GENERAL HOUSE RULES

FROM DOCTORBOSON

►Limiting: In a modern court Social Conflict, use the

This is a full list of the (relatively) few house rules that I lowest of the lawyer’s Persuasion and Law skills.
play with in Savage Worlds Adventure Edition, generally
regardless of se�ing. TAUNT (SMARTS)
This ranges from character creation through the core The Taunt skill is extremely narrow in the scope of the
rules, and includes a few custom Se�ing Rules that pop Savage Worlds rules. To broaden the scope of the skill, this
up in a variety of games. now fulfills the role of “social manipulation.” In contrast
to Persuasion (which is ge�ing people to do what you

CHARACTER CREATION like by wanting to help you), Taunt is the skill of egging a
target into doing something without knowing that you
even want a reaction out of them. This broadening is
All rules updated from the Character Creation chapter
particularly useful in interrogations (Social Conflicts vs
of Savage Worlds.
Smarts) to trick a target into revealing information.

SKILLS There are three major “trappings” of Taunt, and the

Core rules covers one of them: derision, which includes
A few skill changes and some new skills are listed here. ridicule, cruel jokes, or otherwise working to undermine
a target’s self-esteem. The second is annoyance, or
• Comprehensive Modifiers: It may be useful to throwing out puns, quips, and trying to irritate a target
consider modifiers provided in Savage Worlds Deluxe into taking some kind of action.
as a guideline for modifiers in the current edition. The last use of Taunt is reverse-psychology—allowing
• Riding: In more realistic se�ings, riding a mount a target information that they feel compelled to act on
without a saddle inflicts a –2 penalty to Riding. In without realizing that you wanted to give them that
more high-powered or modern games where Riding information and for them take action. (E.g. saying within
is exceedingly rare, ignore the Riding skill and simply earshot “if that man leaves, he’ll give away all of our
use Athletics instead, inflicting Familiarization plans to his boss,” prompting him to unwi�ingly lead
penalties if characters who don’t know how to ride you to their secret lair.)
a�empt to do so. ►Lying: Taunt is not the lying skill; lying requires the
target to believe what you are saying is truth, which falls
ESPIONAGE (SMARTS) under the purview of Persuasion.
This is used to carry out spycraft, including surveillance
and counter-surveillance, cryptography, running a spy
network, “doublespeak” (or speaking about a topic in
HINDRANCES
such a way that untrained individuals will not recognize) There are a variety of Hindrances from several Savage
and tradecraft, including arranging clandestine meetings Se�ings that can be included in almost any game, with
and “dead drop” transfers. This is also used to spot the GM’s approval. To avoid any copyright issues, I will
another agent’s handiwork. only be listing the name of these Hindrances and the
se�ing or book from which they hail.
LAW (SMARTS)
This skill reflects a deep understanding of the messy HINDRANCE CHANGES
tangle of the legal system, court proceedings, and cases A couple of Hindrances have minor adjustments:
which establish important precedence. It’s more
• Clueless: This subtracts –2 from Common Knowledge
important in modern and futuristic se�ings.
and Notice rolls, rather than –1.
Games set long ago didn’t have legal systems nearly as
complicated, and Common Knowledge with appropriate • Mean: A failed Persuasion roll also decreases the
penalties tends to fulfill this role instead. In many games, target’s Reaction Level by one.
this can be a�ributed to Academics instead.

