Encounter Difficulties (SWFC Page 104)

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Encounter Difficulties (SWFC Page 104)

Post by Ndreare »

The following is from Savage Worlds Fantasy Companion page 104. I want to talk about it, but will first post it here and hear what others have to say before spoiling it with my own opinions.


ENCOUNTER DIFFICULTIES

This advice first appeared in 50 Fathoms. However, it applies to all settings, so we’re printing it again.

You might wonder about the difficulty of the encounters listed throughout this book. Are they intended for characters of Novice Rank? Seasoned? Legendary?

The answer is none of the above. The encounters are created to reflect the natural organization of the characters or creatures listed. That means your group had best be warned that this isn’t like certain other games that automatically set the challenge level to something they can deal with. Sometimes a dragon needs to be avoided, or clever tactics or hired swords are needed to defeat it.

We do this because it’s more natural, it’s more of a challenge, and any system we created would have a difficult time fitting the nature of your characters. If the player characters hire 40 veteran mercenaries, it doesn’t make sense that every group of bandits and orcs suddenly grows exponentially to defeat them. That means that just as in real life, exploring the world with a larger party is much safer. Of course it also means the heroes have to feed the extras and provide them a share of the Treasure (or pay) as well. They also get to contend with the many mutineers and other troublemakers who are likely to infiltrate their army. There are bad apples in every bunch, as the old saying goes.

All that said, the GM should tweak encounters to fit the nature of his party. If they truly are walking around in a group so large nothing is a threat, feel free to up the difficulty of encounters that make sense—such as orc tribes or a hunting party of giants. You’ll have a good handle on what your party can handle after a few sessions without the need for some sort of formula. And don’t worry if the heroes lose a few extras along the way. Even famous heroes rarely make it to the finale of their adventure with all their loyal men.


ENCOUNTER

Each day the party spends exploring outside of a town, draw a card from your action deck. If the card is a face card, an encounter occurs. Decide what the party runs into or roll on a Encounter Table for that area you have previously set up to see exactly what the party has run into. If a Joker comes up, roll twice or pick two—the group has run into two things at once. Reshuffle the deck after every encounter. Think about the encounter a bit before setting it up. A few minutes’ pause before you hit the heroes with some terrible beast or dire storm can make a “random encounter” a very memorable experience.

If your heroes are crossing the mountains and you pick “Bandits,” for example, just tell them they see campfire smoke in the distance. It’s up to them whether they want to approach or not. The same goes with monsters. A blood flea attack in a swamp shouldn’t just be a quick roll. Describe the first few pests biting the heroes and causing giant welts. Let them take some action then adjust the encounter accordingly.
  • 2D6 EFFECT
    2 Catastrophe: Something goes terribly wrong. The GM must decide what, but some ideas are a new and permanent Minor Hindrance, the inability to use powers for several days, or an explosion of some sort. The backlash should be thematic if possible. If the hero tampers with dark forces for his abilities, for example, he might become corrupted or summon something sinister into the world. If he’s a weird scientist the device might explode for 3d6 damage in a Medium Blast Template, or he might develop a Quirk, Phobia, or other “madness.”

    3 Backfire: The power succeeds as with a raise but affects a different target with the worst possible results. A bolt hits a random friend, boost Trait increases an enemy’s skill or attribute, etc. If there’s no likely target, he’s Stunned instead. If the power has a Duration other than Instant, it lasts its full term and can only be negated by dispel (the caster can’t voluntarily end it herself).

    4–5 Short Circuit: The power fails but the Power Points allocated to it are spent, along with an additional 1d6 Power Points.

    6–8 Stunned: The caster is Stunned (see page 106). She subtracts 2 from arcane skill rolls for the rest of the encounter (the penalty remains –2 even if she gets this result again).

    9–10 Overload: The character’s synapses crackle and overload with power. He takes 2d6 damage plus the cost of the power in Power Points, including any Power Modifiers the player declared.

    11 Fatigue: The character suffers Fatigue.

    12 Overcharge: The power draws ambient energy from the air, automatically succeeding against the target with a raise and costing the caster no Power Points!

