Role playing broadly consists at the intersection of player interaction with the environment and the mechanic. The environment consists of the players character, the characters of the other players and the world that the referee is painting. That last bit, the world painted by the referee, is rather large. I include in that any non player characters that are encountered along with the setting at large. The mechanic is the rule set that is being utilized.
For me, the first part, the player interaction with the environment is what I enjoy most about role playing. For that matter, it is what I enjoy about most games period, but that is another topic. The mechanic utilized in determining the outcome of that interaction is of secondary importance to me. If my character needs to get through a door, and he is technically inclined, he most likely will attempt to hack the security system at the door to get it open. What I need to do mechanically is of little concern to me. I only desire a simple, fair, and consistent method of determining my characters success or failure. The consequences of each? Those are story and will come from the environment, not the mechanic.
The rules system used should be, as I mentioned above, simple, fair and consistent. There are other attributes it should posses, but those are my main desires. Is it simple to learn a new rule book for each world you want to explore? I would submit that it is not. Why should I spend my precious time learning another set of rules to explore an interesting world of your creation? I would rather use a rule set that, while not perfect, is well suited to many sorts of worlds. Notice I said not perfect. If I wanted a perfect representation of reality, I would hang out in reality.
Enter Savage Worlds. Savage Worlds grew out of one setting, the world of Dead Lands. From there it has grown into a rule set that is capable of doing nearly anything. Dungeon crawls, modern horror, John Carter, super heroes, and swashbucklers, you name it and Savage Worlds should be able to handle it.
Does it have flaws? Sure does, but it is good enough for me. I hope it is good enough for you as well. If it is not, that is okay, there are plenty of rules systems out there. Find what works for you and go have an adventure!
What do you think? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
[facebook] [retweet]