Savage Last Night on Earth, Part Three

For GenghisCon XXXIV, I made good on an age-old promise: to Savage the excellent zombie board game, Last Night on Earth (LNOE). I've run the simple scenario three times now, and by all accounts it's a hit. For my final post on this subject, I'll go over the tools I used for GMing and the setting rules I went by. I'll also give a quick explanation of my scenario.

I made a list of all the buildings on the LNOE boards I used. I should point out I used the additional boards that came in the Growing Hunger expansion, so I would have 20 buildings in all. I arranged the building names on a d20 table, but never used the list to roll up a random building. Instead, when the players mentioned a location they wanted to reach I'd pick that board and a random second board to make up the rectangle; then that combination of boards would stay together for the rest of the session.

I mentioned in a previous post that the squares on the boards were two inches. It's the conceit of the board game that adjacency means in the same square, and there is no limit to the number of miniatures that can be in a square. I saw no harm here and just went with that.  I also kept the board game rules regarding line of sight and that zombies can walk right through walls--not literally, of course, but in keeping with the source material, it's assumed they can bash through walls or dive through windows and such. This ramps up the tension in the board game, and it worked for the Savage Worlds sessions too.

I made a list of equipment you can find in game, based on what's in the board game. Most of it was standard fare, but the standouts are:

• Fire Extinguisher: Roll Agility vs. zombie Smarts to push all zombies in a square back one space, two with a raise. Extinguisher is empty on snake eyes.
• Torch: Zombies must make a Spirit roll to attack someone with a torch.
• Signal Flare: One shot; successful hit destroys a zombie.
• Chainsaw: Str+d12 damage; only requires Strength d6+ to wield for full damage benefit. Out of fuel on snake eyes.
• Pump Shotgun: 1-3d6 damage; range 1-3 squares; damage in excess of destroying a zombie carries over to the next zombie in the same square.
• Any weapon made of with mostly wood breaks on snake eyes, like a pitchfork or a baseball bat.

In any case, here's a copy of the cheat sheet I used at the table.

In terms of classic Savage Worlds setting rules, I had a few:

• No ammo tracking; weapons with ammo simply run out on snake eyes; player takes an action to reload.
• The No Mercy Edge was in effect for all characters.
• Aces Wild from the Deluxe core rules.
• Clint Black's classic deck shuffling rule, where the player with the fewest bennies gets a benny for shuffling the deck after a Joker was drawn.

The scenario I used for the game was simple. Based on the Burn 'Em Out scenario from the board game, the players had to destroy the pits from whence the zombies came. How many? Well I based it on how the timing of the game was going. In my initial playtest, it was four. At the convention it was three. I allowed Jake Cartwright and Sheriff Anderson to make Common Knowledge rolls to remember the first zombie attack, and therefore the spawning pits. I did tell the players to ignore the spawning pit art on the boards, and I used the extra spawning pit tokens from the board game to denote when there was a really spawning pit. Basically I started everyone in the diner and let them make their choices and had the occasional zombie attack. Super simple. Lots of fun.

Well that's it. I hope you can use this series to enjoy your own Savage Last Night on Earth!


This game references the Savage Worlds game system, available from Pinnacle Entertainment Group at www.peginc.com. Savage Worlds and all associated logos and trademarks are copyrights of Pinnacle Entertainment Group. Used with permission. Pinnacle makes no representation or warranty as to the quality, viability, or suitability for purpose of this product.

Last Night on Earth, the Zombie Game is Copyright 1999-2013, Flying Frog Productions, LLC. This is a fan work and no challenge to that copyright is intended.

Savage Last Night on Earth, Part Two

For GenghisCon XXXIV, I made good on an age-old promise: to Savage the excellent zombie board game, Last Night on Earth (LNOE). I've run the simple scenario three times now, and by all accounts it's a hit. For my second post, I'll go over how I handled the zombie enemy in the game.