,
1 = 2 of Clubs
2 = 2 of Diamonds
3 = 2 of Hearts
4 = 2 of Spades
5 = 3 of Clubs
6 = 3 of Diamonds
7 = 3 of Hearts
8 = 3 of Spades
9 = 4 of Clubs
10 = 4 of Diamonds
11 = 4 of Hearts
12 = 4 of Spades
13 = 5 of Clubs
14 = 5 of Diamonds
15 = 5 of Hearts
16 = 5 of Spades
- reroll line for quickness & activation for Calculating -
17 = 6 of Clubs
18 = 6 of Diamonds
19 = 6 of Hearts
20 = 6 of Spades
21 = 7 of Clubs
22 = 7 of Diamonds
23 = 7 of Hearts
24 = 7 of Spades
25 = 8 of Clubs
26 = 8 of Diamonds
27 = 8 of Hearts
28 = 8 of Spades
- reroll line for Hyperion Juicer -
29 = 9 of Clubs
30 = 9 of Diamonds
31 = 9 of Hearts
32 = 9 of Spades
33 = 10 of Clubs
34 = 10 of Diamonds
35 = 10 of Hearts
36 = 10 of Spades
37 = J of Clubs
38 = J of Diamonds
39 = J of Hearts
40 = J of Spades
41 = Q of Clubs
42 = Q of Diamonds
43 = Q of Hearts
44 = Q of Spades
45 = K of Clubs
46 = K of Diamonds
47 = K of Hearts
48 = K of Spades
49 = A of Clubs
50 = A of Diamonds
51 = A of Hearts
52 = A of Spades
53 = Jokers = They are equal
54 = Jokers = They are equal
- If no reroll is being used then there are 2 extra jokers -
55 = Jokers = They are equal
56 = Jokers = They are equal
and of course update your signatures!
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Re: Encounter Difficulties (SWFC Page 104)

Post by Tribe of One »

I did something similar recently in the New West game that turned out to be fun (or at least I thought it was fun):

Traveling to Marron will take a base of 3 days -- you can make good time in the Sky Siren on the relatively flat stretches, but frequently find yourselves skirting old ruins or high mesas, and having to navigate around or through other hazards. To determine what sorts of things you run into, I'll draw a card for each day:
  • Clubs - Some sort of disaster strikes. Maybe it's a dust storm, or an alien whale falls from the sky. Maybe a rift opens and a horde of demons falls through ... whatever it is, it's no good for you, and probably slows you down in addition to other negative effects or dangers.
  • Spades - You've run into a potential trap, whether natural or man-made. Maybe it's an ambush, or a caravan of con artists, or perhaps a deceptively appealing shortcut. There might be a silver lining, but obtaining any sort of reward will require running considerable risk.
  • Hearts - A potential ally or some other form of help lies in your path. You may have to work for it a bit, but a real boon is possible if you play your cards right.
  • Diamonds - Riches are right in front of you! They might not be handed out on a silver platter, but there's gold in them hills if you know where to look ...


Each player has a chance to modify the results of your journey. Make an appropriate Trait roll and incorporate it into your post with a description of how you took some action while traveling to improve the COT's odds -- perhaps you were scouting, or keeping watch at night, or cast a spell (go ahead and spend the PP if you this) to allow the Sky Siren to pass undetected. Maybe you shoot scavengers or set booby-traps around the campsite. Whatever it is, if you fail you increase the length of the journey to Marron by half a day. If you succeed with a raise you can choose one of the following benefits:

  • Shift one day's draw up or down by one suit -- from Clubs to Spades, or Spades to Hearts, etc.
  • Draw an additional card -- you went looking, and found either trouble or something terrific!
  • Reduce travel time by half a day (minimum a day and a half)
  • Gain a +4 bonus to any one Trait roll that may be required by an event, or +2 to all Trait rolls during the journey to Marron.


