Pinnacle Entertainment Group recently revised the mechanics behind one of the key Savage Worlds Deluxe rules. The change relates to how the Shaken status works, and at first sight seems relatively minor.
The old version of the rule was as follows:
Results from making a Spirit roll to recover from being Shaken:
Failure: The character remains Shaken. He can only perform free actions.
Success: The character is no longer Shaken, but can still only perform free actions.
Raise: The character is no longer Shaken and may act normally.
The new version of the rule removes the Raise result to give:
Failure: The character remains Shaken. She can only perform free actions.
Success: The character is no longer Shaken and may act normally.
The full text of the change can be found in the official errata document here.
Given how tightly designed the system is, I am concerned I might be missing some of the implications of this rules change. In particular:
- What impact does it have on the value Edges and Powers that modify the mechanics behind Shaken or rely on it in some way, e.g. Combat Reflexes, Stun?
- What impact does it have on tactical combat, particularly with reference to the use of Tricks and Tests of Will?
Best Answer
There has been a great deal of discussion about the new rule on the Pinnacle forums, especially on the "official" thread that includes commentary from Clint Black, who gives official rulings for Savage Worlds. As the face of Pinnacle on this, he has a lot of insight on what the rationale for the change was and what the impacts are.
First off, what was wrong with the old rule?
Short Answer: It created some unintended consequences and made players spend too many Bennies just to act. The new rule makes things faster, frees up more Bennies for more interesting things, and better fits the "up, down, and off the board" mantra.
Long Answer:
Doesn't this diminish the value of Shaken?
Short Answer: It reduces the likelihood of a "stunlock" from Shaken, which was never meant to be the major benefit of the Shaken mechanic in the first place. The designers see this new rule change as a desirable improvement that takes away unintended consequences.
Long Answer:
How does this affect Tricks and Tests of Will?
Short Answer: The primary effects from Tricks and Tests of Will (-2 Parry, +2 to next action) are completely unchanged. It is only less powerful if your primary goal for it was to get a raise in order to make your opponent Shaken and therefore create a "stunlock", which as written above, was never really a design goal or desirable behavior.
Long Answer:
What impact does this have with +2 bonuses to Shaken (Combat Reflexes, Undead, etc.)?
Short Answer: When you run the numbers, a +2 bonus to recover from Shaken increases your odds by less than half of what it did under the old rule.
Long Answer:
Regarding whether the rule change makes Combat Reflexes overpowered:
Other players have pointed out that it is still very useful when your character has penalties from Wounds or Fatigue, putting the Edge about on par with Nerves of Steel.
Does this rule favor Extras over Wild Cards?
Short Answer: Even when Extras have a +2 bonus to recover from Shaken, Wild Cards are better off with this rule.
Long Answer:
I'm Still Not Sure About This Rule...
Short Answer:
Long Answer:
I don't trust this Clint guy, I want to hear from someone on RPG Stack Exchange!
Short Answer: I have run the rule for the last several weeks in my weekly game and I can affirm that the rule does work and tends to make combats faster and easier to GM. While there was a lot of skepticism about the rule, my players have all come to very much love it.
Long Answer: There were definitely some changes in tactics. If a character Shakes an enemy, they can no longer rely on the enemy being likely to be out of commission for a round. This means that there is more pressure to "press the advantage" by trying to get a second Shaken result to wound the enemy, or to roll high in the first place.
Two of my players did decide to swap out "Combat Reflexes" though because they felt that it was no longer a "must have" Edge, but they still saw it as a useful Edge on par with others like Nerves of Steel. To me, that's not really a design flaw as much as an improvement.
There was concern that it weakened Tricks, Tests of Wills, and Shaken-dealing powers (e.g. Stun), but really what this meant was that the players had to improve their tactics and actually work together because they could no longer rely on a single PC taking an enemy out of commission for at least a turn (or forcing them to spend a Benny). Interestingly, players have been more likely to use Tests of Will and such in order to make it more likely that their teammates will roll well in order to get the wound.
We did fight undead once (getting the usual +2 vs Shaken) and it actually made the fight better. Instead of having undead just milling around unable to act after a glancing gunshot, they instead were able to recover quickly and continue advancing on the party. This made them more threatening, better matched players expectations of an ever-advancing horde, and generally made the game more fun to play.
All in all, I can corroborate what Clint says and it seems that, although there are definitely concerns on paper, it tends to work out well at the game table. Definitely give it a try and you may come to like it as my players and I have.