SWADE Game - Master - Bootcamp Fan Created

Presented by
Herriman Library
Offline Café
Pinnacle Entertainment
Version 1.1
© The Offline Café 2019-08-09
§ I am a member of the Offline Café.
§ I am privileged to be here, my being here is not a right.
§ I pledge to put down my phone, turn off my computer, put down my game controller,
and step away from the television for at least one to three hours per day and find
something else to do.
§ I realize that, as long as I am here, I am expected to act like an adult and my adulthood
will be assumed by all present.
§ If I am not acting like an adult, I am acting like a toddler and will be put in time out, like
a toddler for one minute for every year of my age.
§ I agree that, if I am found to be a toddler (more than three time outs in a three-month
period) I may be asked to leave.
§ I pledge to include everyone regardless of how they differ from me and bring a bit of
fun into the world by helping to create a great story.
© The Offline Café 2
© The Offline Café
§ Who am I?
§ How long have I been gaming?
§ What game systems have I
played?
§ What is one of my favorite gaming
memories?

This Guy!
Nascent.gm@gmail.com
(801) 347-6690

§ (Of course) D&D
§ 2nd Edition
§ 3rd Edition
§ 5th Edition
§ Pathfinder
§ (Original) World of Darkness

§ I loved playing Mage; I played an Akashic Brotherhood
mage
§ I also loved my friend's superhero game using some of
the same powers from Vampire and Mage in the world of
Mage

§ Deadlands
§ Deadlands Weird West
§ Deadlands Hell on Earth
§ Savage Worlds
§ Necessary Evil
§ Deadlands Noir
§ Paranoia
§ GURPS
§ FUDGE
§ Rifts
§ Rolemaster

§ Star Wars (d6)
§ Star Wars (d20)
§ Star Wars (Fantasy Flight)
§ Star Trek
§ We played fighter pilots on a Starfleet Carrier, kind of think Black
Sheep Squadron in space.
§ Several other systems that I can't even remember...
§ One of my recent memories was saving victims of an attack from

evil elf archers using my Thri-Kreen's telekinetic wall of force
while my friend, the bard, unleashed a wall of thunder and
smashed them (and one of our party) into my wall.

§J. R. R. Tolkien!
§ High Fantasy
§ Fictional Histories
§ Fictional Languages
§ Translations of previously existing works
§ Fictional Races
§ Fictional Pantheon
§ Research of Fictitious Worlds
§ Appendix
§ Based on Historical Precedent

§ Gygax and Arneson
§ Chainmail
§ Dungeons & Dragons
§ High Fantasy
§ Fictional Histories
§ Fictional Languages
§ Translations of previously existing works
§ Fictional Races
§ Fictional Pantheon
§ Research of Fictitious Worlds
§ Appendix

§ Science Fiction
§ Fantasy
§ Horror
§ Espionage
§ Action/Adventure
§ Pulp
§ D20
§ Popular Intellectual Properties
§ White Wolf

§ Someone wants something very badly (your antagonists and the Player Characters)
§ Someone doesn’t want them to have it (your antagonists and the Player Characters)
§ You are not an author, you are a participant, sensory input and opposition
§ We create these stories together

§ You work in the problems department
§ You create the problem
§ How the player characters solve the problem is not your problem
§ Do not try to be clever

§ Work from the end to the beginning
§ It’s not “who-done-it,” it’s “how-done-it,” and “why-done-it.”

§ Know your Players and their motivations
§ What do they value?
§ What do they want out of the game?
§ Know your Player Characters and their motivations

§ What do they value?
§ What do they want?
§ How far are they willing to go to get it?
§ Give them a Sophie’s Choice

§ Two bad choices
§ Two good choices

Positive Negative
§ It’s OUR game § This is MY game.

§ I am my Players’ biggest fan § It’s me versus my players
§ I don’t kill my Player Characters— § I am out to kill my player characters
Bad Player decisions and Bad dice
§ I can only run the adventure the way
rolls kill Characters
it’s written
§ GM Agility
§ I have to run whatever they want to
§ I am a player, too. I have a voice run
§ Abstractions are my greatest tool § Munchkins Guide to Power Gaming

Pros Cons
§ Plot out the adventure § Railroading

§ Have a good story planned § Forcing the Players back on track
§ Have a good idea where the players § Plotting A, Q, Z, M…
are going
§ Left Turn at Albuquerque
§ Plot points A-Z
§ Pre-generated Non-Player § Quantum Ogre-ing
Characters (Extras) § Nothing planned, then no game
§ Planned battles with “balanced”
§ No such thing as “balanced!”
forces

Pros Cons
§ Very little preparation § Lack of preparation

§ Improvisational § Making up weak Non-Player
Characters (Extras)
§ Responding to the Players
§ Weak grasp on the world
§ Plot hooks
§ Sometimes underpowering the
adventure
§ Sometimes overpowering the
adventure (TPK)

§ Neither Plot nor Pants, it’s an amusement § Wherever the players go, the world
park goes on, and they have to accept the
§ Over there’s Doomcrag Mountain consequences
§ Over there’s Blackwater Castle, where the § Plot Hooks (Park Map)
evil necromancer Keldon has princess Lookie
locked up so he can turn her into an evil
zombie and conquer her kingdom
§ Over there’s the dungeon of Ancient King
Susarnok where he buried his treasure, but it
was stolen by a dragon, Sleorg, so beware
§ Need to learn the world before bringing in
the players

