Savage Worlds Fantasy Setting: Drakin Racial Build

Here there by Drakin!

Drakin are dragon folk, or dragonborn from D&D. They start out Small sized but have the ability to slowly turn into dragons.



DRAKIN

Logical (+2): Drakin have the reasoning powers of their dragon kin. They start with a d6 Smarts instead of a d4. This may be raised to d12+1 in the course of normal advancement. The Expert and Master Edges may raise it to d12+3.

Low Light Vision (+1): Drakin do not suffer penalties in Dim or Dark lighting conditions.

Breath Weapon (+2): Drakin have 5 power points with which to use the Burst power. These power points recharge at the rate of 1 per hour, are unaffected by the Rapid Recharge edge, and cannot be used on any other Arcane Background edge. Drakin use their Vigor die as their Arcane Casting Die.

Fire	2 PP	You project a cone of searing flame from your mouth, inflicting 2d10 damage, ignoring armor (unless completely sealed). This counts as a Heavy Weapon. Those within the template may attempt to dodge with an opposed Agility roll and take no damage if successful. Targets who fail their opposed check have a 1 in 6 chance of catching fire and suffer another 2d10 damage the next round unless they take a full round (no other actions or movement) to put the fire out.
Ice	2 PP	You project a cone of extreme cold from your hand, inflicting 2d10 damage and ignoring armor (unless completely sealed). This counts as a Heavy Weapon, and those within the template may attempt to dodge with an opposed Agility roll. Targets who are Shaken or wounded by this spell must make a Vigor roll or suffer a point of cold-based Fatigue. If they are hit with a raise, the Vigor roll is made at -2, and their next movement is treated as difficult terrain.
Acid	2 PP	You project a cone of caustic acid from your mouth, inflicting 2d8 damage and ignoring armor (unless completely sealed). Those within the template may attempt a Vigor check to avoid and take no damage if successful. The next round, the targets who failed their initial save take another d8 damage unless they take a full round (no other actions or movement) to rid themselves of the acid.
Lightning	2 PP	You project a lightning bolt from your mouth, inflicting 2d10 damage and ignoring armor (unless completely sealed). This counts as a Heavy Weapon. Those within the template may attempt to dodge with an opposed Agility roll and take no damage if successful. Targets are at -2 Parry until their next action (no save).
Poison (gas)		The Burst does 2d8 damage. The poisonous gas lingers for one round before dissipating. Anyone within the gas cloud at the beginning of their turn suffers 1d8 damage.

Deep Sleep (-1): Drakin have the sleeping habits of their larger kin. Once asleep, a drakin must make a Notice roll at -4 to wake up. (Drakin awake normally after 8 hours or so.) A drakin also suffers a -4 to Vigor rolls to stay awake past their bed time.

Small (-1): -2 to Strength and damage rolls; -2 Toughness; +1 to Parry and Avoid; and +1 to attack rolls. Your carrying capacity is halved, but the weight of weapons, armor and tools relative to your size is also halved. So, in most situations there's no change. The Brawny Edge and Small Hindrance modify your Toughness as normal, but do not affect the above modifiers - you're simply big or small for your race.

Becoming a dragon:

Big	Seasoned	You increase your size category by 1 to Medium. You also gain the Hardy ability.
Bigger	Veteran	You become Large size
Biggest	Heroic	You become Huge size
Breath Weapon, Improved	Seasoned	Foes make opposed rolls at -2.
Tooth and Nail	Novice	You grow fearsome fangs and claws. You are never considered unarmed. Damage Str+d6. (Savage Armory build = Light, Always Ready, and Low Damage.)
Tooth and Nail, Improved	Seasoned	natural weapons increase to Str + d8.
Scales	Novice	Armor +2. Subject to AP.
Scales, Improved	Veteran	Armor +4 (replaces Scales). Subject to AP.
Relentless	Novice	Hardy.
Wings	Veteran	You gain the ability to fly.
Wings, Improved	Veteran	increase fly pace by 4 and climb by +1; up to three times for Pace 16 and Climb +1.
Fearsome	Heroic	Fear monstrous ability, activated by roaring, which takes an action.
Terror	Heroic	Fear improves to -2.

Savage Worlds Fantasy Setting: Hellspawn Racial Build

Here is the Hellspawn, my version of tieflings from D&D. When the Hellmouth erupted several years ago, most creatures living in the area were killed. A few, however, agreed to an infernal bargain and were transformed into hellspawn.