I'll start out by providing the zombie stat block I used:

Zombie
Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d4, Spirit d4, Strength d6, Vigor d4
Skills: Fighting d6, Intimidation d6, Notice d4
Pace: 1 (Running is Pace 2); Parry: 5; Toughness: 6
Special Abilities 
- Claws: Str+d4 
- Undead: +2 Toughness; +2 to recover from being Shaken; called shots do no extra damage (except to the head). 
- Weakness: Shots to a zombie’s head are +2 damage.

If you break open your trusty Savage Worlds Deluxe Explorer's Edition, you'll see this differs from the stat block in that book. I felt that LNOE zombies should do more damage but be slightly easier to take out. Also, there are cards in the board game that certainly allow players to sort of intimidate the zombies, so I dropped that. Finally, I slowed the zombies down and gave them a straight double move when they "run."

One thing I really love about LNOE is the cards the zombie player can use to enhance the zombies or mess with the players. I picked some of those and Savaged them, and then each time the players met a new set of zombies, I rolled a d10 and consulted my table to determine what their ability would be for that encounter. Here's the table with the Savaged cards:

1	Oh the Horror – Roll 2 Zombie Abilities.
2	Shamble – Zombies move d3 spaces. Running adds a d3.
3	Cornered – Zombies get +1 gang-up, to a maximum of +5.
4	I Feel Kinda Strange – If a hero takes one or more wounds, they make a Vigor roll. Failure causes an additional wound, which cannot be soaked.
5	Undead Hate the Living – Once per round, the GM or a Zombie Player may force a player to re-roll dice.
6	Uuuurrrggghh! – Zombies get a Wild Die.
7	“My God, They’ve Taken the…” – Zombies overrun a random building. It is lost.
8	New Spawning Pit – A new spawning pit forms at this location.
9	“This Can’t Be Happening!” – A random hero loses their Wild Die for this encounter.
10	Braaains! – Zombies get +1 to all attack and damage rolls.

One of the things I set up in the game is a player character would become a zombie if they were killed, which would give them one more chance to keep playing before they were completely killed out of the game. It never came up (though it came close once or twice), but here are the changes a player would make if they were killed and became a Zombie Hero (a Wildcard zombie):

• Undead add +2 to their basic Toughness
• Undead add +2 when attempting to recover from being Shaken
• Undead don’t suffer additional damage from called shots, except headshots, which are +2
• Undead Wild Cards never suffer from Wound Modifiers
• Undead do not suffer from disease or poison
• Pace –1 (Running adds a d2) 
• Remove all Hindrances and Edges 
• Remove all Skills, except Fighting d6, Intimidation d6, Notice d4 Claws Str+d4 

 Finally, I should note that since this was a convention game, I wanted to ramp up the tension as the game went along. I did this by ramping up the zombies. In hour one, the PCs faced one zombie per player. In hour two, they faced two zombies per player. Three in hour three. Four in hour four.


This game references the Savage Worlds game system, available from Pinnacle Entertainment Group at www.peginc.com. Savage Worlds and all associated logos and trademarks are copyrights of Pinnacle Entertainment Group. Used with permission. Pinnacle makes no representation or warranty as to the quality, viability, or suitability for purpose of this product.

Last Night on Earth, the Zombie Game is Copyright 1999-2013, Flying Frog Productions, LLC. This is a fan work and no challenge to that copyright is intended.

Savage Last Night on Earth, Part One

For GenghisCon XXXIV, I made good on an age-old promise: to Savage the excellent zombie board game, Last Night on Earth (LNOE). I've run the simple scenario three times now, and by all accounts it's a hit. This is the first of multiple posts (don't know how many it will be), explaining the Savaging.

I started by putting together some design goals. First, I wanted to use the miniatures (duh), boards, and other bits from the LNOE game. I ended up using the spawning pit markers as well, and I made the Zombie Hero tokens available in case they were needed. Second, I wanted to use the characters from the game. I decided on the eight characters from the core game. The rulebook provided great bios for each of them, and their character cards would provide me with the rest of the inspiration I needed. Third, I wanted to Savage some of the LNOE rules that felt like part of the feel of the board game.