This game 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.
 HOUSE RULES
• Ugly: This also inflicts a –1 to Performance rolls if the
character is visible, or –2 if Major. EDGES
These Edges are new, compiled from other sources, or
NEW UNIVERSAL HINDRANCES altered from their source material.
These are available in almost any se�ing, with GM
approval of course.
BACKGROUND EDGES
• Allergy—Super Powers Companion.
• Brute: This does not tie the Athletics skill to Strength;
LAZY (MAJOR) instead, Brutes may reroll Athletics when climbing,
The hero has a hard time focusing on any task he feels is jumping, pushing, or swimming (but not when
unimportant, which unfortunately includes most of grappling or interrupting actions). Brute increases the
them. His Wild Die is a d4 rather than a d6 for all Trait character’s throwing range as usual.
rolls. If the character spends a Benny to reroll a Trait, his • College Boy—Weird War I.
Wild Die returns to a d6 for the reroll.
In military campaigns, this character also suffers from • Luck: In addition to its usual effects, the hero may
the Goldbrick Hindrance (this is the Major version). spend a benny to reroll any non-Trait roll, including
the Running die, deviation, Table results, “luck” dice,
MOTION SICKNESS (MINOR OR MAJOR) random loot, etc.
The character must make a Vigor roll every time he • Great Luck: In addition to its usual effects, if you roll
boards a ship or airplane. On a success, the character a Critical Failure, you may spend a Benny once for
manages to control his sickness. With a failure, he suffers another roll. A nasty effect still occurs—the weapon
a level of Fatigue until he spends an hour on solid malfunctions, a picked lock breaks, etc.—but if the
ground. This cannot lead to Incapacitation. reroll is successful the character still “succeeds” at the
If the character’s vehicle is caught in a storm or other original task. (Essentially, Great Luck grants the
similarly jostling environments, he must make a Vigor effects of the Dumb Luck Se�ing Rule.)
roll at the start of each round until the conditions calm or
his sickness kicks in. If already suffering from the EIDETIC MEMORY
sickness when the storm begins, failing his roll inflicts a Requirements: Novice, Smarts d6+, Common
further –2 to his rolls. Knowledge d6+, Research d6+
This is considered a Major Hindrance if the campaign This character has near-perfect memory recall and
is built around such vehicles, or if the character is also adds +2 to all Common Knowledge rolls.
sensitive to more common vehicles such as cars in a
modern game.
COMBAT EDGES
NEW MILITARY HINDRANCES • Double Tap: This cannot be used with Shotguns or
• Goldbrick—Weird War I. when making use of a Scope. It also cannot be used
with bolt-action or lever-action weapons, or single-
• Replacement—Weird War I. action revolvers.

NEW PULP OR NOIR HINDRANCES • Hard to Kill: Ignore all penalties when making Vigor
rolls to avoid Bleeding Out. Should the character
• Lyin’ Eyes—Deadlands: Lost Colony. perish by any means, roll a die. On an even roll, he
• Rebellious—Deadlands: Lost Colony. remains Incapacitated but somehow escapes death.

• Schmuck—Deadlands: Noir.
• Smart Mouth—Deadlands: Noir.

22
 HOUSE RULES
• Harder to Kill: If the character is Incapacitated by any • Two-Fisted: This negates the Multi-Action Penalty for
means, roll a die. On an even result, he is not throwing a weapon, as well as a�acking with a
Incapacitated. If the Incapacitation would have been Fighting roll. Two-Gun Kid now exclusively applies
caused by damage, the character must still make his to Shooting rolls.
Vigor roll and roll on the Injury Table as usual. If this
leaves him Bleeding Out, he makes his Vigor roll to CHARGE
avoid death at the start of his turn as usual. Requirements: Seasoned, Fighting d8+
Inspired by Savage Rifts. The warrior may ignore the
• No Mercy: This adds +4 when spending a Benny to
penalty for Running when making a Fighting a�ack at
reroll damage, rather than +2.
the end of her movement.
• Quick Draw—Deadlands: Lost Colony. Additionally, if she moves at least one inch beyond her
• Rapid Fire: This and its Improved version may only Pace before making any Fighting a�acks, the hero adds
be used with weapons that have a Rate of Fire of 2+. +2 to her damage rolls. Any target Shaken by such an
a�ack is knocked Prone. This benefit does not apply if
• Take ’Em Down—Savage Rifts. “circling” the victim of her a�ack (GM’s discretion).
• Improved Take ’Em Down—Savage Rifts.

WHY CHANGE THAT EDGE?