§ Immerse Yourself in the World
§ Resources
§ Movies
§ Books
§ Music
§ Video games*
§ Published Settings
§ Podcasts/YouTube
§ Design one or two “attractions” in each direction

§ Design the rest as the adventure moves on according to the logic of the world
§ Don’t be afraid to accept player suggestions to features and “attractions”

§ Failure does not mean that the character doesn’t get what he wants
§ Failure can still accomplish the goal, but at a cost
§ For example, if the story requires the team to get through a door and the thief fails her
lockpicking (Thievery) roll by 1 or 2, then let the door unlock, but, maybe the lockpick set
breaks and he now has to make any further attempts at a -1.
§ Or your fighter has decided to sneak up on the base guarding the Imperial power station.
He steps on a loose stick, alerting this guard, allowing him to sound the alert to his two
fellow guards, and initiating a Chase.
§ Failure is interesting, nothing less

§Know the world!
§ What genre (milieu or setting) are your Player Characters
going to adventure in?
§ What kind of media already exists out there that can help
you know the world?
§ What real-world components could make this world?
§ Where do you want to focus their adventures?
§ What are its internally consistent laws?
§ Magic, tech, superheroes-–or not?

§ Rolling Wave Planning
§ Plan it out as you go
§ Know the starting location

§ Know who’s important here
§ Know who (if there is one) the villain is
§ Know how the people the players interact with will respond
§ Know the next three or four locations reachable from where you start
§ The basics of how anything supernatural works

§ Rolling Wave Planning
§ You don’t need to know it all, just enough
§ Plan it out as you go
§ How your players are going to resolve your problem

§ What the name of every character in every place you go
§ If your players ask the name of the bartender, ask the Player what his
name is.
§ Details of every room the Characters enter
§ What failure looks like

§ Failure does not mean that the character doesn’t get what he wants
§ Failure can still accomplish the goal, but at a cost
§ For example, if the story requires the team to get through a door and the thief fails her
lockpicking (Thievery) roll by 1 or 2, then let the door unlock, but, maybe the lockpick set
breaks and he now has to make any further attempts at a -1.
§ Or your fighter has decided to sneak up on the base guarding the Imperial power station.
He steps on a loose stick, alerting this guard, allowing him to sound the alert to his two
fellow guards, and initiating a Chase.
§ Failure is interesting, nothing less

§ Pros § Cons
§ Visual representation of the location § Changes game to a tabletop miniatures
§ Visual representation of the player battle game
locations and distances § People tend to stop imagining and
§ Fun side hobby: painting miniatures start calculating distances and how
much to do
§ Cost of buying accurate miniatures can
build up

§ Planned set pieces
§ Describe them completely
§ Unplanned spaces
§ Let the players provide things
§ Plot appropriate
§ Involve the senses

§ Embrace the “yes, and”
§ Visual representations to set tone and mood
§ It’s not a map!

§ Consistent but not predictable
§ If the location is a major location, describe it in detail
§ Minor, give players control
§ Obvious clues for free
§ If it’s a mechanic’s shop, of course there will be a hammer
§ Not obvious, benny
§ But, he won’t always have a laptop in the shop
§ Go into the scene with three ideas where things go

§ Tavern above cellar or sewer
§ Important people get the same level of description

§ Get to the Monkey!

§ Tone of the room
§ Motivation of characters
§ Tales the Characters give
§ Roleplay moment
§ No such thing as a bad roleplay accent
§ Body language

§ No hard-and-fast rules
§ Mix and match to meet your story
§ Do your research
§ Find any real-world examples to draw from

§ Human nature doesn’t change
§ …Even if it looks like an elf
§ Make a world where your Players can become the Characters who are cool

§ Mythological § Larger than Life Heroes
§ Egyptian § Demigods
§ Greek/Roman § Defiers of gods
§ Native American § Over the top
§ Norse § Strange Monsters

§ Russian § Sirens
§ Dwarves
§ Pantheons of Gods § Cyclops
§ Natural Realms § Centaurs
§ Fallible Gods § Low Tech
§ Killable Gods § Swords, shields, spears, bows

§ Mid-Level Fantasy
§ Typically Western (European)
§ Castles
§ Feudal System
§ Barbarians
§ Harsh World of Hardships

§ Evil Monsters
§ Fewer Player Races
§ Magic (Usually Limited to Villains)
§ Limited
§ None

§ High Fantasy
§ Lord of the Rings
§ Magician: Apprentice/Master
§ Dragons of Autumn Twilight
§ Typically Western (European)
§ Castles
§ Feudal System
§ Knights
§ Kings
§ Urban/Modern Fantasy
§ Magic
§ Unlimited
§ Wild/Hopeful/Green World

§ Roles § Evil Races
§ Bards § Goblins
§ Kings in Disguise § Orcs
§ Rangers § Dragons
§ Rogues
§ Traveling Adventurers § Ultimate Battles of Good vs. Evil
§ Warriors
§ Wizards
§ Races
§ Men
§ Elves
§ Dwarves
§ Halflings

§ Urban/Modern Fantasy
§ Within the past 20 years
§ Into (possibly) the next 15 minutes
§ Races (Mostly Human)

§ Coexistence of Magic/Supernatural
§ Horror
§ Magic/High Tech
§ Rare
§ Ritualistic
§ Something to fear
§ Limited

§ Robots or (Little) Elves
§ Some things that magic/tech can do to make our lives easier
§ Special Human Characters

