TEXT: THEME - SAVAGE WORLDS LICENSEE ROUND ROBIN QUESTION & ANSWER
  REGULARS - ROAD LESS TRAVELED | TALLOR GRAYSON | TEMPORAL PROBABILITY AGENCY
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  THEME: Building the Savage Worlds Community
  Savage Insider Issue #1
  1
  Publisher: Aaron T. Huss
  Editor-in-Chief: Aaron T. Huss
  Assistant Editor: Vickey A. Beaver
  Design © 2011-2016 Mystical Throne Enter-
  tainment
  Contributors: Andugus, Vickey A. Beaver, Clint
  Black, Tyson J. Hayes, Miles M. Kantir, Ben
  Overmyer, Sean Preston, Kevin A. Ranson,
  Kevin Rohan, Lee F. Szczepanik, Jr., Visionary
  Comics, Viz, Paul “Wiggy” Wade-Williams
  Illustrators: Aaron Acevedo, Joe Calkins,
  Michael Garcia, V Shane
  Website: savageinsideronline.com
  Savage Insider is a quarterly electronic
  magazine dedicated to Savage Worlds and its
  licensees. No parts of this publication may be
  reproduced without permission except small
  portions for review or scholarly criticism. The
  content herein is often owned and submitted by
  various publishers, authors, or designers. This
  content is the trademark of the applicable
  owner and may not be reproduced without their
  permission. Savage Insider content may also
  contain opinions or commentary that may not
  reflect the opinion of Savage Insider or one of
  its regular contributors, and are not liable for
  those opinions.
  Any mention of Pinnacle Entertainment Group,
  Savage Worlds, or any Savage Worlds
  licensee is meant as a creative effort and not a
  challenge to anyone’s trademarks or
  copyrights.
  Savage Insider is a collaborative effort between
  Savage Worlds licensees and the Savage
  Worlds community and is published through
  Mystical Throne Entertainment. It is supported
  by the many licensees and fans using an
  exchange method. Those who contribute
  content or artwork are offered a full-page
  advertisement. If you are interested in
  becoming a contributor to Savage Insider,
  please contact the editor-in-chief at
  aaron@mysticalthrone-ent.com.
  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.
  © 2011-2016 Mystical Throne Entertainment.
  All rights reserved.
  Savage Insider Issue #1 Revised 1st Edition
  June 2016
  THEME: BUILDING THE SAVAGE WORLDS COMMUNITY
  Introducing fans to the licensees that support the Savage Worlds community.
  4
  The Road Less Traveled
  A Hellfrost one-sheet adventure
  8
  Tallor Grayson
  A fantasy NPC character gallery
  10
  Crypt of the Crystal Lich
  Story part 1, Birds of a Feather
  14
  Showdown
  Deadlands "The Kid", part 1
  22
  Licensee Round Robin Q&A
  Learn about these licensees
  Cover
  Donated by Aaron Acevedo
  REGULARS
  2
  From the Editor
  Introducing issue #1
  50
  Convention Calendar
  July 2011 - October 2011
  10
  Battle Axe of Kehlra
  An equipment corral weapon
  51
  Temporal Probability Agency
  Apathy Games designer's diary
  48
  Chainmail Shirt
  An equipment corral armor
  SI
  SAVAGE INSIDER
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  Savage Insider Issue #1
  THEME: Building the Savage Worlds Community
  2
  FROM THE EDITOR
  The inaugaral issue of the new Savage Worlds magazine.
  Welcome everyone to the inaugural is-
  sue of Savage Insider, the Savage Worlds
  electronic magazine designed to support
  the entire Savage Worlds community. This
  first issue is dedicated to the community
  theme by asking several of the Savage
  Worlds licensees to introduce themselves
  and tell the fans a little more about them.
  But you’re probably wondering, “Why do I
  need another eZine?”
  As Editor-in-Chief of Roleplayers Chroni-
  cle, a tabletop role-playing news outlet, I
  see the myriad electronic magazines cur-
  rently available. Some of them are pro-
  duced by publishers creating new material
  for their own products or marketing their
  upcoming and currently available prod-
  ucts. Others create magazines that support
  a certain genre or theme while others cre-
  ate magazines that support a particular
  system or maybe a few particular systems.
  But through all this, I did not see a Savage
  Worlds magazine.
  Being a big fan of Savage Worlds and its
  licensed products (and becoming a licens-
  ee myself), I set out to search the Internet
  to find out if I was missing something. Pin-
  nacle’s Links page makes mention to a fan-
  created magazine called Sharkbytes. So I
  decided to follow the link, but to my dis-
  may Sharkbytes no longer existed. That got
  me thinking. With all these wonderful
  magazines available and none of them
  supporting Savage Worlds, why not create
  one myself? So I began my brainstorming!
  I started by sending a notification to
  many of the Savage Worlds licensees look-
  ing for those interested in participating in
  a Savage Worlds electronic magazine. I got
  a very enthusiastic response from Vickey
  A. Beaver at Savage Mojo with interest in
  becoming not only a supporter but a “staff
  member” (although we’re technically all
  volunteers). I was thrilled at this opportu-
  nity. In addition, Neal Hyde signed on to be
  a lead contributing author. Things were
  moving along nicely.
  We kicked around some ideas including
  a name for the magazine and the idea of
  “Should this be fan-based or a licensed
  product?” It was decided that to keep the
  magazine community-driven and support-
  ed by the Savage Worlds licensees, they
  would need some assurance for the pro-
  tection of their submitted content. So the
  decision was made to make Savage Insider
  a licensed product.
  I was not a Savage Worlds licensee at the
  time but was in-process of creating my
  own Savage Worlds setting. Vickey got me
  in-touch with the kind folks at Pinnacle
  and we kicked off the approval process.
  Being that you are reading this, the ap-
  proval has been successful and Savage In-
  sider has come to life! But of course, before
  this wonderful product could be pub-
  lished, it needed a theme and content.
  As Editor-in-Chief, I feel that every issue
  should have a theme and that the majority
  of the published content should support
  that theme. This could range from fantasy
  to horror to space opera and everything
  in-between. But for issue number one, I
  took the reins and decided upon the theme
  of Community. To support this theme I
  thought it would be fun to do a round-rob-
  in question and answer with as many Sav-
  age Worlds licensees that had the time
  available. And that’s where things started.
  I sent out many inquiries for participa-
  tion and got a large amount of responses,
  all positive of course. When the Q&A re-
  sponses started coming in I realized that I
  too am learning a lot more about the vari-
  ous licensees and found it quite fascinating
  to get an inside look into their world. Be-
  ing the Editor-in-Chief of
  Roleplayers
  Chronicle has allowed me to understand
  the products these licensees produce, but
  not an understanding of them like this
  Q&A does. The end result is a great collec-
  tion of responses from the designers and
  developers that bring wonderful Savage
  Worlds products to your fingertips.
  I only hope you enjoy it as much as I did
  and that you welcome this new (and free)
  Savage Worlds electronic magazine into
  your collection. We strive for a high-quali-
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  THEME: Building the Savage Worlds Community
  Savage Insider Issue #1
  3
  ty publication and invite you to join Savage
  Insider in bringing fantastic content to the
  community. So become a contributor or at
  least a supporter and we’ll keep this quar-
  terly magazine going for ages.
  Aaron T. Huss
  Editor-in-Chief
  Savage Insider has a quarterly release
  schedule, within the first week of the
  month, as follows:
  · 
  January
  · 
  April
  · 
  July
  · 
  October
  Initial circulation will be available
  through DriveThruRPG and RPGNow un-
  der
  Mystical Throne Entertainment
  with future outlets to be added.
  WHAT'S OLD IS NEW AGAIN
  Well, not really, but it sure sounds good!
  Savage Insider issue #1 was released five
  years ago; yep, five years! While for some
  that might not sound like a long time, for a
  licensee it sure does. In fact, it was the first
  Savage Worlds product I released as a li-
  censee. Thus, it has a special spot in my
  catalog. Of course, when I look at my cata-
  log of product, everything has a spot; some
  of them just look better than others.
  Starting in 2013, I launched an initiative
  to redo my product catalog, starting with
  Mercenary Breed. Three years later, after
  a large chunk of that effort was completed,
  I thought about sorting through the issues
  of Savage Insider published by Mystical
  Throne Entertainment. What I found was
  an interesting collection of learning and
  progress in terms of capability. Obviously
  I was much happier with the looks of the
  last issues compared to the first ones, but
  ultimately I wasn’t really pleased with any
  of them (and let me say there were multi-
  ple formats to be found).
  That was when I made the decision to
  breathe some new life into Savage Insider.
  With over 6,000 people downloading issue
  #1, it was time to provide them with a
  magazine that upheld a much higher stan-
  dard in quality and look. Thus, this new
  (and final, hopefully) format was born. As
  part of my catalog “refresh”, this issue, and
  all issues published by Mystical Throne
  Entertainment, will be revised with a new
  layout and sometimes updated advertise-
  ments. Beware though, many of the adver-
  tisements had coupons pertaining to when
  the issue was originally released. Those
  coupons likely no longer work and will not
  be updated. The purpose is not to update
  the advertisements, its to make the con-
  tent more presentable so that if someone
  prints it out, I can be proud of what they
  hold in their hand.
  This issue, however, presents itself with
  a bit of a unique twist. The focus was on
  the Round Robin Question & Answer ses-
  sion with a group of licensees from the
  then-available pool of licensees (which has
  grown immensely in the past five years).
  Unfortunately, two of those licensees have
  “disappeared” from the publishing scene -
  Apathy Games and White Haired Man.
  While their responses still appear in the
  Q&A article, because they’re interesting to
  read, their advertisements have been re-
  moved. Neither company has a working
  website anymore, making the advertise-
  ments somewhat unnecessary. Adding to
  this is the fact that White Haired Man has
  pulled all their products and are no longer
  available. Apathy Games still has Tempo-
  ral Probability Agency available, but their
  free download is not and that spoken
  about Act 2 never saw fruition.
  To say this is common in this industry is
  an understatement. While Tier 1 and 2
  publishers stick to their schedules like
  glue, independent publishers often don’t
  have that luxury. Real life can get in the
  way, and funding can become an issue.
  Sometimes people just lose interest and
  walk away. If you don’t believe me, do
  some research about how many tabletop
  RPG companies close their doors within
  the first 12 (sometimes 24) months. Mysti-
  cal Throne Entertainment, however, has
  hit the five year mark and is still going!
  So I present to you a refreshed Savage
  Insider issue #1. I hope you enjoy the new
  look and the cleaner layout. I also hope
  you enjoy the splash of color thrown in.
  And don’t forget to pick-up those issues of
  Savage Insider published by Obatron Pro-
  ductions! The magazine hasn’t died yet!!
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  Savage Insider Issue #1
  THEME: Building the Savage Worlds Community
  4
  THE ROAD LESS
  TRAVELED
  GREAT ADVENTURES
  This Great Adventure referenc-
  es the Hellfrost epic fantasy set-
  ting available from Triple Ace
  Games at
  www.tripleacegames.com.
  Hellfrost is a copyright of Triple
  Ace Games. All rights reserved.
  Used with permission.
  By Vickey A. Beaver
  THE PLEA FOR HELP
  The heroes are either an adventuring
  party or a group of Roadwardens who
  have responded to a plea for help. The
  three Travel Towers between one of the
  less travelled roads and the trade route
  intersecting at the Borderlands have been
  unvisited by any of the Roadwardens in
  some time. Word has spread that a pair of
  distressed travelers came upon the Bor-
  derlands with tale that each tower they
  visited had footwear and scraps for ra-
  tions, clearly having not been stocked in
  quite a while. The scant townspeople be-
  tween one tower and another have re-
  vealed a Roadwarden had
  gone missing, and with
  concern for a fellow
  Roadwarden, 
  others
  had gone after him.
  None 
  have 
  re-
  turned yet, and
  the people fear
  now 
  that 
  all
  whom they love
  or need will be
  beset upon by
  the frost crea-
  tures that ven-
  ture nearer with
  each 
  passing
  day. Rumor has it
  that there is a re-
  ward being of-
  fered to whichever
  party finds the miss-
  ing Roadwardens and
  ensures 
  their 
  replace-
  ment.
  MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE
  The heroes make their way to a post in
  the Borderlands along the trade route.
  Shield Knight Horacius ap-Schell has col-
  lated as much information as he had time
  to spare to do so.
  It’s been four weeks since anyone last
  tried to find the Roadwardens. The first
  responder went alone, and, like the Road-
  wardens he sought, failed to return. In
  each of the following two weeks, the next
  two groups returned claiming they’d seen
  flying creatures in the dark of the night
  sky. They could not track them, nor did
  they find those who have gone missing.
  WHERE TO START
  ap-Schell can tell the heroes that the
  original Roadwarden that went missing
  was from the tower that is 40 hours away
  at a marching pace. Subsequently, each
  Roadwarden from the other towers got set
  upon by citizens on the periphery,
  prompting each to search for the first who
  went missing. They did not know of each
  other’s search. The first to disappear was
  Aaron 
  Frostpicked, 
  an 
  Anari-looking
  Frostborn. The other two were a Finnar
  named Esko Valnari and a Hearth Elf
  named Pathkeeper. Valnari looked after
  the closest tower, while Pathkeeper
  watched over the farthest.
  TOWER BY TOWER
  If the heroes are Roadwardens, they’ll
  want to pick up supplies with which to
  stock the towers. If anyone has Attractive,
  Very Attractive, or Charismatic Edges,
  those they approach will discount or even
  freely give requested items to the party,
  once they know why the heroes need the
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  THEME: Building the Savage Worlds Community
  Savage Insider Issue #1
  5
  items. When the heroes get to the first
  tower, 20 hours march away, successful
  Notice or Investigation rolls will lead them
  to Valnari’s journal, which is hidden away
  in a concealed panel in the wall by the
  stairs upward. It will contain entries refer-
  ring to seeing strange shadows overhead
  on some of the darker nights over a couple
  of weeks. The last entry was seven weeks
  ago and told of a traveler who claimed the
  last tower before his was abandoned. Oth-
  erwise, they find no rations, a slightly tat-
  tered grey-furred cloak, and a pair of black
  boots, worn, but not yet ragged.
  When they get to the next tower, anoth-
  er 20 hours marching later, using the same
  checks, they will find a similar journal in
  the same place. Aaron Frostpicked penned
  a few entries about travelers he encoun-
  tered and their wary thanks seemingly in
  reaction to his race and position. The sec-
  ond to last entry was from eight weeks ago
  and detailed a strange screeching sound
  he heard in the woods. He went west to-
  ward the sound, about ½ mile away from
  the tower, before it stopped. Needing to
  get back to his normal duties, he returned.
  He didn’t hear it anymore, so he retired for
  the night. The next day, after coming back
  from patrolling the area, he heard it again.
  He noted it sounded a bit closer, but still in
  the same direction. He set off to seek it out.
  There are no rations or other provisions in
  this tower.
  The heroes should have enough infor-
  mation to go from here, but if they choose
  to march on, they get to Pathkeeper’s tow-
  er to discover she had a similar journal in
  the same location. Hers does not mention
  any flying creatures or shadows, but does
  show that seven weeks ago she was told by
  a traveler that the last tower before hers
  was pretty well bare. She assured them
  hers had provisions, came back to pen the
  entry, and carried on to see what that
  strange Frostpicked had gotten himself in-
  to. There are three pairs of shoes in vary-
  ing sizes by the hearth.
  A HALF MILE WEST
  At this point, the party heads to Frost-
  picked’s tower and try to locate his path.
  Successful Tracking rolls will yield a few
  markers that set them on their way. De-
  spite it being weeks since, the road is very
  less travelled, so there isn’t a lot of off-
  road activity. They find what seems to be a
  piece of a cloak or britches about 1/4 mile
  in. Shortly after that someone might hear a
  strange screech. They go another 1/4 mile
  before they see the shadowy figures above
  the trees. They won’t be able to get a good
  look at them, catching only glimpses. As
  the heroes close in on their location, the
  creatures seem to disappear.
  EW, WHAT’S THAT?
  No longer having visual or auditory aids
  from the sky, the heroes look around for
  clues. They’ll find droppings of an unusual
  nature. Those who are so gifted might real-
  ize that it looks like giant bat guano. Other-
  wise, the heroes can use their talents to
  notice a cave concealed a few hundred feet
  away. Anyone picking up on the bat angle
  will have a +2 to spotting the cave.
  FEELING BATTY
  The heroes are at -2 to see inside the
  cave having transitioned from daylight to
  near pitch black. If they have a light source,
  they’ll see enough remains to include all
  those who have been reported missing, as
  well as a few extra. Otherwise, they’ll
  stumble into them. About then, they’ll also
  find the culprits: enormous flying bats
  (with a 4ft wingspan), which are hanging
  upside down between the cave entrance
  and the bodies. There will be one to two
  bats for each hero.
  THAT’S A WRAP
  When the last bat is dispatched, the he-
  roes find Frostpicked in some sort of
  weird stasis, possibly because of his resis-
  tance to cold. They will return to the Bor-
  derlands to get the reward and report
  their findings. The heroes will need to re-
  cruit replacements now that they’ve re-
  moved 
  the 
  threat 
  and 
  rescued
  Frostpicked. They also send word through
  the network of Roadwardens to warn of
  this new threat. Of course, any injuries will
  be seen to, while they’re at it. There just
  happens to be a few Sisters of Mercy in the
  area.
