TEXT: For All Things Savage
  Technology at the Table
  Issue #8
  April 2013
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  1
  FEATURES
  4 
  General Interest: Gone Digital - If you’re planning on relying on
  digital tools for tabletop role-playing, Gone Digital discusses what’s
  available and what it’s used for.
  6 
  Featured Product: Hero Lab - Possibly one of the most popular
  character creation and management tools out there, Hero Lab has
  plenty of support for Savage Worlds.
  10 
  Great Stories: Omicron - Technology isn’t just for weapons and
  vehicles. Delve into the first part of this technical world.
  14
  Great Adventures: Genesis - Curtis Lyon takes you into the world
  of Shanghai Vampocalypse in this introductory adventure module.
  20
  Equipment Corral: Steamscapes - Need more steampunk? Check-
  out this steampunk-themed equipment for universal use.
  24
  Charcter Gallery: Cecil Defaust - When the world around him
  became bleak, Cecil Defaust turned to his engineering abilities to
  build steam- and clockwork-powered devices to fight the evil.
  30
  Great Adventures: Corroders and Amalgams - Find out what
  stirs in this cyberpunk adventure.
  38
  Designer’s Diary: Wild Card Creator - Here’s an inside look at the
  newest character creation program for Savage Worlds.
  40
  Character Gallery: Strike Force 7 - A collection of characters for
  quick incorporation into your action-packed Strike Force 7 games.
  COPYRIGHT
  This magazine 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. Shadowed Earth is © Mystical
  Throne Entertainment. Savage Insider is published quarterly by Mystical Throne
  Entertainment.
  © 2013 Mystical Throne Entertainment. All rights reserved.
  MYL10201 Savage Insider Issue #8: Technology at the Table
  Revised 1st Edition November, 2013
  Permission is granted to print this ebook. No site license is provided.
  REGULARS
  2 
  From the Designer
  44 
  In the News
  45 
  Calendar of Events
  CONTENTS
  14
  24
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  2 | For All Things Savage
  FROMTHEDESIGNER
  Technology at the
  Table
  Savage Insider
  APRIL 2013
  ISSUE #8: Technology at the Table
  DESIGNER
  Vickey A. Beaver
  EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
  Aaron T. Huss
  ASSISTANT EDITOR
  Vickey A. Beaver
  MARKETING ASSISTANT
  Vickey A. Beaver
  CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS
  Vickey A. Beaver, Brett Boyko, Will
  Herrmann, Aaron T. Huss, Curtis Lyon,
  Mariah Malczewska, Hyrum Savage,
  Eric Simon, Phil Vecchione
  COVER ARTIST
  Kieran Yanner
  INTERIOR ARTISTS
  Kelsey Morse-Brown, Inkrod, Kai,
  Rojas, Rub_a_Duckie
  SUBMISSIONS
  Send submissions to:
  aaron@mysticalthrone-ent.com
  ADVERTISING
  Send advertising inquiries to:
  aaron@mysticalthrone-ent.com
  ONLINE
  savageinsideronline.com
  mysticalthrone-ent.com
  technology has altered his gaming in an
  outline of the transition from the days
  when pen and paper was the only real
  option to today where there are more
  electronic RPG titles than those in print
  in Gone Digital.
  And in a departure from our usual focus
  on game design, this issue’s Designer’s
  Diary gives us our first in-depth Q & A
  on a gaming tool. Will Herrmann tells us
  all about coming up with Wild Card
  Creator, a project he was able to
  undertake thanks to Kickstarter, in
  itself, a whole new way to leverage
  technology for creators.
  While the temptation was great to pull
  an April Fool’s joke on you, I’ve
  managed to refrain. Here’s to the start
  of spring and the hope that you enjoy
  this issue from cover to cover.
  Have a great day!
  Welcome to the
  April edition of
  Savage Insider! While we didn’t net any
  reviews on DriveThruRPG for Issue 7:
  End of Days, we did garner a five-star
  rating, for which we thank you.
  This eighth issue, Technology at the
  Table, takes a look at technology as it
  pertains to the real-life act of gaming,
  as well as technology within the
  settings we play. I had a terrific time
  editing the submissions. I’m always
  intrigued by what people turn in, but
  this one was different.
  I could really connect with a lot of the
  material as technology as a concept
  transcends any particular genre or play
  style. We get to hear what a wide
  variety of Savages have to say on the
  subject in Tabletop Tech Today. Phil
  Vecchione delivers a look at how
  CONTRIBUTORS
  By Vickey A. Beaver
  CURTIS LYON
  Curtis Lyon is a line developer at
  Savage Mojo and Gun Metal Games
  along with being one of the three
  sages from Three Sages Games. He is
  also a regular freelancer for Mystical
  Throne Entertainment.
  BRETT BOYKO
  Brett Boyko, and Mariah
  Malczewska, are the designers
  behind Dark Smile Games. They are
  currently developing the Fae
  Nightmares urban fantasy setting for
  Savage Worlds.
  PHIL VECCHIONE
  Phil Vecchione is one of the brains
  behind Engine Publishing and the
  ENnie Nominated Never
  Unprepared.
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  3
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  4 | For All Things Savage
  GENERAL INTEREST
  Gone Digital
  By Phil Vecchione of Engine Publishing
  In the back of my gaming room is a clear
  plastic storage box full of empty binders;
  an elephant graveyard of various ring siz-
  es, materials, and quality. Before they
  found their fate in the back corner of my
  gaming room, they were once the bear-
  ers of all my campaign materials. They
  held the secrets of my campaigns, the
  notes for my sessions, maps of lands
  strange and not so strange, and a gallery
  of NPCs and monsters. They were deco-
  rated with stickers and printouts of rule-
  book covers. They had a sacred spot at
  my gaming table to my right, behind my
  GM screen, for easy reference. That was
  before I got my first laptop and went dig-
  ital.
  GOING DIGITAL
  The transition for me from paper to digi-
  tal was quick and painless. Computers
  were a hobby of mine, from back when
  most people considered them a hobby.
  As an IT professional for nearly 20 years,
  I have always been very comfortable with
  technology, using it on a daily basis. I am
  also a fast typist and a lousy speller; in
  other words a natural candidate for word
  processing.  Before I had a laptop, any
  game prep I could do on a computer had
  to be done at my desk in my office, print-
  ed, and put into one of the binders. For a
  time, it was a reasonable compromise.
  When I got my laptop, that all changed.
  Not only could I compose my session
  notes directly on the laptop, but I could
  soon replace my GM’s screen at the ta-
  ble. Within my laptop were my session
  notes, PDFs of all the major tables for the
  game, all the rulebooks, and a music li-
  brary for background music.  It was size-
  able, taking up a portion of my GMing
  space - as well as room in my gaming bag
  - but it was also performing a number of
  tasks for me. For a few years, that was my
  GMing setup, sitting at the table with my
  laptop to my right, as my GM screen and
  notes.
  The arrival of the iPad signaled a major
  shift in how we interacted with digital
  data. I was fortunate enough to get an
  iPad shortly after its release, and I started
  to look at how it could be applied to
  gaming. With a little experimentation, I
  found a place for my iPad at the gaming
  table.
  CREATE AND
  CONSUME
  The major difference between laptops
  and tablets is that laptops (as well as
  desktops) are more suited for creation.
  With larger screens, more robust hard-
  ware and software, and dedicated input
  devices, the laptop is still a great plat-
  form to create material such as notes,
  characters, and maps.
  Tablets, on the other hand, are not as
  robust when it comes to creating materi-
  al, but are a superior platform for con-
  suming it. With their smaller forms they
  sit well in the hand, and their touch-
  screens make maneuvering over material
  feel natural.  Tablets are easier to trans-
  port in your gaming bag, and can often
  last a whole game without being plugged
  in.
  Rather than pick one platform and fight
  its weaknesses, I chose a hybrid solution
  embracing each of their strengths. I use
  my laptop for creating the prep for my
  game, and my tablet for using the
  prepped material when I am running.
  Create: Session Prep & Cam-
  paign Management
  Building on the strengths for creation, I
  do all my prep on my laptop.  My current
  setup has my laptop hooked to a 24”
  monitor with a Bluetooth mouse and key-
  board. It gives me great screen real es-
  tate to have a few windows open at the
  same time, so that I can do research
  while I’m writing.  Below are the work-
  horse tools I use for getting my prep done.
  DROPBOX
  This application and service is the glue of
  my prep system. First, it is the repository
  where I keep all my campaign materials:
  notes, graphics, PDFs, and other assorted
  files. Second, it has cloud storage with
  version control, meaning if my computer
  gets stolen or dies, my prep is safe and
  recoverable. Third, it syncs to all my oth-
  er devices. This will be important when
  we get to the iPad. Without Dropbox I
  would have either remained on my lap-
  top, or have to manage manually trans-
  ferring files from device to device.
  Alternatives: Skydrive, Google Drive,
  Box.net
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  5
  ONENOTE
  For a number of years, Microsoft
  OneNote has been my workhorse of cam-
  paign management and session prep.
  OneNote’s open format allows me to cre-
  ate text, sidebars, inline graphics, draw-
  ings, etc. - all in one application. Its
  binder like interface makes it easy to cre-
  ate tabs and pages to organize my cam-
  paign material and create session notes.
  I have tabs for the major sections of the
  campaign: NPCs, Story, Organizations,
  etc. I then have separate tabs for each
  session’s notes. This is really the closest
  to my old campaign binders I have found
  in the digital world.
  Alternatives: Evernote, The Keep, Realm
  Works (coming Q3 2013).
  HERO LAB
  I have always dreaded making NPCs,
  monsters, and the like. I find it to be the
  most time consuming part of prep. In
  many cases, I try to find shortcuts around
  this step by pulling stats from other sup-
  plements, re-skinning NPCs I have made
  in the past, or creating wireframes of
  stats. When I found that Hero Lab had a
  Savage Worlds component, I was sold.
  Now I can create NPCs quickly and accu-
  rately, and transfer the stat block right
  into OneNote. For convention games, I
  can also create the PCs along with a read-
  able character sheet for each one.
  Alternatives: Metacreator
  Consume: Running Sessions
  When it comes time to get behind the
  screen and run my sessions, I like to
  switch to the iPad. The iPad is only a little
  bigger than my Savage Worlds: Explorer’s
  Edition, and is easy to hold and view dur-
  ing the session. The iPad fits nicely be-
  hind my screen, leaving plenty of room
  for my dice, bennies, and cards. Here is
  the list of apps that allow me to run my
  sessions:
  OUTLINE+
  This app is able to connect to Dropbox
  and read and edit Microsoft OneNote
  files. This allows me to take all my prep
  done on OneNote and read it directly
  from my tablet. The conversion is true,
  and all the content in OneNote is accessi-
  ble. Should I need to edit any of the con-
  tent, it will sync back to Dropbox and my
  changes will be available when I get back
  to my laptop.
  Alternatives: OneNote for iPad
  GOODREADER
  This app is a PDF organizer and reader. It
  organizes your PDFs into folders, syncs to
  Dropbox and all other major cloud servic-
  es, and allows for annotation of PDFs. I
  have Goodreader loaded with all my Sav-
  age Worlds books for referencing any
  rulebook or setting in an instant. This
  keeps my bag light, since I don’t have to
  lug around all my books to a game.
  Alternatives: Dicebook, iBooks
  DOCSCANHDPRO
  I take a lot of notes during a game. After
  the game is over, I want any notes I have
  taken to be in my OneNote repository.
  Rather than typing them all in, I use this
  app to scan my handwritten notes. I can
  save the file into Dropbox as either PDF
  or JPEG, and then upload that file into
  OneNote when I get back to my laptop.
  Alternatives: Built-in Camera, Skitch
  THINGS I CANNOT
  CONVERT
  For all the things I have converted to
  digital, there are a few things that I can-
  not give up, despite the fact that pro-
  grams and apps exist to replace them.
  There are two major ones I cannot (or
  won’t) convert to digital.
  DICE
  There are a number of dice rolling apps
  and programs, some of which are very
  good, but for me, there is nothing like
  rolling dice. I love the feel and sound of
  dice, especially for Savage Worlds, and
  like to roll them in the open when I am
  running sessions. Doing that from my iP-
  ad would be difficult, plus I would have to
  switch from app to app frequently during
  a session.
  INDEX CARDS
  There are a number of index card applica-
  tions as well as note taking applications
  for tablets, but when I run a session I like
  to have a stack of index cards. I use index
  cards to track Bennies for NPCs, jot down
  notes that come up during the game, and
  for convention games, I use them as
  name tents. Index cards are cheap and
  portable and fit well into the kit of mate-
  rials I bring when I run my Savage Worlds
  games.
  Do Androids Do Electric
  Prep?
  The digital platform will only become
  easier to use with more time. The differ-
  ence between the laptop and tablet is
  already breaking down, and the ability to
  create from the tablet platform is becom-
  ing easier. It is possible that in a few
  years, my laptop may be sitting on top of
  that plastic storage box of binders, as
  another extinct member of the evolution
  of my game prep systems.
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  6 | For All Things Savage
  FEATURED PRODUCT
  Hero Lab
  By Aaron T. Huss
  Electronic character creator and advancement program.
  When it comes to generating characters,
  there’s nothing more exciting than com-
  ing up with an idea and putting it to pa-
  per. You pour over what Attributes best
  fit your character concept, which Skills
  that concept would utilize, and what Edg-
  es and Hindrances best match the overall
  design of the character. Putting this to
  paper can be easy enough, but what hap-
  pens if you change your mind or when it’s
  time for advances? Simply erase it, right?
  How many times do you erase it before
  there’s a gaping hole in your paper?
  Now that you have your character ready,
  you hand the sheet off to the GM who
  quickly informs you the character is inval-
  id. You either spent too many points or
  didn’t do the linked Skills die type math
  appropriately. Back to the drawing board
  and back to the eraser. Maybe you can
  just print a new sheet and start over.
  Spending time fixing your mistakes takes
  away from the excitement and breaks
  the flow of the character creation pro-
  cess. No one wants to take the character
  to the table, only to have the GM reject
  it. Even though character development in
  Savage Worlds is relatively simple, the
  possibility of making a mistake is present.
  Instead of the continuous paper grind,
  you can turn to computer programs
  Many electronic character sheets allow
  you to input a value, but require the user
  to do the resulting math and keep in
  mind what is valid and what is not. They
  rarely have the brains to inform the user
  what options are valid according to their
  character’s build. This is extremely im-
  portant in Savage Worlds given the num-
  ber of prerequisites for Edges and when
  it comes to calculating the cost to ad-
  vance a skill, which is tied to the die type
  of the linked Attribute. If you forget a
  detail, you may end up with an invalid
  character build.
  Hero Lab, developed by Lone Wolf Devel-
  opment, is a character creation and man-
  agement program. Although this may not
  be the overall tagline, that’s what I’m
  calling it. This means that Hero Lab is not
  an electronic character sheet that does
  nothing more than allow you to type up a
  character on your computer and print
  out the resulting character sheet. In-
  stead, it has intelligence built into it to
  allow you to create a character electroni-
  cally, calculating any basic math involved,
  providing all applicable options according
  the character’s stats, alerting you when
  an error is found, and providing an inter-
  face to advance the character through-
  out his career. And you can print the
  resulting character sheet. What goes into
  Hero Lab helps it truly stand-out as a high
  quality piece of software.
  Software Package
  At its core, Hero Lab is a shell. This shell
  features a software package that allows
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  7
  for the creation of intelligent character
  management tools used for the tabletop
  role-playing game industry. For only $30,
  you get the Hero Lab license along with
  any free modules and what’s referred to
  as the Authoring Kit. (The Authoring Kit
  allows you to use Hero Lab’s program-
  ming language to create your own char-
  acter management module.) From here,
  you can purchase or download modules
  pertaining to specific games. Savage
  Worlds is a free module included in the
  price of the Authoring Kit.
  Installing the Savage Worlds module al-
  lows you to create Savage Worlds charac-
  ters from the core rulebook. As an added
  bonus, you can download free Pinnacle
  Entertainment Group plug-in modules
  through the Hero Lab interface. Dead-
  lands: Reloaded, Rippers, Solomon Kane,
  Deadlands Noir, and Hell on Earth: Re-
  loaded are currently available for free
  download through this interface. Upon
  launching Hero Lab, you’ll come to a con-
  figuration screen that allows those free
  plug-ins to be used, which then allow you
  to use the included Edges, Hindrances,
  skills, and equipment to create Savage
  Worlds characters for those settings.
  For an additional $8 each, or $20 for the
  set, you can purchase the plug-in mod-
  ules for the Savage Worlds Fantasy, Hor-
  ror, and Super Powers Companion books.
  With the addition of these plug-ins, you
  can use the included character options to
  make a huge array of characters covering
  all the Companion genres and those from
  the included settings.
  User Interface
  After installing the Savage Worlds mod-
  ule and whatever plug-ins desired, Hero
  Lab easily launches into the Savage
  Worlds user interface. This user interface
  is fairly straight-forward and easy to nav-
  igate. There is a set of tabs on the top
  that bring you to the different character
  management options, including space to
  add your own background and character
  flavor.
  One thing to notice is how Hero Lab
  keeps track of how many points are avail-
  able to spend on your character during
  creation. These points change during
  character advancement, as noted later.
