It's actually "Errantry", not "Granny," but the font is hard to read and Michelle came out of the living room today, saw the book on the table and said "Blackwood Granny?" and then I had visions of a bunch of grandmas in this game going out and protecting the world from the horrors of the woods.
The Game: Blackwood Errantry Codex
The Publisher: The Mythic Gazetteer
Degree of Familiarity: None with this game, but it's Savage Worlds
Books Required: Blackwood Errantry Codex and some version of the Savage Worlds rules; I think it's written for the Explorer's Edition
I got my copy of this game in 2018 sometime, I think, put it on my shelf, and completely forgot about it. That sounds like a diss on the game, but it's not - that happens a lot because I back so many games. In the case of Blackwood, I think I thought it was a Thieves Guild sort of a game? I don't remember. The cover doesn't help - it's real boring. The title doesn't really say anything. You'd be forgiven for thinking this is a supplement for some other game.
But it's actually a pretty cool little fantasy game, in which you're playing characters who have, for whatever reason, chosen to defend the citizenry against the Blackwood. There are monsters and bandits and elves (elves in this game aren't the floofy immortal hotties from Tolkein, they hew much closer to the Fair Folk of legend), and the Errants are the ones who stand up. So actually the game looks very much like my cuppa. Let's make a character!
I always gravitate towards the various Arcane Backgrounds in SW games, and one of the ones in Blackwood is Herbalism. I think a no-nonsense older fellow herbalist would be fun, maybe someone who lost an adult son to the Blackwood and that's why he's taken up Errantry at an advanced age.
The first thing I'm asked to do is pick a culture, in lieu of race. I think I want Elderfolk, they seem like they have the vibe I'm looking for. That gives me the Studious Edge, which gives me a free Novice Edge (it would give me extra Power Points if I were taking a different Arcane Background, but such is life), and the Surefooted Hindrance, which sounds like it should be an Edge but in practice just lowers my Pace.
Attributes is next, but I actually want to take a gander (HONK) at the Elderly Hindrance first. Oof...it drops my Strength and Vigor by a die type. Hmm. The minimum is d4, meaning that if I just don't put any points into those, I'd wind up with the same point spread that I would if I put a die into each of them. FINE. So, Strength d4, Smarts d8, Spirit d8, Vigor d4, Agility d6.
Skills! This is pre-SWADE, so I don't get the basic Skills thing. Let's look ahead at Herbalism. OK, pretty simple, it's a Smarts-based Skill. Groovy. So let's arrange things thus:
Herbalism d8 (obvs), Intimidation d6 (disapproving grandpa stare), Healing d8, Fighting d4, Survival d8, Tracking d4, Stealth d4, Notice d4.
Edges n' shit! I get a free Edge, and then of course I'm gonna take Hindrances. I'll use my free Edge to take Arcane Background (Herbalism), so that's easy. I want the Elderly Hindrance (Major), and then for my minors...hmm. I don't want to make the character maudlin and obsessed over his son's death, that just sounds too depressing (I'd rather have it be something that would come up during play and make for a cool moment, but not a Major Thing necessarily).
I'll give him the Mischievous Hindrance, just because I think that would be lots of fun to play and would probably take the form of him slipping extra herbs into people's drinks or draughts that make them burp or smell funny or whatever. And then one more Minor, hmm. Oh, Stubborn, totally. That's easy.
Right, now I gotta do the powerz from my Arcane Background. I get three powers, chosen from:
Let's take Detect/Conceal Arcana, seems like something that you could do with a poultice (it's all down to how fast you let it boil whether it's for Detect or Conceal). I'd love to take Blast, but it's Seasoned, so let's take Burst and saw that it's activated by dropping some pellets into a bottle, shaking it, and turning it loose! (A kind of fantasy Diet Coke/Mentos sort of thing.) And then I'll take Speed, just because the image of this old man quaffing a potion and then going zoom across a battlefield is amusing to me.
Right, so then I have 4 "points" to throw around, and I really think they're gonna go into Skills mostly. Let's take Knowledge (Blackwood) at d6, Persuasion d4, and Taunt d4.
Cool, that's all the normal stuff. I have to think about languages, since this game uses the multiple language rule. I speak Common plus four other languages. Let's say my old fella reads Ancient Script, understands Beast Tongue, Pagan, and Elvish (though he might not admit to the latter).
And I think that's it. Well, equipment, but meh. Pace is 4 (Surefooted + Elderly = SLOOOOW), Parry is 4, Toughness is 4, and all we need is a name!
My guy's name is Halbert Dietersten (one of the surnames in the book, I like it). His son Adalan was killed acting as an Errant, and Halbert, after a period of mourning, decided that he should take up his son's cause. He misses his grandkids (he's got a bunch, and he jokes about getting them confused but the truth is he knows all of their names, favorite drinks, favorite foods, birthdates, and how many freckles on their noses) his daughters, but there's something about being out in the world and being able to harvest his plants and make them into things that can protect others that draws him in. Halbert plays pranks and pretends to be crotchety and cantankerous, but he's actually a very kind and loving soul. Just don't try and tell him the best way to grind up corrig root, because he's not interested in hearing it, youngster.
Halbert is short and stocky, like most Elderfolk. He's a little stooped and walks with a cane - not a walking stick, those just get in the way. He's got a bunch of pouches sewn onto the outside of his britches, because he reach down to his thigh a lot more easily than he can reach across to his chest.
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