Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Updates and balancing

Hi all,

the PDFs have now been updated with the changes mentioned in the last post, they're available for download using the links on the right hand side of the page. There's also about a dozen additional Edges and a handful of Hindrances in there, so have a look if you haven't yet.

The most important change has to do with a bit of rebalancing for the non-human races; while I don't think perfect balance is necessary, Ghouls and particularly Super Mutants did have a big mechanical advantage on human characters, while the drawbacks were mostly RP focused. So to counter that I've changed the character creation for these races: Ghouls and Super Mutants must now take a race specific Hindrance in addition to any other Hindrances they wish to take. Super Mutants no longer get the Brawny Edge for free, and must pay double the points if they want to raise Smarts.

If you don't want to use the additional Hindrance rule, I would suggest giving these races some other drawbacks to balance things out a bit. The new/changed racial Hindrances are:

Ghouls:

- Decrepit (Major): Ghouls have prolonged life spans and the hero has been around for quite a while. The character’s body is becoming dangerously frail. -1 die type Vigor and cannot be raised after character creation. The character receives an additional -1 penalty to all Soak rolls.

- Feral (Major): Accelerating decay has started to impair the character's brain functions, slowly turning him/her feral. -2 die type Smarts and cannot be raised further. Aside from an increasingly bestial disposition, the hero lapses into a murderous frenzy during combat, as per the Berserk Edge, making only unarmed attacks.

- Glowing One (Major): Long term radiation exposure has made the character permanently irradiated and even glow. -1 die type Spirit and cannot be raised further. Lighting penalties for attacks made against the hero are negated and he/she gains a -4 penalty to Stealth checks. Travelling companions take low level radiation damage once per day. The Glowing One gains the Rad Child Edge.

- Old School Ghoul (Major): The character has been around for at least a century and the effects of old age are acutely felt. -1 die type Strength and cannot be raised after character creation, pace -1, cannot run.

Super Mutant:

- Battle Scarred (Major): Decades of raiding, skirmishes and fights have left the hero with injuries that will never fully heal. The character has two permanent injuries, randomly rolled on the Injury Table.

- Gentle Giant (Minor/Major): The character abhors violence, to the point of physical revulsion. The hero must make a Spirit check (at -2 for the Major version) at the start of each combat, or suffer a -1 (-2 for the Major version) penalty to all Trait rolls for the duration of the fight.

- Ham Fisted (Minor/Major): Genetic engineering - or dumb luck - has endowed the hero with huge hands. The character’s Small Guns, Explosives, Repair, Medicine and Lockpick skills all suffer a -1 penalty. With the Major version the aforementioned skills become impossible for the character, all actions requiring fine manipulation suffer a -2 penalty.

- Super Duper Mutant (Major): The character is a born grunt; he/she excels at following orders, not so much at independent thought. Smarts can never be raised above d4. The hero must always carry out all orders given by his/her master or leader. Without guidance, the character is prone to panicking and inaction; if his/her master is killed, the hero’s only goal becomes seeking a suitable replacement. The character is extremely gullible and easily fooled; he/she must make a Smarts check to avoid being bluffed, tricked or goaded into performing actions detrimental to their own best interest (except extremely obvious suicidal commands).

16 comments:

  1. Liking these changes. There was definitely a feeling of OP with Super Mutants in my playtest of Savage Fallout, especially with their starting STR die. In essence, letting a Super Mutant choose the Gifted edge at character creation basically turned the resulting character into a powerhouse.

    I'll take these changes into the next time I run the setting, which will hopefully be soon, but I've got some other irons in the fire I want to test out first.

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    1. Yeah good point David. Though while STR is especially useful at lower leveIs, when players are most likely to rely on melee weapons, I think the benefit mostly disappears as the characters get their hands on more powerful ranged weapons.
      I completely reworked the Gifted Edge by the way, it's now called Educated but its benefits are greatly diminished. Gifted itself is now a Hindrance.

      What are your future plans for SW Fallout?

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    2. Heh, I read every line of your comment except for the last one.

      I think the next step for Savage Fallout is going to be a trek north from the California setting to Canada. I just need a reason for the characters to go on the journey, but I've been coming up with a list of random post-apoc merchants to come across, so perhaps some kind of reconnaissance for one of the Caravan businesses, probably Crimson.

      I'm pretty close to finishing a FATE campaign, I think I'm going to jump back into Savage Fallout for my next mini-arc. Pretty sure my players will be on board, they seemed to have a good time with the last one, and I've got some good ideas for prep.

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  2. I'm currently running a Savage Fallout campaign and I think your homebrew rules are great! I was wondering about the rules for PipBoys, however. PipBoy 2000s and 3000s were once included in your survival guide, but now they appear to be absent from the latest version. Were they removed for balance reasons?

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    1. Hey Grayson. I've never had any stats included for PipBoys, as they weren't really a standard item as such in the games. In my own games I treated them basically as wearable radio/mapping tool, without any mechanical benefits to them.

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  3. I'm currently running a Savage Fallout campaign and I think your homebrew rules are great! I was wondering about the rules for PipBoys, however. PipBoy 2000s and 3000s were once included in your survival guide, but now they appear to be absent from the latest version. Were they removed for balance reasons?

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  4. This blog has turned out to be a real treasure trove! I've been kit-bashing a few Reaper and Clix minis and putting together some material for a Fallout-themed convention scenario. These resources save me a great deal of wheel-reinvention. Thanks! =)

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  5. I really appreciate all the work that you've put into this and would like to say thank you by way of contribution. I have crafted an alternate character sheet layout and would appreciate any suggestions on sharing the sheet with anyone interested.

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    1. Hi Stephen, feel free to put up a link here. You can also include it on savagepedia which already has various SW Fallout resources!

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  6. Waiting for my approval to join Savagepedia so I can share my modest efforts, and having difficulty finding where the Savage Fallout resources you mentioned are located. I don't see anything for a Savage Worlds Fallout in the "Conversions" area, nor is this blog linked in the "Fan Sites" portion.

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    1. My apologies Stephen, I was thinking of Savage Heroes:

      http://savageheroes.com/othermedia.htm

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  7. I received word back from Savage Heroes, and the host has retired so I will be unable to contribute there. Disappointing news. I was hoping to have my efforts available by Christmas.

    If there was a "Contact" option here I'd email it directly.

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  8. Stephen, you can send it to me at yvesgeens1 (at) gmail and I'll put it up here for you, in time for New Year at least.

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  9. Headed your way; I hope you and your players enjoy the contributions. I added a few items extra as a "first look" opportunity before they get out further.

    Happy New Year!

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  10. Just wanted to say I've been thinking of running a fallout game set about 5ish years after Fallout 4 (in Chicago) and I was pulling my hair out trying to figure out a system to use and until I stumbled across your perfect savage worlds mod. I really like it!

    I'd love to chat with you if you have the time. If you want, let me know and drop me a line here and we can work something out. I have some ideas I came up with that I'd love to get your opinions on.

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    1. Hi there, thanks for the comment! There's little I like to do more than chat about Fallout and p&p. :) You can always reach me at yvesgeens1 (at) gmail dot com.

      Take care!

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