Savage Worlds Character Quick Start Guide

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This game references the Savage Worlds game system, available from Pinnacle Entertainment Group at www.peginc.com. Savage Worlds and all associated logos and trademarks are copyrights of Pinnacle Entertainment Group. Used with permission. Pinnacle makes no representation or warranty as to the quality, viability, or suitability for purpose of this product.

</div>

# SWADE CHARACTER QUICK START GUIDE

##### Savage Worlds is Fast, Furious, and Fun! To start the game with that feeling, this guide will help you create a character without getting slowed down by lots of reading and too many choices. For the official version of this, check out pages 9-11 of the Savage Worlds Adventure Edition (<u>SWADE</u>) rulebook and view the summary on page 55. All page numbers given are the actual book’s page numbers at the bottom of the page, not the PDF page.

###### <u>Underlined</u> words are terms used in this system for specific game mechanics. They are underlined in their first appearance, and you can look them up in the glossary at the end of this guide. They may not make sense when you first see them, but they will be introduced as you play the game.

<br/>

## Concept

###### Before you look at any game mechanics, think about what you want to play in your particular game setting. Savage Worlds is a very cinematic system, so lean into big ideas and archetypes.

* What do you do and how do you do it?
* What do you uniquely bring to the party?
* How do you contribute to social interactions?
* How do you contribute to combat?

## Character Race (pages 12-21)

###### If this is your first time playing, be a **Human**. Humans don’t get any <u>Trait</u> bonuses to start with, but they also don’t get any automatic racial <u>Hindrances</u>.

* In your specific game setting, your GM may give a cultural <u>Skill</u> boost to reflect a skill that your group of Humans are good at, such as Riding or Shooting. You won’t know unless you ask!

* Humans are also **Adaptable**. This means that Humans begin play with any <u>Novice Edge</u> of their choosing. They must meet its other requirements as usual.

###### As you become more comfortable with Savage Worlds, feel free to explore other options. Each race option in SWADE is made up of both positives and negative, usually taking the form of Trait boosts and Hindrances. There's even a section on pages 18-21 that shows you how to make your own races!

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## Hindrances (pages 22-28)

###### Your character’s Hindrances represent their flaws and weakness, both internal and external.

* Hindrances serve an important game purpose of giving the player a good starting point for roleplay and the GM something to work into encounters and stories. 
* These Hindrances also give you 4 points to spend in step 7 to further customize.

###### If this is your first time playing, choose one (1) <u>Major Hindrance</u> and two (2) <u>Minor Hindrances</u>. If you are playing as a race other than Human, those racial hindrances don't count toward this number.

###### You can choose from the curated list below or choose from the larger list in SWADE. You may notice that many Hindrances have both a Major and Minor version. A short description of each Hindrance's effect can be found in the Hindrance Summary on pages 56-57.

### Curated list of Major and Minor Hindrances

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## Traits (pages 29-36)

###### Characters are defined by their **Traits**, <u>Attributes</u> and <u>Skills</u> ranked by <u>die types</u>. A d6 is average, while higher die types reflect much greater ability.

* **Attributes** are primarily passive or innate abilities used for resisting effects like fear or supernatural attacks. 
* **Skills** are used to actively do things or affect others.

### Attributes (page 29)

###### Your character’s attributes represent their advancement in five characteristics: **Agility, Smarts, Spirit, Strength, and Vigor**. In Savage Worlds, each one is represented by a die type and not a fixed value. Each one represents a different aspect of your character is used for various game mechanics.

* **Agility** is a measure of a character’s nimbleness, dexterity, and general coordination. In combat, Agility is <u>linked</u> to your Fighting Skill and Shooting Skills, which determine how good you are at hitting something.
* **Smarts** measures raw intelligence, mental acuity, and how fast a heroine thinks on her feet. It’s used to resist certain types of mental and social attacks. In combat, many Spellcasting Skills are linked to Smarts.
* **Spirit** is self-confidence, backbone, and willpower. It’s used to resist social and supernatural attacks as well as Fear. In combat, a successful Spirit roll is required to overcome the Shaken condition.
* **Strength** is physical power and fitness. It’s also used as the basis of a warrior’s damage in hand-to-hand combat, and to determine how much they can wear or carry. In combat, Strength determines how hard you hit with a successful melee attack.
* **Vigor** represents an individual’s endurance, resistance to disease, poison, or toxins, and how much physical damage they can take before they can’t go on. It is most often used to resist <u>Fatigue</u> effects, and as the basis for the derived stat of <u>Toughness</u>. Toughness is the <u>Target Number</u> an attack must roll in damage to inflict the <u>Shaken</u> condition or a <u>Wound</u>. In combat, a successful Vigor roll is required to <u>Soak</u> a Wound.

#### Increasing Your Attributes

* During character creation, your Die Type in each Attribute starts at a d4. 
* You are allotted 5 points to increase your Attributes, with a single die increase of a single Attribute costing 1 point. (A high attribute allows one to increase a Skill faster and opens up options to Edges that greatly differentiate two characters with the same skill.)
* An Attribute may not be increased above d12 at character creation, unless a race is chosen that starts with a d6 in an Attribute. In that case the maximum at character creation is d12+1.

