Musings about Necromancers, Drakonheim, and Slottable Settings

I like necromancers. I've always thought they were one of the cooler mage concepts (with serious anti-hero potential), and I love the idea of all those icky minions. I enjoyed reading Brian Lumley's Necroscope series, and Gail Z. Martin's Chronicles of the Necromancer, and of course I adored Bauchelain and Korbal Broach in Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen. When I played Warhammer Fantasy Battle long ago, I usually used necromancer-lead undead armies (and I was gutted when the 3rd edition rules quadrupled the point cost for the rank and file undead), and in computer games I usually play a necromancer when available.

Sadly most roleplaying settings that include rules for necromancers define them exclusively as bad guys. In Shaintar, for example, necromancers are only available as NPCs. Even in the Eberron setting, where the nation of Karrnath used undead soldiers to defend its borders during the Last War, necromancy is viewed as evil.

However while some forms of necromancy could certainly be classified as evil (particularly in relation to draining, binding or corrupting souls), skeletons and zombies are typically portrayed as mindless and soulless - if you ignore the icky aspect, they're not really any different than robots.

Raising the Dead for a Living

One of the first adventures I ever ran for my current group started out rather clichéd - the PCs were passing through a settlement that was being terrorised by a local necromancer. The villagers spun a tale of murder and dark magic, of abductions and grave robbing, and begged the PCs to deal with the threat...

The truth was somewhat different. The necromancer was using animated skeletons to perform manual labour on nearby land that he'd purchased from the local lord. He hadn't killed or abducted anyone, but he'd paid several of the villagers a tidy sum in advance for the right to use their corpses after they died, and the contract was legally binding. The villagers were more than happy to take the money while they were alive, but had a change of heart when it came to upholding their end of the bargain, and many of them didn't want to hand over the dead bodies of their relatives. They figured a party of gullible and violent adventurers would be the perfect solution to their dilemma.

Thrown into the mix was an exceptionally stupid NPC paladin (I was poking fun at the D&D dump stat stereotype), who was already in the area attempting to deal with the undead "menace", and decided to join forces with the party. This lead to the following memorable exchange as the group scouted out the necromancer's base:

Paladin: Let's attack the base! Full-frontal assault! CHARGE!

PC: Wait! It's a fortified building with archers on the walls and heavily barred gates, you'd need a battering ram to get in there...

Paladin: Ah, tactician eh? I like the way you think!

The paladin later died while trying to single-handedly batter down the gates with an improvised ram, but his catchphrase lived on, and for a long time afterwards any blatantly obvious suggestions would be met with "Tactician eh?" 

The PCs never did kill the necromancer. He didn't drive them off with undead or dark magic, but with legal threats.

The memory of that adventure came flooding back when I read Drakonheim. In the original Drakonheim adventures, a cabal of necromancers are raising an undead army to defend their city from a hobgoblin invasion. The full setting takes place in the aftermath, with necromancers now working openly with the support of the mayor. The setting even has an overzealous paladin who keeps breaking the law by attacking the undead!

Drakonheim: City of Bones

Created by +Matthew Hanson (author of the Broken Earth and Kronocalypse settings for Savage Worlds), Drakonheim is a system-neutral setting, although it expands on a trilogy of earlier adventures that he wrote for D&D Next. As a result, Drakonheim still maintains a bit of a D&D vibe, with the assumption of common D&D races, classes/archetypes, monsters and spells.

Of course this is ideal for me, as it fits perfectly with the magic system in Savage Vancian Magic, and with my Monster Finder bestiary. It would therefore take relatively little effort to convert the original three adventures, and because the Drakonheim setting book is pure fluff, it wouldn't need any conversion at all.

For those who prefer to stick with official sources, the Horror Companion would make a good source of Edges and powers for the Gray Society (the organisation of necromancers who defended Drakonheim), and the Fantasy Companion bestiary should cover most of the monsters.

Slottable Settings

Because the setting focuses on a single city, Drakonheim could also be inserted into established settings - much like Kurstwahl, the city from Guild of Shadows (and as both have pseudo-Germanic names and dark themes, I could very easily imagine using both cities in the same fantasy world).

I'm actually a very big fan of this slottable-setting approach, with detailed cities that can be dropped into existing campaigns as needed, fleshing out places that the PCs are visiting. I own far more settings than I could ever realistically run as full campaigns, but slottable locations can simply be blended into my current campaign as new places to explore.

