Savage Swords

Description

Themes

Savage Swords emphasises a dark, mature tone and the unforgiving reality of a low-fantasy world. The atmosphere is one of constant tension: harsh realities collide with flickers of hope, and every victory comes at a price. Magic exists, but it is rare and feared by most; sorcery offers great power at a terrible cost, and the priests of long-forgotten gods cling to fading miracles.

The core themes of Savage Swords are struggle, ambition, and fate. Life is a constant struggle against brutal forces, from the savage wilderness and hungry monsters to scheming tyrants.Characters are driven by ambition or honour: knights fight for justice, warlords vie for dominion, thieves hunger for riches, and exiled nobles seek to reclaim lost thrones. Prophecies, ancient curses, and the whims of capricious gods weave through the player characters’ adventures.

Character Possibilities

In Savage Swords, there are countless roles to play. Your character may be one of many archetypes provided, but these are merely a few examples. The game encourages you to create any character concept that fits the brutal, decadent civilisations of this world. Whether born in a gutter or a palace, every adventurer has the chance to write his name into legend, or die trying.

Mechanics

Savage Swords uses deadly, straightforward, mechanics to keep the focus on the immersion and the stakes high. The game relies on familiar polyhedral dice to represent the chaotic twists of fate in battle and adventure.

Attributes
Every character has six core attributes – Strength, Wits, Intelligence, Agility, Toughness, and Charisma – which define their innate capabilities. During character creation, the players generate these attributes by rolling 3d6 (three six-sided dice) for each, yielding scores typically between 3 (feeble) and 18 (legendary). High scores grant bonuses,
and poor scores impose penalties. These attributes influence everything from how hard a warrior hits to how acutely a rogue notices danger.

Skill Checks and Actions
When a character attempts a challenging action (picking a lock, tracking prey, intimidating a guard, deciphering an ancient script), the player rolls a 20-sided die (d20) to determine the outcome. Any relevant skill level, attribute bonus, and situational modifier is added to this roll, aiming to meet or beat a target number set by the GM. The more difficult the task, the greater the number. A simple climb or an easy bargain requires a modest roll, while disarming a complex trap or bluffing a battle-hardened warlord will demand a high result. Luck and skill go hand-in-hand; even a legendary swordsman can stumble with a poor roll, and a peasant might succeed against the odds with a lucky toss of the dice.

Combat Resolution

Battles in Savage Swords are fast, brutal, and unforgiving. When a character swings a sword or shoots an arrow at an enemy, the player makes an attack roll (again using a d20 plus combat skill level and Strength or Agility bonus) against the opponent’s Defense. Defense is a value representing how hard they are to hit (influenced by Agility, armor, or shield). If the attack roll meets or exceeds the foe’s Defense, the strike lands. Players then roll damage dice based on the weapon (or spell). Health Points (HP), tied to Toughness, track how much injury a character can endure.

In the OSR spirit, combat is truly dangerous: a skilled warrior can succumb to a fortunate strike. Critical hits, grievous wounds, and quick deaths are all possible if fate and the dice turn against the player character. These core rules make Savage Swords (hopefully) quick to learn and lethal in execution. There are rules for all manner of situations, from fear mechanics to domain rules, but at the heart the system is designed to be intuitive.