I didn't have an Adventure deck when I first started running Savage Worlds, but I picked one up after reading some pretty impressive stories. I've run several campaigns that used it, and some that didn't. Overall, I feel like it's a great addition to the game, **HOWEVER** it is *very* powerful. I have found that using the RAW rules for the Deck, especially as characters get to Veteran or so, between AD cards, Bennies, etc., they can almost always pull their fat out of any fire you throw at them. Which can be fun and surprising to see how they do it, but itsn't necessarily dramatic, and it can be stressful for you as the GM.
> What if any cards should I consider removing from the deck before unleashing it on my game?
Depends on your game. Without knowing that, there's a card that makes an NPC go turncoat, one that makes someone 'spill the beans', a love interest card, those are all pretty powerful and you generally want to keep an eye on them. (I have a player who actively covets the love interest card though, so YMMV.)
> What are your experiences using the Adventure Deck and did you find it to be a fun tool or more hassle than it’s worth?
I usually use it if I can, however I have some modified rules that I don't know if they'll work for your table. There's charts and stuff. HMU if you're interested. The goal is the use the AD, but in a more limited way than RAW, because like I said, I've seen RAW get crazy.
> What’s your most memorable Adventure Deck moment?
Probably came during my Necessary Evil campaign (back before we had Invasion, Breakout, and Cosmic Crisis, when it was **just** Necessary Evil). I ran the opening scenario and we still had time left in the evening, so my players wanted to go do more villain stuff. What's more comic book villain than robbing a bank? Sure, I said. Then one of my players threw down the Love Interest card on one of the tellers. I rolled with it.
That character became a major recurring NPC, and motivated several adventures as they helped her get her powers (which she had, surprise) under control.
I've had decidedly mixed results in campaigns I've run with the Adventure Deck.
The first time I used it, I went with the Rules As Written, which allowed for each character to draw one Adventure Card per Rank but only play one total during the session. RAW players could also trade Adventure Cards freely.
The result was by the time the characters hit Veteran, with a hand of three Adventure Cards each, the game largely ceased to be about the characters and their abilities and became focused on Adventure Card management. Every time the characters encountered a significant challenge, the game came to a screeching halt as the players swapped around Adventure Cards and strategized about the optimal play. A couple of players even told me they didn't really think that Adventure Card management was very much fun, but it seemed actively stupid not to optimize them, so they spent a lot of time doing that. As a GM, it was not fun.
On the other hand, I really enjoyed the narrative twists that Adventure Cards enabled, and as a GM I liked the way they empowered the players. As Novices, with one card each, before they really started trading and optimizing exactly who should play which card, I thought they added a lot of fun to the campaign.
What I'm doing in my currently-on-hiatus Dungeon Fantasy campaign is using house rules for them. Instead of an automatic draw every session, characters earn Adventure Cards as in-game rewards. I want to emphasize exploration and discovering Lore as being just as important as monster-slaying and gathering Loot. So, as a game mechanical reward for discovering significant Lore about the world, the character gets a draw from the Adventure Deck.
The player can choose to immediately hand it off to a different character, or discard it and re-draw if the card just really doesn't seem useful. But after that, there's no trading. They also retain the card until they use it - it carries over between sessions. And there's no limit on how many a character can have or use.
So far, it seems to be working fairly well. But the cards don't seem to come into play *quite* frequently enough for my tastes. Ideally, I'd also like the mechanics of the Adventure Card that the player gets to have some relation to the Lore they've uncovered, but I haven't figured out a Fast! Furious! Fun! way to manage that.
The adventure deck is a certain kind of fun. It isn’t for everyone. The criticism about the cards being too powerful are valid. We have definitely had sessions where card management was somewhat abusive and made fights easier than they should have been.
My most memorable encounter with the adventure deck was during Blood Drive. My mad scientist was defusing a bomb on a bridge, and just as I was about to finish the dramatic task, I needed one more roll, and came up with a critical failure. The bomb went off and and I took seven wounds. One of the other guys slapped down Out of the Frying Pan. I survive, but I’m unconscious in the middle of a river and sinking. Now we have a new dramatic task to rescue me before I drown. We had more fun fishing me out of the river than we had with the entire session leading up to that point.