I only used the corner boards for my RPG sessions because the center board's spaces are a different size. In addition, the corner boards aren't really formatted to be laid together in a large series, so I only presented two boards at a time, forming a rectangle, handwaving travel between them. Also, I used the two extra corner boards from the Growing Hunger expansion. I found out you can buy replacement boards for $12 for LNOE. I think in the future I'll get a set of those and mark up the center board to make the squares the same size. We'll see how that goes.

Before I present the characters, I have some quick notes. 1) I decided that Sally would have a Quirk that didn't allow her to use guns. In the board game, she's limited to a pistol, but I thought that wouldn't translate well to a great Savage Worlds hindrance, so I went with no guns at all. Much to my chagrin, Sally's miniature in the core game is holding a pistol. I know that doesn't need to be a big deal, but it bugged me. Luckily, Sally is a survivor character in the Timber Peak expansion, and that figure had a knife. Winning! 2) There are no real powers in LNOE, but I thought it appropriate to give Father Joseph a very basic turning power. I felt like it didn't change the flavor of LNOE, and it felt Savage to me. 3) The squares on the corner boards are about two inches, so I have simply halved the Pace on the characters and gave them d3 for running to account for this. We'll talk more about my movement and combat tweaks in another post. 4) Finally, I fancy the idea of expanding this game out, and running continuing adventures at conventions, so I started the characters at 0 XP.

Here are the stat blocks:

Sheriff Anderson
Abilities: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d8, Strength d6, Vigor d8
Skills: Driving d4, Fighting d6, Healing d4, Intimidation d4, Investigation d6, Notice d6, Persuasion d4, Shooting d6, Streetwise d6, Survival d4
Charisma: 0; Pace: 3; Parry: 5; Toughness: 6 
Hindrances: Cautious, Heroic, Loyal
Edges: Command
Gear: Pistol, handcuffs, Maglite

Becky
Abilities: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d6, Strength d4, Vigor d8
Skills: Fighting d4, Healing d10, Investigation d6, Notice d6, Persuasion d6, Survival d6
Charisma: +2; Pace: 3; Parry: 4; Toughness: 6
Hindrances: Curious, Pacifist (minor), Quirk (flirtatious)
Edges: Attractive, Healer, Nerves of Steel
Gear: Medical kit

Billy
Abilities: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d6, Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Climbing d4, Fighting d6, Lockpicking d6, Notice d6, Shooting d6, Stealth d6, Taunt d6, Throwing d6
Charisma: -2; Pace: 4; Parry: 5; Toughness: 5
Hindrances: Mean, Overconfident, Stubborn
Edges: Fleet Footed (+1 Pace, d4 running die), Lucky
Gear: None

Sally
Abilities: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d8, Strength d4, Vigor d6
Skills: Fighting d6, Notice d8, Persuasion d8, Stealth d8, Streetwise d6
Charisma: +2; Pace: 3; Parry: 5; Toughness: 5
Hindrances: Loyal, Quirk (refuses to use guns), Yellow
Edges: Attractive, Danger Sense, Lucky
Gear: None

Johnny
Abilities: Agility d8, Smarts d4, Spirit d6, Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Fighting d8, Intimidation d6, Notice d4, Persuasion d6, Streetwise d4, Taunt d4, Throwing d10
Charisma: +2; Pace: 3; Parry: 6; Toughness: 5
Hindrances: Arrogant, Illiterate, Quirk (misuses common colloquialisms; uses wrong "big" word)
Edges: Charismatic, Lucky, Martial Artist
Gear: None

Jenny
Abilities: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d6, Strength d8, Vigor d6
Skills: Climbing d4, Fighting d8, Intimidation d6, Repair d6, Riding d4, Shooting d6, Survival d6, Taunt d4
Charisma: 0; Pace: 3; Parry: 6; Toughness: 5
Hindrances: Big Mouth, Quirk (pretty, but weird)
Edges: Lucky
Gear: None

