Many campaign settings have been inspired by the storytelling skills of one or a handful of great writers. Fritz Leiber, R.E. Howard, Jack Vance, and others inspired the AD&D game, and thus the beginning of fantasy role-playing. H.P. Lovecraft, the master horror writer of the early 20th century, has inspired many gamers to seek out Chaosium's Call of Cthulhu. J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, Edgar Rice Burroughs' Mars series, and Michael Moorcock's Elric saga have described very detailed worlds that have each led to their own role-playing games.
You can find skillful writers who favor nearly any field or historical time period, but one setting that has been largely overlooked in the gaming industry is the dawn of humanity, when rugged pioneers spread across the world, seeking new wonders and earning their right to survive with their wits, courage, and resourcefulness. During this time, humans discovered that together they could be a powerful force. When divided, they could be their own worst enemy.
William Sarabande, Jean Auel, Sue Harrison, and W. Michael & Kathleen O' Neal Gear lead a fabulous collection of writers whose works explore the possibilities of life among the earliest men. In a more fantastic vein, Edgar Rice Burroughs' "Caspak" series and certain elements of the popular Tarzan series demonstrate that living in a prehistoric setting has ample potential for adventure. For a fantasy apocalyptic view, Sterling Lanier creates a vivid world that spawns adventure ideas with every page.
The potential for adventure is of course, the mark of a good game world. In a prehistoric or savage setting, the first conflict to come to mind is obviously survival. The characters must find and kill food, protect their territory from animals and other characters, and defend their homes against others who might envy them. Above all, the characters must avoid becoming food for other creatures.
Although humans and demihumans band together, the tribes see much competition for leadership of the band. Often, the right to rule is decided by brute strength, but among the more successful tribes, the leader is chosen for his wisdom and decision-making ability. The desire for power and the machinations of those who wish to rule are always a source of adventure ideas, even when the people in question are roving hunters in search of food and safety.
The Savage Ages
When creating a setting, decide which prehistoric era appeals most to you and the players. Some allow for slightly more technology, giving the characters a bit of an edge against the monsters. The humans might cower among dinosaurs and other prehistoric beasts, or they might confidently walk abroad in the world, being on the verge of civilization and true dominance of the land.
The Age of Giants: The dominant creatures of the era are dinosaurs and possibly the forerunners of modern monsters from the standard AD&D worlds. Feel free to add unique creatures of your own design, preferably the large and meat-eating variety. The time displacement is measured in the millions rather than thousands of years. This time as no historical comparison, as no humans lived during the reign of dinosaurs. Characters have limited resources with which to protect themselves, making this era the most dangerous in which to survive.
The climate is somewhat hotter than present over most of the world, and different plants make even a pastoral forest seem alien. Different diseases might affect the characters; extremely different animals certainly threaten them.
The Age of Mammals: Giant mammals are the dominant life forms. Men live but more by courage and raw stamina than by intellect. Of the humanoids, the Neanderthals are the dominant species, aggressively driving forward the slightly smaller and weaker ancestors of men. The more adept use of tools and various clever inventions allow the ancestors of men to reach a status quo, which lasts for tens of thousands of years.
While this work recognizes the current theories that Neanderthals were not wiped out by the protohumans, but were rather assimilated, adding their genes to our ancestral DNA, a wholly antagonistic view has been presented for the role-playing possibilities. Feel free to change this attitude if it better suits your campaign.
The climate in the Age of Mammals has turned from warm and wet to almost universally cold. Ice covers large parts of the world, forcing most life forms toward the equator and bringing them into conflict for limited food and hunting area. Many creatures have adapted to the cold, giving them greater range to roam in search of food, but the food under the ice is scarce and hard to reach. Open or lightly covered tar pits dot some parts of the world, posing a deadly threat to those careless or foolish enough to fall in. Only the strongest and luckiest of creatures can escape once caught.
The Age of Men: The giant mammals still dominate the terrain, but they now fear man, his tools, and his cleverness. Against a lone man, however, none of these great beasts knows fear. The tools of humans have allowed them to gain an edge over the other creatures, and humans and demihumans have spread to nearly the entire world. Wandering tribes are found on all continents, and many have settled into permanent locations, incidentally becoming barbarians, rather than savages. By this time, many monsters common to standard AD&D are alive, but in different, possibly unrecognizable, form.
The Age of Copper: The age of copper is a short time span, characterized by the discovery of metals and knowledge of how to beat copper, gold, and silver into shape with a hammer. This age quickly runs into civilization as cold-forged tools quickly gave way to alloys, cast metals, and other technologies. Campaigns after this era may use The Age of Heroes and other reference books for inspiration and historical background. Roughly, this time period ended about 5000 years ago.