The defining characteristic of Hellspawn is that they serve a demonic master. I thought initially of just using Harrowed from Deadlands: Reloaded as Hellspawn. I did not want them to be undead, though. Totems of the Dead had a Pact Edge that allowed communication and the ability to cast spells between a master and an apprentice. There were no mechanics involved, however. The GM simply decided if a character got a benefit from the Edge. I knew that this was too subjective for my tastes.

I took the idea of a pact and combined it with the idea of fighting for Dominion between a PC and a Manitou in Deadlands. The result is the Servitor racial ability. It has not been play tested and no one is playing a Hellspawn at the moment, so I will have to wait to see how it works at the table.

The Cursed racial ability only gives 1 Benny because I give out a lot of Bennies. Being docked one wouldn't be much of a Hindrance, to be honest. I am not sure that two is enough. 

HELLSPAWN

Infernal Eyesight (+2): Hellspawn can see in the dark. They never suffer penalties for Dim, Dark, or Pitch Darkness lighting conditions.

Balefire (+2): Hellspawn have 5 Power Points with which to cast Balefire (Smite). The Power Points recharge at a rate of 1 per hour, are unaffected by the Rapid Recharge edge, and cannot be used with any other Arcane Background edge. Hellspawn use their Spirit die as their Arcane Casting Die.

Servitor (+2)

• All Hellspawn have entered into a Pact with a demon.
• This demon is the Hellspawn's Master. The Master has a +1 bonus to Persuasion, Spellcasting, and all opposed rolls made against its Servitor.
• The Hellspawn acquires the Major Hindrance: Vow (Fulfill Your Master's Wishes).
• The Hellspawn or the Master may spend an action to invoke the Pact and establish telepathic communication with one another.
• The telepathic link lasts until canceled, whether by the Hellspawn or the Master , or until the Hellspawn or the Master become shaken, wounded, or unconscious.
• The telepathic link allows the Master to cast spells on the Servitor regardless of range or what plane the two happen to be on. The occurrence of this benefit depends on how much the Hellspawn is working for or against their Master’s will.
• The two make opposed Spirit rolls. The demon's Spirit is always one die step higher than the Servitor. The spell is cast if the Servitor wins. The Servitor gains a level of Fatigue if the Master wins with a Raise.
• The Servitor gains a modifier based on their current Rank versus the spell's Rank. A Novice Servitor requesting a Seasoned Rank spell would have -1 to his roll. A Veteran Servitor requesting a Novice Rank spell would have +2 to his roll.
• The Servitor can have a modifier of -2 to +2 based on his fulfillment of their Master's wishes.
• [Note that I made all of this up, and it may be subject to change.]

Vow (Major): Fulfill Your Master's Wishes: from the Servitor Edge above.

Outsider (-1): No one likes Hellspawn, except other Hellspawn. -2 Charisma.

Weakness: Cold Iron (-1): Weapons made of cold iron receive a +1 to damage rolls against Hellspawn.

Cursed (-2): A Hellspawn begins each session with only 1 Benny. They may never take the Luck or Great Luck Edges.

Savage Worlds Fantasy Campaign: Desperate Times: Session Three

Real World Date: August 13, 2016

Campaign World Date: ?

The Party

Khelgar Ironfist - A dwarven warrior who fights with a huge double-bladed axe. He rides into battle on a fearsome battle goat. Played by Jeremy.

Lilly - A human articifer with a pet raven named Malik. Played by Justin.

"Sir" Malith - A human sellsword who was involved in the regicide with River. He too is wanted by the human kingdom. Played by Thomas.

River - An incredibly beautiful elven ranger who killed a human king. The hunter is now the hunted. Played by Miranda.

Runt - An ogre warrior. Played by Jacob.

Sluff - An obese ogre alchemist who worships the god Saint Stephen. He wields a large club with a bull's skull on the end and uses a door as a shield. Played by Heath.

Special Guest Star: Yencid, a human sorcerer. Played by Jack.

When Last We Left Our Intrepid Heroes:

The party seeks the Fire Opal of Xendra, which lies somewhere in the ruins of a monastery. They entered the first room of the monastery's dungeon and encountered a large number of zombies and the magical statues that reanimated them. The heroes destroyed the statues and then finished off the walking dead. Now, they are preparing to explore the rest of the dungeon . . . .