Ace: Restricting the ability to Soak for their vehicles made this Edge too desirable. Making the ability to Soak
“global” mellows this Edge’s value to be on par with other options.
Brute: Strength-based Athletics has exactly two benefits: its use in defending against Athletics Tests is incredibly
niche and its point-saving benefits are only felt during character creation and Advances. This new effect provides
a powerful in-game benefit that actually feels as though the hero’s strength and fitness makes him more athletic.
Hard/Harder to Kill: Hard to Kill is nice to have, but it’s a very small boon, only being helpful if the character
is on death’s door. Even worse, the Edge’s actual benefit decreases if the character takes Nerves of Steel! Merging
the old Hard to Kill and Harder to kill into a single Edge carries a much stronger impact when it counts.
The improved variant makes it not just hard to finish the character off, but to keep him down at all. This allows
for badass moments such as a warrior pulling himself to his feet with his arm blown off and continuing to fight.
Luck/Greater Luck: While not bad Edges, one or two additional Bennies during a session isn’t a huge benefit,
since you can get the same from a simple interlude or good roleplaying.These additional effects provide lucky
characters with boons that can’t easily be acquired through gameplay.
Natural Leader: This fell into the same bin as Ace, where it was required for commanders unless you were in a
game with a regular and large supply of Extras. Now it has been retooled to make the troops under the leader’s
command especially effective, even with direct action from the commander.
No Mercy: The +2 bonus just isn’t that much in regards to damage, especially at the cost of a Benny. When
compared to Elan, where you can spend a Benny to increase your chances of landing a raise (for a +1d6 damage),
+4 is a more competitive bonus.
Rapid Fire: This is flat out useless with RoF 1 weapons: taking two shots costs more ammo, imposes the same
–2 penalty, and only grants one Wild Die rather than two. The added restriction keeps newer players from .
Two-Fisted: This allows for archetypes such as the dual-wielding warrior to throw his weapons as he fights.

33
 HOUSE RULES
DARK FIGHTER • Team Leader: From the Super Powers Companion. This
Requirements: Novice, Spirit d6+, Notice d8+ benefit only applies to non-combat Support rolls
This character has learned to relax his reliance on sight (GM’s discretion).
and instead improve his sense of hearing. As long as his
objective isn’t purely visual, he may halve all sight-based
penalties within 10”. This is not cumulative with Low
PROFESSIONAL EDGES
Light Vision or Infravision, but it does function in pitch • Ace: Any character controlling a vehicle can now
darkness or with Blind characters. spend a Benny to Soak damage dealt to the vehicle
This trick is accomplished by sound, so environments using their maneuvering skill. Aces now may choose
which interfere with sound negate the Edge’s benefits. to reroll results on the Critical Hit Table.
This cannot be taken by characters with Hard of Hearing.
DOCTOR
IMPROVED DARK FIGHTER Requirements: Novice, Smarts d6+, Healing d8+
Requirements: Veteran, Dark Fighter Doctors specialize in treating the very worst injuries,
This character’s senses are so a�uned that his eyes ignoring the penalty for treating Incapacitated patients
are almost vestigial. This functions as the Dark Fighter and 2 points of penalties for treating poisons.
Edge, but now ignores all penalties within range for In addition, using Healing to Support Natural Healing
bad lighting or vision. rolls provides +2 with a success, or +4 with a raise.
Note: The Healer Edge only denotes supernatural healing
benefits, such as from a deity or mystic herbs of some sort.
DIRTY FIGHTER
Requirements: Seasoned
Inspired by Savage Rifts. If a character makes a HACKER
successful Test with Athletics, Fighting, Shooting, or an Requirements: Novice, Smarts d6+, Hacking d8+,
arcane skill, the victim is Shaken in addition to the usual Research d6+
effects. If he scores a raise, the victim is Distracted, Some characters can hack; for this rogue, it’s almost as
Vulnerable, and Shaken. simple as breathing, and they can do it without a trace.
Characters with this Edge get a free reroll when Hacking,
TRICKY FIGHTER and for Research when searching digital systems.
Requirements: Veteran, Fighting d8+
The hero suffers no Multi-Action penalty when INFILTRATOR
making a Test against a foe when his next action is a Requirements: Novice, Smarts d6+, Notice d8+,
Fighting a�ack against that target. Persuasion d6+
Infiltrators specialize in going undercover, or
LEADERSHIP EDGES otherwise assuming a new identity. They may be trained
by government agencies or be naturally good liars.
Leadership Edges no longer only affect Extras by default. Infiltrators add +2 to all Persuasion or Performance
• Natural Leader: Requirements changed to Veteran. rolls made to lie or otherwise decieve those around them,
Allies under the leader’s command roll a d8 as the including maintaining a cover or disguise.
Wild Die instead of a d6 when making group rolls. In
addition, she gains a Leadership Point that can be SOCIAL EDGES
spent to reroll a Trait or damage roll for a single ally
within her Command Radius. Unspent Leadership is • I Know a Guy: From Savage Rifts. As wri�en, but with
lost at the end of the combat encounter. a Networking roll at –4 instead of a Smarts roll.
• Team Player—Super Powers Companion.

