Savage Worlds Adventure Edition - Basic Combat Rules

Welcome to a video series on learning Savage Worlds Adventure Edition, or SWADE, and in this video we’ll be looking at basic combat rules.
In the coming weeks, I’ll be uploading new videos that’ll also explore additional rules and all the various options and genres available to gamemasters in starting a new campaign. Videos will be as to the point as possible, following the same concept design as Savage Worlds - simple, fast and fun!
I hope you enjoyed the video and found it helpful. I know what I find helpful are the various tools and assets I use in my game. To be part of a fantastic community on Facebook, please join the Official Savage Worlds Facebook Group. Everyone is friendly and there is always terrific advice being shared:
/ unofficialsavageworlds
I’ve listed the artists, designers and companies below:
The Savage Worlds Adventure Edition Core Rules and many companion books and accessories are all available at: www.peginc.com/
I use the Foundry Virtual Table Top found here: foundryvtt.com/
My various games are all hosted on The Forge: forge-vtt.com/
I LOVE MAPS AND ASSETS! My favourites are made by...
Greg Bruni - I only use "top-down tokens" and the very best are made by Greg for fantasy, pulp, westers, historical, science-fiction and more!
www.gregbrunicreations.com/
Gabriel Pickard - incredible terrain maps for every genre! marketplace.roll20.net/browse...
Tom Cartos - terrific maps, top down tokens and wonderful assets to populate your online environments!
www.tomcartos.com/
Kidney Boy - His "Main Street" and "Alley" maps are featured in this video, I love his encounter maps for TTRPG's from genres that include modern, horror, pulp, sci-fi, post-apocalyptic and superhero settings!
/ kidneyboy
LOVEMAPS Cthulhu - these beautiful maps and vehicles for the Lovecraft universe are truly a labour of love and many have found their way into my 1930's pulp campaign adventures!
/ about
#SavageWorlds #SWADE #TTRPGBasicRules #TTRPG #basicrules #charactercreation #savagerulesadventureedition

[@Gildashard]

Another great video. Really shows how Savage Worlds combat shines and is not the boring hit point attrition of D&D. Keep it up.

[@GameMasterLee]

Thank you! Combat is cinematic and always a surprise instead of slog.

[@craigarmstrong4140]

Great l, please keep up p the flood work I’m finding the content really useful

[@Hexamus]

"I rolled a 6! Why does it say I failed!?" I say boldly at foundry while trying to hit something with 7 toughness.

[@GameMasterLee]

Hahahahaha. High toughness characters are a real challenge!

[@Baranina123]

Very good video to show how fight looks like

[@northross7249]

Love your videos! Best ones online for SWADE explaining..please make more!

[@GameMasterLee]

I am! Chase rules part 1 was just released and I’m almost finished part 2. Thanks for the kind words

[@simonwatkins3236]

I was surprised that you did both ranged and melee combat it made for a lot. but your clarity was excellent as always.

[@GameMasterLee]

True! But the alternative was then being asked why I didn’t do both, lol. Glad you liked it, being thorough is always the plan.

[@andrevieira1402]

Oh yeah! Been waiting for this! Thank you, sir!! Love from Brazil!!

[@GameMasterLee]

You are the best!!! Thank you!!!

[@someonewithsomename]

Really informative! Hope you'd make more videos sometime

[@GameMasterLee]

Thanks! Just released Chase Rules Part 1. More to come soon Part 2 and others.

[@zraal3759]

Great video. Looking forward to your next one.

[@khublaklonk4480]

Another triumph! This series is coming along beautifully. You're informative and thorough yet concise, which is a winning combination.

[@GameMasterLee]

Wow thanks so much!! Just back from time off with the family for March Break so your generous compliment is great motivation to get back to my next video!

[@fathpinders]

Seriously, brilliant. I have been looking into Savage Worlds for a week now and after finishing reading through Savage Pathfinder this really helped put all I am learning into a demonstrative whole. Looking forward to the next video! Also, may I ask what Foundry Modules you have installed?

