Savage Worlds Weird War II

[CmdrKiley]

I'm currently reading Savage Worlds Weird War II right now. Like the other Studio 2 publications it's a very nice book. It's different from the original Pinnacle Weird War II in that it doesn't use the Deadlands timeline where the US was split up after the Civil War but sort of joins back together for WWII. Instead it follows a new timeline that very much closely matches actual history. In fact it's written in such a way you can leave our the weird elements and play totally historical WWII. Although I find the Savage Worlds mechanics a bit more cinematic and tend to give a more pulpy feel to them. The weird stuff mostly focuses on supernatural horror stuff rather than weird science stuff. There's also been some tweaks and revisions of the weird stuff that carried over from the original Weird War II.

Wether you play Savage Worlds RPG or not, it makes for some good reading and lots of great ideas for making AE-WWII campaigns. Furthermore, with the Pulp Tools Kit you could add the weird science stuff to it and probably recreate lots of AE-WWII elements and make a AE-WWII RPG setting using the SW rules system.

[Darkson]

I will have to check it out. Thanks for the heads up.

[CmdrKiley]

Oh and it covers Western Europe, North Africa, Eastern Front and Pacific Fronts of the War. Also lots of vehicles, including aircraft and naval ships.

[abbysdad]

Yes. I'm a big fan of the savage worlds system. I like the new deadlands too.

[skorzeny]

For the record, the Pinnacle one never used the Deadlands setting as background. That said, it is woefully preachy, never skipping a beat to hammer home that the Germans are a bunch of goose-stepping heel-clicking Huns, or making excuses for why the Japanese behaved like rabid wolves during the war.

I'd be curious if the Savage Worlds incarnation takes a less authoritative tone with the material.

[CmdrKiley]

Ah, that must have been from the Deadlands Hell on Earth history.

There is a sidebar that does explain the differences in the fluff between the SW and the original Weird War RPG.

It does refer to the SS, Unit 731, some Japanese, and the Blood Mages as being very very evil. The NKVD are pointed out as pretty bad as well. Other than that a relatively neutral opinon on the remainder of the Axis. The book is setup to play Allied PCs. However another sidebar suggests how to play an Axis campaign.

[CmdrKiley]

While reading the Savage Worlds Weird War II book, I got to thinking how cool it would be for an AE-WWII RPG. I find the AE-WWII fluff much more rich and exciting than the SW:WWII one. An RPG has a bit more freedom than a TTG. Plus there's things covered in SW that isn't covered in the AE:WWII TTG like air combat and naval combat (which are mentioned in the fluff but not really part of the scope of the TTG).

While reading it, I started jotting down some notes where I could include elements unique to the AE-WWII background into the SW game mechanics. I'll try to post some of them up here.

Would there be any interest in a SW RPG based on AE-WWII? Perhaps this could be an expansion for AE-WWII and it's miniatures line into something beyond just the TTG market? Perhaps Darkson Designs could pickup a Savage Worlds license and put out a supplement for SW: Weird WarII that covers AE-WWII. The rulebook would simply cover Divisions/MOS, monsters, edges, weapons and other equipment not included in the SW:WWII and then also include a comprehensive history of AE:WWII (simply complile all the fluff from all the books and add some more). Put this out as a PDF and sell it as a supplement to SW:WWII or go into more detail and just put it out as a stand alone setting for SW.

[evernevermore(john)]

I would be interested in a AE rpg but not Savage Worlds - SW has just never appeal much to me, even though I have Explorers Edition. Most appealing to me is system neutral, with sections detailing things like what its like to be an American soldier in France around the time Paris is taken (from the core rulebook). This is so much more useful to me than some sort of skill progression or feat tree for a system I dont want to bother using. Now I have no problem with an appendix covering stuff like Savage Worlds edges and one sentence stat lines for monsters that were already discussed in the rule book. Pretty much Im interested in material for an AE RPG but if its written for a single specific system then its not worth my money as most of the systems I run are obscure, out of print, or off the wall.

[CmdrKiley]

Well here's some notes I jotted down while reading Weird War II and thinking about applying AE-WWII to it's mechanics.

First off all the character generation is slightly different in that you select a Basic Training package (Army & Marines, Navy, and Air Corps) and then you pick an MOS. These define minimum requirements for skills and attributes and then provide some special rules and gear that are appropriate for that combination.

So I thought about ARPA being a separate Basic Training Package. From that I came up with several MOS that would be part of ARPA (I'm assuming troops equipped with Tesla Devices would be simply generated using he existing training packages and equipped appropriately).

Basic Training
ARPA (American)
Attribute Requirements: Smarts d6
Skill Requirements: Knowledge (Engineering)
Basic Gear: Tool Belt, Goggles

ARPA MOS
Field Mechanic
Attribute Requirements: Spirit d6
Skill Requirements: Repair, Fighting, Shooting
Useful Edges: Arcane Background (Tesla), Jury Rig, Mr. Fixit
Special: Pick a Branch (Army & Marines, Navy, Air Corps) and MOS that this character will be attached to and gain any equipment assigned.
Additional Gear: Tool Kit

This is the basic Field Mechanic from the TTG, but expanded to work with the Navy and Air Corps. As the Field Mechanic works on the front line with the troops using Tesla devices he is expected to fight along side his fellow soldiers.