44
 HOUSE RULES
• Benefit from the Marksman Edge when moving up
MILITARY EDGES to her Pace in a round, but not while Running.

These Edges may be useful in a “modern” or science • Ignore the penalty for running and firing a weapon
fiction military or war campaign, whether on the with a Rate of Fire of 1.
ba�lefields of late-20th century Europe or fending off
genocidal aliens. SNIPER
Requirements: Veteran, Marksman, Shooting d10+

BACKGROUND EDGES Soldiers with this Edge are skilled enough with a rifle
to put a round in a target several miles away!
• Academy Graduate—Weird War I. This sniper benefits from the Marksman Edge even
when Aiming! Additionally, she gets a free reroll when
• Grizzled—Weird War I. firing at Extreme Range.

COMBAT EDGES LEADERSHIP EDGES

• Blood and Guts—Weird War I.
• A Few Good Men—Weird War I.
• Bullseye/Improved Bullseye—Weird War II.
• A Few More Good Men—Weird War I.
• Grazing Fire: From Weird War I. Shooters may ignore
up to two points of penalties from their targets (cover, • Cry Havoc—Weird War I.
Prone, etc.) when using Suppressive Fire. If using the • Death Before Dishonor—Weird War I.
new Suppressive Fire rules (see page 8), targets
• Rank (NCO or Officer): From Weird War I. As wri�en,
subtract an additional –2 from their Spirit rolls, and
but rather than receive +2 Toughness, NCOs get a free
are hit with a 1 or 2 on their Spirit die (regardless of
reroll on Soak rolls to reflect their hard-bi�en nature.
the Wild Die).
• Hose ‘Em Down—Weird War I.
• Improved Hose ‘Em Down—Weird War I.
ART OF WAR
Requirements: Novice, Smart d8+, Ba�le d8+
Inspired by Weird War I. This character gains a free
SHARPSHOOTING reroll with the Ba�le skill during Mass Ba�les.
Requirements: Veteran, Marksman, Agility d8+
Inspired by Savage Rifts. Sharpshooters may halve the PROFESSIONAL EDGES
Multi-Action Penalty for all of their Shooting or Athletics
(throwing) a�acks that round: two a�acks at –1, or three • Commando: From Weird War II. These characters may
a�acks at –2. Further, they may receive the benefit of the reroll all Survival rolls, and add +1 to Stealth rolls.
Marksman Edge for all Shooting or Athletics (throwing) • Conditioned—Savage Rifts.
a�acks with a Rate of Fire of 1 if they do not move.
• Demolitionist—Savage Rifts.

TRICK SHOOTING • Expert Demolitionist—Savage Rifts.

Requirements: Veteran, Sharpshooting, Steady Hands • Jump Qualified: From Weird War II. This functions as
Inspired by Savage Rifts. Trick Shooters can: wri�en, but also halves penalties from free-fall or
• Make a�ack rolls with traditionally two-handed zero-G environments.
ranged weapons (like rifles) one-handed at no • Medic!—Weird War I. As wri�en, but without the –2
penalty, but the minimum Strength required is penalty to Healing rolls.
increased by one die type.