[@GameMasterLee]

Wow thank you! Honestly that feedback means a lot to me. I currently run a Pulp 1930's campaign with SW, but I'm looking to switch my DnD5E over to either SW Fantasy Companion or SW Pathfinder. Let me know how it goes for you! SWADE couldn't be easier on Foundry VTT. Obviously you need Savage Worlds Adventure Edition, the license from Pinnacle that you get at their website. The actual mods I use are: - Better Rolls 2 for Savage Worlds (handles all skill rolls, adjustments, etc.) - Dice so Nice! - Dice Tray - Drag Ruler - libWrapper - PopOut! - Simple Calendar - SWADE Stat Block Importer (easiest way to import NPCs and PC's from other sources like PDF's) - SWADE Ultimate Condition Changer - SWADE Wounds Calculator (THIS will save you so much thinking!!) There are other mods I use to animate and other tricks in my DnD campaign, but the SW game moves so fast that honestly, why bother? Keep in touch please and let me know how your campaign progresses.

[@NickPoulimas]

Fantastic video! Very well done. Your explanations are clear and easy to follow. I needed a Savage Worlds refresher and your videos helped me a lot. Please continue to make more videos so that people can easily learn this great RPG!

[@qsviewsrpgs4571]

Fantastic video and I've been enjoying the combat in Savage Worlds. It's been great to compare and see what I'm doing right and what I could be utilizing better. Many thanks. I'll check out those maps as well.

[@GameMasterLee]

Thanks so much! I just posted Chase Rules Part 1, Part 2 is coming soon and then I think I’m going to have to take a look at advanced combat rules soon.

[@corybanticfire]

Great tutorials. Thanks for these. Looking forward to more.

[@piotrp6793]

At some time in past I watched most videos I could on the subject. And as far as I remember this is the best one - with full visual explanation. Congrats!

[@garbodude4365]

Great video! I just picked up this system, looking forward to learning more!

[@vampirehunter1897]

Great video, waiting for more!

[@ronaldsawyer9979]

Great Video and Series, just watched them all and have to say these are concise and very informative - I would even say the best I have seen out there for SWADE! I am looking forward to more and thank you for making them. Also, I am going to ask my players to watch these before playing, since most have no Idea what SWADE is. Thank you for making them!

[@trevorpierce9341]

Really great video. I love your approach and I can already see you refining and getting better each video. Hope you continue the series and I would love to see a video on the Super Powers Companion.

[@GameMasterLee]

Thanks so much! What a wonderfully positive comment. Admittedly I’ve been stuck on my latest video on Chase Rules, so comments like yours keep me motivated. I’d love to do a video on the Super Powers Companion! As a comics fan as a little kid, the superhero genre was one I immediately gravitated to when I discovered there were games other than DnD out there.

[@stevenbradley6243]

So good to see this awesome game gets more love! Keep up the good work, Sir! 👍👍👍👍

[@GameMasterLee]

Thanks very much!!

[@akairibbon4658]

fantastic video, you're a solid teacher

[@vcanato]

We need more videos like this ❤

[@silki9716]

Oh thank god there's FoundryVTT examples

[@GeneralChaos776]

Great video!

[@r2roberts]

I'm looking forward to your next video in this series. I hope you are still making them.

[@fullfightmanga]

Thanks a lot!

[@HoppingDesigns2023]

Just to point out, in the action deck if you get a tie on card numbers the suits are Spades, Hearts, Diamonds and Clubs. Reverse alphabetical order. Just makes it easier to remember the order.

[@BrianJoyce]

This is a fantastic video! I am looking to run SWADE:Rifts and this explains a lot. Here’s to hoping you make more videos like these!!!

[@jdard79]

Love this, and the previous videos. As a Savage Worlds newcomer, I found the rulebook a little overwhelming and weirdly structured, so these were an amazing break down of the basic rules. Are you planning more videos or official settings breakdowns?

[@GameMasterLee]

Thanks very much!! I am planning on more - I have admittedly gotten bogged down with a new job and my next video has been tough. I’m working on a video explaining the chase rules… and now it’s turning into TWO videos. Hopefully I can get back in the saddle again soon. THANK YOU again for the nice comments.