  The distribution of these points is de-
  signed to mimic how they are used within
  the Savage Worlds core mechanics. This
  is done by representing character stats
  with a picture of the die type behind the
  number. From here, you can set your
  character Attributes following the stan-
  dard character creation process. If any
  errors occur, they are flagged in red with-
  in the user interface.
  While manipulating the character’s Attri-
  butes, note that derived traits and other
  stats are appropriately modified. This
  goes back to the design of Hero Lab
  where it does the math for you and en-
  sures accuracy.
  Once Attributes are established, you can
  navigate to skills or Edges to add any
  additional details. It would make the
  most sense to do your skills first when
  using Hero Lab as Edges with prerequi-
  sites not met will be flagged as errors.
  This doesn’t prevent you from selecting
  that Edge, but it will appear as a Warning
  throughout the creation process. Howev-
  er, if you wish to gain a particular Edge
  and don’t know its prerequisites, hover-
  ing over that Edge or reading the descrip-
  tion field while choosing it displays that
  prerequisite. Once again, Hero Lab is pro-
  viding the detailed tools for you to man-
  age your character without having to
  continuously refer to the book.
  Skills points are distributed appropriately
  according to the standard Savage Worlds
  character creation. That means Hero Lab
  automatically does the conversion from
  what die types cost one point and which
  ones cost two. If you adjust your Attri-
  butes while setting your skills, the recal-
  culations are done automatically and skill
  points are deducted accordingly. This is
  another mistake-proofing method of
  Illustration © Aleksandr Bryliaev/Shutterstock.com
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  8 | For All Things Savage
  FEATURED PRODUCT
  character creation as you can easily
  tweak the settings to achieve whatever
  goal you have in mind. If an error is en-
  countered, it will be flagged as a Warning
  and highlighted in red. This can be a com-
  mon mistake when performing character
  creation on paper. Once you choose what
  skills are desired, set the die type the
  same way it is set with the Attributes.
  Choosing Edges and Hindrances can be a
  little trickier. If you have chosen human
  for your character race, you will only
  have one Edge available to choose. Re-
  member that in the core Savage Worlds
  character creation, you choose Hindranc-
  es for your character to gain the opportu-
  nity to take additional Edges, gain an
  Attribute point, or other bonuses. After
  choosing your Hindrances within Hero
  Lab, you gain the opportunity to add Re-
  wards to the character. These Rewards
  translate to the additional points avail-
  able to spend for whatever is desired
  during character creation.  Choose what
  Reward you’d like to take and that fea-
  ture will now come available (such as
  adding two more Edges).
  Throughout the process of choosing
  skills, Edges, and Hindrances, all derived
  Traits or skill modifiers appear in the user
  interface. For instance, if you choose
  Alertness, your Notice will display with a
  “+2” after the die type. Additionally,
  when you choose your gear, the appro-
  priate changes are displayed within the
  user interface, giving a visual confirma-
  tion of the character in addition to the
  mistake-proofing built into Hero Lab.
  When choosing an Arcane Background
  Edge, new options open up to add Pow-
  ers to the character along with noting her
  total Power Points.
  Create NPC
  Besides creating player characters, Hero
  Lab also offers the creation of NPCs. This
  creation process is much more flexible
  than PC creation as it allows for an unlim-
  ited distribution of points. Basically, you
  can break the rules for NPCs. This should
  be used cautiously, though, as you may
  result in creating a very broken character
  or one that is truly unbelievable. Just
  because you can set Strength to d12 on
  your photographer, doesn’t mean you
  should. However, this does allow the GM
  to create much more flexible characters
  that don’t need to worry about the rules
  nearly as much and can be created to
  square-off with the PCs in a deadly battle!
  Create Creature
  A third option exists to create creatures
  using Hero Lab. With this configuration,
  you can choose the creature type from
  the “Select Creature Type” drop-down
  menu which then fills in all fields as pre-
  sented in the appropriate book. For in-
  stance, if you choose Minotaur as found
  in the core rulebook, all fields are popu-
  lated per what’s found in the core rule-
  book. From here, you can make changes
  to that creature to create something
  unique.
  Creating creatures is even more flexible
  than creating NPCs. For instance, you can
  set an Attribute to higher than d12 (such
  as d12+2) and instead of choosing just
  Edges and Hindrances, you can choose
  from a number of Monstrous Abilities.
  However, there are fewer error-checking
  calculations here, and you can truly go
  crazy when building a creature.
  Limitations
  Hero Lab does have one major limitation:
  unless you know how to code your own
  settings, they will not be available for
  selection during character or creature
  creation. This is a large factor when it
  comes to creating unique creatures. If
  your setting only adds new types of
  Knowledge, this is handled within Hero
  Lab, but if your setting adds new types of
  Edges, Hindrances, or Abilities, those will
  not be available without creating your
  own plug-ins. This is one significant bene-
  fit to using standard paper creation
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  9
  FEATURED PRODUCT
  methods as you have the flexibility to do
  whatever you want.
  Part of why you cannot simply add these
  options in as generic specialties (such as
  when choosing a Knowledge type) is be-
  cause they have mechanics utilized by
  Hero Lab that either don’t exist or are not
  available in the program code. However,
  there are a large number of options avail-
  able and with the addition of the Com-
  panion books, you can definitely create a
  large array of creatures and character
  types.
  Character Management
  Once you have created your characters,
  you can now fully manage them through-
  out their careers, in and out of game-
  play. Hero Lab has an In-Play function
  that allows you to track a character’s
  Shaken status, Wounds, Fatigue, Ben-
  nies, and in-game modifiers. You can also
  adjust Gear and Power Points when ap-
  plicable.
  Additionally, you can perform all types of
  character advancements using the Ad-
  vances setting, which allows you to add
  experience points and then apply the
  chosen Reward upon each XP milestone.
  Again, the math is done automatically
  along with continued mistake-proofing.
  Wrap-up
  Hero Lab is a complete package. It is
  more than just an electronic character
  sheet, and it performs all the calculations
  necessary to keep your character valid.
  You can then manage that character in-
  game and throughout his entire career.
  For GMs, Hero Lab offers additional op-
  tions by providing tools to create NPCs
  and creatures.
  For those who like using Hero Lab outside
  of their gaming sessions simply as a way
  to track their characters and ensure their
  calculations are valid, you can save each
  created character sheet as a PDF or print
  it from Hero Lab (as a PDF output). It is
  truly a powerful product with lots of op-
  tions and can help anybody create and
  manage their characters throughout
  their entire careers.
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  10 | For All Things Savage
  GREAT STORIES
  Omicron
  “I want her locked down, and I want it
  done now!” the angry, grey-faced man
  yelled at his wiry compatriot furiously
  typing in front of a large monitor.
  “I’m on it! I’m on it!” he responded, his
  pace barely slowing as the off-white
  characters raced across the black back-
  ground. His volume was half as loud, and
  his tone was pointed.
  “How did she get in?” the first one de-
  manded.
  “Through Pontinski’s firewall,” the key-
  boardist answered, as if on auto-pilot.
  “In English!” the man exclaimed as he
  slammed his hand on the desk, nearly
  toppling a coffee cup in the process.
  “She’s got an access token.” He turned
  from the screen enough to look the
  hawk of a man questioning him straight
  in the eye. “Just like you, like Pontinski,
  like two thousand others in this opera-
  tion.”
  “I thought those damned things were
  supposed to stop this from happening.”
  “They help.” He directed his attention
  back to his keyboard, and swore.
  “What’s that?” The grey man fingered
  the screen where a red square had ap-
  peared in the top right corner. “That
  wasn’t here before.”
  The specialist reached for a second pan-
  el that was raised at an angle next to the
  monitor. “I know.”  Through gritted
  teeth he simply said, “Move,” as he
  bulled the grey face away. He really
  didn’t want to answer the question. He
  By Vickey A. Beaver
  knew what it was. He didn’t like it.
  “Code 1,” he all but muttered, hoping
  any response would buy him more time
  between useless commentary and que-
  ries.
  Another screen appeared, this one dis-
  played on a glass that required him to
  stand to manipulate it. With impressive
  speed, he tapped through menus initiat-
  ing directives so fast the other man
  couldn’t keep up. He sat abruptly, caus-
  ing the chair to complain. He drummed
  his will into the keys, command after
  command appearing and disappearing
  as the seconds passed.
  The keyboardist focused intently on
  what it meant, ignoring anything outside
  the screens. She had gone through fif-
  teen security layers at an incredible rate.
  Either she knew the system or had a hell
  of a program behind her. Or both. He
  estimated he had ninety seconds before
  she made it through the final test. His
  heart sped and sweat appeared on his
  brow.
  Louder than ever, the other man
  pushed, “What is it?”
  “Silence,” the keyboardist directed with
  a calm voice carrying a weight he rarely
  used. He channeled everything he had
  into the task. His fingers pounded the
  keys faster than he’d have thought pos-
  sible. Nothing had meaning except the
  time running out. Sixty seconds. More
  lines flashing across the screens. More
  squares appearing, now on both dis-
  plays. She had encrypted the prompt
  line. Thirty seconds. Did she have the
  password? His incredulous self-query
  seemingly answered by another techni-
  cian, pale-faced and shouting from the
  door he opened, “Bad entry on DCLS 2!”
  Ten seconds. He keyed to cut her off.
  Five seconds. A new wall. Two seconds.
  The screen turned white and bold, red
  script appeared, “You’re too late, Sim-
  mons.” Three characters winked at him
  in enormous yellow type: a childish, old-
  school emoticon of a semicolon, dash,
  and the right parenthesis.
  Simmons sat mesmerized, not believing
  the display.  How? Who? It didn’t mat-
  ter. There was nothing more he could
  do. He sat staring, not responding to
  anything anyone said. He had the look of
  someone who had just experienced a
  trauma. All he knew of the attacker was
  the feminine handle she used, Janet
  Douglas, and that she had a warped
  sense of humor.
  Minutes passed. Interrupting whatever
  shouting the grey man was doing, Sim-
  mons looked up at him, “Henderson,”
  he called, “she’s got Omicron.”
  “Just the lists? Tell me that’s all!”
  “She’s got the alpha.”  After a moment
  he swallowed hard adding, “and the
  omega.”
  For the first time since discovering
  something was wrong, the man with the
  grey shadow on his face sat. “Heaven
  help us all.”
  Simmons returned his stare to the
  screens, now displaying only the proj-
  ect’s symbol: what would look like a
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  11
  black, stylized “O” to most, centered on
  a backdrop of a red double helix. His
  stomach clenched. He knew the night-
  mare had only just begun.
  Douglas had it all: the subject lists, the
  beginning of the project, and the road-
  map to where it led. It shouldn’t have
  been possible. None of it. Not the ma-
  nipulation, not the theft. Simmons held
  out the thinnest of hopes that she
  wouldn’t be able to decipher the code
  identifying the real names behind the
  lab designations. She’d taken Omicron;
  he didn’t put much stock in thin hopes.
  No, he knew it was just a matter of time.
  He knew he’d be responsible for track-
  ing her down. That left him asking aloud,
  “How do you catch a ghost?” Just as he
  expected, the only reply was a set of
  blank faces donned by those who’d
  trickled into the small room over the last
  few minutes.
  The next five days, James Simmons led
  an elite team of viewers – the name the
  agency had for its specialized forensic
  technologists – through every trace of
  evidence showing Janet had been there.
  It was grueling seeing scores of logs and
  video altered so thoroughly they didn’t
  even know they’d been polished until 48
  hours into the undertaking. It was only
  chance that one of the viewers, Ed-
  mondson, realized footage of him mov-
  ing through one of the halls couldn’t be
  pure: he’d been stuck in a traffic jam
  caused by an unannounced presidential
  detour, so he’d been two hours late into
  the office that day.
  That was good. It proved she’d been
  there, or someone had. At the same
  time, it narrowed the frame of infiltra-
  tion. They used that slip to rough up the
  polish and find what rested beneath.
  Their findings were imperfect, but they
  got them somewhere.  As they scrubbed
  away the last identifiable layer, the
  blood in James’ body dropped several
  degrees. Edmondson looked at him,
  “Simmons?” It was his code that ac-
  cessed Potinski’s token vault; a vault
  they didn’t even know had been violat-
  ed until the attack, which had clearly
  come weeks after the fact.
  How did they know about Potinski?
  James wondered. How the hell did they
  get my code?  He looked into the man’s
  green eyes, “It’s her; it’s Janet. I never
  touched his vault, much less the token.”
  “I’m sure that’s true, but you know the
  policy. You wrote half of it.”
  “I know, but this…” he searched for
  what he could even say. That it was
  different? That what they saw was im-
  possible? He wasn’t there when the logs
  said he was, just as Edmondson hadn’t
  been there when the video had shown
  he was? He couldn’t tell them he was at
  his best friend and one-time lover’s side
  helping him die. His throat tightened
  knowing that they’d not discovered
  Potinski’s death, yet. The man was sup-
  posed to be off on some Australian vi-
  sion 
  quest 
  during 
  his 
  mandated
  sabbatical. It would be weeks more be-
  fore they would learn their operative
  was never on the plane, that he stopped
  their prescribed regimen in favor of a
  dignified death.
  Stasik Potinski wasn’t going to keep be-
  ing their guinea pig after the modifica-
  tion proved unpredictable. Sure, it was
  fine for the operation. It had heightened
  his sense of reason. He’d had three
  breakthroughs in his last six months that
  weren’t anticipated to be likely for an-
  other three years. The degeneration not
  only halted, but it reversed. He was one
  of the few who had a chance to survive
  the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. But
  the price was too high. He could feel his
  humanity slipping. He vacillated be-
  tween states of normalcy, primal hun-
  ger, raw terror, and utter euphoria. It
  wasn’t right. He didn’t trust them to
  make it right, to make him right. He
  turned to James to see him through the
  end, just as he’d seen Stasik through the
  beginning. He counted on James’ sense
  of loyalty to the company being overrid-
  den by his sense of loyalty to his friends.
  He was right.
  James felt trapped. Who was Janet that
  she had orchestrated this? Had she? She
  must not be alone, so what do they want?
  “…this is incredible. I never imagined
  someone could get through Athena.
  Do…what they’ve done.”
  “They?” Edmondson raised an eyebrow.
  “Yes. Of course. She couldn’t have done
  it alone. No one person could have done
  all of this – polishing our records, getting
  Potinski’s token, penetrating Athena,
  and making off with Omicron. It’s too
  much.”
  “What if.” Edmondson stopped in mid-
  question and mid-stroke with his thumb
  and forefinger pressed to his short, red
  beard. He shook his head. “Never mind.
  We need to go.”
  “No one knows what we’ve found. Fin-
  ishing your thought won’t hurt any-
  thing.” James was stalling for time, but
  that wasn’t all. He’d wondered if his
  junior went down the same path he had
  between rushing thoughts.
  “What if it’s one of them?” he asked as
  he stretched a finger to the door where
  a fire escape diagram was mounted. He
  pointed at Room 113 on the fourth un-
  derground floor.
  “That crossed my mind,” James admit-
  ted. “But I don’t see how.” Or why, he
  thought to himself. He sped through ev-
  ery possibility he could come up with on
  getting out of detention, where they’d
  be headed as soon as Edmondson ran
  out of thoughts he was willing to share.
  He stared at the lab symbol posed in the
  middle of 113’s outline. Slowly he let
  out, “Oh my God.” He turned to the
  console and hammered out a series of
  commands.
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  12 | For All Things Savage
  GREAT STORIES
  “You shouldn’t be doing anything more.
  Not until you’ve been debriefed.” Ed-
  mondson spoke with a crease across his
  forehead and his eyes drawing together.
  “I know, but,” James didn’t complete
  whatever he was going to say. The red-
  head looked on, shifting his weight three
  times before crossing the short distance
  and peering through the small window
  in the door as if keeping watch. James
  kept typing and scrolling screens with a
  swipe of his finger across the glass.
  Edmondson 
  turned 
  when 
  James
  stopped tapping on the keys. He saw the
  man’s blue eyes widen and his lips part
  as he sucked in a breath.
  “She’s not one of them.”
  “How do you know?”
  “Because she came before them.”
  “What?” Edmondson looked as bewil-
  dered as James felt. “What do you
  mean?”
  “What I said. Janet Douglas. She was
  supposedly a witch in the 1500s. After
  they burned her, she was said to have
  come back to haunt the platform where
  they killed her.”
  “So you’re telling me you were serious
  about how to trap a ghost? You think
  that’s what’s happening here?”
  “No, Morris, that’s not it.” James rarely
  used colleagues’ first names, but Ed-
  mondson was so wrapped up in his last
  thoughts that he didn’t seem to notice
  the switch. “It’s the name our culprit is
  using. It’s Scottish.”
  “So?” Edmondson interrupted.
  “So?” James parroted, “Look!” he
  tapped the display partially covering a
  name on a list, the original subject list. It
  was in code. He pulled up a second win-
  dow, dragging it next to the first. The
  cross-reference gave Edmondson the
  connection.
  “Holy mother,” he said, pronouncing
  each syllable for longer than necessary.
  His eyes lit upon the name of one of
  Epimeus Research’s four founders, Re-
  becca MacConnell. “But she’s been dead
  for ten years. I’ll admit it’s unsettling
  seeing she lead the research and was a
  test subject herself, but what’s the con-
  nection?”
  “The connection is her daughter.”
