Very soon, I'll drop a few lines about players, but for now I'm still figuring out some details, so instead I'll talk in broad strokes.
First: I'm not in a rush to level my players. I'm comfy with a standard 2-3 XP per session (2 for a standard game, 3 for an action packed one). I'm also using the optional XP system suggested in Shaintar and other places, with each rank set at 25 XP. It looks like this:
- 0-25: Novice
- 26-50: Seasoned
- 51-75: Veteran
- 76-100: Heroic
- 101+: Legendary
That should give me around 40 sessions before the PC's become legends. That's plenty of time to tell a really compelling story, but in Savage Worlds, the story doesn't stop there! Rules for PC's beyond that level of XP are easy and fun.
So what is it that made me want to run a Shaintar game? You didn't ask, but I figure telling you might make this more clear for both players and people who want to read this tripe I an writing. I'll make you a list (the Internet loves lists).
- I'm getting sick of dark modern games. I really love The World of Darkness but let's be honest: sometimes it gets dark, drab, and depressing. I'm running a Mage larp right now and I want to stay fresh (and more importantly, I want to stay thematically dark and depressing) so I need an outlet for my hopeful epic spell slinging and epic battles and heroism.
- I saw their recent kickstarter and it looked great. I played in a Shaintar game ages ago and I loved it. I want to support what they're doing and to be honest, while I have made a fantasy setting in the past, I want to explore Shaintar. It fits into Savage Worlds surprisingly well.
- I miss having a tabletop game. I love it. LARPs are great for immersion, but you have a lot more flexibility in a tabletop game. Also, a tabletop game is a different sort of story. It's more about the PC's being the center of the story and not about them being players in a larger story. They can do all sorts of neat world changing things. Who doesn't love that?
- Seriously. Lizard people and goblins. What's not to like?
- Shaintar is about heroes. I miss heroes.
So the plan is to run a Shaintar game. Next, I'm going to talk a bit about what the setting is like, what my expectations are, and what players should know ahead of time.
First: Shaintar is, as I have said, a world of heroes. Mostly real honest to goodness heroes. We all get enough villains, antiheroes, and shades of grey in other games. This is a game for you to break out the sweetness of epic heroes. That doesn't mean you can't play a darker hero or a rogue or a stealthy type. You can and some of you should. Ironically, because the setting is designed to make this good-versus evil conflict pretty easy, you will never see an easy barrier for a thing like a race or a nation. Goblinoid races may tend toward more evil, as may certain places or religions, but that is by no means a certainty. More below.
Second: The races of Shaintar are pretty sweet. You've got your standard humans and dwarves and even some mostly standard elves in the shape of the more common fae, but if you've got the stones, push beyond that. Why not play a lizard-like dregorian or a feline brinchie? Why not go all out and play a goblin or, or ogre? Seriously, these are races that you never get to play anywhere else Yes, I'd like to have at least a human or two, but don't be afraid of the weird stuff. The setting can handle it.
Third: Expect more or less two kinds of sessions: combat session and storytelling sessions. Savage Worlds works best with minis and I intend to use them. So if the table is all set up for minis, then odds are good there will be a big fight (unless I'm trying to trick you). If not, we'll skip the minis and handle things with roleplay, moderated scenes, and fast and loose details, because the focus of that session is almost certainly something other than fighting.
Finally: Be daring and creative. Savage Worlds is all about cinematic scenes with big risks taken. Be bold. Either you'll win big or you'll fail big, but it will always be worth it.
That's all for now. Soon I'll have players and a schedule and we will get going with this crazy train. Should be a good time so stay tuned.
First: Shaintar is, as I have said, a world of heroes. Mostly real honest to goodness heroes. We all get enough villains, antiheroes, and shades of grey in other games. This is a game for you to break out the sweetness of epic heroes. That doesn't mean you can't play a darker hero or a rogue or a stealthy type. You can and some of you should. Ironically, because the setting is designed to make this good-versus evil conflict pretty easy, you will never see an easy barrier for a thing like a race or a nation. Goblinoid races may tend toward more evil, as may certain places or religions, but that is by no means a certainty. More below.
Second: The races of Shaintar are pretty sweet. You've got your standard humans and dwarves and even some mostly standard elves in the shape of the more common fae, but if you've got the stones, push beyond that. Why not play a lizard-like dregorian or a feline brinchie? Why not go all out and play a goblin or, or ogre? Seriously, these are races that you never get to play anywhere else Yes, I'd like to have at least a human or two, but don't be afraid of the weird stuff. The setting can handle it.
Third: Expect more or less two kinds of sessions: combat session and storytelling sessions. Savage Worlds works best with minis and I intend to use them. So if the table is all set up for minis, then odds are good there will be a big fight (unless I'm trying to trick you). If not, we'll skip the minis and handle things with roleplay, moderated scenes, and fast and loose details, because the focus of that session is almost certainly something other than fighting.
Finally: Be daring and creative. Savage Worlds is all about cinematic scenes with big risks taken. Be bold. Either you'll win big or you'll fail big, but it will always be worth it.
That's all for now. Soon I'll have players and a schedule and we will get going with this crazy train. Should be a good time so stay tuned.
2 comments:
Definitely too many pc options.
dibs on a half ogre/half goblin bard! :P
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