The Tale

Exploring the Dungeon

• The party heard a noise from behind the door on the west wall. Opening the door, they discovered a human sorcerer, Yencid. He had been part of the war band led by Magloy the Ugly. The orcs had fought the zombies and been routed. They fled, but Yencid was separated and had to hide in the west hallway.

• Down the west hallway were three doors. Runt opened two of the doors at once. He was hit a blast of yellow mold and a swarm of rats. He shook off the mold and dispersed the rat swarm with a mighty sweep of his oversize foot.

• Runt opened the third door and was hit with a blast of fire. He nimbly (for an ogre) dodged out the way. Beyond the door lay a library of books and scrolls dedicated to a god named Kahokatan of the Ancient Eyes.

• Sluff was disgusted by these books and proceeded to burn everything in the name of his god, St. Stephen.

The Water Room

• Runt then went down the east hallway. He kicked in the single door at the end of the passage. Beyond was a room containing a natural pool of running water. A large number of coins and gems littered the bottom of the pool.

• River reached in and grabbed some coins. The water bubbled and frothed and a strange creature emerged. It looked like a wave of water, but it did not collapse, as a wave should. Two eyes seemed to stare at the party from the solid wall of water. The elf had summoned a water elemental.

• The water elemental seemed curious and said, "You are not dead." At which point the party grew tired of talking and attacked. Very shortly, the water elemental was dead. The party stripped the pool of every coin and gem and then left.

Not a Dead End

• The party then proceeded south. They came to a large room. Across the room was a stone bier and a pedestal that held a large orange gem the size of a man's head that glowed with magical light. Was this the Fire Opal.

• Touching the gem and invoking the name of Kahokatan caused a section of the floor and wall to spin. The party ripped the gem out of the pedestal and took it with them.

Battle with Undead, Knife Throwing Adepts

• The spinning section of floor and wall took some members of the party into a room full of stone biers with skeletons atop them. Other party members were left behind in the original room. They were pleased to discover that the previous section of floor had been replaced with a  duplicate section with another pedestal with a glowing orange gem on it. The party ripped that gem out of its mount and claimed it as well. (That is 2 glowing orange gems. This will be important as the story unfolds.)

• At the end of the room was another bier next to a pedestal with a glowing orange gem on it. The skeletons arose and started chucking daggers at the party.  As the party killed the skeletons, more came to unlife. A great battle ensued. The party fought their way to the other end.

• Touching the glowing orange gem and saying the name Kahokatan did nothing. Yencid was able to read the runes around the pedestal and figured out that this gem was dedicated to Xendra, a demi-god lieutenant of Kahokatan. The party members invoked the name of Xendra, and again the floor and wall pivoted. They ripped the glowing orange gem out of its pedestal. (For a total of 3 glowing orange gems.)

• The remaining party members in the room with the undead saw that the new section of floor contained another glowing orange gem. They invoked Xendra and spun the section of floor. Then they ripped out the glowing orange gem. The party took that one too. (That is now 4 glowing orange gems.)

Another Pool Room

• The party found themselves into a room with a number of stone biers, plenty of (non-animated) skeletons, and a small pool at one end. Another pedestal held a glowing orange gem. The party crossed the stream and claimed that gem as well. (We are now up to 5 glowing orange gems, each the size of a man's head.

• Suspicious that it was so easy, the party searched the room. River found that one of the stone biers was actually hollow. Runt lifted the entire slab and shattered it against the wall. A narrow set of stairs were revealed, leading down into darkness.

• Malith and River proceeded down. Sluff went next, but he could not fit his obese frame through the entrance so the party lubed him up with some cooking oil they had on hand. The ogre then pushed himself into the opening, shooting through it like a quickling on pipeweed. He landed on top of River, crushing and killing her. The entire party gathered around her corpse and Runt said a few words. Rather unexpectedly, River recovered and seemed perfectly fine. [River took 29 points of damage and was indeed Incapacitated. Someone played the Eulogy Adventure Card, giving everyone another Adventure Card to play. Then someone else played the Bring in the Clones Adventure Card, bringing River back perfectly intact.]

The Demon and the Real Fire Opal of Xendra

• The party found themselves in a small room that contained another pedestal with a glowing orange gem. The room also held a rather large demon. The demon seemed curious, stating, "You are not priests of the Temple of the Ancient Eyes.

