Great White Games/Pinnacle Entertainment Group

[Kakaze]

Looking for a different take on the Savage Worlds experience?

Ever want to be a monster in a fantasy world?

Do you just like Giant Ants?

Well look no further! Here is a brand new conversion designed with the Giant Ant focused in mind. Enter Savage Swarm, a fast and easy game where the players control Extras in a big and dangerous world.

http://adamwentworthdesign.com/files/savageSwarm_V0.9.4.pdf

Contains:

- 5 Castes of playable Giant Ants, each with different attributes and abilities.
- Rules for creating swarms of Ants to better devour those pesky defenders.
- A new food based leveling system for the Colony.
- New edges for both the Colony and the individual.
- New enemies.
- Character Sheets and a Colony tracker so a new game can start in minutes.




Enjoy and please leave any comments or suggestions in the thread as Savage Swarm is still a work in progress.

[Dylan S]

"As a Giant Ant, you are motivated primarily by love."

This is my Quote of the Day.

[Kakaze]

Thanks I thought it was pretty funny. We've had a few playtests that went over very well. Any thoughts on the rest?

[JackMann]

I need to try this sometime.

[Kakaze]

We play it when we can't get our normal group together or we want a change of pace. It's also good for playing with a few beers.

[Dylan S]

I think it's a wonderful concept. I used to love Sim Ant (on the SNES) when I was a kid. I thought, in your game, that maybe the price of advancements shouldn't escalate the way it does. SWEX's advancements are evenly placed, and it works well for the levelling system. Uh... that's it! Reading it actually motivated me to start writing a new game, though. I'll credit you for the inspiration if I ever drop the PDF bomb here on the forum.

[Kakaze]

The idea behind the escalating levels was that you could buy one Colony advance and one Caste advance and put an individual ant at d8 fairly cheaply, but any past that and it gets to be a significant cost.

Honestly, I'm not sure how differently the game would play with that change. Give it a shot and tell me if it worked better or worse than the way it's written.

[Kakaze]

Pitt the Spitter, Bundy the Soldier, Steve the Forager, and Steve the Pathmaker (plus Karl, his trusty Worker) awaken to a brand new Colony. Their mother, Xoralundra, greets them and tells them how proud she is of them.

She tells them that their Colony is very young and that she came here hoping to make a refuge, as terrible monsters had destroyed her mother's Colony. She says that they need food to feed their hatching brothers and sisters.

Steve and Steve fight over their mother's attention, but Bundy tells his mother how he'll bring back the most food of all. She just smiles and sends them on their way.

Our newly created Caste Ants jostle past the few Colony Workers that have hatched. They might be digging and tending to eggs, but our heroes are proud to be the first chosen to leave the Colony. They push past the Workers with pride and go out to explore a strange new world.

They find that their colony has been dug into the side of a dirt cavern. Strange scents waft at them from deeper in the cavern, but they choose to brave the bright outdoors. It is filled with strange, creaking stalagmites that reach up towards blue sky that burns with a terrifying orange ball. Steve decides to climb a stalagmite to get a better view of their surroundings.

On his way up, several very small cheepy things rustle off into the sky. Pitt takes one down with a lucky ball of acid spit, but finds the food to be too small and damaged to be any good to eat. Steve declares his intention to find larger cheepy food, but alas he only spots a strange furry beast some distance away across a giant river.

The intrepid band decides stealthily approach the beast. As they approach, they marvel at the stalagmites that seem to grow from its head. The beast enters the river to drink and soon joined by two smaller creatures that frolic in the water.

Deciding that these Fur Fish must be just the food they are looking for, Bundy enlists the aid of Steve and Karl to push over the nearest stalagmite and ford the river. With mighty push and a loud crash, the stalagmite falls!

The two smaller Fur Fish dart away, but the larger snorts and holds its ground. As it stamps and grunts, Bundy charges! His cry of "For the Queen" is cut off as the Fur Fish's stalagmites gore him and throw his mangled body into the river.