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 HOUSE RULES
TECH HEAD
Requirements: Novice, Smarts d6+, Electronics d8+,
PULP EDGES
Repair d6+ If the campaign focuses on big heroes, loose morals,
Inspired by Weird War II. Modern warfare relies on underbellies of the big city, or even the Wild West, these
technology. The side that can get the most out of its Edges give your heroes a hand.
equipment may have a decisive advantage in ba�le. You
intend to see to it that the winning side is your side.
This character has an intuitive understanding of most PROFESSIONAL EDGES
mechanical and electronic systems, and gets a free reroll • Sleuth—Deadlands: Noir.
on Electronics rolls.

WATER TRAINING SOCIAL EDGES

Requirements: Novice, Vigor d8+, Athletics d6+
• Moxie: From Flash Gordon. Requirements: Novice,
This soldier has been to one of the various military
Humiliate. You can use Taunt to resist Intimidation
schools that teach combat swimming. This rigorous
and Taunt Tests.
training has improved the grunt’s swimming ability far
beyond those of a typical person.
He can hold his breath for twice as long, and all
REPUTATION
Requirements: Veteran
Athletics rolls for swimming are at +2.
Whether a hero or villain, this character has earned a
serious reputation. She gets a free reroll on Intimidation
SOCIAL EDGES if the target has heard of her exploits (a Common
Knowledge roll modified by how likely the individual is
• Band of Brothers—Weird War I.
to know the hero).
• Scrounger: From Weird War I. This requires a
successful Networking roll.

66
 HOUSE RULES
GEAR VEHICLES
• Linked Weapons: Some vehicles, especially old
There are a few gear changes that consist of minor tweaks
fighter planes, had lots of weapons. Instead of using
for balance while striving closer to realism or historical
the rules on page 84 for more than 4 linked weapons,
accuracy.
either dual- or quad-link the weapon set, then increase
the weapon’s Rate of Fire by 1 for every four
ENCUMBRANCE additional guns, to a max of RoF 7.
For values above d12+2, use the Load Limits from the
Superhuman Strength table in the Super Powers A P-51 Mustang’s 6 guns are considered “dual-linked”
Companion. Otherwise, use the following: but increase their Rate of Fire by +1. A Spitfire’s 8 guns is
considered “quad-linked” and bump the RoF up by +1.
encumbrance
A B-25H Mitchell, with 10 guns, is considered “dual-
strength encumbered max weight
linked” but increase their Rate of Fire by +2!
d12 100+ lbs 400 lbs
d12+1 125+ lbs 500 lbs
d12+2 250+ lbs 1,000 lbs GAME RULES
Changes to rules in Chapter 3.
ARMOR • Bleeding Out: Rolls to avoid Bleeding out occur at the
• Thick Leather/Tough Hides: This armor includes start of every other turn, giving a li�le more time to
gambeson; use the same stats. save your allies.

• Plate Armor: In addition to its usual benefits, this also • Extreme Range: This is normally only available to
makes the wearer Hardy in locations where the armor firearms and similar modern or futuristic weapons,
is worn. though more antique weapons can situationally use
this (such as firing a bow from a high vantage point).
• Kevlar: Items that reduce damage from firearms by 4
(notably kevlar vests) instead reduce the number of • Healing: Subtract 2 from Healing rolls without a basic
Wounds received from firearm a�acks by one. This First Aid kit or similar supplies. A�empting to heal the
does not affect the Shaken condition. Wounds of an Incapacitated patient also suffers a –2.

