Savage Pathfinder provides a simple framework for your tales of adventure and glory. In this chapter we show you how to make basic skill and attribute checks—and make your combats Fast, Furious, and Fun!
Your hero (a player character), and unique allies, villains, and monsters are collectively called “Wild Cards.” These beings have a better chance at doing things, are a little tougher to put down, and are generally more detailed than common guards, minions, or lackeys—collectively called “Extras.”
Wild Cards are noted with a design of some sort before their name, like this:
In Pathfinder for Savage Worlds the Wild Card symbol is this distinctive dragon head.
Player characters are always Wild Cards. The Game Master must decide which of her nonplayer characters and monsters are Wild Cards. The sergeant of the city watch probably isn’t a Wild Card, but Sergeant Grimlock of the city watch may be. Skytch the dragon is also a Wild Card, though his three young wyrms aren’t.
Wild Cards are those who have stepped up to do more than most. They dare, aspire, and risk it all to be a hero—or a villain!
They have two special abilities in the game:
Wild Cards can take three Wounds before they’re Incapacitated.
Wild Cards get a Wild Die (usually a d6) along with their skill or attribute die when making Trait rolls and take the highest of the two as their total (see The Wild Die below).
To make a skill or attribute “check” or “roll,” simply roll the die assigned to it. If the result is a 4 or better (the “Target Number” or TN), the action is successful. For example, if a character’s Strength is a d6, he rolls a six-sided die. On a 4 or better, he’s successful.
Modifiers: Circumstances modify the die roll, such as shooting at something far away or finding a well-hidden clue. Some things, such as ranged attacks, have standard modifiers. It’s up to the GM to determine any modifiers for more subjective tasks, such as spotting an ambush or eavesdropping on a conversation through a door.
In general, an easy task, such as finding tracks in the mud, is made at +2. A difficult task, such as finding tracks by torchlight, is made at -2. A very difficult task, such as finding tracks in a rainstorm, is made at -4.
Multiple Dice: When rolling multiple dice, such as when firing two arrows with the Rapid Shot Edge, check each die separately.
For Extras, roll a single die when making a Trait roll. For Wild Cards, roll an extra d6 and take the highest of their Trait die or the “Wild Die.” Both of these dice can Ace (see below).
One Wild Die Per Action: When rolling multiple dice for a single action, roll only one Wild Die. It may replace a Trait die or be ignored—it never adds another action or attack to the roll.
Example: A fighter has the Frenzy Edge. Roll an extra Fighting die when making a melee attack along with a Wild Die. Only two of his dice can cause hits since the Wild Die can only replace a die, not add another attack.
All Trait and damage rolls in Savage Pathfinder are open-ended. That means that when you roll the highest number possible on a die (a 6 on a d6, an 8 on a d8, and so on), you get to roll that die again and add it to the total. This is called an “Ace.” Any modifiers to the die roll should be tacked on after adding up an Aced roll.
Example: A rogue attempts to leap a dangerous ice chasm. She’s a Wild Card with a d8 in Athletics, so roll a d8 and a d6 and take the highest result. In this case, both dice Ace (8 on the d8 and 6 on the d6). The d8 is rolled again and it gets a 4 for a total of 12 on the d8. The d6 is rolled again and gets another 6, followed by a 2—that’s a total of 14 on the Wild Die. The wily rogue leaps the chasm with ease!
Sometimes it’s important to know just how successful a Trait roll was. Every 4 points over the Target Number is called a “raise.” If your hero needs a 4 to shoot an opponent and an 11 is rolled, he hits with a raise. Figure raises after adjusting for any modifiers.
A raise always provides an additional effect of some sort, such as bonus damage when attacking or a benefit determined by the GM for other rolls.
Sometimes rolls are “opposed” by an opponent. The attacker gets a Trait total, then the defender attempts to beat it.