  “Her daughter? She miscarried.”
  “No, look.” The next several minutes
  James pointed out a string of codes,
  crisscrossed enough to give them both a
  headache. “She was to have twins. One
  survived the experiment, the one whose
  genes they edited.”
  “She’s an alpha.” Edmondson flinched
  when the HVAC system kicked on the air
  conditioning, vibrating the duct directly
  over his head. He focused on James.
  “That went awry. They aborted the proj-
  ect.”
  “No they didn’t; or at least not com-
  pletely. Some of this has been edited,
  but I can make out enough to see the
  first run wasn’t completely scrapped.”
  “What are you saying, Simmons?”
  “I’m showing you,” he pointed at the
  latest page on the display, “that their
  first trial didn’t end. It isn’t over. And I’m
  telling you, Janet is a fifteen-year-old
  whose intellect has been enhanced,
  speed has been tampered with, and who
  likely has been on her own for the last
  ten years.”
  Edmondson raised his eyebrow again;
  his voice was incredulous, “Since she
  was five?”
  “Yes. And I’m guessing from the game
  she’s playing, she’s figured it out. She
  knows what Epimeus is.” He gave a slow,
  short shake of his head, “She knows
  what she is. Now I’m caught in the mid-
  dle, and so are you.”
  “But you thought she had help.”
  “I still do,” he said looking back to the
  screen. He pulled up another file with
  dozens of names. “And I think she’s
  about to get a whole lot more.”
  “And do what?”
  “That I don’t know. I’d venture a guess
  she’s not done with me. For now, we
  wait.”
  Edmondson cast a glance toward his
  desk where he kept a dead-tree copy of
  the standard operating procedures.
  “Agreed.”
  For the continuation of Omicron, visit
  our website in the coming weeks.
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  13
  GREAT STORIES
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  14 | For All Things Savage
  GENESIS
  A low-Rank adventure for Shanghai Vampocalypse by Curtis
  Lyon
  Welcome to Shanghai. The year is 2048… and if you're one of
  the elite, life's good; if you're not… well, there's still a way or
  two for getting by.
  Let's bring you a bit up to speed: a few years back, an industrial
  accident set off a super-volcano in Australia, which in turn left
  a good portion of Earth under the constant twilight of a massive
  cloud of ash. The good news is that global warming isn't much
  of a problem anymore; Mother Nature's nuclear winter has
  taken care of that. On the other hand, food's become a lot
  tougher to come by, at least if you want something grown in
  real dirt.
  Fortunately, technology has grown by leaps and bounds since
  the first decade of the millennium. It all started when a bright
  lass by the name of Esther West figured out how to tap a
  being's living essence – Pulse, as they've come to call it – to
  power machinery. The process requires Celestium, a semi-syn-
  thetic material that's great for channeling Pulse, and it's easy to
  come by power if you've got the Celestium.
  Razing the Bar
  So many adventures start in a tavern… why not this one as well?
  The adventurers are in a bar located on The Bund, a waterfront
  area and major tourist destination in the northeast corner of
  Illustration © Unholy Vault Designs/Shutterstock.com
  On The Pulse Side…
  Shanghai Vampocalypse is part of the Suzerain setting for
  Savage Worlds, which means it has a few rules 'tweaks'.
  Most of them aren't important for this adventure, but we'll
  explain the few that are: “Pulse” is the same as “Power
  Points”, except everyone starts with it; “Karma” is the same
  as “Bennies” in all ways; Characters can gain 3 Fatigue levels
  before Incapacitation instead of 2. If you want more infor-
  mation on the Suzerain setting, you can find it at
  savagemojo.com.
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  15
  Shanghai proper. We'll call the place “The Paper Lan-
  tern”. It doesn't matter why they're there, but The Bund
  is central enough to most things and popular enough
  that they should all have some reason to be there: seeing
  the sights, just hanging out to have a good time, or even
  meeting a contact.
  Laws being what they are, the adventurers shouldn't
  have much in the way of Gear right now: mostly clothes
  and money and maybe something special (like a weapon)
  if they've a really good excuse for it.
  Gear easily available to the characters includes:
  ● PCD (Portable Control Device): This is where cell
  phones have ended up by the mid twenty-first centu-
  ry. Everyone has one, as they allow instant money
  transfers, internet access, cell and text messaging, as
  well as data file storage. Free to all characters.
  ● Filter Mask: Remember all that ash we mentioned? If
  a character's running around outside, it's a good idea
  to wear one of these, otherwise he has to make a Vigor
  test every scene he's outside or gain a level of Fatigue
  (this Fatigue can kill, and is only removed with medical
  assistance, since the ash particles must be removed
  from the lungs). Filter Masks Cost 20¥ each (good for
  one month of use); nano-therapy to remove any Ash
  Lung Fatigue is 300¥ per Fatigue level being removed.
  ● Civilian-Styled Light Body Armor: Most characters
  won't be able to afford the 500¥ price tag, but players
  will ask about armor. Civilian LBA is designed to look
  like suits or posh clothing, only it provides +4 Armor to
  the torso, arms, and legs, as well as negating 2 AP from
  an attack. It isn't light, though, and has a weight of 12.
  The Paper Lantern isn't exactly a dive – any number of
  locals and visitors enjoy coming here – but it's 'scaled
  down' to cater to those who have less money than the
  corporate and underworld elite. The people here are
  relatively unimportant to this part of the story, but play-
  ers being who they are, you can name the bouncer
  Huang, and a couple of the girls Bao and Jeifang. If you've
  got a copy of Shanghai Vampocalypse, you can also use
  some of the additional characters at the back of the book.
  Give the players a chance to introduce their characters
  and explain why they're here. If a player gives a good and
  creative answer, give him a bonus Karma. By “good and
  creative”, we mean something better than “'Cause the
  GREAT ADVENTURES
  By Curtis Lyon of Savage Mojo
  FERAL STALKERS (1 PER 2 ADVENTURERS)
  These guys look like ordinary Chinese grunts, but they've been infect-
  ed with the Stalker nanovirus, which isn't working as planned. The
  good news is they aren't wearing any body armor (as they weren't
  engaged in combat), and they aren't using their ranged weapons,
  favoring their batons and moving in close to feed on (or infect)
  targets.
  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6(A), Spirit d6, Strength d8, Vigor d6
  Skills: Climbing d6, Fighting d6, Notice d4, Shooting d6, Stealth d4,
  Swimming d6
  Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 5; Pulse: 10
  Gear: Chinese military uniform, Type 19 pistol* (15/30/60; 2d6+2
  AP 3), 1 clip of ammo (12 rounds), collapsible baton** (Str+d6),
  PCD
  *The Type 19 has ROF 1 (semi-auto), 12 shots, and a weight of 4.
  Cost: 300¥
  **A collapsible baton provides Parry +1, can be hidden, and weighs
  1. Cost: 200¥
  Special Abilities:
  ·
  Feeding: Stalkers don't regenerate Pulse normally, in fact
  they lose it at a rate of 1 Pulse every 6 hours (or more
  quickly, if exposed to UV: 1 Pulse per minute if they're in
  direct sunlight), and must feed on the Pulse of another
  living creature. The victim must be willing or Incapacitated,
  and gains 1 Fatigue for every 5 Pulse drained. This Fatigue
  is recovered normally unless more than 1 level was taken,
  in which case it recovers at a rate of 1 level per day.
  ·
  Infection: Stalkers are created by a transmittable nanovi-
  rus. Anyone who gains Fatigue from being bitten by a
  Stalker must make a Vigor roll with a (-2) penalty for each
  level of Fatigue gained. If the roll is a Failure, the victim
  takes another level of Fatigue every 20 minutes, until he's
  Incapacitated, at which point he becomes a Stalker.
  ·
  Metabolize Pulse: Stalkers can boost their Agility,
  Strength, and Vigor by burning Pulse. Each 1 Pulse spent
  increases the die type by one, to a maximum of 3. This
  counts as an action, but doesn't require a roll. The duration
  of the increase is 3/1 – regardless of how high the Attribute
  was boosted – and the Stalker can augment as many attri-
  butes as high as he wants as a single action.
  ·
  Mutation: Some Stalkers develop special Powers. These
  Stalkers are no exception, and can spend Pulse and make a
  Vigor roll to activate their Power. Since Powers may vary,
  assume the first Stalker has armor, the second has quick-
  ness, and the third has smite. Repeat this sequence if there
  are more than three Stalkers present.
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  16 | For All Things Savage
  GREAT ADVENTURES
  GM said so” or “I dunno… I'm just out drinking, I guess”. Those
  are valid answers, but not terribly creative.
  Once the adventurers have settled in, but before things slow
  down, let the action begin.
  A couple of soldiers burst into the bar (one for every two
  adventurers, rounded up). By itself, it's no big deal, but when
  one of them sinks his teeth into the throat of the bouncer, all
  Hell breaks loose. Literally. The good news for the characters is,
  while a lot of screaming and chaos suddenly erupts in the bar,
  the soldiers don't take them by surprise, and they have one
  chance to act before the Action Cards are dealt.
  Most of the adventurers are probably unarmed, but reward
  creativity with the bar's ample scenery by giving out a bonus
  Karma. Just remember: bottles and chairs still count as impro-
  vised weapons.
  ● Feral Stalkers: 1 per 2 adventurers
  The Art of Poo Hit Fan
  Almost as soon as these feral 'vampires' are defeated, the
  emergency sirens begin wailing all over Shanghai, and every
  PCD in the bar begins transmitting a message. Loosely translat-
  ed, the message is:
  “All civilians should remain indoors, or make their way to a
  secure location. There has been an accident, and the streets are
  not safe. Military personnel are currently being deployed and
  will not have time to answer questions. NanoCorp is resolving
  the problem. Remain indoors until notified otherwise for your
  own safety.”
  Of course, in the light of what's just happened, there's mostly a
  lot of panic in The Paper Lantern. Half the people there are
  ready to leave for someplace 'safer', while most are trying to
  put two and two together.
  There's no reliable news to be found via PCD (although a Raise
  on an Investigation roll reveals a tidbit: a government to corpo-
  rate stream that states, “The Stalker virus has mutated. Notify
  Dr. Wu's staff to shut it down.”), but a successful Streetwise roll
  (as surviving patrons and staff call friends and relatives) reveals
  that events similar to what just happened at this bar have been
  going on all over the north of Shanghai in the last hour.
  If they got a Raise on that Streetwise roll, they also learn there's
  a cook in the back, Fang, who works for the Shanghai Under-
  world. If the adventurers can convince him they need it (and if
  they can pay for it), he can break out a few of his goodies.
  Fang's goodies include some 'Slaps' (Med – heals 1 Wound if
  applied within 5 minutes; Glow – negates up to 2 points of
  lighting penalties; Green – changes skin or hair color for the
  next 24 hours), which are applied directly to the skin, and a few
  grenades (mostly Flashbang – Vigor roll at (-2) or Shaken and
  Notice rolls are made at (-2) for the next 3 rounds; Foam –
  Strength roll at (-2) or stuck in place, additional Strength rolls to
  escape can be made every 3 rounds). The adventurers can
  make one cooperative Intimidation or Persuasion roll to get
  Fang to kick with some goodies, netting one item per Success
  and Raise.
  Characters of a helpful bent can also make Healing rolls for any
  of the people who might have been hurt in the attack, including
  Huang, the bouncer. More pragmatic characters can take ad-
  vantage of the situation and plunder the bodies of the dead
  Stalkers for useful gear. In this case, it amounts to a collapsible
  baton and a Type 19 pistol (with one full clip) for each one they
  killed. Additionally, they have a single Type 413 assault rifle
  with a full magazine. It has Range 30/60/90, and does Damage
  2d8+2 AP 5. It has ROF 4, Shots 50, 3RB or Auto. It weighs 9 and
  would cost 500¥. It also has a chain bayonet attached, which
  does damage 2d6+4 AP 4. The whole thing requires a minimum
  Strength d6.
  Why would the characters start grabbing up weapons?
  Well, aside from player paranoia, it'll become self-evident with-
  in an hour. Remember Huang? He (and any other Extra that
  managed to get bitten by the first few Stalkers) has become
  infected with the Stalker Virus, and suddenly becomes a killing
  machine. The characters can  probably dispatch him pretty
  swiftly (use Feral Stalker stats), but that's when a second group
  of Stalkers smashes their way into the bar – only this time
  there's more of them, and they're being guided by a Master.
  The one bit of 'good' news is they're not looking to feed this
  time; they're looking to spread the Stalker Virus, which means
  they'll attempt to Incapacitate as many characters in The Paper
  Lantern as they can. However, force will eventually be met with
  force if the Master feels he's being threatened.
  ● Feral Stalkers: 1 per Adventurer
  ● Lieutenant Bantou Wei (Master Stalker)
  High Tail from Shanghai
  Hopefully the adventurers figure out that staying at The Hang-
  ing Lantern is ultimately going to be an act of suicide. If they
  don't, have a few more Feral Stalkers attack after an hour (start
  with 3 per 2 Adventurers, then 2 per Adventurer, then 3 per
  Adventurer, and so on until they get the hint or die) – some of
  which can be former patrons or employees of the bar.
  The bottom line is, in a matter of hours, Shanghai is going to be
  overrun with some eight-million vampires.
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  17
  GREAT ADVENTURES
  The players aren't likely to know their options, so give the
  characters a Common Knowledge roll (+2 if they're from Shang-
  hai; (-2) if they're from another country) to realize the easiest
  way to move around will be on The Maglev – an elevated
  monorail that provides mass transit through the city. If no one
  makes the roll, you can let them figure it out once they get
  outside by having a maglev train pass overhead.
  All the adventurers need to do is hop a train and make it to any
  means out of the city, at this point: train, plane, or automobile.
  It should be noted, however, that the docks and airports are
  likely being shut down by the government to keep people from
  fleeing the city (and potentially spreading the Stalker Virus).
  This means the best bet might be to make it to the edge of the
  city, steal a car, and begin the long trek to Hong Kong.
  But let's up the ante just a bit…
  Assume there are as many surviving Extras from the bar as
  there are adventurers. Each player can decide who it is, but
  their character is responsible for getting that NPC out of Shang-
  hai alive.
  ●
  Hanging Lantern Extras: 1 per adventurer
  If an adventurer manages to get their ward out of Shanghai
  alive, reward them with an extra Karma for the next session.
  Should they all survive, award an extra Experience Point for the
  session. There's no real penalty for failure in this (other than
  any sense of guilt), although if an adventurer simply refuses to
  protect one of the Extras, you should take a Karma for yourself
  to be used against that character later on. Alternatively, if
  another adventurer chooses to take that Extra under their wing
  (in addition to their own), you should give the Karma to that
  character instead.
  LIEUTENANT BANTOU WEI (MASTER STALKER)
  Most Stalkers lose any degree of humanity and intel-
  lect when they succumb to the virus, but about 1 in 100
  retain their intellect, although they seem to be following some
  sort of orders and serving a darker purpose. This one was
  apparently an officer, which means he'll be that much tougher
  to take down.
  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d8, Spirit d8, Strength d8, Vigor
  d6
  Skills: Climbing d6, Fighting d6, Intimidation d8, Knowledge
  (Battle) d4, Notice d8, Persuasion d4, Shooting d8, Swim-
  ming d6, Throwing d4
  Charisma: 0*; Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 9(4); Pulse: 15
  *Wei's Charisma drops to -4 when he's Feeding.
  Gear: Chinese officer's uniform – light grade body armor
  (Armor +4, negates 2 AP; covers torso, arms and legs), Type
  19 pistol (15/30/60; 2d6+2 AP 3), 2 clips of ammo (24
  rounds), collapsible blade* (Str+d6, AP 3), PCD
  *A collapsible blade folds down to 10cm and can be hidden.
  Weighs 1. Cost: 400¥
  Special Abilities:
  ·
  Authority: A Master Stalker can spend 1 Pulse to
  control all Feral or Scavenger Stalkers within 24'' of
  it, allowing the Master to issue commands the Ferals
  obey. The effects fade after a number of minutes
  equal to the Master's Smarts, although it can spend
  more Pulse to maintain control.
  ·
  Feeding: Stalkers don't regenerate Pulse normally, in
  fact they lose it at a rate of 1 Pulse every 6 hours (or
  more quickly, if exposed to UV: 1 Pulse per minute if
  they're in direct sunlight), and must feed on the
  Pulse of another living creature. The victim must be
  willing or Incapacitated, and gains 1 Fatigue for ev-
  ery 5 Pulse drained. This Fatigue is recovered nor-
  mally unless more than 1 level was taken, in which
  case it recovers at a rate of 1 level per day.
  ·
  Infection: Stalkers are created by a transmittable
  nanovirus. Anyone who gains Fatigue from being
  bitten by a Stalker must make a Vigor roll with a (-2)
  penalty for each level of Fatigue gained. If the roll is
  a Failure, the victim takes another level of Fatigue
  every 20 minutes, until he's Incapacitated, at which
  point he becomes a Stalker.
  ·
  Killer: Master Stalkers are innately lethal and are
  considered to have the No Mercy Edge.
  ·
  Metabolize Pulse: Stalkers can boost their Agility,
  Strength, and Vigor by burning Pulse. Each 1 Pulse
  spent increases the die type by one, to a maximum
  of 3. This counts as an action, but doesn't require a
  roll. The duration of the increase is 3/1 – regardless
  of how high the Attribute was boosted – and the
  Stalker can augment as many attributes as high as he
  wants as a single action.