The Age of Rebirth: This setting is a post-apocalyptic world, in which civilization has been largely destroyed by magic or technology and, man's survival is again in question. The world of Athas, the Dark Sun setting is one such example. Humans and demihumans are scattered across a desolate wasteland, gathering together for protection against roving bands of desperate peoples who have even less than they. The world itself might have been affected by the cataclysm, bringing about changes in magic, new religions, and different races.
Savage Characters
Ability Scores & Races
For the most part, characters in a savage setting are like standard AD&D characters. They have the same ability scores and characteristics and use the normal methods for determining ability scores. Many races, however, are not appropriate. In many campaigns halflings are considered to be a younger race and might not be available as player characters until the age of copper or later. Gnomes also are often less old than their cousins the dwarves and might not be available. Elves and humans are more often at odds in a savage setting, having barely become friendly enough to barter and trade technologies. Offspring born of these two races are rare enough that even the term "half-elf" has to be explained. A PC could be a half-elf, but they are not met randomly. Both races consider half-elves embarrassments and often drive them into exile.
Suggested races are humans, dwarves, elves, and Neanderthals.
Neanderthals are a brutish race very similar to humans in many ways, but with sloping forehead, protruding jaw, and slightly greater physical strength. Neanderthals conform roughly to human characteristics of height and weight, although they are do not reach the same extremes of height. They tend to have more facial and body hair. They live to a maximum of 50 years of age, although many die violently before then.
Neanderthals hunting to foraging for food and make expert hunters. They can surprise an opponent under the same circumstances as an elf (that is, when alone and not in metal armor, which doesn't exist anyway), but the bonus is only half. Therefore, a Neanderthal's opponents suffer a -2 penalty to their surprise rolls, -1 if a gate of some sort must be opened. They themselves are suprised only on a 1.
As player characters, Neanderthals can be of any class except storyteller (described below), although they are limited to 13th level as thieves, 10th level as wizards, and 15th level as fighters or shamans. Neanderthals add +1 to their rolled Strength scores and subtract 1 point from Intelligence.
For campaigns using PO: Skills & Powers, Neanderthals have 10 CP to spend as they wish on the following choices, saving up to 5 CP for later use.
Cold resistance (5): +1 bonus on saving throws vs. cold- and ice-based attacsk, as the Neanderthal's body is less susceptible to extreme temperatures.
Difficult to surprise (5): +2 to the Neanderthal's surprise die, making him surprised only on a 1, unless other modifiers futher affect the check.
Stealth (5/10): The 5-point ability to surprise as described above. The elven/halfling level of skill can be purchased with 10 CP.
Stamina bonus (5): +1 bonus to the character's Stamina subability score. The character's Stamina score may be up to 5 points higher than his Muscle subability score.
Tough hide (5): A few Neanderthals have a natural AC of 8. If the character wears armor that would improve his AC to better than 8, this ability has no effect. If the character wears armor that gives him an AC of 8 or worse, he may add a +1 bonus to his AC. This ability is very helpful in the savage world of poor armor and frequent combat.
Classes
The detail and specialization of character classes in later ages does not exist in a savage setting. The independent nature of man is a double-edged sword. Humans and their kind can survive the harsh world, but each person must have a wide variety of skills.
Nearly everyone has skills equivalent to the non-weapon proficiencies (NWPs) of survival, hunting, fishing, endurance, seamstress/tailor, direction sense, pottery, running, set snares, and other skills that help to find or gather food, or create clothing, shelter, and common tools. All of these skills leave little room for specific class-related skills.
The need for immediate skills in the savage world allows all characters, regardless of class, to use any weapons and armor available in the setting. Wizards can wear armor and shamans can use stone axes. On the other hand, no character may specialize in any weapon. Warriors and others simply do not have the time to dedicate countless hours to the practice necessary for such levels of skill. Specific details on standard classes follows.
Fighters are relatively unchanged. They do not automatically gain followers, but may create their own tribe, as may any character. Creating a new tribe is a role-playing event and does not automatically happen at a given level.
Savage settings don't have paladins. The culture that produces these specialized warriors does not exist. Similarly, although many fighters choose skills similar to those of the ranger, (tracking, survival, and others), these protectors of the forests also do not exist.
Priests are different in appearance, but their spells and powers are largely unchanged. Their main difference is most obvious in role-playing rather than on the character sheet. The religion of the savage worlds is suitably primitive. Rich, developed mythologies have not yet appeared. The people practice pantheism, in which every aspect of nature is represented by a spirit. Each major geographic feature (such as a mountain or a river) houses a spirit. A spirit watches over each species of animal (eagles, deer, and horses, for example), and spirits represent the forces of nature (lightning or winter). These spirits rarely, if ever, take human form, and are not normally considered gods. Furthermore, the priests don't generally associate with any one spirit more than the others, and so don't decide on a particular patron. Priest characters simply venerate all of nature.