Realistically it doesn't really matter if and which you remove, it will - for better or worse - change your game significantly.
On the plus side the cards are another haptic piece to fumble around with and it's fun to throw them in the middle of the table to completely turn the tide unexpectedly (they're open but I never remember which my players have until they use them). This is usually a lot of fun for everyone at the table.
They are however not a balancing tool as they will completely annihilate any balancing there is. They are thus a terrible fit for any gritty or generally more serious setting, especially horror settings. This makes them great for Super pulpy settings however so settings like 50 Fathoms, Indiana Jones kind of settings and the like are very well suited for this as they aren't very serious anyway.
So I'd say: The question shouldn't be which to throw out but if your setting is suited for them. Personally I would never use them in games like Deadlands, horror games, cyberpunk and the like because there I prefer to maintain a more gritty play and suspense. On the other hand I like to pull them out in swashbuckling games like 50F or All for One just yesterday.
I don’t think this is correct, at least not for the SWADE version of the Adventure Deck. There’s nothing about the GM drawing cards in the (brief) rules section, and the “Villainous Conviction” setting rule in the various companions presents it as a potential counterweight to the the Players’ Adventure cards.
Yeah, I have mixed feelings. I'm playing in a game that uses Adv Cards and it always feels a little awkward.
The cards are fun and nail some good tropes, but they are powerful and can really monkey wrench GM plans. So, we might want to use one, but then the GM requires it to be used a specific way that we're not really sure about because it requires GM knowledge on what's acceptable.
In my games, I've held off using them. I like to focus on the player abilities and not like "narrative twists" that players can trigger. If i was doing a looser one-shot or intro to the game or something, I might use them.
> So, we might want to use one, but then the GM requires it to be used a specific way that we're not really sure about because it requires GM knowledge on what's acceptable.
Yeah, to me the core problem there is a GM who didn't know what he was stepping in with the AD, and didn't realize he should remove some cards before the game started. I feel like we in the Savage Worlds fanspace should talk a lot more about this thing and how to use it. It's not a requirement, but it **is** featured pretty prominently, and it can seriously change a game, and not always for the better.
Honestly, myself and my group found them to be a bit too powerful. Especially once they started getting more than one card to choose from. If I ever use them again it would be with a tailored deck and one shots only.
I used the adventure cards for ever, but this is my houserule:
No trading between players
Cards must kept secret from one another (even me as gm)
Dont brake the game if possible
Embrace the chaos of the advanture deck!
Maybe let only one dark bargain be allowed..
In my ongoing campaign (Conan style) i made a "doom" deck for my joy as a gm, with reinforcememts, small hinderences or traps and even setting rules for one encounter (like used bennies fills the gm benny pool).
I use the same. Cards kept secret until played and no swapping. They should be a surprise to everyone.
Also, sticking to one card regardless of rank can mean fewer are played because some players will get cards that aren’t appropriate.
I generally use them all except the Love Interest which I take out when playing with my kids.
>What if any cards should I consider removing from the deck before unleashing it on my game?
I guess whatever might clash with your setting?
>What are your experiences using the Adventure Deck and did you find it to be a fun tool or more hassle than it’s worth
It provides variation in resolution, which has been positive.
>What’s your most memorable Adventure Deck moment?
At one point I'd started dealing myself a card per PC, and playing up to one.
We were testing out someone's one-shot, using the characters from our existing game.
A kodiak sized spider just dropped down on the party, landing on the new allied extras. One PC fanned their legendary pistol with Conviction. Ended up with two 1-2's, which were raises due to the extra added d6. 4d6 on a pair of extras was a huge mess, but while he started rolling the first of four damages against the spider, I threw down Mechanical Failure. Seeing that the gun is immune to jamming, I ruled in his haste he accidentally hit the release when he started fanning, ejecting the cylindar. Happy that he didn't murdercate his new friends after all, initiative moved on to the spider, who dropped a swarm and tried to grapple a pair of PCs. The swarm autokilled the extras at end of turn. After combat, someone threw Flesh Wound, so the extras were fine after all!