Archetypes based on D&D Classes

Last month I completed the Savage Vancian Magic fan supplement, which is designed to capture the flavour of the D&D magic system in a way that still feels and plays like Savage Worlds - or as I like to think of it, Savage Vancian Magic is to D&D settings as the Super Powers Companion is to superhero settings.

In this blog post I'd like to show how Savage Vancian Magic can be used to help design character archetypes that are based thematically on the D&D base classes.

My current campaign (Savage War of the Burning Sky) includes a similar set of archetypes. One player just wanted to play a wizard, so she picked the wizard archetype and used it as written. Another player wanted to create an aggressive warrior, so he picked the barbarian archetype and swapped a few things around. The third player wasn't interested in the archetypes at all, so she ignored them and created a rather unique acrobatic carpenter with a fondness for brawling. Everyone was able to invest as much (or as little) effort as they wished into character creation, and they all ended up with the characters they wanted.

Classes as Archetypes

I'm not personally a fan of classes, as I find them confining, and I certainly wouldn't want to add classes to Savage Worlds. However I find archetypes an excellent compromise - they provide a quick and easy way to create new characters that fit the setting, without limiting players who want to build less orthodox characters.

D&D settings are obviously designed with the D&D game system in mind, which means they usually include the same selection of common classes. When converting such settings to Savage Worlds, it can therefore be beneficial to offer archetypes that reflect the base classes:

Barbarian

Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d4, Spirit d4, Strength d8, Vigor d8

Skills: Climbing d4, Evading d6, Fighting d6, Healing d4, Intimidation d4, Notice d4, Riding d4, Shooting d4, Survival d4, Swimming d4, Throwing d6, Tracking d4

Charisma: –; Pace: 8; Parry: 6 (1); Toughness: 7 (1)

Hindrances: One Major, Illiterate, one additional Minor

Edges: Berserk, Fleet-Footed

Gear: Battle axe (Str+d8), target shield (+1 Parry), throwing axe (Str+d6; range 3/6/12), thick furs (+1)

Bard

Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d8, Strength d6, Vigor d4

Skills: Climbing d4, Evading d4, Fighting d4, Knowledge (Bardic Lore) d6, Lockpicking d4, Notice d4, Persuasion d6, Riding d4, Shooting d4, Spellsinging d6, Stealth d4, Streetwise d4

Charisma: +2; Pace: 6; Parry: 6 (2); Toughness: 5 (1)

Hindrances: One Major, two Minor

Edges: Charismatic, Novice Spellsinger

Gear: Rapier (Str+d4; +1 Parry), buckler (+1 Parry), bow (2d6; range 12/24/48), padded vest (+1)

Cleric

Attributes: Agility d4, Smarts d6, Spirit d8, Strength d6, Vigor d6

Skills: Evading d4, Faith d8, Fighting d4, Healing d6, Knowledge (Planes) d4, Knowledge (Religion) d6, Notice d4, Persuasion d6, Riding d4, Throwing d4

Charisma: –; Pace: 6; Parry: 5 (1); Toughness: 7 (2)

Hindrances: One Major, two Minor

Edges: Novice Cleric, Turn Undead

Gear: Warhammer (Str+d6), target shield (+1 Parry), sling, chainmail vest (+2)

Druid

Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d8, Strength d4, Vigor d6

Skills: Druidry d8, Evading d4, Fighting d4, Healing d4, Knowledge (Nature) d6, Notice d4, Riding d4, Survival d6, Swimming d4, Throwing d4, Tracking d4

Charisma: –; Pace: 6; Parry: 5 (1); Toughness: 6 (1)

Hindrances: One Major, two Minor

Edges: Beast Master, Novice Druid

Gear: Staff (Str+d4; +1 Parry), sling, hide shirt (+1)

Fighter

Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d4, Spirit d6, Strength d8, Vigor d6

Skills: Climbing d4, Evading d8, Fighting d8, Intimidation d4, Knowledge (Battle) d4, Notice d4, Riding d4, Shooting d8, Throwing d4

Charisma: –; Pace: 6; Parry: 7 (1); Toughness: 9 (3)