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#### Die Type Progression Worksheet

##### Suggested Attribute distributions:

* **Physical/melee character:**	Agility d8, Smarts d4, Spirit d6, Strength d6, Vigor d6.

* **Spellcasting character:** Agility d6, Smarts d10, Spirit d6, Strength d4, Vigor d4.

* **Ranged character:** Agility d10, Smarts d6, Spirit d4, Strength d4, Vigor d6.

</div>

### Skills (pages 29-36)

###### Your character’s Skills represent particular activities they have trained in or have a natural aptitude in. In Savage Worlds, there are many skills to choose from, each linked to a particular Attribute.

###### In SWADE, players start with 5 innate Core Skills at character creation (with the linked Attribute in parentheses): **Athletics (Agility), Common Knowledge (Smarts), Notice (Smarts), Persuasion (Spirit), Stealth (Agility)**.

###### Skills are like Attributes and their advancement is represented by a die type, d4 through d12, with **Untrained** skills rolled at d4-2. The innate **Core Skills** are granted at a d4 rank. Skills may not be increased above d12 during character creation unless the character’s race starts with the skill at d6. If the skill starts with a d6, increase their maximum to d12+1.

###### As you choose your skills, think about your original character concept and what they would be good at that would help them accomplish their goals. Also think about what setting you’re going to play in to figure out what skills may or may not be useful. A summary of each skill can be found on page 58.

<br />

The **Fighting (Agility)** skill is used to determine your character’s <u>Parry</u>, which is the Target Number an attacker must roll to land a hit on you. It’s a good idea for a character to put at least 1 point into Fighting for this reason. Parry is determine by half the Fighting die + 2. So a d6 in Fighting would result in 3+2= 5 for Parry.

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#### Allocating Your Skills

###### At character creation, you will be granted from 12-15 points to allocate to skills, depending on the setting.

* Each Skill starts as **Untrained** (rolled at a d4-2).
* Core Skills (**Athletics (Agility), Common Knowledge (Smarts), Notice (Smarts), Persuasion (Spirit), Stealth (Agility)**) start at a d4.
* Putting a single point into a Skill raises its die type to a d4. 
* A second point raises the die type to a d6. 
* Here’s where the linked Attribute comes into play. Each die type increase (starting at d4), costs 1 point for each step that results in the die type being less than or equal to the linked Attribute’s die type. 
* An increase over the linked Attribute’s die type costs 2 points.

##### Example
1. You have increased your Agility die type to a d8 earlier. You now want to increase your Fighting Skill.
2.	You spend 1 point to train in the Fighting Skill, giving you a d4 in Fighting.
3.	You spend a 2nd point to increase the Fighting die to a d6 and you spend a 3rd point to increase to a d8.
4.	Your Fighting die type is now the same as your Agility die type. 
5.	You spend 2 more points to increase your Fighting die type to a d10, bringing your total spent to 5 points.
6.	Now you can spend the rest of your points on other skills or spend 2 more points to raise your Fighting die to a d12!

</div>

## Derived Statistics

* **Standard <u>Pace</u>** is 6″, but may be changed by racial abilities, Edges, or Hindrances.
* **Parry** is 2 plus half of Fighting.
* **Toughness** is 2 plus half of Vigor, plus any <u>Armor</u>.

The amount of armor is denoted in parentheses like this: **Toughness: 11 (2)**. This means 2 points of the total 11 Toughness comes from Armor. An Armor Piercing attack could bypass those 2 points but not the other 9.

</div>

## Bonuses from Hindrances

###### Because of the Hindrances you chose earlier, you have 4 points to spend to further customize your character in the following ways. No matter how many Hindrances you chose earlier, you do not have more than 4 points.

##### For 2 points you can:
* Raise an attribute one die type
* Choose an Edge
##### For 1 point you can:
* Gain another skill point
* Gain additional starting funds equal to twice your setting’s starting amount.

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## Edges (pages 37-53)

###### **Edges** are what really sets your character apart from everyone else’s. You may be both playing time-traveling Space Marines, but your character with the **Martial Artist** Edge is going to feel very different from your teammate with the **Two-Gun Kid** Edge.

* Edges have a Rank requirement, and most have an Attribute or Skill prerequisite as well. 
* When creating a character, you can choose from all of the Novice rank Edges. (Novice is your character’s rank at creation.) 
* There are eight types of Edges: **Background, Combat, Leadership, Power, Professional, Social, Weird, and Legendary.** 
* **Background Edges are only available at character creation** (so take one now if you're thinkng about it) and Legendary Edges are only available to Legendary Rank characters.

###### You can gain an Edge in several different ways:
* If you choose Human as your race at character creation, you receive a free Edge.
* Because of the Hindrances you chose at character creation, you can spend 2 points to gain an Edge. You can do this twice if you do not choose any of the other options. 
* After playing a few sessions, your character will earn an Advance. You can use that Advance to gain an additional Edge.

