No matter how I resist it, I always find myself making my own GM screen or quick reference sheets for any RPG I run, because I’m never completely happy with anyone else’s sheets. That time has now come for Savage Worlds.
I’m not sharing the sheets themselves, partly because of copyright concerns and partly because I use a brutally simple layout, since I have a habit of printing the same file on various paper sizes and using it on several different electronic devices; tables, bullet points and so forth do not survive such transitions.
Here is what I think should be on these sheets:
- Explanations of trait rolls and bennies.
- Combat summary, covering initiative, movement, Fighting, Shooting, damage, Soak rolls, incapacitation and injuries, combat options like ganging up and aiming, and the Fear table.
- Use of powers – most of this is on the character sheets, but I like to have the backlash rules with me.
- Setting rules, if any. (Not Multiple Languages, which can be covered on the character sheet – "speaks Common and three others".)
- NPCs. Stock allies, personalities, reaction tests, and a couple of monstrous abilities for instant monsters.
Earlier in my gaming career, I would have added character creation rules as well, but to be honest you don’t need character creation that often in the course of a campaign, and players can easily use an Experienced Soldier until they get around to creating a PC.
All of this fits on 4 sides of A4, 6 sides of A5, or 15 sides of 9×12 cm virtual paper for my Kindle. I think I’ll try running the next session from my Kindle, just to freak people out.
An advantage to running a game where the PCs have no magic is that you need less rules handy. Running a game from the tablet, though, might work quite well.