The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh (SW)

Game Master Branding Opportunity

I've a brutal headache. I'll get back to posting when I replace that with free time.

I've a brutal headache. I'll get back to posting when I replace that with free time.

Hope you feel better soon. Migraine?

Lemme second that.

Since we are in a bit of a lull, and since there are no other applicants currently, could we please work Wolfram in so everyone can start on their RP with him before things heat up again?

Since we are in a bit of a lull, and since there are no other applicants currently, could we please work Wolfram in so everyone can start on their RP with him before things heat up again?

I thought that Wolfram is away on vacation?

Speaking of which, I'll be traveling on June 26th and probably won't be posting that day. I'll be on vacation for a few weeks after that, but should be posting regularly.

I'm back in the saddle as of today, and in any event, I check my PBP at least daily and have been monitoring this one as well.

Cheers. Sinusitis, my doctor believes. It's largely cleared up now, thankfully.

I'm back in the saddle as of today, and in any event, I check my PBP at least daily and have been monitoring this one as well.

You're welcome to join the story at any time, Wolfram. You're free to keep your background as is. I'll just incorporate it into the town.

Oh, and you should give yourself 1 advancement. Seems only fair since everyone else got one.

Excellent! It's a bit late tonight but I will make my entrance tomorrow.

And also...

"Eh? What do you say there, good Merrick? An ancient temple you say? And no doubt the last residence of some lost religion and the powerful treasures they had guarded?

Hmmm, I would council caution against such adventures. Long lost temple are, betimes, lost for a good reason.

Ah, well, they had not asked me about such, so I must needs simply assumed that they had a ranger capable of wrestling a wolf to death, so then they aught to be fine.

Simpatico. ;)

Personally, I'm looking forward to the interactions between Wolfram, Isagoras, and Belros. Allysen, though... Let's just say that she's going to need some help warming up to them.

Well, we can look forward to that too.

Oh, and you should give yourself 1 advancement. Seems only fair since everyone else got one.

Thank you very much, GM! I turned that into the New Power Edge and selected Deflection. Might have taken Holy Warrior but feels a bit like metagaming right now.

Wolfram - please note, in SWADE, the New Power Edge now gives you *two* new powers!

Where are you finding that?

From page 47: New Power N, AB Character gains one new power.

I have the 2011 edition, which I think is the latest.

We're trying to work in as many aspect of the new NEW edition of Savage Worlds as we can, which is called "SWADE" (As opposed to SWD, I think).

Thanks - I am certainly not complaining! I'll add Smite.

Well, I'm kinda at an impasse. Allysen as I've played her and see her wouldn't be sticking around to investigate a haunted house, but at the same time, I don't want to go. There's too many juicy bits lurking to just abandon the soup now. (Forgive the food puns. I've been binging Binging with Babish.)

Part of my problem is I don't know if or when certain people from her past will be showing up. I guess what I really would like is something to push Allysen into joining the expedition, and unfortunately, the only thing I can think of that would cause her to willing go into a haunted wizard's lair is proof that she better get out of town right that moment if she wants to avoid having her past catch up to her.

So, anyone got any advice on how to get out of this hole I've dug for myself?

Through his shepherding of the many orphaned children of Saltmarsh, Wolfram has glimpsed behind the veil obscuring Allysen's distant past, and I apologize if that is presumptuous, but of course he knows nothing. At the risk of looking too far down the road, Wolfram may eventually choose to see Allysen as the "daughter he never had" or something equally cliche but poignant. Getting from here to there could start with her seeing him as a genuinely good person who can be trusted, perhaps.

Allysen - I think your problem is that you're thinking of your Enemy Hindrance as an *immediate* threat, whereas the GM can bring her in at *any* point in the game - today, tomorrow, or a month from now. I guess what I'm suggesting is that you change Allysen's mind-set, and while you're aware that you have an Enemy "out there", don't assume that she knows where you are, or that she is about to drop in *today*. That frees you up to live more in the moment, and make decisions based on what you *want* to do, rather than what you feel you *must* do (to stay alive).