Hindrances: One Major, two Minor

Edges: Brawny

Gear: Longsword (Str+d8), target shield (+1 Parry), dagger (Str+d4; range 3/6/12), bow (2d6; range 12/24/48), breastplate (+3)

Monk

Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d6, Strength d6, Vigor d6

Skills: Climbing d6, Evading d8, Fighting d8, Healing d6, Knowledge (Religion) d6, Notice d6, Stealth d4

Charisma: –; Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 5

Hindrances: One Major, two Minor

Edges: Martial Artist

Gear: Robes

Paladin

Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d4, Spirit d8, Strength d6, Vigor d6

Skills: Evading d8, Fighting d8, Intimidation d6, Knowledge (Religion) d4, Notice d4, Persuasion d4, Riding d6, Shooting d6

Charisma: –; Pace: 6; Parry: 7 (1); Toughness: 7 (2)

Hindrances: One Major, two Minor

Edges: Paladin

Gear: Shortsword (Str+d6), target shield (+1 Parry), chainmail vest (+2)

Ranger

Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d8, Spirit d6, Strength d6, Vigor d4

Skills: Evading d6, Fighting d6, Healing d4, Notice d4, Shooting d6, Stealth d4, Survival d8, Tracking d8

Charisma: –; Pace: 6; Parry: 6 (1); Toughness: 5 (1)

Hindrances: One Major, two Minor

Edges: Woodsman, Ranger Fighting Style

Gear: Shortsword (Str+d6), main gauche* (Str+d4; +1 Parry), bow (2d6; range 12/24/48), leather jerkin (+1)

Rogue

Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d6, Strength d6, Vigor d4

Skills: Climbing d6, Evading d8, Fighting d6, Lockpicking d6, Notice d4, Repair d4, Stealth d8, Streetwise d4

Charisma: –; Pace: 6; Parry: 7 (1); Toughness: 5 (1)

Hindrances: One Major, two Minor

Edges: Thief, Sneak Attack

Gear: Shortsword (Str+d6), main gauche* (Str+d4; +1 Parry), dagger (Str+d4; range 3/6/12), padded vest (+1)

Sorcerer

Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d8, Strength d6, Vigor d4

Skills: Evading d4, Fighting d4, Intimidation d8, Notice d4, Persuasion d8, Sorcery d8, Streetwise d6, Throwing d4

Charisma: –; Pace: 6; Parry: 5 (1); Toughness: 4

Hindrances: One Major, two Minor

Edges: Familiar Bond, Novice Sorcerer

Gear: Spear (Str+d6; +1 Parry)

Wizard

Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d10, Spirit d6, Strength d4, Vigor d4

Skills: Evading d4, Fighting d4, Investigation d6, Knowledge (Arcana) d8, Notice d6, Persuasion d4, Throwing d4, Wizardry d10

Charisma: –; Pace: 6; Parry: 5 (1); Toughness: 4

Hindrances: One Major, two Minor

Edges: Familiar Bond, Novice Wizard

Gear: Staff (Str+d4; +1 Parry)

* Use the same stats as a rapier if you're just using the core weapon list.

Note that these archetypes do not include race bonuses. So if you're playing a human, for example, then you would also add another Edge of your choice.

Setting Rules

These archetypes are designed with two setting rules in mind:

• Evading: In addition to Fighting, Shooting and Throwing, there is also an Evading combat skill. Parry is based on Evading (rather than Fighting), and Evading is also used in place of Agility for avoiding area-effect attacks, diving for cover, etc. The reason for this rule is explained in more detail here, if you don't wish to use it then just let the player reallocate the skill points as they see fit.

• Magical Training: If you start play with a spellcasting skill, you cannot raise any of your combat skills higher than d4 during character creation.

Expanded Rule: Sleeping Guards

There are no official rules on how to handle sleeping and waking,[Reference] although it's a subject that occasionally comes up during play. The closest we have to an official ruling is the Slumber power, which allows sleeping victims to make an unmodified Notice roll to wake up if they hear a "loud noise". Clint has also suggested that some GMs might choose to allow a Notice roll with a penalty if the sneaking character doesn't achieve a raise on their Stealth roll.[Reference]

When using Stealth to sneak up on someone, foes are classified as either active or inactive guards. A failed Stealth roll allows an inactive guard to make an unmodified Notice roll, and if successful they become an active guard for future rolls. Active guards can opposed the Stealth roll with a Notice roll in order to spot the character.

