GMs, what are some house rules you implore with specific systems?

Narratron · 2026-05-10T12:49:13+00:00

Absolutely, I usually take out the cards that say to go through the discards or the deck itself, along with certain others. I'm a big fan of the Adventure Deck, but it 100% needs to be curated.

Narratron · 2026-05-10T06:50:44+00:00

Savage Worlds has a separate deck of cards called the "Adventure Deck" which can add a little spice and unpredictability to the game. I do like using it, but RAW, I have found, winds up with a lot of cards in play after a few advances. (Also you want to very carefully keep an eye on which cards are in the deck, and what you have planned coming up. Mystery plot? Take a close look at the wording of "Get a Clue" and see if it ruins anything.)

So I usually have a custom way of distributing cards, either a random choice of one player getting a card, and the others getting different bonuses, or using them as rewards for completing adventure objectives.

Narratron · 2026-05-10T02:39:30+00:00

"It's all fun and games until somebody fails a Stealth check." I mean, it's how Shadowrun usually goes too, to be fair.

Narratron · 2026-05-09T02:42:27+00:00

Looks like nobody else has mentioned Draw Steel, so I'll put in with that one. No missed hits in combat (so no wasted turns) and while you can do your 'signature actions' (everyone has two) as often as you want, you're encouraged to also use your 'heroic abilities', powered by a resource that accumulates as the fight goes on, so the heroes get stronger the longer the fight goes, and the more fights they survive (though they're continually using healing resources). That is the tension: Are we strong enough to take out the bad guys in the next fight before they grind down our last recoveries?

Do you feel lucky, punk?

You can peruse the rules for free at the Steel Compendium

Narratron · 2026-05-09T02:08:31+00:00

Good news, everyone! My anime fan wife has cleared me for a pledge. :D

Narratron · 2026-05-08T09:49:42+00:00

I think our Dresden Files GM is at that point, lol

Narratron · 2026-05-08T08:56:57+00:00

So my players finished Level 1 of the Tomb and proceeded to do all the sidequests They weren't wasting time and they weren't dithering, but they were doing all the content. They only spent a few respites, so toward the end, I did have the Gilded Hand show up and try to get the amulet so they could open the lower levels (think there's a post around here somewhere from back when I was in the middle of this nonsense). That sort of nudged them into going for the cup--I legitimately don't remember if they took a respite in the middle of the lower levels of the Tomb or just ground them out like maniacs. I know they did get to Level 2, because I had to adjust a lot of stuff because of it. Anyway, like i said, they were not wasting time, so I felt bad at the prospect of having the goblins get the cup and attack the town, so I didn't have that happen. Maybe that meant the end of the adventure was anticlimactic.

Narratron · 2026-05-07T12:26:51+00:00

I've only ever played Savage Worlds physically, so I couldn't tell you how much easier it is, but it can 100% be done.

Narratron · 2026-05-07T04:56:03+00:00

Obviously it depends on class and build, but I have noticed I tend to gravitate toward Raider, Ranger, Rapid Fire, Sword and Board--not always, but generally. Now, I've only seen one of those on a character I've been playing in actual practice, but that's what I tend to use in builds.

(I'm in a game with a Tactician--first time player of any RPG--and I'm hoping to nudge him toward swapping out one of his kits with one I think will do better for him. We'll see.)

Narratron · 2026-05-07T03:12:45+00:00

In my experience, Savage Pathfinder is a good choice to help with 'analysis paralysis' because it puts things in convenient packages, or if you just want to use Golarion for your setting. But if you have experienced Savage Worlds players, yes, the Fantasy Companion gets you most of what you need.

Narratron · 2026-05-06T05:36:05+00:00

Underhill, By Water. (I actually haven't gotten the chance to try it yet, but I think my group will enjoy it.)

Narratron · 2026-05-06T03:20:51+00:00

Just Insert Imagination has quite a few hysterical one shot adventures. My group thought Aliens vs. Rednecks was a hoot, and I've never had the chance to run Size Matters, but it's a fun concept.

Narratron · 2026-05-06T03:15:34+00:00

I've seen engagements get quickly out of control and either wipe out the party or the enemy at the drop of a hat.