  ·
  Mutation: Some Stalkers develop special Powers.
  Wei can use healing and quickness by spending the
  appropriate Pulse and making a Vigor roll to activate
  the Power.
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  18 | For All Things Savage
  GREAT ADVENTURES
  HANGING LANTERN EXTRAS (1 PER ADVENTURER)
  These are (relatively) generic folk who were at the bar.
  They're pretty much non-combatants, but if they survive,
  they can become contacts, allies, or companions to the
  adventurers.
  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d6, Strength d6,
  Vigor d6
  Skills: Fighting d4, Knowledge (Career) d6, Notice d4,
  Persuasion d4
  Charisma: 0; Pace: 6; Parry: 4; Toughness: 5; Pulse: 5
  Gear: Appropriate clothing, PCD
  Hindrances: Pacifist (Minor)
  Edges: Player may choose one Background Edge
  SCAVENGER STALKERS (1 + 2 PER ADVENTURER)
  As the nanovirus spreads, more civilians are falling under its
  sway. Most turn Feral, but a few retain just enough
  intelligence to band together into 'packs' to scavenge and
  hunt. These are a handful of just such.
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d4, Spirit d6, Strength d6,
  Vigor d6
  Skills: Fighting d8, Notice d6, Stealth d6, Tracking d4
  Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 5; Pulse: 10
  Gear: Ordinary clothing, scavenged club (Str+d6), PCD
  Special Abilities:
  ·
  Feeding: Stalkers don't regenerate Pulse normally,
  in fact they lose it at a rate of 1 Pulse every 6 hours
  (or more quickly, if exposed to UV: 1 Pulse per
  minute if they're in direct sunlight), and must feed
  on the Pulse of another living creature. The victim
  must be willing or Incapacitated, and gains 1
  Fatigue for every 5 Pulse drained. This Fatigue is
  recovered normally unless more than 1 level was
  taken, in which case it recovers at a rate of 1 level
  per day.
  ·
  Infection: Stalkers are created by a transmittable
  nanovirus. Anyone who gains Fatigue from being
  bitten by a Stalker must make a Vigor roll with a
  (-2) penalty for each level of Fatigue gained. If the
  roll is a Failure, the victim takes another level of
  Fatigue every 20 minutes, until he's Incapacitated,
  at which point he becomes a Stalker.
  ·
  Metabolize Pulse: Stalkers can boost their Agility,
  Strength, and Vigor by burning Pulse. Each 1 Pulse
  spent increases the die type by one, to a maximum
  of 3. This counts as an action, but doesn't require a
  roll. The duration of the increase is 3/1 – regardless
  of how high the Attribute was boosted – and the
  Stalker can augment as many attributes as high as
  he wants as a single action.
  ·
  Mutation: Some Stalkers develop special Powers.
  These Stalkers are no exception, and can spend
  Pulse and make a Vigor roll to activate their Power.
  Since Powers may vary, assume the first Stalker
  has armor, the second has quickness, and the third
  has smite. Repeat this sequence if there are more
  than three Stalkers present.
  Illustration © LANBO/Shutterstock.com
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  19
  GREAT ADVENTURES
  Of course there's a reason for all of this: The Maglev is comput-
  erized – controlled from a central hub in Shanghai – which
  means it moves to each station and then stops, waiting for any
  passengers to board or debark. The adventurers should recog-
  nize the problem the moment the train stops and several Scav-
  enger Stalkers board.
  Yes… It's feeding time, and the Stalkers will go for the easiest
  prey first – which is to say, the Extras!
  ●
  Scavenger Stalkers: 1 + 2 per adventurer
  Endgame
  There's one bonus for the adventurers, should they survive the
  fight: one of the Scavengers managed to pick up a Hack Pack,
  which can be used to hack the train's AI and override any
  further stops. The Hack Pack has a Pulse battery containing 3
  Pulse – it recharges itself after 24 hours, but it can be 'force
  charged' by a character who expends 6 Pulse. By taking 3
  rounds and expending one of the Hack Pack's Pulse, a character
  can make a Smarts roll (with a +1 bonus for every Die Type the
  character has in Knowledge (Hacking) – in other words, a char-
  acter with Knowledge (Hacking) d8 would make a Smarts roll
  with a +3 bonus) to hack the train's AI.
  The bad news? Shanghai's civic officials frown on this sort of
  activity, and have installed some serious firewalls on the train
  to prevent such activities from occurring. The Smarts roll to
  hack the train's AI suffers a (-4) penalty. If the hack succeeds,
  the adventurers make it to a 'safe zone' in about fifteen minutes.
  If no one succeeds at the hack before the Pack runs out of juice,
  or if the players don't bother to attempt the hack because they
  don't realize they're still in danger, the train hits the next stop
  after about two minutes (20 rounds). On the boarding platform
  are a half-dozen unconscious civilians and a group of Feral
  Stalkers who leap on board when the doors open (1 per adven-
  turer) and attack. Pick on the Extras first, and use the stats from
  Razing the Bar.
  From then on, it takes twelve minutes (six stops) to reach a safe
  zone. For each stop, draw a card: any Club means another pack
  of Feral Stalkers boards the train. Assuming the adventurers
  survive to the safe zone, they can hotwire a car with a success-
  ful Repair roll, carjack one with a successful Intimidation roll, or
  use Persuasion to get someone to give the whole gang a lift.
  Barring that, they can always walk, although it's a good 750
  miles to Hong Kong.
  In any case, if they made it to that point, they deserve a lot of
  kudos and a few Experience Points. They've also probably come
  to the attention of the Powers That Be… and who knows? If
  they survive long enough, they may have a chance to come
  back and try to save Shanghai.
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  20 | For All Things Savage
  EQUIPMENT CORRAL
  Steamscapes
  By Eric Simon of Four-in-Hand Games
  WEAPONS
  These weapons include special rules created specifically for the
  Steamscapes setting by Four-in-Hand Games.
  COLT REVOLVING RIFLE
  The principle behind this weapon's design is very simple: com-
  bine the power of a rifle with the mechanical advantages of a
  revolver. Unfortunately, the fact that rifles – unlike revolvers –
  are held both at the trigger and in front of the firing mechanism
  means that the shooter always has one hand on the wrong side
  of the cylinder. Because early versions still used percussion cap
  ammunition, this often resulted in powder and shrapnel dam-
  age to the shooter's arm. In the worst cases, the ammunition
  would even chain-fire all the rounds in the cylinder at once.
  These hazards made many people wary about the Colt and thus
  allowed for the later popularity of the more expensive, but
  reliable, Henry Repeater. Still, some Gunslingers have stuck
  with the large-caliber version of the Colt, swapping out the old
  percussion caps for customized metal cartridges. This elimi-
  nates the possibility of chain-fire, but there is still the potential
  for splintering that can damage the shooter.
  Cost: 300
  Weight: 10
  Minimum Strength: d6
  Range: 24/48/96
  Damage: 2d10, AP2
  Rate of Fire: 1
  Shots: 5
  Special Rules: Revolver, Custom*, Misfire**
  *Custom - All Gunslinger weapons have the Custom trait, which
  means they require constant maintenance and adjustment.
  Gunslingers habitually maintain their weapons after every use
  and have the appropriate skill to do so. However, anyone with-
  out the Gunsmith skill suffers a (-4) penalty to both Shooting
  and damage rolls when using a Customized weapon.
  **Misfire - Some weapons are unstable and have a higher
  tendency to backfire on the shooter. Weapons with the Misfire
  trait can jam or backfire and potentially damage the shooter.
  When a 1 is rolled on the Shooting die (not the Wild Die), the
  gun misfires. Roll the weapon's full damage dice and apply half
  the result (rounded up) to the shooter instead of the intended
  target. (The intended target receives none.) Note that this can
  be avoided by the use of a Benny to reroll the 1.
  HAND GATLING
  The informal name Steamhands have given this gun is some-
  what misleading, since it possesses only a single barrel and
  does not use powder cartridges. Instead, it uses a drop-fed case
  of spherical pellets approximately half an inch in diameter. The
  pellets are released one after the other into a smoothbore
  launching barrel, through which steam is then forced to eject
  them at high velocity. As a result, the Hand Gatling does not
  recoil in the traditional sense. Instead, it applies continuous
  backwards force against the shooter, much like a high pressure
  water hose. Firing this weapon requires an inordinate amount
  of strength, and is often wielded with a certain degree of ma-
  cho pride.
  Cost: 900
  Weight: 20
  Minimum Strength: d10 (MR*)
  Range: 15/30/60
  Damage: 2d8, AP2
  Rate of Fire: 3
  Shots: 45
  Special Rules: Auto, Heavy Weapon, Steam Tank**
  *Massive Recoil – Weapons with massive recoil are denoted by
  (MR) next to their minimum Strength rating. Firing such a
  weapon automatically damages any shooter with less than the
  minimum Strength. Apply the Shaken condition immediately
  after firing. No attempt to recover from Shaken may be made
  until the following round.
  **Steam Tank – Most Steamhand weapons have steam-pow-
  ered launching or firing mechanisms, which require the use of
  an attached steam compressor. These tanks are extremely
  heavy (20 lbs fully loaded) and must be carried individually on
  the Steamhand's back. When a weapon with the Steam Tank
  trait reaches its full allotment of shots, the tank is spent and
  cannot be used again in that combat. It takes approximately 30
  minutes to refill and boil a fresh tank back to full pressure.
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  21
  PERSONAL EQUIPMENT
  ELECTRIC CORSET
  In an attempt to offer greater flexibility to women of different
  proportions, and of course to capitalize on the appeal of mo-
  dernity, Dr. George Scott has invented an electromagnetic ap-
  proach to the tightening and loosening of this ladies'
  undergarment. Whether it works, and whether it is more or less
  comfortable than whalebone, remains to be seen. One thing is
  certain, however: no Spark Wrangler would ever wear one.
  Cost: 400
  Notes: Employs electromagnets for self-tightening
  GYROSCOPIC PARALLEL SYNCHROMETER
  Truly a marvel of modern technology, this device combines the
  functions of sextant and chronometer. It calculates latitude and
  longitude automatically using an advanced clockwork differ-
  ence engine. No matter where you are on Earth, it only takes a
  matter of moments to determine your precise location. The
  inclusion of a Foucault gyroscope allows the Synchrometer to
  function effectively on land, at sea, or in the air.
  Cost: 750
  Notes: +4 to rolls related to analyzing one’s location, such as
  Survival, Tracking, and Aeronautical Navigation
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  22 | For All Things Savage
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  23
  EQUIPMENT CORRAL
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  2 | For All Things Savage
  GENERAL INTEREST
  Tabletop Tech Today
  By Vickey A. Beaver
  Not only have role-playing games
  evolved over the decades, but our way of
  getting, playing, and accessorizing them
  has, too. What we think of as RPGs was
  once just a very small hobby with a hand-
  ful of books for instruction played pre-
  dominately by white college-aged guys
  around a table, has grown to a world-
  wide phenomenon taking a variety of
  forms from tabletop RPGs to massive
  multi-player online (MMO) games played
  by people from all walks of life and of all
  stripes and persuasions. Technological
  advances have provided us more options
  than ever to look at more systems and
  settings, as well as play them face-to-face
  or via virtual tabletops.
  In the last several years, social media has
  given us the means to organize online
  conventions centered on RPGs. Crowd-
  funding has offered us a chance to sup-
  port more would-be publishers bringing
  their games and tools to our community.
  Our love for information at our fingertips
  has spurred a slew of extremely portable,
  incredibly powerful electronics. As al-
  ways, we’ll focus on how that has impact-
  ed tabletop RPG play.
  To really get a handle on how Savage
  Worlds players have incorporated tech-
  nology at their tables, we went to the
  community, fittingly via e-mail and social
  media, to get feedback. As you might
  expect, notes and PDFs are frequently
  stored on laptops and tablets and online
  resources are accessed via smart phones
  and other internet enabled devices. GMs
  and players are using a wide variety of
  resources for preparing for and keeping
  up their games.
  Richard Woolcock shared that he stores
  most of his notes as plain text files orga-
  nized in folders, but goes a little higher
  tech when it comes to other actions. He
  uses “the Flash version of the Mythic GM
  Emulator to improvise most of the sto-
  ryline (it massively cuts down the prepa-
  ration time).  I use the Geeksville
  Adventure Card Creator to create equip-
  ment cards.  I've played around with
  MapTools and a few map generation
  tools, but haven't used them extensively.
  I love online random generation tools,
  and use them for all sorts of things.”
  Others, like Jorgen Stovne who runs
  rpgbooster.com with Jason Copeland,
  store notes in the cloud. “I use Google
  Drive and Evernote to track different
  things. Evernote helps me with my writ-
  ten content… and Google Drive is where
  I store every handout I do.” Besides on-
  line resources, he uses Photoshop to il-
  lustrate the letters, maps, and books
  found in his world. He then shares those
  with his players via Google Drive.
  Likewise, Gary Stewart, uses Google for
  easy access from anywhere. “As a GM I
  tend to use Google Docs to store any
  adventure notes I've written and keep a
  blank one handy for notes during a game.
  Since I tend to buy PDF versions of rule-
  books now, I also store those on Google
  Docs, but if there are stat blocks I'm us-
  ing, I'll copy them into the adventure
  because I find looking up things really
  slows the pace down. I also tend to use
  Google Docs as a player to keep my char-
  acter sheet on, it makes it easy to share.
  We often use Doodle to pick a date and
  G+ [Google Plus] to create an event. An-
  other GM in my group uses a wiki for
  world building and notes.”
  Some gamers use different resources de-
  pendent upon the game at hand. Kristian
  Serrano handles his adaption of Eberron
  to Savage worlds by using his “Fantasy
  Companion 
  Loot 
  Generator
  (http://www.immaterialplane.com/apps
  /loot) to generate random treasure or
  magic items specifically in some cases.”
  He also created a setting guide in Google
  Sites for his players, but, respecting the
  intellectual property of the creators’ pub-
  lished material, he “maintained a private
  version of the conversion doc with culled
  setting rules, Edges, powers, etc. from
  the Fantasy Gear Toolkit, the Fantasy
  Companion, and the Horror Companion
  and some minimal setting information
  from An Adventurer's Guide to Eberron.”
  For his modern game, Serrano uses
  Google Maps to get an idea of the area he
  either wants to use or reference. In gen-
  eral, when he has GMed with a Windows
  laptop, he’s used OneNote to gather all
  of his notes, enjoying its flexibility. Now
  he favors Google Drive and sometimes
  uses Evernote.
  Jodi Black, President of Beautiful Brains
  Books and Games, prolific editor, and
  Savage Extraordinaire, uses a variety of
  resources close to home. “As a GM I use
  the free downloads on the Pinnacle, Tri-
  ple Ace Games, and Savage Worlds Ex-
  plorer's Society websites a lot. I know
  there's a lot more out there, but I just
  haven't needed anything else yet! Most
  of the games I run are simple one hour
  Savage Worlds games for kids, or 20 min-
  ute demos for use in the Beautiful Brains
  booth.”
  As a player, she uses Facebook “to sched-
  ule game dates with our group, some sort
  of relevant software to update my char-
  acter sheet, and a huge Word file for a
  backstory.”
  Marcus Burgraff, also known as Chaot-
  icGM online, shares his tech prep usage:
  “I use Obsidian Portal as an archive of
  Information and for the game logs. It is
  the primary site where players can find
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  3
  and add information. In prep, I mostly
  use The Keep from NBOS and Evernote to
  write down ideas wherever I am and have
  it all accessible. I also use Inspiration Pad
  Pro from NBOS to create random tables.”
  At the table, you might see any device
  under the sun or none at all. Woolcock
  and Stewart use their laptops for easily
  viewing PDFs of rules and adventures, as
  well as general notes. Stewart has kept
  his players’ character sheets on his lap-
  top, too, but when it comes to playing his
  own PCs, he prefers to just print a sheet
  and use his Nexus 7 when needed just for
  the rule books it contains.
  Black has had players at the table with
  iPads for quick searches, but doesn’t use
  them herself (she adds husband Clint
  Black has the book pretty much memo-
  rized where she uses convenient, physi-
  cal tabs when editing so she doesn’t have
  to). Sizing of devices like the Nexus 7,
  iPhone, and Android limit what gamers
  feel they are universally helpful for, but
  they still come in handy.
  Stovne uses his Samsung Galaxy S3 for
  spell references, timers, and secret mes-
  sages. Players use a tablet to access
  Google Drive documents and their spell
  books.
  Serrano uses both his phone and a tablet
  “to pull up content from PDFs, Google
  Drive, and Evernote, as well as pull up my
  Loot Generator if needed. They are also
  handy for running a 30-second timer
  which I use to push the players to make
  decisions regarding their actions on their
  turns.” At Black’s table, she tells us, “We
  all put our cells on vibrate, and only an-
  swer those calls or texts that are com-
  pletely unavoidable.”
  Besides using technology for game prep-
  aration and tracking, there are some
  handy uses that are becoming more
  widespread. Some people use computers
  and projectors to display maps on white
  boards or even from the ceiling onto the
  table.