• Shields: Medium and Large shields provide Cover. RATE OF FIRE

Large shields (including Riot and Ballistic shields) Use this Bullets per Rate of Fire Table instead of the one
also grant Medium Obscurement. in the core rules:
rate of fire table
WEAPONS rate of fire bullets fired

• Mace: Use the stats for the warhammer to be�er reflect 1 1

its role as a weapon designed for use against armored 2 5
opponents. 3 10
• Streetsweeper (12g): If the wielder has the Double Tap 4 20
Edge, he may spend 2 rounds to gain +4 to his damage. 5 40
• Minigun (7.62mm): The minigun should have RoF 6. 6 80
• SAW (5.56mm): The SAW should have RoF 3. 7 100

77
 HOUSE RULES
Certain weapons, such as shotguns, may compare their
SITUATIONAL RULES damage (ignoring Acing) to see if they destroy most
• Free A�acks: Characters can use almost any combat Cover (at the GM’s discretion). See Breaking Things.
maneuver the GM approves of (including Pushing Heavy Weapons may ignore the Impenetrable rule.
and Called Shots), but not Wild A�acks.
• Hold: Interrupting an opponent is an opposed Agility GRAPPLING
roll, rather than Athletics. A�empting to grapple a target with more than 4 steps of
difference in Strength automatically fails. For example, a
COVER Strength d8 character could try to grapple a Strength
This completely replaces the rules for Cover. d12+2 target, but a Strength d6 character would fail his
Some obstacles can help stop enemy a�acks outright. a�empt.
If a target is obscured by 50% or more by an obstacle If a grappler is Shaken, he must make an immediate
tough enough to provide protection (check the Cover Spirit roll at –2 or let go of his grappled victim.
Bonus table below), the target has Cover and may add
the appropriate Cover Bonus to his Toughness as Armor. OBSCUREMENT
For particularly heavy or obstructive Cover, apply the This complete replaces the rules for Illumination.
appropriate Obscurement penalty as well (see below). Whether by darkness, thick grass, fog, smoke, or even
A raise on an a�ack roll against a target in Cover does having a bright light in their eyes, Obscurement makes it
not grant the usual +1d6 damage, but instead ignores the difficult for a�ackers to pin down your exact location or
Cover Bonus completely. (A target completely behind an land a hit on you. This imposes a penalty on any sight-
obstacle that is somehow still visible, e.g. bulletproof based rolls, such as a�acks, Notice rolls, the use of some
glass, cannot have his Cover Bonus negated by a raise.) powers, etc.
Two raises deals an extra +1d6 damage as usual. Use the Obscurement table below to determine the
appropriate penalties. Multiple levels of Obscurement
cover bonus table do not stack (though some GMs may rule that multiple
bonus obstacle sources of obscurement can add to the next level (e.g. a
+2
Heavy glass, thick leather, drywall, wooden target in tall grass during twilight in a light fog might be
shield, aluminium car door considered Heavy Obscurement rather than Medium),
+4 Sheet metal, steel car door but the total Obscurement penalty cannot exceed –6.
+6 Oak door, cinder block wall Obscurement from visibility (poor lighting, smoke,
+8 Brick wall
etc.) is not negated by Aim or Marksman; just Cover.
►Firing Blind: If a ranged a�acker has no idea where
+10 Stone wall, bulletproof glass
a target is but wants to try for a lucky hit, and the GM
►Impenetrable: Some a�acks don’t have the thinks it’s possible, use the appropriate penalties
firepower to penetrate an obstacle. Weapons cannot (normally Heavy or Total Obscurement). If the target is
cause Wounds through obstacles with a Cover Bonus hit, he may make a Stealth roll (at –2 if the a�ack is made
greater than 2 + double its AP. (For example, AP 1 can at RoF 2+) to avoid the a�ack entirely.
cause Wounds through +4 Cover, but not +6).
obscurement table
penalty obscurement
Medium Obscurement: Obscured by 75% or more. Tall grass, light fog, twilight, night with a full moon,
–2
etc.
Heavy Obscurement: Obscured by 90% or more. Thick smoke, an average or cloudy night, emergency
–4
office building lights, etc. Targets aren’t visible more than 10” away.
Total Obscurement: Target is not visible at all. No light, completely hidden behind an obstacle, invisible,
–6
a blind a�acker, etc. Powers requiring line of sight may not be possible.