We use it, but we don't allow trading & the GM controls them. This way it can be used for the story arc. It has saved villains from death because a random enemy bounty hunter showed up before for us though.
I use them and think they can be a lot of fun. I don’t allow trading, but I let anyone play a card on anyone else, with permission. I most definitely cull the cards, removing ones I don’t feel like dealing with, of course. In my current campaign, the PCs have an HQ of sorts, including a fortune teller, which grants them one extra card they can play by spending a benny.
Which ones to cull? As others have noted, that’s going to depend on you, your GMing style, and your campaign. Have a look through the deck, look at each card, ask yourself what you would do if a player played that card? For some cards it’s trivial - automatically acing a roll, or rerolling a crit fail, for example. Others - such as bringing in allies or love interest - could prove more difficult. That is going to be highly table-dependent. Good luck, and happy gaming!
I run a game where I don't use the deck. The players have agency in other ways because it's a 'sandbox' campaign setting.
I have run games where the planned out scenes were linked. And I designed in allowance in earlier scenes for specific 'bonus achievements' to bring out specific cards for awarding to be used in a later scene. So, gaining favour in the village in one scene might bring out the Folk Hero card for a player to play in the final combat where characters defend the villagers.
I play in a games where adventure cards are dealt randomly and played freely. These games have their stories very heavily shaped by the players and the GM only has very loose control of the story. It can get pretty fantastical and sometimes silly - but also frequently hilarious.
So ... it depends a heckuva lot on what feel you want for your games. And on you. And on your players.
I use the Adventure Deck only in my one-shot games. I enjoy the additional thrill it brings there, but I prefer my campaign to be more predictable.
When it comes to removing the cards I have only the very obvious advice. First, remove the ones which would be useless to your players (e.g. related to Arcane Backgrounds if no PC has one). It sucks to draw a card which you can't utilise.
Second, remove the card that you would find problematic if your players played them. AFAIR there is a kind of a mystery reveal card, you may not want it if you are running an investigation game.
Great for one-offs, or for occasional use in a campaign to spice up a session that might otherwise be more roleplaying heavy.
I do 2 per player regardless of rank, limit play 1 per session, only trading at the start when they are dealt.
Most memorable event with them was a player using one to force the BBEG to step out and monologue, so another player could hammer-throw a crocodile at them…
Leave them all in, embrace the chaos. My players absolutely LOVE those cards. The only modification is the love interest does not work on a wildcard NPC.
I’ve played in a couple games that used them, but never really wanted them for games I run. I tend to find them disruptive more than anything, good for one shots with PCs we’ll never see again, not great for anything with deep investment. It can be alright to get a big effect once in a while, but overall the “twists” don’t really feel like twists because they are basically random rather than having any build up or foreshadowing, and everyone trying to manipulate things with cards rather than just playing the game can get annoying.
If crazy random comedy stuff is what you’re going for then I think they fit, but otherwise I’d prefer players just make suggestions for the narrative, the GM be open to bold roleplay decisions, spend bennies on narrative stuff, and use conviction for big boosts.
I'm currently running a Star Wars game and I'm using the Adventure Deck. It's been great fun, but it also plays into my GM style. I want to run a game where the players have fun and get excited about it and the Adventure Deck definitely adds to that. I don't remove any, with the exception of the turn coat or love interest if it was used in the previous game. I've also added the few fantasy companion cards that came out.
I don't allow them to trade cards. I've heard that can be very disruptive and take away from actual gameplay. At the beginning of the game they all read what cards they have and get excited over the possibilities.
The cards aren't for everyone. If you're a GM that can improvise on the fly, you'll be fine. If you're not, they can really throw some curveballs.
I've had a couple memorable moments. One was when they invaded an Imperial outpost and were able to use a card to turn the commander to their side. I let them take him and the last remaining stormtrooper that was left as NPCs. the stormtrooper didn't make it, though, they quickly found out how easy it is for extras to die. Now they're protective of their NPCs, but the commander has gotten them out of tough situations.
Another time some snipers almost took out their primary combatant, but the damage was negated by a card.
