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  1. #1

    Savage Tales of the Slayers -- which companion(s)?

    One of my favorite fantasy settings to play in is the world of the classic anime/light novel series Slayers -- a setting so deliciously over-the-top that you can level an entire town by accident with a single misdirected spell. The con games I've run in the setting have mainly been built around characterization (romantic farce is a common theme) but occasionally you will want to have a knock-down brawl with a being who wants to destroy the Universe.

    Now if I wanted to run a game of this on FG using Savage Worlds, what all would I have to have loaded so my players have all the tools they need?
    FGU Ultimate -- All Players Welcome
    "Without Love, I'd have no anger. I wouldn't believe in righteousness." -- Bernie Taupin

  2. #2
    I'm not familiar at all with Slayers, but sounds pretty high powered. I would go with the SW ruleset and the Super Powers companion. That should give you a good start developing what you need.

  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by mghauber View Post
    I'm not familiar at all with Slayers, but sounds pretty high powered. I would go with the SW ruleset and the Super Powers companion. That should give you a good start developing what you need.
    Thanks. Slayers is a satire on high-powered D&D campaigns -- the heroes are as interested in treasure/money/food/power as anything else, and saving the world is a concern mainly in that none of those things are of any use if all life in the universe is extinguished. (There are a few genuine "do the heroic thing" characters in the series. The general consensus is that they're a little bit crazy.)

    So while the higher-level spells have the effect up superpowers, they still feel like Magic as opposed to Things My Character Can Do Because She's So Frickin' Cool!. The typical character has many spells that do similar things, such as a bewildering array of Blasts, which differ in power, flavor, and idiosyncrasies. Some of them are linked to specific godly-level-power beings and cannot be used directly against that particular being. Others draw on such enormous power that losing control of it can have world-shattering consequences. Others are less powerful, easier to cast and control, and have beneficial side effects in exchange for their lower raw power.

    A Savage Worlds character, as I understand it, would never have eight to ten different Blasts in a superhero campaign, much less a fantasy one. Plus the sorcerer would also have defensive, movement, and utility spells (like Here Fishy, Fishy, Fishy!, which seduces fish into biting your hook so you can lure them to their doom and into your stomach). I see no need to write up and pay for each individual spell a character knows if I can help it, so what are the alternatives?
    Last edited by Michael Hopcroft; August 19th, 2016 at 03:33.
    FGU Ultimate -- All Players Welcome
    "Without Love, I'd have no anger. I wouldn't believe in righteousness." -- Bernie Taupin

  4. #4
    Mask_of_winter's Avatar
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    There's the Switchable Generic Modifier from the Super Powers Companion you can look at. Savage Rifts also has options.
    But, the main thing I'd say is trappings. There's only one blast power template in Savage Worlds but by adding a fire, cold, ice, darkness, electricity, necromantic trapping you get several spells. You could have it as a setting rule that the trapping for a power/spell is picked when cast instead of learn. That way you get an unlimited number of spells. Or you can put a cap on it. A hero can pick Smarts die type number of trappings for each power.
    Here, Fishy, Fishy, Fishy! is the beast friend power with a trapping of "lures fish only and on a Raise on the arcane skill roll, the lured fish is eaten" for instance.
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  5. #5
    Well, it sounds like Savage Worlds IS the ticket for the game your describing. For example, the magic of Savage Worlds is generic in the context of the rules. However, the PLAYERS are encouraged to tailor them to the way they see them. So while a character would normally not have different "blasts" there is nothing that would prevent you from having multiple "blast based" spells that follow a basic rule for playability but are tweeked to feel very different. The "Here Fishy..." Spell could easily be a charm or puppet spell modified to have a particular effect.

    Savage worlds is very flexible and adjudicates most of the "feel" of the game to the players, so it would be up to them to use the rules as guidelines and then tailor them to how they see them. No doubt, would require a bit of work, but if you and your players put your heads together, you could do it.... Of course, having attached heads makes life more challenging. You get weird looks at the grocery store!

    Perhaps using a more "narrative" type of system would be easier as well. I believe F.A.T.E. is like that, though I have never tried it. There are a few others out there I have come across as well. A good google search may turn you on to what you want. Either way, good luck. It sounds interesting.

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Mask_of_winter View Post
    There's the Switchable Generic Modifier from the Super Powers Companion you can look at. Savage Rifts also has options.
    But, the main thing I'd say is trappings. There's only one blast power template in Savage Worlds but by adding a fire, cold, ice, darkness, electricity, necromantic trapping you get several spells. You could have it as a setting rule that the trapping for a power/spell is picked when cast instead of learn. That way you get an unlimited number of spells. Or you can put a cap on it. A hero can pick Smarts die type number of trappings for each power.
    Here, Fishy, Fishy, Fishy! is the beast friend power with a trapping of "lures fish only and on a Raise on the arcane skill roll, the lured fish is eaten" for instance.
    She has to cook the fish first (usually by roasting it whole over an open fire, by which time any chance of a revival is effectively gone), and the target is "any edible fish that happens to be in the vicinity at the time".

    If the players know in advance what they're getting into (and what series they're emulating) sounds like it will work. But everybody would need to buy in, by having a good idea how Slayers works. Familiarity with the series is essential.

    I've actually used this setting to demonstrate HeartQuest before its publication. The emphasis was on the character interrelationships (especially romantic) and the adventure was about a former frenemie of the crew (who was about to give birth to her first child) using her position and the chance to bring everyone together to give everybody a little nudge in the right direction to acknowledge the feelings that blindingly obvious to any outside observer. Something like that requires a very great familiarity with Slayers -- the players know what the right pairings are, it's how they get there that's the fun part. Savage Worlds might not be the best match for that, because it's a system where players seem to expect a lot of combat to take place.
    FGU Ultimate -- All Players Welcome
    "Without Love, I'd have no anger. I wouldn't believe in righteousness." -- Bernie Taupin

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