  Woolcock experimented with writing his
  own dice roller application for his An-
  droid. “It's very basic and ugly, but it
  supports exploding dice and wild dice,
  and is easy to use.” In the end, despite
  the prospect that it might speed things
  up, he found he actually prefers physical
  dice!
  All five other interviewees use technolo-
  gy to provide ambient music. Stovne runs
  his Grooveshark playlists for music. While
  Black has soundtrack scores cued up to fit
  the current genre , Stovne does character
  theme songs, explaining, “when a play-
  er’s chosen song/tune comes up during
  the game they get +1 to their rolls.” He
  goes 
  into 
  more 
  detail 
  at
  http://www.rpgbooster.com/boost-
  your-game-with-character-theme-
  songs/. Similarly, Stewart wrote a sound
  board system for ambient effects and is
  eagerly awaiting the appropriate time to
  use it in a game.
  Serrano uses a portable Bluetooth speak-
  er for background music from a playlist
  handpicked for a campaign. “I've recently
  begun to explore the use of NFC tags, but
  I'm not quite sure yet how I plan to use
  them. It might be to program stats into
  an object and pull it up with a tap of my
  phone or something to that effect. I'm
  open to suggestions.”
  Besides his tablet carrying all his PDFs
  and maps, Burgraff runs The Keep and
  streamMusic from his Netbook. Like Ser-
  rano, he turns to a Bluetooth speaker for
  music and occasional sound effects that
  might come from his iPhone with DMDJ.
  For all of these options, there are both
  advantages and consequences. Some
  people feel they take up less space since
  there are fewer books all over the table,
  while others feel the bulk of a laptop
  creates an even stronger barrier than
  traditional GM screens. However, it can
  be worth it if you feel like Woolcock, “I
  can open several PDFs at once… [it’s]
  faster to search for certain rules, much
  faster number crunching (e.g. for random
  generation tools).” For Stovne, since
  there’s often only one physical book, he
  echoes the benefit of being able to elec-
  tronically search for rules calling it “in-
  sanely helpful.”
  Both Serrano and Burgraff experience
  the paradox of having a lot of information
  available electronically, but still turn to
  paper versions for certain things. At ei-
  ther of their tables, you might find digital
  notes output to physical index cards or
  sheets of information to round out the
  tapping on screens for the results of a
  dice roll against a random table genera-
  tor.
  A number of options have cropped up to
  allow for just that kind of virtual play
  when gamers aren’t in the same country
  or state let alone the same room; even
  online gaming doesn’t mean all the non-
  electronic options all go away. People
  use a mix of referencing their personal
  books, using dice rollers, panning to
  physical dice to show rolls, sharing a map
  for viewing online, and more.
  Stewart points out that it’s really about
  finding out what works for you, “If you
  feel like using a tool speeds up play, adds
  atmosphere to the game ,or just doesn't
  change anything but saves you printing
  out a bunch of stuff; great. If people
  seem distracted by having a laptop in
  front of them (I do as a player, so I avoid
  using them), then it's probably detrimen-
  tal to the game.”
  Whether gaming face-to-face or via
  Skype, Google Hangouts, or Fantasy
  Grounds, technology has changed what
  we can do in and out of game. From
  planning sessions through Yahoo Groups,
  Doodle, Google Calendar, Facebook, and
  G+ to keeping an ongoing game log on
  Obsidian Portal, your own blog, or other
  social presence to organizing as a GM via
  Dropbox and e-mail, thanks to technolo-
  gy and human innovation, the act of gam-
  ing keeps evolving.
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  24 | For All Things Savage
  CHARACTER GALLERY
  Cecil Defaust
  By Aaron T. Huss
  Cecil Defaust is a master engineer, designed for settings in a not-too-distant-past.
  MASTER ENGINEER
  From an early age, Cecil DeFaust learned that life in rural Ash-
  bury was devoid of excitement. His parents, Jeffrey and Mary,
  ran the only salvage yard for many miles around. If anyone
  needed a part, they came to DeFaust’s Salvage to find it. This is
  where Cecil learned to tinker.
  Throughout his youth, Cecil was well-liked by his classmates.
  DeFaust’s Salvage was one of the most favored places for
  lengthy games of hide-and-seek and Cecil never had a shortage
  of “toys” to play around with. Injuries were commonplace at
  the DeFaust household, but Cecil’s friends never seemed to
  care as they had too much fun playing with whatever they could
  find.
  Cecil never lost his love and drive for tinkering and skated
  through mechanical classes with ease. But as-is common with
  many great minds, Cecil quickly grew bored of schooling and
  wanted to spend all his time in a garage built just for him by his
  father. This garage was a grand spectacle with tools of every
  kind salvaged from whatever was brought to DeFaust’s along
  with the many trades Jeffrey made to keep his son’s interest
  going. By the time Cecil was 16-years old, he had enough of
  school and spent his time tinkering away in his garage. Whatev-
  er education he lacked, Cecil’s mother was sure to cover in
  home schooling, but his interests were always drawn to his
  inventions and whatever was brought to his garage for repair.
  Cecil became very well known for his technical skills and
  emerged as the region’s master mechanic. If something was
  broken, it was always brought to DeFaust’s Salvage (and Repair)
  for Cecil to have a look at. With a virtually endless supply of
  parts due to his parent’s salvage business, Cecil was able to
  repair everything. In his spare time, he took those technical
  skills to the next level and started inventing things that could
  serve as conveniences for everyone around. Cecil’s greatest
  invention was his steam- and clockwork-powered motorcycles.
  He didn’t build very many, as they were very expensive, but
  those he did build were absolute masterpieces.
  Cecil continued to be the master mechanic and inventor of the
  area, given the title of master engineer by his peers and most
  frequent customers. During the summer after his 24th birthday,
  Cecil took his master engineer skills to the next level and built a
  large warehouse and shop attached to his father’s salvage
  business. From there, Cecil opened DeFaust’s Engineering and
  set about designing and building every type of device desired
  by residents of the entire region.
  Up to that point, everything Cecil had built was designed to
  make people’s lives easier by offering some type of new conve-
  nience. This all changed shortly after Cecil’s 25th birthday when
  the undead began to walk the grounds of his homeland. After a
  great plague swept across the region, killing around half of the
  population, undead creatures rose from the ground, deter-
  mined to terrorize the living. For years the residents of Ashbury
  and all lands within 100 miles became slaves to the undead and
  their cultic masters. Cecil was not about to let his homeland
  succumb to the living dead.
  Cecil DeFaust organized a small force of twelve hunters and
  equipped them all with one of his masterpiece motorcycles.
  Knowing they couldn’t handle these undead beasts alone, the
  team assisted Cecil in building robots using what they could
  scrounge from the salvage yard. Although only able to build
  eight robots, the hunter force set out to recapture the land
  stolen from them by the walking dead.
  Ashbury Twelve
  Cecil DeFaust is a master engineer, born and raised in a quiet
  rural land. Because of his parents’ salvage business, he was able
  to spend his youth learning to manipulate mechanical technol-
  ogy. His continuous tinkering led to incredible designs with his
  most popular being a steam- and clockwork-powered motorcy-
  cle. However, seeing as how you cannot defeat an army of
  undead with motorcycles alone, Cecil put his intelligence to
  work along with the aid of his hunting peers. After a year of
  intense work, having to constantly defend their workshop from
  the undead, Cecil was able to build steam- and clockwork-pow-
  ered robots to aid in the hunting of the undead.
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  25
  Illustration © YorkBerlin/Shutterstock.com
  Cecil’s hunting force is known as the Ashbury Twelve and they
  employ whatever weapons they can get their hands on to
  defend the land and hopefully take it back from the undead.
  Thanks to Cecil’s engineering knowledge, many of the Ashbury
  Twelve are equipped with steam- and clockwork-powered
  weapons. However, they always carry non-powered weapons
  should technology decide to fail them.
  The Ashbury Twelve does not know much about the undead
  creatures they are hunting, other than they don’t seem to go
  away. The land they live on is not ripe with magic nor has raising
  the dead ever occurred in the past. In fact, the undead didn’t
  appear until after a plague swept across the land, bringing
  zombies, ghouls, and other vile beings to Ashbury and the
  surrounding region. No one knows the driving force behind
  these creatures, but they are determined to devour everyone
  in sight.
  Walking Dead
  It is not a coincidence that the undead now walk the lands of
  Ashbury and the surrounding region. A necromancer named
  Damascus called forth a giant plague that swept across hun-
  dreds of miles, seeding the ground with what would become
  the living dead. Because the region had been populated for
  hundreds of years, but never urbanized, there is no shortage of
  cemeteries while there is a shortage of resistance. Damascus’
  plan was to create a large undead army in the rural area of and
  around Ashbury and march them to nearby urban populations
  to wreak havoc. What Damascus didn’t know was that Cecil
  DeFaust and the Ashbury Twelve would rise up to combat his
  force of undead.
  Building a large enough army of undead takes a long period of
  time and Damascus’ resources were limited. He aimed for the
  barely-populated region of Ashbury and the surrounding lands,
  expecting little resistance and plenty of time to build his army.
  After raising a number of undead soldiers and attacking the
  townsfolk, Damascus was able to raise fresh corpses and turn
  them into ghouls, as those who were in the graveyards were
  raised as zombies. The ghouls play an important part in Damas-
  cus’ plan as they can turn the living into undead ghouls. Howev-
  er, as-is common in human society, resistance was met and the
  process has been slow. Once the Ashbury Twelve formed, the
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  26 | For All Things Savage
  CHARACTER GALLERY
  process came to a halt as the hunters found how to kill the
  zombies and ghouls.
  Damascus has not given up on his plans and continues to raise
  more zombies and ghouls to drive his plans forward. With
  Ashbury Twelve’s launch of steam- and clockwork-powered
  robots to flank their small force, these plans are coming to a
  complete standstill.
  Cecil DeFaust
  The Ashbury Twelve don’t truly have a leader, but most will
  point to Cecil DeFaust by default. His parents have remained
  safe after moving into DeFaust’s Engineering and have played a
  major role in finding food to keep any survivors alive. They do
  not have the capability to hunt the undead alongside their son,
  but they do know how to create reinforced bunkers for the
  survivors to live in. The DeFaust land now has a series of under-
  ground bunkers that houses up to 100 survivors at one time.
  However, there are many more survivors out there and every-
  one must take their turn foraging or hunting for food and
  attempting to rescue additional survivors. Those who are lucky
  escape the region and leave the armies of undead behind for
  good. Those who aren’t lucky end up as another ghoul in the
  army.
  Cecil is thus the main driving factor behind the new war against
  the undead. If it weren’t for his motorcycles giving the Ashbury
  Twelve the ability to travel the lands quickly and flee from the
  undead, the hunting efforts would quickly end. But with so
  many bodies still in the ground and so many neighboring cities
  falling to the armies of undead, the outlook is very grim. With
  Cecil’s robots, the Ashbury Twelve may be able to finally win
  this war and find who is behind the undead, as they know
  nothing about Damascus.
  In game terms, Cecil DeFaust is a Veteran Master Engineer with
  a scholar’s edge toward steam- and clockwork-powered tech-
  nology. He does not claim to be a hunter of the undead, but
  does know a thing or two about pointing his Enveloper Pistol at
  a shambling creature and watching it explode. As a character,
  he can be used within any setting that exhibits steam- and
  clockwork-powered technology where dark magic is present in
  the form of cultic necromancers. He could easily exist in an
  alternate history setting where Ashbury is placed somewhere
  in the United States Midwest where rural lands rule for miles
  around. DeFaust’s Salvage would consist of old automobiles,
  tractors, and lots of farm and wagon equipment. Shadowed
  Earth presents a number of opportunities for an alternate his-
  tory where Cecil and the Ashbury Twelve can fit.
  ENVELOPER PISTOL [CLOCKWORK]
  The enveloper pistol is a creation of Cecil Defaust’s that har-
  nesses the necrotic energy crisscrossing the region for use
  against the undead. The bulk of the pistol is the size of a
  standard pistol, except for the large barrel at the end. When
  switched from Expel to Harness, the Enveloper Pistol draws in
  necrotic energy and stores it within a pair of capsules mounted
  on its top edge. The clockwork mechanism inside the pistol is
  able to extract the necrotic energy by ciphering it from the
  oxygen in the air. The air surrounding the pistol is drawn into
  the pistol and oxygen is expelled from the barrel, trapping the
  necrotic energy inside. This only works in Defaust’s home re-
  gion as it is teeming with necrotic energy.
  The clockwork mechanism is wound by inserting the pistol into
  Cecil Defaust’s backpack, which also holds a small tool kit. The
  mechanism must be wound before harnessing the necrotic
  energy in addition to be wound before expelling that energy as
  a necrotic blast against undead creatures.
  Setting the Enveloper Pistol to Expel allows the user to shoot
  the harnessed energy at a target. Although this necrotic energy
  only affects the undead, it is very powerful and versatile. The
  user may adjust the clockwork mechanism to increase the
  potency or number of shots expelled from the pistol.
  The biggest drawback to the design of the Enveloper Pistol is
  that it requires the winding backpack worn by Cecil Defaust.
  This backpack automatically winds the pistol for quick and
  repeated use, without any interface from the user. However,
  this means the pistol must be rewound every time the clock-
  work mechanism is fully released.
  CECIL DEFAUST (VETERAN)
  Cecil Defaust is a master engineer, focusing on
  steam- and clockwork-powered gadgets.
  Attr: Agility d8, Smarts d10, Spirit d6, Strength d4, Vigor d6
  Pace: 6; Parry: 4; Toughness: 6 (1); Charisma: 0
  Skills: Driving d4, Fighting d4, Knowledge (Clockwork) d8,
  Knowledge (Steam) d8, Notice d4+2, Repair d8+2, Riding
  d8, Shooting d6, Streetwise d6, Survival d4, Tracking d6,
  Weird Science d8
  Gear: Masterpiece Motorcycle, Robot Army, Tool Kit,
  Winding Backpack (holding the Enveloper Pistol and the
  tool kit)
  Armor: Leather Jacket (Torso +1)
  Weapons: Enveloper Pistol, Knife (Str+d4)
  Hindrances: Curious (Major), Loyal (Minor), Stubborn
  (Minor)
  Edges: Alertness, Arcane Background (Weird Science),
  Brave, Luck, Mr. Fix It
  Powers: Bolt (Enveloper Pistol) [Skill: Shooting]
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  27
  CHARACTER GALLERY
  Rank: Novice – anyone with Shooting can use the Enveloper
  Pistol, but it can only be rewound using Cecil Defaust’s back-
  pack.
  Skill: Shooting
  Power: Bolt – the Enveloper Pistol is a clockwork weapon that
  utilizes the bolt power.
  Power Points: 12 - As per the bolt power, the Enveloper Pistol
  uses 1 Power Point per necrotic missile. Additionally, the user
  can expend 2 Power Points to increase the damage. Howev-
  er, the Enveloper Pistol can only be used to a maximum of 12
  Power Points before it needs to be rewound. Additionally, it
  can only be used to a maximum of 12 Power Points before it
  needs to be refilled with necrotic energy.
  Range: 12/24/48
  Duration: Instant – As per the bolt power, use of the Enveloper
  Pistol is an instant attack. However, it takes 2 rounds to
  rewind the clockwork mechanism and 2 rounds to harness
  enough necrotic energy to fill the pistol (1 round of harness-
  ing produces only 6 Power Points). Filling the pistol with
  necrotic energy expends its full winding, while only harness-
  ing half the energy expends half of the winding (represented
  by Power Points). Thus, if 2 rounds are spent harnessing
  necrotic energy, the pistol must spend 2 rounds rewinding
  before it is fully usable with all 12 Power Points. Optionally, if
  the pistol is fully wound (2 rounds spent winding), 1 round
  can be spent harnessing 6 Power Points of necrotic energy,
  leaving enough winding to expend those 6 Power Points. The
  winding backpack requires one hour of maintenance every
  seven days to keep the winding mechanism active.
  Actions: Placing and removing the Enveloper Pistol into the
  winding backpack is considered ‘Readying a Weapon,’ forcing
  multi-action penalties where applicable. However, while the
  pistol is winding, the user may continue acting without inter-
  facing with the backpack or the pistol. This is due to the
  design of the backpack winding mechanism and how the
  pistol slots into it. No rolls are needed to wind the pistol.
  Damage to the backpack from a Called Shot breaks the wind-
  ing mechanism and requires a successful Repair roll with a
  (-2) penalty or Weird Science roll without any penalties.
  Weird Science rolls require Knowledge (Clockwork), other-
  wise only Repair rolls are allowed.
  Trappings: The Enveloper Pistol utilizes necrotic energy har-
  nessed from the air around it. When fired, this energy enve-
  lopes the target and eats away at their skin. It only works
  against targets with the Undead trait. Targets without this
  trait are completely unaffected by the pistol.
  MASTERPIECE MOTORCYCLE [STEAM AND CLOCKWORK]
  Cecil Defaust’s masterpiece motorcycles are a steam- and
  clockwork-driven vehicle. Because access to gasoline has been
  limited by the undead incursion of the region (gas stations
  rarely get refilled due to trucks being attacked by zombies), a
  traditional engine was not feasible. Instead, the tank is filled
  with water and forced fed into a clockwork chamber that runs
  on a heat-producing clockwork mechanism.
