Savage Warhammer S01E00
Session Zero
Working on a new project of mine. It’s something that has been done plenty of times before, playing in the Old World of Warhammer using a different system.
I’m a big fan of the Old World setting and the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay theme. Grim and dark, with a tone of phlegmatic humour. However I’m partial to the ruleset. The first edition is a bit too chaotic, not only in terms of combat results, but also of rules. This isn’t solved entirely in the next editions with the 2nd being too crunchy for my tastes. I have no problem with crunchiness, but for solo, I’m looking into streamlined crunchiness, similar to how Harnmaster and BRP does it.
Therefore I considered many times a conversion, and playing, using a different ruleset. I decided against Harnmaster, because separating the ruleset from its own lore and putting it into the Old World, sounds like too much of an effort (magic, races, locations, technology). I decided against Mythras due to the difficulty of running an adventuring party, and decided against BRP, because I want a wounds threshold system.
In the end, I decided to go into Savage Worlds. There’s many fan-made conversions of WHFRP to Savage Worlds in the wild, and the one I will be mostly following, is the Savage Warhammer.
I will be using the SWADE core, and drawing additional information from the previous edition of Savage Worlds Fantasy Companion. I’ll also take more information from the other fan-made conversions if I like them, as I see fit, for example I used the ‘Apprentice’ Hindrance from another conversion.
Apprentice (Major)
This Hindrance can be taken by a starting character with an Arcane Background with a linked Skill Trait no greater than d4. The character starts with one less Power than normal and can gain no more Powers until at least one Rank is gained.
I recall preferring some of the SWDE rules better than SWADE, but if memory serves me right, these were related mostly to modern firearms, so hopefully, SWADE will be the right choice.
For Setting Rules I will be using some existing ones as-is, a few modified, and a few of my own.
- Hard Choices: As is
- Dynamic Backlash: Replaced by Savage Warhammer Magic rules
- Dynamic Melee Combat: Inspired from my favorite d100 systems, see notes below
- Grittier Damage: Some extra deadliness.
Dynamic Melee Combat
Defender chooses to block, counterattack or dodge the incoming attack. An unarmed defender can only dodge as a defensive action. This must be declared prior to the attack roll.
| Attack Roll | Block | Counterattack | Dodge |
|---|---|---|---|
| ≥Parry+Raise | A*2 | A*2 | A*2 |
| ≥Parry† | A*1 | A*1 | A*1 |
| ≥4 | Blocked A | B*1 | Dodged |
| 2-3 | Blocked B | D*1 | Missed |
| 1 | Fumble | D*2 | Stumble |
A*2: Attacker hits with raise.
A*1: Attacker hits.
B*1: Both hit.
D*1: Defender hits.
D*2: Defender hits, with raise.
Blocked A: Attack blocked. Roll damage against defender’s weapon‡. On success, it’s broken.
Blocked B: Attack blocked. Roll damage against own weapon‡. On success, it’s broken.
Fumble: Attacker Agility check or drop weapon.
Stumble: Attacker Agility check or fall prone.
Dodged: Defender Agility check or fall prone.
Missed: No effect.
† Only if Parry>4
‡ Weapons & Shields Toughness equals to Damage + Weight.
Note: on a block, residual damage can carry over to the defender
On a raise the combatant can choose one of the following options.
- +1d6 Damage as per RAW
- Weapon Special Effect:
Edged weapons cause Lacerations: The slashing attack hits another location at one weapon (only) damage.
Piercing weapons cause Impaling: double weapon (only) damage, weapon remains stuck in opponent until removed. Penalty -2 until removed. Any significant activities or removal causes weapon (only) damage, not reduced by armor. Successful Strength check to remove by target or successful Fighting attack to retrieve by attacker. (If the attacker has no other weapon; they’re considered to be an Unarmed Defender until weapon retrieval.)
Bludgeoning weapons cause Crushing: Increase Strength damage by one step. Target is Stunned.
Grittier Damage
As per Gritty Damage rules, but also:
- A single attack which causes 2 Wounds or more, also causes Bleeding Out. For Bludgeoning weapons this is internal bleeding. For piercing weapons, if impaled, Bleeding Out happens only if the weapon is removed.
- A single attack which causes 4 Wounds or more, also destroys the location. A limb is severed, a head decapitated, etc. In contrast to Gritty Damage RAW, this damage is permanent unless recovered through magical means (i.e. regeneration).
