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An awesome bestiary for modern day horror game. Many of the monsters can certainly be used in other eras with little or no adjustments. The statblocks / abilities are well though-out and the art perfectly fits the theme. Hooks provided for each entry may help spur the imagination of many a GM.
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Excellent writing!
I didn't exactly know what to expect, as I wasn't particularly convinced myself by the Specialization Rule. But Donovan's work enlightened me, I am now ready to use Specialization where it matters. It also clarified a few points about Familiarization. Very well thought out, very good examples.
A must have for Worlds/Settings Builders.
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A really great product that lets you have that old school feel to exploring dungeons in Savage Worlds. I love the Breathers and Breaks! Great job!
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Creator Reply: |
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Hmmm, I wonder who Karl K could be? Could he be... Someone I admire and aspire to be like?
Thank you so much for the great review, buddy. You're the best. I'm really glad we met. |
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This is my review of the Gobfather it starts at 24:16 so please just to that time stamp...Richard makes awesome products and this if your a fan of MOB rpg play and Goblins! then this is the adventure for you! Uses the SWADE rules which is the latest version of Savage Worlds. Enjoy: https://youtu.be/uwLIjo9_1bg
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Just played the first game where I threw a party of late Novice/early Seasoned players against an Allosaur, and it worked really well. I was a bit worried it might be too much, but it turned out to be a perfectly good challenge for the party. Thanks for helping an epic scene happen!
Only thing I am missing is some sort of Intimidate and/or Fear ability. I think this is something every at least carnivore, but also many herbivores, would be able to do reasonably well.
I would also appreciate if you would also include some of the bonuses and penalties that result from a specific size, such as +1 wound.
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Creator Reply: |
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Glad to hear things went well! The Allosaurus is one of my personal favorites.
Fear definitely makes sense but one of my goals was to keep the Stat Blocks streamlined to make it easy for Game Masters. Might be worth revisiting!
I hear you on the Size thing too. It can be a lot to track. If I do a revision I’ll reach out to PEG and see how much I can reference inside the stat block and add that in.
Thanks for taking the time to not only rate A Savage Guide to Dinosaurs but also leave a review. It means a lot and I’m so glad you’re enjoying it.
Gage |
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Even though I only used the Fancy Combat Maneuvers rule, it was well worth the purchase. It is a simple, elegant, yet powerful and inspiring solution to a problem I had - making combat in combat-heavy games of SW even more interesting.
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Creator Reply: |
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Thank you very much for the review. I appreciate you taking the time. I truly hope you enjoy it. |
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Take the joyful insanity of Saga of the Goblin Horde and add an equal amount of the wonderful Wiseguys setting and you get The Gobfather. This is a 'what if' style mini-campaign where all the fantasy tropes of our favorite RPGs are brought into a modern setting. A lot of folks would say, modern fantasy, been done, but not like this.
In this version the Goblins have taken control of organized crime and now thy are running things like only Goblins can. There's warring families, territories and blood feuds all cooked into this increible stew of a product.
Included is a fully fleshed out adventure and rogues gallery. You also get bonus content with pre-generated PCs and a conversion guide. All of it is expertly laid out. It's a great product.
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I gave it 5 stars becaue people think that if it is not that it should be ignored.
Befiore i go further, I will add that I like the art.
If I were to be honest, I would give the content 3 stars. Why? Because, to me, it feels like something that would be in a blog post, adding about that much to a game. That saiid, when considering whether or not to use the rule, having considered this content will help you keep your game fun without making a bad choice. Several years ago I was against the specialization rule as it felt like punishing the characters and giving them an advancemnt tax just to do things that they should already be able to do. Later on, it clicked. It is just redefining the zero. I have used the specialization rules in a few campaigns and, while I agree with most of this content, there is one point that I disagree.
wholeheartedly feel that Common Knowledge should use it in every game. It used to be just a Smarts roll, but SWADE made it into a skill. At first I was not so sure. But then I realized, if it always has a specializaiton then it can give the cahracter a flavor. You could go by concept with an all-in-one like "Elven warrior" or you could branch it out a bit in your campaign, giving Elves "Elf" for their cultuier and "Warrior" (or whatever) fior their profession. I have found that to work very well for the past several campaigns that I have used it.
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Creator Reply: |
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Thank you for the honest review! Yeah, the fact that this almost feels more like blog content is why I placed it in the $0.99 bracket—helps pay for the art and gives me a little lunch money for 8 pages.
