Number 23 in my #CharacterCreationChallenge foray is the dread pirate Wickham Thorne, using the Savage Worlds Adventure Edition (SWADE).

Leaving England to escape a drunk father and abusive mother, young Thorne was going to take his chances in the New World. On the voyage, however, his ship was attacked by pirates flying under the flag of Arnold the Bloody. The lad hid among the bolts of cloth and found himself unexpectedly brought onboard the Vengeful Wench.

He remained hidden, stealing what food and water he could get until, emboldened, he just slipped among the crew and started working – scrubbing the deck, hauling rope and buckets of pitch, anything to keep busy. No one knew where he came from and no one seemed to care as long as he was helping out.

Eventually he took on all the responsibilities and benefits of an able bodied seaman and worked his way into a position of authority.

When the British Navy eventually caught up with Captain Arnold, Wickham made his escape – leaping overboard, knowing death in the sea would be better than the hangman’s noose.

But death was not in the cards. No one really knows how he survived, but Wickham is convinced a mermaid saved him and brought him to shore on Tortuga. He believes he will find her one day and marry her.

In the meantime, he has begun to gather together a crew in hopes of stealing a ship and taking to the seas as a pirate once more.

Savage Worlds

For those unfamiliar with it, Savage Worlds is an open genre RPG, meaning it can be used for pretty much any genre you want. It’s designed to create characters with the same attribute types as can be found in most any RPG and has an open Skills system to support any activities you want.

The build process was simple – you start with a d4 in each attribute and are given five points to upgrade. You can also earn a few more upgrade points by taking a Major and up to two Minor Hindrances, which I did. You can use those upgrades on Edges or Skills, but for Wickham I went for the attribute upgrades.

Pace (movement speed), Parry (defense), and toughness (HP) are all derived and the latter two can be modified by gear. Being a pirate, I kept Wickham’s gear load rather low. He likely has very little to his name other than his weapons and some IOUs.

Savage Worlds uses a concept of Exploding Dice such that, when you make a check and roll the high end (6 on a d6, 8 on a d8, etc.), you roll again. And again if you roll the high end. That means a situation can turn real deadly real quick if the dice gods are in a mood.

If I compare it to Fate – another open genre RPG – this one is certainly rules heavier, though still lighter than a lot of common RPGs. For people who need a bit more structure, Savage Worlds might fit the bill. At least from what I’ve heard from people who have played this game, however, combat is the least fun part of this rule set, while pretty much everything else is terrific.

So, as long as you’re not looking for a heavy combat game, you might want to grab a copy and give it a try.