[RPG]: Savage Worlds Explorer's Edition, reviewed by James Gillen (4/3)

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/13/13976.phtml

James Gillen's Summary:

This review is dedicated to Calculon, who bought me the book.

Go to the full review for more information.

[Wood]

Well, that means that the review I was going to put up is wholly redundant.

Good work -- well, good work inasmuch your opinion and rating is almost exactly the same as mine. The only thing I would stress more in a review is that the game is only generic inasmuch as it can make any story, as long as it's a combat-heavy action-adventure story.

That's not really a bug -- it's actually remarkably focussed and really well-designed for that sort of story.

[Wyvern76]

Originally Posted by James Gillen

A novice gets 15 points for skills, on a scale where you get to spend 1 point per "die type" until the skill code equals the code for the linked attribute, and exceeding that point means the skill costs 2 points per die. At this point however, it isn't really explained whether a skill code starts at d4 and works up, or starts at the base rating of its attribute.

If it were the latter, then your first sentence wouldn't make any sense. Logic dictates that if skills cost 1 point per level up to the base attribute, then they must start out lower than the base attribute.

Also, although an index would've been nice, I'd point out that the table of contents is quite detailed.

Wyvern

[hunting_moon]

I have never had trouble running a social or mental heavy game in Savage Worlds, take a hard look at Soloman Kane for a game that is not too combat intensive. There is always combat in just about every game I have ever run, so the rules need to be fairly detailed, but Savage Worlds has always struck me as lite enough to not have combat intesive characters dominate the game.

Take a hard look at some of the settings out there. Its not as flexable as I would like, I would like the ranks to disappear as a rank 5 character is pretty well bad A enough as it is and the perception of celing is unappealing to me, but thats more of a personal issue for me as is the arbitrary limits assigned to what can be leveled between ranks. I realize that its more about letting players stay somewhat balanced but I still find its my biggest block. I also dont think it can handle higher powered games as elagently as I would like, Nessicary Evil is a great supers game but its more X-man and less Justice Leage, I would like the option to play a Superman as well as a Cyclopse. X-men are great but it would be nice to have some variety.

Niether of these are insurmoutable limits, they are fairly easy to House Rule away, but it does take some time to re-work the ranks and figure out scale abilities for the Nessicary Evil type game. I would like a little more freedom from my Savage Worlds but I can live with what I have for now.

The setting worlds are real treat though, I have yet to come across a Savage world that I dont find interesting in some way. I love Deadlands, and the other settings are not quite as detailed but just as well conceved.