The core Savage Worlds system is great for nearly any genre. The best thing about the game is that it can handle many of those genres with few, if any, changes to those core rules. My gaming group and I have decided that the horror genre is one -- when not played in the style of Deadlands horror or survival horror a la Night of the Living Dead -- that deserves a few changes to bring out the proper mood. What follows is our notes about those changes and additions.
New Edges
Adding Edges is pretty standard fare for a Savage World, so we'll start there.
* Edges noted with an asterisk are background edges and may only be taken at character creation.
Weird Edges
*Divination
Requirements: Novice, Sp d8
Once per day, a character with this edge may consult a divination source about a question and make a Spirit roll. Divination sources may be tea leaves, the stars, a tarot deck, a ouija board, or other, appropriate means of acquiring insight into the spirit world. On a success, the character receives general and vague information about the question. With each raise, the information received becomes more detailed. The information is nearly always symbolic, however, even with a number of raises.
A character with this edge may spend a benny to ask an additional question on any given day. There is no limit to the number of times she may perform this, subject only to the limit of her bennies.
*Spirit Medium
Requirements: Novice, Sp d8
A spirit medium can conduct a seance to speak with the spirits of those who have passed on. The medium can contact any nearby spirit on a normal success, or a particular spirit with a -4 to the roll.
A seance of 30 minutes or longer allows the roll to be made unmodified. Any seance of less than 30 minutes results in an additional -2 to the Spirit roll. A seance should also have at least 4 participants in addition to the medium. For each participant fewer than 4, an additional -2 is taken on the roll. More than 8 participants allows a +2. Certain places have a concentration of spirits. In such places, a medium will be aware that this condition exists, and it conveys a +2 to any seance conducted there.
If the medium makes contact, they can ask the spirit for information. Spirits are often confused or disturbed, however, so the information obtained may be unreliable or difficult to interpret.
Occult Adept
Requirements: Seasoned, Knowledge (Occult) d8, Spirit d8, Smarts d6
An Occult Adept gets +2 to her Smarts and Spirit rolls when learning and casting a spell.
Occult Master
Requirements: Veteran, Knowledge (Occult) d10, Spirit d8, Smarts d8
An Occult Master gets +4 to her Smarts and Spirit rolls when learning and casting a spell, and can cast spells that require a Master to participate.
Professional Edge
Occultist
Requirements: Novice, Smarts d6, Knowledge (Occult) d6, Knowledge (History) or Knowledge (any Science) d6, Investigation d6, Knowledge (Any classical language) d4
An occultist devotes her life -- or at least her leisure time -- to studying the occult. She is familiar with many of the traditions of occultism and is likely to have heard of or be able to research many different aspects of occultism. She is given +2 to all Knowledge (Occult) rolls, and to any Investigation or other Knowledge rolls with occult implications.
Sanity
An important consideration in any investigative horror game is the slowly eroding sanity of the characters. Presented here are two versions of sanity rules, so that you may flavor your game with whichever you prefer.
Call of Cthulhu-Style Sanity
Initial Sanity points = 8 * Spirit Die Type
Sanity decays much as it does in the Call of Cthulhu rules. You will need those rules to use this method.
Ways to get Sanity points back:
Savage Worlds-Style Sanity
Characters will occasionally gain phobias through the results of the Fear table. These count as minor hindrances.
Whenever a character participates in contact with the spirit world, whether through the use of an edge, casting a spell, or reading certain occult tomes, the character must make a succesful Guts check or either acquire a new minor hindrance or increase a minor hindrance to a major hindrance. If the character botches the Guts check, she automatically acquires a new major hindrance. (The character is also Shaken with any of these results, but this is likely irrelevant.)
For these purposes (not at character creation) a character may take some hindrances, such as Habit, Quirk, and Delusional, more than once.
Hindrance points are totalled whenever a new hindrance is gained, adding 1 to the total for each minor hindrance and 2 for each major hindrance in the character's profile. If the total ever exceeds the character's Spirit die type, the character has gone insane and should be committed to medical or psychiatric care.
Any character in the care of a therapist is permitted to make a roll each month to lose a minor hindrance or reduce a major hindrance to a minor hindrance. Note: the hindrances the character began the game with cannot be removed! In order for the treatment to be successful, the therapist must succeed on a Knowledge (Psychotherapy) or Knowledge (Psychiatry) roll and the character must get a raise on a Smarts roll.
