SWADE: Shadowwalkers

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Shadowwalkers is a horror game set in a low-fantasy setting using Savage Worlds Adventure Edition.

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The legendary beasts have faded from the land. The elder races have slain or imprisoned one another in the bowels of the earth. Only humans, the little ones, and a few broken bastard children of the Fae remain to bear witness.

The deep wards are crumbling.

The darkness so long held at bay is slipping free.

Characters

You remember the first time you died. And the second . . . You remember because Death fucking hurts, and the unavoidable process of coming back from the Dry Lands is a bastard's illegitimate bitch of a fuck.

With one foot in the land of the living and one in the dust of the lands beyond, you have seen what lies on the other side.

And you know what is coming.

Character Table

Setting

*Seven generations have passed among the sons of men since the miasma struck the fair folk with its crippling madness. Seven generations since the Elven Nations invaded the Hall of the Mountain King during the Dwarven Clanclave and slaughtered every soul born of stone before they themselves were swallowed in a vast tomb of earth and iron when the magic of that place collapsed its gates forever.

In the generations that followed, folk began to forget, and many have ceased to believe that the fair folk or the rockbrothers ever existed at all. Across the generations, not so much as a whisper has drifted down from those barrow hills.

Until now.

Now, trappers from the high crags report a blight spreading through the greensward corrupting bark and bough, while shepherds on the foothills report strange, shifting mists filled with the shadowy figures of men in the early gloaming of the night.

On the king's road, conflicting rumors drift from tavern to tavern of a large, bearded man who is not a wolf and a massive grey wolf who is not a man, and a forbidden name is uttered in hushed whispers around every fire.

*Counting a generation as thirty years, so just a hair over 200 years total are represented here.

Setting Rules

We'll be using the Hard Choices option from the book [pp 139] wherein instead of the GM starting with bennies, each benny the players spend on their characters goes straight into the GM's pool.

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Races

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Three racial types (described below) are available as player characters in this game; Humans, Kindred, and Wildlings. Each has something unique to set it apart, and each differs slightly from similar entries in the core book, so please use the write-ups on this wiki page as final reference when settling on your character's people.

Human

With the longer lived races vanished from the lands, Humans have emerged as a dominant force, their penchant for warring among themselves the only thing constraining their expansion and keeping them in check.

Humans in the setting run the gamut of size and coloration with certain trends more prevalent by region, but players should play whatever ethnic and cultural type they prefer.

Adaptable: Humans begin play with one free Novice Edge of their choosing. They must meet its Requirements as usual.

Physical Advantage: Pick Strength or Vigor to begin at d6 instead of d4. The Max of the stat you choose increases to d12 + 1.

Kindred

Kindred are Faelings who were glamoured and placed in the cribs of stolen Human or Wildling babes to be raised among them. Twisted and scarred, the natural forms of Kindred are alien and disturbing, their skin appearing scarred and bark-like and often ill-formed or improperly put together. So, unless a player specifically states otherwise, Kindred characters are assumed to be projecting an assumed form until they lose hold of that form due to outside influences.

Limited Shape Change: Kindred have the ability to alter their size, coloration (skin/hair/eyes), and features at will within the normal ranges for Wildlings and Humans and are even able to mimic the appearance of specific individuals provided they have had time to study the individual in question.

Note: Assuming a Human or Wildling form does not require a roll if no one is observing the change and the Kindred has a turn to concentrate on making the change. If they are observed or significantly stressed a roll vs a target of 4 is required.

Note: Kindred who take on a level of fatigue or become exhausted must immediately make a Spirit check to maintain their assumed form, surmounting whatever penalty is appropriate to the given condition. Kindred who become incapacitated or die revert to their natural form.

Note: Except for the (Wildling) Outsider disadvantage, Kindred do not take on any of the advantages or disadvantages of the racial type they are mimicking, nor do they lose their own.

Low Light Vision: Because of their Fae heritage, Kindred ignore penalties for dim and dark illumination.

Armor +2: The thick, bark-like hides of Kindred acts as leather armor.

Phobia, Fire: Kindred are terrified of open flame. If they are in a room with an open flame (hearth, lamp, candles, etc) they will try to maintain distance from the source of the flame and must subtract -1 from all trait rolls. If openly confronted with fire or trapped in close proximity to open flame they subtract -2 from all trait rolls.

