Savage worlds of Darkness

A Conversion from Monte Cook's World of Darkness to Savage Worlds

Pre-Playtest Version 0.11

What This Is What This Is Not

When I first read MCWoD, it was as if someone had Your first clue that this isn't a word-for-word
ignited a fire in my brain. This seemed to be just about reproduction of anything should be the length, but in
everything I could have hoped for in a World of case that isn't clear enough I will say this: this
document isn't meant to be used by itself. You will
Darkness game, since the Storytelling system isn't quite
require copies of the following:
my cup of tea; it just doesn't have the combat focus
that I enjoy in an RPG.
 Monte Cook's World of Darkness
However, as time progressed and the further I thought  Savage Worlds Explorer's Edition
about what I wanted vs. what was in MCWoD, I realized
 Necessary Evil5
that there was quite a bit of disparity. I didn't want
levels or classes. I didn't want Hit Points. I really
This is not an attempt to infringe on the copyrights of
didn't want Attacks of Opportunity. What I did want
either White Wolf Publishing or Pinnacle
was a system that was still reasonably combat-intensive
Entertainment Group.
yet did away with a lot of the D&D-esque role-playing
This is not an officially licensed product nor has it any
tropes.2
affiliation with either company.
I had tinkered around with changing the mechanics to a
All books are available wherever fine role-playing
couple of different systems, but my problems would all
games are sold, or online at their respective publisher.
boil down to the magic system not being free-form
enough3 or that combat was very stilted and disjointed
from the rest of the game.4

Eventually I came to the epiphany that Savage

Worlds could do just about everything I wanted –
with some minor modifications so that the magic
system from MCWoD could be easily integrated.

