Savage Worlds - best worlds?

[Trippy]

So, I've been waivering a while on getting the new edition of Savage Worlds Adventure edition.

While I'm not, possibly, it's main target audience I do respect that it has managed to gain a good following, produces a good value, well presented rulebook and is generally a good option of running a low prep, action-orientated game.

Trouble is, after making the punge for the core book, there seems to be a huge range in the quality of the supplements on offer - particularly in the thrird party supplements.

What would people recommend as the best supplemental worlds and why?

 

[Tommy Brownell]

Deadlands - Maybe my all time favorite setting.
Hellfrost - Just ridiculously well done darker fantasy
Streets of Bedlam - Has a neat twist on character creation that I am in love with. Setting itself is very Sin City-like.
East Texas University - One of the funnest campaigns I've ever ran, though markedly different than anything else I've ran (college horror).
Beasts & Barbarians - A catch-all swords & sorcery setting, designed to hit Conan, Lankhmar and everything in between.
Necessary Evil - Supervillains vs aliens. Wound up being the best campaignn I've ever ran.

Downside? None of these settings are updated to Adventure Edition, so a little work will be needed to make it all click (not a ton, IMO, but I'm kin of an old hand at Savage Worlds).

 

[Simon Hogwood]

The Day After Ragnarok - Weird science pulp adventures in a post-apocalyptic, post WWII world straight from the mind of Ken Hite.

Heroes of Terra - Lighthearted fantasy inspired by old-school Super Mario.

Monster Hunter International - Gun-wielding mercenaries fight horror monsters. Coming soon for Adventure Edition!

 

[Trippy]

Does anybody play just out of the corebook alone? Or are settings things that you need to give it brio?

 

[Dumarest]

​

Note that this is based on the Alex Raymond newspaper strip, not the Buster Crabbe serials or Sam Jones movie.

​

And this was definitely not an attempt to cash in on the Disney movie.

 

[Trippy]

Flash Gordon, I'll grant you without any hesitation.

 

[Tommy Brownell]

Does anybody play just out of the corebook alone? Or are settings things that you need to give it brio?

Core book alone gives you a toolkit to work with. I've ran homebrew fantasy out of the core and the Fantasy Companion. It's doable to go with core alone, but there's a lot of fun bits out there and I own the books anyway, soooo...

 

[Endless Flight]

What genres does Savage Worlds do best, in your opinion?

 

[EmperorNorton]

I think the biggest reason to grab a setting book is that it is easier to understand how to apply the toolkit of Savage Worlds to a world if you see it done. I generally suggest everyone grab one of the books to see how they handle magic/races/etc, or to borrow one from a friend, even if they plan to run their own world with just the core book.

My favorites are: 50 Fathoms, Sundered Skies, Hellfrost.

 

[Trippy]

To be honest, I got the 'Mini-Settings' supplement and it was all a bit meh, to me.

I like the Flash Gordon setting, think Deadlands is pretty good (until you hold it up to the recent CoC supplement, Down Darker Trails, that is) and could also see a lot of purchase of it for things like gangsters or zombie survival scenarios. Supers could work with it too.

What settings are on the horizon for the Adventure edition?

 

[Chris Brady]

Tommy Brownell Streets of Bedlam, is played like straight Noir, or does it have any twists? Ya got me curious.

 

[Simon Hogwood]

What settings are on the horizon for the Adventure edition?

There was mention of a Deadlands: Dark Ages which has me both intrigued and a little perplexed.

 

[Mankcam]

I've always liked Necessary Evil as a fun Savage Worlds Supers rpg plot-point campaign, where you play Super rogues & scoundrels.

Fifty Fathoms was also pretty good, but Pirates Of The Spanish Main is better for more iconic pirate adventures.
I think Rippers had alot of potential as well. Also the Savage Worlds version of Thrilling Tales is excellent.

I don't think any of these are for the current edition of Savage Worlds, but surely it will be an easy port between editions.

 

[Chris Brady]

I love Pirates of the Spanish Main, I am still devastated that I lost the book.

 

[tenbones]

Top Tier, Balls Out Awesome Savage Worlds settings - Buy all of them. Buy everything for all of them.