• The party immediately attacked, slaying the demon in one blow. As it died, the demon exploded in a large ball of balefire and brimstone, but everyone survived.

• Malith grabbed the oversized bastard sword used by the demon before it disappeared. It was a valuable trophy but too large to be used by him at the moment. [Thomas played the Hidden Stash Adventure Card.]

• Runt grabbed the Fire Opal and was possessed by some kind of spirit. He muttered something about needing to find the village of Eerie. [Touching the Fire Opal meant an opposed Spirit check versus the Fire Opal's d12 and Wild Die. Runt lost.] The party now had 5 seemingly false fire opals and one genuine Fire Opal of Xendra.

Negotiations with Cateth and Black Jack

• The party encountered Cateth and Black Jack after leaving the monastery. Cateth asked about the Fire Opal. She stated that she was a representative of the Queen and could offer the party great rewards if they gave her the Fire Opal.

• After some negotiation, it was decided that the party would indeed sell the Fire Opal to the Crown. They would escort Cateth and Black Jack to the capital, Narmer, and collect their reward directly from the Queen.

• Runt seemed uncomfortable during the discussion, wanting to leave as soon as possible. Then he seemed very surprised to no longer being in the dungeon. The last thing he remembered was touching the Fire Opal. [The ogre was possessed for about an hour of game time and then recovered.]

Hijinks in Hatchett

• The entire group returned to Hatchett and hijinks ensued.

• For some reason, Sluff thought that there were seven gems, not six. To convince everyone he was right, he took a large rock and carved the words, "Fire Opal" on it, along with some flames. That rock is now officially part of the collection. So, there are now indeed 7 gems.

• The party took turns playing Fire Opal roulette.  One of the 7 gems could possess anyone who touched it. The players rolled a d6 to see if anyone touched the real Fire Opal. Luckily, none did.

• Khelgar has the Big Mouth Hindrance and happily told the entire village of Hatchett about the wondrous treasure that the party had found.

• The party rented rooms at the Inn of the Welcome Wench and stored the fire opals in a secure room. Runt snuck down in the middle of the night in full battle array to try and steal the real Fire Opal. [Jacob was playing Runt's Curious Hindrance.] Everyone in the inn heard him. Throwing caution aside, he rushed in and grabbed the real Fire Opal. Once again, he became possessed by some kind of spirit. The possessed ogre decided to make a run for it and launched his large frame through the window, which resulted in him blowing a huge hole in the inn's wall.

• That led to a merry chase across field and dale. The Fire Opal was exchanged multiple times as characters engaged in opposed checks. Some characters were possessed, some not. Some spells were cast and arrows launched. Some innocent cows were caught in the crossfire.

• After an hour, the party members who had been possessed came to their senses. Cateth and Black Jack showed up and managed to corral all of the party members. Yencid convinced everyone that the Fire Opal caused people to become possessed. He covered it in a cloak and told no one to touch it.

• In the end, the party left Hatchett along with Cateth and Black Jack.

Near Encounter with Sir Matthew

• The party passed a large contingent of soldiers led by Sir Matthew, a knight who was looking for both River and Malith.

• Thinking quickly, Lilly used her Boots of Gaia to take both her and River into the earth, reappearing after Sir Matthew's force had passed.

Fight against an Inept Band of Bugbears

• A band of bugbears tried to ambush the party. Renowned for their ability to move unseen and unheard, these bugbears made no attempt at stealth, attacking in broad daylight. [In this world, bugbears have the ability to turn invisible and have high Stealth skill in addition. I rolled horribly on their attempts to turn Invisible and then rolled horribly on their Stealth checks.] The party cut down the beasts without much of a problem.

•  [At some point, Justin had drawn the one Legend Benny from the bag. During this combat, he blew all of his Bennies save the Legend one trying to get a Raise on his Spellcasting roll. Miranda then played the Karma Adventure Card, stealing the Legend Benny from Justin. Harsh, especially since Lilly had helped save River just the scene before.]

And that's where we stopped for the night.

Quests

Name of Quest	Reward	Status
Find the Fire Opal	Wealth. The Fire Opal is valuable.	Completed
Kill The Beautiful One	Fame. Gratitude of Hatchett and the human kingdom of Ivera.	Open
Take the Fire Opal to Narmer	Fame. Titles of nobility. A magic bow.	Open

XP

2.5 XP awarded. River earns 3.5 XP due to Miranda turning in the Legend Benny. Lilly gains 3.5 due to Justin showing a surprising amount of maturity and not rage quitting when Miranda stole his Legend Benny.