§ Separate from the world
§ Just “Off” of Our World
§ The World We Refuse to See

§ Primarily Urban Environments
§ Politically Untouchable Villains
§ Anthropomorphized Characters

§ INTERNALLY CONSISTANT RULES § How can you balance powered versus
§ Components or Not non-powered?
§ Who can learn it? § What kind of price is paid for the
§ How much of an effect does it have? power?
§ How Rare is It? § What kind of training is required?
§ Ubiquity
§ What kind of materials are required
§ Hidden/Secret Society for spells/effects?
§ Usability (Common/Ritual)
§ How do you advance?
§ How Powerful is It?
§ What level of difference between
§ Why to Not Be Normal? normal and the power?
§ Why to Be Normal? § How do the people of the world view
magic?
§ Historical/Alternate History § Historical Espionage (The
§ The World that Was Great Game)
§ The World that Could Have Been § Wild West
§ Rome Without Gods § Weird West
§ Non-Magical Medieval § Gumshoes
§ Martial Arts in Medieval § Wiseguys
Periods § Archeology
§ Period (Regency, Victorian, § Steam Punk
Edwardian)

§ Black Ops
§ Modern Military
§ Espionage
§ Near-Space
§ Early Interplanetary Travel
§ Caper
§ Archeology
§ Superheroes
§ Martial Arts
§ Mafia

§ Robots
§ Zombies
§ Near-planet Colonization
§ AI
§ Cyber Espionage
§ Cyberpunk
§ Undersea Colonization
§ BioShock
§ Space Elevators
§ Post-Apocalyptic
§ Rocket Ships
§ Ray Guns
§ Fishbowl Helmets
§ Evil Overlords
§ Damsels in Distress
§ Any Race You Can Imagine
§ Hand-waved FTL

§ Asimovian Robots
§ Science!
§ Science-based Advances
§ Science-based Solutions
§ Post-humanism

§ The Unknowable
§ Gods
§ Monsters
§ The Unknown
§ The dark
§ Insanity
§ Something that can eat you
§ Something that will destroy you
§ The Uncanny Valley

§ Books
§ Choose your system
§ Dice
§ According to the system
§ Pencils
§ 3x5 Cards
§ Notebook
§ Scratch Paper (for Players)

§ Have an idea for the game § Absence Policy
§ Ask your friends § Expectations
§ Prepare to explain gaming and the § If you plan to run an intellectual
story to potential gamers property, especially for younger
players, bring a notebook
§ Be open to letting their friends join
§ They know it better than you do, let them
§ Schedule your gaming help you populate your world
§ Be flexible and understanding of § Player Knowledge vs. Character

changes in schedules Knowledge
§ Determine how you are going do your § Meta-gaming
gaming
§ In person
§ Virtual Table Top (OC acceptable)

§ Start them with the concept of the § Mary Sue
game that you will play § How to recognize her (or him)
§ Explain the agreed-upon world details § How to stop her
§ Have the characters pick a character
who would logically be in that world, in § Hindrances and character flaws
that place, at that time § They do not mean the character is a
§ Coordinate character concepts failure
§ That’s what makes the hero
§ Have the players elevator pitch the
characters to you § Your Players will love their characters
§ What do they want their character to § Be the Player’s champion, the Story
be capable of doing? champion, not the Character
§ Describe it to me! champion

§ Players choose their hindrances because they want them to come up during play
§ Make an opportunity for each Player’s character to “be the hero”
§ Not every problem can or should be resolvable through combat
§ Try to help the Players to have a visceral, player reaction to scenarios

§ Give the chance for each player’s highest skill to shine
§ Teach them that they don’t need to be the best at everything, weaknesses allow
their teammates to shine

Cardinal Rule for Extras
1. Do not create the Extra according to
character creation rules
2. Give most Extras a d6 in all die types and a
§ Work with the team d8 in what they’re good at
3. Present them well
§ Can fill in missing skill sets
§ Played by the players
§ NOT STUPID!
§ Has his own goals and desires
§ Perfect target for the bad guys to use their special attacks on (good candidates for
getting a case of the deads, to show how serious the villain is)
§ At what point is it, “Duces, I’m out!”
§ Develop them well, if the character dies, the Player might need a character to finish
the scene out with

§ Work for the lieutenant d8 in what they’re good at
§ Does the actual dirty work
§ Runs the biggest risk of getting caught
§ NOT STUPID!
§ Has his own goals and desires
§ Works for the bad guy because they either have similar desires or might have no
other choice
§ When a certain percentage have fallen, they’ll run
§ At what point is it, “Duces, I’m out!”

d8 in what they’re good at
§ Work directly for the boss 3. Present them well
§ Sometimes more directly driven than the villain
§ Willing to cross lines so that the villain doesn’t have to
§ Will drive the mooks
§ Possibly is the real boss?
§ What does he get by working for the boss?
§ What does he want?
§ Why does he want it?
§ How far will he go?
§ At what point will he betray the boss for his own interests?

