GameStorming: Savage Worlds X Numenera

What drew me to Monte Cook Games' Numenera/Cypher System was the Adjective Noun Verb description of your character. How cool is it to brainstorm what you are going to play by coming up with a Brave Glaive (warrior) who has a Halo of Fire?

While the Cypher System isn't a difficult system to learn, it has a few problems that have kept me from running it more. The first is that Effort both fuels your attempts at overcoming obstacles, activating powers, and functions as hit points as well. It's just not my bag.

Last night, while looking over Savage Worlds Adventure Edition, an idea hit me like a bullet in the head. Power it with Savage Worlds.

The adjective "Brave" in the above example gives a +2 bonus to tests. Rate your Noun or Verb with a d6 and rate the remaining descriptor with a d8. I choose Glaive for d8 and Halo of Fire at a d6. Everything else defaults to a d4, and characters are Wild Cards, so they roll a d6 with every test, except damage, too.

I'm not defaulting to d4-2 because I want a more heroic game, but that would be an option. Importing wounds and equipment from SWADE allows you to even mine your verb from it too, though I will be more comfortable with a more wing-it approach during play.

We are just starting a 5.5 game, so I'm not sure when I will get to it, but I'll keep you posted.

B/X Roleplaying: B/X D&D X Basic Roleplaying

I remember when I first encountered Chaosium's Basic Roleplaying system in Call of Cthulhu 4th Edition. I was amazed at how simple it was to make a character and how elegant and easy the system performed. Years later, I encountered RuneQuest 3rd Edition and was blown away at all the things BRP could do and how ingenious many of its designers were.

I've been trying to nail down an OSR game that used B/X DnD's "skills" as the basis for a BRP style game for a bit and this is my current rough draft.

I love many editions and clones of DnD but after working with a lot of first time players I've come to lean toward a skill-based solution with a percentile chance of success. Telling someone they have a Difficulty of 18 and a +6 to their d20 roll certainly isn't hard, but if you are new to RPGs and you are a bit scared of math I think having a 45% of success can ease some of that anxiety.

Leather armor has an AC of 60%; Chainmail has an AC of 70%; Plate has an AC of 80%; and a Shield adds 10% to that value.

When in combat the attacker rolls their weapons skill and the defender rolls their AC and if both succeed the highest roll wins.

Any feedback is great appreciated.

Here is a link to download BX RP Character Creation PDF.

BXRP: Armor Class & Thief Class

Armor Class

Armor	AC	Cost (gp)	Weight (Coins)
Leather	60%	20	200
Chainmail	70%	40	400
Plate mail	80%	60	500
Shield	5%	10	100

Thief 

Requirements: None

Prime requisite: DEX

Hit Dice: 1d4

Maximum level: 14

Armour: Leather, no shields

Weapons: Any

Languages: Alignment, Common

Thieves are adventurers who live by their skills of deception and stealth. Their range of unique skills makes them very handy companions in adventures. However, thieves are not always to be trusted.

Back-Stab

When attacking an unaware opponent from behind, a thief receives a +20% bonus to hit and doubles any damage dealt.

Combat

Because of their need for stealth and free movement, thieves cannot wear armor heavier than leather and cannot use shields. They can use any weapon.

Read Languages

A thief of 4th level or higher can read non-magical text in any language (including dead languages and basic codes) with 80% probability. If the roll does not succeed, the thief may not try to read that particular text again until they reach a higher level of experience.

Scroll Use

A thief of 10th level or higher can cast arcane spells from scrolls. There is a 10% chance of error: the spell does not function as expected and creates an unusual or deleterious effect.

Thief Skills

Thieves can use the following skills, with the chance of success shown opposite:

• Climb sheer surfaces (CS): A roll is required for each 100’ to be climbed. If the roll fails, the thief falls at the halfway point, suffering falling damage.
• Find or remove treasure traps (TR): A roll is required to find a treasure trap and then another to remove it. This may be attempted only once per trap.
• Hear noise (HN): In a quiet environment (e.g. not in combat), a thief may attempt to listen at a door or to hear the sounds of something (e.g. a wandering monster) approaching.
• Hide in shadows (HS): Requires the thief to be motionless—attacking or moving while hiding is not possible.
• Move silently (MS): A thief may attempt to sneak past enemies unnoticed.
• Open locks (OL): Requires thieves’ tools. A thief can only try this skill once per lock. If the roll fails, the thief may not try the same lock again before gaining an experience level.
• Pick pockets (PP): If the victim is above 5th level, the thief’s roll is penalized by 5% for every level above 5th. A roll of 100% is always a failure. A roll of less than half the percentage required for success means that the attempted theft is noticed. The referee should determine the reaction of the victim.

Thief Skills Chance of Success

Level	CS	TR	HN	HS	MS	OL	PP
1	87	10	35	10	20	15	20
2	88	15	35	15	25	20	25
3	89	20	50	20	30	25	30
4	90	25	50	25	35	30	35
5	91	30	50	30	40	35	40
6	92	40	50	36	45	45	45
7	93	50	70	45	55	55	55
8	94	60	70	55	65	65	65
9	95	70	70	65	75	75	75
10	96	80	70	75	85	85	85
11	97	90	85	85	95	95	95
12	98	95	85	90	96	96	105
13	99	97	85	95	98	97	115
14	99	99	85	99	99	99	125

All skills are rolled on d%, with a result of less than or equal to the listed percentage indicating success. Thief Skills allow for extraordinary feats such as climbing a sheer surface instead of merely climbing or hiding within a shadow instead of ducking into an alley. If the action is something that any creature could try then the Thief gets to roll the appropriate Skill first and then may try the general test if their first roll was a failure.

Player Knowledge

The referee should roll for hide in shadows and move silently on the player’s behalf, as the thief always believes the attempt to be successful. If the roll fails, the referee knows that the thief has been noticed and should determine enemies’ actions appropriately.

After Reaching 9th Level

A thief can establish a thief den, attracting 2d6 apprentices of 1st level. These thieves will serve the character with some reliability; however, should any be arrested or killed, the PC will not be able to attract apprentices to replace them. A successful thief might use these followers to start a Thieves’ Guild.

				Saving Throws
Level	XP	HD	CTH	D	W	P	B	S
1	0	1d4	55%	40%	35%	40%	25%	30%
2	1,200	2d4	55%	40%	35%	40%	25%	30%
3	2,400	3d4	55%	40%	35%	40%	25%	30%
4	4,800	4d4	55%	40%	35%	40%	25%	30%
5	9,600	5d4	65%	45%	40%	50%	35%	40%
6	20,000	6d4	65%	45%	40%	50%	35%	40%
7	40,000	7d4	65%	45%	40%	50%	35%	40%
8	80,000	8d4	65%	45%	40%	50%	35%	40%
9	160,000	9d4	80%	55%	50%	60%	45%	55%
10	280,000	9d4+2*	80%	55%	50%	60%	45%	55%
11	400,000	9d4+4*	80%	55%	50%	60%	45%	55%
12	520,000	9d4+6*	80%	55%	50%	60%	45%	55%
13	640,000	9d4+8*	90%	65%	60%	70%	55%	65%
14	760,000	9d4+10*	90%	65%	60%	70%	55%	65%

• Modifiers from CON no longer apply.

CTH: Chance to hit, STR Modifier applies to Melee attacks and DEX Modifier applies to Ranged attacks.

D: Death / poison; W: Wands; P: Paralysis / petrify; B: Breath attacks; S: Spells / rods / staves.