stackable)
• Penetrating (⅓): +1 AP (Strength, Stackable).
• Push (½): +1 bonus to perform and resist push maneuvers (Strength, Stackable)
• Reactive Attack (Retaliation) (1): Free Fighting attack at -2 against someone who hits you, but rolls under your Toughness for damage (Vigor, Improved).
• Soak (½): +1 bonus to Soak (Vigor, Stackable).
• Tough (⅔): +1 Toughness (Vigor, Stackable).

Paper Principles

• Attentive (½): Gang Up bonuses against you are reduced by 1 (Smarts, Stackable).
• Blindsense (½): Can sense and approximately pinpoint things within 6", attacks using blindsense are made at -2 (Smarts).
• Combo Attack (Intimidation) (1): When performing an attack and an Intimidation test the same round, reduce the MAP by 1 (Spirit, Improved).
• Combo Attack (Smarts Trick) (1): When performing an attack and a Smarts trick the same round, reduce the MAP by 1 (Smarts, Improved).
• Combo Attack (Taunt) (1): When performing an attack and a Taunt test the same round, reduce the MAP by 1 (Smarts, Improved).
• Cool-Headed (1): Draw one additional action card for initiative, keep the highest (Smarts).
• Fearless (¼): +1 bonus to resist Fear tests (Spirit, Stackable, Improved).
• Focus (Chi) (⅓): Increase the bonus damage on a raise by +1 die step, cannot exceed your Spirit (Spirit, Stackable).
• Free Strike (Vengeance) (1): Free Fighting attack (even when Shaken) against someone who causes you a wound which you fail to Soak (Spirit, Improved).
• Reactive Attack (Opportunist) (1): Free Fighting attack at -2 against someone who becomes Shaken (Smarts, Improved).
• Reroll Trait (½): Gain a +1 bonus to the final result when spending a benny to reroll a trait check in combat (Spirit).
• Smarts Trick (½): +1 bonus to rolls when making and resisting Smarts tricks (Smarts).
• Tenacious (¼): +1 bonus to recover from being Shaken (Spirit).
• Unerring (1): You almost never miss; if your attack roll is under your foe's Parry but higher than 1, you hit their torso for half damage (Smarts).

Scissors Principles

• Accuracy (1): You automatically hit your foe's least armoured location on a raise (Agility).
• Agility Trick (½): +1 bonus to rolls when making and resisting Agility tricks (Agility).
• Attack (1): +1 to attack rolls (Agility).
• Combo Attack (Agility Trick) (1): When performing an attack and an Agility trick the same round, reduce the MAP by 1 (Agility, Improved).
• Defence (1): Foes suffer a -1 penalty to hit you with both melee and ranged attacks (Agility).
• Fast (½): Increase Pace by +1 and running die by +1 die step (Agility).
• Focus (Finesse) (⅓): Increase the bonus damage on a raise by +1 die step, cannot exceed your Agility (Agility, Stackable).
• Flurry (1): Can perform two Fighting attacks at -1 or three Fighting attacks at -3, as a single action (Agility, Improved).
• Free Strike (Alacrity) (1): Free Fighting attack against someone who move adjacent to you (Agility, Improved).
• Lunge (1): +1" Reach (Agility).
• Qinggong (½): Only really appropriate for wuxia settings; works like Flight, except the character must start and end their movement on solid ground (Agility).
• Reactive Attack (Riposte) (1): Free Fighting attack at -2 against someone who attacks you and misses (Agility, Improved).
• Slippery (¼): +2 to resist and escape from grapple, constrict, Entangle, and other forms of confinement (Agility, Stackable).
• Evade (1): Once per round, you may prevent one free attack from being made against you (before it is rolled) with a successful Agility roll (Agility, Improved).

Technique Notes

Each ability is followed by its cost, where 1 is the value of a full Edge. Each ability also lists an attribute, which is to determine the requirements for certain Edges.

Focus can be stacked with itself (for +d10 damage on a raise), but different Focus types do not stack with each other.

Combo Attack can be Improved (reducing the total MAP by 2), but you cannot use more than one type of Combo Attack in the same round.

Evade can be Improved (if the Agility roll is a raise, you cannot be targeted by any free attacks until the beginning of your next turn), but a character with the Extraction Edge cannot take Evade (and vice versa).