Father Joseph
Abilities: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d8, Strength d4, Vigor d4
Skills: Fighting d6, Healing d8, Investigation d8, Knowledge (Occult) d4, Notice d8, Persuasion d8, Streetwise d6
Charisma: 0; Pace: 2; Parry: 5; Toughness: 4
Hindrances: Elderly, Pacifist (minor), Vow (protect the flock)
Edges: Common Bond, Turn Undead (brandish holy symbol; opposed Spirit roll: success = Shaken, raise = wound; range is half Smarts)
Gear: Crucifix, bible, rosary

Jake Cartwright (my favorite character in the game, mostly due to his background)
Abilities: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d6, Strength d6, Vigor d6
Skills: Fighting d6, Healing d4, Intimidation d6, Notice d6, Repair d6, Shooting d6, Streetwise d6, Survival d6, Tracking d6
Charisma: -2; Pace: 3; Parry: 5; Toughness: 6
Hindrances: Bad Luck, Delusional (thinks the dead speak with him), Outsider
Edges: Brawny, Quick
Gear: Duffel bag, knife

This game references the Savage Worlds game system, available from Pinnacle Entertainment Group at www.peginc.com. Savage Worlds and all associated logos and trademarks are copyrights of Pinnacle Entertainment Group. Used with permission. Pinnacle makes no representation or warranty as to the quality, viability, or suitability for purpose of this product.

Last Night on Earth, the Zombie Game is Copyright 1999-2013, Flying Frog Productions, LLC. This is a fan work and no challenge to that copyright is intended.

The Town of Waypoint

In an effort to make time for some friends I haven't been able to see as often as I'd like, I'm starting up a monthly fantasy game. I'm going with Savage Worlds and the Fantasy Companion (and maybe the Horror Companion at some point) for my basis. We've decided to use inside-out design for the setting. Below is the town I've begun designing. I've kept it varied and generic so the players can feel free to design themselves into the population more easily. I give you the town of Waypoint:

Waypoint is a small town—larger than a village, but not much larger. It’s immediate surrounding area consists mostly of farmland. Waypoint is important because it stands atop a crossroads that links the mountain strongholds of the dwarves, the enchanted forest of the elves, and two human cities, one of which is a major port.

Waypoint began its days as a roadhouse, known as the Waypoint Inn. It still exists and has played host to travelers of all stripes. As the inn became more popular, a farming family settled nearby to provide food and other goods. Soon the town had a blacksmith, a mill, and various shops, aimed at the needs of passersby. These days there are more farms, and Waypoint has begun exporting produce and other goods.
 
Recently, a temple was built for worship, and while it belongs to the goddess of nature and the hearth, it has a more generic worship area for those travelers who follow different gods. Occasionally, the temple will play host to guest clergy from different deities.
 
Due to it’s fluid population, the citizens tend to be easy going and tolerant but—with the exception of the merchants and tradesmen who do business with travelers—keep mostly to themselves. Waypoint has had it’s fair share of tensions, especially when naturally adversarial groups are in town together, such as dwarves delivering ore to the smith while an elven delegation passes through.
 
Although Waypoint is part of the human kingdom, the town does its best to act as neutral territory. It has a small accompaniment of soldiers from the kingdom, who try to maintain that peace, ostensibly acting as a local constabulary.

[Read-Thru] BareBones Fantasy

I buy a lot of PDFs. (Seriously, you should see my iPad.) Consequently, I spend a lot of time on RPGNow. For the last several weeks, I've noticed a game I've never heard of stay in the top two or three among the site's best sellers. My curiosity piqued, I finally took the plunge on the PDF version of BareBones Fantasy (BBF, going forward).

For $9.99, DwD Studios provides you with the 80-page core book, an adventure, two alternate character sheets, a sheet to track your character's progress, a two-page character creation quick reference, and print-friendly versions of all of the above. In addition, a full-color map of the default setting is provided--two versions, actually--in both hexed and non-hexed versions. All the above is wrapped up in a neat Zip file. When it's ready, you'll be able to get a print version of the core rules with the PDF for only $4 more.