§ Just Make the Character!
§ Make him exactly the way you need him to be
§ Take Notes 1. Do not create the Extra according to

§ Give the character a voice 2. Give most Extras a d6 in all die types and a
§ Give the character a modus operandi d8 in what they’re good at
§ Give the character three quick-reactions
§ Don’t make them perfect, they can have Hindrances, too
§ The best villains think they’re the hero

§ Who is she? § How is she untouchable?
§ Is he a lone madman?
§ He should never, intentionally, confront
§ Is she a rich, connected, and powerful? fully armed heroes, when they meet
§ Is she a femme fatal looking for her next him they should be completely
conquest? unarmed and unable to hurt him
§ What are his connections? § She should never confront heroes at full
health or fully rested
§ Why is she doing her scheme?
§ He uses battlefield/combat options
§ What are his resources?
§ She uses her superior numbers to
§ How far is she willing to go to achieve overwhelm the heroes
her goal?
§ He doesn’t even know or even CARE
§ How many minions will the villain allow about the heroes until they thwart
to die before sounding retreat? enough of his plans to become a
§ How does the villain treat his minions?
nuisance

§ We are all adults here § Special Setting Rules
§ Know your audience § Expectations of the game
§ There are topics that are forbidden?
§ Social contract (electronics, banned
§ Most “adult” topics don’t belong at an topics*)
Offline Café table (fighting is ok)
§ Table/House rules
§ Tone and Character Concepts—
Expectations § Attendance issues (Allied Extra or just
gone?)
§ Here’s how we deal with character
death § Variances from the rules (Keep going
after five successes on dramatic tasks)
§ Everyone rolls in the open
§ Roadmap/Elevator Pitch
§ Allow the players to help create the
world
§ What’s the game about?

§ Mini-game for background
§ Draw three cards. Create your character’s relationship with the player on the left,
right, and “across” through an interlude
§ Two-sentence background.
§ Create two Extras and how your character is related to them.
§ Have the player roleplay a scene as if they were an actor auditioning with a
scene.
§ COMMUNICATE!

*Note: This section refers to the Savage Worlds Adventure Edition
(SWADE) published by Pinnacle Entertainment Group. Please purchase a
copy of SWADE to better clarify each of the following slides. Page
numbers are in the SWADE text.

§ Deadlands (1998)
§ The Great Rail Wars
§ Deadlands d20
§ Weird Wars
§ Evernight
§ Savage Worlds (2003)

qThe Dice Mechanic
§ Trait or Skill Die (plus Wild Die for Wild Cards)
qSpending Bennies
q Soaking Wounds
qCalculating Wounds
qRules on Up To Four Players

§ Not just for powers
§ This applies to the whole game
§ All Abilities/Edges/Hindrances are Abstract; Trap Them
§ In Other Games
§ Same Damage (Separate Spells)
§ Fireball
§ Cone of Cold
§ Lightning Bolt
§ In Savage Worlds
§ Blast with a Trapping, Same Damage (One Spell) For details on
Trappings see page
§ Fireball (fire trapping) 150.
§ Cone of Cold (ice trapping)
§ Lightning Bolt (lightning trapping)

§ Use the character sheet to track your character
§ Advancement
§ A short session gives 1 XP
§ A regular session gives 2 XP
§ A long session, or major accomplishment in the story gives
3 XP
§ Or, the GM can just tell you when you get an Advance
§ Advances
§ N = Novice
§ S = Seasoned
§ V = Veteran Download the character
sheet.
§ H = Heroic
§ L = Legendary

§ Concept: [Two to three sentences, a paragraph at most. Leave room for growth.]
§ Hindrances: [Two Majors, a Major and two minors, or four minors]
§ Highest Attribute: [Agility, Smarts, Spirit, Strength, Vigor]
§ Main Skills: [What your character does best]

§ Weapons: [What your character uses in combat, make sure the skills match]
§ Special: [Anything not covered above, or Powers/Superpowers]

§ Concept (Page 9)
§ Start with a general idea of what you want to play. Your setting book likely provides many
ideas.
§ Who would play the character if you were casting them in a movie?
§ Provide a two or three-sentence description of the character without what they do or what
their powers are
§ Character Concept Examples
§ A slovenly sanitation worker (garbage man) who has no life ambition. His only pleasures
in life are ham radio and video games.
§ A young farm-boy dreams of getting off the farm and adventuring. He is cranky and
angsty and hates living with his aunt and uncle.
§ A young, genius girl wishes her father would return home and people would stop picking
on her genius younger brother. She feels out of place and unsure of herself.

§ Race (Pages 12–21)
§ Choose your character’s race and apply any bonuses or special abilities it grants. (Only in
universes where other races exist. Incidentally, most of the time a construct can fit in.)
§ The Human Plus Theory
§ All characters are human and you just buy the edges and hindrances to be the same as what the
race would be
§ For Example
§ A Vulcan could be built as a human having a “racial” edge of Scholar and a decision to have a -1 to
any social conflict because of his tendency towards emotionlessness and their pointed ears.
§ An elf would have a +1 on social rolls, because they incite a more romantic response in people
(Attractive) and they have All Thumbs, due to them being closer to nature
§ A dwarf would have the hindrance of Short with the edge of Brawny
§ Alternatively, just use the race creation rules or racial templates in the book

§ Hindrances
§ What make the character great and feel real? His flaws. These are not failures.
§ Points
§ Major Hindrance Gives 2 Points
§ Minor Hindrances Give 1 Point
§ Maximum of 4 Points, unless the setting rules say otherwise
§ Spending
§ 2 Points Buys
See pages 22-28 for details.
§ 1 Attribute die step
§ 1 Edge
§ 2 Skill points (up to the associated die-type maximum, then two points for each one thereafter)

§ Attributes (Page 29)
§ Attributes start at d4. You have 5 points to distribute
among them. Each step costs 1 point.
§ Attributes may not be raised beyond d12 unless
your hero’s racial bonus states otherwise.
§ Skills (Pages 29–36)
§ Athletics, Common Knowledge, Notice, Persuasion,
and Stealth are core skills and start at d4 for free.
§ You have 12 points to put into these or any other
skills.
§ Each die type costs 1 point up to and equal to the
linked attribute; then 2 points per step after that.