Hopefully my efforts here will enable you to jump

through fewer hoops that I have had to to make a more
combat oriented World of Darkness game a reality.
General Conversion Notes
While working any of the conversions from the D20
based MCWoD, I've found the following
approximations to be reasonably on target:
 The attributes correspond as follows:
○ Strength = Strength
○ Dexterity = Agility
○ Constitution = Vigor
○ Intelligence = Smarts
○ Wisdom = Spirit
○ Charisma = Charisma; in this case, any
bonuses to D20 Cha would result in ½ said
bonus to Savage Worlds Charisma
 Every increase of +2 to a given D20 attribute
should correspond to a die increase in Savage
Worlds; for example, a bonus of +4 would
result in 2 die increases
 Saving throws convert as Trait Tests using:
○ Fortitude = Vigor
○ Reflex = Agility
○ Will = Spirit
 Feats/abilities that reference level convert to
Ranks as follows:
○ Levels 1-5 = Novice
○ Levels 6-10 = Seasoned
○ Levels 11-15 = Veteran
○ Levels 16-20 = Heroic
 Damage from MCWoD (bite attacks and such)
translates directly over to Savage Worlds
 For Defense bonuses from various Abilities,
halve them and apply the resulting number as a
penalty to the opponent's combat Trait Test; for
example, a Vampire with two levels in
“Celerity” would invoke a -4 penalty to his
attacker's Shooting or Fighting rolls
 Penalties or bonuses should be scaled to match
the 1/2/4 Savage Worlds standard
 Each character type has access to a “Bonus”
ability every 10 XP; this ability is on top of any
Advances they would normally get, and is
determined by character type
Character Creation
For any of the character types, they may purchase
special abilities as Edges per the normal character
creation rules.6
AWAKENED
Awakened characters begin play with:
 2 “free” Edges
 18 Skill Points instead of the starting 15
 An additional die in their choice of attribute
 The equivalent of the “Scholar” Edge
applicable to any two non-combat skills, not
just Knowledge Skills
 Bonus ability: Awakened gain the equivalent of
an additional Advance every 10 XP or the
equivalent of the “Scholar” Edge as previous;
additionally, Awakened may begin to take the
Legendary “Professional” Edges at Veteran
(the other prerequisites still apply, just the
Rank requirement is changed)
DEMONS
Demon characters begin play with:
 An additional die in two attributes of choice,
which can be changed daily (in play); because
of this flexibility, these bonus die are applied
after character creation is complete and do not
count toward calculating future Skill increases
 12 Skill Points instead of the starting 15
 “Hardy” Monstrous Ability, and do not suffer
from Bleed Out
 A natural form which provides a “Horrific
Appearance” equivalent to a -4 Charisma
modifier; “normal” humans that see a Demon's
natural form must make a Fear check at a -2
 “Shapechanging” and “Darkvision” per
MCWoD
 As effective constructs, Demons do not benefit
from the Healing Skill nor Natural Healing
 One “free” Cant; additional Cants may be
purchased as Edges via Advances
 Demons suffer from either a “Craving” or
“Bane” per MCWoD with alterations:
○ “Craving” penalties per day are -4 for
common, -2 for uncommon and -1 for rare
 ○ “Banes” work as the “Allergy” Hindrance
from Necessary Evil with the following
changes: -1 penalty for common, -2 for
uncommon and -4 for rare
 Demons begin with 10 + ½ Vigor Anima (note:
do not count bonus die to Anima total)
○ Demons may spend one Anima to heal one
Wound
○ Demons may otherwise spend/restore
Anima as noted in MCWoD
 Bonus ability: Demons choose an additional
Cant every 10 XP
MAGES
Mage characters begin play with:7
 An additional die in either Smarts or Spirit,
depending on type of caster
 A d4 in the Spellcasting Skill, which is
associated with either Smarts or Spirit
depending on caster type; this Skill can be raised
as normal
 A choice of Path per MCWoD
 20 Power Points (PP), which can be raised by
the “Power Points” Edge as normal
magic8
 Mages may cast the majority of the Powers
from Necessary Evil as a Spell, using the
associated point cost of the given Powers
involved in said Spell, including any Modifier
bonuses
○ Spells from SWEE may also be used if
there is no analog in NE (for example,
“Light”)
○ The duration of Spells adjusted to Instant,
Short or Long
■ Short duration is 3 rounds (1 PP per
additional round)
■ Long duration is 10 minutes (1 PP per
additional 10 minutes)
■ Short duration should be used for most
combat oriented Spells, Long for non-
combat
○ More powerful Spells are harder to cast and
control; for every 5 PP a Spell costs, the
Spellcasting roll is at -1
○ The GM and Player will need to decide
upon which NE Powers are ineligible for
use in Spellcasting9
○ Example: A Mage wishes to animate a toy,
have it walk into a room and then explode
upon command
■ Construct said Spell using the
“Animation” (3 PP for under 10 lbs.)
and “Explode” (2 PP) Powers for a
total of 5 PP
■ The “Animation” would have a Long
duration, while “Explode” would be
Instant
 Mages start play with one “free” Gnosis;
additional Gnosis may be purchased as Edges
via Advances
○ Bonuses to Spellcasting from Gnosis will
provide +2 in SW
○ Bonuses to DC provide a -1 to Trait Tests
for target
○ Shakti Gnosis cause a Mage to
automatically become Shaken, which can be
bought off with Bennies
■ “Jolt” = basic “Attack, Melee” from
NE; the damage can be increased +1d6
per Wound the Mage is willing to incur
■ “Push” = “Telekinesis” from SWEE;