Before I get into the game itself I want to call out the production values of this product. The art is evocative of the genre and by-and-large very attractive. The cover is one of the better fantasy pieces I've seen in recent memory. It immediately made me want to play. That's sadly more rare than you may think. The PDF has an attractive layout that provokes you to turn the page and keep reading. The table of contents is hyperlinked, and the file is fully bookmarked. There is an index at the end of the book, as well, and if I had to call out a short-coming I'd probably settle on the fact that the index isn't hyperlinked. Given the detailed table of contents and the bookmarks, this would truly be nitpicking. Should you have the tools to make modifications to the PDF, DwD was kind enough to not lock the files. "Physically," this PDF product is on par with nearly anything put out by any other publisher, and it surpasses most. The production values of BBF are proof that in the hobby games industry, size doesn't have to matter.

Another aside is the editing. I know this goes along with production values, but I'm an editor. Sue me for my bias, if you wish. As an editor, it can be pretty painful to read RPGs. I am elated to say there are very few errors in this book. DwD even failed to trip up in the easiest places to do so. I'm not saying there are no typos, but this is yet another area where nearly all other publishers should take note.

As for the game, BBF is meant to be a lean system, with a deceptive amount of depth. On this count the game seems to succeed in spades. As I read through the rules, I couldn't think of any fantasy scenarios that could not be duplicated in play. It's a simple percentile system, wherein the dice provide a 00-99 result, rather than the typical 01-100 (the only other game I can think of that went this route might be Eclipse Phase). There's a one-page rules summary that should be plenty of knowledge for a new player to get started.

The magic system is as streamlined as the rest of the game. There are few spells, but they're designed to have different effects or trappings, based on the spellcaster's description. For instance you could use Offensive Strike to fire a magic missile or a lightning bolt, or you could use Charm to represent hypnotism or perhaps the mesmerizing tune of a bard's lute. There are only 17 spells in the core rules, but all the classic bases seem covered to me.

Character creation should be a pretty quick affair, with the caveat that the math-averse may initially recoil at calculating the starting values of skills. The four typical fantasy races are here: human, elf, dwarf, and halfling. There are four base attributes. There are only a few skills in the game, even fewer that every character will have. On skills, I've noted a lot of folks compare them to character classes, based on how broad they are and the way they're named (cleric, warrior, and thief are examples). I get the train of thought, but I'd compare them more to the starting professions in Barbarians of Lemuria.

You choose two skills to be primary and secondary, and you get bonuses in these skills. I can see combinations of the skills being used to create some of the fantasy character tropes. For instance, you may be able to combine Thief and either Scholar or one of the three spellcasting skills to create a bard-style character.

You round out your character by determining her moral compass though the use of a quick, word-based, multiple choice table. Then you add descriptors, which are phrases you make up about your character. These remind me of FATE's Aspects, though they're not used in-game so much as one of the bases for XP rewards at the end of each session.

The GM section provides all the tools the GM needs to run the game. It starts off with information on modifiers and all the dangerous things that can occur outside of getting hit with a weapon. There are rules for creature creation, trap creation, magic item creation, and there are samples of each. I've read one or two complaints about the monster selection in the book, but I have to disagree. All the basics seem covered to me, and the tools to make more are provided. In addition to the above, BBF provides a plot creator and a dungeon creator. These are all tools you may expect in a much bigger product and not get.

The book wraps up with an outline for BBF's default setting, which spans a mere five pages of text, plus a two-page black and white version of the separately-included map. Each region on the map is given about a paragraph of info, and there's a section on the setting's pantheon. This is meant to be the taste it is, as the full setting is available as a separate product. Still, I managed to get multiple adventure and campaign ideas in those five pages of text.

The extras included with the game don't skimp. The color map of the world is gorgeous, and the adventure has enough to it for a full session or two of play, depending on your group. There are also separate maps of the dungeon, one for the GM and one for the players. Have I mentioned DwD seems to provide product way above their "pay grade?"

