Savage Courts

Savage Courts
Setting up the game
Each player will be given a Savage Courts Score Sheet where they
can write down what evidence has been presented so far and
record their Evidence rolls and Jury points.

Then the case is determined, it can be a real case, or a fictional

one. Each case needs two things in order to become a Savage
Court case.
1. Brief details of the crime.
2. The law that was broken.

Then the players are divided into two parties (or against a non-
playable characters), the defense and prosecution. The defense will
come up with evidence to prove the defending party’s innocence
and the prosecution will try to prove them guilty.
 Savage Courts
A Savage court case has three main steps:

Step 1. Setup
Each side is given 5 (or more)
evidence rolls to use and the
teams will be decided.

Step 2. Trial
This is where the two opposing
sides of the argument are han-
dled. The defending side and the
accusing side present evidence
and roleplay theories in order to
achieve Jury Points.

Step 3. Verdict
At the end of the trial, both sides
measure their Jury points and
the most jury points wins!!
 Savage Courts
Conducting the Trial
Opening Statements:
At the beginning, both sides start
with an “opening statement” about
why the character should ( or should
not) be found guilty. Roll a contested
persuasion check and the winner is
awarded one Jury point.
The Trial:
The Prosecution ( or the accusers of
the crime) go first and present one
piece of evidence. Then the defense
goes. The Defense will then do the
same, presenting one piece of evi-
dence per presentation and roleplay-
ing the case. They will go back and
forth, presenting evidence that they
have made, until all evidence rolls
have been taken for all presentations.
Both sides will have equal chances to
present their evidence. and gain jury
points.
Jury Points
Jury Points are rewarded for success-
ful evidence rolls when presenting
evidence. For each success and ace
on the die they will gain a Jury point.
( For instance, role an 8 (Persuasion),
gain two jury points.)
Shaping the Case
The evidence within the case is ultimately
up to the players. The players will impro-
vise evidence and theories as the case
progresses. Each time a piece of evidence
is presented, the case changes and both
sides have to find a way to shape the nar-
rative of the case back in their favor.
Once evidence is presented, it is part of
the narrative of the case and all other ev-
idence must take it into account.
Evidence
Any kind of evidence is permitted. Any-
thing that backs up a theory or any hard
data that helps your case is evidence.
This includes reports, pictures, any kind of
physical evidence and even eye witness
testimony. You may find a story from a
witness that helps your case, this may al-
so be used as evidence after clearly being
defined. You may only contradict evidence
with another piece of evidence.
Evidence Rolls
Each time you present evidence during
your presentation you must use one of
your evidence rolls. An evidence roll is a
persuasion check used by the speaker
presenting the evidence to the court.
 Savage Courts
Objection!

In Savage Courts, we use bennies in a Closing Statements

slightly different way. Whenever a play- After The Trial portion of the Savage
er yells “Objection!” they have to make Court case Is done. Both sides will pre-
an opposing persuasion check against sent their “closing statements”, going
the other sides Evidence Roll that was over the evidence in the case and giving
just played. If the objection roll wins, no a final argument. The Prosecution and
jury points are rewarded for the evi- Defense will roll a contested persuasion
dence. If the Evidence roll is higher, the check. The winner will be awarded 2 Ju-
jury points are rewarded. There are ry points.
three bennies per side.
Verdict
Optional rule: Contradicting evidence At the end of the Savage Court case,
When playing a savage court case you the Jury Points will be tallied and the
may present contradicting evidence as winner of the case will be the one with
an opposed evidence roll. When pre- the most Jury points. The Character ac-
senting contradicting evidence, you roll cused of the crime will be found Guilty
against the evidence roll of the evidence or Not Guilty.
you are contradicting. If lower, the evi- ( In the event of a tie, the winner of the
dence roll is lost and no points are re- closing statement wins)
warded. If higher, the jury points for the
original evidence roll are taken from the Punishment
original side and awarded to the other
The Punishment of the Character will
side. Contradicting evidence counts as
depend on the narrative of the world
evidence and can be contradicted as
surrounding the Court Case. They may
well.
receive Jail time or they may be thrown
out of a wizarding academy. Awards
may also be given to those found Not
Guilty. This also depends on the setting.
 Savage Courts
The Judge (GM)

The Judge
The GM within a Savage Courts case is
called the Judge. Your job as the Judge is The proof is in the pudding
to stay unbiased throughout the entire
trial. You will listen to each side and keep you must insist that whatever theory or
them both on task by making sure their
arguments are backed up by evidence.
However, a judge may reward a spirited
argument with bennies , giving them
more opportunities to Object.
Contempt of Court.
This is a game about arguing two sides, it
may get out of hand. Remember, your
job as the Judge is to keep it fun for eve- Scaling the attorneys
ry PC. The Jury Points are ultimately in
your hands.
Justice is blind
At the end of the day, it comes down to a
roll of the dice. The actual evidence, wit-
nesses and theories provide role play op-
portunities, however they do not directly
affect the outcome of a Savage Court
case.
.
When ruling over a Savage Court case,
accusation be backed up clearly with
evidence. Once the hard fact is revealed,
only then can they roll an evidence roll.
If a player wishes to bring up a witness
for a piece of evidence, they need to
confer with the judge to define what the
witness knows.
The main skill in a Savage Court case is
persuasion. Much of the game is
based around roleplaying the case it-
self while also using the persuasion
skill. Balance the die types for persua-
sion accordingly for the degree of
difficulty. If you are running a game
where all players are on one side or
for long term play, scale the different
attorneys as the players gain advances
and edges. You may also extend the
amount of evidence rolls for long form
play.
 Savage Courts

Evidence:1 ER: .
Evidence:2 ER: .
Evidence:3 ER: .
Evidence:4 ER: .
Evidence:5
ER: .

Evidence:6 ER: .
Evidence:7 ER: .
Evidence:8
ER: .
Evidence:9
ER: .
Evidence:10
ER: .

Jury Points:
 Savage Courts
This is a labor of love from me to the Savage community and the
people who have helped me along my journey to become a better
GM and TTRPG designer. This product is a free supplement to any
who wish to run a real time court strategy.
Special Thanks to everyone at Dungeons and Don'ts

Ill see you in court.

-- Pierce Williams