I therefore propose a third state: Sleeping.

When sneaking up on a sleeping guard, a failed Stealth roll indicates that you've made a noise, and they can make a Notice roll at -2 (the sleeping penalty): On a success they wake up and become inactive guards (they assume they just woke up naturally), while on a raise they wake up and become active guards (they know that a noise woke them up and are therefore more alert).

When taking the Last Step, if you don't achieve a raise on your Stealth roll then a sleeping foe can make an opposed Notice roll at -2 (the sleeping penalty). Of course even if they wake up, they will almost certainly be Prone and (unless they have natural weapons) count as an Unarmed Defender, at least until they've had their first action. Sleeping while on guard duty is a bad idea!

Note that the sleeping penalty should not apply to the Notice roll for Danger Sense. A sleeping character who successfully uses Danger Sense automatically wakes up and acts as if they'd been awake to start with.

New Hindrance

Deep Sleeper (Minor)

  You're a very heavy sleeper, and find it difficult to wake up. The penalty you suffer to Notice rolls while sleeping is increased to -4, and you cannot make opposed Notice rolls against the Last Step. A character with this Hindrance can never take Light Sleeper.

New Edge

Light Sleeper (Background)

Requirements: Novice, Notice d6+

  You sleep very lightly, and are always alert when you wake up. You ignore the -2 penalty to Notice rolls for sleeping. Furthermore if someone attempts to sneak up on you while you're asleep and fails their Stealth roll, a normal success on your Notice roll causes you to wake up and become an active guard, while on a raise you also wake up on Hold.

  When someone uses the Last Step against you, you may always attempt an opposed Notice roll, even if they succeeded with a raise on their Stealth roll. If you win the opposed roll you wake up and spot them, while beating them with a raise means you also wake up on Hold (and can attempt to immediately interrupt them if you wish).

Hindrance Cards

GMs in Savage Worlds are encouraged to hand out bennies when the players roleplay their Hindrances, although no specific guidelines are given - rewarding bennies falls very much into "GM's discretion" territory.

Personally I usually aim to award 1 benny per Hindrance per session. I will also give additional bennies for special cases, but those first 3 bennies tend to be the easiest to earn, particularly for crunchy Hindrances. For example I'd award a benny to a Lame character the first time they're in a Chase, or in a situation where their reduced Pace prevents them from completing a desirable action; I feel that it should be easier to earn bennies for crunchy Hindrances, to compensate for the fact that they also give a mechanical drawback (compared to the fluffy Hindrances that are purely roleplayed).

This approach works well for me, but sometimes I forget which PCs have which Hindrances, and which Hindrances I've already rewarded during the session. This becomes particularly problematic for one-shots and new campaigns, as it takes me a while to familiarise myself with the various PCs.

One solution I came up with is to write out the PCs Hindrances on cards (one Hindrance per card), and hand out the cards at the beginning of the session. The players can then cash in each of their cards when the respective Hindrances come into play, as long as their justification isn't too much of a stretch.

More recently I've had some newer players who aren't familiar with the system, and they sometimes have difficulty remembering what their Hindrances do (which can sometimes make it difficult to know when to cash in a card). So I decided to put together a tool that can generate printable cards complete with descriptions.

You can access it here: Hindrance Card Generator

Savage Dragonmarks

Now that Savage Vancian Magic is complete, I thought it might be fun to take a look at some of the other ways in which the new spells can be used. One idea that immediately sprung to mind was the dragonmarks from Eberron - elaborate tattoo-like skin patterns that grant magical abilities.

Kristian Serrano's comprehensive Savage Worlds Eberron Conversion Companion does already include rules for dragonmarks, but they work more like traditional Arcane Backgrounds. The alternative solution I'm providing here is instead designed to complement the spells and Edges described in Savage Vancian Magic.

Dragonmark Edges

Only humans, halflings, elves, gnomes, dwarves, half-elves and half-orcs can take Dragonmark Edges. A character can either take Aberrant Dragonmark, Least Dragonmark, or Heir of Siberys, but each blocks the other two. If a character takes Least Dragonmark then they may later branch into Lesser Dragonmark, Greater Dragonmark and/or Dragonmark Heir.