The group ended up with some good draws and made them better with their rolls; I think they ended up gaining a couple of allies and finding a cache of weapons (protected by a field of floating disintegration mines) and a TW jet pack, along with some great RP posts. It livened up the journey but didn't feel like it bogged things down, either.
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Re: Encounter Difficulties (SWFC Page 104)

Post by Ndreare »

That is areally awesome way to handle it.

I have dones the draw a card thing before, specially recently I did it for PbP (the 99) and the Joker came up, which I used for some double bad mojo.
But I have not considered posting a rule like that and the actual draw in front of the players.

It lets them feel empowered by affecting the results. Which is great.
  • 2D6 EFFECT
    2 Catastrophe: Something goes terribly wrong. The GM must decide what, but some ideas are a new and permanent Minor Hindrance, the inability to use powers for several days, or an explosion of some sort. The backlash should be thematic if possible. If the hero tampers with dark forces for his abilities, for example, he might become corrupted or summon something sinister into the world. If he’s a weird scientist the device might explode for 3d6 damage in a Medium Blast Template, or he might develop a Quirk, Phobia, or other “madness.”

    3 Backfire: The power succeeds as with a raise but affects a different target with the worst possible results. A bolt hits a random friend, boost Trait increases an enemy’s skill or attribute, etc. If there’s no likely target, he’s Stunned instead. If the power has a Duration other than Instant, it lasts its full term and can only be negated by dispel (the caster can’t voluntarily end it herself).

    4–5 Short Circuit: The power fails but the Power Points allocated to it are spent, along with an additional 1d6 Power Points.

    6–8 Stunned: The caster is Stunned (see page 106). She subtracts 2 from arcane skill rolls for the rest of the encounter (the penalty remains –2 even if she gets this result again).

    9–10 Overload: The character’s synapses crackle and overload with power. He takes 2d6 damage plus the cost of the power in Power Points, including any Power Modifiers the player declared.

    11 Fatigue: The character suffers Fatigue.

    12 Overcharge: The power draws ambient energy from the air, automatically succeeding against the target with a raise and costing the caster no Power Points!

,
1 = 2 of Clubs
2 = 2 of Diamonds
3 = 2 of Hearts
4 = 2 of Spades
5 = 3 of Clubs
6 = 3 of Diamonds
7 = 3 of Hearts
8 = 3 of Spades
9 = 4 of Clubs
10 = 4 of Diamonds
11 = 4 of Hearts
12 = 4 of Spades
13 = 5 of Clubs
14 = 5 of Diamonds
15 = 5 of Hearts
16 = 5 of Spades
- reroll line for quickness & activation for Calculating -
17 = 6 of Clubs
18 = 6 of Diamonds
19 = 6 of Hearts
20 = 6 of Spades
21 = 7 of Clubs
22 = 7 of Diamonds
23 = 7 of Hearts
24 = 7 of Spades
25 = 8 of Clubs
26 = 8 of Diamonds
27 = 8 of Hearts
28 = 8 of Spades
- reroll line for Hyperion Juicer -
29 = 9 of Clubs
30 = 9 of Diamonds
31 = 9 of Hearts
32 = 9 of Spades
33 = 10 of Clubs
34 = 10 of Diamonds
35 = 10 of Hearts
36 = 10 of Spades
37 = J of Clubs
38 = J of Diamonds
39 = J of Hearts
40 = J of Spades
41 = Q of Clubs
42 = Q of Diamonds
43 = Q of Hearts
44 = Q of Spades
45 = K of Clubs
46 = K of Diamonds
47 = K of Hearts
48 = K of Spades
49 = A of Clubs
50 = A of Diamonds
51 = A of Hearts
52 = A of Spades
53 = Jokers = They are equal
54 = Jokers = They are equal
- If no reroll is being used then there are 2 extra jokers -
55 = Jokers = They are equal
56 = Jokers = They are equal
and of course update your signatures!
"Possible and practical are two comrades who rarely see eye to eye."
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Re: Encounter Difficulties (SWFC Page 104)

Post by Snake Eyes »