Character	Old XP	XP Earned	New XP	Notes
Khelgar	5	2.5	7.5	Rides a Battle Goat named Heath.
Lilly	5	2.5	8.5	Friends with a talking raven named Malik.
Malith	5	2.5	7.5	·         Married to Meepo the goblin. ·         Carries an oversized demonic bastard sword.
River	5	2.5	8.5	Wanted for killing a human king.
Runt	6	2.5	8.5	·         An ogre of renown: 50% chance of +1 Charisma due to people having heard of his exploits in freeing the merchants from the clutches of their ogre jailors. ·         Head appears as a flaming skull
Sluff	5	2.5	7.5	Chieftain of the goblin Tribe of the Withered Arm. Has a withered arm (possibly human) as a token of his office.

Savage Worlds Fantasy Setting: Ogre Racial Build

Here is the ogre. I had a tough time coming up with a negative modifier to balance the race. I balanced Incredibly Strong with Incredibly Clumsy, but needed something else to bring the race to the normal +2. I thought about Sensitive to Light, the same disadvantage as orcs have. However, I am trying to make every race distinct, and I did not want ogres to be merely larger sized orcs.

I finally came up with Gullible. This disadvantage is my own creation and has not been play tested. I have not used that many Smart Tricks or Taunts on the ogre PCs. I need to make a note to do that next session.

OGRE

Really Strong (+3): Ogres start with a d8 Strength. This may be raised to d12+2 in the course of normal advancement. The Expert and Master Edges may raise it to d12+4.

Big (+1): Ogres are larger than humans. Ogres gain a +2 bonus to Strength and damage rolls, +2 Toughness, -1 to Parry and Avoid, and -1 to attack rolls. Their carrying capacity is two times that of a medium size creature, but the weight of weapons, armor, and tools relative to their size also doubles, so in most situations there's no change. The Brawny Edge and Small Hindrance modify an ogre's Toughness as normal, but do not affect the above modifiers - they're simply big or small for their race.

Reach (+1): Ogres are tall and have long arms. They add +1 to their Reach.

Dark Vision (+2): Ogres love the dark. They never suffer penalties for Dim, Dark, or Pitch Darkness lighting conditions.

Really Clumsy (-3): Ogres are not very agile. It takes two points to raise their Agility score by one die at character creation. They must dedicate two Advances to raising it after character creation.

Gullible (-2): Ogres suffer -2 to resist Smart Tricks and Taunts. They may not take the Strong Willed Edge.

Savage Worlds Fantasy Setting: Orc Racial Build

Here is the orc, a playable character race in our group's fantasy campaign.

Orcs are a race of warriors. As such, I made them strong and big; and gave them the Berserk Edge. 

Darkvision was a no-brainer. In return, I gave them a penalty to action in normal lighting conditions. This one might be a little harsh. I expect that a lot of the party's time will be spent in dungeons deep and caverns old, though. We will wait and see how this works.

I gave them a penalty to raising their Spirit die at character creation. I had initially gave them a penalty to Smarts. However, all orcs have the Berserk Edge, so being dumb is not really a penalty.

I decided not to give them a Charisma penalty beyond the one for having racial enemies. While other races might hold orcs in contempt for their savage nature, individual orcs do not suffer a Charisma penalty.

ORC

Strong (+2): Orcs start with a d6 Strength. This may be raised to d12+1 in the course of normal advancement. The Expert and Master Edges may raise it to d12+3.

Berserk (+2): All orcs have the Berserk Edge because, well, they're orcs.

Tough (+2): Orcs are durable and add +1 to their Toughness.

Darkvision (+2):  Orcs can see in the dark. They never suffer penalties for Dim, Dark, or Pitch Darkness lighting conditions.

Survivor (+1): Orcs start with a d6 in Survival.

Sensitive to Light (-2): Orcs suffer a -1 to Trait rolls in normal lighting conditions

Primal (-2): It takes two points for orcs to raise their Spirit attribute by one die at character creation.

Racial Enemy: Elves (-1): Orcs hate elves. They suffer a -4 Charisma penalty when interacting with  elves.