Steve, Steve, and Pitt watch in horror as Bundy floats away. "He was the best of us" cried Steve, but Karl made no comment. Knowing that reinforcements would soon be following, the group presses the attack. Harried by acid from Pitt and swarmed by Karl and the Steves, the Fur Fish soon falls.

An albino Signal ant named Snowy arrives with a couple of Workers. Snowy, bored of leading Workers and anxious to earn honor for the Colony, decides to leave the workers to the food transport and join the party in its travels.

Steve the Forager tries to track down the two smaller Fur Fish who escaped. Unfortunately, the area is covered with many different tracks and finding the Fur Fish proves impossible. He does, however, pick up a strong scent and trail. Thinking this is better than nothing, the group follows the track.

They travel for some time, and the group notices the area seems different than the land on the other side of the river. The stalagmites are bigger, there is less brush and debris on the ground, and the cheepy things are happier sounding.

Finding this to be distasteful and un-Ant, the party tramps along faster. They follow their trail back to a small cave dirt cave, much like their home. It is more shallow, however, and snuffling noises can be heard within.

Steve decides to take stealthy look around, clambering on the ceiling and scurrying inside. He finds a large furry mass on the ground, the size of a boulder! He drops down from the ceiling and catches the sleeping creature by surprise. His bites find no purchase, however, and the rest of the group rushes in.

The beast roars as it awakens, startling Snowy. Getting a hold of himself, he decides he won't be outdone by some Fur Boulder. He rushes in a gives the beast a blast of pheromones right in the face. The Boulder pulls back in alarm and amazement. Steve and Karl swarm the beast, joining Steve in close combat, while Pitt's Acid Spit seems to only anger the beast more.

Steve, feeling valorous, clambers up the beast's back and bites it soundly in the neck. Between his bite and the poison, the creature collapses to the ground.

Steve stands on the dead beast, and proclaims himself the Boulderslayer!

Outside, the orange ball sinks below the horizon and darkness descends on the strange land. A few workers arrive and begin to complain about how large the Boulder is. Snowy tells them to just bite the damn thing in to pieces and then carry it back.

The Ants, feeling like they have done enough for the moment, head back to the Colony.

Dead: 1 (Bundy)

Food: 3 (1 Fur Fish and 2 from the Boulder)

That's not the end of our adventure though. More to come!
_________________
Proud creator of Savage Swarm, a game about Giant Ants.

[Kakaze]

Did a quick fix on a few errors in the PDF. Thanks for spotting them everyone!
_________________
Proud creator of Savage Swarm, a game about Giant Ants.

[xxlgeeklord]

The link doesn't work. Great idea though.

[GranFalloon]

I am filled with glee.

[warrenss2]

Er...

Says "File Deleted".

Bet it was good too.
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[Kakaze]

Hey thanks for pointing that out. I edited the post to the link on my website.
_________________
Proud creator of Savage Swarm, a game about Giant Ants.

[pulphero]

very cool setting. I am looking forward to running this for my group.

[samuraicrab]

This is an awesome work. Thank you for sharing.

[Kakaze]

Thanks! How did your game go?
_________________
Proud creator of Savage Swarm, a game about Giant Ants.

[samuraicrab]

I think I'll run this game when I get back on my feet.

[samuraicrab]

Doe edges and traits stack? If I bought armor for the basic worker ants then made one of them a soldier would he have +2 toughness or
+1?

[Kakaze]

Well, generally speaking you can't take the same edge twice unless it is mentioned elsewhere. In the case of Armor, that is an innate ability and so it isn't purchasable. Its part of what separates Soldiers from the common Worker.

Should you wish to purchase a global toughness increase, get something like Brawny or increase your Colony Worker's Vigor. That will move out throughout the whole colony.
_________________
Proud creator of Savage Swarm, a game about Giant Ants.

[samuraicrab]

Okay lets try fighting dice. If I raise the workers fighting die by a step does it stack and increases the soldier's fighting dice by a step?