##### Think Creatively
The mechanics of Savage Worlds offers opportunities for any concept to work in different types of situations. A character doesn't just have to focus on Combat Edges to be effective in combat. A social character can use creative tests to be quite effective in any situation, just as effectively as a character using a gun or a sword.
 </div>

Make sure to focus on the Edges that will bring your concept to life, and not just what you think you're supposed to do in a role-playing game.

</div>

\pagebreakNum

##### A full list of Edges and summaries of their effects can be found on pages 59-63.

<br />

<div class="scribble">
Each setting has its own unique Edges, so don't miss on interesting new options!
</div>

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## Gear (pages 65-76)

###### If your adventure or setting doesn’t provide you with a starting gear set, you can now buy $500 of gear for your character. The weapons and armor have been divide up by technological advancement, so ask your GM which charts to choose from.

###### Characters are assumed to have clothes and other personal items. In modern settings, they also have a place to live, tools, maybe a vehicle, and basic necessities as befit the era. The starting funds of $500 are for “adventuring gear” in addition to these personal items.

##### Settings
Most settings will have their own startings funds and unique gear for you to purchase. Check with your GM for details.
 </div>
 
<br />

It's always good to have protective clothing, a weapon or two, some ammo, and some rope. You never know when you'll need some rope.

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## Glossary

##### *Ace*: When you roll the highest number possible on a die (a 6 on a d6, an 8 on a d8, and so on), you get to roll that die again and add it to the total. This is called an “Ace.” Any modifiers to the die roll should be tacked on after adding up an Aced roll.

##### *Attributes:* Your character’s attributes represent their advancement in five characteristics: Agility, Smarts, Spirit, Strength, and Vigor.

##### *Bennie*: Each player gets 3 Bennies at the start of each session. They can be spent to reroll any Trait roll (except a critical failure), Soak a Wound, among other things.

##### *Critical Failure:* A roll is considered a Critical Failure when a 1 is rolled on both the Trait Die and the Wild Die.

##### *Die Types:* Advancement in Attributes and Skills is represented by an increasing size of die, starting with a d4, then progressing to a d12.

##### *Edges:* Edges are features and bonuses that you choose for your character to set them apart and to realize your concept.

##### *Exploding dice*: See *Ace*

##### *Extra:* An extra is just that- an extra unnamed NPC in the player's story. Extras can only take one Wound and do not get a Wild Die.

##### *Fatigue:* Some hazards, stress, powers, or circumstances may cause Fatigue instead of damage.
##### *Fighting:* The Fighting Skill is used for any non-arcane combat in melee, whether it's a sword, barstool, or fisticuffs.

##### *Hindrance:* Hindrances are flaws, drawbacks, or dark secrets drawn from a character’s backstory that can help you define and roleplay your hero.

##### *Linked:* Each Skill has a corresponding Attribute that determines how many points it takes to advance a die type.

##### *Major Hindrance:* A hindrance that has a large impact on your character and should be considered at all times when taking actions.

##### *Minor Hindrance:* A hindrance that has a smaller impact on your character and may go unnoticed at times.

##### *Novice:* Novice is the lowest rank of character experience. A novice character advances to Seasoned, Veteran, Heroic, then Legendary Rank.

##### *Parry*: Parry denotes how hard your character is to hit at melee range. Parry is 2 plus half of your Fighting die.

##### *Raises*: Every 4 points on a roll over the Target Number is called a “raise.” Special things generally happen on raises.

##### *Shaken*: Shaken characters are nicked, bruised, or otherwise rattled. They may only take free actions, such as moving (including running). The Shaken condition is overcome by a success on the beginning of your turn with a successful Spirit roll, or at any time by spending a Bennie.

##### *Shooting:* The Shooting Skill is used for any non-arcane combat at range, whether's it's a pistol, rifle, bow, or plasma cannon.

##### *Skills:* Your character’s Skills represent particular activities they have trained in or have a natural aptitude in.

##### *Soak*: Soaking is how a character can attempt to shake off wounds with a Vigor check, with each success and raise reducing the number of Wounds suffered from that attack by one. An attempt to soak costs a Bennie.

##### *SWADE:* SWADE is the acronym for Savage Worlds Adventure Edition, the current version of the Savage Worlds game system.

##### *Target Number:* The Target Number is the result that denotes a success on a skill or attribute “check” or “roll.” The “Target Number” or TN is a 4 on most rolls. On Fighting rolls, the TN is the opponent's Parry.

##### *Trait:* Trait is the collective term for your character’s Attributes and Skills.

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##### *Toughness:* A character's Toughness is a measure of how hard of a hit they can take before they take a Wound. Toughness is calculated as 2 plus half of your Vigor die, plus any Armor.

##### *Wild Card:* Players and important or named NPCs are Wild Cards. Wild Cards can take 3 Wounds before they are Incapacitated and roll a Wild Die with any Trait roll.

##### *Wild Die*: The Wild Die is the extra d6 that a Wild Card rolls with any Trait roll. Both the Wild Die and the character's Trait die are rolled, and the highest of the two is the result. Both of these dice can Ace.

##### *Wound*: Every raise on the damage roll inflicts a Wound. Each Wound a character suffers causes a −1 cumulative penalty to his Pace (minimum of 1″) and all Trait rolls, up to a maximum penalty of −3.