[Savage Worlds] Ravenloft

Discussing all things Ravenloft
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De Montour
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Re: [Savage Worlds] Ravenloft

Post by De Montour »

i'm wondering about the Tarokka Deck, how it's used and which of the Major arcana cards is the Joker?
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Re: [Savage Worlds] Ravenloft

Post by hidajiremi »

Gonzoron of the FoS wrote:
De Montour wrote:Any idea of when it might be available for general consumption? :)
Soon.... 8)
Very soon indeed...
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Re: [Savage Worlds] Ravenloft

Post by hidajiremi »

De Montour wrote:i'm wondering about the Tarokka Deck, how it's used and which of the Major arcana cards is the Joker?
My quick-and-dirty solution is that "tarokka is just what the wandering folk call the tarot," since the whole reason that TSR created the tarokka deck was to avoid accusations of being "too occult," not for any particularly higher reason. (The word even comes from one of the other traditional names for the tarot deck, "tarocchi.")

Honestly, I really should put out a one-sheet supplement or something about how to use the tarot and tarokka decks as initiative decks, in addition to the Ravenloft Adventure Deck I'm working on. Of course it would basically just be letting people know what suits were higher and lower. In Savage Worlds, the suits are ranked (lowest to highest) clubs, diamonds, hearts, spades.

Note: You might notice that I didn't use the word "gypsy" above. The reasons are discussed in the text, but the short version is that I intentionally avoided using racial slurs in the text, and I divorced the Vistani from the Roma as much as possible while retaining their literary resonance. You can have an ethnic group of mystical nomads in a fantasy game without insulting real-life people while you're at it. =)
"Children are innocent and love justice, while most adults are wicked and prefer mercy." G.K. Chesterton
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Re: [Savage Worlds] Ravenloft

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I am most excited at the prospect of this Fan publication. 8)

Have you actually attempted any Ravenloft SW gaming? I gathered a group for a one off adventure called Blood Moon over Borgu. It was an adventure I wrote myself (it was quite derivative, very much a genre piece) to introduce a group to both Ravenloft and SW system.
They seemed to enjoy it loads. I had eight pregens for the group of five players. They were all playing 30xp/6Advancement, Seasoned level characters with fleshed out backgrounds.

They became the Company of the Morningstar, based out of a Morninglord shrine in the occupied territories of Gundarak.

The five pregens they chose were Sister Sansa, Gundarakite Priestess of the Morninglord and all round do gooder. Valmir Kaminski, one eyed Vorostokovan warrior trying to find his way back home. Mrs Amelia Blythe Spartan, widowed Werewolf hunter out of Mordent with a particular grievance against and a silver bullet for Natalia Voriskova. Tavish ApRowe, a Forfarian Highwayman known as 'the Russet Hound' and wanted for murder of a Hazlani merchant in Immol. Finally, Anton Kardosian, Invidian duellist and hedonistic layabout.

I used SW Deluxe, Fantasy And Horror companions and it played out very well. I might give some thought to offering to run it again online here. :)
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Re: [Savage Worlds] Ravenloft

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De Montour wrote:I am most excited at the prospect of this Fan publication. 8)
I'm glad! And your game sounds like it was pretty cool. ^_^
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Re: [Savage Worlds] Ravenloft

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Any further updates?
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Re: [Savage Worlds] Ravenloft

Post by hidajiremi »

De Montour wrote:Any further updates?
Just waiting for the Fraternity to finish their review and post it. They have the final version at this point. =)
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Re: [Savage Worlds] Ravenloft

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Huzzah! :lucas:
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Re: [Savage Worlds] Ravenloft

Post by TheSalemlord »

OMG!! Savage Ravenloft!! You nailed it!
I need this conversion! I'll be lurking the forum more often!
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Re: [Savage Worlds] Ravenloft

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TheSalemlord wrote:OMG!! Savage Ravenloft!! You nailed it!
I need this conversion! I'll be lurking the forum more often!
Well, I hope you'll at least post to talk about Savage Ravenloft a bit! =3
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Re: [Savage Worlds] Ravenloft

Post by hidajiremi »

And it's out! Feel free to post questions or comments about the work here; I'll happily answer anything that I can. ^_^