The first priests sought to understand nature, as nature was always the most important figure in savage life. It could be an unforgiving enemy or provide a miraculous bounty, but one who understood nature commanded great power. The tribal shaman was one who devoted his life to gaining an understanding of nature for the benefit of his people.
Several systems of magic are suggested for using shamans in play. One method is that presented in Spells & Magic, in which the shaman appeals to various spirits for aid. The sourcebook Shaman details even more choices for characters wishing to play a shaman character.
While the savage ages don't have druids as they are commonly portrayed in standard AD&D, a DM without access to either Spells & Magic or Shaman could allow the shaman to use spells identical to those of the druid. Like other characters, his weapons and armor are not limited. Also, the character does not belong to a restrictive hierarchy, with all of the benefits and hindrances that accompany the hierarchy. Shamans, like any characters, may be of any alignment.
Wizards are characters who attempt to master magic with their raw intellect and perseverance. The way they learn and cast spells is different than standard wizards because they do not use spellbooks. Their powers are in most ways inferior to later wizards. The path of the savage wizard is one of dedication and genuine interest. If a character wishes to gain power, the magic of the shaman will most likely prove more favorable. The exact use of the wizard's spell is described later, under the "Magic" section.
The thief's skills are affected by the technology of the age. Thieves have no open locks skill, for example, but find/remove traps is used to locate snares, pits, deadfalls, etc. A thief can no more read languages than any other character in a setting without writing. Instead, they have the helpful ability to detect magic, with a base chance of 10% (unaffected by Dexterity or by armor worn). The reduced overall number of skills actually helps thieves, since they can devote the same number of discretionary points to fewer skills, resulting in quicker development across the board. Neanderthal thieves have a +5% chance to move silently and climb walls and suffer a -5% chance to find/remove traps and detect magic.
Bards, the urban entertainers, do not exist in savage settings. A similar character, the storyteller, fulfills a similar role in the tribe, although most storytellers do not roam from place to place. Instead, they act as teachers, counselors, and entertainers for the tribe. They tutor children about the natural world with parables about the behavior of different animals. Their anecdotes about events that happened to the elders of the tribe might provide an evening of laughter and entertainment. These stories honor the subject of the story and amuse the tribe.
Storytellers do not cast spells and cannot play musical instruments that don't exist. They can use their talents without musical instruments, however, relying on their rich voices and persuasion to achieve results. Instead of spell use, storytellers enjoy a special position within the tribe, almost as high as a shaman or elder. Special customs might exist to protect the storyteller from harm by others within the tribe.
The storyteller retains three of the bard's normal four rogue abilities: pick pockets, climb walls, and detect noise. Read languages is lost, of course. Instead, the storyteller gains an important ability: resist charm. The ability functions as magic resistance against any enchantment/charm spell, and can be improved just like any other rogue skill, by adding points. The base chance is 5%, and it is unaffected by armor or Dexterity. Elves, however, have a +5% racial bonus.
Proficiencies
Weapon proficiencies are bought as in standard AD&D, with proficiency slots or with character points (for those using the Player's Options). Characters may buy proficiency in individual weapons, weapon groups, or specialize in a fighting style.
Specialization in a particular weapon is not allowed. Savage characters do not have the luxury of free time to devote to advanced weapons skills. They may spend much time in the actual application of the weapon, but they have little spare time for theory or to develop new techniques.
Available NWPs from the PH include the following, divided by group.
General: agriculture (which is very limited), artistic ability (limited to painting on natural surfaces and carving), cooking, dancing, direction sense, etiquette, fire-building, fishing, leatherworking, pottery, rope use, singing, swimming, weather sense, weaving.
Priest: healing, herbalism, religion, spellcraft.
Rogue: blind-fighting, disguise, juggling, jumping, reading lips, set snares, tightrope walking, tumbling, ventriloquism.
Warrior: animal lore, blind-fighting, bowyer/fletcher (if bows are allowed by the time period), endurance, hunting, running, set snares, survival (a General skill for savage characters, and reduced in cost to only 1 slot or 3 CP), tracking.
Wizard: herbalism, religion, spellcraft.
Most of these proficiencies are the same in PO: Skills & Powers. Sculpting is now separate from artistic ability, weather sense was renamed weather knowledge, direction sense became orienteering, and some other changes were made to rename or further specify the proficiencies. Optionally, some of the initial ratings might be raised or lowered to reflect the greater priorities in the lives of savage characters. Survival, for example, might be justifiably higher, as all characters live off the land, allowing for more
widespread knowledge of certain dangers or methods. On the other hand, agriculture might be a far more difficult skill to use, with a lower initial rating. Savages don't have great farms, but might have a small plot where they experiment with growing a few of their favorite plants.