Aberrant Dragonmark

Requirements: Novice, Special

  You cannot take this Edge if you already have a dragonmark. Choose one of the following spells when this Edge is first taken: Beguile Person, Cause Moderate Wounds, Chilling Touch, Cone of Fire, Feather Fall, Hovering Disk, Leap, Light, Produce Fire, Sense Hidden Doors, Shield of Force, Terror, or Traceless Step. You may cast your chosen spell once per day, using Spirit as the spellcasting skill. Your caster rank for this spell is the same as your character rank.

Least Dragonmark

Requirements: Novice, Special

  You cannot take this Edge if you already have a dragonmark. Choose one of the Marks available for your race when this Edge is first taken. You immediately gain the listed skill bonus. Select one of the Least spells available to your Mark: You may cast this spell once per day, or twice per day if it's a Cantrip, using Spirit as the spellcasting skill. Your caster rank for Dragonmark spells is Novice.

Lesser Dragonmark

Requirements: Seasoned, Least Dragonmark

  Select one of the Lesser spells available to your Mark: You may cast this spell once per day. You may also cast your Least spell an extra time each day. Your caster rank for Dragonmark spells is now Seasoned.

Greater Dragonmark

Requirements: Veteran, Lesser Dragonmark

  Select one of the Greater spells available to your Mark: You may cast this spell once per day. You may also cast both your Least and Lesser spells an extra time each day. Your caster rank for Dragonmark spells is now Veteran.

Dragonmark Heir

Requirements: Seasoned, Connections (House), Least Dragonmark

  You gain a +2 Charisma bonus when dealing with members of your own Dragonmark House. You may also choose an extra Least, Lesser and Greater spell from those available for your mark (or gain the ability to cast your existing spell an extra time each day); if you don't yet have the Lesser or Greater Dragonmark Edges, you must wait before choosing your extra Lesser and Greater spells respectively.

Heir of Siberys

Requirements: Heroic, Luck, Special

  You cannot take this Edge if you already have a dragonmark. Choose one of the Marks available for your race when this Edge is first taken, and select one of the Siberys spells available to your Mark: You may cast this spell once per day, or twice per day if you are Legendary rank, using Spirit as the spellcasting skill. Your caster rank for Dragonmark spells is the same as your character rank.

Dragonmarks

Each dragonmark lists the race that can take it, the skill bonus it provides, and the spells available for the Least, Lesser, Greater and Siberys version of the mark.

Mark of Detection

Race: Half-Elf

Skill: +1 to sight-based Notice rolls

Least: Sense Magic (Cantrip), Sense Poison (Cantrip)

Lesser: Sense Scrying, Sense Invisibility

Greater: Truesight

Siberys: Foreknowledge

Mark of Finding

Race: Half-Orc and Human

Skill: +1 to Notice rolls when searching an area

Least: Identify Object, Internal Compass (Cantrip), Find Object

Lesser: Guiding Hand, Find Creature

Greater: Find Route

Siberys: Find Location

Mark of Handling

Race: Human

Skill: +1 Charisma when dealing with animals

Least: Pacify Animals, Beguile Beast, Speak with Beasts

Lesser: Dominate Beast, Improved Enchant Claws

Greater: Enlarge Animals, Summon Animals (Veteran)

Siberys: Grant Sentience, Summon Animals (Heroic)