  FROST BATS
  Attr: Agility d12, Smarts d6,
  Spirit d8, Strength d6, Vigor d6
  Pace: 6; Parry: 5; Toughness: 5
  Skills: Climbing d12, Fighting d6,
  Notice d8, Stealth d10, Survival
  d8, Tracking d6
  Special Abilities
  ● Bite: Str+d4
  ● Frost Damage: Anyone
  Wounded by a frost bat’s
  bite must make a Vigor roll
  or the Wound becomes
  frostbitten. The victim
  suffers a level of Fatigue,
  which is recovered with a
  successful Healing roll or
  after 24 hours. Cumulative
  frostbites can cause a
  victim to be Incapacitated
  and can lead to Death.
  ● Immunity (Cold): Frost
  bats are immune to cold
  and take half damage from
  coldfire weapons.
  ● Sonar: Frost bats have no
  penalties for bad lighting
  when attacking targets and
  a +1 to target then in
  enclosed spaces.
  Vickey A. Beaver is assistant editor of
  Savage Insider.
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  Savage Insider Issue #1
  THEME: Building the Savage Worlds Community
  8
  TA L LO R
  G R AY S O N
  CHARACTER GALLERY
  By Aaron T. Huss
  A beast in humanoid form, Tallor Gray-
  son is a well-known barbaric warrior wan-
  dering the land. His quests and adventures
  are the stuff of legend but his rage and
  anger tend to become the center of discus-
  sions. Tallor is a true barbarian with a
  thirst for blood and treasure and cares
  little for anyone that gets in the way.
  Background: Nomadic tribes are com-
  mon across the open plains. They wander
  during the change of seasons seeking food
  and a place to survive. Their primary con-
  cern is the well-being of the entire tribe
  and the protection of its people.
  Tallor was raised within one of these
  many nomadic tribes, learning early how
  to hunt. His siblings and friends saw a nat-
  ural ability for hunting and tracking and
  placed Tallor at the front of the hunting
  packs. His tribe thrived for many years
  with a bountiful supply of food due to his
  skill.
  As Tallor grew older, he grew tired of
  tracking and stalking animals and began
  exploring more sinister hunting methods.
  Tallor would hide within the forest, wait-
  ing for travelers to come nearby. Upon
  seeing a small group, he would launch a
  brutal attack and slaughter his prey.
  After striking down the last victim, Tal-
  lor would pillage their carcasses. He would
  take any animals they had (such as a horse
  or donkey) and any carts they were haul-
  ing. He would return to the tribe and se-
  cret away his new findings. He claimed the
  animals were found wandering and the
  carts were abandoned. No one knew the
  truth.
  One day, Tallor’s siblings became quite
  curious about his constant findings and
  decided to follow him. They watched in the
  shadows as Tallor attacked a group of
  travelers and took all their possessions.
  Outraged with the act, they immediately
  returned to the tribe and informed the
  elders. His friends and family shunned him
  and the elders epelled him from the tribe..
  Though the rage built up inside, Tallor
  could not betray his family and left peace-
  fully.
  Tallor took residence in a nearby village
  and left his nomadic days behind. Local
  treasure hunters, nobles seeking protec-
  tion and merchants needing muscle great-
  ly desired his skills. But while his
  adventures, quests and various duties
  were generally lawful, his employers often
  looked down on his methods.
  Nowadays, Tallor spends much of his
  time plundering dungeons and ruins while
  attacking adventurers getting in his way.
  Many of the local merchants have become
  worried that Tallor is taking all the trea-
  sures and keeping them for himself, leav-
  ing little for the merchants to trade.
  Local inns and taverns fear Tallor’s pres-
  ence as he has a habit of attacking travel-
  ers and other adventurers. This has caused
  a reduction in the number of visitors to the
  village.
  Personality: Tallor is a fairly crass indi-
  vidual. He shows very little concern for
  anyone around him and doesn’t care about
  their feelings or morals. When in the vil-
  lage, he spends much of his time drunk at
  the tavern. He frequents the local brothel
  and is often violent when getting into ver-
  bal confrontations.
  Mannerisms: Tallor rarely looks people
  in the eye and typically shies away from
  personal interaction. He would never
  back-down from a fight, but basic speaking
  LORE
  The following can be learned
  about Tallor Grayson with a suc-
  cessful Knowledge check using
  the given roll modifiers and the
  standard TN of 4. A successful
  check reveals all information
  gained from a lesser result.
  · 
  0: This is Tallor Grayson,
  a well-known adventur-
  er and barbarian. He has
  conquered many dun-
  geons and ruins and is
  frequently hired by local
  merchants for protec-
  tion. His acquisitions of
  treasure have made
  many in the village quite
  wealthy.
  · 
  -1: Tallor Grayson has a
  violent temper and con-
  flicts often become phys-
  ical.
  · 
  -2: Tallor Grayson has
  killed numerous adven-
  turing party members to
  eliminate competition. It
  has been said that he
  hires warriors to aid him
  and then kills them once
  the quest is complete.
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  THEME: Building the Savage Worlds Community
  Savage Insider Issue #1
  9
  is not his forte. He is completely unable to
  read.
  Distinguishing Features: Tallor has
  several tattoos with the most visible ones
  being on his face. He refers to them as his
  barbarian signature. He gets a new tattoo
  to signify each major conquest.
  Environment: Tallor prefers to remain
  near wooded areas and within small vil-
  lages. He detests larger towns. Excepting
  plains of very tall grass, he struggles when
  out in the open. He is accustomed to tem-
  perate climates and rarely ventures to-
  ward colder climates once snow begins to
  fall.
  ADVENTURE SEEDS
  Tallor maintains one residence in a vil-
  lage at any one time. When not out stalking
  women in another location or on one of his
  quests, he is most often found within a
  tavern or brothel. His nomadic blood
  sometimes drives him to venture out to
  nearby villages for weeks at a time.
  · 
  He works alone but has been
  known to borrow a compatriot for
  particularly difficult quests and kill
  them when the quest is complete.
  Tallor may call upon the
  adventurers for an extremely
  difficult quest and betray them
  upon completion.
  · 
  Rival adventuring parties have
  fallen victim to Tallor’s hatred and
  lost several of their own. They meet
  with the adventuring party, hearing
  of their conquests, and ask the PCs
  to seek their revenge upon Tallor.
  They suggest approaching Tallor as
  merchants looking to hire him and
  set an ambush at the site.
  · 
  Tallor has been hunting the PCs for
  quite some time. He hides within
  the woods watching as the PCs
  journey toward their next
  destination. He prefers the use of
  stealth tactics and will attempt to
  surprise the PCs when possible. He
  will wait until a member of the
  party strays from the others and
  quickly attack.
  · 
  Tallor has hired a group of warriors
  to rid the land of his current rivals
  (the PCs). This group of warriors
  consists of low-skilled extras that
  struggle to survive. Tallor uses
  them as a shield so that he can
  strike hard against the adventurers
  and eliminate his competition.
  TALLOR GRAYSON [NOVICE]
  Male human, nomadic barbarian
  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6,
  Spirit d4, Strength d8, Vigor d6
  Charisma: -2; Pace: 6; Parry: 6;
  Toughness: 6 (1)
  Skills: Climbing d6, Fighting d8,
  Intimidation d4, Notice d4,
  Stealth d6, Survival d6,
  Tracking d6
  Edges: Alertness, Berserk,
  Brawny
  Hindrances: Arrogant, Illiterate,
  Mean
  Armor: Leather (all 1)
  Weapons: Double-sided long
  sword (Str+d8; Parry +1 when
  used 2-handed, no bonus when
  using it 1-handed), battle axe
  (Str+d8), [2] dagger (Str+d4)
  TALLOR GRAYSON [SEASONED]
  Male human, nomadic barbarian
  Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6,
  Spirit d6, Strength d8, Vigor d6
  Charisma: -2; Pace: 6; Parry: 6;
  Toughness: 6 (1)
  Skills: Climbing d6, Fighting d8,
  Intimidation d4, Notice d4(+2),
  Stealth d6, Survival d8,
  Tracking d8
  Edges: Alertness, Berserk,
  Brawny, Woodsman
  Hindrances: Arrogant, Illiterate,
  Mean
  Armor: Leather (all 1)
  Weapons: Double-sided long
  sword (Str+d8; Parry +1 when
  used 2-handed, no bonus when
  using it 1-handed), battle axe
  (Str+d8), [2] dagger (Str+d4)
  Aaron T. Huss is Editor-in-Chief
  of Savage Insider.
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  Savage Insider Issue #1
  THEME: Building the Savage Worlds Community
  10
  CRYPT OF THE
  CRYSTAL LICH
  GREAT STORIES
  By Kevin A. Ranson
  BIRDS OF A FEATHER
  “That’s not natural.”
  George Talbot’s hand dropped instinc-
  tively to his sidearm. There was nothing to
  shoot, nor anything attacking him, but the
  fact he was able to put hand to steel reas-
  sured him at least something was still in
  his control.
  Standing at the hill’s crest, George
  looked down into the moonlit valley. Be-
  side him was Longfeather, standing defi-
  antly cross-armed as though his mere
  presence was a challenge to all the forces
  of darkness. Longfellow was as silent as he
  ever was, but even George could see his
  powerful companion sensed the wrong-
  ness below.
  “We’ve got until dawn,” Abigail Morri-
  son stated. Stepping forward out of the
  darkness between George and Longfellow,
  she was the only one of them smiling.
  “Been this way dozens of times, begging
  your pardon, ma’am,” George added. “Nev-
  er been a bone yard here before. Certainly
  not one that looks like a dozen different
  peoples dropped their dead into it. Think
  something down there already knows
  we’re here.”
  Abigail sighed. “I do the thinking, Mr.
  Talbot. You’re being paid to shoot and
  whatever else I tell you. Let’s go.” She ad-
  justed her hat, straightened her coat, and
  started down the hill ahead of her com-
  panions.
  George glared at his employer. When
  she was just out of earshot, he commented,
  “I got a dozen reasons to leave her here
  right now, all alone, payday or no payday.
  What you think, Red?”
  Longfeather grunted indignantly. “I
  think you use the word ‘dozen’ entirely too
  often.” A ceremonial knife suddenly ap-
  peared in his hand with the sharpened end
  pressed lightly against George’s forehead.
  “I believe I also have warned you about
  calling me that. There won’t be another.”
  George swallowed hard, snorted in defi-
  ance, and then finally nodded his surren-
  der before Longfeather moved the blade
  away.
  Abigail had already reached the edge of
  the cemetery when they caught up with
  her. George’s description had been accu-
  rate if inarticulate. Native burial mounds
  were strewn about in no reasonable pat-
  tern around stone altars and small tem-
  ples. Carvings of both skeletal and
  demonic creatures decorated many of the
  structures, while the most recent addi-
  tions included plain graves marked with
  heaped earth and lashed crosses. It made
  no sense to Abigail, but what else could
  you say about a cemetery that can only be
  found by the light of a full moon?
  A noticeable boundary separated the
  cemetery itself from the surrounding land.
  The moonlight seemed tangible at the
  edge, as if Abigail could reach out and cup
  a handful for herself. Ahead of her was a
  clear path to a series of spires peeking out
  over the other stone structures and
  mounds.
  Holding her breath, Abigail closed her
  eyes and took a step in. The temperature
  inside the boundary was cooler, like a des-
  ert on a clear night. While the chill excited
  her, the lack of any creatures stirring
  about touched her baser instincts, making
  her reconsider her venture for at least a
  moment.
  BATTLE AXE OF KEHLAR
  Kehlar, a great warrior of leg-
  end, bargained with a runesmith
  to inscribe his most trusty battle
  axe. As the smith carved the last
  symbol, they projected a mystical
  glow and the wondrous weapon
  gleamed with new power. Kehlar
  took the axe adventuring across
  the entire world striking down
  foes small and large. Alas, Kehlar
  and his axe were not strong
  enough to strike down a black
  dragon. His axe lay silent upon the
  ground next to its master.
  BATTLE AXE OF KEHLAR
  Damage: Str+d8+2
  Weight: 12
  Value: 1400
  Notes: AP 2, the runic inscrip-
  tion enhancing Kehlar’s battle axe
  makes it a magical weapon.
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  THEME: Building the Savage Worlds Community
  Savage Insider Issue #1
  11
  The three adventurers moved cautiously
  through the cemetery, each alert for what-
  ever might be unseen. The silence filled
  their ears until their own footsteps
  seemed as loud as a shout.
  When George could tolerate it no longer,
  he drew his weapon and discharged the
  firearm at a nearby statue. The projectile
  ricocheted into the night, prompting Abi-
  gail to turn on her charge angrily.
  “Thank you for giving us away, Mr. Tal-
  bot,” Abigail whispered loudly. “Would
  you be so kind as to take the lead so the
  rest of us can see what happens to your
  corpse first?”
  George sneered, but a warning glance
  from Longfeather motivated him to move
  ahead of Abigail and into the shadows.
  After less than half an hour, the three
  reached the base of a temple with four
  stone spires. It was the tallest structure in
  the cemetery and on one side was a dark
  chasm carved to look like the mouth of a
  monstrous creature. Just inside the mouth
  was the top of what appeared to be a stair-
  way.
  “Too easy,” George whispered fearfully.
  “It knows we’re here.”
  “What knows, Mr. Talbot?” Abigail asked.
  In the eerie silence, a sudden flapping of
  wings sounded. A moment later came an-
  other, and then several at once. Then the
  silence returned.
  “Whatever’s making them birds flap
  around, for one,” George answered.
  Abigail felt something jab her shoulder.
  When she turned to look, a black bird
  pecked sharply toward her eyes, prompt-
  ing Abigail to flinch backward and flail her
  arms. As if in response, an entire flock of
  the same creatures suddenly burst from
  the shadows to swarm Abigail.
  George brought his weapon to bear on
  the attacking birds, but Longfeather tipped
  the barrel upward before he could pull the
  trigger and accidentally shoot his employ-
  er. The sound of the shot caused the birds
  to scatter for a moment, and then regroup
  in the moonlight to swarm toward the two
  of them.
  “Scattershot!” Longfeather commanded.
  “Huh?” George said with a dumbfounded
  expression. A moment later, the command
  registered, and George holstered his side-
  arm in favor of the double-barrel shotgun
  on his back. Cocking both hammers, he
  took aim into the black swarm and
  squeezed one of the triggers. Blood and
  feathers exploded in the air a moment be-
  fore George was engulfed.
  Longfeather used the distraction to
  reach Abigail and help her into the mouth
  of the temple. Her arms were covered with
  tiny scratches and lacerations where she
  had shielded her face.
  “Stay,” he commanded.
  Abigail had no desire to disobey.
  Stepping back out of the entryway,
  Longfeather unslung a barbed weight on
  the end of a rope and began to swing it in a
  circle over his head. The rotating weapon
  proved effective in bashing a few birds out
  of the air and deterring the rest from
  swarming him as he made his way back
  toward George.
  After getting off a second shot, George
  had begun to flail and protect his face as
  Abigail had done. Longfeather was im-
  pressed the irritating, younger man hadn’t
  cried out even though he bled from his
  face. Grabbing George’s arm, Longfeather
  dragged him back toward Abigail.
  No sooner than the two of them
  crossed into the temple mouth, the
  black birds appeared to vanish again
  into the shadows. Had they been
  bested, or was their work done?
  Regaining her composure, Abi-
  gail put her hand reassuringly on
  George’s shoulder. “Are you
  still useful to me, Mr. Tal-
  bot?” she asked.
  Once he wiped away
  much of the blood from
  the superficial wounds,
  he glared at her with both
  eyes intact.
  “That will do, Mr. Talbot.
  Please break out the torches. We’re
  going under the
  ground.”
  George winced.
  “Did you have to
  say it that way,
  ma’am?”
  Kevin A. Ranson is author of the Spooky
  Chronicles.
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  LOOKING FOR ADVENTURE?
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  A PROUD SAVAGE WORLDS LICENSEE SINCE 2004
  Use coupon code RB2004 to take 20% off your next order from our shop. 
  Limited time. Limited availability. Go to Realityblurs.com/shop today!
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  Savage Insider Issue #1
  THEME: Building the Savage Worlds Community
  22
  LICENSEE ROUND
  ROBIN Q&A
  GENERAL INTEREST
  To commemorate our first issue and
  build upon the community theme, we
  asked various Savage Worlds licensees
  and developers to participate in a round-
  robin question and answer session. These
  answers are designed to introduce the
  Savage Worlds community and fans to the
  various licensed developers.
  APATHY GAMES
  http://www.apathygames.com/
  1. TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF
  I’m Tyson J. Hayes, and I am the Director
  of Social Media for Apathy Games, which is
  a fancy way of saying I’m a blogger.  I am
  proud to help run Apathy Games with the
  help of my close friends Jeff Carlsen, Hil-
  lary Crenshaw, and Paul von Meerscheidt.
  Apathy Games is one of the newest li-
  censees for Savage Worlds, having recent-
  ly released To Predict and Serve, an
  adventure for Temporal Probability Agen-
  cy, in April 2011.  We are dedicated to a
  "Print. Pour. Play." philosophy, which sim-
  ply means you can print the adventure,
  pour some drinks, and begin play.  Simply
  put it means you should print our game,
  pour some drinks, and play the game with
  your friends.  We focus on a zero prep
  strategy with loads of player handouts.