[@GameMasterLee]

One more thing - check out the official Facebook group. Great camaraderie! m.facebook.com/groups/UnofficialSavageWorlds/?ref=share&mibextid=S66gvF

[@user-iu2hz8py5s]

Great Video, will we get another one?

[@bayardstringer6042]

It was hard to figure out how the 13 damage was calculated at 11:12 because the d6 starts as a 2 but gets knocked over to a 4 when the d4s got rolled. Right at the 11:12 timestamp you'd think the roll should be 15, so you have run the video back to see that it was originally a 2.

[@GameMasterLee]

Thank you for noticing! That’s the funny thing about dice rolling in foundry is that I actually like having “real world physics” with the dice. Someone on here slammed me for not being able to add.. lol

[@nickmayhew9722]

What a great video! I was wondering if you could make a video like this, but focus on utilizing the Foundry VTT program with combat? It seems like you have to target the critter to hit, then un-target it and re-target it again to roll and assign damage. Maybe it's because I am trying to run combat as a GM and not as a player. Thanks

[@dreamwanderer5791]

This was an immense help for someone trying to get through the rulebook as a visual guide. But I have to wonder: why'd it stop? Is everything okay?

[@GameMasterLee]

Very kind and considerate to ask. I was working on a chase rules video and to be honest I got overwhelmed by it and hit a creative block. Plus running some campaigns and stuff. But I finally broke the block - part 1 of the chase rules video is up now and I’m working on part 2!

[@Havasi91]

Thanks for another great video! I know there are probably many more "basic" videos to be made, covering the broader rules of SW, but I would still like to throw in a wish for a video explaining the chase rules. I have read them several times, but still can't seem to fully grasp them. The same goes for the Deadlands Duel rules. Keep up the good work!

[@GameMasterLee]

Well good news! My next video is on Combat Options but the one after that will focus on Chase Rules! Thanks so much for your kind words and support.

[@Havasi91]

@@GameMasterLee Looking forward to them both!

[@GameMasterLee]

Chase Rules video landing this weekend!!

[@Havasi91]

@@GameMasterLee Sweet! I thought you said that there would be a video about combat options first (not that I'm complaining!) - or did you make it all into one video? Either way, I'll be the first to watch, haha!

[@Havasi91]

​@@GameMasterLee How's the next video coming along? 😅

[@Scubasgamecorner]

These are great videos...any more coming up soon or ?

[@outlawstarun1]

What Modules are you using in you Foundry ? Specifically the one that has the dice icons on the bottom right?

[@GameMasterLee]

Good morning!! I use Dice so Nice and Dice Tray which are the modules you see bottom right. I also use More Bennies for SWADE, SWADE Core Rules, Better Rolls 2 for SWADE, and SWADE Ultimate Condition Changer. Terrific automation! PLEASE NOTE - I JUST upgraded to V11 of Foundry and have yet to test my modules. Have a great time with Savage Worlds!!

[@Krix6426]

Thanks for the video series. Good stuff. My group has been drawing initiative only once per combat encounter. It just helps us with available time. You mentioned that a Black Joker allows you to take your turn whenever you like, as well as get a +2 to actions. Does a Red Joker do something different, that you know of? Thanks!

[@GameMasterLee]

Hi! Sorry for the delay in responding, I’ve been away for March Break. I can see drawing once per encounter. Our group is spoiled by Foundry VTT’s automation. As far as Jokers go, while the Black Joker was used in the example, check out the video at around 3:18 where discuss the effects of Jokers regardless of colours. Thanks for watching!!

[@shampdg]

So good! New Sub. Make one on magic?

[@Kajotex]

Thanks a lot this really helps :) Say, what module do you use for the combat cards? It looks like better rolls, but better rolls 2 does not give me the snazzy weapon cards you get there? Edit: Nevermind, i was holding it wrong ;)

[@bad-people6510]

5:06 Huh... MAGAZINE! Under other circumstances I'd chalk it up to colloquialism but there actually is a thing called a clip and it's not what you think it is.