  Using the winding mechanisms in Cecil’s steam-powered shop,
  the motorcycles are able to run for up to six hours before
  needing to be rewound. When active, the heat-producing
  clockwork mechanism moves a series of metal pistons through-
  out individual shafts. The heat from the pistons combines with
  the pressure from the water tank to funnel steam pressure that
  drives the clockwork engine. The faster the pistons move, the
  more steam pressure there is, driving the clockwork engine
  faster, which is then transferred to the rear wheel through a
  belt. The more pressure there is, the faster the clockwork
  engine moves.
  The masterpiece motorcycles ceramic pistons move much
  slower than the clockwork engine and the entire system allows
  the creation of increased horsepower through the use of steam
  pressure. Thus, the steam is required to make the motorcycles
  move faster than the undead.
  Acc/TS: 10/16
  Toughness: 8 (2)
  Duration: 3 (6) – When traveling across open terrain, the Mas-
  terpiece Motorcycle can run for six hours. However, the
  undead plague on the region requires at least five hours
  before the danger passes (due to the speed of the motorcy-
  cle) and the only winding station is located at Cecil Defaust’s
  shop. Traveling across open terrain takes three hours there
  and three hours back to the winding station without getting
  caught in zombie territory. During combat, constant acceler-
  ation and deceleration reduces the run time to four hours
  total.
  Crew: 1+1
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  28 | For All Things Savage
  CHARACTER GALLERY
  CRUSHER ROBOT [STEAM AND CLOCKWORK]
  The crusher robot has large, crushing hands that can wrap
  around a target and squeeze until the target bursts.
  Attr: Agility d6, Smarts d4, Spirit d4, Strength d10, Vigor d8
  Pace: 5; Parry: 7; Toughness: 9 (2)
  Skills: Fighting d10, Notice d4
  Special Abilities:
  ·
  Construct: +2 to recover from being Shaken; do not
  suffer additional damage from Called Shots; do not
  suffer from disease or poison.
  ·
  Crushing Grip: Crusher robots use their clamp-like
  hands to crush their targets. This is treated as a stan-
  dard Grapple attack with a damage of Str+d6.
  ·
  Fearless: Immune to Fear and Intimidation.
  ·
  Metal Body: Crusher robots are constructed of a light-
  weight metal frame, providing Armor +2.
  ·
  Reach 1: Crusher robots have long arms which extend
  their reach.
  ·
  Size +1: Crusher robots are about 8 ft. tall.
  ·
  Spin Attack: A crusher robot may instead spin its body
  to hit everyone adjacent to it, although not in the
  same round it performed a Crushing Grip attack. This
  is treated as a standard Sweep attack with Reach 1,
  but only the robot’s Strength is counted for damage.
  ·
  Steam-powered: Crusher robots have steam-driven
  engines to creating their crushing power. They can
  operate for two hours before needing to be refilled
  with water. Refilling takes 1 round to perform.
  ·
  Winding: Crusher robots are clockwork constructs
  that require winding. They can operate for two hours
  before needing to be rewound. Rewinding takes 6
  rounds to perform.
  Illustration © YorkBerlin/Shutterstock.com
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  29
  CHARACTER GALLERY
  DAGGER ROBOT [STEAM]
  The dagger robot has multiple arms with large claws attached
  to them. Their body spins around to slice at multiple targets.
  Attr: Agility d6, Smarts d4, Spirit d4, Strength d6, Vigor d8
  Pace: 5; Parry: 6; Toughness: 8 (2)
  Skills: Fighting d8, Notice d6
  Special Abilities:
  ·
  Claws: Str+d4
  ·
  Construct: +2 to recover from being Shaken; do not
  suffer additional damage from Called Shots; do not
  suffer from disease or poison.
  ·
  Fearless: Immune to Fear and Intimidation.
  ·
  Metal Body: Dagger robots are constructed of a light-
  weight metal frame, providing Armor +2.
  ·
  Multiple Limbs: Across their torso, dagger robots have
  multiple limbs with claws. In any round in which they
  do not do a sweep attack, they may attack two adja-
  cent targets without penalties.
  ·
  Sweep: Dagger robots are designed to spin and attack
  all adjacent targets with their claws.
  ·
  Steam-powered: Dagger robots are driven by steam-
  powered engines. They can operate for three hours
  before needing to be refilled with one gallon of water.
  Refilling takes 2 rounds to perform.
  PIXIE ROBOT [CLOCKWORK]
  The pixie robot is a small, flying construct designed to distract
  the enemy while the other robots and the Ashbury Twelve move
  to attack.
  Attr: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d4, Strength d4, Vigor d6
  Pace: 6; Parry: 4; Toughness: 6 (2)
  Skills: Fighting d4, Notice d8, Taunt d6
  Special Abilities:
  ·
  Construct: +2 to recover from being Shaken; do not
  suffer additional damage from Called Shots; do not
  suffer from disease or poison.
  ·
  Fearless: Immune to Fear and Intimidation.
  ·
  Flight: Pixie robots have a Flying Pace of 12” with a
  Climb of 3.
  ·
  Metal Body: Pixie robots are constructed of a light-
  weight metal frame, providing Armor +2.
  ·
  Punch: Str+d4; pixie robots are meant as a distraction
  and are not equipped with real weapons. Instead, they
  punch their targets to keep them preoccupied.
  ·
  Size -1: Pixie robots are small to allow for fast move-
  ment across the battlefield.
  ·
  Winding: Pixie robots are clockwork constructs that
  require winding. They can operate for one hour before
  needing to be rewound. Rewinding takes 3 rounds to
  perform.
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  30 | For All Things Savage
  Corroders and Amalgams
  It started with Vera-Tech.
  The advent of cybernetics was never revolutionary or awe
  inspiring.  They were expensive, glitchy, and cumbersome.  The
  media loved to plaster screens with horrific images of bloodied
  metal and flesh, the results of faulty augments and rejection.
  Cybernetics corporations and syndicates were careful, knowing
  they could be ruined overnight by lawsuits if they created a bad
  augment.
  Then Vera-Tech, Inc. found a solution: a sympathetic Artificial
  Intelligence integrated with the software. This A.I. prevented
  the body from rejecting cybernetic augments, protected the
  brain from being corrupted, and even improved the reaction
  time between hardware and brain. Merely a decade later, this
  innovation has brought cybernetics and augments to the fore-
  front of technology and fashion.  Corporations still rise over-
  night, and markets boom as augments become more
  streamlined and chic.
  SETTING
  Cantharis
  Cantharis is a megalopolis of approximately 25 million people
  that functions as an independent city-state; a technocracy
  where the rise and fall of the individuals and corporations
  hinges on cutting edge technology. The vast city is built high
  into the sky, creating a high population density and a deficit of
  natural resources. Cantharis’ lifeblood is the export of technol-
  ogy, specifically cybernetics and augmentations. Surrounded by
  heavily armored walls, it is cut off from the Badlands and pro-
  tected from rival mega-cities.
  The many levels of the city, known as tiers, are connected by
  sophisticated vertical highways, labyrinthine catwalks, and net-
  works of transportation tunnels. Cantharis is organized in a
  literal hierarchy of power: the wealthy living in luxury atop the
  city’s towers, while the working class and poor reside in lower
  tiers, where sunlight cannot reach.
  Illustration © Unholy Vault Designs/Shutterstock.com
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  31
  The Net is another layer of connection in the city; it extends just
  to the walls of the city and keeps Cantharis’ citizens connected
  through a vast network of computers, communicators, and
  virtual worlds. In this technology dominated domain, a connec-
  tion to the Net is often necessary for the simplest of tasks, from
  purchasing goods to opening doors, and it is illegal to discon-
  nect from the Net. Every citizen and visitor to Cantharis must
  have a chip that places them in The Net, for not only does it
  enable functionality within the city, it tracks location and activ-
  ity.
  The Badlands
  Before the rise of the walls, Cantharis sprawled, claiming as
  much land as it could, as did most pre-modern cities. When the
  hive city erected its walls, everything beyond them was cut off
  and left to decay. “The Badlands” is a term for these areas, now
  torn by stray and deflected weaponry.
  In this forgotten landscape of abandoned apartments, derelict
  offices, and decaying highways are mountains of mechanical
  scrap and pools of toxic chemicals.  For those who seek usable
  materials and wealth in these places, the dangers are high but
  the rewards can be great. Areas like these are populated by
  people who fled the city for economic reasons or to escape
  criminal charges. However, there is a substantial population of
  individuals who were born outside the city.
  The Roost
  The Roost is a pocket settlement in the Badlands where ancient
  buildings have been repurposed into living quarters and multi-
  level gardens. The Roost is dominated by Corroders with many
  refugees and fugitives from Cantharis. This is as safe a haven as
  any Corroder or other Badland “citizen” can find, and compara-
  tively well off due to the influx of goods, especially medicine,
  from illegal trade with Cantharis citizens. The Roost claims one
  share from every contract collected by its members, but also
  provides resources when desperately needed.
  Amalgams
  Amalgams are creatures of technological nightmares and leg-
  end, created when Vera-Tech’s sympathetic A.I. merges with a
  host’s brain, fusing into a new consciousness. This amalgama-
  tion results in insanity, usually hostile, and – in dangerous cases
  – retains the host’s intelligence. To those who know Amalgams
  are real, it’s clear that the cause is a flaw in the A.I., but not
  what the flaw is or how the host triggers it. Functional Amal-
  gams become predatory, hunting down augmented individuals
  through the Net, seeking to graft particular technology or bio-
  logical components into themselves. There is no consistency
  between the actions or victims between Amalgams. One may
  attack anyone present, publicly, while another operates in se-
  cret behind a façade of normality. Vera-Tech is aware of the
  “glitch” in the A.I and spends millions in resources to conceal
  the truth. Should the public find out about the truth behind
  Amalgams and Vera-Tech’s involvement, the fallout would be
  catastrophic, not just for Vera-Tech but the entire cybernetic
  industry – the backbone of Cantharis’ economics.
  Corroders
  In a world where everything has a locator, microchip, or elec-
  tronic circuitry, there are stories of Corroders:  bounty hunters
  who live off the grid. These individuals slip in through cracks in
  the wall, and enter into the city without the neural implants
  required to connect to the Net. This makes them both almost
  impossible to trace and criminals the second they step foot in
  Cantharis. When corporations need dirty work done while
  keeping their hands clean, such as when an Amalgam is discov-
  ered, they hire a crew of Corroders.
  Lacking implants and modern electronics, Corroders find a dif-
  ferent set of equipment suits them. Low-tech weaponry offers
  distinct advantages: it’s neither expected and prepared for, nor
  can it be tracked. Glass vials of acid don’t trigger metal detec-
  tors, ceramic swords can cleave metal, and reinforced shields
  offer better protection than Duraweave. Adapting low technol-
  ogy to combat high technology is a requirement for staying
  alive. Anything too modern may require implants to use and is
  almost certain to be traceable in the Net.
  Corroders rarely know who they work for. Transactions are
  conducted with a go-between known as a face.  The routine is
  simple:  a contact sets a meeting with the face; the contract is
  offered; the target ends up on a scrap heap; goods are collect-
  ed; and no one is the wiser. Most times.
  NPCS
  The NPCs here are statted as if they are PC characters with 10
  XP, the recommended starting point for the PCs. All Corroders
  have the Poverty and Wanted (minor, no Net connection) Hin-
  drances, the McGyver Edge, and a free d6 in Survival.
  WEASEL
  Weasel can drive anything from archaic wheeled motor vehicles
  to the newest in anti-grav cars.  She’s rarely a part of any hit
  team, but does bring in goods through underbelly races in
  Cantharis. When she does participate in Corroders’ “regular
  GREAT ADVENTURES
  By Brett Boyko and Mariah Malczewska of Dark Smile
  Games
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  32 | For All Things Savage
  GREAT ADVENTURES
  fare,” she only runs pick-up, drop-off, and getaway driving. She
  does not get involved in combat.
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d8, Spirit d6, Strength d4, Vigor d6
  Skills: Driving d10, Knowledge (Cantharis Streets and Layout)
  d8, Notice d4, Repair d8, Streetwise d6, Survival d6, Throwing
  d4.
  Pace: 6; Parry: 2; Toughness: 5
  Gear: Custom car, basic med kit, repair kit, glass containers,
  flashlight.
  Hindrances: Cautious (except when driving), Big Mouth, Illiter-
  ate, Wanted (Minor: no Net connection), Poverty
  Edges: Ace, Great Luck, McGyver
  Fee:  Will work for equal share the contract.
  Weasel’s Car: Acc/Ts: 30/50, Toughness: 10(2), Crew: 1+4
  BRUISE
  Bruise was born in the Badlands and has recently found his way
  to the Roost. He’s surprisingly good natured and easy going,
  given his appearance. Bruise is 7-foot, 350 lbs. of pure muscle,
  with a network of scars across his body and face. His favorite
  weapon is a maul he made himself from pieces of an Amalgam.
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d4, Spirit d8, Strength d8, Vigor d6
  Skills: Fighting d10+1, Intimidation d4, Notice d4, Repair d4,
  Stealth d8, Survival d6, Throwing d8, Tracking d6.
  Pace: 6; Parry: 6; Toughness: 7 (1)
  Gear: Maul (Str+d8, 2 handed, Parry -1, AP 2 vs. rigid), leather
  armor (+1, torso, arms, legs), 2x grenade (3d6, MBT), 2x acid
  bomb (3d6, SBT).
  Hindrances: Overconfident, Ugly, Loyal, Wanted (minor: no Net
  connection), Poverty
  Edges: Brawny, Trademark Weapon
  Fee: Will work for equal share of the contract.
  MIRA
  Mira was a socialite in Cantharis, and the rumors are that she
  was somebody important, but no one knows why she left and
  came to the Roost. Since her arrival, Mira uses her contacts and
  negotiating skills to get better contracts and supplies and to get
  in and out of the city with minimum fuss.
  Attributes: Agility d4, Smarts d8, Spirit d10, Strength d4, Vigor
  d6
  Skills: Investigation d6, Knowledge (Cantharis Elite) d8, Knowl-
  edge (Technology) d6, Notice d8, Persuasion d10, Streetwise
  d8.
  Pace: 6; Parry: 2; Toughness: 5; Charisma: +4
  Gear: Wardrobe appropriate to Cantharis upper middle to elite
  class, laser pistol (1-3d6, semi-auto, 15/30/60), flare grenade
  (Agility check at (-2) to avoid effect, blind until unshaken,
  MBT), hacked cellphone (no Net connection required),
  hacked Net connector (can pass as if connected).
  Hindrances: Curious, Enemy (Minor), Anemic.
  Edges: Charismatic, Attractive, Contacts: Cantharis Police and
  Cantharis Politicians
  Fee: Will work for a double share of the contract.
  CHAPTER ONE: NEGOTIATIONS
  Word has reached the Roost of a high priority hit, and the crew
  has made the claim for it. They have to get to the rendezvous
  by tomorrow evening at 5PM to negotiate the contract details.
  First, they slip through the wall and then get to the meet-up.
  The location is in a highly public, poor area, typical for these
  negotiations, but means it’s very likely they come to the atten-
  tion of the local authorities.
  Encounters with Cantharis police consist of regular beat cops,
  accustomed to dealing with lower-tier criminals. They do not
  use lethal force unless attacked first. However, the police force
  on the wall are much better armed and trained, and less con-
  cerned with injuring suspects—but if the crew knows its way
  around, some are easily bribed. When the crew gets to the
  meet-up they find it’s in a small pub that’s loud, poorly lit, and
  reeking of sweat, alcohol, and meat about to turn rancid. The
  Face is sitting there, sunglasses concealing her eyes. Read or
  paraphrase the following:
  “A pair of Amalgams broke into one of our research and
  development facilities. They stole highly classified data. My
  employer wants the data back and the Amalgams dead.”
  Her opening offer is a crate of medical supplies, mostly penicil-
  lin, and the aid of an assistant, Jude, to track the Amalgams in
  the Net. She then gives them an envelope with the security
  camera footage of the two Amalgams and the list of agreed
  upon goods.
  WALL POLICE
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d8, Spirit d8, Strength d6, Vigor d8
  Skills: Driving d4, Fighting d6, Investigation d6, Notice d8,
  Shooting d8.
  Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 10 (4)
  Gear: Police car, laser pistol (1-3d6, semi-auto), stun baton
  (Str+d4), police vest (armor +4, torso), visored helmet (armor
  +2, head), Duraweave (armor +2, torso, arms, legs), flash-
  light, handcuffs, communicators.
  Special Abilities:
  ·
  Stun Baton: a raise on the roll to hit causes the target
  to be at (-2) Parry until their next action; non-lethal.
  POLICE PATROLLERS
  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d8, Strength d6, Vigor d6
  Skills: Driving d6, Fighting d6, Notice d8, Shooting d6.
  Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 6 (2)
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  33
  GREAT ADVENTURES
  Gear: Police car, laser pistol (1-3d6, semi-auto), stun baton
  (Str+d4), Duraweave (armor +2, torso, arms, legs), flashlight,
  handcuffs, communicators.
  Special Abilities:
  ·
  Stun Baton: a raise on the roll to hit causes the target
  to be at -2 parry until their next action; non-lethal.
