Rippers Resurrected Faction VENUS Packages

It’s no secret that I like my Savage Worlds heroes a little tougher than the rules as written provide, which is why The King is Dead incorporates something a bit like the M.A.R.S. (Mercencenaries, Adventurers, Rogues, and Scholars) packages of Savage RIFTS® into character creation (and why I’m looking forward to Fannon’s Freedom Squadron). Out of pretty much nowhere yesterday, I suddenly got to wondering what that approach would be like if applied to the factions of Rippers Resurrected.

 

Each V.E.N.U.S. (Venturers, Experimenters, Navigators, and the Unusually Skilled) package below grants a bonus of 5 skill points to relevant skills, avoiding combat skills whenever possible (the Rosicrucians are an exception because of the heavy penalties to magic use in the setting). They also grant two bonus Edges, which do not replace the standard free Edge for playing a human; I limited myself to Novice Edges and those available in the core rules and the Rippers Resurrected Player’s Guide, but also included some alternatives for those using the Horror Companion, too. Each framework finishes off with £5 of gear.  

 

Frazer’s Fighters

• Bonus Skills: +1 die Notice, +2 dice Knowledge (Fertile Crescent Civilizations) & Survival
• Bonus Edges: Fortune Favors the Bold, Gone Native
• Bonus Gear: bedroll, compass

Masked Crusaders 

• Bonus Skills: +1 die Intimidation, +2 dice Climbing & Persuasion 
• Bonus Edges: Exceptional Individual, Alternate Identity 
• Bonus Gear: grappling hook & line, leather costume

Old Worlders

• Bonus Skills: +1 die Knowledge (Lycanthropes), +2 dice Survival & Tracking 
• Bonus Edges: Grim Fatalism, Woodsman 
• Bonus Gear: flint and steel, lamp oil, lantern, spyglass or field glasses

Order of St. George 

• Bonus Skills: +1 die Intimidation, +2 dice Knowledge (Holy Writ) & Persuasion 
• Bonus Edges: Champion (or One of the Chosen*), Song of St. George 
• Bonus Gear: holy symbol, writing equipment  

Rosicrucians 

• Bonus Skills: +1 die Persuasion, +2 dice Spellcasting & Stealth  
• Bonus Edges: Arcane Background (Magic), Mystic Pact 
• Bonus Gear: bell, book, candles (half dozen)

Slayers

• Bonus Skills: +1 die Knowledge (Vampires), +2 dice Stealth & Tracking
• Bonus Edges: Alertness (or Tower of Will*), Righteous Fury
• Bonus Gear: pickaxe or shovel, wooden stake

Witch Hunters

• Bonus Skills: +1 die Streetwise, +2 dice Knowledge (Arcana) & Investigation
• Bonus Edges: Brave (or Relentless*), Charms & Wards
• Bonus Gear: flint and steel, lamp oil, manacles, torch

 

*If also using the Savage Worlds Horror Companion