A Primer
What do I need to play?
As a group, you will need:
• Savage Worlds Deluxe (SW:D)
• Deadlands Revised: Player’s Guide (DLPG)
• Deadlands Revised: Marshal’s Handbook (DLMH)
• A Character Sheet for each PC
• Dice: 1d4, 2d6, 1d8, 1d10, & 1d12
• 1 deck of playing cards with Jokers
Why Three Books? Toolbox?
Savage Worlds is a set of rules, but has no setting.
Deadlands is setting, but has no rules. Frequently one
book will reference the other and together you get one
game with two books. There are many books dedicated
to specific settings or expansions to specific areas of
gamer interest. Your group is encouraged to take up
which settings, rules, and books fit your group best, and
leave behind the ones that do not. This is called The
Toolbox approach to rules. This is great for players
because you can learn one set of core rules (here called
Savage Worlds Deluxe) and play many wildly different
games without having to relearn different rules for the
same thing. Also, crossover games are easily
accommodated. Conversely, this is not good for players
because each game may lack the level of cohesion a
game gains when its core mechanics are custom
designed to suit it’s theme.
A note on Reskinning
Savage Worlds provides rules devoid of story context. It
is intended to be used, customized, and adapted to the
idiom provided in a setting book. This means everything
is named and described in generalities, but intended to
be renamed and redescribed as fits your setting. For
example, the Power “Bolt” might be called “Magic
Missile” in a fantasy setting, or “Soul Burn” in an
Elizabethan horror setting, or “Mind Blast” in a game
with psyonics. All three are attacks that hit for 2d6 at
range, but have different meanings and connotations in
their respective settings. This applies from the ground
up, affecting most everything in the game.
Who is the Marshal?
Marshal is the reskinned DM, GM, or ST. Same thing,
different name. Move along, cowpoke.
Core Dice Mechanic Overview
Players have Traits and Skills, each measured in dice,
like Strength d4 or Firearms d10. The higher the number
of faces on the die, the better. When a check is called
for, generally players will roll their Trait or Skill die and
add relevant bonuses and penalties to the final total. The
result is compared to a Target Number (TN) provided by
the GM. The TN is usually a static 4, but some
circumstances use alternate methods to determine the
TN.
Wild Die: Wild Cards (see below) always roll a 1d6
along with their Trait or Skill roll. The active player
chooses to use either die result (usually the higher one)
after all roles and rerolls are completed. Wild Die can
Ace.
Aces: Any die landing on its maximum value is rolled
again and has the new number added to the previous
number. This is cumulative and repeats until a non-
maximum number is rolled. Both Wild Cards and Extras
can Ace.
Raises: Every 4 points by which you beat the TN of a
roll is called a Raise. This is important to the Marshal.
Wild Cards: All player characters and particularly
important or powerful NPCs are called Wild Cards. This
allows them access to a special rules like the derived
stat Grit and the Wild Die.
Extras: Every villain worth his spit needs minions, a
flock of hangers-on who are no threat alone, but
potential more dangerous in numbers. We call these
short lived fools “Extras.”
 Character Creation
SW:D pg 44-47

1 - Choose a race • Pace: How fast you walk in a turn. Pace starts at 6 +/-
2 - Buy Traits Advantages and Flaws. Run = Pace +1d6. See “Scale.”
3 - Buy Skills • Parry: How hard you are to hit in melee. Parry =
4 - Determine Derived stats Fighting/2 +2 +/- Bonuses from weapons and
5 - Choose Hindrances & Edges Advantages & Flaws. If Fighting = 0, use 2 instead.
6 - Buy Gear Round total value down.
7 - Create background details
• Toughness: Damage Threshold. Toughness = Vigor/2
+2 +Armor. Round total value down.