  TPA features a computer that can pre-
  dict the future. Players have been selected
  to become agents and carry out the com-
  puter’s plan.  Each adventure has a laun-
  dry list of tasks like “Stop the Highjackers”
  or “Spill Pete’s Beer.”  The objectives may
  be vague, but they become clear at the
  appropriate time, so while the adventures
  may “run on rails”, part of the charm is
  figuring out and completing the objectives.
  Flight 101, a free adventure, can be found
  at
  www.apathygames.com/tpa.
  TPA was developed by all of us at Apathy
  Games, with myself responsible for writ-
  ing and cartography; Jeff Carlsen for writ-
  ing, cartography, and the fantastic layout;
  Hillary Crenshaw undertaking the awe-
  some art you’ll see, and Paul von Meersc-
  heidt writing and using his now dry red
  pen to edit the book.
  We also maintain a blog, with a weekly
  run down of Savage Worlds news every
  Monday, at apathygames.com.  So stop by
  to get some advice for your games and
  your weekly Savage news fix.
  2. WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO BECOME A
  SAVAGE WORLDS LICENSEE?
  Personally, I blame Jeff. He found the
  Savage Worlds: Explorer’s Edition and fell
  in love with it.  Jeff is a bit of a rules nut and
  loves some good crunch.  He ran a game of
  Slipstream for the rest of us and we fell in
  love too.  Savage Worlds has a great rule
  set that doesn’t get in the way of play.  We
  wanted a system that new players could
  pick up easy, and we could easily teach to
  new GMs.  While some companies seem to
  be focused on wooing the MMO crowd, we
  want to appeal to veterans of roleplaying
  as well as newcomers. Savage Worlds
  made it easy to make that happen.
  3. HOW DO YOU THINK SAVAGE WORLDS
  COMPARES TO OTHER GENERIC UNIVERSAL
  SYSTEMS?
  Unfortunately I haven’t played too many
  other generic universal rules systems.  My
  understanding of them is that they tend to
  be overly complicated.  Savage Worlds is
  easy to understand and adapt to almost
  any game.  As a developer of a “modern”
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  THEME: Building the Savage Worlds Community
  Savage Insider Issue #1
  23
  setting, it made far more sense to use SW
  then it did, say, the d20 Modern system.
  4. WHAT SAVAGE WORLDS PRODUCT, OF
  YOUR OWN, INSPIRES YOU THE MOST?
  At this time we only have the one prod-
  uct out, so I’d have to say TPA.  I have
  enough adventure ideas in my head to fill
  another two books after we’re done with
  the three acts that will make up To Predict
  and Serve.  We’re all creative people and
  have our own ideas for settings and adven-
  tures we want to tell. Right now we work
  on one project at a time to allow us to
  polish the game nicely and get it up to our
  standards.  We love the system and love
  telling stories. We’re planning on releasing
  a number of games as we continue as a
  company.
  5. WHAT SAVAGE WORLDS PRODUCT, OTHER
  THAN YOUR OWN, ARE YOU MOST INTERESTED
  IN?
  Slipstream remains one of the few that
  I’ve played, and it really sold me on the
  system.  I love the feel it had of the Satur-
  day morning cartoons I used to watch.
   When we played the game, we ended up
  playing it more like a group of actors who
  were staring in a show based on these
  adventures.  It’s extremely silly and
  tongue-in-cheek, but it really sold me on
  the setting and the rules.
  Reality Blurs also put out a setting called
  Ravaged Earth that I had an opportunity to
  review before we were a licensee.  I’ve
  never read a game that felt more like Indi-
  ana Jones and never wanted to play a game
  more.  I immediately turned around and
  contacted Kristian Serrano, who gave me
  the review copy and spent the better part
  of an hour geeking out with him about the
  game.  Some of the ideas definitely made
  their way into my fantasy games.
  I still want to check out Wonderland No
  More by Triple Ace Games.  The thought of
  a Savage Alice in Wonderland really tickles
  my fancy. I just need to convince the wife
  to let me get it.
  6. WHAT SAVAGE WORLDS PRODUCT(S) ARE
  YOU CURRENTLY WORKING ON?
  We’re currently busy with Act 2 of To
  Predict and Serve. The next set of adven-
  tures will see the characters continuing
  their roles as TPA Agents, but having fin-
  ished their probationary period.  The ad-
  ventures are escalating, and they’ll be
  effecting events on a bigger scale this time
  around.  We don’t have a set release date
  yet, but things are shaping up pretty nice-
  ly.  The guys at White Haired Man keep
  trying to convince me of the awesomeness
  of Fantasy Grounds and are including me
  in the next play test of their game.  If I’m
  really sold on it as a way to play our games,
  we may incorporate that into Act 2, but I
  tend to be tough to impress.
  7. HAVE YOU WORKED ON ANY SETTINGS FOR
  OTHER COMPANIES?
  I have not. To Predict and Serve was the
  first adventure any of us have ever re-
  leased, and so far it’s been pretty well re-
  ceived!  People seem to really enjoy Flight
  101, which I had just as much fun writing.
   We work as a group on all of our adven-
  tures, so while one of us will take point on
  writing something, we all contribute to
  tone, flow, and feel of it.  It was a huge team
  effort.
  8. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SAVAGE WORLDS
  SETTING TO DEVELOP IN?
  Our own of course!  Seriously though,
  I’m most interested in playing Ravaged
  Earth and Wonderland No More, which to
  me is like developing.  Craft a tale, play
  with some players and write it all down.
   So while I haven’t developed for another
  setting I think those settings would be fun
  to write adventures for.
  9. HOW OFTEN DO YOU PUBLISH PRODUCTS?
  So far, we’ve only put out the one and
  that will be three months ago by the time
  this publishes.  We have an internal sched-
  ule for when we want to get the next prod-
  uct out, but we try not to set an
  expectation.  We’re working on it though!
  10. WHAT GENRE DO YOU PREFER TO
  DEVELOP IN?
  Any genre I can tell stories in.  Right now
  I’m finding myself fascinated with Doctor
  Who stories.  The current Moffat/Smith
  stories have me excited to have my kids
  meet the Doctor.  I love the Doctor, he’s a
  fascinating character; a madman in a blue
  box on those grand adventures.  I always
  want to run away with him, along with my
  wife, see the giant universe around us, and
  have these mad cap adventures.  I love
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  Savage Insider Issue #1
  THEME: Building the Savage Worlds Community
  24
  those stories; they are bedtime stories
  (children’s stories) where your imagina-
  tion runs wild with possibilities and the
  wonder of it all.
  So I love stories over genre, the meat of
  any good story can be dropped into any
  genre, Shakespeare taught us that.  Even
  with a little tweaking TPA could become a
  fantasy genre adventure.  Daisy would be-
  come an omnipresent being guiding her
  followers to her undisclosed goals.  Give
  her nefarious goals, a sprinkling of crazy
  and it could sit on the shelf next to Call of
  Cthulhu.  So while we have chosen to tell a
  modern tale recently I will develop in the
  genre that fits the adventure I wish to play.
  11. WHAT IS THE MOST DIFFICULT PART OF
  DEVELOPMENT?
  Anything in the middle of development.
  Coming up with the idea is easy.  In the
  beginning, you’re fresh, full of energy, and
  your mind is ablaze with words.  Toward
  the middle, things begin to drag. Art is
  getting done, words are harder to come up
  with, and production just seems to grind to
  a halt.  Then somehow, magically, you can
  see the end in sight, and it’s a downhill
  race to the finish line.  Act 1 of To Predict
  and Serve took a while to develop, and a lot
  of willpower was expended to keep it go-
  ing.  We all had to keep encouraging each
  other to keep going and at points it was a
  bit of a slog.  We’re proud of what we came
  up with and are happy everyone likes it so
  far.
  12. WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED IN THE TIME
  YOU'VE DEVELOPED PRODUCTS?
  That it’s both easier and harder than it
  looks.  Putting out a product is easy; put-
  ting out a great product is a challenge.  In
  this day and age, anyone can put some
  words together and put out a product.
  RPGNow is full of products and ideas that
  people have.  Getting on the hot sellers list,
  though, is way harder than it looks.
  When we released TPA, we had a good
  feeling of how many copies we’d sell.
  We’re a small company with a small fan
  base.  We don’t have much money for mar-
  keting and rely mostly on favors and word
  of mouth.  We’re happy with the amount
  we’ve sold so far and look forward to con-
  tinuing to release products.  My advice to
  others is: release your game, because you
  can’t keep it to yourself. You love it so
  much that you can’t help but set it free.
   Don’t set out to get rich, or you’ll likely be
  disappointed.
  13. DO YOU PREFER PRINT OR ELECTRONIC?
  Now that I have a laptop, I lean towards
  electronic.  Having a book is awesome, but
  I don’t have much shelf-space, and my wife
  wants to reduce the amount that we have.
   So for me, anything I can keep backed up
  and access as needed is a plus.  I also plan
  my campaigns best in OneNote.  I can clip
  art what I like into it and keep all my NPCs
  and adventure ideas well organized.  As I
  take it with me to work, I can easily work
  on stuff when I feel inspired to do so.  PDFs
  are just a natural extension of it.
  14. IF YOU COULD SHARE ONE THING ABOUT
  YOUR COMPANY THAT MOST SAVAGES DO NOT
  KNOW, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
  Everyone at Apathy Games has actually
  known each other since college and has
  been gaming together since then.  At one
  point, we all lived under the same roof. It
  made for many interesting roleplaying
  sessions and made it easy to take out ag-
  gression on the roommate that didn’t do
  the dishes.  It’s made designing our games
  and running our company a joy to do be-
  cause we all know each other so well.
  15. IF SOMEONE WANTED TO BECOME A
  FREELANCER FOR YOU, WHAT SHOULD THEY
  KNOW?
  Unfortunately we don’t accept freelance
  work at this time.  We may at some point
  in the future, but it’s unlikely it’ll be any
  time soon.
  16. DO YOU HAVE ANY NEW PRODUCT LINES
  COMING UP THAT YOU HAVEN'T ANNOUNCED
  YET?
  As I mentioned earlier, we’re pretty
  much a single project minded company at
  this point, and we announced To Predict
  and Serve Act 2 would be coming at the
  end of Act 1.  Keep an eye on our website,
  apathygames.com, for the announcement.
  DARING ENTERTAINMENT
  http://www.daringentertain.com/
  1. TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF
  Hi! My name is Lee F. Szczepanik, Jr., and
  I'm one of the owners and the Creative
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  THEME: Building the Savage Worlds Community
  Savage Insider Issue #1
  25
  Director for Daring Entertainment. I'm 38
  years old, with 4 great kids aged 18, 13, 11,
  and 1 year old. I've been a professional
  writer for roughly 20 years, and an avid
  gamer for just about 25 years (and we still
  game weekly). Before I jumped into RPG
  design and writing in 2005, I was a profes-
  sional novel editor, owned and operated a
  professional wrestling organization, and
  worked as a script editor for television.
  Outside of work, I love to read, spend
  time with the kids, log-in to an MMO, and
  play some friendly football.
  2. WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO BECOME A
  SAVAGE WORLDS LICENSEE?
  I was a bit of a johnny-come-lately to the
  Savage Worlds community. I'd known
  about it for a couple of years, but my gam-
  ing group was well-rooted into a few other
  systems at the time, so I'd never actually
  purchased the game. Considering I was a
  fan of Pinnacle since way back in the origi-
  nal Deadlands days, that's saying some-
  thing.
  Anyway, I was attending Origins 2007 as
  a publisher under the Studio-2 Publishing
  umbrella, and just happened to meet
  Shane Hensley when he'd stopped by the
  booth. We got to talking, and he had made
  mention of the Savage Worlds license (at
  the time we were M&M Superlink licens-
  ees). This was back when there was still a
  fee-to-use and per-product approval pro-
  cess for Savage Worlds.
  To be honest, I filed it away as a possibil-
  ity to look into, but didn't think too much
  on it at the time.
  Then the following month we attended
  GenCon 2007 the same way-- under Stu-
  dio-2 Publishing. The SWEX had just re-
  leased, and I speed-read the book at the
  booth while doing some signings.
  I was hooked!
  I purchased it and the Rippers campaign
  setting right away. That night, I read the
  rulebook again in the hotel room, speed-
  read Rippers, and was glad I'd made the
  purchases. The way the system was put
  together from the speed of combat, the
  elegance in easy-to-use target numbers,
  the Mass Battle rules, and the way Allies
  are handled was like a breath of fresh air.
  For the first time, I'd found the perfect
  match for my GM'ing style. I love using
  NPC allies in my games, and also being able
  to run massive battles without taking sev-
  eral sessions to do so was great.
  I talked to Shane the next day and got
  the ball rolling on becoming a licensee. I
  pitched a couple of setting ideas I was sit-
  ting on, but at the time still wasn't sure
  exactly what we would be doing. I just
  knew I wanted to create something for
  that game!
  3. HOW DO YOU THINK SAVAGE WORLDS
  COMPARES TO OTHER GENERIC UNIVERSAL
  SYSTEMS?
  I think Savage Worlds is unique amongst
  them. While the game has a very strong
  core system, the aspect of "Setting Rules"
  is what truly makes the game shine-- and
  it's a feature even Pinnacle uses, whether
  it's the different benny rules in Deadlands:
  Reloaded, or the different magic rules in
  the Savage Worlds of Solomon Kane.
  I would even go as far as to classify Sav-
  age Worlds as a "toolkit system", as op-
  posed to a "generic universal system". In
  my personal cosmology, a generic univer-
  sal system is a system designed to be a
  jack-of-all-trades out of the box, or it has a
  ton of "add-on" rule books to make it work.
  Savage Worlds, instead, has a central sys-
  tem, and then small tweaks as needed
  within the various settings. Tweaks that
  don't necessarily "add-on" to the rules, but
  alter them slightly to invoke the tone,
  theme, or genre the setting is attempting
  to emulate. In that sense, it's more toolkit
  in that we get a solid foundation, and yet
  plenty of room to easily modify.
  For me, that puts Savage Worlds above
  your normal "generic universal system".
  4. WHAT SAVAGE WORLDS PRODUCT, OF
  YOUR OWN, INSPIRES YOU THE MOST?
  While most fans would probably expect
  me to answer with the very popular War of
  the Dead series, it's actually a product
  most fans would not think of as an "inspi-
  ration" to me.
  Dawn of Legends.
  See, Dawn of Legends was our first foray
  into Savage Worlds, and happened right
  on the heels of us departing the M&M Su-
  perlink license. While we attempted to try
  "something new" with the Savage Worlds
  system, to be honest we dropped the ball
  across the board. I can chalk it up to a lot
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  26
  of things ranging from not enough play-
  testing, to not understanding our audience
  and what drives us all to play Savage
  Worlds, to not understanding the system
  nearly as well (at the time) as we should
  have.
  Bottom line: it is the one product we
  have done that I look back on as a mistake.
  I've even taken it off the market.
  Don't get me wrong, the product sold
  extremely well. Unfortunately, fan re-
  sponse was anything but overwhelming.
  Unless the definition of overwhelming is:
  "to want to string-up and commit bodily
  harm against".
  Dawn of Legends really opened my eyes
  to a lot of things, from production stan-
  dards, to the reasons people play Savage
  Worlds (thanks to some friendly talks with
  a lot of Savages), to nuances of the system
  (thanks to Wiggy and Piotr). It's my inspi-
  ration to never repeat those mistakes, and
  to make sure we are creating games that
  the Savage Worlds community will not on-
  ly want to play, but that we are proud to
  one day look back upon.
  5. WHAT SAVAGE WORLDS PRODUCT, OTHER
  THAN YOUR OWN, ARE YOU MOST INTERESTED
  IN?
  Pretty much anything produced by Tri-
  ple Ace Games. I especially love both Hell-
  frost and Sundered Skies. They're just
  really fun settings to play in, and the sup-
  port they release for them is staggering.
  6. WHAT SAVAGE WORLDS PRODUCT(S) ARE
  YOU CURRENTLY WORKING ON?
  War of the Dead: Chapter Three just re-
  leased, and production on Chapter Four
  (the campaign's finale) is well underway.
  We currently have people working dili-
  gently on Hellspawn, which is a super-hero
  plot-point setting with a new form of zom-
  bies. That particular setting draws inspira-
  tion from novels such as Ex-Heroes, and
  comic books such as the Blackest Night
  storyline from DC Comics. It will use the
  Super Powers Companion from Pinnacle
  Entertainment, in addition to the Savage
  Worlds rule book.
  World of the Dead is a plot-point setting
  that serves as a sequel to War of the Dead,
  and takes place roughly 7 years later. The
  best analogy I can give for that is Mad Max
  meets Romero. Certain story points re-
  vealed in the final chapter of War of the
  Dead will play a key role in the upcoming
  plot-point setting.
  We're also in pre-production for GET
  Into Action: Season One. Whereas previ-
  ously we released a small adventure with
  some background material, this book is a
  full-on plot-point setting that gives a lot
  more detail on STORM and Global Elite
  Tactical, contains characters and vehicles
  in the old style of the G.I. Joe: Order of
  Battle from Marvel Comics in the 1980's,
  and deals with a STORM plot that reaches
  all the way to the White House.
  Finally, we're also in pre-production on
  War of the Dead: Sanctuary. This book is a
  plot-point setting that contains a ton of
  detail on the city called "Sanctuary" that
  first appeared in War of the Dead: Chapter
  Two. It offers another point of view on the
  first days of the Outbreak, and takes the
  group all the way to the fall of the city as
  already seen in the campaign. What this
  story offers, however, is more on the vari-
  ous politics of the city, how UniMed as-
  sumed control and at what cost to others
  within the city (like the playercharact-
  ers), the details behind the Ragers and Ed-
  ward Russo, and many other things to
  expand the setting.  There's a lot more in
  Sanctuary than what was shown in the few
  weeks of Chapter Two— a lot more. The
  plot-point campaign will take the group
  through all of that, as they shape factions
  within the city that were not revealed in
  the current War of the Dead storyline.