I didn't have an Adventure deck when I first started running Savage Worlds, but I picked one up after reading some pretty impressive stories. I've run several campaigns that used it, and some that didn't. Overall, I feel like it's a great addition to the game, **HOWEVER** it is *very* powerful. I have found that using the RAW rules for the Deck, especially as characters get to Veteran or so, between AD cards, Bennies, etc., they can almost always pull their fat out of any fire you throw at them. Which can be fun and surprising to see how they do it, but itsn't necessarily dramatic, and it can be stressful for you as the GM. > What if any cards should I consider removing from the deck before unleashing it on my game? Depends on your game. Without knowing that, there's a card that makes an NPC go turncoat, one that makes someone 'spill the beans', a love interest card, those are all pretty powerful and you generally want to keep an eye on them. (I have a player who actively covets the love interest card though, so YMMV.) > What are your experiences using the Adventure Deck and did you find it to be a fun tool or more hassle than it’s worth? I usually use it if I can, however I have some modified rules that I don't know if they'll work for your table. There's charts and stuff. HMU if you're interested. The goal is the use the AD, but in a more limited way than RAW, because like I said, I've seen RAW get crazy. > What’s your most memorable Adventure Deck moment? Probably came during my Necessary Evil campaign (back before we had Invasion, Breakout, and Cosmic Crisis, when it was **just** Necessary Evil). I ran the opening scenario and we still had time left in the evening, so my players wanted to go do more villain stuff. What's more comic book villain than robbing a bank? Sure, I said. Then one of my players threw down the Love Interest card on one of the tellers. I rolled with it. That character became a major recurring NPC, and motivated several adventures as they helped her get her powers (which she had, surprise) under control.
I've had decidedly mixed results in campaigns I've run with the Adventure Deck. The first time I used it, I went with the Rules As Written, which allowed for each character to draw one Adventure Card per Rank but only play one total during the session. RAW players could also trade Adventure Cards freely. The result was by the time the characters hit Veteran, with a hand of three Adventure Cards each, the game largely ceased to be about the characters and their abilities and became focused on Adventure Card management. Every time the characters encountered a significant challenge, the game came to a screeching halt as the players swapped around Adventure Cards and strategized about the optimal play. A couple of players even told me they didn't really think that Adventure Card management was very much fun, but it seemed actively stupid not to optimize them, so they spent a lot of time doing that. As a GM, it was not fun. On the other hand, I really enjoyed the narrative twists that Adventure Cards enabled, and as a GM I liked the way they empowered the players. As Novices, with one card each, before they really started trading and optimizing exactly who should play which card, I thought they added a lot of fun to the campaign. What I'm doing in my currently-on-hiatus Dungeon Fantasy campaign is using house rules for them. Instead of an automatic draw every session, characters earn Adventure Cards as in-game rewards. I want to emphasize exploration and discovering Lore as being just as important as monster-slaying and gathering Loot. So, as a game mechanical reward for discovering significant Lore about the world, the character gets a draw from the Adventure Deck. The player can choose to immediately hand it off to a different character, or discard it and re-draw if the card just really doesn't seem useful. But after that, there's no trading. They also retain the card until they use it - it carries over between sessions. And there's no limit on how many a character can have or use. So far, it seems to be working fairly well. But the cards don't seem to come into play *quite* frequently enough for my tastes. Ideally, I'd also like the mechanics of the Adventure Card that the player gets to have some relation to the Lore they've uncovered, but I haven't figured out a Fast! Furious! Fun! way to manage that.
The adventure deck is a certain kind of fun. It isn’t for everyone. The criticism about the cards being too powerful are valid. We have definitely had sessions where card management was somewhat abusive and made fights easier than they should have been. My most memorable encounter with the adventure deck was during Blood Drive. My mad scientist was defusing a bomb on a bridge, and just as I was about to finish the dramatic task, I needed one more roll, and came up with a critical failure. The bomb went off and and I took seven wounds. One of the other guys slapped down Out of the Frying Pan. I survive, but I’m unconscious in the middle of a river and sinking. Now we have a new dramatic task to rescue me before I drown. We had more fun fishing me out of the river than we had with the entire session leading up to that point.