- Healing a Gruesome injury requires healing the Wound level that caused it. For example if a Hideous Scar was received by a 2 Wound hit to the head, then, 2 Wounds need to be healed to remove the effect.
Solo Engines
The few times I’ve solo played a pre-written adventure module, I’ve come to enjoy the process immensely, so that’s what I’m going to do again. I intend to try out the use of the following solo tools and engines.
Solipsism
I think the gamebook style of Solipsism will fit well to structure the travelling between scenes and locations in a prewritten module. I have both versions of the solo engine, so I might try them both out.
MUNE
I will use the core MUNE as Oracle and engine, with TWENE table to alter the adventure as required.
Expectations
- A quick and dirty way to play in the Old World, maintaining the theme of the setting.
Savage Worlds will provide the pulp survival mode, but the setting rules will make it more deadly and more interesting, staying true to the Warhammer vibe. - Solipsism will provide a framework to run the pre-written adventure modules, while MUNE will provide Oracle answers and alterations, without getting bogged down in charts.
- Playing the pre-written adventure modules from the First Edition of WHFRP will provide a good experience without needing to rely on AI tools and generators to help describe an adventure.
Concerns
- The deadliness of the system might be too high and the party could be killed or TPK.
- Solipsism might just not work. It is a very unique solo tool, and I haven’t tried running a prewritten adventure module in it.
- The different adventure modules might not be easily tied together.
Fallback
- Tone down deadliness by using Gritty Damage as per SWADE RAW.
- Use of another system, like Mythic (Variations 2), or Motif Story Engine to run the adventure framework.
- Run sandbox solo until the opportunity appears to pick up the next adventure module.
Format
I’ve recently gotten Foundry VTT, and I intend to run the various scenes within this.
The Oldenhaller Contract
This is the adventure module included in the Warhammer First Edition Core Rulebook, and I will begin with this. Since it’s meant for four characters, I will create four characters. Apart from the SWADE chargen, I generated randomly all the background information. I decided to choose one different Class for each adventurer, but rolled on the professions normally.
In short the characters are:
- Abenzio Monteverde, 24M, 6’0″ 232 lbs, black curly hair, green eye, a massive Tilean pit fighter from Luccini, with only one working eye and scarred skin. He’s a foreigner a long way from home.
- Greta Kahl, 27F, 5’8″ 130 lbs, bald, blue eyes,big ears, an alchemist’s apprentice from Barfsheim, Dunkelburg. Perhaps an experiment gone wrong? She has three children and a husband, what could have forced her to abandon them?
- Elhali Silba, 77F, a wood elf smuggler from the Great Forest, with a stunning smile of very white teeth. Her family is all rogues and scoundrels, and the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree.
- Wolmar of Schlafebild, 19M, the typical herdsman from Schlafebild of rural Altdorf, but with a very clear voice. Was pastoral life not meant for him?
The adventure begins in Nuln, but the rulebook gives the GM the option to begin with the river journey and get the party to know each other, and that’s what I’ll do, albeit in a solo player’s manner.
I’ll get started with the Book of Legends and Deeds to create interesting backstories for each of my characters using the Waylays mechanic, and then use Connections for some dialogues. It’s really interesting how just rolling the family and place of birth can provide you with like half the material you need for an interesting character.
I have a concern here that I’ll spend too much time creating my protagonists, and they’ll die quickly in a ditch or gutter, but since the process is fun on it’s own I decided to go along with it.
Abenzio Monteverde
Abenzio is the third of four siblings. All his siblings are sisters. His father is a servant, and his mother was a thief.
(Waning/relative/overcome by close friend)
Abenzio’s mother fell ill when he was just a kid. Abenzio couldn’t help her, and if it wasn’t for his close friend’s father, a local healer, she might have not made it.
(Unforeseen/misunderstanding/overcome by/favored skill)
As a teenager Abenzio got in trouble for something he didn’t do. His sister had stolen an expensive necklace, and he was blamed. He entered into a brawl with the town guard and escaped.
(Impassioned/weather/overcome on accident)
It wasn’t long after that Abenzio attempted to flee Tilea on a boat as a crewman. The ship met harsh weather to the North, and crashed on the rocks. By luck he was the sole survivor, but he injured his left eye, and he can’t see with it. His body, flailed against the rocks, still bears the marks of a scarred skin. Since then, he tries to make a living in Reiksland as a pit fighter, quite successfully. His hulking size, intimidates most foes.
