Encounter Difficulties (SWFC Page 104)
Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2018 8:55 am
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.
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.