88
 HOUSE RULES
LYING & LIE DETECTING If a�empting to sneak around sleeping guards, a failed
Many characters rely on their sharp tongue to lie their Stealth roll allows the guards to make a Notice roll (at –2,
way out of trouble, and others rely on their keen senses as above). With a success, the guard wakes up as inactive
to make sure their enemies don’t do the same. In (perhaps assuming they woke up naturally), while on a
investigative and espionage games especially, lying and raise he knows he was awoken by a noise and are
catching liars is just as important as anything. considered active.
The liar must make a Persuasion roll (–2 if the lie is
particularly far fetched) opposed by Notice. If the target SNEAK ATTACK
wins, she suspects the liar isn’t being completely The melee “sneak a�ack” rules under the Stealth skill
truthful; with a raise, she can tell what topic the character assume that the victim is not in an ongoing combat or
is avoiding or lying about. A success on Persuasion otherwise directly aware that he is in danger.
convinces the target. In these circumstances, if the target loses track of (or is
Lie detecting machines, while not particularly realistic, unaware of) the sneaker, a successful Stealth roll allows
are much more difficult to consistently fool. If the liar is him to remain hidden and gives the opportunity to pull
hooked up to the machine properly, it becomes a away or to ignore free a�acks like First Strike. A raise on
Dramatic Task to lie successfully. this roll makes the victim Vulnerable to the sneak
a�acker until his turn ends.
PUSH
If the defender would be pushed into a wall or other solid SUPPRESSIVE FIRE
object, he suffers the a�acker’s Strength as damage, +1d6 This replaces the core Suppressive Fire rules, pu�ing the
if the a�acker scored a raise. ability to resist suppression in the hands of the targets
Tackle: A variant “pushing” option, this is an opposed and creating a more “random” spray of bullets overall.
Strength or Athletics roll as usual (the shield bonus does This uses 3 × the amount of ammo as usual for its Rate of
not apply). On a success, both the a�acker and defender Fire and imposes Recoil even on RoF 1 weapons.
are thrown 1” and land Prone. With a raise, the defender Place a Medium Blast Template and make a Shooting
is Entangled as well. roll at the appropriate Rate of Fire, applying penalties for
Range, lighting, Recoil, etc. as usual to the center of the
template, but only take the highest result as your total
RELOADING (you don’t get multiple “hits” when Suppressing). With
Characters who wish to load magazines, clips, or bullets a success, all characters under the template must roll
faster may a�empt to load as a free action, but this Spirit at –2 (–4 if the shooter scored a raise). Targets may
requires an Agility roll; on a failure, the character cannot add half of their total penalty to be hit (Cover, the Dodge
load at all this turn. This cannot be done with weapons Edge, the deflection power, etc.).
that have a listed Reload time. With a 1 on the Spirit die (regardless of the Wild Die),
the target is first hit and suffers normal damage. If the
SLEEPING & WAKING UP Spirit roll is failed, the victim is Shaken and Distracted
Often times, it’s important to know if characters wake up (this Shaken condition cannot cause a Wound, however).
in dramatic situations. Characters that are sleeping This uses the Maximum Casualty rules as wri�en in
(obviously) cannot respond to purely visual stimuli and Savage Worlds.
also suffer a –2 penalty to hearing-based Notice rolls;
loud noises may ignore this penalty.
If a character is waking up to combat, he only receives
an Action Card if he rolls a raise. On a success, he is
simply stirring awake and receives no card (similar to
failing the Notice roll for a Surprise combat round).