There are two features of BBF that are not included in the package, but warrant some discussion regardless. First is the DwD website. The forum seems to have friendly patrons and frequent interaction with the game's designers. You may be noticing a trend here, if you think this is yet another area where nearly all other publishers could learn a thing or two from DwD. The second feature is Decahedron, a free PDF magazine designed to support BBF. The first issue is out, and it contains material written by BBF's designers, as well as fans of the game. The production values are on par with their paid product.

I think it goes without saying that I like BareBones Fantasy. At $9.99 it's practically an impulse buy, and if DwD can maintain their production values, you'll be getting in on the ground floor of something special. I'm certainly rooting for them. I intend to take the game out for a test spin, so you'll be hearing more from me on BBF.

I'd recommend this product to anyone looking for a simplified-but-deep-enough approach to fantasy. I'd also recommend it to anyone looking to learn a thing or two in preparation for their own publishing adventure. I wouldn't recommend this book if your interests lie primarily in the truly crunchy and/or complex.

My Own Slump and Evolving My Style

I've been thinking about writing a post about how my gaming is evolving by necessity, but I've had a hard time framing the story. Until now. One of my favorite blogger's, Phil Vecchione over at Gnome Stew, recently released an article about getting into a slump. You should go read it. If you haven't already read it, I'd have to wonder why my blog isn't secondary to many others, especially the excellent Gnome Stew, and an article written by the guy behind the phenomenal Never Unprepared. Think of this article as a response to Phil's, or more appropriately, an attempt to commiserate with him--and hopefully you, if you're going through the same thing.

I've been in my slump for years. I'm not just talking about my well-documented "Ooh, Shiny" Syndrome (going forward, referred to as OSS), I mean a slump. I've spent the better part of the last few years miserable about my GMing, and wracked with guilt about changing the game on my players in search for what I needed to change how I felt. There have been several times I've almost quit GMing completely, but I love it so much I couldn't let it go. That said, it's become apparent that something has to change.

Presently, I'm involved with my friend, Sequoyah's, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 3rd Edition game. (Sequoyah's a blogger in his own right; you should check it out.) Sequoyah's game is unique in that he only runs it in short bursts of a few sessions. He also often changes out the players from time-to-time, me being an example. Despite the semi-fleeting nature of the game, Sequoyah manages to have an ongoing story, which still allows for a payoff for both him as a GM, and those players who stick around for more than one of his stories. Whether you're an old hand at his game, or a newcomer, you're guaranteed a solid, well-thought-out story.

Now my OSS prevents me from running the same setting in the way Sequoyah does (and I'm finally comfortable with that notion), but I think I can take something from this. This coming year, I'm starting a new way of running games. I am simply going to prep a story in whatever system/setting I'm feeling at the moment; then I'll invite folks to play. Over time I intend to build a stable of players, while checking off my bucket list of shiny new (and old) games I'd like to run.

I may go back to games from time-to-time--I'll tell my players to keep their characters just in case--but I won't promise anything. Players will be promised an engaging story, but with no long-term commitment, I won't have to feel guilty about changing the game. I'm hoping to expand my GMing skills by trying different styles of games. I want to challenge myself, and know if something doesn't work I can just move on to the next thing. It's also my hope to break my slump.

I can already talk about my first hurdle in this new endeavor. My OSS is thus far preventing me from deciding on my first game! Hopefully I'll be able to get past this and move on with my big plans.

I intend to keep my readers informed about the results of this little experiment, so stay tuned!

New Directions

You may have noticed this blog died down for awhile. It was because after ending our original podcast, Vern and I started a new endeavor with some friends, RoleplayDNA. Unlike TGTT, RPDNA included both a podcast and a blog. It was tough for me to come up with content for both sites, so I let this one fade. Recently I announced my (and Vern's) retirement from podcasting, so I figured I'd go back to using this site as a creative outlet.

I can't (read: won't) promise regular updates, but I can say I'll post here as the spirit moves me. I'm currently working on a Read-Thru of Fate Core (and 'grats to the fine folks at Evil Hat, btw) and that may become a series--to include a Play-Thru or three--if I'm able to get some play time in with it. I can say that looks hopeful at this time.

So stay tuned... but don't expect too much. ;)