A Beginner's Guide to Savage Worlds (Chapter 4: Advanced Character Creation - Ancestries and Arcana)

Welcome back to my Beginner's Guide to Savage Worlds. Last week we talked about combat mechanics. This week, I'll be doing another character creation walkthrough (using mechanics I outlined here) to demonstrate how different ancestries affect the process. I'll also be looking at how magic works in this system.

I'll be using another build from Richard Woolcock's Fantasy Archetypes, but with a few tweaks; an elf mage called Salinaire.

Concept

Salinaire grew up in a coastal town and was apprenticed to a wizard when she was still young. But the wizard treated her more like a servant than a protégé, and she grew resentful. After her master was murdered, Salinaire became the prime suspect and was forced to flee. She changed her name and went on the road, seeking to develop her magic craft. But she’s afraid her past might catch up to her.

Ancestry

Salinaire is an elf, which grants her the following Ancestral Abilities:

• She starts with a free d6 in Agility, which reflects the elves' natural grace. She can also raise her Agility to a maximum of d12+1.
• She has Low Light Vision, which represents an ability to amplify light. This allows her to ignore penalties from Illumination when in Dim or Dark conditions (but not Pitch Darkness).
• Dim conditions (such as twilight or light fog) impose a -2 penalty to all actions and attacks dependent on vision
• Dark conditions (such as thick fog or a typical starry night) increase the penalty to -4. Furthermore, targets are not visible beyond 10" (20 yards).
• Pitch Darkness (which also includes hidden or invisible targets) increases the penalty to -6 and powers dependent on sight may not even be permitted at all.
• Finally, she has the All Thumbs Hindrance, which reflects an inherent dislike of machines. However, she doesn’t get any Hindrance Points from this. I'll explain why below.

All Ancestral Abilities have a point value, which can be positive or negative. In the vanilla rules, Ancestries have an allowance which grants them two points’ worth of Positive Ancestral Abilities. Anything in excess of that must be offset by Negative Ancestral Abilities of equal value. In the case of humans, the Adaptable ability costs two points, which is covered by the allowance. They don't have any other ancestral abilities, so they don't need to offset them.

In Salinaire’s case, it costs two points for the free d6 in Agility, and one point for Low Light Vision. The allowance covers the cost of the Attribute increase, but the Low Light Vision cost has be offset by a Negative Ancestral Ability worth one point. In this case, it’s an inherent Minor Hindrance. Since they're used to offset the cost of other Ancestral Abilities, you don't get Hindrance Points from any Hindrances inherent to your ancestry.

Hindrances

Let’s pick Salinaire’s Hindrances:

• As stated above, she begins with the All Thumbs Hindrance, which is inherent to her ancestry. This is a Minor Hindrance that imposes a -2 penalty on any Trait roll made to use mechanical devices, and she breaks the device on a Critical Failure. However, she doesn’t get any Hindrance Points from it since it was used to offset the cost of her Ancestral Abilities.
• For her first non-inherent Hindrance, we’ll that say that she has a grim determination to master the magical arts. This will translate to a Driven Hindrance. This can be Major or Minor, which represents how determined you are to achieve your goal, and how likely it is to cause trouble for the party. She’ll take it as a Minor Hindrance, meaning it pushes her actions but is fairly harmless. This gives her one Hindrance Point.
• For her next Hindrance, I’ll say that Salinaire’s determination to master her craft is combined with an insecurity that makes her resentful of more powerful mages (such as her former master). This will take the form of a Jealous Hindrance. Again, this can be Major or Minor, which determines whether your jealousy is over a specific matter, or just general envy. Since her jealousy is specifically focussed towards other magic users, that would be a Minor Hindrance. That’s another Hindrance Point gained.
• Speaking of her former master, Salinaire was accused of murdering him, which prompted her to assume her current identity. This will manifest as a Secret Hindrance. Once again, this can be Major or Minor, which represents how serious the consequences are if the secret is ever discovered. Being accused of murder is certainly going to be a Major Hindrance, so that gives her two Hindrance Points. If her true identity is ever revealed, then this will be exchanged for a Major Wanted Hindrance as she’s sought by the authorities.

Traits

Salinaire has the usual five Attribute Points, but she starts with a d6 in Agility, rather than d4.

