Savage worlds of Darkness

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

Pre-Playtest Verison

What This Is What This Is Not

When I first read MCWoD, it was as if someone had
ignited a fire in my brain. This seemed to be just
about everything I could have hoped for in a World
of Darkness game, since the Storytelling system isn't
quite my cup of tea; it just doesn't have the combat
focus that I enjoy in an RPG.
However, as time progressed and the further I
thought about what I wanted vs. what was in MCWoD,
I realized that there was quite a bit of disparity.1 I
didn't want levels or classes. I didn't want Hit Points.
I really didn't want Attacks of Opportunity. What I
did want was a system that was still reasonably
combat-intensive yet did away with a lot of the
D&D-esque role-playing tropes.
I had tinkered around with changing the mechanics
to a couple of different systems, but my problems
would all boil down to the magic system not being
free-form enough2 or that combat was very stilted
and disjointed from the rest of the game3.
Your first clue that this isn't a word-for-word
reproduction of anything should be the length, but
in case that isn't clear enough I will say this: this
document isn't meant to be used by itself. You will
require copies of the following:
 Monte Cook's World of Darkness
 Savage Worlds Explorer's Edition
 Necessary Evil
This is not an attempt to infringe on the copyrights
of either White Wolf Publishing or Pinnacle
Entertainment Group.
This is not an officially licensed product nor has it
any affiliation with either company.
All books are available wherever fine role-playing
games are sold, or online at their respective
publisher.

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
 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
 Penalties or bonuses should be scaled to
match the 1/2/4 Savage Worlds standard
Character Creation
For any of the character types, they may purchase
special abilities as Edges per the normal character
creation rules.4
AWAKENED
Awakened characters begin play with:
 2 “free” Edges
 8 skill points instead of the starting 5
 An additional die in their choice of two
attributes
 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
 “Hardy” Monstrous Ability, and do not
suffer from Bleed Out
 A natural form which provides a “Horrific
Appearance” equivalent to a -4 Charisma
modifier; additionally, “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
 A Demon suffers 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 substances
○ “Banes” work as the “Allergy” Hindrance
from Necessary Evil with the following
changes: -1 penalty for common, -2 for
uncommon and -4 for rare substances
 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 can choose an
additional Cant every 10 XP
MAGES
Mage characters begin play with5:
 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
Vampire characters begin play with:
the “Power Points” Edge as normal
magic
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/play6
 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 should
there not be an analog in NE (for example,
“Light”)
○ The duration of Spells will be denoted as
Instant, Short or Long; Short has a duration
of 3(1/round), Long is 10 minutes (1/1
minute)
■ Short duration should be used for most
combat oriented Spells, Long for non-
combat
○ The GM and Player will need to decide
upon which NE Powers are ineligible for
use in Spellcasting7
○ Example: A Mage wishes to animate a toy,
have it walk into a room and explode. The
Mage would construct said Spell using the
“Animation” (3 PP for under 10 lbs.) and
“Explode” (2 PP) Powers for a total of a 5
PP Spell. The “Animation” would have a
Long duration, while “Explode” would be
Instant
 Mages may create Rotes, which add +2 to the
Spellcasting roll (sample Rotes in Appendix I)
 Mages start play with one “free” Gnosis
○ Mages may choose one of the NE Power
types for each Gnosis, which enables the
Mage to cast Spells using that Power at 1
PP less per Spell
○ For example, a Mage with Gnosis in
“Animation” and Explode” would cast the
previously mentioned Spell for 2 PP less
 Bonus: Mages can choose an additional Gnosis
or the Power Point Edge every 10 XP
VAMPIRES
 An additional die in Strength and Vigor
 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, -4 Charisma
○ Nosferatu: +1 Strength die, -4 Charisma
○ Ventrue: +1 Smarts die, -1 Spirit die
 One “free” Discipline
 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
Appendix I: Sample Rotes
○
creature's Vigor
○ Vampires may otherwise spend/restore
Vitae as noted in MCWoD The following Rotes are presented as examples of
 Bonus ability: Vampires can choose an conversion and not intended to be a complete list.
additional Discipline every 10 XP Once you get the general idea for how the
conversion should work, any number of D20
W EREWO LVES
sources can provide a steady stream of Spell ideas.
Werewolf characters begin play with:
 An additional die in Strength and Vigor
Alter Size
 Either “Growth” (2 PP/Size) or “Shrink” (3
 “Shapechanging” per MCWoD except as follows:
○ Beast form: PP/Size)
■ Additional die in Agility and Vigor  Long
■ Pace of 8”
■ Bite attack of Str+d8 Annihilate Matter
■ +4 bonus to Notice and Tracking  “Decay” (3 PP)
○ Hybrid form:  Instant
■ Bite attack of Str+d6, Claw attack of
Str+d6 Dead Zone
■ +2 to Notice
 “Negation” (4 PP)
■ Two additional die in Strength and Agility,
 Short
additional die in Vigor
■ Hybrid form may be maintained for ½
Vigor rounds, plus one round for each Plasticity
Primal Urge Rite  “Matter Control” (1 PP/weight affected)
 Sprint Healing of 2/58  Long
 Modifiers based off Auspice:
○ Rahu: +1 Strength die
○ Cahalith: +1 Smarts die
○ Elodoth: +2 Charisma
○ Ithaeur: +1 Spirit die
○ Irraka: +1 Agility die
final Thoughts
 Werewolves take double damage from silver As I intent to actually use a variant of this in a
weapons, and Wounds incurred from silver campaign of mine, please feel free to direct any
weapons may not be Healed by Sprint Healing possible improvements or point out discrepancies
 One “free” Rite that I may have developed.
 Werewolves begin with 10 + ½ Vigor Essence
○ Werewolves may spend one Essence to The version of this will change as I incorporate both
heal one Wound; this applies to Wounds feedback and playtesting.
incurred by silver weapons
○ Werewolves may otherwise spend/restore Thanks, and Go Play!
Essence as noted in MCWoD
Steve W.
1 For further rationale behind my decisions, see my musings here
2 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
3 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
4 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
5 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
6 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
7 Recommended for removal are “Ageless,” “Construct,” “Gifted,” “Lair,” “Minions,” “Super Edge & Skill,”
“Super Sorcery” (as this version effectively replaces it), “Undead” and “Vehicle”
8 Each round at the beginning of your turn, you can choose to heal up to 2 Wounds; however, you can recover no
more than 5 Wounds per day in this manner