What's in Savage Insider Vol. 2 Issue 2?


If you're like me, then you flip through a book before you buy it -- especially if it's an anthology or magazine. Savage Insider Vol. 2 Issue 2 seems to be selling pretty well, but I wonder if there are some Savage Worlds fans out there who are wondering just what's in this issue.

Wonder no more! The articles contain:

  • Designer's Diary -- An interview with Michael Edwards about the... um... mythic setting Mythic. I've been curious about this slightly obscure Savage Setting, and this interview has increased my curiosity. (Dudes, I will totally do a review for a comp copy!)
  • Game Prep: Characters with History -- Eric Lamoureaux gives us a random generator to help develop the back story of characters created at higher ranks.
  • Auspicious Archetypes: The Badass -- The first of my three articles is a new Novice archetype based around playing a combat-oriented character with charisma. It includes numerous new Edges and Hindrances, as well as the grindhouse-inspired adventure "Frisco Freakout."
  • Equipment Corral -- Vickey Beaver gives us some neat rules on how to model zip lines and tripwire traps.
  • Character Gallery: La Pantera -- My second article is a Zorro-esque Super Powers Companion heroine complete with a supporting cast and adventure seeds.
  • Mechanics Wise: Trapping-Fu -- David "The Savage Maven" Scott (familiar to Google+ fans from his daily Savage Speculations questions) provides intriguing guidelines about how trappings can be used on practically anything in Savage Worlds to make it all more unique and flavorful.
  • Expanded Mechanics: Savage Archery -- Richard Woolcock brings the same mathematical precision he brings to all of his Savage Worlds work to expand options for bows and crossbows. There's some fun Edges that will really bring out players' inner Legolases.
  • Stories to Inspire: Salvation in the Sewers -- Curious about Morne Schaap's Winter Eternal post-apocalyptic fantasy setting? Now you can see it through the eyes of its inhabitants!
  • Surveyed: Zhàndòu: City of Warriors -- My third and final article is a brief introduction to the wuxia genre (including links to other Savage fan works on the subject) rounded out with a bustling kung-fu city. Please excuse my crappy maps; the rest of it is quite good.
  • Great Adventures: The Damned -- Brian Reeves gives us a survival horror twist on the old "Nazis messing around with the occult" trope. It can be easily adapted to several genres and eras, though, and includes a much better map than what I drew.
  • Great Adventures: Mummy Troubles -- Zach Welhouse rounds out the articles proper with a modern take on mummy cults (well, technically it's modern, though it feels to me inspired -- in a good way -- by '80s action movies). 

There's very little inside that couldn't be adapted to fit another system as easily as Savage Worlds (heck, I'm tempted to do a 5e conversion of the wuxia characters). Trapping-Fu is good advice for FATE players as well as Savages, both of the adventures are plug 'n play for your favorite system, and even Savage Archery contains enough insight into archery that it could serve as inspiration for another system.

Comments

  1. Nice recap of the magazine. Thanks, Sean!

    But, point of contention...
    You're maps were not crappy! That's why I used them. ;) Now, if they were like the ones I draw - uneven scale, rough lines, messy handwriting - that would have been different. Yours added a nice familiar feel to the piece, like we were there around your table.

    Vickey A. Beaver,
    Savage Insider Editor-in-Chief
    Obatron Productions Co-Owner

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well... I admit that I'm kinda proud of the city map. :)

      Delete
  2. Argh! No "edit" button. "Your" maps...not "You're maps." Anyway, I'm glad to see you admit your pride in the city map. :)

    ReplyDelete

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