[@GameMasterLee]

I get the difference. I watch too many movies, what can I say. Luckily, the same rule applies to a magazine AND a clip.

[@ctboomer2000]

Great series! Looking forward to more!

[@garrymiller9277]

Hi there, brilliant video, this is going to help me a lot with my first EVER SWADE session as a GM on Wednesday. You have mentioned Foundry however what Modules are you using here and which ones do you recommend, especially for complete noobs. :-) Semi-automation the better, we are going to learn as we go.

[@GameMasterLee]

Good morning!! Thanks for the great feedback. The automation with modules is what I appreciate most so I can stick with storytelling. Here are the main modules I use: Dice so Nice and Dice Tray, More Bennies for SWADE, SWADE Core Rules, Better Rolls 2 for SWADE, and SWADE Ultimate Condition Changer. Terrific automation! PLEASE NOTE - I JUST upgraded to V11 of Foundry and have yet to test my modules. Have a great time with Savage Worlds!!

[@feldamar2]

A reminder for every budding DM. SOUND HELPS. Even just some specific background music helps a lot. But anytime you can add sound to a campaign in ANY manner really helps people playing. Including you the DM. And by ANY manner I even mean "PEW PEW" via players lips. The difference always amazes people. When the background combat sounds is turned off and replaced with birds chirping you can SEE people relax.

[@AceneDean]

Will there be more of these videos?

[@GameMasterLee]

Just released one!

[@r0llntider]

Keep doing videos on swade. Would love some dm hints. I want to dm

[@GameMasterLee]

That is a terrific idea for a video. But here’s the best advice for a GM - just do it. I was stuck for a long time thinking there was a secret, or I needed to be more prepared. All it did was keep me from getting started sooner!

[@r0llntider]

@@GameMasterLee thank you, I plan on it soon. Been playing in a dnd group and vast grimm group. I always like the mechanics of swade and want to do a masters of the universe campaign with the supers. Love your videos and they are so easy to follow. Please do more

[@vast3394]

any chance to continue this series?

[@GameMasterLee]

I’m on it!

[@YukonJack88]

GM Lee Love these solid tutorials. Hey what modual are you adding to Foundry there, that are you are using in the Chat window? The one that you are using to add in modifiers?

[@GameMasterLee]

Hi! Glad you like the videos. I’m using Better Rolls 2 that automates everything. Foundry recently upgraded to V11 and while it’s a stable version, I usually wait a while to make sure modules are working properly with the update.

[@Holupgarcon]

Is it better to focus on melee or ranged rather than try to be decent at both? Not sure of the balance

[@bobhill-ol7wp]

depends

[@GameMasterLee]

I always personally strive for balance, but maybe that’s better answered by character concept? A sniper versus a boxer is a clear distinction. I usually start a character with a d6 in both, then use an edge based on concept to better in one area over another.

[@paulsheppard759]

When the last bandit ran away, wouldn't the adjacent PC get a Free attack against it

[@GameMasterLee]

Sure, but they’re basically good guys who don’t shoot folks in the back.

[@paulsheppard759]

@@GameMasterLee :) Ok. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't misunderstanding the rule. I'm all for roleplay over rollplay so it makes sense to me

[@philipboardman1357]

This guy's thick Canadian accent makes him impossible to understand. Otherwise, I love the video!

[@GameMasterLee]

Hahahaha

[@jefffisher1297]

This is supposed to be fast, math bloat from start you're making a whole bunch of rolls on every turn, and drawing cards, this just seems like a round would take 10 minutes.

[@GameMasterLee]

Well I’m having to explain it so that slows it down. Hey, try it and see for yourself. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, nor is any one game system, so it may or may not be for you.

[@Stumpyboy]

As someone running two games in this system it is anything but slow. In fact I find it to be the opposite. I find my players going through my encounters like butter and its awesome. You really gotta give it a shot!

[@geminii.german]

and now play the dark eye and cry 🤣 SW is incr. fast