Some traits are very beneficial to savage characters. Certain disadvantages, likewise, make good game sense and might be common among savages. The most likely traits are alertness, climate sense, empathy, fast healer, inherent immunity/cold, internal compass, any of the keen senses, light sleeper, or lucky. Common disadvantages include allergies, bad tempered, colorblind, cowardice, deep sleeper, irritating personality, phobias: darkness, heights, magic, specific monsters, snakes, spiders, water, and unlucky.
Equipment
Many items that players might consider necessary (or at least convenient) are unavailable during these time periods. No cut gemstones, no pockets, no paper, parchment or papyrus, no coins, and no domesticated animals of any sort existed in any of these time periods. The only metals available appear during the Age of Copper, when cold-forged copper, gold, and silver are available. These metals can be beaten into shape without heating, and are all occasionally found in pure form (or pure enough, anyway).
All trade is performed solely on a barter basis. Coins don't exist and won't be used for nearly 3,000 years after the first civilizations. The prices in the PH are used for reference only. A character might trade a spear for a good strong rope, or a strong axe for a waterskin and some durable clothes.
Since wealth is not very portable, characters can hardly own much more than they can carry. They might leave something hidden somewhere, but such a trove has a 5% chance of being discovered each year. You can adjust this chance upward or downward if characters visit it often (leading others to their hoard) or place magical protections on the place or are particularly clever in how they conceal it.
Domesticated animals are not used in any of these ages, except perhaps the Age of Rebirth. Characters might be expected to follow the herd of horses which provide their food, but won't even consider sitting on top of such a huge beast to help them keep up. Riding a horse might seem natural to a gamer, but it didn't occur to primitive peoples for literally tens of thousands of years. Other working animals, like dogs and oxen, also were not tamed during any of the prehistoric periods.
Equipment by Age
Many of these weapons and forms of armor are described in PO: Skills & Powers. Gamers without that accessory can ignore them or assign statistics based on similar weapons and armor.
Age of Giants and Age of Mammals: Weapons and tools include adze, axe/stone, bolas, boomerang, club, club/great, club/war, dagger/bone, dagger/stone, knife/bone, knife/stone, javelin/stone, lasso, quarterstaff, rock, sling (with stone), and spear/stone. Armor is limited to shield, hide, padded and light leather. Light leather is not boiled. Instead it is soft and pliant, but relatively tough. It provides AC 9 and weighs 4 pounds, covering the chest, the upper and sometimes lower arms, and the thighs.
Age of Men: Innovations among weapons include the blowgun, simple (as opposed to composite) bows, harpoons (of bone) and the staff sling. New armors include leather, cord, and wood or bone armor.
Age of Copper: Copper alone makes poor weapons. Once alloyed with other metals, it becomes a much better metal, but it also advances the time period beyond this range.
Some weapons, such as arrowheads, might be made with copper, but the game effect is slight, not affecting attacks or damage at all (although the weapons should have the superior saving throws of soft metal).
Age of Rebirth: Any weapons could exist, depending on the technology available to the civilization before it was destroyed. Once a weapon has been created, it is difficult to uncreate it. The materials with which it is made, however, depend on what is available. Bone swords and bronze plate mail might be common. Very advanced metal armors might exist, but they are held by only the best fighters. Furthermore, the technology needed to maintain these armors might not exist, leaving them to decay and be lost again for many hundreds of years.
Magic
In a world without writing, the standard AD&D magic system doesn't work. Instead, wizards in a savage setting must commit their spells to memory, never forgetting them when they are cast. This seeming advantage is offset by a limited ability to cast spells, a limit on the number of spells that can be learned, and the overall scarcity of magic spells.
A wizard can learns spells using the table normally reserved for determining the number of spells memorized in a day on page 30 of the PH. Thus, a 8th level wizard can store the knowledge of 4 first-level, 3 second-level 3 third-level, and 2 fourth-level spells in his mind. He knows these spells for life (barring some crippling brain damage). This
small repertoire leads wizards to choose their spells carefully, since they have a much smaller selection to choose from each day than a standard AD&D mage. Instead of 15 or 20 spells of a given level in spell book, for example, no savage wizard can never learn more than 5.
Obviously, the character cannot cast these spells at will over and over again. The number of spells of each level a wizard can cast each day is determined by using the bard's table for memorizing spells. The 8th-level wizard above can cast any 3 first-levels spells, 3 second-level, and 1 of his third-level spells, in any combination during the day.
This ability is renewed each dawn, no matter where the caster is when dawn comes. If the player wishes, and the DM agrees, another time can be chosen for the wizard to renew his spells, but this time cannot change once established. Thus, a character might have his spellcasting ability renewed at noon each day, at dusk, or at midnight. The player should base this decision on the character's background, rather than on expected game advantages. If he wishes to renew his spells at midnight, for example, maybe his
character experiences particularly vivid dreams at night; the more spells he has cast during
the day (and thus the more he needs restored), the more bizarre are his dreams.