Big thanks to the Fraternity for letting me post my little conversion through their auspices!
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Re: [Savage Worlds] Ravenloft

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270 pages!!! :o

It may be a while before I offer anything beyond my congratulations on delivering this tome.
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Re: [Savage Worlds] Ravenloft

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De Montour wrote:270 pages!!! :o

It may be a while before I offer anything beyond my congratulations on delivering this tome.
Well, I look forward to it whenever you get a chance! ^_^
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Re: [Savage Worlds] Ravenloft

Post by De Montour »

Ok, so I've had a quick browse through it. First off, it's very impressive. :) It's well set out and easy to follow and mist of the artwork is very nice as well.
I like your idea of clusters instead of a core. Some of the realms in the original setting were quite jarring when placed in close proximity to one another. The Tropes for each domain are very well thought out and there are a number of differences that make for interesting alternatives to the recognised settings. Arkandale, Gundarak and Valachan Spring readily to mind. Only disappointment is the lack of a statted out Nharov Gundar. :(

I have spotted some of the Deadlands influences that you've used , Sinkholes and Revenants as well as a couple of bits from the SW Horror Companion.
I like the Professional Edges to differentiate the Heralds of the Dawn and Chosen of Ezra etc. (Would have went for Anchorite of Ezra myself)

I'm wondering why you didn't opt for Guts as a Skill in this setting? I'm also not too sure about the Vehicles skill. Personal opinion is that you should have kept driving and boating as separate skills. It's a little too broad for me.

I would love to see more stuff from you. A book of extra domains and Darklords. The Frozen Reaches with an expansion of Vorostokov and a, long overdue, look at Prince Mircea of Sanguinia. Some completely original stuff would be excellent too.

This one is, for me, an excellent 9.5 out of ten. There's little to fault. You clearly know the settings and the systems well and have delivered a great piece of work.

Cheers.
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Re: [Savage Worlds] Ravenloft

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De Montour wrote:Ok, so I've had a quick browse through it. First off, it's very impressive. :) It's well set out and easy to follow and mist of the artwork is very nice as well.
Thanks!
De Montour wrote:I have spotted some of the Deadlands influences that you've used , Sinkholes and Revenants as well as a couple of bits from the SW Horror Companion.
Yeah. I'm a big believer in not reinventing the wheel. Most of that stuff is changed somewhat from its original form and presentation, but the DNA is still there.
De Montour wrote: I'm wondering why you didn't opt for Guts as a Skill in this setting? I'm also not too sure about the Vehicles skill. Personal opinion is that you should have kept driving and boating as separate skills. It's a little too broad for me.
I decided against Guts for the same reason that even Deadlands does now--it's basically a surcharge to be brave. When you have a fairly limited number of skill points, asking someone to spend them on a skill to resist fear in a horror-based setting is a little unfair. There are Edges that make you better at fear checks, so asking people to spend skill points too is "double dipping" in a bad way.

Combining Boating and Driving comes down to the same rationale. In a setting where those things are hardly ever going to come up, it doesn't make much sense to ask people to spend a bunch of skill points on fiddly individual skills. It's not necessarily supposed to make perfect mechanical sense as it is to allow people to broaden their skill base without unduly taxing them.
De Montour wrote: I would love to see more stuff from you. A book of extra domains and Darklords. The Frozen Reaches with an expansion of Vorostokov and a, long overdue, look at Prince Mircea of Sanguinia. Some completely original stuff would be excellent too.
I actually have a couple of "mini-supplements" in the works right now, if it turns out that people want to see them. I'm about 90% done with a Savage version of the Amber Wastes, and the Frozen Reaches are high on my list of stuff I want to do. If it turns out that the work is popular enough here on the Fraternity, I might submit more stuff, either for inclusion in QtR or just as standalones.

So anyone reading this: If you like Savage Ravenloft, let me know and I'll do more of it!
De Montour wrote: This one is, for me, an excellent 9.5 out of ten. There's little to fault. You clearly know the settings and the systems well and have delivered a great piece of work.
Thanks so much! That means a lot to me. ^_^
"Children are innocent and love justice, while most adults are wicked and prefer mercy." G.K. Chesterton
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