Rippers: Hydes

The first few times we played Rippers it was apparent that the "bad guys" from the GM's section were underpowered. Especially against 6 Seasoned player characters. So I beefed most of them up. Here is my version of a Hyde. Also, to keep players from just taking "injections" and becoming Hydes themselves, I had my versions have implants of glands that would secrete the formula so they could "Hulk out" for combat but sneak around as normal joes.

Also, it doesn't make much sense that the Hydes from the Rippers book have Improved Nerves of Steel if they aren't Wild Cards. So I made all my Hydes Wild Cards.

I rebased the Heroclix version (left) of Mr Hyde on 1.250" washers that I painted flat black. They look pretty good.

Hyde Hybrid (WC)

Human

Attributes: Agility d6, Smarts d6, Spirit d6, Strength d8, Vigor d8

Skills: Fighting d6, Guts d6, Notice d6, Shooting d6, Stealth d6

Charisma: -2, Pace: 6, Parry: 6, Toughness: 7

Edges: Brawny, Combat Reflexes, Two Fisted

Hindrances: Mean

Equipment: Pistol, Knife

Special Abilities:

Shape Change: On a successful Vigor roll the "human" becomes a Hyde. This takes a full round and no other actions may be performed.

Hyde Form

Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d4, Spirit d6, Strength d12+2, Vigor d12

Skills: Fighting d8, Guts d6, Intimidation d6+1, Notice d4, Stealth d4

Charisma: -6, Pace: 7, Parry: 6, Toughness: 10

Edges: Brawny, Combat Reflexes, Improved Nerves of Steel, Two Fisted

Hindrances: Bloodthirsty, Mean

Special Abilities:

Fists: d12+d6+2

Size +1

Savage Serenity

Ranks and Experience

One of the things about Savage Worlds that never made complete sense to me is the Experience Points to Rank table. It's based on 5 point increments (which makes sense) and gives a Ranking based on how many XP a character has accumulated. But the Ranks go every 20 points from zero to eighty. I've often wondered why 80 was the magic number? Especially since percentiles are based on 100. And the Level-Ups are based on 5's. Also, being a former d20 player (mostly D&D and a LotR homebrew) changing the Rankings to 100 xp matches up nicely with the "levels" in 3rd Edition. Every D&D level equals 10 xp in Savage worlds. So a level 10 Fighter for example would be a 100 xp Legend in Savage Worlds using my modified Rank Table.

So I've changed the Rank Table for my campaigns. Here it is:

Experience Points	Savage Rank	D&D 3.0 Level
0-24	Novice	1-2
25-49	Seasoned	3-4
50-74	Veteran	5-7
75-99	Heroic	8-9
100+	Legendary	10

It gives an additional Level-Up per rank and takes an additional 20 XP to gain the Legend Rank. Nothing earth shaking or ground breaking but just a change we use in all our campaigns.

Homebrew Rules

Every gaming group has their own style of gaming and their own rules they use at the table. Here are some of ours:

Critical Hits
In addition to getting a d6 for a Raise on attack rolls we wanted something to give Wild Cards (both PCs and NPCs) a bit more kick. When both Fighting and Wild Die Ace on an attack roll you double the total damage. This includes the bonus d6 if you hit with a Raise.

Critical Miss
If a Wild Card rolls double one's on an attack roll they may not spend a benny to re-roll. In addition, the GM still gets to "make up something rotten to happen to your character". This only applies to combat. Bennies may still be spent to reroll critically failed Skill attempts.

Critical Miss Benny
If a Wild Card rolls double one's on an attack roll they gain a benny. This helps off-set the "rotten" thing that is about to happen to your character! Remember, this benny cannot be spent to re-roll the miss.

Bennies for XP
The number of bennies in-hand at the end of a play session is the chance on a single d6 to gain one extra experience point. A player with six or more bennies can divide them as desired between two d6 rolls for one XP each. Two rolls is the maximum. (Adapted from Advanced Dungeons and Savages)

Voted Benny
Any player may nominate another player to earn a benny for a witty comment, good roleplaying or any other "in-game" reason. The other players then vote yea or nay. A player may only earn one "voted" benny per play session.

Benny for Re-Shuffling
The GM may give the action deck to the player with the least amount of bennies at the table to reshuffle the deck. They earn a benny. (Adapted from Evil Mike, who adapted it from Clint Black)

My first Post!

This is my first post on my new Savage Worlds Blog. I'll be posting my homebrew rules, ideas and campaigns along with information for my players to this Blog. Currently I am running a Savage Serenity (before the BDM) campaign, 50 Fathoms campaign (just kicked off) and a Rippers campaign. There's lots more to come so stay tuned!