Common Knowledge was one I sort of waffled on whether or not it really benefits from Specializations, generally speaking, and eventually I settled on no. I agree with you that Common Knowledge should ABSOLUTELY take the character's background into consideration—cultural heritage, education, profession, and so on—but I feel that's best relegated to Familiarization penalties and situational difficulty penalties on a case-by-case basis (for example, a getaway driver should have a steeper penalty to figure out how to blend in at a fancy gala than his upper middle-class girlfriend, but she'd likely have a penalty to recall information about the city's crime bosses than he would). There were two reasons for that decision, I think. Just from a practical perspective, Specializations that might be appropriate for Common Knowledge really vary from setting to setting, just like Occult or the arcane skills, and in some cases it may even vary from character to character based on their background. Further, "general knowledge" of the world around a character is very rarely trained or specialized (in the mechanical sense) since the little things people may or may not pick up on often tends not to tie directly back into the core of their identity; some people tend to know some trivia that seems well out of their niche.
Then from the "redefining zero" perspective (excellent wording, by the way), it feels odd that your average PC would be effectively Unskilled when rolling to see if he knows the capital of the next country over (d6–2 mathematically works out to be almost identical to d4–2 when you take the Wild Die into account) unless they are *particularly* well-versed in geography. If he DID take a Geography Specialization, then he is effectively Unskilled when Googling something on his smartphone, or recognizing cultural holidays, or how to compose himself in fancier company, or how to do his finances... etc., etc. Most characters really don't need to invest skill points to have a fighting chance of being somewhat aware of the world and customs around them—being that unaware is more of a defining trait of a character (the Clueless Hindrance) than a default assumption, both in fiction and in life—plus, lacking Specializations also lends towards fun little occasions where a character may roll well on something unexpected and tie something into his backstory. Why does the mercenary in the deep South of Deadlands know that Ottawa is the capital of Canada and that it's a Commonwealth country under the King? Maybe he dated a girl who used to live in Canada for a while and just held on to that trivia.
Hope that helps explain the thinking behind it. Thank you again for your feedback. :) |
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A fine setting nugget that saves me quite a bit of work for various adaptions. The mechanics for wand attunement convey picky wands very well without being complicated. The Power Edges are well-thought-out and have interesting interactions among each other as well as with parts of the core rules.
I'm especially delighted by the way the Power Modifers from the Savage Worlds Adventure Edition are woven into the mechanics.
The layout is fine as well. Great product!
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I think the Breathers and Breaks rule brings a much needed element to any dungeon-centric game - it allows for longer dungeon crawls without fear of them becoming a slog as the players get whittled down. It also provides an alternative to the infamous "full night's sleep in the middle of a monster-infested dungeon" that can cause pretty big debates at the table. And, as a sucker for battlemages, the Arcane Fatigue rule adds a nice spin and a level of realism to the archetype. Overall, these setting rules will be great for a grittier, more immersive fantasy game while still feeling fair for players and DMs alike. I will definitely be using this for future campaigns.
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If you're looking for that old school D&D feel in your Savage Worlds game, you'll wanna grab a copy of this. It's gritty, quick and to the point, and unlike some old D&D rules - easy to understand. There's a new edge called Arcane Power Adept/Master - which is freaking awesome. Oh, and then there's Breakers and Breathers - brilliant. And because it's Savage Worlds, and combat isn't just hack and slash, the author added a Fancy Combat Maneuvers section. It's the best dollar you'll spend all day. Get this toolkit, and get savage!
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Donovan has done it again. His Simplified Encumbrance rules have become a part of my Savage Worlds core rule system, and now this will as well.
Skill Specialization isn't for every campaign. Leave it out of Pulp and Action campaigns, there's no need for it, but in more 'realiztic' or 'gritty' campaigns they are really useful. Donovan's quick take on these rules clarifies and explains everything in a simple, logical way that is so easy to plug into your campaign.
I'm going to use it for my Titan Effect campaign, and I'm thinking about using a limited version of it for Tyrnador. (Mostly weapons and maybe Stealth.)
Thanks again, Donovan.
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Creator Reply: |
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Thank you very much! I didn't write Simplified Encumbrance, though; you may be thinking of a different author. :) |
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Great concept. Can't wait to dangle it in front of my players!
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I bought it and now I use it for every SWADE game that I run. It's one of those things where, when you read it, you say, "Duh, of course we should do it like ths. I could've thought of that." The problem is, I didn't, but I'm glad Jonathan did.
Thank you sir.
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Creator Reply: |
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Thank you for the kind review! Most of my favorite rules from any game or blog are the ones where I have that exact same reaction upon reading them lol. |
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This is a must have in your SWADE toolbox. It'll fit perfectly into any fantasy game, be it low or high. The great thing is, I could find room for this in most post-apocalyptic games, any kind of modern fantasy, and even some sci-fi games.
The contents are written with an even hand and an expert eye on the rules.
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