At some point, I got fed up with the sloweness of running around Vvardenfell, especially at low levels. I got ambitious, learned to use the Construction Set, and created a Belt of Speed.
Then I was annoyed with how slow the bow could be used...
I wanted to shoot shoot shoot, fast
fast fast like in the movies. So I created a custom bow...
And then, I got the idea of swooshing my heft sword faster, and so I created a custom sword...
I hope you can see where all of this is going. :)
That worked great for a while, but soon I realized that the game balance is disturbed. I could avoid arrows and ranged spells too easily, for instance... I could run away from any fight. And some of the fun was gone from the game.
So I chose another approach. This is how the Savage World was born. It is a very ambicious project, one that I still keep tinkering with from time to time, adjusting and re-adjusting values and numbers, so it all works well...
Now, enough of the idle talk.
Off to the actual description of Savage World.
The mod is actually a compilation of several smaller modules, each of whom addresses a separate set of issues regarding the game balance. I did it so that you can use all of them as a package), or you can only install the module that you like, only the Armor re-balance, for example.
Each of the modules is explained in dry and gruesome detail on its own separate page. Here let me only provide a quick summary of what the stuff is all about. Add the pieces together, and you have Savage World, in all its glory. :)
This module addresses the bulk of the balance of the gameplay. Obviously. Adjusted are such features as time to hold breath under water (longer now), the difficulty of interaction with NPCs (more difficult, on average), the effects of fatigue, ability to block with a shield (more frequent), creatures flee instincts (they fell easier now), and so on. Of particular interest might be here the new value of ProjectileStoreChance (which is now 100% and this means that all the projectiles are stored) and the TrainingMod is set higher, which makes training much more expensive.
For more details, please see the Savage World: Balance readme file.
This module speeds up the world. It increases not only the speed of the player, but also the speed of all the NPCs and the speed of projectiles and ranged spells. Now it is really hard to avoid them. Only the speed of creatures has been left alone - since this is taken care of by the Creatures module.
For more details, please see the Savage World: Speed readme file.
This module makes the training of skills via the teachers much more expensive (even more so than the Balance module). At the same time, the difficulty of learning-through-doing is lowered, so it is now easier to increase skills by performing the actions. Some of the low-usage skills got a big increase (most notably the armor and blocking), others only a small one. It fits well with the way I play, but I am not sure that it will be to everybody's liking. This is probably the module most likely omitted from your personal compilation.
For more details, please see the Savage World: Talent readme file.
Next to the Balance mod, this is the core of Savage World. This module adjusts the abilities of each and every creature in the game, making it faster, and more difficult to kill (by adding hit points.) In addition, some creatures were made more aggressive (netches, for example) and some others got brand new ranged attacks (modcrabs spit fireballs now, for example.) All in all, be ready for surprises while adventuring in the Savage World for the first time. Its a different cup of tee now... very different. :)
For more details, please see the Savage World: Creatures readme file.
This module was a sort-of afterthought. It adjusts the values (and prices) of all the light armor pieces in the game. As a lightly-armored assassin type I got bored with the poor selection of light armor in the game. This module does not add any new armor, but it makes the existing one more varied. Also, by making some armor types very expensive, it attempts to control the access to these types for low-level characters.
For more details, please see the Savage World: Armor readme file.
This module is probably my favorite! Basically, it makes all the weapons lighter and faster, while preserving their damage capabilities. Some range got re-adjusted as well. Now you can shoot a bow lightning-fast, and so can you swing your katana. Since the creatures got more hit points now (see the Creatures module), it works well - you need to hit them more to kill them, but you can hit them more frequent so it balances out.
For more details, please see the Savage World: Weapons readme file.
All-in-all, the whole gaming experience is different when using Savage World. I think it is much more fun, while still being hard and difficult. I got so used to the mod that I have hard time even considering playing without it. Every now and then I got hit by a purist bug, and try without it, but after short time usually come to my senses.
I hope you will share similar feelings about Savage World.
If not, please let me know where I can improve it.
I'd appreciate that.
Thanks.