  7. HAVE YOU WORKED ON ANY SETTINGS FOR
  OTHER COMPANIES?
  I am currently editing some new materi-
  al for Triple Ace Games. While I can't say
  what setting it is for, what it is, or any of
  that . . . I suppose that would qualify.
  I've also been approached by a few com-
  panies to write setting material for them. I
  haven't declined or accepted yet, as I'm
  still taking a hard look at my schedule and
  what I can take on while still maintaining
  some semblance of sanity.
  8. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SAVAGE WORLDS
  SETTING TO DEVELOP IN?
  War of the Dead is a lot of fun, but right
  now I would have to say Hellspawn is
  quickly becoming my favorite.
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  THEME: Building the Savage Worlds Community
  Savage Insider Issue #1
  27
  9. HOW OFTEN DO YOU PUBLISH PRODUCTS?
  War of the Dead releases weekly. Be-
  yond that, we try to have something out,
  even if it is just a free one-sheet, every
  month.
  Do we always achieve that goal? No. No
  we don't.
  10. WHAT GENRE DO YOU PREFER TO
  DEVELOP IN?
  Honestly, I love developing for the su-
  per-hero genre the most. For me it isn't
  about the flashy powers and city-block-de-
  stroying fights, but the people underneath
  the costumes. Why did they choose to fight
  for truth and justice intead of using their
  powers for their own benefit? Why do they
  typically sacrifice having a real family to
  do what they do? How do they handle the
  pressure of having the world on their
  shoulders, or the authorities always hunt-
  ing for them?
  There are just endless, timeless stories
  to be told with super-heroes. Knocking the
  big-bad-villain through a building is just
  icing on the cake.
  Zombies (naturally) are another favorite
  of mine. I've been a Romero fan since I was
  a kid, and the recent additions like Max
  Brooks, Z.A. Recht, Robert Kirkman, James
  Knapp, and others, have really expanded
  the genre. For me, the zombie-apocalypse
  is really about the people. How far will
  someone go to survive? How trustworthy
  will your fellow humans really be when all
  the chips are down and the world as we
  know it is ending?
  As a matter of fact, any apocalypse type
  of setting is a favorite of mine to work in.
  11. WHAT IS THE MOST DIFFICULT PART OF
  DEVELOPMENT?
  For me, Graphic Design. I vehemently
  hate "white space" on a page, so when a
  section needs words cut, or words added,
  in the layout process, it can be hair-pulling
  sometimes.
  12. WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED IN THE TIME
  YOU'VE DEVELOPED PRODUCTS?
  We've learned several important things
  over the years.
  First is: playtest, playtest, playtest. Don't
  skimp out on that little production step.
  When 
  you 
  think 
  you've 
  playtested
  enough— do it for another 3-4 weeks.
  Another is to take your time. Don't give
  yourself unrealistic release schedules. We
  have a ton of things in production for Sav-
  age Worlds, other systems, and our own
  in-house game. The in-house game has
  been in production for almost 2 years now,
  especially in the playtest department. I
  hope to get it out toward the end of 2011,
  but if it has to wait until 2012, so be it.
  Even War of the Dead sees a few months
  pause in release between chapters. That
  pause is so we can fine-tune it and get it
  right. I'd rather have that pause than re-
  lease it half-baked.
  13. DO YOU PREFER PRINT OR ELECTRONIC?
  From a business standpoint, I prefer
  electronic products. There is just more of a
  return per unit sold, and the money is
  more immediate; whereas for print there
  is a vast delay in payment and way too
  many hands in the pie.
  From a gaming standpoint, I can go ei-
  ther way. For truly massive books, like
  Savage Worlds of Solomon Kane, I want it in
  print. For the typical 160-180 page Savage
  setting, though, I can get it in print or buy
  the PDF. It just depends on whether I want
  the book "now", or can wait for a special
  order since game shops in my area don't
  usually carry Savage Worlds books.
  14. IF YOU COULD SHARE ONE THING ABOUT
  YOUR COMPANY THAT MOST SAVAGES DO NOT
  KNOW, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
  Over the past 18 months we have been
  approached by a deluge of other compa-
  nies for various deals, something that has
  really accelerated since War of the Dead
  gained popularity. Some companies have
  wanted to partner with us to produce
  products for other systems. We've had to
  decline a few, and are in negotiations with
  a few. Some of those offers are to translate
  existing material from us into those other
  systems, some of it is to work on new ma-
  terial with them.
  Others have wanted to license our mate-
  rial from us for other systems.
  And, ironically, a couple have made of-
  fers to buy our Intellectual Properties, or
  even the entire company. While we appre-
  ciate the interest, none of it is for sale.
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  Savage Insider Issue #1
  THEME: Building the Savage Worlds Community
  28
  15. IF SOMEONE WANTED TO BECOME A
  FREELANCER FOR YOU, WHAT SHOULD THEY
  KNOW?
  For Writers: We'll skip the normal need
  for a writer to be able to "write" and meet
  a deadline, and go into what else we look
  for.  Now, although strict knowledge of a
  system's mechanics is not required (as we
  handle a lot of that in-house, anyway),
  knowledge of the game's community is a
  must. In other words, if a freelancer wants
  to write for us on a Savage Worlds prod-
  uct, understand the Savage Worlds fans
  and what they expect from a product. If
  you don't post on Pinnacle's forums, at
  least read them when you can and see
  what the fans are talking about, questions
  they have, things they want, and their likes
  and dislikes. RPGs are a social industry,
  know your audience and communicate
  with them if you can!
  For Artists: Look at what we are produc-
  ing, and what we've announced. If you see
  us doing super-heroes or gritty zombie-
  apocalypse, then submitting artwork that
  would better fit on the cover of a science
  fiction novel, or in an H.P. Lovecraft book,
  isn't really going to sell us on you. We
  don't have a need for that style, and it isn't
  showing us that you can draw effectively
  in the genres we are producing. I've
  worked in comic books in the past, and not
  every artist can draw every style. So, it is
  extremely important that you submit for
  the genres we are producing.
  Besides that, the normal submission
  procedure is outlined at our website.
  16. DO YOU HAVE ANY NEW PRODUCT LINES
  COMING UP THAT YOU HAVEN'T ANNOUNCED
  YET?
  For Savage Worlds, after the products
  already mentioned are released, we're
  moving on to other apocalypse-style set-
  tings. There's a lot of stories to thrust the
  players into out there, from a vampire
  apocalypse that draws inspiration from
  things 
  like 
  the 
  movie 
  Daybreakers
  (amongst other sources), to robot-apoca-
  lypses that draw inspiration from things
  like Terminator, The Matrix, and other
  sources.
  Each apocalypse setting is different,
  though, and the tone and feel of them
  should be different. Just as Hellspawn is
  not War of the Dead, each of the upcoming
  settings will also be unique. I should note,
  however, that despite its popularity, there
  aren't any plans right now to repeat the
  War of the Dead model of 52-adventures.
  We also have a fantasy setting that will
  use the plot-point campaign model on the
  plate. It's a little different in tone, and in-
  volves some really cool aspects that I can't
  talk about yet. That one, though, probably
  won't start official production until 2012.
  The only other thing I can say about it is
  that while War of the Dead did things a
  little differently with the 52-adventure
  model, the fantasy setting has a twist on its
  release and support as well. We're hoping
  it's something GMs and Players will really
  dig.
  MYSTICAL THRONE
  ENTERTAINMENT
  http://mysticalthrone-ent.com/
  1. TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF
  Hi, I’m Aaron T. Huss, the president of
  Mystical Throne Entertainment. I started
  Mystical Throne Entertainment fairly re-
  cently as a creative outlet for my own
  products and ideas. This first issue of Sav-
  age Insider is my first official product and
  is a collaboration of many. However, for
  the products I’m developing outside of
  Savage Insider, I’m on my own, so far at
  least.
  2. WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO BECOME A
  SAVAGE WORLDS LICENSEE?
  If you are reading this, then my licensee
  application has been finalized and I’m an
  official licensee. My reasons for develop-
  ing for Savage Worlds are twofold. The
  first is because Savage Worlds is a very
  modular system where you can add and
  remove pieces without unbalancing or
  even breaking the system. This allows me
  to give the GMs and players plenty of op-
  tions that aren’t required. This modularity
  also creates a very flexible system that can
  be used for any genre.
  The second reason is because Savage
  Worlds has one of my favorite mechanics:
  unchanging base target numbers (except
  Parry) which means that as my characters
  improve their stats, they actually have an
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  THEME: Building the Savage Worlds Community
  Savage Insider Issue #1
  29
  easier time meeting or exceeding that tar-
  get number.
  3. HOW DO YOU THINK SAVAGE WORLDS
  COMPARES TO OTHER GENERIC UNIVERSAL
  SYSTEMS?
  I find Savage Worlds to be much less
  bloated than some generic universal sys-
  tems while allowing for the flexibility to
  add things as desired.
  4. WHAT SAVAGE WORLDS PRODUCT, OF
  YOUR OWN, INSPIRES YOU THE MOST?
  The core setting guide I am writing for
  Faith & Demons: The Rising is such an awe-
  some experience that it has really inspired
  new settings to be brainstormed.
  5. WHAT SAVAGE WORLDS PRODUCT, OTHER
  THAN YOUR OWN, ARE YOU MOST INTERESTED
  IN?
  There’s a lot of them. RunePunk, Sun-
  dered Skies, and Wonderland No More just
  to name a few. Oh, and I picked up the
  Realms of Cthulhu book last year at GenCon
  and got it signed!
  6. WHAT SAVAGE WORLDS PRODUCT(S) ARE
  YOU CURRENTLY WORKING ON?
  Right now is my upcoming Faith & De-
  mons: The Rising core setting guide placing
  players in an alternate history of the Dark
  Ages, ravaged by demons and undead.
  7. HAVE YOU WORKED ON ANY SETTINGS FOR
  OTHER COMPANIES?
  I do regular editing for Raging Swan
  Press.
  8. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SAVAGE WORLDS
  SETTING TO DEVELOP IN?
  I would actually love to develop within
  multiple settings, but I’ll start with what-
  ever I’m working on at the moment.
  9. HOW OFTEN DO YOU PUBLISH PRODUCTS?
  Savage Insider is a quarterly magazine
  and I’m going to make the effort to release
  quarterly for Faith & Demons: The Rising as
  well. I still have a full-time job to work and
  don’t want to overwhelm myself.
  10. WHAT GENRE DO YOU PREFER TO
  DEVELOP IN?
  I am an equal opportunity gamer and
  actually love all genres. However, my fa-
  vorite genres are mash-up ones that com-
  bine 
  elements 
  of 
  multiple 
  genres.
  Especially if they’re gritty like gothic sci-fi,
  dark fantasy, and modern horror. I also
  enjoy alternate history settings that mix
  aspects of fantasy and horror or sci-fi and
  fantasy.
  11. WHAT IS THE MOST DIFFICULT PART OF
  DEVELOPMENT?
  Getting illustrations that match what
  you envision. I am no artist and can picture
  what I want in my head, but putting that to
  words doesn’t always translate properly.
  12. WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED IN THE TIME
  YOU'VE DEVELOPED PRODUCTS?
  I’m just getting started and have a lot to
  learn. But so far I’ve learned that market-
  ing is just as important as development
  and without fan interest, you’re product
  will not go far.
  13. DO YOU PREFER PRINT OR ELECTRONIC?
  I’m a print kind of guy, although I think
  electronic has its place and purpose. I love
  being able to hold a book in my hands and
  read through it.  However, for smaller pub-
  lications, print is kind of silly and costly.  I
  don’t need a bunch of 25-page books on
  my shelf and would prefer those in elec-
  tronic form.  But a full 110-page setting
  guide looks great on my RPG shelf.
  14. IF YOU COULD SHARE ONE THING ABOUT
  YOUR COMPANY THAT MOST SAVAGES DO NOT
  KNOW, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
  Mystical Throne Entertainment is the
  parent company of the tabletop role-play-
  ing news website Roleplayers Chronicle at
  roleplayerschronicle.com.
  15. IF SOMEONE WANTED TO BECOME A
  FREELANCER FOR YOU, WHAT SHOULD THEY
  KNOW?
  I will need affordable artists who can do
  gothic fantasy or dark fantasy.
  16. DO YOU HAVE ANY NEW PRODUCT LINES
  COMING UP THAT YOU HAVEN'T ANNOUNCED
  YET?
  I have a lot of settings that are being
  brainstormed but I need to concentrate on
  my first setting before moving on to the
  next one.
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  Savage Insider Issue #1
  THEME: Building the Savage Worlds Community
  32
  PINNACLE ENTERTAINMENT
  GROUP
  http://www.peginc.com/
  1. TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF
  [Clint Black] I am the Savage Worlds
  Core Rules Brand Manager for Pinnacle
  Entertainment, the creators of Savage
  Worlds. That long title basically means I
  work on anything related to or supporting
  the core rules such as the Companion
  books and of course, the new Savage
  Worlds Deluxe. Occasionally, I also help out
  with some setting-specific books especial-
  ly when coordinating new rules for the
  system. I also serve as Pinnacle's forum
  administrator for the minor day-to-day
  stuff and act as the Rules Answer Guy as
  well. I'm also known for one of my earlier
  works for Pinnacle as a freelancer, Neces-
  sary Evil, the Savage setting where you get
  to play supervillains.
  2. HAVE YOU RELEASED ANYTHING AS A
  SAVAGE WORLDS LICENSEE?
  Not myself, no, but I worked with a few
  licensees as a freelancer before I joined
  Pinnacle. Since then, I've worked pretty
  closely with the licensees, even serving as
  the licensee liaison for a while. Not many
  people know I actually helped write the
  current license Pinnacle uses.
  3. HOW DO YOU THINK SAVAGE WORLDS
  COMPARES TO OTHER GENERIC UNIVERSAL
  SYSTEMS?
  I wouldn't compare it to universal sys-
  tems because I don't think of Savage
  Worlds as a "universal" system. To me, it's
  a core system instead. The difference being
  that a universal system wants to provide
  every possible rule for every game, leaving
  the gamemaster to cut out the rules he
  won't use for a particular game. With Sav-
  age Worlds, the goal is to provide most of
  the rules that would be needed for any
  game, and then add in the additional Set-
  ting Rules to cover what a specific game
  might use. Those Setting Rules may only
  be a small percentage of the mechanics,
  but they can add a lot of flavor to the game.
  The idea being that Savage Worlds can
  provide an underlying core mechanic from
  game to game while also providing a "sys-
  tem matters" feel to each game being
  played through the use of the Setting
  Rules. So Crime City has a different feel
  from Deadlands which has a different feel
  from 50 Fathoms even though they all use
  the same core mechanics as their
  foundation. That's the hope at least.
  4. WHAT SAVAGE WORLDS PRODUCT, OF
  YOUR OWN, INSPIRES YOU THE MOST?
  That's a hard call, so I'll break it down to
  one that inspires me a great deal, and I
  wish it inspired others in the same way;
  the Super Powers Companion. Its potential
  use for so much more than "superheroes"
  is easy to miss, but there are a lot of genres
  that really are superpowered that just
  don't wear spandex. They may slay vam-
  pires or be in a galaxy far, far away, but
  scratch the surface, and you find super
  powers.
  5. WHAT SAVAGE WORLDS PRODUCT, OTHER
  THAN YOUR OWN, ARE YOU MOST INTERESTED
  IN?
  Way too many to pick just one.
  6. WHAT SAVAGE WORLDS PRODUCT(S) ARE
  YOU CURRENTLY WORKING ON?
  At this time, I've just finished up on Sav-
  age Worlds Deluxe, I've got some work to
  do on Weird Wars: Rome, and then we'll
  see what is next.
  7. HAVE YOU WORKED ON ANY SETTINGS FOR
  OTHER COMPANIES?
  Before I was full time with Pinnacle, I did
  some work with a few licensees on prod-
  ucts such as
  RunePunk from Reality
  Blurs. After joining Pinnacle, I was the li-
  censee liaison and provided advice and
  assistance on a variety of products such as
  Day 
  After 
  Ragnarok 
  and 
  many
  others. There is also one unique licensee
  book I worked on, but the story is a little
  complicated, so ask me about it at a con if
  you want to know.
  8. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SAVAGE WORLDS
  SETTING TO DEVELOP IN?
  The one that doesn't exist yet. I love cre-
  ating 
  or 
  converting 
  my 
  own
  settings. Barring a few exceptions, I think
  most of the other settings are done except
  for sitting at the table and rolling the dice,
  so I like to develop new settings. That and
  settings with dinosaurs. I love dinosaurs.
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  THEME: Building the Savage Worlds Community
  Savage Insider Issue #1
  33
  9. HOW OFTEN DO YOU PUBLISH PRODUCTS?
  Whenever they are done. Can't wait for
  perfect because it's not possible, so when
  you have done all you can do, it's "done,"
  and that's when it gets published.
  10. WHAT GENRE DO YOU PREFER TO
  DEVELOP IN?
