Quick question: Starter GM here

[Chudstar]

Hi guys. Me and my friends are looking to expand a little from our DND 5e table. So we are looking to derail a bit and I think Savage Worlds is really the ideal system to do other settings than fantasy. What I should get to start running some games? Savage Worlds Deluxe or Savage Worlds Adventure Edition? That got me kinda confused.

Also, which setting would you recommend? We don't like Sci-Fi futuristic stuff, and for Fantasy we go for DND or Pathfinder. Is there a setting based around survival/zombie/post-apocalyptic stuff??
Thanks!!

(Also, if you can suggest good quality of life essentials to get besides the ruleset system ar the setting system I'd be grateful).

Cheers!!

[Ram Tyr]

I would suggest you take a peek at the PEG New to SW page here:
https://peginc.com/new-to-savage-worlds-start-here/

That page clearly directs folks to pick up SWADE as it is the newer edition. It also gives a number of examples of some of their commercial settings.

Also, you can see the conversion from Deluxe to SWADE here:
https://peginc.com/store/conversion-notes-deluxe-to-adventure-edition-swd-to-swade/

And, be warned... SW does fantasy as well as it does anything else.
:)

[Talyn]

Savage Worlds Adventure Edition (SWADE) is the newest edition of the game, and the one currently most supported. Many of the settings (both real and on FG) were written for Deluxe (SWD) the previous edition, but the DLC loads into both rulesets and functions just fine. A few of them (Lankhmar, 50 Fathoms, Beasts & Barbarians off the top of my head) have already been officially converted over to SWADE even though the FG Store pages do not reflect that.

[Chudstar]

Thank you both, Ramza0Tyr and Talyn. I will get SWADE and one or two settings (I think I will go for The After).
Any other universal components to get? (Is there something similar to D&D equivalent of Monster Manual or some additions that expand the SWADE base ruleset? Once I get the hang of the system I probably will be my own homebrew campaign for it with my own setting).

[Talyn]

Eh, not really since Savage Worlds is one of the "generic" RPG systems so there wouldn't be a "Savage Worlds Bestiary" as not all the creatures in it could fit into any particular setting nor would they be configured (Edges, Hindrances, Powers, Equipment, etc.) the way a given setting might have its creatures and NPCs. The SWADE core book has some basic creatures in it, then each specific setting will have its own as well. Some of the more popular settings, such as Hellfrost, might have its own dedicated bestiary but generally that type of content would be found in the various setting books and adventures.

[Mgrancey]

There are a basic group of creatures in the Core book. There is also the Fantasy Companion which is for Deluxe rather thaN adventure ed. (SWADE).

if there is a particular setting they usually come with bestiarys as well.

There are One Sheet adventures which is basically an overview of an Adventure and some core scenes but leave filling in gaps to GM.

[Chudstar]

Thanks again for the answers guys. Are the companions products compatible with SWADE too or only to SWD?

[amerigoV]

Thanks again for the answers guys. Are the companions products compatible with SWADE too or only to SWD?

All older SW material opens and "works" under SWADE. That said, automation may or may not be in place (NPC stat blocks will generally work, but it might be confused about certain edges).

That said, the Companions are up for a rewrite this year. I find the Horror and SciFi to still be pretty useful (SciFi is the only one I have on FG). Steer away from the Fantasy Companion - its the most out of date and much of the unique things are already in core SWADE (race creator for example. There are magic items, but heck someone put that online and its not really all that hard to make magic items in Savage Worlds). I'll let others commend on Super Powers Companion. I rarely use it at the table and I do not have it for FG.

While you may or may not want to run fantasy under SW, there is a great Eberron conversion available both in PDF and for Fantasy Grounds/SWADE.

[Talyn]

Thanks again for the answers guys. Are the companions products compatible with SWADE too or only to SWD?

The Companions will open in SWADE but they were written for SWD so you'd be on your own to handle any changes that the ruleset cannot 'automate' for you.

Pinnacle are in the process of writing all-new SWADE editions of the Companions, and those will appear on Fantasy Grounds soon after release of the physical books. As they are all-new SKUs from Pinnacle, they will not be free upgrades on FG either; they will be new purchases so I'd probably recommend just holding off on them.