Deadlands, Interface Zero, Pirates of the Spanish Main, Flash Gordon, Hellfrost, Beasts and Barbarians.

REALLY Good Savage Worlds settings I put on my 2nd Tier: Rippers, Guild of Shadows, Shaintar, Rifts, Necessary Evil, 50 Fathoms.

Pretty Good settings - Last Parsec, Sundered Skies.

What Savage Worlds does best: anything where you want the characters to be doing daring pulpy, over-the-top high-adventure. It handles Sword and Sorcery really well. Does cyberpunk/gonzo well too (see Interface Zero and Rifts respectively). I personally am not a fan of Savage Worlds Supers beyond a certain power level... but it can be done. Necessary Evil is *amazing* for a setting.

 

[Chris Brady]

I personally am not a fan of Savage Worlds Supers beyond a certain power level... but it can be done. Necessary Evil is *amazing* for a setting.

What power level? I'm curious because I have an on off one on one game with an old friend and her character is currently a pulp heroine in the 30's, in a proto-supers setting I've been working on for about five years, and she's expressed a desire for time jumps with her character.

 

[CRKrueger]

Beasts and Barbarians, Solomon Kane and Totems of the Dead are three great Sword & Sorcery settings.
Pirates of the Spanish Main is awesome.
Interface Zero is a great Cyberpunk setting.

Rifts I think is probably better as a tool to hack a 40k conversion than use as a Rifts conversion.

 

[Tommy Brownell]

Tommy Brownell Streets of Bedlam, is played like straight Noir, or does it have any twists? Ya got me curious.

Uber-violent action noir, like Sin City.

 

[Rob Necronomicon]

Some of my favs (in no particular order):

Pirates of the Spanish Main.
Solomon Kane.
Flash Gordon.
ETU (East Texas University).
Deadlands Reloaded.
Fifty Fathoms (more Piratey goodness).
Hellfrost (Dark Fantasy).
Sundered Skies.
Slipstream (Flash Gordon with the serial numbers filled off).

 

[Simon Hogwood]

Beasts and Barbarians, Solomon Kane and Totems of the Dead are three great Sword & Sorcery settings.

Solomon Kane is another of my favorites, too, but it comes bundled with its own version of the rules.

Totems of the Dead is the one that takes place in Pre-Columbian North America, right? There's various Native groups, and Vikings, and Chinese colonists on the West Coast?

 

[Chris Brady]

Uber-violent action noir, like Sin City.

So we can do something like John Wick? I'm interested now... I need money... But I can wish list it!

 

[K_Peterson]

Solomon Kane is another of my favorites, too, but it comes bundled with its own version of the rules.

Is it fairly self-contained, then, or would you need a copy of the SW core rules for it to be complete?

 

[Rob Necronomicon]

Is it fairly self-contained, then, or would you need a copy of the SW core rules for it to be complete?

It's totally self contained like Pirates of the Spanish Main, so you don't need anything else to play (unlike most of the other settings).

 

[Tommy Brownell]

Is it fairly self-contained, then, or would you need a copy of the SW core rules for it to be complete?

Completely self contained, but an older version of the rules.

 

[CRKrueger]

Solomon Kane is another of my favorites, too, but it comes bundled with its own version of the rules.

Totems of the Dead is the one that takes place in Pre-Columbian North America, right? There's various Native groups, and Vikings, and Chinese colonists on the West Coast?

Totems of the Dead is Conan:The New World, just with serial numbers filed off. Think Vanir and Aesir settlers, colonists from Khitai, Atlantian Sorcerers, and Pre-Columbian Native Americans where all their spirits, and more importantly, monsters, are real.

It’s 75 pounds of S&S goodness in a 5lb bag.

 

[tenbones]

What power level? I'm curious because I have an on off one on one game with an old friend and her character is currently a pulp heroine in the 30's, in a proto-supers setting I've been working on for about five years, and she's expressed a desire for time jumps with her character.

I don't like the "feel" of Savage World supers in the "Heavy Hitter" range. Trying to do Superman/Thor level stuff. It CAN do it just fine - it's a personal thing for me.

For low-end supers, Spiderman and lower, SW rocks.