  Did I mention dinosaurs?  I think that's a
  genre.  Seriously, I don't have a particular
  genre I prefer. In fact, I would say I prefer
  switching up genres in development, since
  my focus is on the core system which is
  rooted in how it can be used for different
  genres based on how it is run and applica-
  tion of Setting Rules.
  11. WHAT IS THE MOST DIFFICULT PART OF
  DEVELOPMENT?
  Plot Points. Creating a linked story that
  is also flexible, that's a challenge.
  12. WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED IN THE TIME
  YOU'VE DEVELOPED PRODUCTS?
  If you aren't having fun, you're doing it
  wrong.
  13. DO YOU PREFER PRINT OR ELECTRONIC?
  Depends on my needs at the time. Each
  does certain things better than the other. I
  can find a reference easier in an electronic
  copy, but I'd rather have a print copy by
  my bedside.
  14. IF YOU COULD SHARE ONE THING ABOUT
  YOUR COMPANY THAT MOST SAVAGES DO NOT
  KNOW, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
  Shane loves sharks like I love dinosaurs,
  so his name for the people working with
  Pinnacle is the PEGalodons. Dinosaur
  shark for the win!
  15. IF SOMEONE WANTED TO BECOME A
  FREELANCER FOR YOU, WHAT SHOULD THEY
  KNOW?
  The best place to start is with a One
  Sheet. It's a freebie, but it lets us know
  what you can do with the system, our set-
  tings, and certain limits (like word count).
  16. DO YOU HAVE ANY NEW PRODUCT LINES
  COMING UP THAT YOU HAVEN'T ANNOUNCED
  YET?
  Yep... and we still aren't announcing
  them yet. Go to wait to see what is coming,
  but it will be good!
  REALITY BLURS
  http://realityblurs.com/
  1. TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF
  I’m Sean Preston, the president of Reali-
  ty Blurs, a game design studio based in
  Memphis, Tennessee. As a publisher, I’m
  involved in all aspects of project design
  and development from writing, manage-
  ment oversight, and on to graphic design
  and layout. I’ve been gaming for well over
  thirty years, having grown up around role-
  playing since its inception. I hold a degree
  in English Literature from The Citadel and
  now apply my experience and insight to
  crafting worlds for others to play in. Short-
  ly, the Blur will celebrate seven years in
  the industry. It doesn’t seem that long, but
  time flies when you’re having fun, doesn’t
  it? I’m fortunate enough to have friends,
  family, and very supportive fans that make
  it all worthwhile.  Most of the properties in
  development spring from my fertile imag-
  ination, but I’m happy to be working with
  some great talent — Eric Avedissian, Sean
  Patrick Fannon, Darrell Hardy, Ed Wetter-
  man, Dave Olson, Norm Hensley, and Lyn
  Harm. I’d also be remiss in not mentioning
  the new Blurry Ones, Brad Bell and Tom
  Cadorette, who round out the team nicely.
  We push each other to excel each and ev-
  ery day.
  2. WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO BECOME A
  SAVAGE WORLDS LICENSEE?
  I didn’t consciously set out to become a
  licensee. As the story goes, I was looking
  for a game that would better engage my
  players and after getting up to speed on
  what was out there, I examined Savage
  Worlds closely, checked out the forums,
  downloaded the test drive rules, and real-
  ized this system really spoke to me. It elim-
  inated some of the constraints that had
  bothered me with other systems over the
  years, and the focus on story is inspired. I
  drafted up a pitch about RunePunk, sent it
  off to Shane, and the rest is history. Of
  course, there is more to it than that, but I
  always like to leave the reader wanting at
  least a little more.
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  3. HOW DO YOU THINK SAVAGE WORLDS
  COMPARES TO OTHER GENERIC UNIVERSAL
  SYSTEMS?
  I shy away from compare/contrast
  questions as they tend to speak to the base
  or alienate people who may like certain
  other systems. Obviously, if I’m devoting
  my time and resources to Savage Worlds, I
  must care about it deeply. Right?
  4. WHAT SAVAGE WORLDS PRODUCT, OF
  YOUR OWN, INSPIRES YOU THE MOST?
  The answer varies on any given day, de-
  pending upon what I’m working on. I
  wrapped up some work on RunePunk to-
  day, and it holds a very special place in my
  heart. It was my freshman project when I
  was utterly wet behind the ears. It was
  pretty much just me at that point, so it took
  a long time to do.
  Design is an evolutionary process, and
  we always strive to improve. Realms of
  Cthulhu was utterly satisfying from an exe-
  cution standpoint — we really nailed it
  despite what some folks conjectured while
  it was still in development, and I’m glad I
  went with my gut on the four play styles
  inherent in it. Iron Dynasty carved our
  unique stamp and took the longest to cre-
  ate. It’s the first one in which our present
  team really came together and gelled, and
  I think the rules shine particularly well, as
  they are the most complex we’ve devel-
  oped. Now, Agents of Oblivion should,
  again, take our trademark sandbox style to
  another level.
  5. WHAT SAVAGE WORLDS PRODUCT, OTHER
  THAN YOUR OWN, ARE YOU MOST INTERESTED
  IN?
  There are others out there? Seriously,
  I’m so busy I barely get to keep up with
  what my guys are writing, but I’ll have to
  say I’m excited about Savage Worlds De-
  luxe! Even if there weren’t any tweaks or
  refinements made to the system, I’m hap-
  py to see a hardcover version come out.
  It’s been a while.
  6. WHAT SAVAGE WORLDS PRODUCT(S) ARE
  YOU CURRENTLY WORKING ON?
  Of the things we’ve discussed publicly,
  I’m working on primary or supplementary
  materials for all our lines: Agents of Oblivi-
  on, Ravaged Earth, RunePunk, Echo of Dead
  Leaves (Realms of Cthulhu), Iron Dynasty,
  Life After Death, Shaintar, Old School Fan-
  tasy, and, yes, more Realms of Cthulhu! We
  always have something brewing in the
  Mad Labs at any given time. My hands are
  in everything we do to some degree or
  another.
  7. HAVE YOU WORKED ON ANY SETTINGS FOR
  OTHER COMPANIES?
  I’ve done some writing for the upcoming
  ETU setting and wrote one adventure for
  Pinebox some years ago for my friends at
  12 to Midnight. With my schedule, I’ve
  been entirely too busy — what we’ve got
  in-house keeps my hands full as it is.
  8. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SAVAGE WORLDS
  SETTING TO DEVELOP IN?
  Depends on my mood — all of our set-
  tings have elements of things I love. Iron
  Dynasty comes the most easily, followed
  closely by Agents of Oblivion. Echo of Dead
  Leaves, 
  the 
  1920’s 
  Charleston
  Sourcebook/Plot Point Book for Realms of
  Cthulhu, is the most daunting as I know the
  expectation level is particularly high on it.
  Couple that with the attention to detail and
  the complexity of my approach and it
  makes for some hard, draining work.
  While RunePunk is a load of fun, I must
  admit I sometimes get overwhelmed by
  the sheer vastness of it.
  9. HOW OFTEN DO YOU PUBLISH PRODUCTS?
  At present, we’re releasing at least one
  product a week. We’ll be evaluating this
  moving forward, as we just began imple-
  menting this workflow the first of April.
  10. WHAT GENRE DO YOU PREFER TO
  DEVELOP IN?
  I’m comfortable with the written word
  and the rules set, so I can cobble anything
  needed. With our variety of settings, I nim-
  bly move among them through the course
  of any given day. It’s part and parcel of my
  role.
  To put it another way, I like mangy
  mutts that don’t know what they want to
  be. Some mad blending of elements,
  whether it is steampunk and samurai in
  Iron Dynasty or the horror and espionage
  found in Agents of Oblivion, works best for
  me. The x/y axis ensures you can custom-
  ize the gameplay elements for your group
  without abandoning the setting. In Agents
  for example, you can have your group take
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  down a mundane assassin or fight Pan-
  dorans for the sanctity of a child’s soul
  aboard an alien spacecraft.
  This flexibility is evident to a large de-
  gree in most of our product lines, which
  tends to extend our development time on
  core setting materials, as someone will in-
  variably ask the dangerous question of
  “Wouldn’t it be cool, if…?”
  11. WHAT IS THE MOST DIFFICULT PART OF
  DEVELOPMENT?
  That depends upon whether I’m doing
  the writing myself or trying to run herd on
  any of the other folks, but I’m going to
  phrase my answer with regard to the cre-
  ative aspects of the question. What part(s)
  do I, personally, find difficult?
  I love writing. I love doing research. I
  love working with rules and massaging
  them until they turn out just right. I enjoy
  my job. I like writing adventures. I enjoy
  crafting plot points. I take great pleasure
  in creating worlds and populating them
  with people and places and factions and all
  sorts of madness. The difficulty resides in
  the outliers, the beginning and the end. I’ll
  address them each in turn.
  While the rules can present their own
  challenges, they have a definite structure.
  A writer must sit down and hash out the
  details of an adventure, a plot point, or
  some engaging introductory narrative on
  his own. Yes, there is structure. Yes, there
  is form. We’re not abandoning either in
  search of a questing beast comprised of
  haiku and stream of consciousness. Cer-
  tainly, a writer can use sounding boards, if
  he has them, but someone, somewhere,
  has to sit down and put the words on pa-
  per. I bounce ideas off the crew, but not
  before I’ve done some solitary noodling
  over how to kick things off. Getting dispa-
  rate player characters together can be
  tricky. How do you work a hobo and a
  dilettante together? Okay, you’ve done it
  once. Now do it again, but make it differ-
  ent, but still put your spin on things. No
  pressure. Characters can be a broad range
  of people if you create a broad rules set.
  For example, while working on Echo of
  Dead Leaves, I faced the dilemma of “I
  know where the story goes after they get
  together, but how can I get them together
  that isn’t too terribly contrived.” I’m sure all
  the Realms of Cthulhu fans are thinking,
  “Please, don’t bring us together for the
  reading of a will.” Rest assured, I didn’t, but
  it sure crossed my mind once or twice.
  This issue arises in both adventures and
  plot points, but it’s like dealing with a
  weekly series versus a feature film. Audi-
  ences have different expectations and can
  be a little more forgiving with a tried and
  true approach to an adventure than with a
  campaign kickoff. You have a GM who has
  gathered his gang together to play some-
  thing his crew may have never heard of
  and you have to give him the tools to fully
  engage and entertain them, plus you have
  to make certain it makes sense. The mak-
  ing sense part particularly resonates with
  me. Logical underpinnings are important
  to any storyline, even if they don’t make
  sense to the players at the beginning, but
  I’m definitely veering off point.
  Letting go can be rough. Here, I’m refer-
  ring to the work writ large.  In the final
  stages, there is the push and pull. If you’ve
  been exceedingly thorough, you may well
  be sick of your work. You may never want
  to hear the mention of runes or ninja or
  agents or HPL again. This passes. On the
  other hand, you may want to give it one
  more read through. You may want to have
  the High Council of Grammar sanctify the
  worth of your words. You may want
  Lloyd’s of London to insure there are no
  typos before it heads off to the printer. As
  with many things in life, letting go can be a
  painful and difficult process. You may feel
  the need to write another dozen pages on
  the importance of tapas to the Floridian
  economy or expound upon the various
  permutations of magic among the Slope
  Rats of East Ratlandia. Your mind is trying
  to trick you. You have to let go. The first
  time is the most difficult, but it’s never
  truly easy to release one’s work into the
  wild. At least, not for me.
  12. WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED IN THE TIME
  YOU'VE DEVELOPED PRODUCTS?
  It’s not simply ideas, but execution, that
  is paramount. A designer should have a
  comfort level with the rules set coupled
  with a degree of passion about the
  genre/subject matter. You can give a great
  designer a bad (tired) idea and he can rein-
  vent it into something wonderful through
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  his execution and attention to detail. In-
  versely, give a bad designer a great idea
  (beyond his capacity and/or scope) and it
  will collapse like a delicate soufflé.
  13. DO YOU PREFER PRINT OR ELECTRONIC?
  A year ago, I would’ve said print, but the
  landscape is changing rapidly with the rise
  of tablets. I love the printed word, but the
  convenience of having my library at my
  fingertips is impossible to ignore. From a
  designer and developer’s perspective, I’ve
  long preferred electronic, and my personal
  gaming habits have begun to trend that
  way as well. Still, there is something mysti-
  cal about opening the first book just in
  from the printer and soaking in the sheer
  physicality of it all.
  14. IF YOU COULD SHARE ONE THING ABOUT
  YOUR COMPANY THAT MOST SAVAGES DO NOT
  KNOW, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
  We are the longest running, Savage
  Worlds licensee, and the only one of the
  original three licensees remaining in their
  current incarnations.
  15. IF SOMEONE WANTED TO BECOME A
  FREELANCER FOR YOU, WHAT SHOULD THEY
  KNOW?
  We’re currently not soliciting for any
  outside talent, but people wanting to grab
  our attention are free to submit One
  Sheets for any of our settings. We general-
  ly look through these first when we’re con-
  sidering additional writers.
  16. DO YOU HAVE ANY NEW PRODUCT LINES
  COMING UP THAT YOU HAVEN'T ANNOUNCED
  YET?
  Yes. People who want to keep up with
  what’s going on with the Blur should fol-
  low my daily ramblings on Twitter and
  Facebook and check in regularly on our
  forums and website.
  SAVAGE MOJO
  http://www.savagemojo.com/
  1. TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF
  MMK: My name's Miles M Kantir and I'm
  the lead developer for Suzerain here at
  Savage Mojo. As a company we've been
  around for a bunch of years, first providing
  art support to other publishers (we won
  an Origins Award for Deadlands Reloaded
  for instance), then becoming a publisher in
  our own right. That was back in 2007, and
  we decided early on we wanted a gaming
  universe to call our own, an overarching
  setting that could host all sorts of great
  gaming goodness.
  VAB: <sneaks in virtual side door> Hel-
  lo! I’m Vickey A. Beaver. I do a bunch of
  stuff at Savage Mojo, but I’m speaking up
  from the writer’s side. I helped create Ca-
  ladon Falls.
  MMK: And that's what Suzerain is. I ex-
  plain it like this: imagine our world, but
  where the energy of the human soul defi-
  nitely 100% exists. Call it Ki or Chi or The
  Force or whatever you want, but we take
  the assumption that all the weird super-
  natural goings-on in our history are linked
  to this energy, from haunted mansions to
  ESP, biblical miracles to Zeus appearing in
  ancient Greece and seducing women while
  he's in the shape of a bull. Yeah, I reckon he
  had issues, but I daren't say it too loudly. I
  mean, what if he's out there in the god
  realms, and happens to hear me? I don't
  think I'd look good with a lightning bolt up
  my... say, is this a family friendly publica-
  tion? Just checking.
  And that's the deal. All the deities of
  every mythological pantheon that's ever
  been are still out there in Suzerain. They
  live in a place that's outside of mortal time,
  so there's no reason Zeus shouldn't be
  poking his nose into 21st century affairs
  (or having a few himself, even). Can you
  imagine the carnage? Well, to keep things
  from going too crazy, all these gods and
  great spirits have a pact - they won't go to
  the mortal realms (our past, present and
  future basically) in person and instead
  they recruit mortals to become their He-
  roes. That's where the roleplay is, and it's
  up to me to deliver the best roleplay, time
  and again. I love my job!
  How did I get into this? Well, I used to be
  a journalist reviewing computer games.
  That was many years ago. And before that
  (many years before that) I discovered
  roleplaying when by brother brought
  home the blue D&D box set and I slew my
  first giant rat. It's always been in my blood.
  Then, in the final days of the last millenni-
  um I set up a team and we developed the
  first edition of Suzerain. Haven't stopped
  since. Don't plan to stop any time soon. If
  there's an afterlife, in fact, I can't imagine a
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  better paradise than having eternity to
  make gaming books and giving people (me
  included!) a fantastic time at our gaming
  sessions.
  The passion we bring to our craft is one
  of the things that makes Savage Mojo spe-
  cial. We're a collective of creative people -
  writers, illustrators, graphic designers, etc
  - and it's nothing like the usual corporate
  atmosphere. Things like mutual respect
  mean a lot to us, and we go for the quality
  over the quantity every time. Then we
  make sure we're available to talk to our
  fans. They're just gaming buddies we
  haven't got to know so well yet, and that's
  the way we look at it. Got a question about
  one of our books? We won't answer it be-
  cause 'that's good customer service'. We'll
  answer it because we want you to have an
  awesome game.
  Alright, enough. Anyone wants to find
  out more about any of that, you can email
  me 
  directly 
  on 
  MMK 
  [at 
  sign]
  savagemojo.com or catch me on our web-
  site (www.savagemojo.com).
  2. WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO BECOME A
  SAVAGE WORLDS LICENSEE?
  MMK: Because Savage Worlds is the
  best? Seriously, it is. Now, before I go any
  further let me clarify that point. To my
  mind SW is the best at delivering its style
  of gaming, and it's a popular style for a
  reason... it's fun! In fact it's exactly what
  Pinnacle pegged it as (pardon the pun) -
  fast, furious fun.
  If you want a high octane gaming experi-
  ence that fits into any genre without
  straining, why would you look elsewhere?
  And it just got better with the new edition
  (yeah, I got to see the new edition so we
  can prep our books for it - don't be
  toooooo jealous). Suzerain is a universe
  that encompasses all of time and space,
  even the future where almost anything is
  possible, so we want to have the best rules
  system for that kind of flexibility.
  Oh, and it's one of the friendliest role-
  play communities in the world. That really
  mattered to me, and was a major factor in
  choosing the Savage Worlds rules system
  for Suzerain.
