Savage Worlds: Going Loud

Check out Jackie Droujko's delightful short - Bang Bang!

In crime fiction and RPGs, things go wrong for 1 reason - a perfect job is a boring job. While a flawless heist/operation is good for a thriller once or twice, I love a character instigated pell-mell far more. Reservoir Dogs and Heat are great examples of a careful and thought-out heist spinning into chaos because of poor impulse control/inability to plan for everything. Here's some mechanics to create incentive for PC's to stir up trouble.

NOISE
Each Wild Card starts with 5 points of Noise. You may spend Noise to roll an additional D10 to any Trait or damage roll. this die can Ace like any other, and if a Benny is spent to re-roll the action then re-roll the D10 too. As you spend Noise you'll earn a reputation. This comes with benefits and drawbacks. You get the benefits immediately, while the drawbacks should show up when they'll royally screw things up.

5 - Just your average yegg.
4 - Thing are looking a little hairy. Earn a Benny if the action is particularly public/violent.
3 -One of the crew is approached by law enforcement and pressured to flip on you. Who is it?
2 - A dogged investigator nips at your heels. Gain the Enemy (Major) Hindrance and an Edge of your choice, ignore requirements.
1 - You're a loose cannon, too dangerous to keep around. A kingpin puts a bounty (worth an Advancement) on you.
0 - The Bureau and the Great Machine is watching out for you. Gain an Advancement.


In counterpoint, GMs should keep a tally. Let's call it Cacophony. Better yet, Racket. Every time they spend Noise. Every time they use brute force. It builds up Racket. The higher the Racket, the more force Law & Order responds with. This is should dovetail with the new SWADE Chase rules you can find here.

RACKET
2 - A squad car shows up to check it out. The officers attempt to take the characters alive and arrest them. Private security shoots to kill.
4 - Police forces converge on the characters, multiple squad cars and long guns start popping up. Officers shoot to kill (Shooting D8). Increase the penalty from complications by 1.
6 - The Department tries to contain the incident. Roadblocks and spike strips are deployed to hinder vehicles while a helicopter keeps them in the spotlight. Sharpshooters aboard take their shots (Shooting D8, ROF 2).
8 - Here come the SWAT (or NOOSE or The Sweeney, etc). Riot vans, ARVs, and multiple helicopters swarm the Crew and let the bullets fly (Shooting D10+Wild Die). The crew now suffers chase complications on Clubs and Spades.
10 - Every conventional way out of the city is blocked off, the roads barren of any civilian vehicles. With civilian bystanders minimized, things look grim as law enforcement really cuts loose (Shooting D10+Wild Die, ROF 3).  The crew has to egress in an unexpected manner or lay low, otherwise it never ends.