I'm making a Savage setting for Dead Space, and I'm really unsure about this part. I understand I need to compare the monsters to regular humans, for instance, and try to determine their stats from that, but I'm not sure how. Example: a regular human in SW have, let's say a d6 in strength.
Now, in Dead Space, the Necromorphs are mostly stronger than normal humans. Do I then take the most basic Necromorph, which is just a bit stronger than a human and give it a d8 to strength?
And how about lower stats? Let's say average human smarts are d6. The Necromorphs aren't intelligent at all. They are mostly part of a kind of hive-mind, but neither are they stupid. They can lay on the ground and play dead up until the moment you try to step past them. Next thing you know, they jump up and stab you or bite you. Would you say they have a d4, or maybe a d4-2?
Of course, I want a good way of doing this, and I prefer it to be relatively easy. If someone can help with this, I'll be ecstatic!
Best Answer
First off, I'll quote some general advice about converting settings, which is in the GM section of Savage Worlds Deluxe:
I think that this advice also applies to converting monsters and other elements from video games. Fortunately, you seem to have the right mindset by considering their place within the setting and describing them as "stronger" or "weaker" rather than pulling out the mechanical numbers from the game.
As you noted, a d6 is usually the baseline for an "average" person in the setting (with "average" generally referring to an average trained person. An average soldier in the military would have d6 Shooting, an average writer who spends his days in a coffee shop will not). Everything else should be in relation to that.
If a Necromorph is noticeably stronger than an average human in the setting, give them a d8 Strength, which will put it on the level with someone who has gone above and beyond average strength training. Giving them a d10 Strength would make it only an equal match for those who are even more dedicated to it and so forth. Put another way, the higher their Strength, the more people they will be overpowering by a greater degree, and the fewer the characters who will be equally matched against it.
You specifically mentioned Smarts as a point of contention. One thing you can do is add the animal intelligence modifier, written as "Smarts d6 (A)". From the book:
It sounds to me like this might be appropriate for the Necromorphs, since you wrote that they aren't intelligent, but can use hunting tactics to great effect (sounds like they're using the "Smarts trick" combat maneuver). So they might have Smarts d6 (A) or even Smarts d8 (A) if they're very clever. For reference, enemies in the SWD bestiary like a Wolf, Giant Worm, and Lion have Smarts d6 (A). By the way, Attributes cannot go below d4, so you can't have Smarts d4-2 like you suggested.
Hindrances and Edges are generally for intelligent beings rather than monsters. There are some exceptions, such as monsters in the SWD bestiary getting things like Frenzy, but generally these are few and far between and almost always combat related (it doesn't make sense for a zombie to have the Arrogant Hindrance, for instance). Also note that if they do get them, they are usually listed under the "Special Abilities" section of their statblock, rather than an "Edges" or "Hindrances" section. This is more for concision in the statblock than anything else.
Finally, don't forget Special Abilities. Immediately before the bestiary in SWD is a list of monstrous abilities that are generally inappropriate for players, but are important to many monster concepts, such as ethereal and infravision. If you need something that isn't covered by anything else, this is usually where you put it (for instance, the wolf's "go for the throat" ability and the deal about a vampire needing to be invited into a house are new special abilities). However, less is more and you should avoid creating new special abilities unless it is absolutely essential to the concept.
If you'd like to see an example of converting video game enemies into Savage Worlds, check out my Elder Scrolls conversion, complete with a bestiary statting enemies from the games.