99
 HOUSE RULES
THE ADVENTURE TOOLKIT HAZARDS
• Falling: Characters can make an Athletics roll to
Changes and additions to the rules in Chapter 4. If the
decrease the damage done by two points, while falls
Wealth rules are in effect, use Expanded Wealth.
of over 30 feet impose a –2 penalty to this. When
• Intoxication: Rules for intoxication can be found in falling into water, falls of over 60 feet suffer a –2 to the
Deadlands: Noir or The Goon. Athletics roll; falls above 120 feet inflicts a –4 penalty,
if it’s possible at all (GM’s discretion).
CHASES & VEHICLES
• Evade: When Evading, the penalties to hit and to be ALTITUDE
hit last until the character actively stops Evading (a At high altitudes, the atmosphere begins to become very
free action), rather than until the beginning of his next thin, causing dizziness and lightheadedness. At worst, it
turn. Characters cannot both start and stop Evading can cause hypoxia and unconsciousness until the
on the same turn. character’s body fails due to a lack of oxygen.
• Hold Steady: This ignores up to two points of Every four hours spent above 15,000 feet altitude,
penalties from Scale, Unstable Platform, and an characters must make a Vigor roll or become Fatigued;
opponent’s Evade maneuver. Note that when Holding this cannot cause Exhaustion or worse. If the character is
Steady, a character cannot Evade. above 25,000 feet, the character’s Vigor rolls suffer a –2
penalty, and this can cause Exhaustion or Incapacitation.
Note that during rapid depressurization (such as in an
DRIVING AND USING WEAPONS airplane cabin with a hole in it), the body doesn’t adapt
Characters a�empting to use a weapon that is not well to the new atmospheric conditions, and rolls must
integrated into the vehicle’s controls, such as firing a be made every minute.
pistol while driving a car, the a�ack suffers a –2 penalty At 40,000 feet, the penalty increases to –4, and
(akin to a “multi-action penalty” for both steering and characters must roll every minute (or every round under
a�acking simultaneously). rapid depressurization).
If firing a weapon that is integrated into the vehicle’s Death: Incapacitated characters must make a Vigor
controls, such as machine guns or missiles in a fighter jet, roll; failure means the character dies in 2d6 hours unless
controlling your vehicle tends to be part of the aiming he’s brought to a lower altitude (see below).
process and does not impose this penalty. Recovery: Victims can recover Fatigue in areas with air
pressure similar to that of below 15,000 feet. Between
15,000 and 25,000 feet, the character can recover up to
FOOT CHASES
Fatigued status.
There are two minor changes during foot chases.
• Change Position: Characters who intentionally drop
back a card may ignore the Running penalty on
subsequent actions; dropping back two Chase Cards
means the character stands still for a few moments as
well (useful for Edges like Marksman).
• Hold Steady: This cannot be used in a foot chase.

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 HOUSE RULES
SETTING RULES REAL-WORLD COMBAT
In se�ings where combat should feel gri�y, realistic, and
• Dumb Luck: If using the modified version of the Great desperate, such as World War II or various cosmic horror
Luck Edge above in this document, characters with mysteries, use the Gri�y Damage and Hard Choices
that Edge may spend two bennies to ignore a Critical Se�ing Rules, along with a few new changes:
Failure and reroll as usual.
• Critically Shaken: If a character rolls a Critical Failure
• Hard Choices: Characters with Luck may spend a to Unshake, they are unable to spend a Benny to
Benny once per session without giving it to the GM, or Unshake until their next turn.
twice per session with Great Luck.
• Evasion: Characters who successfully Evade are
Prone unless they score a raise, and Prone characters
KINETIC COMBAT suffer a further –2 to Evasion rolls.
In some se�ings, fights in close quarters can have
unintended consequences, such as characters being • Readying Weapons: Readying any weapon is an
thrown backwards or mooks dropping their weapons action; weapons that would normally take an action
after taking a slug across the jaw. under the Savage Worlds rules require an Athletics roll
If a character scores two or more raises on an a�ack, he instead.
may choose one of the following effects to impose on his
target, if it makes sense (GM’s discretion).
• Disarm: The victim drops on item he’s holding (a
weapon, McGuffin, and so on).
• Distract: The target is Distracted until the end of his
next turn.
• Prone: The target is knocked Prone.
• Push: The target is pushed 1” in a direction, chosen by
the a�acker.

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