Furthermore, although the wizard has no spellbook which he must guard carefully, he must carry a talisman of some sort. This talisman is often the tooth or claw of a dangerous beast, but sometimes it is a pouch of ash, clay bowl, or any other object the character wishes. If this object is lost or destroyed, the caster loses all ability to cast his
spells until a new one is made or found.
Creating a new talisman normally takes 1-2 weeks, although the actual event can be played out if you desire. The talisman should not be an item the character can simply pick up off of the ground. It should somehow symbolize the character's quest for magical knowledge, courage, or devotion to his people.
Once writing was developed, this inefficient system was quickly abandoned in favor of the ability to learn more spells and change the spells known on a daily basis. Also, access to more spells and higher level spells was quickly discovered.
Material components are changed to reflect materials available during the time period. Teeth, fur, claws, plants, certain mineral ores, and other items are acceptable material components. Miniature windmills, steel daggers, parchments, and other items which do not exist obviously can not be used.
For campaigns using PO: Spells & Magic, savage wizards gain spell points as bards, but free magicks cost no more than fixed magicks. In this case, savage wizards can cast spells for greater effect by spending more spell points when casting but cannot choose any of the other options (saving spell points by using a prolonged casting time or reduced power, for example). Systems from that book that might be used with the flavor of a
Savage setting include channelers (the best), preservers/defilers, and possibly warlocks/witches, represented by some of the less friendly spirits.
With no scrolls or spellbooks, characters must learn spells orally, directly from a teacher. Learning a spell from another character who knows the spell takes one week per spell level and a successful Intelligence check on the part of the student. The intelligence check is made at -1 per spell level studied. Failure means the student must start over, but the second try (and subsequent attempts, if necessary) takes only half as long. Thus, a character wishing to learn a third-level spell must spend three weeks with a teacher, and then make an Intelligence check at -3. If the check is failed, another can be made after 11
days (half of 3 weeks, rounded up), and every 11 days thereafter until the student learns the spell or the student or the teacher gives up.
Experience
Experience points are awarded normally, with few changes. Characters may earn experience for being the first to do any of several things, however, and in this primordial world, many "firsts" remain to be established.
A character who travels to a new land and explores it, learning about hazardous terrain and dangerous monsters, receives xp according to the danger, size of the land, and time spent. Exploring a large field is pretty simple, as the character can stand on a rock and see for miles. In a forest, as a dozen deaths could await the character within a stone's throw. When a character or group explores an area where no other intelligent races live (or at least communal races like dwarves, elves, and humans), they normally gain
experience for defeating monsters and overcoming hazards. An additional amount equal to one quarter of that amount is appropriate for the pioneers. This bonus represents compensation for the lack of available help should the party find themselves overmatched and lack of safe haven to rest between adventures.
Discovery of a new resource for the tribe, aside from an entire geographic area, is worth 250 xp. A source of fresh water, a natural orchard, or a large cave in which the tribe can hide during a storm are good examples. Of course, the resource must be safe enough for the tribe to use.
Establishing trade with a new tribe as a result of brave deeds, good diplomacy, or fortunate circumstances is beneficial to both tribes. The new tribe might be larger or smaller than the characters, it might be another race, or it might be radically different in culture or appearance. An event this important should not take less than a game month to negotiate, and since both tribes wander, they should not be constantly available to each other. A good rule of thumb is that the two tribes meet once or twice a year as they each
make a large annual circle following game. The characters who establish relations with another tribe should each earn 500 xp, double if they had to overcome past antipathy or great physical hazards in order to negotiate an agreement.
Treasure
Money and jewelry based on metals and gems are unknown in prehistoric settings, although they could exist in an Age of Rebirth. Jewelry that does exist is made of teeth, claws, beads, shells, or other natural substances. Its value is much lower as a trade item than those made of precious metals or gems because the items are so common and the skill needed to make the items is common. These items might have a comparative value of up to 20 gp for purposes of barter. Individual teeth or claws might be worth up to 5 gp,
depending on the monster from which they came.
Of more value to characters than common physical possessions are influence and magic items, both of which are detailed here.
Influence
Most of a character's interaction in a Savage setting is with members of his own tribe, which might be as small as an extended family of 30 or so, to a huge wandering mass of 100,000. Since the concept of wealth is radically different in a Savage setting than in a convention AD&D world, the most important treasure a character can have is influence.