Stackable abilities can be taken twice. Improved abilities can also be taken twice, although the second time must be with Edge that explicitly permits Improved abilities. If the ability is both Stackable and Improved, it can be taken up to four times. You cannot benefit from a particular ability more than twice (with Stackable or Improved) or four times (with both).

Flurry allows the character to roll make two Fighting attacks (with a -1 penalty to all actions that round) or three Fighting attacks (with a -3 penalty to all actions that round) as a single action (i.e., roll two or three Fighting dice with one Wild Die). The Improved version reduces the penalty to -0 for two attacks and -2 for three attacks. This ability cannot be used the same round as any other effect that allows the character to attack multiple foes in one action (such as Frenzy, Sweep, Rapid Attack, etc).

Free Strike grants a maximum of one free Fighting attack per round when not Shaken (unless otherwise stated), while the Improved version allows a free Fighting attack every single time it's triggered. You cannot use more than one type of Free Strike in the same round, and a character with the First Strike Edge cannot take Free Strike (or vice versa).

Reactive Attack grants a maximum of one free Fighting attack per round with a -2 penalty when not Shaken, and the Improved version removes the -2 penalty. You cannot use more than one type of Reactive Attack in the same round, and a character with the Counterattack Edge cannot take Reactive Attack (or vice versa).

Examples

The following are some simple examples of what martial arts fighting styles might look like, and are loosely based on real world fighting styles:

Black Tiger Fist
Requirements: Novice, Martial Artist, Fighting d8
  Uses the Rock principle and grants Damage and Bonus Damage. Improved grants Ignore Pain and Hardy.

Choy Li Fut
Requirements: Novice, Martial Artist, Fighting d8
  Uses the Paper principle and grants Attentive twice (Gang Up reduced by 2). Improved grants Cool-Headed.

Fanged Snake Style
Requirements: Novice, Martial Artist, Fighting d8
  Uses the Scissors principle and grants Accuracy. Improved grants Reactive Attack (Riposte).

The following are some fictional examples of what a fighting stance might look like:

Bull Stance

Requirements: Seasoned, Fighting Style, Strength d8+

  Grants Damage three times (+3 damage) for the scene when you spend a benny.

Eagle Stance

Requirements: Seasoned, Fighting Style, Agility d8+, Smarts d8+

  Grants Unerring and Defence for the scene when you spend a benny.

Viper Stance

Requirements: Seasoned, Fighting Style, Agility d8+

  Grants Free Strike (Alacrity) and Lunge for the scene when you spend a benny.

Fighting disciplines and secret techniques could also be created in much the same way.

Savage Armoury update (version 9)

The first "toolkit" PDF I created for Savage Worlds was Savage Armoury, a set of guidelines for designing and balancing weapons and armour. It's since gone through a number of updates and improvements, and the page count has more than doubled since the original version. Of the many PDFs I've released, it still seems to be one of most (if not the most) popular.

It's been over a year since I last changed it, but some recent feedback on the Pinnacle forums convinced me that it needed a minor update.

The Natural Weapons Edge now gives the Light ability for free. The truth is I was never entirely happy about forcing people to spend weapon ability points, but one of my goals was that Natural Weapons should be backward compatible with Martial Artist, so I fudged the numbers a bit by requiring people to spend a point on Light. However Sitting Duck on the Pinnacle forums pointed out something that I'd overlooked: Martial Artist also has the option of performing nonlethal damage without a penalty to the attack roll. This means Light can be turned into a freebie, and recreating Martial Artist now requires Always Ready, Low Damage and Optionally Nonlethal.

This also made me realise that I hadn't taken into account other blunt weapons being able to inflict nonlethal damage without penalty. Even in earlier versions of Savage Armoury, I'd listed that option as a +1 ability, but I'd never factored it into any of the predefined weapons. Should I update them all? I considered it, but in the end decided it should remain optional - generalisations such as "all blunt weapons" don't really belong in Savage Armoury, as it breaks down each weapon into individual abilities.

However I did update the Nonlethal Weapons section to clarify how the option works, and change the baton in the Equipment List at the end of the document to use Optionally Nonlethal (I also removed the AP -1, and lowered the damage to d4, bringing it in line with the SWD baton).

Finally, I updated the description for reinforced armour and helmets to clarify that they're bypassed by a raise on the attack roll, after someone asked whether it referred to the damage roll.