Bennies
The traditional investigative horror adventure does not typically lend itself to the free-wheeling action style that Savage Worlds tends to be aimed at. In other words, these are not pulp adventures. Given that, an adjustment to bennies is suggested. We have a couple of opinions on appropriate initial bennies (from 0 to 2, at present), but agree that they should not be given out as freely as in a more action-oriented genre. Feel free to tailor bennies according to the style of game you want to run.
Spells
Call of Cthulhu System
It is possible to simply use the CoC magic system in Savage Worlds. If this is done, each character is given Magic Points equal to twice their Spirit die type.
Savage Worlds System
Arcane Backgrounds do not exist in a traditional investigation-style horror game. Powers are simply not that easy to access. Instead, any character who discovers any appropriate text -- who is also willing to take the associated risks -- may cast spells. Spells, in Savage Worlds terms, are a specific combination of a ritual and a Power where the ritual provides the Power Points which will be used to activate the Power. Each spell should be unique. Each spell description will specify the Power that will be granted and the ritual requirements.
Rituals may include arcane components, chants, vocalizations, somatic elements, arcane device, inscriptions, or other activities. Rituals will vary in length and complexity, generally dependent upon the Power Points generated. Some rituals will generate a number of Power Points, some only one. Some will generate Power Points depending on the number of participants. Rituals must be studied in order to be learned. A Smarts roll is required to learn a ritual, modified according to the complexity of the ritual. Once learned, a ritual may be performed as many times as the character wishes.
At the conclusion of the ritual, the participants make a Spirit roll to determine if the spell was successful and -- in some cases -- how many Power Points were generated. Powers that can consume more Power Points than the initial cost are assumed to cosume all of the available Power Points. Generally speaking, a second Spirit roll (or Guts check) will be required to determine if the participants lose any sanity.
The structure of a spell listing is:
Name
Power: The Power the spell uses
Ritual: First, the components required for the spell are listed, then the length of the ritual is noted.
To Cast: The required roll and any modifiers are noted, then the results of the casting, and finally the options for more than one participant, if possible, are noted.
To Learn: The time to learn and the roll required are listed.
Notes: Any modifications to the Power, or specifications are noted, as are a description of the spell and its effects.
Here's a few examples:
Heart Fist
Power: Bolt
Ritual: Chant, gesture, 2 rounds
To Cast: Spirit -2, 1 Power Point per success and raise
To Learn: 6 hours, Smarts -2
Notes: The spellcaster must be free to chant and make a squeezing motion with at least one fist in order to cast this spell. Unlike a normal Bolt, no to-hit considerations are required. The range is 4 x Spirit die type. The spell causes the victim's heart to seize, causing damage as normal for the Bolt power, but ignoring mundane armor.
Drain Life
Power: Lower Trait
Ritual: Chanting, bloodletting, binding, ritual knife, 4 hours
To Cast: Spirit, 1 Power Point per success and raise for each participant (up to 4)
To Learn: 2 weeks, Smarts -6 for the leader, 2 hours, Smarts +2 for any assistants
Notes: This spell targets the victim's Spirit and reduces it by one step for each set of 2 Power Points generated by the ritual. The Spirit loss is permanent. If the victim's Spirit is reduced to below d4, the victim dies. For each step the victim loses, the leader of the ritual may add one step to her Spirit. This increase lasts until sunset on the third day following the completion of the ritual. The victim must be bound to a table or stone for the ceremony, and blood must be spilled once per hour using a ritual knife. (Only small amounts are actually spilled and the loss of Spirit is not associated to the actual blood loss.) If the victim survives, they finish the ritual with 1 Wound.
An important question we've been considering is why we should take Savage Worlds -- a fast, generic system -- and bolt on a spell system as complicated as this. Part of the reason is that it is genre-appropriate. Another reason is that magic is rare enaugh that a system like this one won't slow the action down too much. Basically, the arguement goes, since virtually every bit of magic will be a one-off, anyway, it doesn't cost anything to do it like this. In fact, having the Powers as a basis for the spells makes it pretty easy to implement. Simply add the ritual, the casting effects, the learning requirements, and any exceptions to the normal power, and you have a working spell.