Time Wardens — A Savage Suzerain/TPA Campaign

Coming to a computer near you — June 30th

Have you ever wish you could go back in time and change something about your past? Perhaps you are convinced it would make your life better now. Or perhaps you lost someone dear to you and strongly believe it is within your power to keep that special person alive if only you were given the chance. You made a bad choice and paid dearly. Now you have to live with that choice and it’s eating away at you.

The Norns came to you and gave you a purpose in life. Taking on the guise of a young girl, a woman and an old crone they introduced themselves as the deity of Fate; representing past, present and future. At first you thought this was a joke. A Christmas Carol anyone? Then, they pointed to that piece of jewelry you hold so dearly but never really knew why. They called that jewelry with a gem encrusted in it a Telesma; a gem that contains a spirit, a guide, a passport. You always felt different and, with some degree of humility, a step above your peers. You were successful in your field of expertise, yet unfulfilled.

The Norns offered to give your life a purpose. You were to become a Time Warden. Powerful entities conspire to change the timeline, to bend it to their will. They called it a Nexus: a truth about time. You would fight these trespassers and fix their transgression. You would travel to different realities, in different times, different worlds with the help of your Telesma through a place called the Maelstrom. You would make things be as they were meant to be.

What’s in it for you? A mental image of that crucial moment in your past you wish you could go back and change flickered in the back of your mind. Was it the Norns trying to convince you? Was it wishful thinking? Didn’t you once say you would do anything to go back and make it right, right wrongs and make your reality as you paint it to be?

You will be teamed up with others like you. Heralds of the Norns will deliver your assignments. You will be given a destination, a disguise to blend in upon entering your destination, necessary gear and a laundry list. A myriad of mysterious worlds and iconic eras awaits you. It is time to grab your destiny by the horns and beat it into submission. Whether you hail from the trenches of World War II, the frozen plains of Rassilon, whether you like to ride your horse into the sunset, skewer Rephaim on Necropolis or shine your chrome in the Sprawl you are all there hanging onto one hope. To one day be given the chance to right YOUR wrong…

Sky-Tyrant of Mars Deluxed Act Two — Scene One — Devils in the sand

In this scene, the heroes have to survive flying through a sandstorm infused with hallucinogenic dust. They have to perform three tasks before they can safely land their airship, the Valiant, on a sand dune and take refuge below deck for the night until the storm passes.

These tasks screams Dramatic Tasks to me. While the complications randomly determined by drawing clubs are perfectly viable, I thought it would add a further interesting option to change up the Trait once in a while. I believe this is definitely in line with Umberto Pignatelli's style as well.

For example, during the Master and Commander part, the pilot had to succeed on a Strength check for one round because the steering had stiffened up. Notice was also used to spot and navigate around a huge and solid obstacle.

For Sand in the gravitic apparatus I went with the flow. The player playing Okus the White Ape nimbly climbed his way down the side of the hull to reach the apparatus. Once there, he decided to use his shield to keep sand from entering the device so I called for Strength checks.

Sailors madness is a bit different because it can be tackled in different ways. The heroes, with the help of the other marines, can decide to grapple the mad sailors and hold them down until the Valiant has landed. If this is the way your group wants to deal with the situation, the combat rules will handle this just fine. When I ran this scene, the player playing Gala Omen handled this situation by calling out to the mad sailors and tried to convince them the demons in the sand were hallucinations. She then went on to use her healing kit to lessen the effect the hallucinogenic agents in the sand had on them. Therefor, I called for a combo of Persuasion and Healing check. It became a Dramatic Task.

Making Sky-Tyrant of Mars Deluxe - Act One Scene One: The Festival of Son Ra

I'm about to run the adventure module Sky-Tyrant of Mars from Adamant Entertainment and written by Umberto Pignatelli on Fantasy Grounds 2. It's a fun adventure with a fistful of action and heroic goodness. Being a fan of what the Savage Worlds Deluxe Edition has done to my favorite game I wanted to bring it up to speed with the new Chase Rules introduced in this Deluxe Edition.


Sky-Tyrant of Mars opens up in media res with chariot race reminiscent of Ben-Hur. Here is how I decided to handle the chase.


The PCs join the race during the third and final lap. The one in the lead is an NPC and the other characters (whether they've decided to race with their character or an NPC with the Driving skill) have to catch up with him and Force him out of the track. This NPC will be the only other opponent the players will have to face. He is an extra with d6 Driving. The players will have five rounds to defeat him and reach the finish line victorious. Each round represents a section of the track with it's own feature and obstacle.


Round 1: Sharp bend. No changes here.


Round 2: Imprudent child. The NPC charioteer will avoid the child. The foolish boy was distracted and talking to his mom when the chariots came out of the bend. The momentum blew the skyship shaped kite out of his hands and he is now chasing it down the track just as the rest of the charioteers come roaring by. Every other charioteer must succeed in a Driving check or automatically go Out of Control.


Notes: I realize this is extreme but I want to make this race even more cinematic. This should spark the crowd and hopefully make the characters cheers. If that can eliminate a few charioteer, the rest of the race should be even more exciting. If you are worried this might lead to some eventual crippling wounds, pretend the chariots have security feature and switch deadly damage to non-lethal damage or have the players make a Vigor and suffer some bumps and bruises. 


Round 3: Sandy road.  No changes here


Round 4: Bottleneck. Again, no changes here. Hopefully, the remaining charioteers will take advantage of this opportunity and use the Force maneuver to ram each other for some good fun!


Round 5: The module had only four scripted events for this race. You can make it a straight stretch of the road or insert it before the Sandy road stretch and make it interesting. What if the road splits. To the left, the track goes around a mound on which a broadcaster tower is placed. Straight up is the mound used a ramp to propel the steed, the chariot and it's driver through an opening in the broadcast tower. And as you guessed it, the way through the broadcast tower is a shortcut. The charioteer who chooses the shortcut gets a -2 penalty to his Driving check but if he succeeds, the lowest card or cards he can be dealt next round is an eight. Redraw any card lower than eight. I'm not sure what I will choose yet but I am leaning toward the mound shortcut feature. What would you choose?


Next, Act Two Scene One.