Greta Kahl
Greta is the youngest of four siblings. One of her brothers is a noble, perhaps a bastard half-brother whose father is nobility?
(Grim/invader/overcome by fate)
Greta was only a child when goblin raiders attacked their home at Barfsheim. It was only by chance that she survived, as she and her older siblings were sent on an errand at Dunkelsburg.
(perceiving/hermit/overcome by favored ability)
As orphans, the siblings split in Dunkelburg. Greta was taken in by an alchemist called Dietrich and his wife Anna. She helped in the lab and kitchen chores, and was given an education. Teenage Greta had taken on the surname of her new family, when an old man from Barsheim, called Gustav who had survived, was in the city for business. He saw Greta and almost recognized her, and wanted to take her back as a farmhand on his remote homestead, but the young Greta outsmarted him. She spoke eloquently in the classical tongue, and the man was confused. When she called out to a city guard that the man is harassing her, she made a scamp exit, while he was trying to explain himself.
(ordinary/holdings/overcome by favored skill)
The old man persisted, and he eventually found her adoptive family. For a decent bride price, she was married off to the man’s son, Wolf, in Barfsheim. Being a servant to a loveless marriage was not for Greta, and she planned her escape from this life. Having stolen some recipes from the laboratory, she prepared a potion to change her appearance, and leave in disguise, taking her three children with her. However, the potion didn’t work as expected, and Greta’s face was disfigured and she went bald. Her children screamed in horror when they saw her, and she fled in the night. Noone recognized her. Eventually, her face went back to normal, but for some bigger than normal ears, and the hair that never returned. Wearing a scarf to cover her head, she can’t return back to her demanding family, and dares not face her children and their just accusations that she abandoned them.
Note: Retrospectively, it makes sense as the backstory evolved that her brother was adopted by a noble family that couldn’t sire children instead of a bastard.
Elhali Silba
Elhali is the youngest of three wood elf sisters, their father Calandilas is the only one in the picture.
(barbaric/rebels/overcome by fate)
Another tragic tale of the old world. When Elhali was just a kid, she was in the woods of the Great Forest with her mother, when a warband of chaos beastmen charged at them full might. Her mother was killed in an instant, and Elhali was hit by a blow that sent her flying back several feet. She dropped down in a bear’s cave and fell unconscious. Having lost her tracks, the beastmen didn’t chase further. At first light, she returned back to her camp. Her father, now the sole provider for three girls.
(brusque/social environ/overcome by strong attribute)
Being the daughters of a gambler, the girls quickly had to put up with the riff-raff of his peers. Elhali proved her mettle by smuggling contraband to the nearest imperial settlement. Once she started paying off her father’s debts due to her stealth and smarts, noone dared even say another word about her again, or they’d risk facing her father’s wrath.
(pleasant/festival/overcome by personal resources)
It was Hexenstag, at Liadrel’s festival when Elhali was smuggling unregulated elf wine into Diesdorf. She was betrayed by a competitor, and had to flee using her trusted rowboat, along the river Reik.
Wolmar of Schlafebild
Wolmar is the third out of four siblings, his father Berthold is a trader and his mother a boatswoman. Perhaps they work together?
(drowsy/occult/overcome by favored ability)
Wolmar’s willpower was evident from his childhood. A stranger appeared in his hometown of Schlafenbild, and as he passed through the streets at dusk, he mesmerized the children to follow him in the woods, never to be seen again. Only Wolmar stood there and just looked at the uneasy parade. He felt a slight tingling inside forcing him to follow, but he grasped the coat of a sheep next to him, and didn’t flinch.
(fixated/rival/overcome by faction intervention)
This meeting didn’t leave Wolmar unscathed, and he was a bit of weird and secluded as a teenager, which caused another kid to bully him all the time. His bully was fixated to making his life a hell, until Wolmar’s family had enough. His brother gave a good beating to the bully, and his father told a handful to the kid’s parents. Wolmar wasn’t teased again.
