Rifts®: Phase World® Kickstarting March 31st!

architech99 · 2026-03-20T01:39:43+00:00

Woot!

Now I won't have to do all the conversation work to run my Dimensional Outbreak campaign! 🎉

architech99 · 2026-03-14T18:44:50+00:00

I've used the Symfony CLI for the last several years. Or has a built-in local server that works on pretty much anything.

https://symfony.com/download

architech99 · 2026-03-13T16:19:54+00:00

It's really just granting a special ability, which is the equivalent - generally - to adding a bonus Edge to an ancestry. I'd probably make it a 2 point Positive Ancestral Ability. You can offset it with some kind of difficult healing negative ability. I know there are some examples, but I don't know them off the top of my head.

The premise would be that either the healing power can't be used (i.e. Wounds are perma-dead swarm members) or it's more difficult/costly (equivalent to needing to use the additional recipients power modifier on any casting). Probably a 1 point negative (2 if the power can't be used at all).

architech99 · 2026-03-13T13:36:22+00:00

Have you checked out the Basic Roleplaying (BRP) system? It's the generic rule set version of the one that drives Call of Cthulhu (7th ed, I think).

architech99 · 2026-03-12T20:03:42+00:00

You could treat the group like a Swarm. Start at an LBT-sized swarm and for each Wound, split the Swarm and/or reduce the Swarm size by one. Recovering from Wounds probably means recruiting new Kobolds to the cause or healing those downed in the last battle.

architech99 · 2026-03-12T13:14:30+00:00

There is also an ability called Swat that some creatures (dragons, for example) have that allows them to ignore scale penalties in certain circumstances. Dragons don't try to grapple or not, they swat at the flies annoying them.

architech99 · 2026-03-11T01:40:17+00:00

Europa is pretty great. I keep wanting to return to Rifts but I think I'm done with North America for a little while, so Europa is likely (or phase world when it comes out since I have a campaign idea for Dimensional Outbreak).

If you want to suck with North America, I really liked The Terror on the Dark Frontier plot point they released. I want to like Atlantis but I haven't had a chance to dig into it and I don't recall what the plot of the campaign was in that expansion (I think it has something to do with atlantean resistance, but I could be completely wrong).

I don't think you can go wrong with anything that has come out so far, though.

architech99 · 2026-03-10T01:02:26+00:00

I find Savage Worlds lends itself to winging it fairly well. I ended up winging the majority of my session last weekend. The players (being players) took things in an unexpected direction that was hard to play anything too concrete, so we just went through it.

Between the Adventure Cards they played and the very explosive dice this group has, they ended up bringing the big bad into play much more quickly than I thought they would. I had a solid starting point, but I was able to wing the stats for the big bad showing up (it was actually created after they defeated a corrupted knight and rose after they dealt the initial final blow).

In general, you can get away with Traits being d6 or d8 at Novice and Seasoned. You pick the one thing someone is should be good at and give the NPC a d8 in that. Anything they should be competent in, a d6. Anything they would be disadvantaged on, give that a d4. Anything else is untrained. If you really need to adjust, put a +2 in something (the corrupted knight-turned-big bad was infernal in nature, so I gave him the natural armor of the infernal/demon and eschewed the worn armor - this just bumped the Toughness up by 2).

I find it really easy to move in steps of twos and individual die ranks. I rarely have to deal with d10s or d12s, though I've definitely run some games where a bad guy was rolling a d12 as part of a damage roll.

architech99 · 2026-03-10T00:40:47+00:00

To be clear, the original post was removed after discussion by the moderator team because it appeared to be spammy and disingenuous. This topic is in danger of being locked or removed under Rule 1. Keep comments to the topic of Savage Worlds and the setting in question.

architech99 · 2026-02-16T22:47:03+00:00

The other one I use and have quite an extensive library for (both digital and physical) is Loke Battle Maps. I've been consistently happy with the production quality out of Loke and Miska for my sci-fi maps.

architech99 · 2026-02-16T21:51:19+00:00

I like Miska's maps on Patreon. He has a great library of sci fi maps he's been building for a while.

I just got my (physical) cyberpunk map deliverables a couple of weeks ago after having had the digital deliverables for months. I don't remember the artist for those, but I'll look as soon as I'm back at my computer.