§ Derived Statistics (Page 10)
§ Standard Pace 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 Armor.
§ Note the amount of armor 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.

§ Edges (Pages 37–53)
§ Use any leftover Hindrance points to take
Edges if you like.
§ Each Edge costs 2 Hindrance points.
§ Gear (Pages 65–86)

§ Purchase up to $500 worth of equipment.
(Note* In most settings, don’t hold them to
this.)

§ Powers (Pages 147–173)
§ Give the Power a name
§ Luthor’s Lightning Bolt (Bolt)
§ List Power Points
§ How many Power Points (from the pool) the Power costs to activate
§ If playing with “No Power Points” this is the difficulty to your Power-activation skill die
§ If playing in a superhero game, this is how many points you put into that power
§ Include the range (if applicable)
§ List the duration (if applicable)
§ Write a basic description of the effect (damage)
§ Power Point Tracker

§ Use the numbers at the bottom of the sheet (and some paperclips) to keep track

§ Weapon List (Pages 72–80)
§ Most handguns deal 2d6 (±1) damage and have a 12/24/48 range
§ Most rifles deal 2d8 (±1) damage and have a 24/48/96 range (cannot be used in close combat
unless noted)
§ Each point of armor piercing (AP) reduces the armor by 1 point
§ Round Tracker
§ Use the numbers at the bottom of the sheet (and some paperclips) to keep track of rounds
§ Note: Only use this feature if dramatically correct for the setting (like a zombie apocalypse)

§ Hand-wave most of it
§ Give them, within reason, everything they might have
§ Normally, ignore the $500 limit, unless you’re counting resources

§ Most of the time the characters have enough money for whatever they need, they
might have to work to get something they want
§ Use narrative for almost everything else
§ El Cheapo gear, failure or something bad on a 1 on the associated trait die
§ If counting resources (power points, bullets, food, etc.) use all the rules (hazards)

§ Sometimes known as Non-Player Characters
§ Just Make the Character!
§ Make him exactly the way you need him to be
§ Take Notes
§ Give the character a voice For more information on Extras, see
the game mastering section on page
202
§ Give the character a modus operandi
§ Give the character three quick-reactions
§ Don’t make them perfect, they can have Hindrances, too

Pages 87–109

§ Know the basic mechanic
§ Be able to set up a conflict
§ Note: Conflicts happen logically.
§ If a player team breaks into a castle’s barracks, it stands to reason that they’re going to run into at
least a dozen guards and probably half a dozen retainers
§ Remember there is no such thing as a “balanced encounter”
§ Add in new rules as you learn the old ones

§ Test Run
§ One Knight Wild Card vs. two Goblin guards

§ Basic System
§Trait die + Wild die

§ Examples
§ Fighting
§ Shooting
§ Opposed strength checks
§ Smarts tricks
§ Agility stunts
§ Knowledge rolls

§ Basic Success
§Target Number =4
§ Raise = Target Number 4+4+ (as long as you keep rolling aces)
§ Each 4 over the TN is another raise
§ To Hit
§ Fighting
§ Trait die + Wild die = TN of Opponent’s Parry
§ Shooting
§ Trait die + Wild die = 4
§ Difficulty changes with moving platform (-2 to the roll), dim light (-2), partial cover (-2)
§ TN now 4+2+2+2=10 (Not so easy now is it, Pistol Pete?)

§ Opposed Rolls
§ GM names the trait
§ Trait die + Wild die = TN (Initiator’s roll) versus (Target’s roll)
§ Damage Rolls TN = Target’s Toughness

§ Melee Weapon
§ Strength + d6 (small weapon)
§ Strength + d8 (medium weapon)
§ Strength + d10 (large weapon)
§ Strength + d12 (epic size weapon)
§ Shooting Weapon
§ Handguns (most) 2d6
§ Rifles (most) 2d8

§ Aces (Explosions)
§ Success (4 or Parry or opposed)
§ Raises (Total-4/4) = # Raises
§ Against Parry (to hit in melee)
§ Against Toughness (for damage)
§ Opposed Rolls
§ Failure
§ Critical Failures
§ Unskilled Attempts
§ Group Rolls
See pages 88-89

§ What is a Benny? § Uses of Bennies
§ REROLL A TRAIT
§ Player Bennies
§ RECOVER FROM SHAKEN
§ Awarding Bennies
§ SOAK ROLLS
§ Dog Treats for Players
§ DRAW A NEW ACTION CARD
§ GM Bennies § REROLL DAMAGE
§ Joker’s Wild § REGAIN POWER POINTS
§ INFLUENCE THE STORY
See pages 89–90

§ Award Bennies for roleplaying
§ Award Bennies for roleplaying hindrances
§ Benny baiting
§ Tempt players with a benny to keep a failure (because failure is interesting and fun)
§ If that fails, tempt players with a GM benny to keep the failure (it means you have one
less)
§ When rolling an opposed check, and the player rolls their roll, ask them,“Are you happy
with that roll?”
§ Let the players know when it’s important to spend bennies
§ ”Make a Notice roll to spot the twelve ninjas waiting to jump you around the corner.”