(revered/relative/overcome by close friend)
Since then, the mundane never stuck with Wolmar. He can’t go about tending the goats when he feels like there’s chaos lurking around every corner. His father wanted him to follow on his mercantile footsteps, but Wolmar disagreed. He didn’t want to upset his father and felt trapped. This all changed, when Wolmar’s herd of sheep was attacked by wolves, and he stood bravely against them to protect the sheep. Right on time, an adventurer appeared, and killed two of the wolves, scaring the rest away. The man was Hals Narbe, an adventurer who had saved his father’s life and was coming to visit. He spoke highly of Wolmar’s bravery to Berthold, and how the boy would make a fortune with his boldness out there in the world. Berthold, pressured by Hals, finally gave in to Wolmar’s request, and gave his blessing to the young man to leave home and start adventuring.
This more or less sums up our group of adventurers, and their reasons for adventuring. For the next part of session zero, I will generate some BOLD connections and have some dialogues, perhaps they’ve already exchanged more than a few words together as part of their river journey, perhaps, they’re just about to do so. Normally you’re supposed to spread these connections along a game session, but in this particular case, I’ll be using them back-to-back.
| action | gerund | subject |
|---|---|---|
| address | concluding | allies |
| scrutinize | avoiding | party member |
| impart | enjoying | a skill |
The river boat goes downward the river towards Nuln. The passengers are a misfit band.
(address/avoiding/party member)
Wolmar, a young man with red hair contrasted by green eyes, looks at them. ‘Are they adventurers like him?’ he wonders. ‘Well, adventurer wannabe to be exact.’ He grips the hilt of his short sword tightly and speaks loudly to get their attention, but as the hulking scarred man sitting on the schooner’s floor turns towards him, Wolmar, intimidated averts his gaze, his voice trembles, and softly continues without looking at him. “So, fellow travelers, are you new to Nuln? I… I heard there is good coin to be made in Nuln, if one know where to look. I’m Wolmar, and I’m looking for some company to share the spoils together.”
(scrutinize/concluding/a skill)
The woman, that Wolmar believes is an elf – he can’t be sure as only strands of silver hair escape from her hood, answers. “And what skills do you have so that we will place our faith in you… Wolmar? You look as if you’ve left your mom’s busom but yesterday. Can I trust you to protect me when it all goes shitwide?” She challenges him.
Her light voice certainly carries the weight of an elf’s words. “You’re way older than me, and I’m more than certain that you don’t need me to protect you. But if you place your trust in me, be certain, that the foe – be it man, goblin or troll, will get past me first, before it reaches my companions, should they come my way!”
Elhali chuckled. “Placing trust in others is something I haven’t done in a long, time, but there’s a first for everything. You can call me Elhali young man. Let’s visit Nuln together.”
Wolmar sighed, and his gaze went to the third passenger, a woman with a scarf covering her head, his eyes still avoiding the brute.
The woman looked down, trying to escape the unwanted attention, and Wolmar realized that not everyone might be so eager to adventure, but as he was about to turn the discussion to something else, because he felt very uncomfortable, the bulking man stood up, and spoke in a hoarse voice.
(impart/enjoying/allies)
“You have my flail!” he gives a shoulder hug to the two ladies next to him. “I think Nuln is a great place to get rich, I like you Wolmar. Straight to the point. I am Abenzio, you can call me Abe. This here is Greta, she’s shy but she’s good with potions, she settled my uneasy stomach.” he nodded to the scarfed woman who smiled. “I have a feeling that you’re all a fine bunch, and we’ll have exciting times together. Let’s carve our own path here in Nuln, a path paved in gold crowns.”
Before going into the meat of the adventure, I’ll also use the opportunity as proposed by the adventure, to get into a good argument with the customs officials.
I’m paraphrasing the text from the adventure:
After what seems like months, the boat reaches Nuln. The adventurers are all frozen and soaked through. It is probably true to say that they all bitterly regret buying a cheap deck-class passage on an aging riverboat; it doesn’t seem a particularly heroic way to start their lives as adventurers. During the course of the journey, they have got to know each other, and become friends of a sort, united by the common desire to escape the grinding tedium of everyday life. The pilot brings the boat alongside a jetty. Crewmen throw ropes to waiting dockers, the ropes are lashed round massive wooden uprights and the boat is pulled onto the jetty with a slight bump. The gangplank is lowered, and timber cranes swing across the decks to unload the cargo.
The customs formalities drag on and on, with the captain of the boat, and it’s almost night when the time comes, when the officer calls motions for the adventurers to present anything to declare.
For this I will use Let’s Talk.
First I’ll choose the Greeting Attitude for the customs officials, which will be Neutral. (I was leaning into Unfriendly as well)
Then I’ll choose the Topic. This is clear. Where do the adventurer’s come from, what do they want in the city of Nuln, and if they bring in any contraband.
