Savage Worlds: Learn to Play!

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? ---Not at all! If you have the rules and want to get a head start, by all means... but this is a Learn to Play session after all. I will teach you what you need to know to be able to make a character and play. 🎭 WILL YOU NEED TO CREATE CHARACTERS? --We'll be doing character creation together, collaboratively.

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! Remember, this is a Learn to Play session, so if you are already quite comfortable with Savage Worlds, this may not be the session for you. But if you are a novice, if you've never played Savage Worlds, or if you have played it but still don't quite *get* it... I'm here to help you learn this award-winning roleplaying system!

Gameplay details

Although this is a one-night, one-shot play session, that doesn't mean player safety isn't considered important! Since there is no campaign or storyline, the likelihood of triggering situations is small... but not non-existent. For this session style, I will keep an open-door policy: any player can, at any time, and for any reason, step away; for a minute, for an hour, or for the night. No justifications needed, no recriminations, no consequences. In addition, I will reserve the right to call for a break (and any player should feel free to do the same) if I see indications that anyone present may need one and for some reason isn't able to call for one themselves.

Content warnings

Safety tools used

How will character creation work

Don't worry about character creation! We will make characters together using Foundry's easy "drag and drop" system.

Combat / Tactics

Medium

Roleplay

Medium

Puzzles

Medium

Experience level

Beginner