Influence represents the character's impact on his own people. Children, fools, and cowards have low influence. Nobody cares what they have to say, and their words are largely ignored. Chieftains, shamans, heroes, and skilled craftsmen are admired and eagerly sought out for their advice. Characters with high influence command a desirable position within the tribe. They can use their influence to sway others in council, command
others on a hunt or in battle, or gain favors from other important members of the tribe.
Base influence is 1 point for every 4 character levels, rounded up. Most characters have a low influence rating, indicating that their daily lives affect only their family members and close friends. Characters with a influence 11 or higher are known to many members of the tribe, and can count on gathering the support of others when they speak
out, either for or against other members of the tribe. Characters with a 16 or higher are
considered leaders of the tribe. They might not have autocratic leadership of the group, but their words sway many members of the tribe.
Modifiers to Influence
Wisdom 13-16 +1
Wisdom 17+ +2
Charisma 13-16 +1
Charisma 17+ +2
Save the life of an elder/ leader +1
Skill useful to the tribe +1 (includes the storyteller class skill)
The best at a certain skill +2 (not cumulative with useful skill)
Spellcasting ability +2 (not cumulative with useful skill)
Saves whole tribe +2
Chieftain +4
Different behavior -1
Associating with strangers -1
Fleeing a fight -1 (represents a character action; if the whole group flees, no individual loses influence)
Endangers the tribe -2
Theft -2
Long periods away from the tribe -2
Murder -4
Characters can use influence to sway others in their tribe to their point of view, whether they suggest hunting in a particular area, cooperation with another tribe, or the exile of a criminal. Thus, if the PCs fall out of favor with the shaman, they might find themselves pitting their influence against his for their right to remain in the tribe. Low level characters (and therefore with low influence) are probably in trouble, barring some eloquent speaking. Characters of medium influence might be able to convince a small portion of the tribe to depart with them, or at least give them some food for their dangerous travels until they can find another tribe. Characters with high influence might
be able to turn the tribe against the shaman for his unjust treatment, resulting in the tribe ignoring his ravings or possibly exiling him instead.
Using influence is similar to making a proficiency check, in that a roll is made against the character's score. When two or more characters disagree, each rolls against his score and compares the results, with the highest successful score making his point or convincing the other parties. When speaking to a group whose highest individual influence is lower than the speakers (such as the chieftain addressing the tribe), the
character simply makes a roll to determine success or failure. Instead of using a d20,
however, 2d10 are rolled and added together. The two dice generate a bell curve instead of a linear curve and give the advantage to characters with a high influence. This system helps prevent characters with a low influence from determining the course of the entire tribe, leaving major decisions in the hands of the leaders, where they belong.
Characters who acquire a high influence often become leaders of the tribe or split to become leaders of their own tribe. The method for choosing a leader varies from tribe to tribe, but leadership might be hereditary, decided by vote, or selected by the chief shaman. He might be the best in the tribe in ritual combat (first hit or best in wrestling).
A character who wishes to split a tribe must approach the leader in influence (within 3 points) and have some right (relation, support of the shaman, close vote, etc.) to lead.
Generally, only 1d6 % of the tribe members follow the new leader. Characters who try to leave with more than this, however, incur the full opposition of the leader, who uses his own (generally much higher) influence to bring people back. If the character attempts it anyway, you can allow the player to make an influence check and compare it to the current leader's influence. If the NPC convinces others to stay, and the PC cannot
convince others to leave, the character could actually lose support.
For example, should Irok, a PC storyteller of influence 16, decide to leave the Red Leaves tribe because he knows of a land where the food is plentiful, and the current leader, Forri (influence 18), claims that the journey is too long, Irok can convince 1d6% of
the tribe to move with him in search of the new land. He rolls a 1. Feeling that he really
has nothing to lose, Irok tries to use his influence to gather more support. He rolls a 15,
beating Forri's 12 and bringing in another 1d6%, rolling a 4. Added to his first roll, he has 5% of the tribe following the migrating mastodons across the ice bridge with him. He wisely decides not to compare his influence against Forri's again and risk losing a contest. A lucky roll for Forri could take his entire group back. Irok and his small band set off in search of a better place.
Magic Items
Items which have not yet been invented cannot be enchanted! Meanwhile, primitive man can reatively apply available enchantments to many different common items. The first magic items were likely either common weapons and armor or wands of
few charges.
Age of Giants/Mammals. The only magical items available during this time period are wands, rods, naturally occurring objects such as stones, and the scant weapons and armor that existed. Many of them certainly bore different powers from those commonly associated with the current uses of these items. An animal's skin might serve as a magical robe or cloak, or possibly a carpet of flying or other useful device. A leopard skin of welcome, for example, might be far more appropriate than a common rug of welcome.