Lab Technician
Attribute Requirements:
Skill Requirements: Repair, Knowledge (pick Electronics, Mechanical, Chemestry, or Hydraulics)
Useful Edges: Arcane Background (Tesla), Gadgeteer, McGyver
Special:
Additional Gear: Tool Kit, Additional $500

The Lab Technician works away from the front lines assembling and maintaining ARPA weapons, running experiments, controlling robots, and dismantling captured technology.

Research Scientist
Attribute Requirements: Smarts d8
Skill Requirements: Knowledge (pick Electronics, Mechanical, Chemestry, or Hydraulics), Investigation
Useful Edges: Arcane Background (Tesla), College Boy
Special: Model gains Rich or Connections as a free Edge
Additional Gear: Additional $500 in gear

The Research Scientist is an expert in his field and often called in to investigate enemy technology or solve problems with the unknown. The Research Scientist is in charge of coming up with new technology to help the American war effort.

Arcane Background (Tesla) is a variant of the Arcane Background (Weird Science) but with more electrical trappings for the powers.

[skorzeny]

If we get to doing an RPG, which I'm actually in favour of once other projects are under control, I think we'd probably go with our own system based somewhat on the existing AE-WWII rules in a similar fashion to how Dark Heresy evokes the 40k rules. That said, I've always been partial to d100 rule systems.

One thing I can guarantee is none of the heavy-handed, beat you with a stick mentality as regards 'Germans iz evil' junk you see in way too many games. There's plenty of ugliness to go around when it comes to WWII. I recently read up on the Port Chicago explosion and the 'mutiny' which followed - a real black eye for the 'land of the free'. And lets not forget that butchers like Stalin, Mao and Chiang Kai-Shek were on the Allied side too. That doesn't make every American, Russian and Chinese in the war evil just because there are bad men running their countries. The same holds true for Germany and Italy and the other Axis powers.

Though a strong case could be made that the Japanese were literally brain-washed by the militarists... all rampant individualism on the home front squashed by their Thought Police.

[evernevermore(john)]

May 15, 2010 6:42:55 GMT -5 skorzeny said:

If we get to doing an RPG, which I'm actually in favour of once other projects are under control, I think we'd probably go with our own system based somewhat on the existing AE-WWII rules in a similar fashion to how Dark Heresy evokes the 40k rules. That said, I've always been partial to d100 rule systems.

One thing I can guarantee is none of the heavy-handed, beat you with a stick mentality as regards 'Germans iz evil' junk you see in way too many games. There's plenty of ugliness to go around when it comes to WWII. I recently read up on the Port Chicago explosion and the 'mutiny' which followed - a real black eye for the 'land of the free'. And lets not forget that butchers like Stalin, Mao and Chiang Kai-Shek were on the Allied side too. That doesn't make every American, Russian and Chinese in the war evil just because there are bad men running their countries. The same holds true for Germany and Italy and the other Axis powers.

Though a strong case could be made that the Japanese were literally brain-washed by the militarists... all rampant individualism on the home front squashed by their Thought Police.

If you are looking for an RPG that carries through the mini game to rpg take a look at Catalysts new Battletech a Time of War.

[abbysdad]

May 15, 2010 6:42:55 GMT -5 skorzeny said:

If we get to doing an RPG, which I'm actually in favour of once other projects are under control, I think we'd probably go with our own system based somewhat on the existing AE-WWII rules in a similar fashion to how Dark Heresy evokes the 40k rules. That said, I've always been partial to d100 rule systems.

Yes. I'd love to do this too, and d100 is a favorite of mine. Like Clint said, we are swamped right now. But who knows what the future will bring?

[CmdrKiley]

Well here's some more of the ideas I jotted down while reading Weird War II and brainstorming. One thing I always like is trying to model units from one game system with another game system's rules.

Strumaffe
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d8(A), Spirit d8, Strength d12+2, Vigor d12

Pace 8, Parry 7 Toughness 9

Skills: Climbing d6, Fighting d10, Guts d10, Intimidation d10, Notice d6, Throwing d8

Frenzy: A Strumaffe can make two Fighting attacks each round at -2 penalty.
Size +2: Strumaffe are taller and stockier than humans
Slam: Str+2
Control Collar: A remote contol may be detonated to kill the Strumaffe in the event if goes out of control. When detonated, the Strumaffe will instantly be killed and place a 2" Blast template over the model before removing it. All other models under this template suffer a 3d6 strength hit.

Feuersoldat
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d8, Strength d8, Vigor d10

Pace 6", Parry Toughness 7

Skills: Fighting d8, Shooting d6, Intimidation d6

Immunity (Fire & Heat) - Fuersoldat's skin is resistant to fire and heat. It takes no damage from fire based attacks.

Feuerbogen - Treat as a standard flame thrower, without the d6 minimum strength requirement. In the hands of a Fuersoldat it gains a +4 to hit. In the hands of anyone but a Feuersoldat to model takes 2d6 fire damage when using it.

Feuerstoss - Center a 3" circular template over the Feuersoldat. All other models take a 2d10 fire hit.