  3. HOW DO YOU THINK SAVAGE WORLDS
  COMPARES TO OTHER GENERIC UNIVERSAL
  SYSTEMS?
  MMK: I touched on this above, but the
  purpose of Savage Worlds is to provide a
  fun, quick-paced, action-based system
  with lots of brawls and shootouts and car
  chases. It excels at that. If you want to
  simulate human psychology and dissect
  courtly politics in medieval France, there
  are rules systems out there covering that
  better, but they'd make poor systems for
  universal play. SW is genuinely agnostic
  about the setting - just witness the won-
  drous variety of campaigns you can play
  off-the-shelf, from being super villains sav-
  ing humanity to being sentient slime in a
  twist on post-apocalyptic gaming. There's
  high fantasy, low fantasy, Victorian horror,
  swashbuckling, science fiction... the list
  goes on.
  Of the other generic systems, each has
  its place. GURPs, RIFTS, and our own Mojo
  Rules! (yes, we publish Suzerain for our
  own generic system too) each satisfy their
  player base. Mojo Rules! for instance is
  developed specifically to provide a more
  in-depth, more realistic style of gaming
  that balances physical action (infiltrating
  an enemy base), social interaction (politics
  and negotiations), mental encounters (in-
  vestigating the murder of Professor
  Googlesoft) and combat (killing Professor
  Googlesoft when he comes back from the
  grave). But Savage Worlds is by far the
  best for merging fast fun and action.
  VAB: <grinning>Hey, you mentioned my
  line (Suzerain Mojo)! I’d agree with Miles
  on that. I love our system, Mojo Rules!, and
  I’ve played GURPS and (briefly) RIFTS, as
  well as Savage Worlds. They all do things a
  bit differently to scratch different itches.
  Savage Worlds is one of the quickest to
  explain the general idea, how dice rolls
  work, a few cool points (I love bennies and
  exploding dice!), and get started.
  4. WHAT SAVAGE WORLDS PRODUCT, OF
  YOUR OWN, INSPIRES YOU THE MOST?
  Gah! Choices, choices. Which of your
  children do you love best? Wow, tough call.
  The main Savage Suzerain rulebook be-
  cause of its amazingly audacious scope
  while remaining friendly and immensely
  playable. No wait, Caladon Falls because
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  the team did such a fantastic take and
  proved there's nothing like 'traditional'
  fantasy. No, Noir Knights - man, that whole
  Art Nouveau 1930s X-Files thing with the...
  Oh wait. Just stop there. Yeah.
  VAB: Or Dogs of Hades, because face it:
  reimagining the Greek culture on distant
  planets is just plain fun!
  MMK: Shanghai Vampocalypse.
  Because if one vampire is a monster,
  eight million are an apocalypse. Cyber-
  punk meets zombie apocalypse but throw-
  ing out those shuffling, boring zombies
  and replacing them with feral, hungry
  vampires. The team just knocked this one
  out the park - some of the most jaw-drop-
  ping art I've seen, the crispest setting,
  evocative character options, some cool
  technology, and the best campaign it's
  been my pleasure to work on. It's our first
  setting for the Demigod rank that Suzerain
  adds to Savage Worlds (yep, there's now a
  place to go for games beyond Legendary),
  and it truly is a story worthy of demigods.
  I've never really known anything quite
  like it. If your gaming group doesn't come
  up with a bucket-load of "Remember the
  time when..." moments out of Shanghai
  Vampocalypse, they just weren't trying.
  Heck, even then I defy a gaming group not
  to have a blast. It's a no-effort thrill ride
  from start to finish (and your characters
  might just be gods at the end of it all).
  5. WHAT SAVAGE WORLDS PRODUCT, OTHER
  THAN YOUR OWN, ARE YOU MOST INTERESTED
  IN?
  MMK: Gah! Choices, choices. Seriously,
  there's so much good stuff out there and
  we Savages are spoilt for choice. If I had to
  pick one, though, I'd tip my hat to the new
  core rulebook. Savage Worlds Deluxe is a
  masterful update by Shane and the crew.
  Congrats to them, and we get to reap the
  benefits by having an even slicker roleplay
  experience around our gaming tables. I
  can't talk about specifics (Shane's threat-
  ened to do all sorts of nasty things with a
  blunt garden implement if I breathe a
  word about <muffled words>), but it's a
  treat.
  VAB: <eyes light up>Hellfrost! My healer
  dwarf is now known as Sylvis Ogerslayer.
  Sure, she’s got a lame leg and limp arm
  now, but she put down two, wait, three
  ogres and rallied the humans to action
  when they overheard her addressing her
  fellow dwarves. And now that my Savage
  Mojo playtesting is done for the moment,
  my Sunday group’s got one more cam-
  paign to go through and we can get back to
  it.
  6. WHAT SAVAGE WORLDS PRODUCT(S) ARE
  YOU CURRENTLY WORKING ON?
  MMK: I have a bunch of good stuff on my
  plate right now.
  Clockwork Dreams is a book set in the fey
  realm of Mechadia, spawned by dreams of
  Victorian inventors. It's steampunk meets
  faerie magic with a campaign that'll be a
  really fun way to get from Novice to Heroic
  rank.
  Covert Ops is a supernatural espionage
  book set around the Millennium. On the
  one side there's all the super high tech spy
  gear and advanced training of the best
  agents on the planet. On the other... were-
  wolves, ghosts, liches, and a supernatural
  conspiracy that's plugged into every layer
  of society.
  Set Rising is our second book for Demi-
  god rank characters. Ra and his techno-
  Egyptian cohort have to deal with an up-
  rising from rebel gods devoted to the old
  ways of doing things (you know, slavery,
  sacrifice and brutal tyranny). The demi-
  gods get thrown into the middle of it all
  and have to chase the bad guys through
  alternate realities before the final show-
  down... and I'm not telling you any more
  about that so keep an eye out for it about
  Christmas time to find out the rest.
  But that's not all we're doing for Savage
  Suzerain. We're also developing a sequel
  to Caladon Falls, the second part of a trilo-
  gy in fact, plus we're well into develop-
  ment on a science fiction setting, Bifrost.
  Then there's the second part of our Spar-
  tans in space Garden of Athena trilogy...
  It's busy times.
  7. HAVE YOU WORKED ON ANY SETTINGS FOR
  OTHER COMPANIES?
  MMK: Have you just been reading what I
  said? Do I look like a man who has time for
  anything else? Almost half a million words
  passed my desk last year, plus hundreds of
  illustrations. By the time I stopped gawk-
  ing like a fanboy at all the cool ideas and
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  pretty pictures, I'd run out of hours to start
  anything else.
  That's not quite true. I am heavily in-
  volved in another development that soaks
  up a massive amount of my energy. I just
  can't help myself though: I have two little
  girls, one just turned three and the other's
  about to be one year old. That's right, I
  bred my own gaming group of the future!
  VAB: He’s not exaggerating. We’ve got
  tons of stuff going on behind the scenes.
  He’s one busy man. Responsive, but busy.
  8. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SAVAGE WORLDS
  SETTING TO DEVELOP IN?
  MMK: Savage Suzerain does it for me. I
  love the variety of realms and it never
  grows old to play-test our work.
  9. HOW OFTEN DO YOU PUBLISH PRODUCTS?
  MMK: We try to get a product out each
  week. It doesn't always work out, but
  that's our goal. Some might be for Savage
  Worlds, others are universally useful gam-
  ing accessories like our beautiful line of
  Gamescapes map tile sets. I'm not the de-
  veloper on those, so it's always a neat sur-
  prise to see the latest one appear on our
  store. And we're rebooting the Mojo Rules!
  line this year, which will be great too, so
  that'll add a few releases to the 2011 line-
  up.
  10. WHAT GENRE DO YOU PREFER TO
  DEVELOP IN?
  MMK: Another tough choice. You like to
  ask the difficult questions, don't you?
  Hmmmm... fantasy is embedded deep in
  my heart from my childhood days, but
  there's a buzz about old school science
  fiction. Cyberpunk may not be in fashion
  as much as it used to, but I personally love
  it. And then there are the genres I don't get
  to play very often but enjoy heaps when I
  get the chance, from wild west to horror
  (and the fusion of the two - I worked on a
  book called The Best Little Hellhouse In
  Texas a couple of years ago and you should
  check it out on our store - it's one of the
  best things we've ever done). A good su-
  perhero setting can be downright magical.
  Noir 1930s is great fun. Historical super-
  natural can be a totally immersive experi-
  ence (with an honorable mention to both
  Ars Magica and Vampire: Dark Ages for
  igniting that interest in me many years
  ago). The list goes on.
  Heh, you can see why I like working on
  something as flexible and broad-reaching
  as Suzerain now! I can take my gaming
  group to mythological Japan one session,
  then see how they apply the new skills
  they learned there (or the Edges they
  gained, or the Attributes they increased) in
  a post-apocalyptic wasteland the next ses-
  sion. And if we like it there, I can set a
  whole campaign in the one place, or we
  can shift to swashbuckling pirates with
  man-eating mermaids after seeing a cool
  movie which inspires us. There really are
  no limits, and you never have to ditch your
  favorite character just because you want
  to try a different setting, genre or mood.
  VAB: Not a tough question for me. Fanta-
  sy, through and through. I always want a
  little reality in my fantasy so it’s believ-
  able, but it’s not like developing for history
  or science fiction where there’s so much
  basis in reality that you can get beat over
  the head for getting the ‘real’ details wrong.
  11. WHAT IS THE MOST DIFFICULT PART OF
  DEVELOPMENT?
  MMK: Herding cats.
  That's what I call it when I have to round
  up a project team full of supremely talent-
  ed writers, illustrators, rules gurus, edi-
  tors, graphic designers, and layout people.
  Just because someone's a phenomenally
  gifted master with a digital pen doesn't
  mean they're very organized. That's why
  they rely on me, and I see it as 90% of my
  job to support them doing theirs, making
  their life as easy as possible. But at 2am on
  a Thursday when you're still doing Skype
  calls and answering emails and people
  from six different projects are asking for
  things that need doing asap... that's the
  tough part.
  VAB: Agreed. I helped develop Caladon
  Falls. That was my first experience trying
  to do anything quite like RPG develop-
  ment. I learned a lot of us like to be so busy
  that we don’t always realize someone is
  waiting for us to do something.
  12. WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED IN THE TIME
  YOU'VE DEVELOPED PRODUCTS?
  MMK: You want a masterclass? Come
  join the team at Savage Mojo and I'll get
  you shadowing me for a month. It'll be an
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  eye-opener, I promise <grins>. But if you
  want just one thing, a nugget of wisdom,
  it's this: don't be afraid or apologetic to
  have a vision that's outside of the main-
  stream. Don't look for everybody to love
  what you're proposing, and actively seek
  out the ones who dislike the vision most.
  Learn to talk with them in such a way that
  you can find out what they don't like, take
  it on board, and get a better vision as a
  result. That doesn't mean you pander to
  everyone else - sometimes you have to
  accept you can't please all of the people all
  of the time - but you'd be surprised how
  often those discussions will help you
  frame your message better and make you
  happier with your own ideas.
  13. DO YOU PREFER PRINT OR ELECTRONIC?
  MMK: I'm a digital nomad with no single
  place to call 'home'. The only important
  physical things I have are my hard drives
  and my family. As long as I have those with
  me, I'm set. And one day I'll be able to store
  my 17 terabytes of data in the cloud, at
  which point I'll be ditching the hard drives.
  My lifestyle is forced on me by an illness,
  but I think I'd be 50/50 on print versus
  electronic if I had a stable location to live
  my life from - that is to say, I'd want both.
  Ten years ago I was all about the dead tree
  versions and didn't want electronic. In an-
  other ten years, with some of the addition-
  al features I'm seeing on the horizon for
  digital books... even if I was rooted to one
  place, my library would be electronic.
  VAB: For my own use? Print. Electronic
  is good for previewing, but I’d much rather
  have a book I can flip through. Of course,
  for getting products out, electronic is more
  flexible and quick, so that’s nicer than the
  print in that regard.
  14. IF YOU COULD SHARE ONE THING ABOUT
  YOUR COMPANY THAT MOST SAVAGES DO NOT
  KNOW, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
  MMK: Miles M Kantir is really a virtual
  avatar of the publisher, Martin M Klimes.
  But you're sworn to secrecy. Don't tell a
  soul.
  VAB: We’re an international collabora-
  tive of freelancers. We’re all over the
  world, so many of us have only met virtu-
  ally.
  15. IF SOMEONE WANTED TO BECOME A
  FREELANCER FOR YOU, WHAT SHOULD THEY
  KNOW?
  MMK: My contact details are up above...
  drop me an email. My reputation for eating
  freelancers for breakfast and spitting out
  their worthless bones on the rug is highly
  exaggerated. I'm too polite to spit.
  And anyway, we don't use freelancers in
  the traditional sense. It's not that kind of a
  deal at Savage Mojo. We're a collective, so
  everyone gets the benefits when the prod-
  ucts they work on do well, not some face-
  less owner or shareholder. And like I
  mentioned earlier, those in the Savage Mo-
  jo family get to work in teams where they
  love the project, where they have creative
  input on every aspect, and where there's
  mutual support. It's pretty far removed
  from the tradition stereotype of the free-
  lancer knocking out X words or illustra-
  tions every day in isolation and delivering
  them to some ogre of a project manager.
  Basically, for the most part I'm not inter-
  ested in working with freelancers like that.
  I'm looking for more members of the col-
  lective who have a talent to share (or more
  than one talent, as we often find). If that's
  you then yes, I'd like to get that email from
  you.
  I also know we're always looking for
  people who are willing to help spread the
  word and work with Vickey on that side of
  things. She's our marketing guru as well as
  a developer in her own right. People who
  like what we're up to might do well by
  emailing me about that, too - we've got
  some neat incentives and rewards lined up
  for you.
  VAB: Thanks, Mar…er, Miles! Yes, I need
  help with marketing. We’re growing and
  are committed to staying in touch with our
  fans and would-be fans, so that’s getting
  harder for me as there is more and more to
  do. I’m happy to even work with people
  needing a marketing internship where this
  is a limited-time gig.
  16. DO YOU HAVE ANY NEW PRODUCT LINES
  COMING UP THAT YOU HAVEN'T ANNOUNCED
  YET?
  MMK: Looking for a sneaky exclusive,
  eh? Okay, I can do that, but only because
  you've been so nice as to read this far.
  Watch out later this year for our new line
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  of Savage adventures, Quantum Sliders.
  Each one will give your gaming group a
  session's worth of hi jinx in a new realm.
  Use them as Savage Tales, one-offs be-
  tween plot point scenarios in your cam-
  paign. Alternatively, string them together
  to give Heroic (and later Demigod) charac-
  ters that Quantum Leap meets Sliders (to
  riff off two old TV shows) experience. Ei-
  ther way, they're shaping up to be some of
  the craziest fun you'll have seen in a long
  time. Does General Rommel have Nazi go-
  rillas driving battle mechs in the sands of
  North Africa? You betcha! And only the
  right group of brave heroes can stop them.
  SILVER GRYPHON GAMES
  http://www.silvergryphongames.com/
  1. TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF
  Kevin Rohan grew up in a small town of
  600 people in Northwest Iowa.  During
  middle school, he discovered gaming, 2nd
  Ed. D&D as it was for most of the gaming
  groups back then, and he knew it was
  something he wanted to do.  Through High
  School and college, he was exposed to war
  gaming, GURPS, Cyberpunk, Shadowrun,
  World of Darkness, D20, D6, Star Wars,
  and dozens of other systems, plus other
  more traditional table top board and card
  games.  Not long after the release of 3rd
  Edition D&D, Kevin decided that he could
  write an RPG, especially since he’d been
  writing and drawing since he could pick up
  a pencil.  Over the course of the next 5
  years, Kevin wrote and developed Æther
  from scratch and self-published it through
  print-on-demand services and through
  PDF sites like DriveThru RPG.  After meet-
  ing Ben Overmyer, Kevin decided to roll
  him into the game development equation,
  and the two became good friends as well
  as a good match for business partners in
  their new endeavor, Silver Gryphon
  Games.  Kevin has a full time job that does
  not involve gaming, just bought a house
  and has been working on home improve-
  ment projects as well as building furniture
  and book cases.  He is married to an amaz-
  ing woman who puts up with his gaming
  habit and company endeavors, and the
  two of them have a 5 and a half year-old
  and an almost 4 year-old.  Kevin’s wife
  shares in the gaming spirit, and their chil-
  dren are wanting to play as well.
  Ben Overmyer spent most of his youth
  living in different places all over the Unit-
  ed States and, later, New Zealand.
  Throughout this, though, he maintained a
  passion for RPGs that started with inherit-
  ing his parents’ unused copy of D&D Basic
  (Mentzer version). He spent most of his
  high school years as a Rifts GM, and that
  experience of being relied on to balance
  the game and keep it (relatively) sane in-
  formed his GMing style for the rest of his
  life (so far). From that point forward, he
  bought, played, tweaked, and otherwise
  mangled dozens of different systems.
  From 1999 to 2007, he developed a sys-
  tem that would later become Silver Gry-
  phon Games’ Ingenium. With Kevin’s help,
  Ingenium was released in 2010, and it has
  become Ben’s primary system for play.
  Kevin’s interest in Savage Worlds, though,
  sparked a passion for that game also, and
  Ben has helped inspire a fair amount of
  Silver Gryphon’s Savage Worlds content.