§ Combat
§ Pick the stat:
§ Athletics (Pushing)
§ Roll the die type and the Wild Die
§ Example:
§ Grolnez the Mighty (Character; Wild Card) tries to throw [Push Maneuver] Aktar (Mook; Extra)
§ Grolnez: Strength d10 + Wild Die d6 (21)
§ Aktar: Strength d8 (6)
§ The Result: 21-6=(15/4)=3 1 Success + 2 Raises Which means that Aktar is thrown 12 feet and
knocked prone and takes 1d6 damage for the raise
See page 104

§ Combat
§ Pick the stat:
§ Athletics (Throwing)
§ Example:
§ Sergeant Coleman (Character; Wild Card) needs to clear a room with a four-mook firing team, who
sit, waiting to shoot him. He will throw in a grenade.
§ Modifiers: Full cover (for the mooks), but light cover for the middle of the room (-2 total)
§ Sgt. Coleman: Athletics d8 + Wild Die d6 (4-2=2 fail)
§ Joe (Sgt. Coleman’s Player) plays a benny for a reroll.
§ The Result: 21=1 Success (3 targets on a medium-blast template) + 4 Raises. Which means that,
due to his high training, Sgt. Coleman puts the grenade exactly in the middle of the room,
hitting all four mooks doing 17 points of damage on 9 (2) Mooks. They all go down.

§ Combat
§ Pick the stat:
§ Fighting (Any kind)
§ Example:
§ Xingjong Wang (Character; Wild Card) performs a Molted Crane strike to his archnemesis Gong
Fai (Villain, Wild Card)
§ Wang: Fighting d8 + Wild Die d6 (7)
§ Fai: Parry 7
§ The Result: Wang rolled just enough to make it through Fai’s Parry, this is a success
§ The Damage Roll: (d8+d4) total (9), just enough to make it through Fai’s 8 Toughness
Due to his having the Martial Artist Edge

§ Combat
§ Pick the stat:
§ Shooting (Any kind)
§ Example:
§ Gianni (Mook, Extra) 6 of Clubs shoots at Johnny the Snitch 3 of Spades (Player Character, Wild
Card), currently crouched behind cover, with his Tommy Gun (ROF 3)
§ Gianni: Shooting d6 Stone Wall ¾ coverage -6 (4, 4, 5) no hits the wall sends off chunks
§ Johnny: calls out a taunt from behind the wall (makes a Smarts Trick) d8 (Smarts Test) 9 (6+3 on
his Wild Die) “Your dead grandma shoots better than that!” he says.
§ Gianni: Smarts d6 rolls a 2 now he’s Shaken. He’d better hope he draws a higher card to get to
make a Spirit roll (d6) before Johnny splits his action, stands up shoots at him, and drops back
behind the wall.

§ Shaken (see pages 94–95)
§ The character can only do free actions like move or talk
§ The character cannot attack or do any trait actions
§ The character can roll a Spirit roll at the beginning of their turn, on a success they
unshake
§ The character may spend a benny at any time to unshake
§ e.g. The first mook shook them. The second mook attacks. Unshaking is a good idea…
§ Wounded (see pages 94–95)

§ Mark a wound on your character sheet up to 3 wounds
§ Make any further rolls with a negative modifier equal to your wound level
§ Incapacitated (Page 95)

§ Make a Vigor roll
§ Hope you succeed or have some bennies left…

§ Golden Hour (see page 95)
§ Get the character stabilized within the first hour after the wound
§ Assisted (see page 95)

§ 10 minutes per wound level of patient
§ -1 for no first aid kit
§ +2 for a field surgery kit
§ Wounded character subtracts current wound level
§ Healer subtracts any wound levels on self
§ Natural (see page 95)

§ Vigor roll (minus current wound level) every five days

§ Distracted (see page 100)
§ -2 to all trait rolls until the end of next turn
§ Vulnerable (see page 100)

§ Actions against character are +2 until the end of next turn
§ Entangled (see page 98)

§ Cannot move
§ Distracted
§ Bound (see page 98)

§ Cannot move
§ Distracted
§ Vulnerable

§ Fatigue (see page 100)
§ Fatigued (-1 on all trait rolls)
§ Exhausted (-2 on all trait rolls)
§ Incapacitated
§ The Drop (see page 100)

§ GM Determines
§ +4 on attack roll
§ Hold (see page 102)

§ Wait to perform action
§ Lose turn if Shaken
§ Roll agility to interrupt

§ Improvised Weapons (see page 102)
§ -2 on the attack
§ Strength + size
§ Multi-action (see page 103)

§ One action is normal
§ Two actions are at -2 to each action
§ Three actions are at -4 to each action
§ Prone (see page 104)

§ Other than right next to you, all ranged attacks get -4
§ If right next to you, Parry is -2
§ Free to drop, 2” of movement to get up

§ Gang-up (see page 101)
§ +1 for each ally immediately near the enemy up to +4
§ -1 for each adjacent enemy near the enemy
§ Aim (see page 97)

§ Don’t take any action and get a +2 on the next turn to the shooting attack
§ Support (see page 106–107)

§ Make the designated supporting trait roll to give +1 to an allied attempt to make a roll.
§ Give +2 on a raise
§ Test (see page 108)