• She invests three points into Smarts, bumping that up to a d10
• She invests one point each into Spirit and Vigour, bumping those up to a d6
• Her Agility will stay at d6, and her Strength will remain a d4

She has the usual 12 Skill Points, and a d4 in the five Core Skills.

• Core Skills: She’s going to invest one point to raise her Notice to a d6. Her other Core Skills will remain at d4.
• Spellcasting d10: This is an “arcane skill” linked to Smarts, which she rolls to activate powers. I’ll talk about that in a minute. That costs four points.
• Occult d8: This skill is linked to Smarts, and is rolled to recall knowledge of supernatural events, creatures, and practices. Her die type costs three points.
• Academics d6: This is also linked to Smarts, and is rolled to recall knowledge of literature, history, liberal arts, and social sciences. That costs two points.
• Fighting d4: That costs one point, and is mainly for her Parry.
• Research d4: This is a Smarts-linked skill, which represents her ability to find information from written sources. While Academics and Occult would be rolled to determine things she might already know, Research is rolled to actively look it up.
• Obtaining information through people is handled via Persuasion or Intimidation. This is covered through a mechanic known as Networking.

Edges

Salinaire's Hindrance Points will be spent on two Edges:

• Her first chosen Edge is Arcane Background (Magic). This gives her access to powers, which she has learned through study. I’ll talk about powers in a moment.
• Her other Edge is Luck. This means that she starts each session with four Bennies instead of three.

Derived Statistics

• Salinaire has the default Pace of 6 and a d6 running die
• With a d4 in Fighting, her Parry is 4
• Her Size is 0
• With a d6 in Vigour, her Toughness is 5

Gear

Salinaire has $500 for starting gear.

• She’ll spend $10 on a Staff. This deals Strength+d4 damage, and is Reach 1 (meaning that she can attack targets who are 1” away from her). It also grants her +1 Parry, increasing her total to 5 (1). However, it’s two-handed, meaning she has a -4 to attack rolls if wielding it with one hand.
• She’ll spend $30 on Cloth Robes, which grant her +1 Armour to the torso, arms, and legs. This increases her Toughness to 6 (1).
• She has $460 left, which she’ll keep.

Powers

Arcana in Savage Worlds uses a video game logic. Taking an Arcane Background Edge gives you powers, which cost Power Points to spend. Your specific Arcane Background determines three main elements:

• Arcane Skill: This is the skill you roll in order to activate powers. Using a power is an action, and uses standard Dice Mechanics. You have to be able to see the intended target. Failing an arcane skill roll has variable effects.
• If the die rolls less than 4 (excluding penalties), the power doesn't activate and you lose one Power Point
• If the die rolls 4 or higher, the power does activate and the full Power Point cost is paid, but it can still miss or be resisted
• On a Critical Failure, you suffer Backlash, which terminates all active powers and gives you a level of Fatigue.
• Power Points: The number of Power Points you start with (along with your maximum). These are spent to activate powers, and regenerate at a rate of five points per hour of rest. You can also spend a Benny at any time to recover 5 Power Points.
• Starting Powers: The number of powers you start with, and may include specific powers that all characters with that Arcane Background have by default. Some settings might dictate what powers are available to which Arcane Background
• Some Arcane Backgrounds may even come with additional special rules.

Salinaire's arcane skill is Spellcasting. She starts with 10 Power Points and three powers of her choosing.

Powers themselves all have the following stats:

• Rank: The minimum Rank at which the character can take the power
• Power Points: The minimum number of Power Points required to activate the power. 
• Powers can have Modifiers on individual castings, which increase the cost but provide further effects (such as increased Range or damage, Armour Piercing, or applying the effect to Additional Recipients). 
• Conversely, they can have Limitations (such as reduced Range or only one permitted aspect if the power has multiple aspects like boost/lower Trait or light/darkness), which reduce the cost, but apply to all castings. 
• If you don’t have enough Power Points to cast a power, you can Short it; you suffer a -1 penalty for each Power Point you’re short, and a failure is regarded as a Critical Failure.
• Range: The range at which you can activate a power. Examples include:
• Self: You can only cast the power on yourself
• Touch: You have to be able to physically touch the intended recipient
• Attribute: The power has a variable Range which is a number of inches equal to your die type in the listed Attribute (typically Smarts). 
• If a power’s Range is variable, you can apply Range Modifiers, doubling it by spending an additional Power Point, or tripling it for two additional Power Points.
• Duration: How long the power lasts. This could be Instant, or a specific duration. The typical duration of non-Instant powers is five rounds (approximately 30 seconds), and they expire at the end of your turn in the fifth round after the initial casting. This will be listed as "5". All Durations are listed in rounds unless explicitly stated.
• As a free action, non-Instant powers can be Maintained when they expire, keeping the effect going for their base Duration. This costs one Power Point for each person the power is currently affecting.
• Trapping: The physical effect of the power. You have to choose a specific Trapping for each power, and you’re limited to that Trapping.
• Powers in Savage Worlds are fairly generic, so variety is attained through Trappings. Different casters might have the same power, but they manifest as different Trappings. 
• For example: A wizard, a druid, and an alchemist all have the entangle power. The wizard casts a spell that freezes their target, the druid summons vines to restrain them, while the alchemist immobilises them with a glue bomb. Mechanically, all of these are the same power, but with different Trappings.
• Although Trappings are largely for flavour, they can sometimes be taken into account if the situation’s appropriate. For example, a lightning-based power might do bonus damage to a target in water, or a monster made of wood or ice would take extra damage from a fire-based power.

Anyway, let’s look at Salinaire’s powers:

• Bolt: This power is simply a ranged attack which deals 2d6 damage to a single target (or 3d6 on a raise). The Trapping will be a lightning bolt. This power costs one Power Point, has a Range equal to double her Smarts die (20”, or 40 yards), and the Duration is Instant.
• Deflection: This power imposes a -2 penalty to either ranged or melee attacks directed at the recipient. Salinaire has to declare what’s affected when she casts, but a raise on the casting affects both. The Trapping will be a force field that repels the attacks. This power costs two Power Points (plus one per Additional Recipient), has a Range equal to her Smarts die (10” or 20 yards), and the base Duration is five rounds.
• Illusion: This power allows her to create imaginary images, and other characters must make a Smarts roll to recognise them as such (at -2 if she got a raise). She’ll use the name “Conjure Mirage”. This power costs three Power Points, has a Range equal to her Smarts die, and the base Duration is five rounds.

That’s one offensive power, one defensive power, and one utilitarian power.

Advancement

Before I go, I'll give Salinaire four Advances to bump her up to Seasoned.

• Advance 1 – New Edge: She'll take Power Points. This gives her an additional 5 Power Points to spend on powers, increasing her total to 15. You can take this Edge more than once, but only once per Rank (in other words, she can’t take it again until her fourth Advance).
• Advance 2 – Attribute Increase: She raises her Smarts to d12. This also increases the Range of all her powers that have a Range of Smarts. This means that bolt can now be cast up to 24” (48 yards) away, while deflection and illusion can be cast up to 12” (24 yards) away.
• Advance 3 – Lesser Skill Increase: She raises her Fighting to a d6, and her Spellcasting to a d12. By raising her Fighting, she increases her Parry to 6 (1). If she hadn't increased her Smarts on the previous Advance, she would only be able to raise her Spellcasting, or her Fighting and another skill.
• Advance 4 – New Edge: For Salinaire’s first Seasoned Advance, she'll take New Powers. This Edge can be taken more than once, and allows you to learn two additional powers, or add new Trappings to existing powers. She'll take two Seasoned Rank Powers:
• Blast: Like bolt, this power is simply a ranged attack which deals 2d6 damage (or 3d6 on a raise), but does so in a Medium Blast Template (a 4” diameter circle). The Trapping will be a fireball. This power costs three Power Points, has a Range equal to double her Smarts die, and the Duration is Instant.
• Invisibility: This turns targets invisible, which imposes a -4 penalty to all actions against them dependent on vision (-6 with a raise). This power costs five Power Points (plus three per Additional Recipient), has a Range equal to her Smarts die, and the base Duration is five rounds.

Well, that's about it for today. Please join me again next week, where I'll discuss Advanced Combat Options.

Special thanks to Richard Woolcock for giving me permission to reference his characters. You can find his other works on DriveThruRPG here.

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