The exact skills or attributes used in a contest are specified in each circumstance, or the GM can decide what makes the most sense. If two characters try to pull something from each other’s hands, for example, they make opposed Strength rolls. Sneaking up on someone is a Stealth roll opposed by Notice (which is detailed in the Stealth skill description).
The acting character in an opposed roll always makes the Trait total first (including spending any Bennies), and must get at least a basic success (TN 4) or he fails. The defender rolls next and must meet or exceed the first character’s result or the attacker wins.
The winner also uses the opponent’s total for purposes of determining raise effects.
A Critical Failure occurs when a 1 is rolled on both the Trair die and Wild Die of a Trait roll. The attempt automatically fails and something bad happens—a weapon is dropped or gets stuck, the attack hits a friend, the vehicle crashes, spells misfire (see Backlash), and so on.
Critical Failures cannot be rerolled by any means, even with Bennies.
Extras and Critical Failures: If an Extra gets a 1 on a Trait check and it’s important to know if it’s a Critical Failure, such as when casting a spell, roll a d6. On a 1, it’s a Critical Failure. Otherwise it’s just a normal failure.
Multiple Dice: Some abilities allow rolls with multiple Trait dice, such as the Frenzy Edge or firing a weapon with a Rate of Fire higher than 1. A Critical Failure with multiple dice occurs when more than half the die results are a natural 1. If the character is a Wild Card, the Wild Die must be a 1 as well.
Example: A fighter with the Frenzy Edge rolls two Fighting dice and one Wild Die. If two or more of the dice come up 1s, including the Wild Die, it’s a Critical Failure.
If a character doesn’t have a skill for an action he’s attempting, roll a d4 for his skill die (and a Wild Die if a Wild Card) and subtract 2 from the total.
The GM may decide certain tasks cannot be attempted unskilled, such as repairing a steam engine or piloting an airship.
Some Edges or abilities allow a character to reroll Traits (as long as they’re not a Critical Failure). To do so, roll all the dice again and get a new total. You may keep any set you like unless you roll a Critical Failure. This ends all rerolls immediately and becomes the result of the attempt—that’s the risk one takes in pushing the limits!
Multiple rerolls may be granted from different Edges, Bennies, or other abilities.
When the GM wants to make a Trait roll for a group of Extras with like Traits, roll one Trait die as usual along with a Wild Die and treat this as the group’s result. This gives a decent average without making rolls for every individual.
Example: A group of soldiers attempts to pass by an enemy encampment. The GM rolls their Stealth die (a d6) and a Wild Die and takes the best of the two as the soldiers’ total.
Every now and then, die rolls may not work in your favor. That’s why Savage Pathfinder gives players a little control over their hero’s fate.
Player characters start each game session with three “Bennies” (American slang for “benefits”), represented by poker chips, gaming stones, the official Bennies we make for all of our games, or other tokens that signify a little bit of good luck or fate. Bennies are discarded at the end of each session—use them or lose them!
Combat: If a session ends in the middle of combat or other dramatic event, wait until it’s resolved in the next session before giving out new Bennies.
GM Rewards: Bennies are earned during the game in two ways:
Awards: The Game Master should occasionally reward players for clever actions, roleplaying their character (especially any Hindrances), or great feats of heroism.
She can also award players a Benny for telling a great story in character, delivering a fantastic line that makes everyone laugh, or creating an emotional moment.
Joker's Wild: When a player character draws a Joker during combat, all player characters receive a Benny! If the players get both Jokers everyone gets two Bennies!
Game Masters start each session with a pool of one Benny per player character. These may be used by any of her characters (including non-Wild Cards!).
The GM’s Wild Cards also have Bennies of their own, a base of three modified by their Edges and Hindrances. They can use these or any of the Bennies in the common pool as the GM wishes.
Joker's Wild: Anytime the villains draw a Joker, put one Benny in their general pool and give another to each enemy Wild Card.
Bennies may be spent at any appropriate time and don’t incur any sort of penalty. They may only be used for your own character.
Here are the ways players can use Bennies.