I enjoyed Tribe's method of travel, most definitely. I may or may not be stealing this verbatim for my game.
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Re: Encounter Difficulties (SWFC Page 104)

Post by Tribe of One »

The best part (as usual for this board) was that the players did 90 percent of the work, inventing opponents and allies and potential rewards.
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Re: Encounter Difficulties (SWFC Page 104)

Post by Ndreare »

Tribe of One wrote:The best part (as usual for this board) was that the players did 90 percent of the work, inventing opponents and allies and potential rewards.
(Player Agency + Time for creativity) is the reason why PbP is so great.
  • 2D6 EFFECT
    2 Catastrophe: Something goes terribly wrong. The GM must decide what, but some ideas are a new and permanent Minor Hindrance, the inability to use powers for several days, or an explosion of some sort. The backlash should be thematic if possible. If the hero tampers with dark forces for his abilities, for example, he might become corrupted or summon something sinister into the world. If he’s a weird scientist the device might explode for 3d6 damage in a Medium Blast Template, or he might develop a Quirk, Phobia, or other “madness.”

    3 Backfire: The power succeeds as with a raise but affects a different target with the worst possible results. A bolt hits a random friend, boost Trait increases an enemy’s skill or attribute, etc. If there’s no likely target, he’s Stunned instead. If the power has a Duration other than Instant, it lasts its full term and can only be negated by dispel (the caster can’t voluntarily end it herself).

    4–5 Short Circuit: The power fails but the Power Points allocated to it are spent, along with an additional 1d6 Power Points.

    6–8 Stunned: The caster is Stunned (see page 106). She subtracts 2 from arcane skill rolls for the rest of the encounter (the penalty remains –2 even if she gets this result again).

    9–10 Overload: The character’s synapses crackle and overload with power. He takes 2d6 damage plus the cost of the power in Power Points, including any Power Modifiers the player declared.

    11 Fatigue: The character suffers Fatigue.

    12 Overcharge: The power draws ambient energy from the air, automatically succeeding against the target with a raise and costing the caster no Power Points!

,
1 = 2 of Clubs
2 = 2 of Diamonds
3 = 2 of Hearts
4 = 2 of Spades
5 = 3 of Clubs
6 = 3 of Diamonds
7 = 3 of Hearts
8 = 3 of Spades
9 = 4 of Clubs
10 = 4 of Diamonds
11 = 4 of Hearts
12 = 4 of Spades
13 = 5 of Clubs
14 = 5 of Diamonds
15 = 5 of Hearts
16 = 5 of Spades
- reroll line for quickness & activation for Calculating -
17 = 6 of Clubs
18 = 6 of Diamonds
19 = 6 of Hearts
20 = 6 of Spades
21 = 7 of Clubs
22 = 7 of Diamonds
23 = 7 of Hearts
24 = 7 of Spades
25 = 8 of Clubs
26 = 8 of Diamonds
27 = 8 of Hearts
28 = 8 of Spades
- reroll line for Hyperion Juicer -
29 = 9 of Clubs
30 = 9 of Diamonds
31 = 9 of Hearts
32 = 9 of Spades
33 = 10 of Clubs
34 = 10 of Diamonds
35 = 10 of Hearts
36 = 10 of Spades
37 = J of Clubs
38 = J of Diamonds
39 = J of Hearts
40 = J of Spades
41 = Q of Clubs
42 = Q of Diamonds
43 = Q of Hearts
44 = Q of Spades
45 = K of Clubs
46 = K of Diamonds
47 = K of Hearts
48 = K of Spades
49 = A of Clubs
50 = A of Diamonds
51 = A of Hearts
52 = A of Spades
53 = Jokers = They are equal
54 = Jokers = They are equal
- If no reroll is being used then there are 2 extra jokers -
55 = Jokers = They are equal
56 = Jokers = They are equal
and of course update your signatures!
"Possible and practical are two comrades who rarely see eye to eye."
Rob Towell
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Re: Encounter Difficulties (SWFC Page 104)

Post by Pender Lumkiss »

Win.
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