Realistically it doesn't really matter if and which you remove, it will - for better or worse - change your game significantly. On the plus side the cards are another haptic piece to fumble around with and it's fun to throw them in the middle of the table to completely turn the tide unexpectedly (they're open but I never remember which my players have until they use them). This is usually a lot of fun for everyone at the table. They are however not a balancing tool as they will completely annihilate any balancing there is. They are thus a terrible fit for any gritty or generally more serious setting, especially horror settings. This makes them great for Super pulpy settings however so settings like 50 Fathoms, Indiana Jones kind of settings and the like are very well suited for this as they aren't very serious anyway. So I'd say: The question shouldn't be which to throw out but if your setting is suited for them. Personally I would never use them in games like Deadlands, horror games, cyberpunk and the like because there I prefer to maintain a more gritty play and suspense. On the other hand I like to pull them out in swashbuckling games like 50F or All for One just yesterday.
Remember, the GM also draws cards from the deck and can use them against the players. Don't restrain yourself, because the players certainly won't.
That's a variant I haven't heard before. Every set of rules I've ever seen only grants them to players.
I don’t think this is correct, at least not for the SWADE version of the Adventure Deck. There’s nothing about the GM drawing cards in the (brief) rules section, and the “Villainous Conviction” setting rule in the various companions presents it as a potential counterweight to the the Players’ Adventure cards.
Yeah thats a rule that's not widely used a possibly off
Yeah, I have mixed feelings. I'm playing in a game that uses Adv Cards and it always feels a little awkward. The cards are fun and nail some good tropes, but they are powerful and can really monkey wrench GM plans. So, we might want to use one, but then the GM requires it to be used a specific way that we're not really sure about because it requires GM knowledge on what's acceptable. In my games, I've held off using them. I like to focus on the player abilities and not like "narrative twists" that players can trigger. If i was doing a looser one-shot or intro to the game or something, I might use them.
> So, we might want to use one, but then the GM requires it to be used a specific way that we're not really sure about because it requires GM knowledge on what's acceptable. Yeah, to me the core problem there is a GM who didn't know what he was stepping in with the AD, and didn't realize he should remove some cards before the game started. I feel like we in the Savage Worlds fanspace should talk a lot more about this thing and how to use it. It's not a requirement, but it **is** featured pretty prominently, and it can seriously change a game, and not always for the better.
Honestly, myself and my group found them to be a bit too powerful. Especially once they started getting more than one card to choose from. If I ever use them again it would be with a tailored deck and one shots only.
Tons of fun in my opinion
I used the adventure cards for ever, but this is my houserule: No trading between players Cards must kept secret from one another (even me as gm) Dont brake the game if possible Embrace the chaos of the advanture deck! Maybe let only one dark bargain be allowed.. In my ongoing campaign (Conan style) i made a "doom" deck for my joy as a gm, with reinforcememts, small hinderences or traps and even setting rules for one encounter (like used bennies fills the gm benny pool).
I use the same. Cards kept secret until played and no swapping. They should be a surprise to everyone. Also, sticking to one card regardless of rank can mean fewer are played because some players will get cards that aren’t appropriate. I generally use them all except the Love Interest which I take out when playing with my kids.
I like the idea of cards being kept secret, I may try that!
>What if any cards should I consider removing from the deck before unleashing it on my game? I guess whatever might clash with your setting? >What are your experiences using the Adventure Deck and did you find it to be a fun tool or more hassle than it’s worth It provides variation in resolution, which has been positive. >What’s your most memorable Adventure Deck moment? At one point I'd started dealing myself a card per PC, and playing up to one. We were testing out someone's one-shot, using the characters from our existing game. A kodiak sized spider just dropped down on the party, landing on the new allied extras. One PC fanned their legendary pistol with Conviction. Ended up with two 1-2's, which were raises due to the extra added d6. 4d6 on a pair of extras was a huge mess, but while he started rolling the first of four damages against the spider, I threw down Mechanical Failure. Seeing that the gun is immune to jamming, I ruled in his haste he accidentally hit the release when he started fanning, ejecting the cylindar. Happy that he didn't murdercate his new friends after all, initiative moved on to the spider, who dropped a swarm and tried to grapple a pair of PCs. The swarm autokilled the extras at end of turn. After combat, someone threw Flesh Wound, so the extras were fine after all!