  His wife Treasure adds to the fun by being
  a great D&D 3.5 DM, and recently joined
  Silver Gryphon Games as the Community
  Manager.
  2. WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO BECOME A
  SAVAGE WORLDS LICENSEE?
  Kevin> Silver Gryphon decided to be-
  come a Savage Worlds licensee at a small
  convention in South Dakota back in Febru-
  ary 2010, actually.  We were sitting around
  a table and we were talking about game
  systems and we couldn’t stop talking
  about Savage Worlds.  The Æther Core
  Book had a user-driven setting with it
  called Wellstone City, and over the course
  of the next month, I “savaged” Wellstone
  and the rest was history.
  Ben> Aye, the inclusion of Savage
  Worlds in our lineup seemed only natural
  with all the fun we were having with it. I
  think a big part of what got us into being a
  licensee was the great community sur-
  rounding the game.
  3. HOW DO YOU THINK SAVAGE WORLDS
  COMPARES TO OTHER GENERIC UNIVERSAL
  SYSTEMS?
  Kevin> This is a tricky question for me to
  answer because I have a generic system of
  my own that started me down the path of
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  game publishing.  Taking that into consid-
  eration, Savage is everything it strives to
  be:  fast, furious, and fun.  It holds no
  punches and it has that pulpy, go-for-the-
  throat attitude when we use it.  Where
  other generic systems tend to have a hand-
  ful of things that they do well, Savage does
  it all well even while focusing on pulp, and
  has mechanics that keep the game flowing
  swiftly.
  Ben> For me, Savage is less of a generic
  universal system and more of an action-
  packed universal system. You could try
  and run a World of Darkness-style touchy-
  feely game with Savage, but at the end of
  the day, Savage is more about punching
  the arch-villain in the face while in freefall
  riding a tank down into a canyon than it is
  about complex character interactions.
  4. WHAT SAVAGE WORLDS PRODUCT, OF
  YOUR OWN, INSPIRES YOU THE MOST?
  Kevin> That would have to be the Well-
  stone City setting.  It is a giant sandbox of
  corruption, mystery, and free-flowing
  cash.  Enemies are made easy, friends
  come hard, and it is so easy to do anything
  from pulp noire to gritty crime stories.
  Even with all of that, it doesn’t get so lost
  in itself that it can’t be used as a backdrop
  city for other Savage Products that take
  place on Earth, any time in the 400 years
  of history that are balled up into the Well-
  stone City book.
  Ben> Definitely Wellstone. The old-style
  noire feel combined with the rough-and-
  tumble Savage mechanics seems a natural
  match.
  5. WHAT SAVAGE WORLDS PRODUCT, OTHER
  THAN YOUR OWN, ARE YOU MOST INTERESTED
  IN?
  Ben> Actually, Savage Worlds has
  turned out to be my favorite system for
  playing Star Wars games with. I like bits
  and pieces of most of the fan-created sour-
  cebooks out there for that setting.
  Kevin> I suppose that “all of them” is
  kind of a cop-out.  While we support
  whole-heartedly our fellow licensees, we
  haven’t strayed too far from using the Pin-
  nacle products and I’ve had some of the
  most fun with Necessary Evil and Weird
  War II.  I just started getting into Rippers,
  and we are constantly expanding what
  we’re doing with the books we have, and
  we are constantly expanding the collection
  of books we have.
  6. WHAT SAVAGE WORLDS PRODUCT(S) ARE
  YOU CURRENTLY WORKING ON?
  Kevin> If I tell you, I’d have to kill you.
  But there are quite a number in the pipe,
  most of them centering around zombies,
  Wellstone City, or some combination
  thereof.
  Ben> I’m concentrating too much on In-
  genium to spend time on Savage right now,
  unfortunately. I have some ideas sketched
  out, but they won’t see daylight for at least
  a year.
  7. HAVE YOU WORKED ON ANY SETTINGS FOR
  OTHER COMPANIES?
  Kevin> Not counting the old Æther Gam-
  ing Systems company that was absorbed
  into Silver Gryphon, no.  I did once take a
  foray into D20 adventures through an ini-
  tiative that Atlas Games had back in the
  early 2000’s, but that is the limit to my
  attention outside my own companies.
  Ben> My freelance work has been en-
  tirely artistic. I did art for BESM d20 2nd
  and 3rd editions, a couple books by Hero
  Games, and a few freebies for others. Noth-
  ing Savage, yet.
  8. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SAVAGE WORLDS
  SETTING TO DEVELOP IN?
  Kevin> Wellstone City has got to be my
  favorite.  There’s just so many dirty little
  corners to play with and in a city the size
  of Wellstone with the population packed
  so densely, there is always room for mon-
  ey to be made and dirty deeds to be done.
  Ben> Though it’s not uniquely Savage,
  Star Wars. I’m a big fan of that setting.
  9. HOW OFTEN DO YOU PUBLISH PRODUCTS?
  Kevin> Not as often as we’d like.  We end
  up getting something out every quarter,
  but we’ll have several products come out
  in successive months and then a long dry
  spell.
  Ben> What Kevin said. We’re doing this
  in our spare time, so it’s difficult to churn
  out a lot of products without sacrificing a
  lot of quality.
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  10. WHAT GENRE DO YOU PREFER TO
  DEVELOP IN?
  Ben> Fantasy or old-school space opera.
  I love playing fast and loose with physics
  and other “rules,” and those two genres
  suit that mindset best.
  Kevin> Anything that rocks!  My mind
  seems to work best in anything that could
  have a rock, heavy metal, or operatic
  soundtrack accompanying it.  Modern is
  fun because it’s familiar, but I’m a histori-
  an by education, so anything is fair game.
  11. WHAT IS THE MOST DIFFICULT PART OF
  DEVELOPMENT?
  Kevin> I have serious issues focusing on
  only one project at a time.  We’ve jokingly
  said that I have “project ADHD,” but that
  has calmed down some as more people
  have been added to the Silver Gryphon
  crew. Now everyone has more time for
  product development.  The difficulty
  comes in different areas for different proj-
  ects, but by and large, for me it’s the writ-
  ing of NPC stats.  I just doesn’t have fun
  doing that at all.
  Ben> Reconciling all the really cool ideas
  with a central canon is probably hardest.
  It’s easy to come up with great concepts,
  but tying them all together so they make
  sense can sometimes be a chore.
  12. WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED IN THE TIME
  YOU'VE DEVELOPED PRODUCTS?
  Kevin> I’ve learned to slow down, take
  my time, and double check EVERYTHING.
  The more eyes you have on a project at any
  given stage of production, the fewer mis-
  takes you will make, and the better the
  product will be.
  Ben> No matter how many times you’ve
  edited, you will always miss a typo, a refer-
  ence to an obsolete mechanic, or some-
  thing like that. This is true even of big
  companies’ products, but it’s particularly
  true of small press companies that can’t
  afford a full-time editor.
  13. DO YOU PREFER PRINT OR ELECTRONIC?
  Kevin> When I’m at the gaming table, I
  prefer print products.  For development
  though, I prefer electronic copies so I don’t
  have books piled up all over the place.
  Ben> Print. I’m a very sensory-oriented
  person, and print products have a tactile
  quality to them that digital copies just
  don’t have. With that said, though... I’m
  warming to the idea of the Nook or Kindle.
  When I briefly had an iPad, I enjoyed “flip-
  ping” through books using the touch-
  screen.
  14. IF YOU COULD SHARE ONE THING ABOUT
  YOUR COMPANY THAT MOST SAVAGES DO NOT
  KNOW, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
  Kevin> There are two things, actually.
  First, we have never taken out a loan to do
  what we do; everything has been cash out
  of pocket or income generated by the
  products themselves.  Second, it’s basically
  just two guys doing the day-to-day stuff of
  the business, the product development,
  and the marketing.  Both of us are working
  around families, other hobbies, and other
  full-time jobs.
  Ben> We do a lot, as in almost all, of our
  dev work online. We use Google Docu-
  ments to collaborate on manuscripts, and
  we have a few online tools we use to share
  binary files like PDFs, PSDs, InDesign docs,
  and so on. Silver Gryphon is very depen-
  dent on that, since Kevin and I live two
  hours apart.
  15. IF SOMEONE WANTED TO BECOME A
  FREELANCER FOR YOU, WHAT SHOULD THEY
  KNOW?
  Kevin> We are a ball to work with and
  we love working with other people that
  are excited by gaming.
  Ben> Unlike other companies, our prod-
  ucts have multiple distinctive styles, and
  we tend to come up with new products
  that don’t fit into existing themes. So, even
  if your art (or writing) style doesn’t fit
  Wellstone, it might match up with Ingeni-
  um.
  16. DO YOU HAVE ANY NEW PRODUCT LINES
  COMING UP THAT YOU HAVEN'T ANNOUNCED
  YET?
  Kevin> Lines?  No, but there are a num-
  ber of little one-shots and continuations of
  what were supposed to be one-shots com-
  ing out this year, and as always, more stuff
  for Wellstone City!  Both Ben and I have
  more products coming out for our Æther
  and Ingenium systems as well.
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  44
  TRIPLE ACE GAMES
  http://www.tripleacegames.com/
  1. TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF
  My name is Wiggy and I’m a partner in
  Triple Ace Games, along with Robin Elliott.
  I’ve been playing RPGs since 1982, writing
  professionally since 1998, and writing full-
  time since late 2004. I’ve freelanced for
  Atlas Games, Eden Studios, Britannia
  Games Design, Kenzer & Co., and Green
  Ronin, and worked for PEG as a staff writer.
  Triple Ace Games was founded in 2008.
  Since then, we’ve published over 160 print
  and e-book products. Although we’re best
  known for our Hellfrost fantasy setting,
  we’ve produced Daring Tales of Adventure,
  Chivalry, Space Lanes, and Sprawl adven-
  ture lines, the horror-sci-fi setting Necrop-
  olis 2350, the dark fantasy setting
  Sundered Skies, and the weird and wonder-
  ful Wonderland no More.
  2. WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO BECOME A
  SAVAGE WORLDS LICENSEE?
  Before co-founding TAG I’d spent four
  years as Pinnacle’s staff writer. During
  that time I’d developed several ideas that I
  wanted to explore further. Like any com-
  pany. Pinnacle has a finite budget, finite
  release slots, and its own core projects to
  support, so in order to work on my ideas I
  needed to branch out.
  3. HOW DO YOU THINK SAVAGE WORLDS
  COMPARES TO OTHER GENERIC UNIVERSAL
  SYSTEMS?
  I haven’t really played any other generic
  settings—most of the RPGs I play come
  with the rules built in rather than needing
  a separate core rulebook. But in general
  terms of it being an RPG, Savage Worlds is
  extremely simple to learn and yet comes
  with many hidden depths.
  4. WHAT SAVAGE WORLDS PRODUCT, OF
  YOUR OWN, INSPIRES YOU THE MOST?
  I’d have to say Hellfrost. It was originally
  intended to be just three books, but since
  then it’s developed a true life of its own,
  expanding to five print books and 55+
  electronic products, and that’s just the ma-
  terial we’ve released to date. Much of that
  growth is actually down to fan demand for
  more material, which is really inspiring.
  5. WHAT SAVAGE WORLDS PRODUCT, OTHER
  THAN YOUR OWN, ARE YOU MOST INTERESTED
  IN?
  There’s a lot of interesting material out
  there, but I’d have to say Rippers. Although
  I wrote the Rippers Companion and several
  adventures, I had nothing much to do with
  the core book, so it isn’t one I lay any claim
  to. I’ve been playing it with my wife since
  it was in draft format, and it’s still one of
  our favorite settings for any RPG.
  6. WHAT SAVAGE WORLDS PRODUCT(S) ARE
  YOU CURRENTLY WORKING ON?
  Right now we’re in a really good place in
  terms of products. We have over a dozen
  print books written in preparation for
  monthly releases and enough PDF materi-
  al written and laid out to see us through to
  next year. So while I’m still working hard
  on the creative front, it’s more tinkering
  with possible ideas and looking ahead to
  see what we need for next year’s PDF re-
  leases.
  Robin is busy getting the first Hellfrost
  adventure print compendiums laid out
  and off to the printers. The first one should
  be in stores by the time this article is pub-
  lished, and the second will be close behind.
  7. HAVE YOU WORKED ON ANY SETTINGS FOR
  OTHER COMPANIES?
  As I noted earlier, I spent several years
  at PEG, so my name appears on a lot of
  official settings and generic products. I al-
  so wrote the Savage Freeport Companion
  for Green Ronin.
  8. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SAVAGE WORLDS
  SETTING TO DEVELOP IN?
  That’s tricky, as it requires two answers.
  In terms of settings I can develop, then it’s
  definitely Hellfrost. Every time I glance
  through the existing material or look at the
  map new ideas spring into my mind. In
  terms of settings I’d like to develop, that
  would be Rippers—new ideas for it are
  never far from my mind.
  9. HOW OFTEN DO YOU PUBLISH PRODUCTS?
  We began with regular weekly releases,
  but since branching out of Savage Worlds
  into other systems that has slowed slightly
  to 1-3 Savage Worlds electronic products a
  month and a print book every month or
  two. We’ve just started printing our own
  books, so there’s been a slight gap be-
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  tween print books the last few months.
  The regular flow should commence again
  this month.
  10. WHAT GENRE DO YOU PREFER TO
  DEVELOP IN?
  Fantasy first, but pulp now comes a very
  close second. They’re both genres that ap-
  peal to my imagination and impose very
  few limitations. Strangely, until I wrote the
  Pulp Toolkits I’d never considered gaming
  in the genre, despite loving movies like
  The Rocketeer and the Indiana Jones films.
  11. WHAT IS THE MOST DIFFICULT PART OF
  DEVELOPMENT?
  For me, sitting down in front of a blank
  Word document and wondering how I’m
  going to fill X pages in Y days. But that
  usually passes once I start typing. For Rob,
  that would probably be the sheer amount
  of paperwork that goes into running a full-
  time business, especially now we’re han-
  dling our own printing.
  12. WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED IN THE TIME
  YOU'VE DEVELOPED PRODUCTS?
  That there are much easier ways to
  make a living, but few are as rewarding as
  creating strange, new worlds and seeing
  the enjoyment others get from exploring
  them. I’ve gained more understanding of
  layout over the last year, as well, as I’ve
  been laying out the smaller PDF products.
  13. DO YOU PREFER PRINT OR ELECTRONIC?
  As a gamer, I’m very much old school—
  paper in my preferred medium. As a pub-
  lisher, I see the need for both markets to
  run parallel.
  14. IF YOU COULD SHARE ONE THING ABOUT
  YOUR COMPANY THAT MOST SAVAGES DO NOT
  KNOW, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
  That Rob and I are both English and live
  in the UK may surprise some Savage
  Worlds fans who haven’t known us since
  we worked for PEG—we’re a rarity in an
  American-dominated industry.
  More generically, I guess it might be that
  despite us hitting the ground with a string
  of regular releases, we started TAG with
  $500 in cash, Necropolis 2350 ready to
  print (thanks to Shane’s generosity), a few
  unfinished manuscripts, some crazy ideas,
  and a lot of good will.
  15. IF SOMEONE WANTED TO BECOME A
  FREELANCER FOR YOU, WHAT SHOULD THEY
  KNOW?
  Although we’re always open to new
  ideas, we’re keen to promote our existing
  lines, so product knowledge really is es-
  sential. Being a published freelancer isn’t
  important, so long as you’re keen, realize
  that writing is hard work, and are pre-
  pared to learn. After all, we all started out
  without any publishing credits to our
  names.
  16. DO YOU HAVE ANY NEW PRODUCT LINES
  COMING UP THAT YOU HAVEN'T ANNOUNCED
  YET?
  Lots can go wrong between announcing
  a project and actually publishing it, so we
  don’t talk about new lines until they’re
  virtually finished. We know fans always
  like to hear about new stuff coming out,
  but there’s no point in getting them hyped
  up over something that may be a year or
  more away (or later get cancelled for some
  reason). I can say that we’re looking at a
  few new adventure lines, but nothing’s
  been confirmed yet. Hopefully we’ll have
  ideas firmed up by Gen Con, so we’ll be
  able to talk to the fans there.
  WHITE HAIRED MAN
  http://www.whitehairedman.com/
  1. TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF
  What Is White Haired Man?
  We offer small-scale settings that can be
  easily introduced into a campaign and re-
  duce the gamemaster’s preparation time.
  Our settings do not force the gamemaster
  to rework an existing campaign setting.
  Our work also reflects the roleplaying
  styles we enjoy: a low level of magic, high
  drama, intense roleplaying opportunities,
  and realistic consequences for character
  actions.
  The settings themselves are available
  for free on the White Haired Man web site
  in a rules agnostic format. That is, the free
  settings contain no rules that tie them to a
  particular game system. Each setting in-
  cludes a number of adventures that can
  follow one another in a series or stand
  alone.
  The adventures comprise our core prod-
  ucts, and contain the game mechanics nec-
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  Savage Insider Issue #1
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  46
  essary to run them with Savage Worlds
  rules. The adventures are available in two
  formats. First, each adventure can be pur-
  chased as a PDF. Second, we also bundle
  the PDF with a software module for the
  Fantasy Grounds virtual tabletop soft-
  ware. In the future we hope to offer eBook
  versions of our adventures.
  We are now completing the final adven-
  ture for the Kith’takharos setting. We cur-
  rently offer four full-length Kith’takharos
  adventures and three short adventures we
  call Simple Scenarios. Once the current
  adventure is finished, there will be five
  full-length adventures.