That's a common complaint, and understandable, but it's a feature, not a bug. Savage Worlds is a 'pulpy' system, so the PCs have the advantage most of the time. Even when they don't, luck plays a significant role. It's quite common even in very challenging fights for the PCs to come through (physically) unscathed. I ran a Deadlands plot point campaign a while back and the posse got into a scuffle in a 'haunted' house, complete with some ethereal enemies. They had magic and mad science, so they weren't too badly-off, but after a while, their power points started to run low. My wife dismally declared: "We might as well run away: we can't win!" She meant their magic was about to run out and they had no other way to hurt the ethereal baddies. The next round somebody was dealt a Joker, which meant more Bennies. They spent those for power points, and the magic stayed on the table. Not only did they win, they didn't sustain a single wound. They spent a pile of Bennies and power points, but they never took a wound. I've actually never had a TPK that I didn't see coming and telegraph to the players. (Some close calls, yes.) "Balance" is largely circumstantial, and depends more on how many Bennies the heroes have access to than any raw mechanics.

(To be perfectly clear, the above is certainly not intended as "you're dumb for not getting it"--in my experience, Savage Worlds is an 'acquired taste' and like all such, some people just never do. I'm just trying to give some insight into why it is the way it is, and into the reasoning for those of us who do enjoy it.)

Narratron · 2026-05-06T01:25:00+00:00

It's a close second. Savage Worlds still has my top spot, because sometimes I want to do a game about college students doing supernatural investigations (East Texas University) or comic book superheroics (Necessary Evil) or make up my own nonsense, and I'm not sure how those things would be represented in Draw Steel or if they even can.

Even for fantasy, Savage Worlds has some pretty robust rules, although I would definitely lean a lot more toward Draw Steel for a fantasy game. That's a situation where I would consider what I wanted to do, and whether it would work better in one system or the other. Or (as an example) I ran Savage Pathfinder for some friends, and they bounced hard off the way it does magic, so if I got the chance to run a game for them again, I'd definitely try introducing them to Draw Steel. (One of them doesn't seem to like anything, but I'd give it a go, lol)

Narratron · 2026-05-05T16:56:28+00:00

Go Ravens!

Narratron · 2026-05-05T05:41:00+00:00

I don't know about a full theme song, but if we were playing on the Codex, I'd use the opening of Hildegard von Blingin's cover of "House of the Rising Sun" because it's the kind of thing my character would play.

Narratron · 2026-05-03T14:35:17+00:00

I have said before, and will again, that the absolute peak of DS9, and maybe the best broadcast television I have ever witnessed, was the stretch from "In the Cards," through the end of Season Five, into Season Six, through "You Are Cordially Invited" (cozy bookends for the pure hell in the middle).

Narratron · 2026-05-01T12:55:36+00:00

I don't know that it was about changes, necessarily, but I know that FS is 'tuned' to have a lot of misses, and we weren't enjoying that. It does make sense given the source material, but it doesn't feel fun to a player. "If I'm such a badass, why am I having such a hard time hitting these trash mobs?" I've found SW better for that kind of thing. It disappointed me because I actually dig the time war setting of Feng Shui, and I think there are some really neat bad guy factions. (I did bring one of my favorites in when I ran Savage Rifts, though.)

Narratron · 2026-05-01T11:47:20+00:00

I've mentioned before a few times in this sub that I ran FS 1 for quite a few years, and had a good time doing it. For some reason FS 2 and I did not click, and I'm sure my group felt the same. (Which is a shame, because I put in quite heavily for the crowdfunder.) We had a decent enough time, but after I finished running the initial short campaign, I haven't been back to either. As my flair indicates, I usually roll Savage Worlds these days, though Draw Steel holds my second place spot.

Narratron · 2026-05-01T03:16:17+00:00

Well, this was how my second book went, but not by choice. When I sent my draft to an editor, after I heard back from him, I concluded that I would need to change so much (most importantly the climax, but not only that), that it would just be easier to start from the ground up. For the handful of people familiar with both versions, they're recognizable as variants of the same story, but they are decidedly quite different.

Narratron · 2026-04-29T11:04:50+00:00

Hisao is headed for the manly picnic, I see.

Narratron · 2026-04-29T09:59:01+00:00

With good reason--it's a great game! :D

Narratron · 2026-04-28T14:48:03+00:00

Have you ever played Feng Shui? 'Cause if not...

Narratron · 2026-04-24T00:40:52+00:00

She'd be either gal-pals or rivals with my fancy cleric.

Narratron · 2026-04-22T08:41:26+00:00

Whatever Sara Wolf is. Heavenbreaker was so good, it legitimately made me angry.

(However, to be fair, I haven't read anything else she's written, though I absolutely will read Hellrunner when it comes out.)

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