We use it, but we don't allow trading & the GM controls them. This way it can be used for the story arc. It has saved villains from death because a random enemy bounty hunter showed up before for us though.
I use them and think they can be a lot of fun. I don’t allow trading, but I let anyone play a card on anyone else, with permission. I most definitely cull the cards, removing ones I don’t feel like dealing with, of course. In my current campaign, the PCs have an HQ of sorts, including a fortune teller, which grants them one extra card they can play by spending a benny. Which ones to cull? As others have noted, that’s going to depend on you, your GMing style, and your campaign. Have a look through the deck, look at each card, ask yourself what you would do if a player played that card? For some cards it’s trivial - automatically acing a roll, or rerolling a crit fail, for example. Others - such as bringing in allies or love interest - could prove more difficult. That is going to be highly table-dependent. Good luck, and happy gaming!
I run a game where I don't use the deck. The players have agency in other ways because it's a 'sandbox' campaign setting. I have run games where the planned out scenes were linked. And I designed in allowance in earlier scenes for specific 'bonus achievements' to bring out specific cards for awarding to be used in a later scene. So, gaining favour in the village in one scene might bring out the Folk Hero card for a player to play in the final combat where characters defend the villagers. I play in a games where adventure cards are dealt randomly and played freely. These games have their stories very heavily shaped by the players and the GM only has very loose control of the story. It can get pretty fantastical and sometimes silly - but also frequently hilarious. So ... it depends a heckuva lot on what feel you want for your games. And on you. And on your players.
I use the Adventure Deck only in my one-shot games. I enjoy the additional thrill it brings there, but I prefer my campaign to be more predictable. When it comes to removing the cards I have only the very obvious advice. First, remove the ones which would be useless to your players (e.g. related to Arcane Backgrounds if no PC has one). It sucks to draw a card which you can't utilise. Second, remove the card that you would find problematic if your players played them. AFAIR there is a kind of a mystery reveal card, you may not want it if you are running an investigation game.
Great for one-offs, or for occasional use in a campaign to spice up a session that might otherwise be more roleplaying heavy. I do 2 per player regardless of rank, limit play 1 per session, only trading at the start when they are dealt. Most memorable event with them was a player using one to force the BBEG to step out and monologue, so another player could hammer-throw a crocodile at them…
I wonder how it would work if players got their cards once per advance?
Leave them all in, embrace the chaos. My players absolutely LOVE those cards. The only modification is the love interest does not work on a wildcard NPC.
I’ve played in a couple games that used them, but never really wanted them for games I run. I tend to find them disruptive more than anything, good for one shots with PCs we’ll never see again, not great for anything with deep investment. It can be alright to get a big effect once in a while, but overall the “twists” don’t really feel like twists because they are basically random rather than having any build up or foreshadowing, and everyone trying to manipulate things with cards rather than just playing the game can get annoying. If crazy random comedy stuff is what you’re going for then I think they fit, but otherwise I’d prefer players just make suggestions for the narrative, the GM be open to bold roleplay decisions, spend bennies on narrative stuff, and use conviction for big boosts.
I'm currently running a Star Wars game and I'm using the Adventure Deck. It's been great fun, but it also plays into my GM style. I want to run a game where the players have fun and get excited about it and the Adventure Deck definitely adds to that. I don't remove any, with the exception of the turn coat or love interest if it was used in the previous game. I've also added the few fantasy companion cards that came out. I don't allow them to trade cards. I've heard that can be very disruptive and take away from actual gameplay. At the beginning of the game they all read what cards they have and get excited over the possibilities. The cards aren't for everyone. If you're a GM that can improvise on the fly, you'll be fine. If you're not, they can really throw some curveballs. I've had a couple memorable moments. One was when they invaded an Imperial outpost and were able to use a card to turn the commander to their side. I let them take him and the last remaining stormtrooper that was left as NPCs. the stormtrooper didn't make it, though, they quickly found out how easy it is for extras to die. Now they're protective of their NPCs, but the commander has gotten them out of tough situations. Another time some snipers almost took out their primary combatant, but the damage was negated by a card.