Secret: Kindred work hard to pass among Humans and Wildlings and will go to great lengths to keep their secret, but if their true nature is discovered they risk becoming Shunned by the community until the secret of their identity is restored.

Wildling

Beardless and small of stature, with delicate pointed ears, Wildlings have an almost childlike appearance by Human standards. That they can often be seen laughing and chasing one another and climbing walls and trees apparently just for fun, does little to dispel the impression of perpetual youth.

Rather than build their own villages or towns, Wildlings prefer to establish small communities tucked in among Human settlements, and given the option, they will almost always choose to dwell in the lowest points of their adopted boroughs, making their homes below ground when it is practical to do so.

Luck: Wildlings draw one additional Benny per session.

Climbing: Agile and adept at using their fingers and hands as readily as their feet and toes, Wildlings climb at their normal walking Pace.

Way of the Hand: Wildlings practice a martial discipline that allows them to use their hands and feet as weapons (doing STR + 1d4 damage) and grants +2 when making unarmed strikes.

Way of the Wild Locust: Wildlings can jump twice as far as normal. Additionally, they add +4 damage when leaping as part of a Wild Attack instead of the regular +2.

Size -1: Wildlings are slight of build and rarely stand more than 4' tall. Size and Toughness are each reduced by -1.

Outsider: Living among Humans, Wildlings make up less than a quarter of the population in any given town and are culturally distinct in ways that often result in friction between the two peoples. Subtract -2 from Persuasion rolls to influence non-Wildlings.

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Traits

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All the little doo-dads that make Savage Worlds characters Savage . . .

Hindrances

I am muchly a non-fan of keeping up with hindrances when I'm running a game.

So, instead of taking hindrances in exchange for bonus points for chargen, I'm just going to give everyone the 4 points they would normally have earned for taking the max number of hindrances in the book.

Note: These points cannot be spent to increase starting funds.

Anyone who still wants to RP a few hindrances, by all means, feel free to do so, but this is totally voluntary, and they aren't worth more points.

Skills

The following skills may not be taken or have special circumstances. Special circumstance skills are bolded.

Driving: Do Not Take

Electronics: Do Not Take

Faith: Do Not Take

Focus: Do Not Take

Hacking: Do Not Take

Languages: Languages is a special case. There is only one language 'active' in the setting, but since there is a chance to come across the Elven and Dwarven languages (most likely in written form) or *Fae (spoken only), I'll leave it open as an option, just understand it will likely be a rarely encountered option.

Note: Kindred characters start play knowing the Fae tongue for free.

Occult: This skill will come into play mostly in reference to the subject of Cryptozoology. Aside from that it will virtually never be an appropriate roll.

Piloting: Do Not Take

Psionics: Do Not Take

Riding: This skill encompasses familiarity with animal powered vehicles as well as riding on an animal's back. Note: I will not call for a Riding check unless something sufficiently stressful might put the outcome in question.

Science: Do Not Take

Spellcasting: Do Not Take

Weird Science: Do Not Take

Edges

The following edges may not be taken or have special circumstances. Special circumstance edges will be bolded.

BACKGROUND EDGES

Arcane Background: Do Not Take

Fame/Famous: Do Not Take

Linguist: Should probably only be taken in lieu of Languages skill, not both together.

Rich/Filthy Rich: Do Not Take

COMBAT EDGES

Double Tap: Do Not Take

Giant Killer: Do Not Take

Martial Artist/Martial Warrior: Does not stack with Wildling Way of the Hand

Rapid Fire/Improved Rapid Fire: Do Not Take

Rock and Roll: Do Not Take

Two Gun Kid: Do Not Take

LEADERSHIP EDGES

All Leadership Edges are available if you otherwise meet their requirements.

POWER EDGES

No Power Edges are available for this game.

PROFESSIONAL EDGES

Ace: Do Not Take

SOCIAL EDGES

All Social Edges are available if you otherwise meet their requirements.

WEIRD EDGES

All Weird Edges are available if you otherwise meet their requirements.

LEGENDARY EDGES

Will discuss Legendary Edges if/when we ever reach that rank.

Powers

Powers are not available for this game.

Gear

Keep it to post-medieval/pre-renaissance level stuff. Glass, ground lenses, good steel, silk . . . they're all things. Black powder, clay grenades, guns of any kind . . . yeah, not so much.

Mounts don't need to be a thing at chargen. None of you are wealthy or high caste characters. Chain/Scale mail is about the hardiest stuff you can get armor-wise.