Age of Men. Magical items from this age include rods, staves, wands, beads, bags, bowls, cloaks, drums, dusts, gloves, robes, stones, and weapons and armor (including shields). The most plentiful magical items are figures of wondrous power, of which a wide variety appear. The animals which dominated the air, sea, and land inspired awe in
primitive men, who sought to control these powers through magic such as these figurines.
Ominously, the dreaded sphere of annihilation is known to have existed during this time period. These terrible items might have been naturally occurring phenomena, created by other races, or perhaps were the accidental result of a magical experiment. Given the spells available to them, men and elves during this age should not have been able to create such items.
Age of Copper. With the addition of copper, gold, and silver for tools and jewelry, a wide assortment of magical items appears for the first time. Other developments also allow items not considered before. Rings, talismans, amulets, medallions, robes, boots, gloves, brooms, horns, and potions appear.
Age of Rebirth: All standard magic items might exist as remains of the earlier civilization. New items might be created, and old items might take on a new form (such as the potion fruits of Athas, for example). New magic items often reflect the changes in the world, offering protection from new hazards or divinations to find once-common
resources like food or water.
Encounters
Monsters roam the land, prowl the seas, and soar through the skies in each of the savage eras. Certain monsters adapt and prosper, and others disappear. Most of the humanoid races arose during the age of men, ironically as humans and their ilk had finally weakened the dominance of gigantic land monsters. These lists are far from complete and should be fleshed out by adding some smaller and common monsters with which to
challenge the PCs. In the Age of Giants, for example, few monsters have less than 4 HD,
making combat for beginning characters extremely dangerous. Fortunately, few, if any of these monsters, possess magic which can be used against the heroes.
Generally, the eras are cumulative, so that in the Age of Mammals, for example, the characters might still meet aboleths, hook horrors, and rocs--creatures from the Age of Giants. Other creatures have been killed off (namely dinosaurs, but others as you decide) or retreated to isolated places where they no longer encounter humans, as in the case of the gargantua.
Monsters not on the list either appear later, or can be used infrequently earlier. Most of the monsters omitted are extra-planar creatures such as genies that don't appear on the Prime Material Plane unless summoned. They appear later, after the conventional AD&D spellbook-based magic system allows new, more powerful spells. Basic
elementals, however, have always been able to visit the Prime Material through naturally
occurring gates.
Age of Giants: aboleth, ankheg, basilisk, giant beetle, behir, bird/boobrie, bulette, cave fisher, centipede/tunnel, crustacean/giant, dinosaur (any), elemental (any), fish/giant, catfish, fish/manta ray, fish/shark & giant shark, fungus/all, galeb duhr, gargantua/any, giant/any, hatori, hook horror, insect/any, mold/any, mudman, octopus/giant, remorhaz, roc, scorpion, slug/giant, squid/giant, umber hulk, xorn, zaratan
Age of Mammals: bat/common, bat/large, bat/huge, bear/cave, cat/smilodon, catoblepas,
crocodile/giant, elephant/mammoth, elephant/mastodon, ettercap, grippli, hydra, kuo- toa, lizard/any, mold man, ooze/slime/jelly (any), otyugh, pudding/deadly (any), quaggoth, rat,
roper, sahuagin, spider/any but phase, thri-kreen, treant, troll, wolf/dire, wyvern, yeti
Age of Men: bullywug, carrion crawler, doppleganger, dragon, griffon, grimlock, hag/any, hobgoblin, horse, imp/any, kobold, leucrotta, lizard man, mammal/herd, orc, rakshasa, satyr, stirge, tasloi, troglodyte, wemic, whale/any, yuan-ti
Age of Copper: centaur, dryad, goblin, harpy, hell hound, hippogriff, kenku, lamia, lammasu, locathah, mammal/any, manticore, mind flayer, naga, nymph, pegasus, peryton, plant/intelligent (any), rust monster, sea lion, shedu, sphinx/any, su-monster, tabaxi, wolf, wolf/warg, wolf/winter
Age of Rebirth: Any, depending on the nature of the cataclysm that changed the world. In many cases, the weirder the monster, the better. Certain standard races should increase or decrease in frequency. For example, orcs might have been destroyed or driven off the surface. Instead, a race of short, non-regenerating trolls might be common terrors. The underground orcs, in turn, might become something more akin to grimlocks (use the grimlock statistics, but the orc appearance and weapon mix).
For customization, at least one class of creatures should be wiped out. Maybe all human-combination creatures like centaurs, sphinxes, and wemics are gone. Elementals and their kin might be shut out from the world. The anchor which holds a part of the dead to the world might be changed, banning most undead.