Racial Enemy: Dwarves (-1): Orcs hate dwarves. They suffer a -4 Charisma penalty when interacting with dwarves.

Savage Worlds Fantasy Setting: Halfling Racial Build

Here is my take on the halfling. Fairly standard stuff. I thought about giving them a spell like ability, perhaps Boost/Lower Trait, but opted not to. 

They get two Bennies instead of one due to Bennies being rewarded at prodigious rate in my games. The Luck Edge gives two Bennies and Great Luck four.

HALFLING

Spirited (+2): Halflings are optimistic beings. They start with a d6 Spirit instead of a d4. This may be raised to d12+1 in the course of normal advancement. The Expert and Master Edges may raise it to d12+3.

Fortunate (+2): Halflings draw two extra Bennies at the beginning of a game session. This may be combined with the Luck and Great Luck Edges.

Slow (-1): Halflings have a Pace of 24 feet per round (4” or 4 squares). Their run die remains d6.

Small (-1): -2 to Strength and damage rolls; -2 Toughness; +1 to Parry and Avoid; and +1 to attack rolls. Your carrying capacity is halved, but the weight of weapons, armor and tools relative to your size is also halved. So, in most situations there's no change. The Brawny Edge and Small Hindrance modify your Toughness as normal, but do not affect the above modifiers - you're simply big or small for your race.

Modifications to Creature Size in Savage Worlds

On the Pinnacle forums, Zadmar posted modified stats to represent a creature's Size.

http://www.pegforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=43668

I have been using these modified Size rules in our fantasy campaign, and I have to say that they work. We have two ogre PCs who use the modified rules for Large Size creatures. Large is a +2 bonus, and so is equivalent to an Edge. After two sessions, and several combats, I can say that the ogre PCs are definitely tough, but not invincible.

I ran a combat with goblin NPCs against the party. The goblins used the modified rules for Small Size creatures, which is a -1 modifier when building a race. Being small definitely seemed like a penalty.

How do these modified size rules actually match up with the monsters listed in Savage Worlds Deluxe?

Dragon

• By RAW, a dragon is Huge Size, which means that it suffers a -4 to attack rolls, and opponents receive +4 to attack it. It is Size 8, which gives +8 to Toughness. It has a Strength of d12+9. 
• Under the modified size rules, the dragon is still Huge Size. It would have +8 as a flat bonus to Strength, +8 Toughness, and be at -4 to attack and +4 to be attacked. 

Cat, Small

• By RAW, the house cat is listed as Size Small, which means it receives a +2 bonus to hit and attacks against it suffer a -2 penalty. It has a -2 penalty to Toughness. It has a d4 Strength. 
• Using the modified size rules, the house cat would be listed as Diminutive Size. It would have -4 as a flat penalty to Strength, -4 Toughness (minimum of 2), and be at +4 to attack and -4 to be attacked. 

Half-Folk

• The half-folk race listed in the Wizards and Warriors supplement has a -1 penalty to Toughness and cannot take the Small Hindrance. 
• Under the modified size rules, a half-folk would be listed as Small Size. It would have -2 as a flat penalty to Strength, -2 Toughness (minimum of 2), and be at +2 to attack and -2 to be attacked. They can also take the Small Hindrance. 

So there is some variation if you decide to implement Zadmar's Size rules. I find those variations useful, as the modified size rules make it clear that a half-folk is indeed half the size of a human and not just a human with the Small Hindrance.

Savage Worlds Fantasy Setting: Elf Racial Build

Continuing the mechanical builds of different races in our group's fantasy campaign. Today's build: the elf.

Most settings have elves living in a forest. Just as with dwarves, I wanted a mechanical explanation for this. To do so, I gave all elves Tree Step: a modified Burrow power that works with trees. This allows an elf to step into one tree and reemerge from another one within range. This racial ability explains the mystical nature of elves: they can seemingly appear and disappear into thin air. A force of elves in a forest can can launch a devastating ambush and then retreat to safety if things do not go well. An elf in a forest would have a distinct advantage over other races.

The other elven abilities are fairly standard. Elves are agile and beautiful. They see well at night. They are not good with mechanical objects. Elves tend to be slim and not as durable as humans. They are vulnerable to Cold Iron (an actual metal in the campaign world). They hate orcs, who happen to wield weapons made of Cold Iron.

Thinking further about Cold Iron, I would think that chains and manacles made of the stuff would prevent the elves' Tree Step spell from working. Maybe give them a Spirit check?