Rolling for the Mood, I get Startled. Perhaps they were not expecting passengers at this river boat?
The officer, a fat man in his mid forties, dressed in fine clothing is looking at the four adventurers in disbelief. “Name and occupation. State your belongings and business in Nuln. Weird bunch… how come you’re all together?” he says and shakes his head.
My Let’s talk hand doesn’t have the best options available, I can choose Flirting, Surprised, Wildcard.
I’ll start by using the Surprised card.
I roll on the Reaction Roll, modify it with the mood and get a Somewhat Negative result, which combined to the NPC’s tone, means they’re Neutral.
Wolmar steps forward. “Why… did we do anything wrong?”
The officer seems unimpressed. “Name, occupation, belongings and business.”
I will use Flirting.
I roll on the Reaction Roll, and get a Negative result, which combined to the NPC’s tone, means they’re Rejecting.
Elhali smiles and touches the officer’s shoulder softly. She uses the softer voice she can muster “Please mister officer, we’re so tired and cold” she bats her eyelashes, “all we want is a warm bath and a bed“.
The man starts to show his discomfort. “What is your name miss?” he says in a cold, blunt manner.
On the third and final exchange I will use the Wildcard. Something to do with the PC personality. I’ll pick Wolmar, and Rude.
I roll on the Reaction Roll and get a Somewhat Negative result, which combined with the NPC’s tone, means they’re Rude as well.
“Here’s my belongings!”, and with a clutter, Abenzio throws down his great hammer at the feet of the officer. “Can we get on now with this stupid farce? Night is falling and it’s freezing cold out here. Is that the Nuln welcome to all the visitors?”
“Just the ones that don’t have smarts for brains.” The officer says unfazed by the brutish display of Abenzio. “Will you comply, or do I have to call the guards?”
So I consider that the PCs will comply now. If they had a favorable outcome, perhaps they’d get an earlier entry into Nuln, but now this will go as described in the module.
I don’t want to derail the adventure at this point (it’s a starter adventure after all), so I will not entertain myself with the possibilities of Elhali being wanted as a smuggler or Greta as a fugitive. Perhaps these are threads to be tied in the future.
Paraphrasing from the adventure module:
The customs formalities drag on and on, and it is nearly midnight by the time the adventurers are allowed ashore.
Now, I’ll stop here, and summarize, as from the next session, the adventure starts normally.
Session Summary
It took me quite a great while to complete this session zerio. Converting WFHRP into SWADE, hacking SWADE to my liking, creating characters, backstories, getting started to learn Foundry, and I have this fear that they’ll die in the first encounter.
Which is good if I stop to think about it. This way, I’m attached to the characters, and also the most important part, I had fun!
Prepping for a game is as much fun as playing the game itself. Sure, there’s more details that can be filled out, generate names for the siblings, and detailed backstories, but we have to stop somewhere and get the story started, right?
On the choice of systems, I haven’t had the chance to use them yet, so the entire structure might crumble, but I have only the best words for both BOLD and Let’s Talk. For BOLD I will not repeat myself, it’s really marvelous at what it does. In this session I decided against using AI-generated text, to better immerse myself in the story, and I must say I enjoyed it immensely. There’s some rewarding feeling in this self-challenge to get a proper narrative from keywords.
As for Let’s Talk, it’s the first time I’m using it, and I was very happy. The concept is quite intuitive. I like how it forces you to use three approaches from a hand, which means there’s no repetition, and you might have to step out of the box to roleplay the situation. It’s also clever as to how the entire social encounter is limited to 3 exchanges. I can see it working alongside with UNE with the latter serving the initial Greeting perhaps. I’ll try it out again, but it has the potential to be the social dialogue engine for solo I’ve been looking for so long.
Solo, Pen, Paper and Dice 
midgetmanifesto 1:46 am on November 30, 2023 Permalink |
For more resilience you could treat bennies like fate/fortune points in stock WFRP (2e). You can use them for rerolls (as bennies) and they refresh each adventure/gaming session. You can burn them permanently (refresh number goes down) in order to stave off death.
It’s fun b/c it results in a swirling down the toilet experience. Less rerolls means more likely death with means more likely to burn your rerolls down. *Flush*
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giorgis 8:03 am on November 30, 2023 Permalink |
Oh I really like this! Will implement.
Thank you!
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