Random Savages
Age of Giants
01-15 Dwarf
16-25 Elf
26-60 Human
61-00 Neanderthal
Age of Mammals
01-20 Dwarf
21-30 Elf
31-60 Human
61-00 Neanderthal
Age of Men
01-20 Dwarf
21-35 Elf
36-75 Human
76-00 Neanderthal
Age of Copper
01-20 Dwarf
21-30 Elf
31-95 Human
96-00 Neanderthal
Age of Rebirth
01-20 Dwarf
21-35 Elf
36-80 Human
81-90 Other standard race
91-00 Custom or new race
Dwarves are fighters (50%), shamans (10%), thieves (30%), or storytellers (10%)
Elves are fighters (40%), shamans (10%), thieves (30%), wizards (10%), or storytellers
(10%).
Humans are fighters (50%), shamans (10%), thieves (25%), wizards (5%), or storytellers
(10%).
Neanderthals are fighters (60%), shamans (10%), thieves (25%), or wizards (5%).
A negligible number of dwarves and elves are multi-classed. Humans and neanderthals cannot become multi-classed.
Savage Adventures
Adventures arise from conflict. The characters meet hostility from their own tribe as they gain popularity (which comes with levels and brave deeds). NPCs of higher influence in the party's tribe will often send them on missions of hidden complication and danger. They might further the good of the tribe, but someone's influence will often be lowered as a result (the PCs unwittingly prove him wrong, or go where he was afraid). The party earns an enemy and gain an ally. Allies bring with them their own enemies, of course, and the level of intrigue rises.
Simple adventures center around hunting monsters, scouting out terrain ahead of the group when migrating, and searching for lost or delayed members of the tribe. The capture of a live monster for the tribe elders to study might be ordered. A "coming of age" ceremony might require one or more characters to engage in a dangerous game of tag with a slow but fierce monster. Religious rituals might require feeding a small animal to a mysterious aboleth. Hunting the game might not be a problem, but the monster might not be content with the offering and seek to eat the offerers!
Eventually the characters meet members from other tribes. They themselves might be from different tribes, as tribes are generally homogenous of race. On meeting the other
tribe, they might be caught up in that tribe's internal conflicts as well as their own. The new tribe might be initially hostile to the characters, requiring them to do some fast thinking and talking to escape. The tribe might also be friendly, but huge. They want to hunt nearby, which would deplete the party's tribe's resources. The characters could try to negotiate with the newcomers, use their influence to convince their own tribe to hunt elsewhere, join the new tribe, or resolve the problem another way.
Whether they fight huge monsters that require their cooperation, skill, and luck to defeat, or engage in a prolonged debate with an aged crone over the future of the tribe, the threat to the party is real and immediate. Dangers in savage settings are often larger than life and the characters must be able to meet them.
Wizard Spells
This list includes nearly all wizard spells available. In order to reflect the changes in magic since the Savage ages, you should customize the list by adding at least two spells at each level. These spells were meant to aid in the struggle to survive and often deal with direct usefulness and the natural world. Subtlety is rare.
Some spells were improved in usefulness when the magic system was changed by the introduction of writing and spellbooks, notably magic missile and phantasmal force. Since these spells were extremely popular and very potent, exhaustive research by thousands of wizards over the years resulted in a lower current casting level for each.
None of the listed spells has a reversible option. Enlarge, stone to flesh, and remove curse are among those affected by this restriction. As a final note, wizards who use this system cannot learn or cast spells higher than sixth level, unless your campaign uses Exceeding the Level Limit option from Players Option: Spells & Magic, which
allows spellcasters to cast spells of a higher level than normal at the expense of many lower-level spells. In that case, continue to use the bard spell progression table, but only allow 6 or fewer standard AD&D spells at 7th level. If you use this system and allow the higher level spells, suggested 7th and 8th level spells are listed as well. Even with PO: Spells & Magic, spells 3 levels higher than normal cannot be cast.
L1 cantrip, charm person, comprehend languages (spoken only), dancing lights, detect magic, enlarge, floating disk, light, protection from evil, shield, spider climb, ventriloquism
L2 continual light, detect evil, ESP, invisibility, levitate, locate object, magic missile, magic mouth, mirror image, phantasmal force, strength, web
L3 clairaudience, clairvoyance, dispel magic, fly, gust of wind, haste, infravision, lightning bolt, monster summoning I, slow, suggestion, water breathing
L4 charm monster, enchanted weapon, fear, minor globe of invulnerability, polymorph
other, remove curse, shadow monsters
L5 animate dead, chaos, cone of cold, conjure elemental, feeblemind, passwall, stone shape, teleport
L6 anti-magic shell, conjure animals, control weather, death spell, enchant an item, stone to flesh, part water, true seeing
L7 banishment, duo-dimension, finger of death, limited wish, mass invisibility, vanish
L8 mass charm, maze, mind blank, permanency, sink
* The floating disk is much older than the archmage Tenser, after whom it is now named.
Attaching his name to this ancient and popular spell is one of the greatest public relations
coups of all time.