[Chudstar]

Thanks! For now I got SWADE and looking into some Settings. So far I liked premise on The After (although I can't find much info on the internet) and the War of the Dead and Deadlands: Weird West sound cool. I got to SWADE to play mostly "modern" settings, so fantasy isn't on my list for now unless I find out about a really really good setting that kinda trashes on 5e or Pathfinder (we mostly play those rulesets with my group).

Cheers!!

[Claybor]

Not sure if any of this will help, but I thought I'd add a bit of info on the 3 settings mentioned.

The After is a fairly recent 3rd party setting that has does not have much net support (no forum or pages I have been able to find), but is very much alive and just had a small successful kickstarter for an adventure book that should be available in the near future.

War of the Dead is an older setting for Savage Worlds deluxe that has a fair amount of material in print but is no longer being supported.

Deadlands: Weird West is one of pinnacles main house settings and should be seeing quite a bit more content in future.

[kronovan]

...Any other universal components to get? (Is there something similar to D&D equivalent of Monster Manual or some additions that expand the SWADE base ruleset? Once I get the hang of the system I probably will be my own homebrew campaign for it with my own setting).

Just in case it isn't clear...because Savage Worlds is a universal RPG that supports multiple gaming genres, the equivalent of the D&D monster manual is actually spread across 4 companions; Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction and Super Powers 2. Each of those has a lengthy chapter covering the threats/monsters for their specific genre, but there's nothing preventing you from using those for any given genre with another - Fantasy Grounds also allows this. While I'd agree that the Fantasy Companion being the oldest (originally written for the SWEX edition & updated for SWD) is the least appealing, it's bestiary is still usable for SWADE campaigns. The most significant change since the companions were published is that larger, non Wild Card beasts now can take additional wounds. As well, with building beasts the way you want them to be being a philosophy of SW for some time, the earlier beasts tend to lack details which are now better covered in the SWADE bestiary chapter. There's nothing preventing a GM though, from dragging & dropping an existing Fantasy Companion beast in the NPC listing to create a copy which can be edited. So if any issue (can't recall any off the top of my head) does come up for a beast from an earlier companion, it can be easily corrected.

[Mgrancey]

Hmm. Modern but not Sci-Fi outside of what was already mentioned

WiseGuys/Tuffguys (supplemental) -- 80s gangsters era built for SWADE
Weird Wars (Roman/WW1/WW2) -- occult war time setting for Deluxe
Deadlands Noir -- 1920s era Deadlands, focused in Louisiana and surrounding area

Went through the Jumpstart folder:
Broken Earth (Fallout-ish though maybe not so gonzo?)
Bureau 13 (Adventure Horror?, favorite artist did cover!) Seems like Occult MiB?
Children of the Apocalypse (Occult Post Apocalyptic)

Most of the others seem more Fantasy then Occult or are Sci-Fi-ish. Though most are for Deluxe over SWADE there was a site with a large collection of fan made adaptions of existing settings coverted into Savage Worlds. I can't remember the address and searching hasn't turned anything up but I didn't look too hard either.

[Chudstar]

Not sure if any of this will help, but I thought I'd add a bit of info on the 3 settings mentioned.

The After is a fairly recent 3rd party setting that has does not have much net support (no forum or pages I have been able to find), but is very much alive and just had a small successful kickstarter for an adventure book that should be available in the near future.

War of the Dead is an older setting for Savage Worlds deluxe that has a fair amount of material in print but is no longer being supported.

Deadlands: Weird West is one of pinnacles main house settings and should be seeing quite a bit more content in future.

Thanks for the descriptions. Yes, The After is the one that is the most intriguing for me, sadly there's little to no info on internet. I watched the drivethrurpg preview of the PDF and seems a fine work. I think I will shoot for it on FG and hope for the best.