And if that doesn't work, consider this logic : where would your Enemy have a better chance of finding you - in a town where she can ask people if they've seen you, or deep in some obscure haunted wizard's lair? :)

Wolfram - I noticed that you're using SWADE skills, but the Powers have also changed. In particular, Bolt can only create *one* bolt per turn now without a MAP. Are you aware that PP regenerate *significantly* faster now too? There's also a *lot* more things you can do with Bennies as well (include recharge your PP). If you don't want to buy the SWADE PDF, there's a free PDF HERE that covers all the changes from SWD except the details to changes in Powers.

If you don't want to buy the SWADE PDF, there's a free PDF HERE that covers all the changes from SWD except the details to changes in Powers.

Yay! Thank you!

@Allysen: Wolfram and Moves With Grace raise some good points. I'll add that Allysen would surely consider that sticking around even adventurers is on the balance safer than waiting for enemies to track her down when alone.

True, and all good points. I'm just trying to play to Allysen as a character. I like Wolfram's idea, and if he's up for a chat with the mopey, anti-social teen, then I think he could get her to trust him just a little and convince her to not move on immediately. Actually, offering to help her with her troubles might be enough if he's good enough at reading her to tell she has plenty.

Cool. I'll look forward to playing that interaction out organically over the course of the campaign.

What sourcebook(s) can we use? SWADE, I assume - what about the (very) old Fantasy Companion for magic items and such?

I'm just using the core rulebook and doing all the conversions myself. Is there something in particular that you want to buy? Since we're basing this off of the 1st edition AD&D rules, I am using the PHB of that edition as a price guideline.

I have an open-source copy re-write of 1st ed AD&D, and the only "costs" listed in it are for weapons and armors (magical items can only be found as treasure, and don't have a cost for purchasing). So, how much does a potion of healing cost for example? A +1 sword? +1 leather armor?

And, just to check my tables against yours : in my tables, leather armor costs 5 GP, a short sword costs 8 GP, and a short bow costs 15 GP - do these match your tables?

And, just to check my tables against yours : in my tables, leather armor costs 5 GP, a short sword costs 8 GP, and a short bow costs 15 GP - do these match your tables?

Yes, that is correct.

I may not have SWADE but I do have all my old AD&D books. Let me crack open my 1st edition printing of Unearthed Arcana from 1985, where we find magic items beginning on page 84.

A "Sword +1" has a sale value of 2000 GP.

Leather Armor +1 is 2000 GP, +2 is 7500, and +3 is 12500.

A Potion of Healing is 400 GP.

Magical items are very, very expensive.

IF we are to be right by extension (and, really, is there any other way?) I'm looking at my 2nd Ed Players Handbook (because my nephew stole all my 1st ed stuff, including my MMI -with- Cuthulu) (and, because looking back from 50,000 feet, D&D 2 was almost exactly the same as DND1. D&D 1 was Wisconsin, D&D2 was Illinois, and D&D 3 was France.)
a long sword is 15 gp. With Leather Armor at 5gp, we can't even say that it's something safe like 100x more.

But I guess it's a safe assumption to just go with DMG prices and carry them over.

(Also, this was a big reason why I liked 3e so much. With Magic item crafting, you had to trade gp AND XP for magic items. It seemed like a fair system of trading power now for power later. )

Isagoras - SWADE has a mechanism for creating magic items, they're called "Arcane Devices" and use the Artificer Edge. My conversion guide doesn't list the details of the procedure, however. Can anyone with SWADE explain how it works?

So, GM BrOp - will we be getting gold in proportion to magic item prices?

One of the problems I've had with D&D since the beginning is the standardization of magic items. This is not something I've discussed so far. Because I feel that magic items should be more special, most will not be available for purchase. The only exception to this is scrolls and potions. It also means that you won't be just getting the equivalent of a +1 short sword in the game. All permanent magic items will have a history and powers that you can unlock by gaining levels and discovering more about the background of the item.