Mark of Healing

Race: Halfling

Skill: +1 to Healing rolls

Least: Cure Moderate Wounds, Restore Minor Vitality

Lesser: Cure Major Wounds, Cure Poison, Cure Disease, Restore Moderate Vitality

Greater: Heal

Siberys: Improved Heal

Mark of Hospitality

Race: Halfling

Skill: +1 to Persuasion rolls

Least: Purification (Cantrip), Prestidigitation (Cantrip), Invisible Servant

Lesser: Conjure Food and Water, Secure Lodge

Greater: Magnificent Feast, Extradimensional Dwelling

Siberys: Teleportation Device

Mark of Making

Race: Human

Skill: +1 to Repair rolls

Least: Improved Mend Object, Mend Object (Cantrip), Mend Moderate Damage

Lesser: Create Object, Mend Major Damage

Greater: Fabricate Object, Improved Create Object

Siberys: True Creation*

Mark of Passage

Race: Human

Skill: +1 to Survival rolls

Least: Expeditious Jog, Summon Steed, Dimension Leap*

Lesser: Minor Teleport, Ghostly Steed

Greater: Improved Flight, Teleportation

Siberys: Improved Teleportation

Mark of Scribing

Race: Gnome

Skill: +1 to Investigation rolls related to translation

Least: Arcane Signature, Empathic Comprehension, Windborn Message

Lesser: Illusionary Writing, Illusionary Page, Empathic Linguist

Greater: Telepathic Message

Siberys: Rune of Death

Mark of Sentinel

Race: Human

Skill: +1 to Notice rolls related to reading body language

Least: Mystic Armor, Arrow Resistance, Spirit Shield, Shielding Link

Lesser: Energy Armor, Sphere of Invulnerability

Greater: Improved Sphere of Invulnerability

Siberys: Mental Shield

Mark of Shadow

Race: Elf

Skill: +1 to Streetwise rolls

Least: Darkness, Glamour, Illusionary Image

Lesser: Clairvoyance, Shadow Conjurer, Scry

Greater: Decoy, Eye Spy, Shadow Step

Siberys: Improved Eye Spy, Improved Scry

Mark of Storm

Race: Half-Elf

Skill: +1 to Agility rolls related to balance

Least: Environmental Endurance, Obscuring Fog, Blast of Wind

Lesser: Sleet Storm, Wind's Favor*, Wall of Wind

Greater: Shape Wind, Shape Weather

Siberys: Vengeful Storm

Mark of Warding

Race: Dwarf

Skill: +1 to Notice rolls when searching an area

Least: Alarm Ward, Secure Lock, Explosive Trap, False Aura

Lesser: Explosive Sigil, Warding Sigil, Detection Ward

Greater: Phantom Watchdog, Improved Warding Sigil, Protect Stronghold

Siberys: Prismatic Barrier

* This spell isn't covered in Savage Vancian Magic, instead it is described below.

New Spells

The above marks use three new spells, which are only available to characters with dragonmarks, and work as follows.

Dimension Leap

School: Conjuration

Rank: Novice

Casting: Incantation

Range: Smarts x 2

Duration: Instant

Trappings: Direct and Ranged

  This spell instantly teleports you and everything you're carrying to any desired destination within range, which can either be a visualized location or a specified distance and direction. If a destination is occupied by a solid body, you are automatically Shaken and transported to a random unoccupied location within range.

Wind's Favor

School: Transmutation

Rank: Seasoned

Casting: Gestures and incantation

Range: Smarts x 2

Duration: 3 hours per caster rank, dismiss early as a normal action

  This spell creates a focused tunnel of wind 2" wide, 2" high, and as long as the range. The wind has the same intensity as a Fresh Breeze (see the 'Wind Scale' section), and you can change its direction by up to 45 degrees as a full-round action.

True Creation

School: Conjuration

Rank: Heroic

Casting: Gestures, incantation, components and a benny

Range: Smarts

Duration: Instant

Trappings: Creation and Ranged

  This spell requires ten minutes to cast, and creates a single non-magical object made from minerals or non-living plant matter, with a maximum volume of three cubic feet per caster rank. If such an object would normally require skilled craftsmanship you must also roll the appropriate skill (as if you were crafting the object normally, except it occurs instantly and doesn't require tools).

  The cost of the components is equal to the cost of the raw materials needed for the object.

Savage Vancian Magic

Vancian magic (aka "fire and forget") seems to be one of those things that some people love and others hate. Although freeform magic is still probably my favorite approach in general, I was introduced to the Dragonlance novels at a young age, and Raistlin made a lasting impression on me.

More recently I've been interested in converting 3.x material to Savage Worlds, particularly the excellent War of the Burning Sky adventure path. I originally came up with a simple “Fast, Furious and Fun” solution for handling spellcasters (see the Arcane Backgrounds in Savage War of the Burning Sky), and used trappings to cover their spells (such as those in my Savage Spellbook supplement), but as the campaign progressed and the PCs advanced (and the wizard's player wanted to use the same sort of spells that had been available in our former D&D 3.5 campaign) my solution felt increasingly like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. It just didn't capture the feel, the flavor, of the magic system. So after running a couple of dozens gaming sessions I went back to the drawing board and tried again, and this is the result.