ELF

Agile (+2): Elves are graceful and agile. They start with a d6 in Agility instead of a d4. This may be raised to d12+1 in the course of normal advancement. The Expert and Master Edges may raise it to d12+3.

Beautiful (+2): Elves are gorgeous. +2 Charisma.

Low Light Vision (+1): Elven eyes amplify light like a cat’s, allowing them to see in the dark. Elves ignore attack penalties for Dim and Dark lighting.

Tree Step (+2): Elves can walk from tree to tree, ignoring the space in between. They have 5 Powers Points with which to cast Tree Step (Burrow). These Power Point recharge at rate of 1 per hour, are unaffected by the Rapid Recharge edge, and cannot be used on any other Arcane Background edge. Elves use their Spirit die as their Arcane Casting Die.

Luddite (-1): Elves have an inbred dislike of mechanical objects. They suffer -2 to Lockpicking and Repair rolls.

Frail (-2): -1 Toughness and cannot take the Brawny Edge.

Racial Enemy: Orcs (-1): Elves hate orcs. They suffer a -4 Charisma penalty when interacting with orcs (a total of -2 because elves are Beautiful).

Weakness: Cold Iron (-1): Weapons made of cold iron receive a +1 to damage rolls against elves.

Savage Worlds Fantasy Setting: Dwarf Racial Build

Our group has started a fantasy campaign, and the campaign world has the traditional races: dwarves, elves, humans, and halflings. We also have some of the green skins as playable races: orcs and ogres. I tried to include goblins as well, but couldn't come up with something to make them truly distinct. The campaign world also has drakin, a race of small dragon like creatures. The name comes from Sundered Skies, but the racial build is my own.

I will be posting my versions of the racial builds over the next week. I wanted the mechanics to justify the typical description of each race. Today, I will be talking about dwarves. Most fantasy settings depict dwarves as hardy folk who live under mountains and are known for delving deep into the earth seeking its treasures. So why would dwarves prefer caverns and underground kingdoms? Why are they so good at digging for gems and ore? It seemed that they had a way to thrive under the mountain and in caverns that other races lacked. Mechanically, they needed to be able to see in the pitch darkness of a cave and to have a way to shape their underground environment.

Granting them Darkvision was easy enough, but how to give them control over their underground environment? The Fantasy Companion has a 2 point racial ability that gives each member of a race 5 Power Points with which to cast a single spell with an Attribute (typically Spirit or Vigor) as the Arcane Die. The power Elemental Manipulation: Earth allows a caster to create a hole in soft earth or stone. This spell would explain their reputation as stellar miners. Even a small team of dwarves would be able to quickly dig tunnels. I also decided that "Manipulation" in the spell title would be taken literally: dwarves could not only drill a hole, they could also actually shape earth or stone. A kingdom of millions of dwarves could reshape the earth to fit their needs.

Another trait often associated with dwarves is their love of drink. I thought about giving them the Liquid Courage Edge, but I could not think of another hindrance to balance it. I was happy enough with my dwarf race and also did not want to give out too many racial abilities.

Here is my build:

DWARF

Tough (+2): Dwarves are resilient and hardy. They start with a d6 Vigor instead of a d4. This may be raised to d12+1 in the course of normal advancement. The Expert and Master Edges may raise it to d12+3.

Darkvision (+2): Dwarven eyes are accustomed to the dark of the underearth. They never suffer penalties for Dim, Dark, or Pitch Darkness lighting conditions.

Lord of the Earth (+2): Dwarves have an innate ability to manipulate stone and earth. They have 5 Powers Points with which to cast Elemental Manipulation: Earth. The Power Points recharge at rate of 1 per hour, are unaffected by the Rapid Recharge edge, and cannot be used on any other Arcane Background edge. Dwarves use their Vigor die as their Arcane Casting Die.

Dour (-1): Dwarves suffer a -2 Charisma, except when interacting with other dwarves.

Racial Enemy: Orcs (-1): Dwarves hate orcs. They suffer a -4 Charisma penalty when interacting with orcs. This stacks with Dour for a total penalty of -6 to Charisma.

Slow (-1): Dwarves have a Pace of 24 feet per round (4” or 4 squares). Their run die remains d6.

Sink Like a Stone (-1): Dwarves are heavier than water. They suffer a -2 to all Swimming Checks.