Riverwod

Savage Worlds Along the River Wod

Swashbuckling adventures in the steppes and birch forests of a mythical not-Russia. Characters are Cossacks, (possibly mad) monks, noblemen, halberd -armed Streltsy, serfs, merchants and vagabonds. Gunpowder exists and the world functions something like a fantasy 15-16C Russia. Be warned though, I am no Russianist either in terms of language or history, though I will draw on bits of lingo, folklore and history for flavorful pastiche. Think Russia in place of Germany in the Warhammer world.

Tentative background: In defiance of the authority of the Emperor, Vlad the Cruel, the Boyar of Omskovia has settled his soldiers along the great river Wod, seizing land that was once the Emperor’s. Fearing both the revenge of the Emperor’s successors and of the Great Khan’s horde, the Boyar has enticed the wyrm Nogrog to dwell on Night Peak at the centre of his lands. From this perch, the mighty and territorial creature will fly out to vomit all-consuming flame onto any advancing army. But the price for Nogrog’s protection is high. Not only is a levy of gold placed on the land to feed his greed but human slaves must also be seized. A lottery is held to ensure that, if too few criminals are available, the dragon will have human prey.

Small numbers of folk flee the dubious safety of the Vovoid to seek freedom further north and east along the great river, settling forest and steppe along its banks. Here though they must contend with new dangers. Villages of tartars and steppe folk, wolves, bears and the haunted ruins of towns ruined by horde invasions of old. The goal of the adventure will be to secure their safety and perhaps even to slay the dragon itself.

SAVAGE WORLDS will be used to give a pulpy feel, but will stay in the Novice band to keep things challenging. The adventure would be short (300-400 posts) as the action will move pretty quickly. I tend to get on well with regular (daily-ish) posters but annoy slower players who lose orientation with the (relatively) face pace of posting. Better obviously, to make that clearer now.

Currency: basic unit is the Silver Imperial, sometimes called 'silvers'

Map of the River Wod

Scale. 1 hex=50 miles or so.

Erzebet, Bojárynja of []

Erzebet 6'0" 171 lbs. Blonde hair, Grey eyes.

Attributes Agl d6 Smrts d4 Spirit d6 Str d8 Vigor d8

Derived Pace 6 Parry 8 Toughness 7(1 added from armor) Charisma 2

Skills Fighting d10 Knowledge/Nobility d4 Notice d8* Persuasion d6 (+2) Riding d6 Survival d4 Tracking d4

Edges Attractive Trademark Weapon/Longsword Ангела Меч

Hindrances Code of Honor (Major) Enemy/Morena (Minor) Vow/Never fight with a hunters' weapons (Minor)

(Two advances. Increased Notice and purchased Tracking)

Gear Longsword d10+1 Damage Str+d8 Leather Armor Buckler Backpack Bedroll Blanket 5x Candles Canteen Flint & Steel

Cash $27

Arms and Armour, courtesy of Mamillian Finnmann

Well, this would be the era of matchlocks and wheellocks. Cavalry gunners would most likely use either wheellock pistols or matchlock arquebuses; muskets were still big, heavy specialist marksman weapons. Oh, and I found that equipment list of mine, although haven't worked out prices yet:

Victims shaken by firearms roll to recover at -1. Any firearm can be loaded with small shot instead of a ball: this gives +2 to hit, decreases the damage die type one step and deals 3 dice of damage at short range, 2 dice at medium and 1 die at long range.

Pistol - 2d6, 5/10/20, AP 1, 2 actions to reload, 1-handed, 4lbs. Arquebus - 2d8, 8/16/32, AP 1, 2 actions to reload, -2 attack if used 1-handed, 10lbs. Musket - 2d10, 10/20/40, AP 2, snapfire penalty, 2 actions to reload, 2-handed, 20lbs.

Sling - str+1d4, 8/16/32, takes two hands to load, 1lbs. Staff sling - str+1d8, 12/24/48, 2-handed, 2lbs.

Short bow - str+1d6, 12/24/48, 2lbs. Long bow - str+1d8, 15/30/60, snapfire penalty, 3lbs.

Light crossbow - 2d6, 10/20/40, AP 1, 2 actions to reload, 8lbs. Heavy crossbow - 2d8, 12/24/48, AP 2, 3 actions to reload, 12lbs.

Using a melee weapon in two hands increases your Strength by one die type for purposes of damage and strength requirements; any weapons not specifically noted as 1- or 2-handed can be used as either. Any melee weapon can be thrown with a range of 2/4/8. Weapons with reach get the benefit of the First Strike edge against attackers with shorter weapons.

Club - str+1d4, lethal or nonlethal damage at will, 1-handed, 1lbs. Cudgel - str+1d6, lethal or nonlethal damage at will, 2lbs. Staff - str+1d6, reach 1", lethal or nonlethal damage at will, 2-handed, 3lbs.

Dagger - str+1d4, AP 2, thrown 3/6/12 and AP 0, 1-handed, 1lbs. Short sword - str+1d6, +1 Parry, 1-handed, 3lbs. Long sword - str+1d8, +1 Parry, 4lbs. Great sword - str+1d10, +1 Parry, 2-handed, 6lbs.

Hatchet - str+1d6, +1 damage when you hit with a raise, thrown 3/6/12, 1-handed, 2lbs. Axe - str+1d8, +1 damage when you hit with a raise, 3lbs. Great axe - str+1d10, +1 damage when you hit with a raise, 2-handed, 4lbs.

Mace - str+1d8, AP 2, 3lbs. Great mace - str+1d10, AP 2, 2-handed, 5lbs.

Flail - str+1d8, victim's Parry lowered by 1, 3lbs. Great flail - str+1d10, victim's Parry lowered by 1, 2-handed, 5lbs.

Javelin - str+1d6, thrown 4/8/12, 1-handed, 2lbs. Spear - str+1d8, reach 1", thrown 3/6/12, 4lbs. Pike - str+1d8, reach 2", 2-handed, 6lbs. Polearm - str+1d10, reach 1", 2-handed, 6lbs.

Hunkering down behind a medium or large shield counts as an action and increases its cover by one step (from light to medium or from medium to heavy). A shield can be sacrificed instead of spending a benny to soak damage; the shield is effectively destroyed and useless until repaired or replaced (both cost the same).

Permitted Armor: Small shield - str+1d4, +2 Parry, no action to draw, 2lbs.

Wearing any metal armor gives a -2 penalty on all Stealth rolls (on top of any encumbrance penalties).

Arming cap - +1 Armor, head, 2lbs. Arming coat - +1 Armor, torso and arms, 6lbs. Military boots - +1 Armor, legs, 4lbs.

Mail hood - +2 Armor, head, -1 Notice, 5lbs.

Open helmet - +3 Armor, head, ignore when hit with a 1 or 6 on the Wild Die, 5lbs. Closed helmet - +3 Armor, head, Notice -2, 7lbs.