Just in case it isn't clear...because Savage Worlds is a universal RPG that supports multiple gaming genres, the equivalent of the D&D monster manual is actually spread across 4 companions; Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction and Super Powers 2. Each of those has a lengthy chapter covering the threats/monsters for their specific genre, but there's nothing preventing you from using those for any given genre with another - Fantasy Grounds also allows this. While I'd agree that the Fantasy Companion being the oldest (originally written for the SWEX edition & updated for SWD) is the least appealing, it's bestiary is still usable for SWADE campaigns. The most significant change since the companions were published is that larger, non Wild Card beasts now can take additional wounds. As well, with building beasts the way you want them to be being a philosophy of SW for some time, the earlier beasts tend to lack details which are now better covered in the SWADE bestiary chapter. There's nothing preventing a GM though, from dragging & dropping an existing Fantasy Companion beast in the NPC listing to create a copy which can be edited. So if any issue (can't recall any off the top of my head) does come up for a beast from an earlier companion, it can be easily corrected.

Thank you, this actually really helped clear some doubts about what supplement to get or not. I already got SWADE and been messing around with it and searching around for something to play for the first time with my friends and introduce them to the system (I'm learning it too). I might get one or two companions alongside the Vehicle Guide for SWADE.


Hmm. Modern but not Sci-Fi outside of what was already mentioned

WiseGuys/Tuffguys (supplemental) -- 80s gangsters era built for SWADE
Weird Wars (Roman/WW1/WW2) -- occult war time setting for Deluxe
Deadlands Noir -- 1920s era Deadlands, focused in Louisiana and surrounding area

Went through the Jumpstart folder:
Broken Earth (Fallout-ish though maybe not so gonzo?)
Bureau 13 (Adventure Horror?, favorite artist did cover!) Seems like Occult MiB?
Children of the Apocalypse (Occult Post Apocalyptic)

Most of the others seem more Fantasy then Occult or are Sci-Fi-ish. Though most are for Deluxe over SWADE there was a site with a large collection of fan made adaptions of existing settings coverted into Savage Worlds. I can't remember the address and searching hasn't turned anything up but I didn't look too hard either.

Nice recommendations there. WiseGuys specially sounds like really cool. Deadlands looks pretty robust and cool, but I'm not from the USA so the setting is not super appealing to me sadly. That's why I tend to incline more for fictional-modern settings that any person can kinda relate to geography-wise.

Thanks for the answers guys, really helping me out here.

[kronovan]

Thank you, this actually really helped clear some doubts about what supplement to get or not. I already got SWADE and been messing around with it and searching around for something to play for the first time with my friends and introduce them to the system (I'm learning it too). I might get one or two companions alongside the Vehicle Guide for SWADE.

Picking up a companion or 2 are also some of most prudent purchases you can make for campaigns run IRL too. There's a surprising amount of utility you can leverage from them and good amount of synchronicity between them, albeit some offer a bit more value than others. The Horror companion IMO is the best in regards to being a true companion, because it includes some quality Game Mastery content. So in a way, it better equips a GM with the tools to homebrew a campaign for the genre it covers. As well, a good amount of its bestiary can be used for the Fantasy genre - SciFi too to some extent. Whereas the Science Fiction companion has all the tools to tinker together a variety of cool vehicles, which could be as much at home in a Steampunk setting or Magi-tech fantasy setting. While the SF companion has brief instructions for how you might include Super Powers in a SciFi setting, while some of its bestiary could be used in a Supers campaign.

[Mike Serfass]

You can watch The After being played on FGU on youtube:

The After (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAu5F906Nzo)

And an interview with The After creator
Special Guest Jon Gibbons (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pd_yWy9Dtjg&list=PL3h0dIaiayC8gms6uKr1UbA2VJ2aEou_2&index=15)

[Mgrancey]

I think Savage Doswelk has run it once or twice as well on his Saturday series.

[Mike Serfass]

I think Savage Doswelk has run it once or twice as well on his Saturday series.

I thought he had, but I couldn't find it in his video list.

For those interested, here's his twitch: savage_doswelk - Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/savage_doswelk)

He converts much of the content to FG, and he play tests it with a group, so you get to see upcoming releases before they hit the store.

Better yet, he runs open games, so you can play the upcoming content.

And the accents are fun to listen to.