{"id":427,"date":"2010-10-04T11:39:07","date_gmt":"2010-10-04T19:39:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/usandacat.com\/thelair\/?p=427"},"modified":"2010-10-04T11:39:07","modified_gmt":"2010-10-04T19:39:07","slug":"review-of-savage-worldsexplorers-edition-by-pinnacle-entertainment-group","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usandacat.com\/thelair\/2010\/review-of-savage-worldsexplorers-edition-by-pinnacle-entertainment-group\/","title":{"rendered":"Review of Savage Worlds:Explorer’s Edition By Pinnacle Entertainment Group"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

-== What is it? ==-<\/strong><\/p>\n

Savage Worlds:Explorer’s Edition (SW:EE)<\/i> is a universal role-playing game system that is published by Pinnacle Entertainment Group. It was written by several primary authors including Shane Hensley, Paul Wade-Williams, Simon Lucas, Joseph Unger, Dave Blewer, Clint Black, Robin Elliott, and Piotr Korys. There are also many other contributers listed on the title page that I will not repeat here. The Explorer’s Edition was released in 2007.
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\nSW:EE<\/i> is a soft cover book has a color cover and a vibrant color interior. The book is 6? x 9? and is 160 pages in length. There is a 2 page table of contents, no index, and a 1 page advertisement at the end. (Note that you can download a PDF index<\/a> from Pinnacle if you really want one but I don’t think it is needed.) I am reviewing a first edition print copy that I purchased. To play the game you need SW:EE<\/i>, a set of multi-sided dice, and a deck of cards with the jokers left in. (The cards are used for handling initiative.) I have not played the game I have only read the book.<\/p>\n

-== What I Like ==-<\/strong><\/p>\n

SW:EE<\/i> uses simple mechanics that are easy to grasp. In most cases results are determined using a single die with modifiers. This is a big plus for any RPG but it is not as common for universal systems. SW:EE<\/i> is not a crunchy heavy system. The rules are focused on high action and fast combats. Don’t expect tons of realism from SW:EE<\/i>.
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\nOne big plus is that there are a ton of support products for SW:EE<\/i> both from Pinnacle and other publishers. There are settings available in almost every genre. Some that really stand out to me are The Savage World Of Solomon Kane<\/i> (based on the wonderful novels by Howard), Rippers<\/i> (Victorian magic), Necessary Evil<\/i> (superhero), and Hellfrost<\/i> (fantasy). (Watch this space for a review of Hellfrost<\/i> by Triple Ace Games. I am pretty impressed by the Hellfrost<\/i> setting. \ud83d\ude09 )
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\nNormally when I write reviews I mention the price in the Summary section only but for SW:EE<\/i> the price is exceptional. The core book is a paltry $9.99. That is a total steal for a universal system of this quality.
\n
\nThe interior artwork and layout in SW:EE<\/i> are beautiful. In fact I have to seriously hunt to find a picture that is only average. There are many interior artists listed so I will not mention them all now.<\/p>\n

-== What I Don’t Like ==-<\/strong><\/p>\n

I was a bit disappointed that SW:EE<\/i> did not have an example combat. I would much rather have had this than the adventure at the end of the book which is essentially useless. Instead of the adventure in the book I would forward folks to the many excellent One Sheet Adventures<\/a> that can be downloaded form the Pinnacle site. These One Sheet Adventures are PDF modules that often include characters. These are a great way for folks to start playing quickly.
\n
\nAnother noticeable omission from SW:EE<\/i> is that there is not a blank character sheet or any sample characters. I personally like when core book lead readers through the creation of a character with an example sheet. Saying that there are several PDF character sheets on the Pinnacle download page<\/a>.
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\nIn a couple of places in SW:EE<\/i> the text mentions going to the Pinnacle site to get certain PDFs. In two cases I could not find these files. When I posted a question on the Pinnacle forums about where these files could be found it was not answered. \ud83d\ude41
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\nI also noticed a few typos and areas of book that are not completely clear. The good news is that you can download a neat Cut-and-Paste Errata<\/a> PDF from Pinnacle. This is a PDF that one prints then literally cuts up and tapes into SW:EE<\/i>. This is a pretty neat idea that I wish other publishers would try. \ud83d\ude42
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\nThe cover artwork by Cheyenne Wright is only fair in my opinion. It is made to look like a travel logbook but the effect is not well executed. The yellow and red Savage Worlds logo that was also done by Cheyenne Wright is very cool. I love the old map inset with compass background.<\/p>\n

-== Summary ==-<\/strong><\/p>\n

SW:EE<\/i> is one of the best universal systems I have read and I a love universal RPGs. The first incarnation of Savage Worlds<\/i> was the winner of the 2003 Origins Award for Best Roleplaying Game and I can see why if it was anything like this updated product. Pinnacle’s tag line for SW:EE<\/i> is right on the money…”Fast! Furious! and Fun!”
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\nYou can get SW:EE<\/i> for $8.95 at Noble Knight Games at this<\/a> URL. Amazon has it for $9.99 at this<\/a>\"\" URL. The PDF can be had at DriveThruRPG at this<\/a> URL for $9.99.
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\nI give it 9 out of 10 paws.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

-== What is it? ==- Savage Worlds:Explorer’s Edition (SW:EE) is a universal role-playing game system that is published by Pinnacle Entertainment Group. It was written by several primary authors including Shane Hensley, Paul Wade-Williams, Simon Lucas, Joseph Unger, Dave Blewer, Clint Black, Robin Elliott, and Piotr Korys. There are also many other contributers listed on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-427","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-games","category-product-reviews"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usandacat.com\/thelair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usandacat.com\/thelair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usandacat.com\/thelair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usandacat.com\/thelair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usandacat.com\/thelair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=427"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usandacat.com\/thelair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usandacat.com\/thelair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usandacat.com\/thelair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usandacat.com\/thelair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}