GM's Note: Vince was kind enough to put together this little primer, and I'm posting it in his name, since players cannot post new topics.
Hey Guys! Vince, aka Alex here.
Most of y'all probably have some experience playing the Savage Worlds system. For myself, I have a couple friends who play it, but I just never got the itch. Through them, I
am slightly familiar with the system, though. So when it was decided to use Savage Worlds, here, for Morrow Project, I found a PDF and started re-familiarizing myself with it.
Which brings me to what I've got for y'all right
here, in this post. Just a few notes on how to roll the dice used in Savage Worlds, as well as some of the mechanics of the system. It's for quick access if we -- by that I mean
when I -- forget something, and it's also
right here for those of us who
don't know how to play Savage Worlds, and really don't want to learn a whole
new system.
So, in the wise words of my Father ...
"I already gave you money! Go away!"
Enjoy.
...To make use of an Attribute or Skill just roll the die that is assigned to it. If the result is a 4 or better (the
basic “Target Number" or TN; there
are other TNs), then the action is successful.
...For example, if your Strength is "d6", then you roll a six-sided die. On a roll of a 4 or better, you succeed at what you're doing.
Modifiers: Circumstances modify the die roll, such as shooting at something at long range or finding a well-hidden clue. Some things, such as ranged attacks, have standard modifiers. It’s up to the GM to determine what, if any, modifiers there might be for some of the more subjective tasks you might try to perform, such as spotting an ambush, or eavesdropping on a conversation through a door, etc.
...Next, you should be aware that all Trait Tests & Damage Rolls in Savage Worlds are open-ended--they just don't call it that. What "open-ended" means is that when you roll any die for Trait Tests and/or Damage Rolls, if you roll the highest number possible for that die type (a 6 on a d6, an 8 on a d8, and so on), you get to keep that number and also get to roll that die again and add whatever you next roll to the total. In Savage Worlds this is called an “Ace”.
...Any modifiers you would add to the die roll should wait to be tacked on after adding up an Aced roll.
...Sometimes it’s really important to know just how successful a Trait Test was. Every 4 points over what you need for success -- that's every 4 points over the Target Number, which, admittedly,
is usually a 4 (check with GM) -- this is called a “Raise”.
...So, let's say you need a 4 to successfully Shoot a target; you roll all your dice, add in all your mods, and get a total of 11. Now, 11 is greater than 4, so that means you've successfully hit your target, so now determine your "raises". First, drop the original 4 that gave you the Success (11-4=7), now take that 7 and divide it by the target number, which was 4 (7/4=1.75) unfortunately, with Raises, you round DOWN, so that 1.75 becomes just 1 Raise. Woulda been 2 Raises if you'd rolled a 12. So, in this case, having rolled an 11 to hit, you got a successful Hit with 1 Raise. That could mean extra damage, or some neat combat effect -- that depends on the GM.
...Calculate your Raises after adjusting the roll for all modifiers.
...Okay, so you've got it that when you roll a Trait Test -- which is Savage Worlds short-hand for both an Attribute Roll or a Skill Check -- you just grab the 1 die that represents that Attribute or Skill, roll it, add in any mods, and if you get a result better than a 4 you win! ... But hang on, Folks, that's
not all!!
...You also get to roll a "Wild Die" -- which is an extra d6 you roll along with your normal Trait Test die, but you do not add them together, you keep them separate. The Wild Die is treated and rolled exactly like the normal Trait Test die, and it can Ace as well (see above). Once you've rolled the 2 dice -- Trait Test & Wild Die -- but before any modifiers have been added to
anything, you calculate the individual totals of the Wild Die and the Trait Test die --
AGAIN, DO NOT ADD THE VALUES OF THESE 2 DICE TOGETHER! -- you use ONLY the highest of the two totals; the total of the normal Trait Test die or the total of the Wild Die, whichever is higher, then you add in any modifiers to get your final Roll result.
Example: Buck Savage, Morrow Project Recon Scout, is facing down a wild-eyed cannibal survival-cultist. Buck has a d10 in Shooting Skill; drawing a pistol, Buck rolls his d10 for Shooting & rolls his d6 Wild Die.
...The d10 comes up with a respectable roll of 8, but Buck Aces (rolls a 6) on the Wild Die. Buck figures he has a 4-in-6 chance of a potentially higher number with the Wild Die, so he sets the d10 aside and rolls the d6 Wild Die again. With the second roll, Buck gets another 6, which lets him roll again, for a third time! On his third roll of the d6 Wild Die, he gets a 4. Buck's total to shoot at the angry cultist is (6 + 6 + 4 =) a 16! That's a hit (success) with 3 Raises! The dice could just as easily have gone the other way, with the d10 rolling a couple of 10s, and the Wild Die being the die set aside, instead.
Critical Failure: The downside to the Wild Die is that when snake-eyes (double 1s) comes up while rolling both dice together -- the Wild Die and the Trait Test die -- this is a Critical Failure. With a Critical Failure the GM now gets to make up something truly rotten that happens to your character that's somehow related to what you were rolling the dice for.
...Heh-heh. That’s the price Fate charges for allowing you to run around playing hero.
So now you under stand how to Roll The Dice, but now you ask "How do I do that with the RPoL Dice Roller?"
Okay, here's how in 3 easy steps:
1. In the "MANUAL" section type the two kinds of dice you are dealing with, your Trait Test die (presented as "d?" in the following example) and your Wild Die. Write then in the empty box like this - d?,d6 - the d? is your Trait Test die, a d4, a d6, a d8, whatever your Attribute or Skill die is. The d6 is the Wild Die, and it will always be a d6. and do NOT put any spaces before or after that comma.
2. In the "GENERAL" section, make sure the little box labeled "ReRoll Max" is checked.
3. In the "REASON FOR ROLL" section write the order that you put the dice in, above. I always try to do it as Trait Die then Wild Die. So I write "Trait Roll then Wild Die" in the box.
4. Now hit Roll Dice. The result should come out looking like "rolled 3, 5 on 1d8 and 1d6, rerolling max". Now, if you DO roll a "max" on a die, the result will look like this "rolled 12, 3 on 1d8 and 1d6 ((8 + 4), 3), rerolling max". Something like that.
And it's just that easy.
I haven't, yet, tried to find out if it's possible to add in any conditional modifiers to the rolls and see if the ReRoll Max would still work - i.e., write the dice like "d8+2,d6+2" and then find out if it would only add the +2 just once, in the event of a max roll, or if it would add the +2 to the second, follow-up roll, as well. Have to try that, sometime...
This message was last edited by the player at 13:01, Sat 02 June 2018.