It's perfectly possible to play a superhero game in Savage Worlds using just the core rules, but I find it much easier with the Super Powers Companion, which offers an alternative power system specifically geared towards supers settings. Savage Vancian Magic does exactly the same thing for D&D/Pathfinder settings. Neither the Super Powers Companion nor Savage Vancian Magic are required, but they are both designed to make the GM's job easier when running certain types of campaign.

You can download it from here: Savage Vancian Magic

The goal

"I love Savage Worlds. Half of the guys in my group love Savage Worlds. But part of what keeps the other half from jumping on board, at least for a fantasy campaign, is the lack of a Vancian magic system"

Vancian Magic in Savage Worlds

"But when it comes to fantasy, Vancian magic is hard coded into many gamers’ DNA. That’s certainly the case in my group – they like Savage Worlds well enough, but the lack of a Vancian magic system is a major stumbling block. They like being able to learn a large number of spells, and cherrypick from them each session. The Fantasy Companion doesn’t address that need, which is a shame since its addition could have won over some of the holdouts."

Savage Worlds: Fantasy Companion [Review]

"SW is bad at settings with tons of weak magic spells. The average magic user in Savage Worlds has half a dozen quite powerful spells, most of them geared towards combat. If you want a game where the magic user has a lot of weak utility spells, and part of your fun is to find creative ways to use and exploit them, Savage Worlds is not the game for you."

Discussion about Savage Worlds

The goal of Savage Vancian Magic is to capture the flavor of the 3.x magic system in a way that still feels like Savage Worlds. It is specifically aimed at people who want to play Savage Worlds, but also want 3.x–style spellcasters. Despite its name, this supplement covers both Vancian (i.e., “prepared”) and non–Vancian (i.e., “spontaneous”) spellcasters.

If you hate the 3.x magic system, you probably won't find Savage Vancian Magic useful – except perhaps as proof of concept, to demonstrate the versatility of Savage Worlds, and prove to the naysayers that even their sacred cow can be Savaged.

If you hate long spell lists then you definitely won't like this, but should instead take a look at my Savage Abilities supplement, which takes the opposite approach - it trims all the fat, reducing the power list to just five different powers. Those five powers can then be customised with modifiers and trappings to design a huge range of custom spell effects.

It should also be noted that this magic system differs from the magic in Jack Vance's work, as it’s inspired by the 3.x approach rather than Vance’s novels, however the commonly used term for both is still "Vancian magic".

The Thin Blue Line - A Detroit Police Story

The latest project by Melior Via (the company behind Accursed) is a modern urban fantasy setting, which focuses on the paranormal investigations of the psychically gifted police officers of Corktown Precinct.

John Dunn offered to let me have a sneak peek at the current draft of the player's guide, so I thought I'd give a quick overview in case anyone else was interested in the project. I will focus mainly on the crunch because that's the area I know best.

Chapter 1: Detroit History

The first chapter is 39 pages, around a quarter of which covers the history of Detroit, the rest describing the neighborhoods and regions of interest, along with some maps. Most of the information is based on real-world history and geography, but there are also subsections covering supernatural activity.

Someone who is already familiar with the history of Detroit might already know some of this information, but for anyone else the chapter is invaluable. It's also well organised, broken down into separate sections that each cover different parts of the setting.

Chapter 2: Corktown Precinct

This chapter is 11 pages, and focuses on Corktown Precinct and the police force. It delves more deeply into the supernatural side of things, describes the various ranks and roles of the police officers, and explains the recruitment and training process.

Chapter 3: Fresh Recruits

This chapter is 11 pages, and covers character creation, setting rules, Edges and Hindrances.

Everyone begins with Knowledge (Law) d6 for free, which feels a bit excessive to me - I'd expect a typical lawyer to have Knowledge (Law) d6, but for most police officers I would rely on Common Knowledge. Savage Worlds Deluxe actually uses a lawyer with Knowledge (Law) d4 in one of its examples, and none of the Police stats in the Horror Companion have Knowledge (Law) at all.

Characters are also required to take at least d4 in Driving, Fighting, Guts and Shooting, which seems pretty reasonable. However the fact that they're not freebies, and that Legal Authority is explicitly defined as an Edge rather than a setting rule, would imply to me that PCs don't need to be police officers if they don't want to be - a common trope in urban fantasy, where the supernaturally-gifted civilian protagonist is occasionally called upon for their expertise. I don't know whether that is the intent, but I think it would make a fun option, even if it's only included as a footnote.