for horizontal movement only; Strength
may be increased one die per Wound
Mage is willing to incur
■ “Bolt” = basic “Attack, Ranged” from
NE requires an initial Vigor roll to
avoid a Wound on top of being Shaken;
the damage can be increased +1d6 per
Wound the Mage is willing to incur
■ “Hold” = “Telekinesis” from SWEE
requiring an initial Vigor roll to avoid a
Wound on top of being Shaken; cannot
manipulate weapons; Strength may be
increased one die per Wound Mage is
willing to incur
 A Spell is considered a Rote if it uses only one
Power and is not otherwise modified; such
Spells receive a +2 Spellcasting bonus
 Bonus ability: Mages can choose an additional
Gnosis or the Power Point Edge every 10 XP
VAMPIRES
Vampire characters begin play with:
 An additional die in Strength and Vigor
 12 Skill Points instead of the starting 15
 A Bite attack that does Str+d4
  “Predator's Taint” which allows the Vampire to
see another Vampire's Rank (unless hidden)
 “Hardy” Monstrous Ability, and do not suffer
from Bleed Out
 “Low-light Vision” and “Deathsleep” per
MCWoD
 Modifiers based off Clan:
○ Daeva: +2 Charisma, -2 Tests of Will
○ Gangrel: +1 Vigor die, -1 Smarts die
○ Mekhet: +1 Agility die, -2 Charisma
○ Nosferatu: +1 Strength die, -2 Charisma
○ Ventrue: +1 Smarts die, -1 Spirit die
 One “free” Discipline; additional Disciplines
may be purchased as Edges via Advances
 Vampires take 2d10 damage per round from
direct sunlight; partial exposure does
proportionately less
 As Undead, Vampires do not benefit from the
Healing Skill nor Natural Healing
 Vampires begin with 10 + ½ Vigor Vitae
○ Vampires may spend one Vitae to heal one
Wound
○ Vampires may draw Vitae equal to ½ a
creature's Vigor
○ Vampires may otherwise spend/restore
Vitae as noted in MCWoD
 Bonus ability: Vampires can choose an
additional Discipline every 10 XP
W EREWO LVES
Werewolf characters begin play with:
 An additional die in Strength and Vigor
 12 Skill Points instead of the starting 15
 “Shapechanging” per MCWoD except as
follows:
○ Beast form:
■ Additional die in Agility and Vigor
■ Pace of 8”
■ Bite attack of Str+d8
■ +4 bonus to Notice and Tracking
○ Hybrid form:
■ Bite attack of Str+d6, Claw attack of
Str+d6
■ Equivalent of “Frenzy” Edge when
attacking with both Bite and Claw
■ +2 to Notice
■ Two additional die in Strength and
Agility, additional die in Vigor
■ Hybrid form may be maintained for ½
Vigor rounds, plus one round for each
Primal Urge Rite
 “Sprint Healing” of 2/5
○ At the beginning of the Werewolf's turn, he
can choose to heal up to 2 Wounds
○ May recover no more than 5 Wounds per
day in this manner
 Modifiers based off Auspice:
○ Rahu: +1 Strength die
○ Cahalith: +1 Smarts die
○ Elodoth: +2 Charisma
○ Ithaeur: +1 Spirit die
○ Irraka: +1 Agility die
 Werewolves take double damage from silver
weapons, and Wounds incurred from silver
weapons may not be Healed by “Sprint
Healing”
 One “free” Rite; additional Rites may be
purchased as Edges via Advances
 Werewolves begin with 10 + ½ Vigor Essence
○ Werewolves may spend one Essence to
heal one Wound; this applies to Wounds
incurred by silver weapons
○ Werewolves may otherwise spend/restore
Essence as noted in MCWoD
 Bonus ability: Werewolves choose an
additional Rite every 10 XP
Final Thoughts
As I intend to actually use a variant of this in a
campaign of mine, please feel free to direct any
possible improvements or point out discrepancies that
I may have developed.
The version of this will change as I incorporate both
feedback and playtesting.
Thanks, and Go Play!
Steve “Dubya”
1 For a list of changes made to this revision, please see the listing here
2 For further rationale behind my decisions, see my musings here
3 I considered using the Unisystem magic system as written, using the MCWoD magic with the rest of the
Unisystem, using the magic rules from Mage: the Awakening with Unisystem, and finally trying to tie the magic
from MCWoD to Savage Worlds
4 I submit the nWoD Storytelling system as my prime example of this; while the rest of the system is beautifully
short and to the point, the combat mechanics leave me wanting for something a tad more granular
5 At the very least, a copy of the Necessary Evil Player's Guide, which contains all the Powers information
without the Plot Point setting of Necessary Evil
6 The converted character types are significantly more powerful than the typical Savage Worlds character, which is
keeping in line with the starting capabilities of a standard MCWoD character
7 Mages proved to be the biggest challenge for conversion, most of which hinged upon being capable of casting a
variety of different Spells while at the same time not being as bogged down in the minutia of the original magic
system
8 Coming up with a system that was neither as intricate as written in MCWoD while still being as versatile as
possible gave me the most headache out of any of the conversion material; presented is my attempt to balance
versatility and ease of use/play. I compared the starting Components for a 1st level Mage to various Rotes that
could be cast, and then compared similarly constructed Spells using my method to determine a rough starting
Power Point level; should this prove to be excessively high or low during play I will adjust as necessary
9 Recommended for removal are “Ageless,” “Construct,” “Gifted,” “Lair,” “Minions,” “Super Edge & Skill,”
“Super Sorcery” (as this version effectively replaces it), “Undead” and “Vehicle”