Reroll a Trait: Bennies grant a hero a reroll on any Trait (see Rerolls, above).
Recover From Shaken: This is instant and may be done at any time, even interrupting another’s actions if desired. See Shaken.
Recover Power Points: A character with an Arcane Background, Mystic Powers, or any other ability that grants Power Points can spend a Benny as a free action to recover five Power Points.
Soak Rolls: Bennies can be used to prevent Wounds or recover from being Shaken. See Soak Rolls for more information.
Draw a New Action Card: When the game is in rounds, a character can spend a Benny to get a new Action Card. This occurs after all cards are dealt and Edges or Hindrances like Quick, Level Headed, or Hesitant are resolved. Then players or the GM may spend Bennies for an additional card as many times as they like and take their choice of all their draws. Edges like Quick or Level Headed do not apply to these additional cards drawn with Bennies. This continues until everyone (including the GM) passes. Then the round begins and no further cards may be drawn.
Reroll Damage: You may spend a Benny to reroll damage. Include any additional dice you may have gained for a raise on the attack roll.
Influence the Story: This one is entirely up to the Game Master, who may allow a character to spend a Benny to find an additional clue if you’re stuck, come up with some mundane but needed item, or push a nonplayer character into being a bit more agreeable.
Example: The party is adrift on a storm-tossed sea. None of the characters purchased navigational equipment, but Harsk the ranger had been aiding their doomed captain through the previous encounters.
Harsk's player asks the Game Master if he might have been given his own compass and maps while aiding the captain, and might still have them in his bag. The GM agrees—for a Benny. Harsk suddenly remembers the tools in his pack and turns the boat toward shore.
It takes a few games to figure out how many Bennies you should award players during a session. In general, we recommend you be fairly free with them, especially early in the game. If someone makes everyone laugh (and isn’t distracting the flow of the game), toss the player a Benny. When players roleplay a Hindrance, reward them. When someone does something clever or heroic or imaginative, acknowledge it with a Benny.
Some GMs worry the game will become too easy if Bennies are too common, but we find the opposite is true. When Bennies are plentiful, players often spend them on trivial things that are important to them. Maybe the rogue really wants to pick the lock on a chest. There’s nothing particularly valuable inside and the player probably knows it, but the character is the rogue and wants to prove it to the rest of the party.
When Bennies are scarce, however, players tend to save them for injuries, death, or taking out the big bads. That’s fine, but takes away from the fun and heroics that got them to this point. Savage Pathfinder is about big action and players should be encouraged to take chances. The “currency” of these chances are those Bennies.
Veteran Savage Worlds GMs might also notice Bennies tend to flow fairly fast early on in a session. The group is settling in, laughing, and are rewarded for roleplaying their Hindrances the first time or two. In the mid-to-late game, Bennies tend to be spent faster than they’re gained. That’s a fantastic pace. It gives the heroes opportunities to do big things in the early and mid-game then forces some critical resource management for the final showdown.
If you find yourself being stingy, go the other way the next time you run and see how it affects your group. Then you’ll know what’s right for you and your friends.
Conviction is a special award granted when a character experiences a great and meaningful victory; or a painful and catastrophic misfortune. Either drives the hero to increase her efforts, giving her inner strength she can draw on in the most desperate situations.
Like Bennies, players should receive a physical token of some sort to note their Conviction. The tokens can be spent at any time to add a d6 to all the character’s Trait and damage totals until the beginning of her next turn. This die can Ace, and its result is added to the final total.
Conviction Tokens don't stack, but the bonus may be maintained from round to round by spending a Benny at the start of the character's turn. Once Conviction lapses, however, the effect ends.
Conviction Tokens aren’t Bennies and can’t be used as such. They are kept between sessions, however, and a hero can have more than one Conviction Token at a time.
Refresh: A hero may also spend Conviction to trigger or refresh abilities that are usually only usable once per session, day, encounter, and so on, even if they’ve already been used.