Setting Rules

• Just as Lucky: This rule was also used in Accursed, although I'm not overly fond of it for reasons I've outlined before.
• Lost Illusions: Like "Damaged Characters" from Accursed.
• Reason and Delirium: A new mechanic, somewhat reminiscent of the Roads/Paths in WoD. It's an interesting idea that fits the setting like a glove, and I think I prefer it to the sanity mechanics I've seen in other settings.
• Skills: Like in Accursed, Guts is used for Fear checks, Climbing and Swimming are merged into Athletics, while Lockpicking and Stealth are merged into Subterfuge. Two new specific Knowledges (Forensics and Parapsychology) are also included, and they're a good fit for the setting.

As with Accursed, a few Edges and Hindrances are also included from the Horror Companion, although you could ignore them if you didn't want to purchase an extra book.

Hindrances

There are four new Hindrances. Disrupted Psyche is like Cursed from the Horror Companion, except it works against Psychic powers rather than Miracles, and has been reduced to a Minor Hindrance. Glass Jaw has shown up in other settings. The other two are more interesting (and unique as far as I'm aware): Gambler and Haunted.

Edges

There are two new Arcane Backgrounds and five new Edges (although one of those is Dirty Fighter, which has appeared in other settings). The Edges don't explicitly list their categories; Parapsychologist looks like a Professional Edge, but it would be nice to know for sure (because of the rules for stacking bonuses).

Chapter 4: Parapsychology

This chapter is 12 pages, and details the new Arcane Backgrounds and their powers, including 14 new powers geared towards different types of psychic characters. Most of the powers look pretty good, the only one I'd take exception to is Autodidact (+6 to any Knowledge skill of your choice with a duration in hours) - I'd personally reduce the bonus to +2 (the same as the Scholar Edge).

As well as Psychics, there are also rules for Nullifiers - characters who are able to block the supernatural powers of others. I wasn't too sure about treating them as an Arcane Background initially, but after reading the extensive flavour text I think it's a good fit.

The chapter finishes up with a few pages on paranormal phenomena and rival organisations.

Chapter 5: Gear Locker

This chapter is 10 pages, and covers equipment and vehicles. There's a lot of gear listed, some of it is the same as SWD and some of it is new. Most of it looks pretty good, although there are a few areas I'm hoping the writers will take another look at before publishing, in particular:

• Tasers are described but don't have any stats yet. Hopefully they won't work the same as ETU (I explained here why I dislike their version).
• Splinter Rounds give a +2 bonus to Shooting rolls (the same as shot) but it's not clear whether they inflict the same damage as shot (1-3d6 depending on range) or as slugs (2d10).
• Cold Iron Rounds gain +2 AP against creatures vulnerable to cold iron, which seems a bit arbitrary; if a fae is vulnerable to cold iron, surely they would still benefit from wearing physical armour?
• M84 Stun Grenade are described as being "used to blind and deafen enemies", but they don't actually cause either outcome, only Shaken. I would have expected them to work a bit like the Blind power with the Sound (Deafen) trapping from SWD.
• Tear Gas Grenades also cause only Shaken, which (particularly considering the new Shaken rule) makes it a very weak option that will barely slow most foes down. The same with the Paranormal Irritant Spray. I would have thought Fatigue might be more appropriate.
• Riot helmets are only 50% effective against head shots, the same as a pot helm - however unlike a pot helm, they have a polycarbonate visor. Helms with visors are usually 100% effective against head shots.
• Motorcycle jackets provide the same protection as chainmail, which seems quite a lot. Even providing the same protection as leather armour would seem quite generous to me (I usually just treat them as reinforced clothing; +1 armour unless you're hit with a raise).

Summary

The version I looked at is still a draft, but it's packed full of good content and is clearly close to completion. It actually reminds me a bit of the novel "Rivers of London" (called "Midnight Riot" in the US) by Ben Aaronovitch, except based in Detroit rather than London, and I can definitely see it appealing to fans of urban fantasy.

You can check out the Kickstarter here, and view the website here. I will definitely be backing this one.