§ Make things harder for the foe (Distracted, Shaken, Vulnerable)

§ Allies (see page 111)
§ Players control
§ Players roll
§ Game Master can override
§ Chases (see pages 113–116)

§ Deal the cards, set up the layout
§ Foot chases
§ Car chases
§ Boat chases
§ Plane/spaceship chases

§ Dramatic Tasks (see pages 122–123)
§ Montages or Over Time
§ Doesn’t have to be linear
§ Can be performed by one or more people
§ Can employ multiple skills
§ Fear (Spirit Roll) [see page 124]

§ Causes
§ Grotesque (Bloodbath)
§ Supernatural (Ghosts)
§ Results
§ Terror
§ Nausea
§ Roll on the fear table

§ Hazards (see pages 125-129) § Fire
§ Bumps and Bruises § SMOKE!
§ Roll Athletics. Failure is 1 level of Fatigue § Two effects: Inhalation (hazard)
§ Heal in 24 hours § Visibility
§ Climbing § Heat
§ Cold § Hunger
§ Disease § Poison
§ Drowning § Radiation
§ Electricity § Sleep
§ Falling § Thirst
§ 1d6 +1 per 12 feet up to 10d6 + 10

§ Interludes (see page 130)
§ Players get an extra benny for adding to the story by telling a story based on the card
draw
§ Downtime between stories
§ Backstory for the character at the beginning of the adventure
§ Backstory for character expansion during an adventure
§ What happened while the party was trekking their way to the current location
§ Draw a card, read the suit (Player’s choice, or Game Master’s choice, for a Joker), and ask a
Player (or more) to tell you the story based on the suit
§ Drew a Spade
§ “OK, Selkie, our nature-loving druid, your character came into her powers when she helped
defend a sacred portion of woods. Tell us how she drove off the defilers.”

§ Mass Battles (see pages 131–132)
§ The heroes are on one side of a battle and run the risk of getting a case of the deads
§ Intersperse scenes of characters roleplaying banter and interludes between each round
of the battle, reward with bennies
§ As characters are back to back in the middle of a heated section of the battle. “This reminds you of
a time when you made it out of a similar situation years ago, Kamden and Blututh, for a benny, tell
us about it.”
§ Networking (see page 133)

§ Pounding the streets, looking for information, favors, or items
§ Persuasion and money can get it
§ If failed, players will have to spend cash to get it, if it’s needed to move the plot forward
§ Intimidation uses muscles and knuckles to get it,
§ Can ruin connections for a couple weeks, but get info or favors
§ If failed, character takes a level of bumps and bruises

§ Social Conflict (see pages 134–135)
§ Sometimes a gun doesn’t make it alright
§ We have combat mechanics to represent
how we deal with weapons, social
conflicts are a mechanic for how we deal
with people
§ Sometimes our characters are more
articulate/persuasive than we could ever
hope to be
§ Key to the “Face” character build

§ Quick Encounters
§ Quick resolutions for chases, combats, crises, heists, missions, and treks
§ Roleplay out what needs to happen
§ Make one quick, associated die roll result determines outcome
§ A Quick Encounter combat can leave a Character with a level of bumps and bruises
instead of outright killing them, if the outcome is not as important as what happens after

§ Add these rules (or remove rules) when getting the “flavor” of a world or setting
§ (See pages 136–141 for more details)
§ Born a Hero (add)

§ Ignore rank requirements for any edge during character creation
§ Joker’s Wild (remove)

§ While now a core setting rule, if no one gains a benny then things can get more
dangerous for the characters each time a benny is spent
§ Fanatics (add)
§ Someone saves the Wild Card villain at the last second by jumping in front of him
§ Dumb Luck
§ Even after a Critical Failure, the hero can succeed through dumb luck

§ Gritty Damage (add)
§ Make the world hurt, and triumphs all the sweeter, roll on the Injury Table for each Wound
§ Realms of Cthulhu Gritty Damage: Take wounds, no soaking, then make a Vigor roll
against incapacitation.
§ Success: Incapacitated for 1d6 rounds
§ Raise: Still in the game with wounds
§ Failure: Incapacitated and Bleeding Out
§ Heroes Never Die (add)

§ Very pulpy feel, a good choice for many adventures
§ High Adventure (Be careful to add this one, it can slow the game down)
§ Spend a benny to get a combat edge
§ No Power Points (add or don’t add)

§ Power points are translated into an added difficulty to the skill roll for the power

§ Arcane Background, the character has supernatural powers
§ Arcane Skill
§ Gifted
§ Focus
§ Magic
§ Spellcasting
§ Miracles
§ Faith
§ Psionics
§ Psionics
§ Weird Science
§ Weird Science

§ Play it Rules as Written First
§ Before you tweak, add to, or create a new rule, play the rules the way they are written
§ No, Ranged combat is not broken, apply modifiers (See Advanced Section)
§ Superhero Companion
§ Powers in a super setting
§ Sci-Fi Companion
§ Great race-creation rules
§ Horror Companion
§ They’re coming to get you!
§ Fantasy Companion

§ Deadlands Reloaded § Necessary Evil
§ Weird West § Aliens killed all the heroes
supervillains must free humanity
§ Deadlands Hell on Earth
§ Post-Apocalyptic Weird West § Rippers
§ Bump the things back into the night
§ Deadlands Lost Colony then get their powers in Victorian
§ Trapped humans on a lost world space England
colony
§ Weird Wars
§ Flash Gordon/Slipstream § Rome
§ Campy-cool Science Fiction § WWI
§ WWII
§ Vietnam