I agree completely with this approach. Back in the good ol' days, we played D&D in a world where magic items were both incredibly rare, based on valuation, and exceedingly common, given the frequency with which we picked them off the corpses of dead monsters in any given dungeon. I'm sure some GMs were more mindful than others, but in relative terms, a +1 long sword is worth more than the average citizen accrues in a lifetime. Walking around decked out in magic items would make any character one of the wealthiest members of society and also one of the most fmaous, and so the biggest target for cutthroats. At the same time, liquidating magic items is extremely unlikely because only the wealthiest and most well-guarded merchants will have that kind of coin. Nevertheless, we traded in that currency casually.

I much prefer the added realism of scarcity, and of realistic value.

Isagoras - SWADE has a mechanism for creating magic items, they're called "Arcane Devices" and use the Artificer Edge. My conversion guide doesn't list the details of the procedure, however. Can anyone with SWADE explain how it works?

Mind you, I quite like the idea of the "Wondrous Item" that is, something that is not so ubiquitously useful as a +1 sword, but something that is noteworthy. So too, that a hedge-wizard would have a plethora of oddities of various usefulness seems fine.

All permanent magic items will have a history and powers that you can unlock by gaining levels and discovering more about the background of the item.

Have you played EarthdDawn? This is almost -exactly- their take. Every magic item has "Threads" that need to be discovered and weaved, usually by bonding with the item, and/or learning its history, like significant wielders or places or times it was in. That too is good, as it almost forces a greater bonding with an item, rather than seeing it as a numbers-bag.

How much is it for ammunition? I think I'd like a longbow and a quiver of arrows.

Also, what would y'all like to name the mule? I was thinking of calling him/her Lord Squiggs, or some other ludicrous name.

...but in relative terms, a +1 long sword is worth more than the average citizen accrues in a lifetime. Walking around decked out in magic items would make any character one of the wealthiest members of society and also one of the most famous, and so the biggest target for cutthroats. At the same time, liquidating magic items is extremely unlikely because only the wealthiest and most well-guarded merchants will have that kind of coin...

That was one of the things I disliked *most* about D&D/Pathfinder! Well, that and HP, and classes, and Vancian magic...I am SO glad I found SW!

How much is improved armour? Bearing in mind that Belros is an agility-focused combatant.

Isagoras - SWADE has a mechanism for creating magic items, they're called "Arcane Devices" and use the Artificer Edge. My conversion guide doesn't list the details of the procedure, however. Can anyone with SWADE explain how it works?

Of note, I would be interested in doing this.

Have you played EarthdDawn? This is almost -exactly- their take. Every magic item has "Threads" that need to be discovered and weaved, usually by bonding with the item, and/or learning its history, like significant wielders or places or times it was in. That too is good, as it almost forces a greater bonding with an item, rather than seeing it as a numbers-bag.

Yup, that's where I got the idea from. I'm still developing a version of it for this Savage Worlds game, so if you have seen a SW setting that handles magic items in a similar way, I'd love it if you could point me to it. I'm a big fan of stealing stuff from all over the place.

How much is improved armour? Bearing in mind that Belros is an agility-focused combatant.

By improved armor do you mean armor that protects you more? If so, there are a bunch of armors listed in the SWADE Core Rulebook. They have minimum Str to use and have weight, which can cause you to become encumbered.

The Crystal Hearts setting might have something worth looking at.

How much is it for ammunition? I think I'd like a longbow and a quiver of arrows.

Since we're going with the 1st edition AD&D prices, a longbow is 60 gp and a dozen normal arrows are 1 gp.

Understood. I'll hold off for now.

Turns out Allysen doesn't have the muscle to use a longbow. :sheepish-grin:

So, I'm ready to move out.

You could use a short bow...
It would also cost a lot less (15 GP according to my tables).

I got one. I was just too cryptic about saying I did. :P

Savage Worlds savage bundle

Savage Worlds savage bundle

Thanks for posting! I just have to read through all my current SW books first :)

What do we think about a new marching order? We lost some front-line people, so it's probably useful to think of a new order.

Here's a suggestion from front to back in single file:

Moves with Grace
Allysen
Isagaros
Father Wolfram
Lord Belros

Isagoras has no issue with being the center of everything attention the formation.

And now I can't get the image of Isagoras writing and crossing that out from my head. :P

Works for me.