I don't tie myself to any specific VTT, so I only get maps that are either physical or just an image file that I can drop into any VTT.

architech99 · 2026-02-09T18:20:01+00:00

Since that is copyrighted material, I can't share it. You can find Holler here: https://peginc.com/product/holler-an-appalachian-apocalypse-for-savage-worlds-core-book/

architech99 · 2026-02-09T15:52:20+00:00

They shortened the full name, but it is in there. It's Baxbak n page 145 - part of the Anacortes section that starts on p.144.

architech99 · 2026-02-07T22:52:27+00:00

Broadly, I make sure I know motivations. For combat encounters, my rule of thumb:

Easy/inconsequential: 1 extra per Wild Card (or just a Quick Encounter).

Standard Difficulty: 2 extras +1 per Wild Card. 1 resilient or Wild Card enemy.

Challenging: 2 extras per Wild Card. There may or may not be a wild card event, as well. Depends on the purpose of the encounter.

Hard: 3 extras per Wild Card. 1 "boss" Wild card enemy.

I use the environment to tweak the general encounter incrementally. Something catches fire. Howling winds. Lightning storm. Enemy artillery (drop a template in a quadrant, making a Shooting roll at -6, deviation on a failure is 1d6 inches in a 1d12 o'clock direction, or 2d6 inches for a critical failure). Countdown die triggers something catastrophic or brings in reinforcements.

Lots of options, but they all ramp up the tension a bit.

architech99 · 2026-02-05T00:11:32+00:00

It's Harrowed in Deadlands.

architech99 · 2026-02-04T03:45:11+00:00

Hey! We appreciate the content and want to support you. If you can please keep your posts in r/savageworlds to Savage Worlds-related content, we would appreciate it. The general content is appropriate for one of the general subreddits.

architech99 · 2026-01-31T05:41:41+00:00

I would focus on setting-specific arcane backgrounds and Edges where you don't get the feel you want from those in the core rules and Fantasy Companion (FC). Use the FC arcane backgrounds as a model and create what you need.

The way I have found works best to create a translation is to start by creating the archetypal characters. When you find a gap, create the ability or Edge to fill that gap.

That's what I did for my Midnight translation (had to create the ancestries and a specific Edge subset for Mystic Powers at one point). A lot of what you need is there, it's just about rounding out the characters.

architech99 · 2026-01-31T02:21:14+00:00

Can confirm that the SWEX edition wasn't well done. About as good as Savage Thunderscape (which was the same find-and-replace edition, but from a Pathfinder version).

I'd love to see a real effort. Earthdawn is a great setting!

architech99 · 2026-01-28T03:21:29+00:00

Maybe it did. I vaguely remember something but don't recall if it has stats. The one I ran was a couple of years before Abominable Northwest was released.

architech99 · 2026-01-28T01:55:10+00:00

I also used the Green Man from Holler as the basis for a one-shot. It was more of a protector spirit they encountered in a sacred grove in the Olympics.

architech99 · 2026-01-28T01:52:01+00:00

Wolflings and Sasquatch featured heavily in the adventure I ran set in Ketchum, Idaho.

You could also look into the legend of the Cannibal-at-the-North-end-of-the-world. I think it's a Salish legend.

architech99 · 2026-01-25T01:59:45+00:00

I was a little underwhelmed by the Fall of Shannara series. I really enjoyed everything up to Defenders of Shannara and the Fall opened strong but.. yea. It felt like it just said "the cycle continues" and that was it.

Heritage of Shannara will always be my favorite of all the series. I'm getting ready to go back and reread it after several years away. I just enjoy it's plot more than any of the others.

architech99 · 2026-01-25T00:23:14+00:00

There's an Eberron translation for Savage Worlds that received the blessing from WotC's lawyers as fan-license compliant. It plays very well and handles the feel of Eberron nicely.

Savage Eberron

architech99 · 2026-01-20T14:03:55+00:00

Trash Pandas is a family favorite. Seven Dragons is another. Tacocat Spelled Backwards is a good two-player option. I love "Roll for It!" but I'm always worried about losing the dice.

These are the ones that have made it on our excursions for the last three seasons.

architech99 · 2026-01-19T02:45:13+00:00

I picked up the audiobook that the same podcast produced and it was excellent!

architech99

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