Savage Worlds: Thrilling Tales of Adventure!!

How to prepare

🎥 WILL YOU NEED A WEBCAM AND/OR MIC? --Short answer: Microphone yes, Webcam no. --Longer answer: It would be nice to have a webcam, and I'll explain why. I always keep my webcam ON when I GM. Although I do not require this of my players, I strongly encourage it for several reasons: 1) A lot of roleplaying takes place through facial expression and non-verbal communication. Playing without a video image can hinder that. 2) As a safety tool, being able to see someone's face and read their expression can offer me (and other players) cues that something is wrong or that a player may be uncomfortable with where the game is going - which then gives me (or others) an opportunity to call for a break and check in with that player privately. However, I completely understand any player's hesitancy to use a webcam for whatever reason, either personal or technological. For instance, I use multiple monitors so I can easily swap between Discord and Foundry, but I recognize that this is not always true for my players. Bottom line: Use cameras if you wish, and I do encourage it... but should you choose not to, please feel no pressure to change or even to explain yourself. It is entirely up to you. 📝 WILL YOU NEED ANY ACCOUNTS OR LOGINS? ---Yes. I use Foundry VTT, but hosted online through The Forge. You will need to register for a free account at https://forge-vtt.com/ if you don't already have one. You will also need Discord. 🃏 WILL YOU NEED TO READ THE RULES AHEAD OF TIME? ---Ideally yes. I run a free monthly "How to Play Savage Worlds" session on StartPlaying which I would recommend to players who don't already know how to play Savage Worlds. Alternately, I can recommend this series of tutorial videos that do a good job of explaining the system: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgb1VYGaaaMS8Y8znq_oaPrbPhlG9RBwR Ultimately, it would be preferable to at least have a basic idea of the rules before signing up - but when it comes down to it, I'm happy to teach as we go. Beginners are still welcome. 🎭 WILL YOU NEED TO CREATE CHARACTERS? --We'll be doing character creation together, collaboratively. See below for more details on this.

What I provide

I run all my games on Foundry VTT. I've been using this platform for many years now, and have developed a lot of custom material for it. Since I use The Forge as a cloud-based hosting service, my players will need to have an account (free) at https://forge-vtt.com/ in order to be able to access my games. 🎤 While Foundry is a robust and versatile virtual tabletop, I have learned that it doesn't handle simultaneous voice/video particularly well. To that end, we will use Discord for voice. Once players register for the game, they will receive a link to my Discord server. 😎📜 In terms of play style, I like to blend the Rule of Cool with Rules as Written... it is important to know and understand the game system and have a degree of consistency (so that everyone at the table has a good idea of what to expect from it), but it is equally important to know when the rules are getting in the way of a good story. I am always willing to adjust and modify things based on the needs of my players, especially when it results in some epic roleplaying situations. My primary philosophy as a GM is to stay flexible and adaptable; no matter what planning has gone into a game, be prepared to change course in an instant if it makes for a better experience. 🗺️🧠 I vary from Theater of the Mind to detailed battle maps, depending on the situation. When I do use battle maps, I like to make them as immersive as possible by incorporating walls/visibility, lighting, animations, and sound effects!

Gameplay details

🦺 During Session Zero (and individually, for players who may join afterwards), we will have a discussion about the Luxton Technique and how we will use it to address - in a supportive and non-dismissive way - any triggering situations that may arise in-game. ☕ Scheduled and unscheduled breaks are welcome, for ANY reason, and I always have an open-door policy for all my games (meaning any player can step away from the game for any reason at all without recrimination or criticism, and be able to return if/when they feel they are ready/willing to.) ANYONE can call a break (for themselves or on behalf of another player), without needing to explain why. 🏳️‍🌈 I strive to make my tables always inclusive and safe spaces that are LGBTQIA+ friendly. Many of my games are set during historical time periods that realistically involved intolerant, discriminatory, and/or offensive language and cultural modes. I believe that to gloss over this and pretend that history was otherwise is potentially harmful to our present, and dishonors the sacrifices and struggles that marginalized peoples suffered through (and continue to suffer through). To that end, while such behavior may be present in my games, it will never be as a focus - unless the PCs are in a position to actively fight against it. In addition, it will ONLY be expressed by NPCs who are outright villains, and it will be done by reference only (i.e. I may say that an NPC "uses a highly offensive term when he speaks to this character," but I will *never* actually use such terms myself or tolerate their use by my players, either in- or out-of character.)

Content warnings

Safety tools used

How will character creation work

While I encourage players to come to the table with some concepts in mind, I like to do character creation collaboratively during Session Zero. This helps ensure that everyone has an opportunity to incorporate something unique into their character design, and that the party is more likely to form as a group rather than a random collection of mis-matched adventurers. I heavily customize my Foundry games with special compendiums that allow for an easy "drag and drop" style of character creation, where all available options from whatever rules and sourcebooks we are using are gathered together in one easy-to-find place.

Combat / Tactics

Medium

Roleplay

High

Puzzles

Medium

Experience level

Beginner