Making Savage Worlds Your Own
Setting Rules are the secret sauce that transforms the core Savage Worlds engine into any genre imaginable. Want gritty noir instead of pulp action? Realistic military ops instead of superheroics? Horror instead of high adventure? Setting Rules make it happen!
The Genre Dial Principle
Think of Setting Rules as dials on a mixing board. Turn up "Gritty Damage" for Game of Thrones, crank "Cinematic Combat" for Marvel movies, or max out "Horror" for Call of Cthulhu. Same engine, completely different feel!
Genre Toolkits
🗡️ Fantasy
Common Rules:
- No Power Points: Magic uses Fatigue
- Blood & Guts: Lingering injuries
- Born a Hero: Start with edges
Perfect for: D&D-style games, Lord of the Rings, Conan
🚀 Sci-Fi
Common Rules:
- Wound Cap: Max 4 wounds from single hit
- Skill Specialization: +2 to specific uses
- High Tech: Advanced gear everywhere
Perfect for: Star Wars, Star Trek, The Expanse
🔫 Modern Action
Common Rules:
- Fast Healing: Natural healing daily
- More Skill Points: 15 instead of 12
- Conviction: Super-bennies for beliefs
Perfect for: Mission Impossible, John Wick, Die Hard
👻 Horror
Common Rules:
- Gritty Damage: Wounds don't soak away
- Sanity: Mental damage system
- Dark Fate: Bennies work differently
Perfect for: Call of Cthulhu, Resident Evil, The Walking Dead
🦸 Supers
Common Rules:
- Super Karma: Extra bennies for heroics
- Power Stunts: Creative power use
- Never Say Die: Heroes always survive
Perfect for: Marvel, DC, My Hero Academia
🎩 Pulp
Common Rules:
- Heroes Never Die: Incapacitation isn't fatal
- Dumb Luck: Bennies for crazy stunts
- Recurring Villains: Bad guys escape!
Perfect for: Indiana Jones, The Shadow, Doc Savage
Common Setting Rules
The Most Popular Modifications
Born a Hero
Effect: Heroes ignore Rank requirements for Edges at character creation
Why Use It: Creates more competent starting characters
Best For: Experienced heroes, not farmboys-to-heroes stories
Batman doesn't start as a rookie - he's already trained!
Gritty Damage
Effect: Characters can't spend Bennies to Soak wounds
Why Use It: Makes combat deadly and consequential
Best For: Horror, realistic military, Game of Thrones
When you're shot, you stay shot!
No Power Points
Effect: Powers cause Fatigue instead of using Power Points
Why Use It: More cinematic spellcasting, less bookkeeping
Best For: High magic fantasy, superhero games
Doctor Strange never counts spell slots!
Wound Cap
Effect: Maximum 4 wounds from a single attack
Why Use It: Prevents one-shot kills from lucky rolls
Best For: Cinematic games where heroes should survive
Heroes can survive explosions with injuries, not instant death
Creating Atmosphere
Setting the Mood
Skill Modifications
Tailoring Skills to Your World
Skill Specialization
Characters get +2 when using a skill for their specialty
- Shooting (Sniper Rifles)
- Piloting (Starfighters)
- Science (Xenobiology)
Han Solo has Piloting d8 (Freighters +2)
New Skills
Add setting-specific skills
- Hacking (Cyberpunk)
- Mythos (Cthulhu)
- Focus (Jedi/Psionics)
The Matrix needs a separate Hacking skill
Removed Skills
Drop skills that don't fit
- Electronics (Medieval)
- Riding (Cyberpunk)
- Faith (Hard sci-fi)
Game of Thrones doesn't need Hacking
Special Gear Rules
Equipment for Your Era
Low Tech (Medieval)
- Armor provides more protection
- Shields are more important
- No firearms (obviously)
- Magic items are treasures
Modern Day
- Body armor vs bullets
- Vehicles everywhere
- Communication gear
- Specialized equipment
Future Tech
- Energy weapons standard
- Force fields & energy shields
- Cybernetics available
- AI assistance common
Environmental Rules
The World Itself
🏜️ Harsh Environments
Desert World: Fatigue from heat, water precious
Ice Planet: Cold damage, difficult terrain
Death World: Everything tries to kill you
🌆 Urban Settings
Cyberpunk: Hacking everywhere, augmentations
Modern City: Cameras, crowds, traffic
Gothic: Dark alleys, fog, corruption
🚀 Special Physics
Zero-G: Modified movement, no falling
High Gravity: Reduced Pace, Strength matters more
Dream Logic: Reality is negotiable
Campaign Themes
Setting the Tone
Investigation & Mystery
- Research gives more clues
- Social skills crucial
- Combat rare but deadly
- Conviction for beliefs
Sherlock Holmes, Call of Cthulhu, noir detective
War & Military
- Rank matters (new Edge)
- Supply & logistics
- Mission briefings
- Unit cohesion bonuses
Band of Brothers, Starship Troopers, modern warfare
Exploration
- Discovery rewards
- Survival emphasis
- Unknown dangers
- Resource management
Star Trek, jungle expeditions, dungeon delving
Example Setting Packages
Complete Genre Conversions
Gritty Fantasy Package
"Winter is Coming"
- Gritty Damage (no Soak)
- Blood & Guts (injuries)
- No Power Points (rare magic)
- Hard Choices (moral dilemmas)
Superhero Package
"Avengers Assemble!"
- Super Karma (extra Bennies)
- Four Color (no death)
- Power Stunts (creative powers)
- Recurring Villains
Space Opera Package
"A Long Time Ago..."
- The Force (Arcane Background)
- Blasters & Lightsabers
- Planet-hopping
- Aliens everywhere
Setting Rules Summary
Lethality Options
- Heroes Never Die: KO only
- Standard: Normal rules
- Gritty: No Soak
- Hardcore: Death saves
Power Options
- No PP: Fatigue-based
- More PP: +5 starting
- Ritual Magic: Dramatic tasks
- Item-based: Gear dependent
Character Options
- Born a Hero: Ignore rank
- More Skills: +3 points
- Conviction: Belief powers
- Sanity: Mental health