  Who Is White Haired Man?
  Andugus – Graphic Design & Artist
  “White Haired Man is the stuff of
  dreams. How many times have you met
  those who talked about their passions?
  How many of those people pursued one?
  One day I awoke and knew I had to pursue
  mine. That or live my life knowing my
  dreams would remain unfulfilled. That day
  I decided to stop talking about it and toss
  caution to the wind. In my heart I knew
  that passion would lead me to success
  though I couldn’t define how.
  “I enrolled in college at age 40 to pursue
  a Bachelors Degree of Science in Graphic
  Design. Not because I needed a degree, I
  needed artistic skills to unlock ideas into
  visual information. A month later White
  Haired Man became the culmination of a
  two year conversation between Viz and
  me. Now, White Haired Man is the vessel of
  my passion and gained knowledge.
  Through thought, ideation, and plain hard
  work I contribute to the creative force that
  is White Haired Man. Without fear of fail-
  ure or need of financial success, I am living
  the dream. It is my hope that our work will
  enrich your role-playing game experience;
  creating intense role playing opportuni-
  ties. Leaving you with memories shared
  with friends that create bonds; bonds that
  you’ll enjoy for many years to come.
  “Today I have a new dream. I dream
  White Haired Man products will be as suc-
  cessful at your game table as they have
  been at mine.”
  Viz – Writing and Electronic Design
  “I could probably list at least half dozen
  reasons why I joined Andugus to form
  White Haired Man. For our collaboration,
  the most important thing is that we have
  been friends for many years and have de-
  veloped a good working relationship. We
  can be honest with one another with no
  reservations, and we are.
  “I’m not going to list all the other rea-
  sons, because most of them are ancillary.
  The real reason is that I love to write and I
  love roleplaying. What could be better
  than to meld these into the collaboration
  that is White Haired Man?
  “Writing is a magical process. Even
  though I might know what I want to write
  about, I never know ahead of time what
  words will result or how they will be ar-
  ranged. Somewhere within me these
  words are produced, and I am the vessel
  through which they emerge into the world.
  When they turn out well, I am as amazed
  as anyone else. All I know for sure is that
  practice is essential.
  “In addition to the writing, I also create
  the Fantasy Grounds modules. This is an
  art of a different kind, working out the best
  organization of the material so that the
  gamemaster has convenient access to the
  most important information.
  “I could say many more things, and most
  would resemble the old clichés about do-
  ing what one loves, working hard, perse-
  vering, etc. But I have learned that those
  sayings are clichés because they’re true.
  Creating settings and adventures is deeply
  satisfying.”
  2. WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO BECOME A
  SAVAGE WORLDS LICENSEE?
  We began by producing OGL products,
  because we did not need any additional
  permission and only had to comply with
  the Open Game License. But we had been
  playing Savage Worlds for about two years
  and really liked the system. After a year we
  had two OGL adventures, and felt we now
  had a track record of quality work that
  would give us a better chance of becoming
  a Savage Worlds licensee. We approached
  Pinnacle, and were finally able to become
  a licensee.
  3. HOW DO YOU THINK SAVAGE WORLDS
  COMPARES TO OTHER GENERIC UNIVERSAL
  SYSTEMS?
  The only other such system we've used
  is GURPS. We like Savage Worlds better
  because of the elegance and simplicity of
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  THEME: Building the Savage Worlds Community
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  47
  the rules. The rules are also fun to play.
  These features allow us to more easily cre-
  ate without the rules getting in the way.
  4. WHAT SAVAGE WORLDS PRODUCT, OF
  YOUR OWN, INSPIRES YOU THE MOST?
  Right now, the adventures planned for
  our next small-scale setting: the Eastern
  Frontier. We will begin work on that in
  July. Savage Worlds is not complicated, but
  experience does help in taking advantage
  of its possibilities. Even though our cur-
  rent line of adventures set in Kith’takharos
  have turned out very well, the next series
  of adventures will leverage all we have
  learned and will be even better.
  5. WHAT SAVAGE WORLDS PRODUCT, OTHER
  THAN YOUR OWN, ARE YOU MOST INTERESTED
  IN?
  The upcoming Savage Worlds Deluxe. We
  are especially interested in reading the
  design notes.
  6. WHAT SAVAGE WORLDS PRODUCT(S) ARE
  YOU CURRENTLY WORKING ON?
  We have just completed the Savage
  Worlds version of our fourth full length
  Kith’takharos adventure, The Dreamers
  Awaken. Our final Kith’takharos adven-
  ture, Seal the Rift!, should be available in
  July. Then we will begin the Eastern Fron-
  tier setting and the adventures that will
  accompany it.
  7. HAVE YOU WORKED ON ANY SETTINGS FOR
  OTHER COMPANIES?
  No. There are only two of us. It would be
  difficult to find time for projects not direct-
  ly related to White Haired Man.
  8. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SAVAGE WORLDS
  SETTING TO DEVELOP IN?
  Our favorite settings are our own set-
  tings. All of our products are developed for
  our own settings.
  9. HOW OFTEN DO YOU PUBLISH PRODUCTS?
  Up to now, we have averaged between
  two and three products per year. Howev-
  er, we have become better at optimizing
  our workflow, and in the future may be
  able to release an additional product each
  year.
  10. WHAT GENRE DO YOU PREFER TO
  DEVELOP IN?
  All of our work fits into the fantasy
  genre. As mentioned in the first question,
  our work reflects the roleplaying styles we
  enjoy: a low level of magic, high drama,
  intense roleplaying opportunities, and re-
  alistic consequences for character actions.
  11. WHAT IS THE MOST DIFFICULT PART OF
  DEVELOPMENT?
  Often, the first parts of a project are
  completed rather rapidly. The most diffi-
  cult parts are last bits of polish that make
  a product truly professional.
  12. WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED IN THE TIME
  YOU'VE DEVELOPED PRODUCTS?
  While working on our last two adven-
  tures we learned one of our most impor-
  tant lessons: avoiding scope creep. That is,
  we allowed the adventures to encompass
  areas outside the original plan and they
  grew out of control. Time frames expand-
  ed, and sometimes it seemed like we
  would never finish. But we did finish,
  learned our lesson, and our next adven-
  ture is already profiting from this experi-
  ence.
  13. DO YOU PREFER PRINT OR ELECTRONIC?
  We prefer electronic. Print is too expen-
  sive and risky for such a small company
  with limited resources.
  14. IF YOU COULD SHARE ONE THING ABOUT
  YOUR COMPANY THAT MOST SAVAGES DO NOT
  KNOW, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
  We suspect that most Savages don’t
  even know we exist!
  15. IF SOMEONE WANTED TO BECOME A
  FREELANCER FOR YOU, WHAT SHOULD THEY
  KNOW?
  Our greatest need is illustration, so a
  freelancer should have this skill.
  16. DO YOU HAVE ANY NEW PRODUCT LINES
  COMING UP THAT YOU HAVEN'T ANNOUNCED
  YET?
  After we release the last Kith’takharos
  adventure in July, we will move on to our
  next setting: the Eastern Frontier. Infor-
  mation about the Eastern Frontier should
  begin appearing on our web site by August.
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  48
  WRAP-UP
  To the Savage Worlds licensees, Savage
  Insider extends our thanks for your partic-
  ipation in this Round Table Question and
  Answer session.
  We hope readers learned a little more
  about their favorite licensees and found
  some new ones who you plan to give a try.
  All of the developers and creative minds
  within this Round Table help to support
  the Savage Worlds community through
  continuing product releases, convention
  appearances, free downloads, and excel-
  lent blogging information.
  There are more licensees than would fit
  into one issue, so this is just the beginning.
  By scanning the cover of this issue, you
  will find the names of all the licensees that
  support the Savage Worlds system and
  community today. We at Savage Insider
  encourage you to check-out all the fantas-
  tic publishers and expand your gaming ho-
  rizons.
  These publishers all volunteered time
  out of their own schedule to contribute to
  this Round Table. Stop by the licensee
  websites and let them know you read
  about them here.
  You can help Savage Insider grow by
  spreading the word about our content,
  asking questions you’d like answered, and
  inviting your Savage friends to join you in
  liking our Facebook page. If you’re feeling
  particularly generous, you can even spon-
  sor our production at our website.
  CHAINMAIL SHIRT
  The chainmail shirt is a stan-
  dard item for many adventurers.
  It allows for better mobility than a
  full chain hauberk and weighs
  much less. It can be made much
  quicker than a full-length coat.
  Chainmail shirts are also easier to
  wear over cotton shirts or under-
  neath full-length jackets.
  CHAINMAIL SHIRT
  Armor: +2
  Weight: 15
  Cost: 100
  Notes: Covers torso
  DARK FANTASY
  URBAN FANTASY
  SCIENCE FICTION
  MYTHOLOGY
  PICK YOUR WORLD
  MYSTICALTHRONE-ENT.COM
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
  Savage Insider Issue #1
  THEME: Building the Savage Worlds Community
  50
  CONVENTION CALENDAR JULY - OCTOBER
  Welcome to Convention Connection! In order to ensure readers have a chance to plan their convention trips, each
  quarter’s issue will show conventions occurring in each of the three months of that quarter, plus the first month in the
  next quarter. It wouldn’t do much good for you to get October’s issue and only then find out that you have 10 days or so
  to get to a convention in October. That does mean there will be some overlap, but we felt the benefit was worth some
  small duplication.
  JULY-OCTOBER AT-A-GLANCE
  Convention
  Website
  Dates
  Location (United States)
  FandomFest
  www.fandomfest.com
  7/22-24/2011
  KY
  KantCon
  kantcon.com/v2/
  7/8-10/2011
  KS
  LibertyCon
  www.libertycon.org/
  7/15-17/2011
  TN
  Chicago Comic Con
  www.wizardworld.com/home-ch.html
  8/11-14/2011
  IL
  Gen Con
  www.gencon.com
  8/4-7/2011
  IN
  DragonCon
  www.dragoncon.org
  9/2-5/2011
  GA
  Geek.Kon
  geekkon.net
  9/9-11/2011
  WI
  Grand Masquerade
  www.thegrandmasquerade.com
  9/15-18/2011
  LA
  MAGE Con
  www.mage-page.com
  9/2-5/2011
  NE
  Nuke Con
  www.nuke-con.com
  9/30-10/2/2011
  NE
  New York Comic Con
  www.newyorkcomiccon.com
  10/13-16/2011
  NY
  Con on the Cob
  www.cononthecob.com
  10/13-16/2011
  OH
  Necronomicon
  www.stonehill.org/necmain.htm
  10/21-23/2011
  FL
  Although we did our best to compile an extensive list, this
  list is not exhaustive. All dates and websites are accurate as
  of this printing. If you know of conventions occurring be-
  tween July and October that are not listed here, please let
  us know. We will add them to our list.
  A special thanks to the many people and companies who
  pitched in with their own lists (directly and indirectly)
  including Sean McConkey, Silver Gryphon Games, Dave
  McAlister, Ian Hayward, Scott Alan Woodard, Dave Mat-
  tingly, Pinnacle Entertainment Group, and DriveThruRPG.
  Through direct responses and lists on various websites, we
  got a lot of good information.
  SAVAGE PRESENCE AT GEN CON
  These are the companies who sell Savage Worlds prod-
  ucts that we know will be at Gen Con. Booth numbers are
  subject to change. Some companies may partner with oth-
  ers and not be listed by their own name in the Gen Con book.
  · 
  Adamant Entertainment (Cubicle 7 side of booth) –
  711
  · 
  Arc Dream Publishing – 711
  · 
  Green Ronin – 965
  · 
  Savage Mojo – 1741
  · 
  Triple Ace Games – 1523
  Booth 605 holds a whole bunch of Savage goodness.
  You’ll find:
  · 
  Pinnacle Entertainment Group
  · 
  Reality Blurs
  · 
  Studio 2
  · 
  Super Genius Games
  · 
  Third Eye Games
  · 
  Visionary Comics
  Several companies and Savage personalities are running
  ticketed games and may be available for pick-up games or
  in-booth demos.
  Sean Patrick Fannon of Shaintar note, Reality Blurs, and
  Savage Mojo all piped up to say they’re running ticketed
  Savage Worlds games. (If you stop by the DriveThruRPG
  or Studio 2 booth, you might run into Sean.)
  Pinnacle is hosting Savage Saturday Night (SSN), which
  is sold out. Interested Savages can still go to a table just
  with generic tickets in case a spot opens up. See the Gen
  Con events listing for game details.
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  THEME: Building the Savage Worlds Community
  Savage Insider Issue #1
  51
  DESIGNER’S
  DIARY -
  TEMPORAL
  PROBABILITY
  AGENCY
  STATS
  Publisher: Apathy Games
  Author: Jeff Carlsen, Hillary Crenshaw,
  Tyson J. Hayes, Paul von Meerscheidt
  Artists: Hillary Crenshaw, Marie
  Carlsen
  Growing up sucks.  I’ve spent most of
  my adult life paying rent, working on my
  career, and being responsible.  This De-
  cember I’ll welcome my first child into
  the world, solidifying me into the world
  of adults, only able to visit the world of
  pretend on the occasions I can get my
  friends around a table to play a game.
  The problem is, like most adults, I’m
  busy.  Apathy Games was founded on the
  idea that while we, as roleplayers, have
  grown up, we haven’t stopped playing
  games.  Our time is more precious to us,
  and we don’t want to waste time book-
  keeping or learning new rules.  All Apa-
  thy Games adventures are created with
  the same mantra in mind:  Print. Pour.
  Play.  Print the game, pour a drink, and
  begin play.  I barely have time to fit work
  into my day, so why should I spend any
  more time on tedious prep work?
  Our first game, Temporal Probability
  Agency, was created with these ideas in
  mind. No prep required, just add drinks
  and friends.  Players will assume the
  roles of agents of the TPA.  Since the year
  2000, the TPA (with the aid of the future
  predicting computer, Daisy) has been
  protecting humanity. They've prevented
  9/11, wars around the world, and the
  global financial crisis.  As an agent,
  you’ve been selected, not recruited, to
  perform your mission.  Sometimes you
  will need to do something small: a spilled
  beer at the right moment.  Sometimes it
  will be something huge: a gunfight with
  the Italian Mafia inside a burning factory.
   The GM will find numerous handouts,
  maps, and notes on where to find more
  information on rules.  All this is designed
  around our strategy of Print. Pour. Play.
  I’ve spent much of this diary so far
  talking about design of our game, but it’s
  all integral to a good game.  I’ve picked
  up books that were huge blocks of text,
  black and white tables for stats, and little
  art, and put them right back where I
  found them.  Any game should start with
  a good design, each piece chosen to rep-
  resent the game.  We chose a mixed me-
  dia look for our game. Laundry lists look
  taped, stapled, and stuck on.  Stat blocks
  were designed with a couple of simple
  colors, meant to highlight special abili-
  ties and weapons. Loads of handouts
  were developed for the game to give to
  the players.  Handouts are invaluable to
  us as players. We love being able to hold
  things.  While our imaginations are rich,
  being able to hold a laundry list in hand
  makes us feel like we really are donning
  the TPA uniform to go save the day.
  For me, TPA is unlike most any other
  game I’ve played.  I’ve heard it nicely
  described as a “role reversal” in which
  “the game plays on rails. It’s the player’s
  job to keep the game on track while the
  GM is trying to throw a wrench in the
  whole plan.”  Players are told up front
  what their objectives are in the form of a
  “Laundry List,” a small handout contain-
  ing straight forward statements, like “Go
  to the Fashion Crevasse,” to vague ac-
  tions, such as, “Bring the girl home.”
   Each objective serves as a clue on how to
  move the adventure forward.  Going to a
  specified location, for example, yields
  more clues to your upcoming tasks.
  “Bringing the girl home” makes sense
  when the opportunity presents itself.
   We found the results of the players
  keeping the game on track to be the most
  rewarding design element.
  Allowing the players to keep the game
  on track does have two advantages, it
  allows them to railroad themselves to
  where we need them to go and it allows
  the GM to provide the tools they may
  need along the way.  The TPA has the
  power to predict agent’s needs; this al-
  lows the GM to react to any situation
  with equipment, directions, or an ally
  and make it all look like part of the plan.
   I’ve played many adventures where
  most of the player’s time is spent trying
  to figure out the objective. Time is spent
  wandering around asking vague ques-
  tions to townspeople only to have the
  GM beat them over the head with the
  path forward out of weariness.  The TPA
  doesn’t run into that problem, the play-
  ers know where they need to go, and
  only may need a hint or two to be on
  their way.  More fun for the players and
  less prep work for the GM.
  Growing up still sucks, and we all still
  have to pay the bills, but at least with our
  help you have more time to play games.
  With our games you can just invite your
  friends over, print our adventures, pour
  some drinks, and play.
  Tyson J. Hayes is the Director of Social
  Media for Apathy Games, which is just his
  fancy way of saying he’s a blogger.  You
  can find his advice on games, and the
  weekly news column Savage Mondays for
  all 
  things 
  Savage 
  Worlds 
  at
  apathygames.com.  Act 1 of Temporal
  Probability Agency: To Predict and Serve
  is out now.  You can find it by searching
  rpgnow.com, or by visiting our website,
  apathygames.com/tpa
  Derek Tyler (order #9232471)
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Savage Worlds System (SWADE) [multi]/_Misc/Savage Insider/Savage Insider #01 - Building the Savage Worlds Community.pdf