 

[AsenRG]

Does anybody play just out of the corebook alone? Or are settings things that you need to give it brio?

I ran an urban fantasy campaign from the Deluxe corebook. It worked.

 

[Jetstream]

I’m an utter white for Heroes of Terra. It’s not out yet but there’s a couple of preview products and a jumpstart on Drivethrurpg.

Beyond that, I think Rifts for Savage Worlds looks pretty solid, and it’s in the process of being updated. Slipstream is really cool too, but it’s not updated and probably never will be now that they’ve got the Flash Gordon license.

 

[Caesar Slaad]

I've only played a few settings, but I generally prefer it for modern-ish settings. Fantasy and SF games using SW hasn't blown my skirt up.

Of the ones I have played, I think I liked Agents of Oblivion the best.

 

[K_Peterson]

Completely self contained, but an older version of the rules.

Is Pinnacle planning to update SWoSK to the current edition in the near future? (It seems natural for them to do it with Deadlands quickly. I'm curious how much attention their other settings will get, in this regard.)

 

[Chris Brady]

Is the author of Streets of Bedlam going to update for Adventure Edition? I have a friend wanting to pull the trigger, but if they have a new version, they'll just wait.

 

[Tommy Brownell]

Is Pinnacle planning to update SWoSK to the current edition in the near future? (It seems natural for them to do it with Deadlands quickly. I'm curious how much attention their other settings will get, in this regard.)

Is the author of Streets of Bedlam going to update for Adventure Edition? I have a friend wanting to pull the trigger, but if they have a new version, they'll just wait.

Good question, on both fronts. I know Pinnacle just quietly released conversion documents for Last Parsec, The Goon, Fear Agent and Lankhmar, so anything could be coming (I know Deadlands is getting a full Kickstarter release, but it's also the flagship).

Jason L. Blair (Streets of Bedlam) has a new Savage Worlds Patreon, but hasn't indicated this is going to be a thing yet.

 

[Tommy Brownell]

I did just ask about Streets of Bedlam on the Savage Worlds Facebook Group. I'll pass along what I hear.

 

[Tommy Brownell]

And a quick reply: "Not currently planned, but that's a good idea."

 

[Séadna]

I know Deadlands is getting a full Kickstarter release, but it's also the flagship

Didn't know that! I hope Lost Colony is soon.

 

[Tommy Brownell]

They have hinted that it'll be another multivolume KS where they will update the entire Deadlands line (Weird West, Hell on Earth, Noir, Dark Ages and Lost Colony) at once. (I imagine there will be a boxed set and an "ala carte" option for people only interested in certain versions, but that is just conjecture based on past Pinnacle Kickstarters.)

 

[Tommy Brownell]

Even if I'm wrong about the KS, all but the big premium stuff make it into some sort of retail in the end (i.e., the box for the set may not, but the contents become available individually).

 

[K_Peterson]

I know Pinnacle just quietly released conversion documents for Last Parsec, The Goon, Fear Agent and Lankhmar, so anything could be coming (I know Deadlands is getting a full Kickstarter release, but it's also the flagship).

Looks like I'm safe just buying SWoSK, and keeping an eye out for a conversion doc. Assuming that an edition change is going to be that important for an already-modded version of a prior edition.

I've never played Savage Worlds, so as long as SWoSK has a usable system that models the setting well, I think I'd be satisfied. I'd only want a new version of SWoSK if a total reprint was in the pipeline.

 

[Tommy Brownell]

Looks like I'm safe just buying SWoSK, and keeping an eye out for a conversion doc. Assuming that an edition change is going to be that important for an already-modded version of a prior edition.

I've never played Savage Worlds, so as long as SWoSK has a usable system that models the setting well, I think I'd be satisfied. I'd only want a new version of SWoSK if a total reprint was in the pipeline.

Yeah, it ran great for me before the new edition. It’ll still run fine.

 

[Toadmaster]

I thought their Weird War 2 series was quite well done, both as material for a straight WW2 game and as the intended Weird War setting. They did a nice job of making the weird for each front different from each other, so fighting monsters in Germany / France, is different than what you find in Russia, the Pacific or North Africa.

I see they have now added Weird Vietnam and WW1 options as well.