  POLICE CAR
  Acc/TS: 20/40; Toughness: 14(4); Crew: 1+1+two in back cage,
  Hover (ignores difficult terrain), Air Bags
  CHAPTER TWO: THE OLD
  FACTORY
  The first of the two Amalgams is not subtle; he should be easy
  to trace. It takes Jude a few days to find him through the Net,
  but the crew should be able to find him faster on foot. This
  Amalgam has been buzzing old munitions factories, gang stock-
  piles, and anything that may have heavy weaponry or the com-
  ponents of, and is currently at a condemned industrial plant.
  The site was once used to make energy cells for security force
  weapons. The plant is a large building filled with shadows,
  rusting pipes, and old machinery. The framework groans under
  its own weight with each footstep and gives away the location
  of its other occupant. (Require Notice checks to determine the
  location of the Amalgam.)  The Amalgam is on the main assem-
  bly floor searching for energy cells and other sources of power
  amongst the crates of battery fuel and debris. At a second
  glance, they notice several hovering camera spheres following
  him and searching out other materials.
  There is 2 to 3 hover-bots for each character. It is hostile ter-
  rain. The battery fuel is an acid that does 3d4 damage on
  contact, and the derelict machinery deals 2d6 damage on a
  failed Agility or Climbing check as relevant. There is an abun-
  dance of old palates and debris to block line of sight and pro-
  vide cover.
  Once defeated, the crew can salvage the body and data. With a
  successful Hacking or Computer roll at (-2) they will be able to
  read some of the server data: the sympathetic A.I. performs a
  secondary function, subtly manipulating its host making it a
  more pliable consumer, loyal to Vera-Tech.
  GUNNER AMALGAM
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d6, Strength d6,
  Vigord6
  Skills: Notice d8, Shooting d8, Throwing d8, Fighting d4
  Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 9 (2)
  Gear: Duraweave “skin” (+2 armor, full enclosure), Wrist Sabre
  (Parry +1, Str+d4), 2xGrenades (3d6, MBT), Laser Riffle (1-
  3d6, RoF 3, 48 shots, 30/60/120, Auto, 3RB)
  Special Abilities:
  ·
  Marksman
  ·
  Dodge
  ·
  Cyborg: +2 to recover from being shaken, +2 Tough-
  ness, does not suffer wound penalties
  ·
  Target Lock: Choose a target at the start of the com-
  bat. Gain +2 to an attack roll against the selected tar-
  get.  Gain -1 shooting and fighting at other targets.
  When original target is incapacitated or flees, choose
  a new target.
  HOVER GUN-BOTS
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d4 (A), Spirit d4, Strength d4,
  Vigor d4
  Skills: Notice d6, Shooting d8
  Pace: 6; Parry: 2; Toughness:6 (2)
  Special Abilities:
  ·
  Hover: Ignores hostile terrain effects.
  ·
  Construct: Immune to called shots, poison, fear, in-
  timidation, +2 to recover from being Shaken, does
  not suffer wound penalties
  ·
  Metallic Shell: Armor +2
  ·
  Energy Beam: 1-2d6 pulse gun, RoF: 1, 15/30/60, 10
  shots.  Increasing the damage per attack uses a like
  number of shots.  A 2d6 uses up 2 shots.
  CHAPTER THREE: THE HIVE
  “There have been a lot of missing persons reported on Tiers
  36 to 38 since the robbery, and I’ve got partial visuals that
  look like her outside some of their hardware and electronics
  stores. She might be holing up in the area.”
  These tiers are mostly suburban residential for the moderately
  wealthy. There are abundant parks, trees, and upscale shop-
  ping areas. Walking through its open and bright spaces, the
  crew can feel the claustrophobia of the city lift—but also the
  wary and distrustful looks cast their way. Given the current rash
  of disappearances, it’s only a matter of time until someone calls
  the police.
  Finding this Amalgam is more difficult; she seems to be hiding,
  and except for excursions to a few stores has avoided cameras
  and the Net. Her behavior suggests she’s also retained more of
  her original intelligence, which should make her a bigger threat.
  Once she is found, she remains in public areas until retreating
  to her apartment workshop.
  Insider her apartment is a long hallway with doors on both
  sides, and a Net controlled door at the end. All the walls around
  her workshop are well soundproofed and secure. In the living
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  34 | For All Things Savage
  GREAT ADVENTURES
  room are multiple feral Amalgams, individuals who did not
  retain any of their human intelligence when the A.I. took over.
  There are three Feral Amalgams per character; two in the living
  room and one in the workshop with the Amalgam they’re
  hunting (Close Combat Amalgam). However, due to the sound-
  proofing, it should be possible to take out most of the living
  room group before the others notice anything amiss.
  Each square on the map represents ½” or 1 yard, but because
  of the confined space most movement should count as on
  difficult ground.
  Once the Amalgams have been defeated, the crew finds the
  data they need to collect is not on this Amalgam, but a pass-
  code is. Searching reveals there is a server room attached to the
  workshop, and when they enter the passcode a message ap-
  pears.
  “If you’ve found this, please get this data and word of
  Vera-Tech’s activities to the authorities. My partner and I
  have likely been Amalgamed. We were researchers with
  Vera-Tech and found evidence that Vera-Tech has not only
  known of, but has intentionally caused the Amalgam prob-
  lem. The code has a section that increases the desire for
  new Vera-Tech augments in its host, but when certain
  conditions are met, this becomes the source of the Amal-
  gam problem. This code can also be remotely accessed and
  triggered by Vera-Tech, causing the host to become an
  Amalgam.”
  CLOSE COMBAT AMALGAM
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d10, Spirit d6, Strength
  d8, Vigor d10
  Skills: Fighting d10, Intimidation d8, Notice d6, Throwing d6
  Pace: 6; Parry: 7; Toughness: 9
  Special Abilities:
  ·
  Filament Laced Nails: Str +d6, AP 2
  ·
  Improved Frenzy
  ·
  Counterattack
  ·
  Cyborg: +2 to recover from being shaken, +2 Tough-
  ness, does not suffer wound penalties
  FERAL AMALGAM
  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d4(A), Spirit d4, Strength d6, Vigor
  d4
  Skills: Fighting d6, Intimidation d6, Notice d4
  Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 6
  Special Abilities:
  ·
  Bite: Str+d4
  ·
  Feral: Immune to Fear and Intimidation
  ·
  Cyborg: +2 to recover from being Shaken, +2 Tough-
  ness, does not suffer wound penalties
  ·
  Explosive Instability: When destroyed place a small
  template over Feral Amalgam. Characters who fail an
  agility check suffer 2d6 Fire Damage.
  CHAPTER FOUR: PAYDAY?
  The crew now has the choice of turning in the server data and
  other information and forfeiting their payment, or honoring
  their contract, collecting their payment, and handing over all
  evidence to Vera-Tech. Hired NPCs have their own opinions on
  the matter. Weasel and Bruise just want to collect on the pay,
  but Mira is adamant about turning the information into a poli-
  tician she knows – and not the police.
  When the crew leaves the apartment, the police are there to
  arrest them; they can go with the police or flee. (See Chapter
  One for stats).
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  35
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  37
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  38 | For All Things Savage
  DESIGNER’S DIARY
  Wild Card Creator
  By Will Herrmann of Journeyman Games
  An electronic character creator accessory
  Designer's Description
  Wild Card Creator is a character creator
  application built from the ground up for
  Savage Worlds. It allows users to import
  content from any published PDF. It is
  highly customizable and allows users to
  easily add content from both published
  and homebrew games. Character data
  can be outputted to several different for-
  mats, including customizable XML char-
  acter sheets and Fantasy Grounds II
  format. Wild Card Creator can even put
  your character into a form-fillable char-
  acter sheet.
  Wild Card Creator will initially be avail-
  able for Mac, Windows, and Linux in the
  second quarter of 2013 with iOS and An-
  droid versions to follow. The initial Kick-
  starter is closed, but you can pre-order it
  through our website:
  journeymangames.net.
  Purpose
  Wild Card Creator is the Savage Worlds
  character creator I always wanted to use.
  I wasn’t satisfied with existing character
  creators, so I decided to take on the am-
  bitious project of making my own! Many
  of the features are my solutions to prob-
  lems I had with other character creators.
  For instance, I didn’t care to pay money
  for content I already owned in PDF form,
  but I understood that most companies
  couldn’t afford to offer the content for
  free. So I created the PDF-extraction
  technology as a means of solving this
  problem; companies get increased reve-
  nue from PDF sales and users get to use
  content they already own. Most every-
  thing in the program is there because, as
  a Savage Worlds gamer, I want to see it
  myself.
  Influences
  I’m an Apple fanboy and the company
  has had a profound influence on the way
  I make software. They set out to make
  innovative software and hardware that is
  appealing, easy to use, practical, and fun
  while being usable by people of all com-
  puter skill levels. Those are the sort of
  qualities I admire and try to replicate in
  my own work.
  Donald A. Norman’s book The Design of
  Everyday Things also has had a huge im-
  pact on me by making me think about the
  way we use things, especially computer
  software. It’s easy, as a programmer, to
  get caught up in doing things that result
  in less work or takes advantage of your
  own assumptions, but this can result in a
  design that is unintuitive and confusing
  for users. Norman’s book has taught me
  one simple principle that I’ve always tried
  to keep in mind: optimize for the user.
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  39
  Research
  When I first came up with the idea of
  Wild Card Creator, I had to do a lot of
  learning and figure out if the sort of char-
  acter creator program I wanted to make
  was even feasible. Could a character cre-
  ator program be made that would extract
  character options from a PDF? How
  would I do it? Can it be cross-platform,
  with the potential for it to be ported to
  iOS and Android? Can I make it support
  every setting of Savage Worlds? I did a lot
  of self-teaching and learning to answer
  these questions and figure out how to
  create Wild Card Creator. There have
  been a lot of rough spots, but ultimately
  I’ve been able to find the answers to
  these questions and make it work.
  I’ve also had to do research into the Sav-
  age Worlds rules. For instance, what hap-
  pens if a character has the Fleet-Footed
  Edge (which sets the character’s Running
  Die to d10), but then they get an injury
  that gives them the Lame Hindrance
  (which sets the Running Die to d4)? The
  Savage Worlds community, especially
  Clint Black answering questions on the
  official forums, has been invaluable in
  helping me do this.
  Gaming Experience
  Wild Card Creator is designed to be the
  best character creator for Savage Worlds
  and embrace the “Savage Worlds mental-
  ity” of how the system works. Every part
  of Wild Card Creator, from the layout of
  the buttons to the way characters are
  outputted, has been examined from a
  standpoint of how it can be as intuitive as
  possible for Savage Worlds gamers. The
  idea is that you shouldn’t have to think
  about how to make your character; you
  should just be able to do it.
  Additionally, users should be able to do
  everything they want to with Wild Card
  Creator, as opposed to being limited by
  artificial constraints. Rules from supple-
  mental settings should work as intended
  and published settings should be sup-
  ported no matter how different the rules
  wind up being.  Finally, I want for users to
  embrace the fact that Savage Worlds is
  so customizable and be able to add any
  homebrew content to Wild Card Creator
  while also being able to share it with oth-
  ers.
  Comparison
  Several other character creators were
  originally designed to support d20 sys-
  tems and while I feel they handle those
  systems well, they don’t embrace Savage
  Worlds as well as Wild Card Creator does
  because they weren’t originally designed
  for it. Wild Card Creator contains many
  features not found in similar products.
  The ability to import PDFs from Pinnacle
  Entertainment Group and 22 third party
  settings (and counting) is something that
  no other Savage Worlds character cre-
  ator offers. Features such as being able to
  fill out a form-fillable PDF character sheet
  is something I have not seen in a charac-
  ter creator for any system. Also, Wild
  Card Creator makes it easy to add home-
  brew content and share it with others -
  no mucking around with a markup lan-
  guage.
  Development Process
  Development of a new feature starts by
  looking at the books. I carefully read the
  rules of both the core book and any set-
  tings that affect it and consider as a Sav-
  age Worlds gamer how I’d like to see this
  feature in a character creator program.
  When I’m ready to start thinking about
  implementation details, I pull out a note-
  book and start jotting down some
  pseudocode or drawing diagrams. Finally,
  I get ready to program and start coding in
  the feature, testing it at various steps
  along the way, and eventually bringing in
  others to test it. Often times I’m working
  on several different features at once. For
  instance, I might work on supporting a
  new setting and then switch to imple-
  menting a new rule that I haven’t consid-
  ered yet.
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  40 | For All Things Savage
  CHARACTER GALLERY
  Strike Force 7
  By Hyrum Savage of Super Genius Games
  Strike Force 7 – Savaged! is a game where you take on the role
  of one of America’s hard-charging elite in its battle with the
  highly trained, well-equipped, and mysterious terrorist organi-
  zation known as Skorpion. Skorpion will not stop until it has
  complete domination over the world, and Strike Force 7 is the
  only organization that can stop them. You can get the free
  Strike Force 7 Mini-Mission at RPGnow.com and incorporate
  these characters into your game play.
  One of the important elements that make up Strike Force 7
  characters is the different departments inside Strike Force 7.
  Full rules are in the SF 7 core rulebook, but at the most basic,
  each team provides a number of modifiers to select attributes,
  skills, Edges, and Hindrances. While picking a team is
  mandatory for the majority of SF7 games, the packages for each
  team are “free” in the sense that you don’t have to worry about
  saving points during character creation to acquire them since
  everything a SF7 Team adds is a bonus.
  To make things easier, we’ve included specific game rules for
  anything particular to Strike Force 7 not found in the Savage
  Worlds core rulebook.
  CAPTAIN GARY “DA BOSS” GIANNI
  More by personality than by virtue of his rank, Gary
  Gianni is clearly a leader in Strike Force 7. He impels by
  action rather than words, and is always the first one into any
  hot zone. While in the field, his first duty is to the team, followed
  by the mission. He’s willing to sacrifice team members, but only
  if the reward is worth it.
  Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d6, Spirit d6, Strength d6, Vigor
  d8
  Skills: Fighting d6, Intimidate d6, Knowledge (Battle) d8, Notice
  d6, Persuasion d6, Shooting d6, Stealth d6, Throwing d4
  Charisma: 0; Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 7
  Gear: Kinetex SF7 BDU* (+4/+8 vs bullets), Silenced OICW**
  (Range: 20/40/80; Dam: 2d8; ROF: 3; Clip: 30; Notes: AP 2,
  Auto, 3RB), Silenced Beretta 9mm (Range: 12/24/48; Dam:
  2d6; ROF: 3; Clip:  32; Notes: AP 1, Auto), 3 concussion
  grenades (MBT, 3d6), 5 flashbang grenades (MBT. On a suc-
  cess, targets make Vigor rolls or be Shaken (-2 with a raise)),
  encrypted headset radio, GPS receiver, night vision goggles,
  ammunition.
  Team: Military Operations***
  Hindrances: Code of Honor (Major), Loyal (Minor), Vow (Minor)
  Edges: Quick Draw, Command, Natural Leader, Strike Force 7
  Team Member$
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  41
  MASTER SERGEANT SHARON “LOIS” LANE
  From her earliest days growing up in rural Montana,
  Sharon, “Lois” to her friends, would always accompany
  her father, a famous hunter and producer of hunting themed
  television shows, on his many hunting trips, first in Montana,
  then around the world. And she’s good - really good - with just
  about any ranged weapon, but put a crossbow in her hands and
  she’ll put William Tell to shame. She takes the responsibility of
  being the first female member of Strike Force 7 to heart, know-
  ing that she’s being watched for failure. Her reaction to this is
  simple: she doesn’t fail.
  Attributes: Agility d10, Smarts d6, Spirit d6, Strength d4, Vigor
  d6
  Skills: Fighting d4, Notice d8+1, Shooting d10, Stealth d10+1,
  Survival d8, Throwing d4, Tracking d6
  Charisma: 0; Pace: 6; Parry: 4; Toughness: 4
  Gear: Kinetex SF7 BDU* (+4/+8 vs bullets), KA-1 Crossbow
  (Range: 15/30/60; Dam: 2d6; ROF: 1; Clip: 10; Notes: AP 2,
  Any Notice rolls to hear the KA-1 fire or to hear arrows strike
  a target or surface are at a -5 penalty), encrypted headset
  radio, GPS receiver, night vision goggles, ammunition.
  Team: Counter-Terrorist***
  Hindrances: Angel (Major)$: Someone in the Directorate^ is
  looking out for her, Loyal (Minor), Quirk: Will only use arrows
  she has made herself (Minor), Fame (Minor)$: Daughter of
  the host and producer of many hunting themed television
  programs.
  Edges: Trademark Weapon (KA-1 Crossbow), Hard Charging$,
  Strike Force 7 Team Member$
  SERGEANT FIRST CLASS STEVEN “INDY” DRAKE
  Steven Drake was always a loner. Withdrawn and quiet,
  some people thought he might be a borderline socio-
  path. When he dropped out of college and joined the Army, he
  finally found where he belonged. Drake is a top-notch field
  operator who just doesn’t work well with large groups. Lucky for
  him, he’s found a home in Strike Force 7.
