FASA Games, Inc.

Note: I posted this in the GMs section but this thread seesm to be getting more action

Ok, implanting a Blood Charms costs you -1 Toughness per charm.
As a loooong time SW & ED GM and player I can tell that that is a huge penalty in SW and I doubt any player would ever take any Blood Charms

Before the rules are sent off to the printers I have a couple of alternative suggestions that may make taking Blood Charms at least tempting.

Suggestion 1: Implanting a Blood Charm costs you nothing (except sp) but when you use the Blood Charm is causes 1 Fatigue, that can't be recovered for 24 hours. This way you really have to be desperate to use the charm, but it is there if you really need it. As a level of Fatigue gives you -1 on all rolls it is a pretty hefty penalty and as there are no Edges that allow you to ignore Fatigue this is a nice penalty, especially as the benefits of Blood Charms are not really that great.

Suggestion 2: Implanting a Blood Charm, like living armor, give you -1 on your vigor rolls. Not sure if this is the best way to go as to many minuses will get you into big trouble.

Cheers, Chris

Its a tough one, because in Classic the cost in blood was quite minimal and Savage doesn't really replicate that well. Also the cost has to be paid up front and stay costly until the charm is used.

On the other hand "back in the day" I had players with 3 or 4 charms on a regular basis, plus other bits because they'd got enough Durability to handle it. It all got a bit silly.

-1 Toughness is a big hit, but I'm sort of won over by the fact that you're supposed to be giving up part of your life force (or having your eye eaten out) and it should be a daunting decision.

Also, as the rules currently stand, players can get Durability and lots of Soak rolls that simply aren't available in other Savage games (I'd personally like to see Durability get a good stern talking to, but you don't always get what you want).

The only work around I can think of off the top of my head is that your first blood charm is effectively "free" as Adepts are robust enough to suck it up. Any after that hit your Toughness (or whatever else). That way players still have access to some of the blood magic, but if they want to really go for it, its going to cost.

I don't think there's an easy answer for blood charms, given how the two different systems work a conversion is always going to be some sort of unhappy compromise.

Cheers

Gaz

I'm not really worried about Durability, I think it could work out OK. Although you can have many more Karma points than Bennies, they can still be used up, especially as they are also used to power your adept Edges.

On, Blood Charms, I just don't see them, as written, having enough "bang for buck" to be worth -1 Toughness each.

Cheers, Chris

Blood Charms Part 2

Some of the Blood Charms seem a pretty near direct translation of the FASA originals.
Absorb Blow, Astral Sensitive Eye, Death Cheat, Targeting Eye.

While others seem to have been downgraded in effectiveness:
Desperate Blow in the conversion gives either +2 to the Fighting Roll or Damage, while the original gives you +6 steps to either or.
My thinking is that the +2 is a bit light on, a wild swing can give you +2 to both. How about upping the modifier to +4 to make it worthwhile, tempting to take and actually desperate ?

Desperate Spell also seems underpowered (as above). Upping this bonus to +4 would could be the best solution.

Horror Fend should specify it adds to both physical and mystic armor for its duration.

Cheers, Chris