When we started working on the Crystal Heart RPG, we knew that teamwork should be a big part of it. A small group of professional Agents should be able to work in tandem to achieve a goal – not all the time, but at least some of the time. We started devising teamwork rules to supplement Savage World’s core mechanics, but then the latest edition (‘Adventure Edition’, or SWADE) came out, and we happily discovered we don’t need to add anything of our own – the Tests and Support rules do it all for us.

Tests are the best innovation of SWADE. You might remember the Test of Wills from page 9, where a PC can try to Shaken a foe by Taunting or Intimidating them. In SWADE, you can now use any skill to try and rattle your foe, making them Distracted (-2 to their checks) or Vulnerable (+2 to everyone else’s checks against them) and perhaps even Shaken if you get a raise. Hmm, so actually, maybe it’s the addition of Distracted and Vulnerable that’s the best innovation of SWADE, because it allows for the existence of Tests.

In any case, now you can do whatever cool thing you can think of to make your enemy easier to hit later, which, in the world of act-by-turn actions, means teamwork. You can also Support (rolling to give bonuses to an ally’s upcoming check), which is great for players who want to feel they’re bolstering a friend, rather than feel like they’re disabling a foe.

Meet us at Dragonmeet!

This Saturday, if you’re in London, you should be in Dragonmeet. Come and chat and/or purchase all of our Crystal Heart stuff!

Play in the world of Crystal Heart!