  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d6, Strength d6, Vigor d6
  Skills: Driving d6, Fighting d6, Knowledge (Demolitions) d8,
  Notice d8, Persuasion d6, Repair d6, Shooting d6, Streetwise
  d6, Throwing d6
  Charisma: 0; Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 6
  Gear: Kinetex SF7 BDU* (+4/+8 vs bullets), Silenced OICW**
  (Range: 20/40/80; Dam: 2d8; ROF: 3; Clip: 30; Notes: AP 2,
  Auto, 3RB), Silenced Beretta 9mm (Range: 12/24/48; Dam:
  2d6; ROF: 3; Clip:  32; Notes: AP 1, Auto), 10 concussion
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  42 | For All Things Savage
  CHARACTER GALLERY
  grenades (MBT, 3d6), 5 flashbang grenades (MBT, on a suc-
  cess, targets make Vigor rolls or be Shaken (-2 with a raise)),
  5 Thermite grenades (MBT, 3d8, ignore armor), demolition
  kit, encrypted headset radio, GPS receiver, night vision gog-
  gles, ammunition.
  Team: Military Operations***
  Hindrances: Heroic (Major)
  Edges: McGyver, Common Bond (Maverick), Strike Force 7
  Team Member$, Dodging Tumble$
  STAFF SERGEANT RICHARD “POTUS” JACKSON
  Richard Jackson is just the opposite of Drake. Always
  the “Big Man on Campus,” Jackson was the center of
  any group or party. It came as a complete shock when he joined
  the Army, most people figuring he was headed straight for a life
  in politics. While he hasn’t filled anyone in on the reasons he
  signed up, he can’t hide the fact that he loves what he’s doing.
  Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d6, Spirit d10, Strength d6, Vigor
  d6
  Skills: Driving d6, Fighting d6, Knowledge (Demolitions) d8,
  Notice d8, Persuasion d6, Repair d6, Shooting d6, Streetwise
  d6, Throwing d6
  Charisma: 2; Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 6
  Gear: Kinetex SF7 BDU* (+4/+8 vs bullets), Silenced OICW**
  (Range: 20/40/80; Dam: 2d8; ROF: 3; Clip: 30; Notes: AP 2,
  Auto, 3RB), Silenced Beretta 9mm (Range: 12/24/48; Dam:
  2d6; ROF: 3; Clip:  32; Notes: AP 1, Auto), 10 concussion
  grenades (MBT, 3d6), 5 flashbang grenades (MBT, on a suc-
  cess, targets make Vigor rolls or be Shaken (-2 with a raise)),
  5 Thermite grenades (MBT, 3d8, ignore armor), demolition
  kit, encrypted headset radio, GPS receiver, night vision gog-
  gles, ammunition.
  Team: Military Operations***
  Hindrances: Loyal (Minor)
  Edges: Combat Reflexes, Daredevil$, Strike Force 7 Team Mem-
  ber$, Charismatic
  EQUIPMENT
  * KINETEX SF7 BDU
  A breakthrough in personal defense technology, the Kinetex
  Body Suit utilizes a special molding and dyeing process that is
  applied to a unique bioengineered cloth, to recreate any type
  of clothing style and color. It is the armor of choice for Strike
  Force 7, whose members constantly flaunt uniform regulations
  while maintaining proper protection in the field.
  ** SILENCED OICW (OBJECTIVE INDIVIDUAL COMBAT WEAPON)
  Designed by an international team led by defense contractor
  Alliant Techsystems, the OICW is the next generation infantry
  weapon. A modular weapon, it can have one or two barrels,
  with a firing system linked to a laser painting and targeting
  system previously only seen on armor units.
  The lower barrel is capable of firing 5.56mm ammunition at
  ranges of 500 yards, and is an ideal round for suppressive fire
  or single-round fire.  The upper barrel fires a 20mm air-bursting
  fragmentation round.  It is able to be armed for a variety of
  settings, such as passing through thin walls of an urban
  environment before detonating to detonation based on precise
  and accurate distances set by the integral rangefinder; in effect,
  the round can ‘shoot around corners’, exploding after it has
  passed concealing cover.  In addition, the rangefinder acts as
  night vision goggles.
  Rifle Round: 5.56x45mm, Damage: 2d8 (AP 2, Auto, 3RB),
  Range: 24/48/96, Weight: 10 lbs
  Air-Burst Round: 20mm, Damage: 3d6 (Medium Burst
  Template), Range: 5/10/20
  Additionally, the Air-Burst Round can be set to explode on
  impact (following normal grenade rules) or air burst mode.
  In air burst mode, this round works just like a
  fragmentation grenade, except for the following:
  •
  It does 1d4+2 damage for purposes of passing
  through objects in the way such as drywall and
  sheet metal
  •
  Deviation for this round is divided by one
  quarter so long as the area has been laser
  painted.  The area must be hit as normal.
  •
  Determine cover based on where the round
  detonates, not from the direction the round
  was fired.
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  43
  CHARACTER GALLERY
  Laser Painting System: The OICW targeting system allows
  for the ‘painting’ of a target or area with an active laser
  system similar to an anti-aircraft missile system.  This takes
  an action and a successful attack against the target, doing
  no damage, at which point nothing short of full
  concealment will grant any cover bonus to the target.  In
  addition, it grants a +2 bonus to hit targets that have at
  least 1/4 actual cover.
  *** TEAM
  MILITARY OPERATIONS
  These team members are the most likely to be seen by the
  public, either directly or through the media.  They fit the ‘classic’
  image of Special Operations Forces, and are well-versed in
  dealing with the chain of command and keeping their own
  people under control in rough situations.
  COUNTER-TERRORISTS
  Counter-Terrorist team members are the first called to oppose
  terrorist and drug-related activities. As Military Operations is seen
  as the ‘classic’ image of Special Operations Forces, the Counter-
  Terrorist Team is the group of roughnecks and renegades that still
  manage to shine.  Their work calls for a combination of military
  expertise and stealth as they often need to hit a target before the
  target realizes he is one.
  $ EDGES AND HINDRANCES
  DAREDEVIL (EDGE)
  Fools rush in where angels fear to tread, and your character is
  that fool. Strangely, fortune favors the foolish, and his
  recklessness has marked him as someone that thrives in
  danger. The character may reroll once any Bennie spent where
  he does not like the result and if the situation is one that he
  willingly placed himself in. Either number rolled may be kept.
  DODGING TUMBLE (EDGE)
  When targeted by a strafe attack, or the free attack from failing
  to take cover from suppressive fire, the character may make an
  Agility roll to avoid the attack.  If he succeeds, the attacker
  incurs a (-2) penalty when being shot at with a weapon whose
  Rate of Fire is greater than 1. The character may only avoid one
  attack a round in this fashion.
  HARD CHARGING (EDGE)
  The character is confident, even in the face of massive amounts
  of lead in the air. He adds +2 to Spirit rolls when being the
  target of Suppressive Fire.
  STRIKE FORCE 7 TEAM MEMBER (EDGE)
  The character is a member of Strike Force 7, and is granted
  federal arrest powers as a result.  If he reveals himself to be a
  member of Strike Force 7, he gains a +2 bonus to Persuasion
  rolls with all legitimate law enforcement authorities.
  ANGEL (HINDRANCE MINOR/MAJOR)
  Someone has marked the character for great things, and will go
  to incredible lengths to make sure he gets them.  Promotions
  come easier, he gets favorable assignments, and it just seems
  that doors open for him no matter where he goes.  Only
  problem is he doesn’t know who is opening the doors, or what
  they want in return.  The level of this Hindrance determines
  how powerful the person or organization that is helping the
  character is, as well as what they might want in return.
  FAME (HINDRANCE MINOR/MAJOR)
  The character is part of the public face of Strike Force 7, either
  as part of Strike Force 7’s media campaign, or due to his
  activities before becoming part of Strike Force 7.  As a result,
  people know his name and face, for good or ill.  He ends up
  attracting autograph seekers and fans.  He also ends up
  attracting the wrong type of attention, from Skorpion agents
  looking for a crack at the big time to drunks wanting to prove
  ‘you ain’t so tough’.  The level of this Hindrance determines just
  how well-known the character is, and to what lengths people
  will go to interact with him.
  ^ THE DIRECTORATE
  Who or what the Directorate is will be slightly different based
  on the type of game you’re running. For the default setting of
  Strike Force 7, the Directorate is made up of former senators,
  public-minded citizens with access to large amounts of money,
  various titans of Wall St., and other “Movers and Shakers”.
  However, in the eyes of Director Phelps, the Directorate exists
  to bankroll Strike Force 7, and if that means he has to put on a
  dog and pony show from time to time, that’s a price he’s more
  than willing to pay to avoid depending on Congress.
  Phelps isn’t stupid, and neither are the members of the Direc-
  torate, which ultimately means that Phelps lets the Directorate
  think it’s running the show. Imagine, if you will, having a rich
  uncle that just cuts you a check whenever you needed some-
  thing.  Like, say, 18 million dollars to fund a program on remote
  telepathic sensing.  Or 14 million to develop a new body armor
  that can be woven into the shape and thickness of regular cloth
  yet will stop .50 caliber rounds. Now imagine the constant fear
  that your uncle will actually decide to look into your activities,
  and won’t approve.  More to the point, what if he decides that
  he wants to use your good-intentioned program for his own
  ends. That is the Directorate, constantly hovering over Phelps
  like a hangman’s noose.
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  44 | For All Things Savage
  INTHENEWS
  By Aaron T. Huss
  ADAMANT
  ENTERTAINMENT
  THRILLING TALES: THE RED
  MENACE
  A new supplement for the
  world of pulp action and
  adventure.
  GRAMEL
  BEASTS & BARBARIANS:
  JALIZAR, CITY OF THIEVES
  A city supplement for Beasts
  & Barbarians detailing Jalizar.
  PEACEKEEPERS
  A new superhero mini-setting
  designed for use with the
  Super Powers Companion.
  HEARTHSTONE
  MARCHLAND: PLAYER’S
  GUIDE
  The player’s setting guide for
  this new modern fantasy
  Savage Worlds setting.
  MYSTICAL THRONE
  ENTERTAINMENT
  SAVAGE INSIDER #7: END OF
  DAYS
  A post-apocalyptic themed
  issue of the Savage Worlds
  magazine.
  SAVAGE INSIDER PREMIUM
  ISSUE #5
  The fifth and final premium
  offering of Savage Insider.
  ULTIMATE ROMAN LEGIONS
  GUIDE
  A detailed historical look into
  the 
  Roman 
  Legions 
  for
  incorporation 
  into 
  any
  setting.
  FAITH & DEMONS NATION
  GUIDE: BYZANTINE EMPIRE
  Your 
  detailed 
  guide 
  for
  incorporating the Byzantine
  Empire into Faith & Demons:
  The Rising.
  MERCENARY BREED:
  HASTILION EXPANSE
  COMPENDIUM II
  The second campaign book
  for the space opera Hastilion
  Expanse 
  for 
  Mercenary
  Breed.
  OBATRON PRODUCTIONS
  TUNSE’AL SETTING GUIDE
  The core setting guide for the
  new dark fantasy setting.
  PANIK PRODUCTIONS
  R.E.A.C.T.: ABYSS OF
  INSANITY
  The latest adventure in the
  R.E.A.C.T. action series.
  PINNACLE
  ENTERTAINMENT GROUP
  DELUXE GM’S SCREEN
  INSERTS
  New GM’s Screen inserts
  featuring the Deluxe edition
  mechanics.
  DEADLANDS: TRAIL GUIDE
  COMPENDIUM, VOLUME 1
  The first compilation of the
  Deadlands Trail Guide series.
  DEADLANDS NOIR
  The general availability of the
  Deadlands 
  Noir 
  neo-noir
  fantasy horror core setting
  guide.
  DEADLANDS NOIR:
  COMPANION BOOK
  The 
  first 
  supplemental
  follow-up to the Deadlands
  Noir core setting guide.
  DEADLANDS NOIR: THE OLD
  ABSINTHE HOUSE BLUES
  A short adventure module for
  Deadlands Noir.
  SAVAGE MOJO
  QUANTUM SLIDERS:
  KRISHNA’S RIDDLE
  A new adventure module set
  in the Suzerain universe.
  QUANTUM SLIDERS: RUINS
  OF TOMORROW
  Another adventure module
  set in the Suzerain universe.
  SCRYING EYE GAMES
  WELCOME TO MORTISTON
  USA!: EXTENDED
  ELECTRONIC PACKAGE #1
  The 
  first 
  PDF 
  follow-up
  supplement to the multi-
  system zombie campaign.
  TRIPLE ACE GAMES
  HELLFROST: CLASH OF
  STEEL
  A new adventure module for
  the epic fantasy Hellfrost.
  HELLFROST: LOCAL CUSTOM
  A simple supplement looking
  at the local customs found in
  the Hellfrost setting.
  HELLFROST REGION GUIDE
  #53A: REALMS OF ALFHEIM
  A short add-on Region Guide
  supplement 
  detailing 
  the
  elven realm.
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  45
  CALENDAR OF EVENTS
  By Vickey A. Beaver
  Welcome to Convention Connection! To ensure our readers have a chance to plan their convention trips, each issue shows
  conventions occurring in each of the three months following that issue, plus the month the issue is released. That does mean
  there will be some overlap between issues, but we felt the benefit is worth some small duplication.
  Covering April, May, June, and July At-A-Glance
  Convention
  Website
  Dates
  Location (States + UK)
  ConGlomeration
  http://www.conglomeration.info/
  4/5-7/13
  KY
  MACE West*
  www.justusproductions.com/index.php/justu
  s/macewest/2/4/4
  4/5-7/13
  NC
  RavenCon
  www.ravencon.com
  4/5-7/13
  VA
  PLAY: The Games Festival
  www.play-modena.it
  4/6-7/13
  Italy
  Let's Play Greenbay
  www.letsplaygreenbay.com
  4/12-14/13
  WI
  No Brand Con
  http://nobrandcon.org
  4/12-14/13
  WI
  Odyssey Con
  www.odysseycon.org
  4/12-14/13
  WI
  Mag Con
  http://www.magcon.org/
  4/13-14/13
  TX
  Spring Minicon
  www.polycon.org
  4/13/2013
  CA
  GnomeCon
  gnomecon.org
  4/19-21/13
  GA
  UBCON
  http://ubcon.org
  4/19-21/13
  NY
  MAGE Con Spring
  www.mage-page.com
  4/26-28/13
  IA
  Another Game Convention
  www.anothergamecon.com
  5/2-5/13
  OH
  Con-Quest Midlands
  www.con-quest.co.uk
  5/4/2013
  UK
  Gator Con
  http://slhsgamingclub.wikispaces.com/
  5/4/2013
  CO
  Con de Mayo
  www.polycon.org
  5/11/2013
  CA
  Gamex
  www.strategicon.net
  5/24-27/13
  CA
  KublaCon 2011
  www.kublacon.com
  5/24-27/13
  CA
  UK Games Expo
  www.ukgamesexpo.co.uk
  5/24-26/13
  UK
  A-Kon
  http://www.a-kon.com/
  5/31-6/2/13
  TX
  ConCarolinas*
  www.concarolinas.org
  5/31-6/2/13
  NC
  The North Texas RPG Con
   http://ntrpgcon.com
  6/6-9/13
  TX
  Origins
  www.originsgamefair.com
  6/12-16/13
  OH
  DieCon 12
  http://diecon.com
  6/21-23/13
  IL
  PolyCon 31
  www.polycon.org
  6/21-23/13
  CA
  Raiders of the Game Cupboard
  www.raidersofthegamecupboard.co.uk
  6/22/13
  UK
  LibertyCon
  www.libertycon.org/
  6/28-30/13
  TN
  CONvergence
  www.convergence-con.org
  7/4-7/13
  MN
  FloridaSupercon
  www.floridasupercon.com
  7/4-7/13
  FL
  KantCon
  kantcon.com/v2/
  7/5-7/13
  KS
  PaizoCon
  www.paizo.com
  7/5-7/13
  WA
  ConectiCon
  www.connecticon.org
  7/12-14/13
  CT
  FandomFest
  www.fandomfest.com
  7/26-28/13
  KY
  *Known to have Savage Worlds games or personalities.
  All dates and websites were accurate as of this printing. If you
  know of conventions occurring between October and January
  that are not listed here, please let us know.
  Savage Saturday Nights
  Savage Saturday Nights (SSN) started at Con on the Cob and
  has become something popping up at other conventions from
  those as large as Gen Con to small, regional ones. If you are
  aware a convention featuring an SSN, let us know, and we’ll
  mention it if we can.
  If you are associated with a convention, we are happy to
  feature your logo and, if you are convention featuring an SSN,
  even elaborate a bit on that aspect of your con, providing
  we’ve got room to do so.
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  Savage Insider Issue #8: Technology at the Table is all about technology in-game and out-of-game. The
  pillar article Tabletop Tech Today discusses what tools Savages are using as Game Masters and players
  while Gone Digital presents all the methods used by Phil Vecchione to run games with explanations of
  those tools and alternate ones to choose.
  Technology at the Table is a multi-genre issue that leans toward different types of technology including
  clockwork, steam, cybernetics, and modern action gear. Technology runs the gambit of possibilities and
  we touch base on many aspects with varies uses throughout your games.
  Technology at the Table includes:
  ● Two fleshed out cyberpunk Great Adventures
  ● Two fleshed out Character Galleries.
  ● A detailed look at two different character tools for use with Savage Worlds.
  ● Two General Interest pieces about using technology for gaming.
  ● ... and more!
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Savage Worlds System (SWADE) [multi]/_Misc/Savage Insider/Savage Insider #08 - Technology at the Table.pdf