1 - Race Skills
Humans only. +1 Free Edge. No Elves or Dwarves in *See Derrived Stats
Deadlands, only tough hombre’s made of spit and glass
make it in the Weird West. Boating *Persuasion
Climbing Piloting
Driving Repair
2 - Traits Fighting Riding
All Traits start at d4. Start with 5 points. -1point
increases a Trait’s die type by 1. Capped at d12. Gambling Shooting
*Guts Stealth
• Agility: Nimbleness, quickness, and dexterity.
• Smarts: General knowledge and mental agility. Healing *Streetwise
• Spirit: Inner wisdom & willpower. Helps you recover Intimidation Survival
from being Shaken.
• Strength: Raw physical power, fitness, & melee Investigation Swimming
damage *Knowledge [X] Taunt
• Vigor: Endurance, resistance to disease, poison, or
toxins, and damage mitigation Lockpicking Throwing
Notice Tracking

3 - Skills 5 - Hindrances & Edges

All Skills start at 0, or untrained. Start with 15 Points. -1
Start with 0 Points. Minor Hindrances add a point, Major
point increases a Skill’s die type by one. The first
Hindrances add 2 points. Limit 1 Major and 2 Minor
purchase grants a d4. Skills purchased with a die type
Hindrances. Raising an Attribute or adding an Edge is -2
above their linked Trait cost 2 points. Linked traits are
points. Gaining a skill point or gaining an additional $250
color coordinated above and below. Skills are capped at
is 1 point. Human receive 1 Edge for free. Edges +
d12. Other skills, especially knowledge skills, can be
Hindrances must = 0 at the end. See Unbalanced
created as needed. Some are granted by Advantages
Hindrances?

4 - Derived Stats 6 - Gear

These are much like Traits, but they are not bought.
Their value is derived from other values.
• Charisma: your character’s appearance, manner, and
general likability. Starts at 0 and is raised/lowered by
Edges and Flaws. Charisma is added to Persuasion and
Streetwise Rolls. The GM can use this to determine first
impressions for NPCs
• Grit*: This measures your hero’s willpower and
experiences. Essentially, how well you keep it together
when WEIRD stuff starts happening. Wild Cards receive
+1 Grit/Rank. Grit adds directly to Guts rolls.
Start with $250. Buy stuff from DLPG 55-57. It’s so
simple, I almost made it on one line.
7 - Background Details
Name? Origin Story? Motivation? Life Goal? What
makes you a person worthy of story, and not just a
mook?
Worst Nightmare
What scares your character? What causes him to wake
up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat? Write it
down. Tell the Marshal. No reason…
 Other Things
Level UP! Using Skills
Each session you will receive 1 - 3 XP. Character “Level” Unfamiliar Skills: -2 for skills used in ways the
is called “Rank” and is judged by Total XP gained. XP character is not used to. This lasts until the character is
can be spent on advancements. Each advancement familiar with the skill’s new use, determined by the
costs 5XP. Keep track of total XP earned, and XP spent Marshal.
separately.
Common Knowledge: Some knowledge is assumed to
• Gain a new Edge be present. If a roll requires a check against something
• +1 to die type of one skill ≥ its linked Attribute common knowledge, roll Smart. +2 if it seems likely the
• +1 to die type of two skills < than linked Attribute character knows it based on background/experiences. -2
• +1 new skill at d4 for foreign subjects. Success yields common basic
• +1 to one Attribute die type, once per rank. information. EG: This cave was carved, not formed
naturally.
All edges can be purchased as advancements, even
background edges. The Marshal and player are Specific Knowledge: Anything rolled using Knowledge
encouraged to come up with any reasonable justification [Specific Topic] skill should provide detailed information
and allow the purchase. on the subject, not generic overviews. They should
provide significant impact on the game. EG: This cave
was carved by (Race X) in (Year) and can be collapsed
at points Y & Z.
Ranks
Unbalanced Hindrances?
Total XP Rank Savage Worlds assumes you will take a full complement
0-19 Novice of Hindrances and reap the benefits. The designers are
20-39 Seasoned aware that some Hindrances can be “gamed” around for
40-59 Veteran free points. They encourage the Marshal and player to
60-79 Heroic incorporate them into the story, but Hindrances are
80+ Legendary designed to help a player develop a character, not
penalize him.