§ Crystal Heart § Dead End
§ Post-apocalyptic fantasy superheroes § Walking Dead? That’s a Saturday
morning cartoon compared to this
§ Realms of Cthulhu extremely gritty zombie apocalypse
§ H. P. Lovecraft’s master work in many survival horror game
periods
§ Buccaneer: Through Hell and High
§ Agents of Oblivion Water
§ Men In Black for Monsters § Pirates on the high seas
§ Low Life § Freedom Squadron

§ Descendants of survivors that outlasted § A love letter to ‘80s cartoons, think G.I.
human destruction on Oith Joe
§ Lots of Jumpstart adventures

1. Find the Essence
1. Do not try to “convert” it line for line from another system
2. Get the overall feeling of the world and bring it in
2. Establish Setting Rules
1. Take out ones that don’t fit
2. Add in ones to make the feel correct
3. Populate the World
1. Player Character races
2. Monsters/Villains of the world
1. Modify creatures from the Bestiary to fit
3. Create the start point and the rest of the amusement park
4. Take notes

§ Apply combat modifiers
§ Visibility can change the encounter
§ Have the villain light fires all around the heroes, not just for effect, but for smoke to obscure his 20
archers hiding, waiting to make pincushions out of the heroes
§ If the shooting platform is unsteady, -2 to the roll
§ If the room is dark, -4 to the roll
§ Chases
§ Dramatic Tasks • Try to apply a new rule you haven’t
yet used each session
§ Mass Battles • Take notes throughout the sessions
• Record your sessions
§ Social Conflict
§ Quick Encounters

§ Don’t Just Success/Fail
§ Narrate up to the point of the dice roll, and pause for the roll.
§ If the roll succeeds, don’t just say, “You succeed!”
§ If the roll fails, don’t just say, “You fail!”

§ On a success, a really cool success (with lots of raises) ask the player, “What does
that success look like?”
§ On a failure, ask, “What does that look like?”
§ Remember:
§ Failure is interesting! Encourage it.

§ One Sheets
§ One to three sheets with enough information to give you just enough information to run a
story for a single session or maybe two.
§ One Shots
§ Usually longer than a One Sheet. Can be resolved in one long session or expanded over
several. But, again, usually meant to be short.
§ Short Campaign
§ Consists of a few scenes of action that could take a session or two to get through
§ Ongoing Campaign
§ Several short campaigns linked together
§ One session that leads into the next that leads into the next
§ A long-term goal

§ Adventures that typically cover one side of a two-sided piece of paper with Extras
listed on a second side
§ Get a chance to run the world before buying the expansion book
§ Designed to be run in 1–3 hours

§ Can be used as a story/plot seed for full campaigns
§ 79 Official PEG One Sheets

§ All are free
§ Many more licensee (Ace) and fan one sheets

§ The Offline Café Presents § Other Game Mastering Opportunities
§ Give teens a chance to feel powerful
§ Herriman Library RPG Days
despite adverse situations in their lives
§ Thursdays from 6:00 PM – 8:45 PM
§ Primary Children’s Hospital
§ Ages 12-18 § Youth Village?
§ You will be Game Mastering! § Detention Center (for older GMs)?
§ Nascent GM Podcast/Blog/Vlog § Find other opportunities for

§ Once a week community service
§ Family Friendly
§ Make our world a better place, share
§ SL County Library Offline Café Clubs a good story and make new friends
§ SL County Library RPG Con? § Game Master fearlessly!

§ Savage Worlds
§ Pinnacle Entertainment Group (http://www.peginc.com)
§ Savage Worlds Adventure Edition (http://www.peginc.com/product-category/savage-
worlds/)
§ Forums (https://www.pegforum.com)
§ DriveThru RPG (https://www.drivethrurpg.com)
§ Engine Publishing (https://enginepublishing.com)

§ Up To Four Players [Crystal Heart] (www.uptofourplayers.com)


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© The Offline Café 4

© The Offline Café

§ (Original) World of Darkness

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§ One of my recent memories was saving victims of an attack from

© The Offline Café 8

§ Based on Historical Precedent

© The Offline Café 10

© The Offline Café 11

© The Offline Café 12

§ We create these stories together

§ Do not try to be clever

© The Offline Café 14

§ Know your Player Characters and their motivations

§ Give them a Sophie’s Choice

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§ It’s OUR game § This is MY game.

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§ Plot out the adventure § Railroading

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§ Very little preparation § Lack of preparation

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© The Offline Café 19

§ Design one or two “attractions” in each direction

§ Don’t be afraid to accept player suggestions to features and “attractions”

© The Offline Café 20

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§ Know the starting location

© The Offline Café 24

§ How your players are going to resolve your problem

© The Offline Café 25

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§ Involve the senses

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§ Go into the scene with three ideas where things go

§ Important people get the same level of description

© The Offline Café 29

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§ Find any real-world examples to draw from

© The Offline Café 32

§ Greek/Roman § Defiers of gods

§ Native American § Over the top

§ Norse § Strange Monsters

© The Offline Café 33

§ Harsh World of Hardships

© The Offline Café 34

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§ Races (Mostly Human)

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§ Special Human Characters

§ Just “Off” of Our World

§ The World We Refuse to See

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© The Offline Café 43

© The Offline Café 44