TEXT: Welcome back to the Pit, dear readers.
  As you hopefully know, this is where I get to waffle on 
  about a topic related to Savage Worlds. For those new to the 
  Whispers, there aren’t any new official rules included, just 
  advice, opinions, and insights into the game.
  In this issue, I’m taking two posts from our forums and 
  expanding the answers I gave. The first was about how certain 
  Tricks work and the second appreciating the list of sample 
  Tricks in our The Savage World of Solomon Kane RPG.
  For me, Savage Worlds isn’t about the wording of the rules, 
  it’s about the interpretation. I don’t mean being a rules-lawyer 
  who looks for loopholes to exploit. It’s about how to use a 
  relatively light, elegant set of rules to add more flavor to the 
  game—working within the spirit of the rules to enhance the 
  game experience. Savage Worlds’ use of trappings allows almost 
  anything (especially Edges, powers, Tricks, and Tests of Will) to 
  be viewed in a different light without altering the mechanics.
  Tricks are one of Savage Worlds’ greatest strengths. With 
  a very simple, single mechanic, a hero can perform all manner 
  of stunts and tricks designed to place foes at a disadvantage. 
  Other game systems have the equivalent of Tricks, of course, 
  but rarely do they use a single mechanic to cover such a wide 
  range of maneuvers.
  A small amount of material below is duplicated from a 
  previous Whispers From the Pit article on cinematic combat.
  One Action
  For the most part, the sample descriptions below don’t 
  require any other actions—they are merely flavor text 
  describing the Trick. For instance, grabbing a mug of ale and 
  throwing it in someone’s face to blind them doesn’t require a 
  character to spend an action grabbing a mug first.
  That said, the players and GM should apply common sense. 
  You can’t throw a mug of ale in someone’s face if there isn’t 
  a mug within easy reach or your hands are full. In such cases, 
  a hero would have to move closer to a mug (free action if 
  moving up to his Pace), drop whatever he is holding (again, a 
  free action, though picking the object back up later might not 
  be), or slightly change his description (“I flick the mug at him 
  with my blade”).
  Modified Results
  By the same token, the result of a Trick may need a 
  slight adjustment to the letter of the rules. If your Trick is to 
  trip someone, then, despite the general rules not specifically 
  allowing this, it is fairly obvious the foe should fall if the Trick is 
  successful. Common sense is a good ally in Savage Worlds.
  Most times, the basic mechanics and good GM description 
  suffice. A foe splattered by a mug of ale may use an arm to wipe 
  his eyes, which leaves him open to attack (hence the –2 Parry 
  penalty). If he’s Shaken, he may well stagger back slightly or 
  have to shake his head to clear his vision.
  No Damage
  This is a cardinal rule—Tricks don’t cause damage. Ever. To 
  damage a foe, one must make some sort of attack. For instance, 
  slashing above someone’s eyes to cause blood to drip into their 
  eyes and temporarily blind them is a Trick. There’s no intent 
  to damage, only to distract. The rules for Tricks apply here as 
  normal and you don’t have to aim for the head.
  A hero who wants to inflict damage using the same 
  description must make a Called Shot to the head, instead. If he 
  scores a Shaken result (or wounds a Wild Card), then the foe 
  likely is temporarily blinded as well. However, this does not 
  give the attacker the benefit of the Trick result as well—the 
  Shaken status is a replacement.
  When Tricks Become Tests
  Sometimes what appears to be a Trick is actually better 
  handled by a Test of Will. Laughing at your foe or belittling 
  him is not a Smarts Trick—it is a Taunt Test of Will. Likewise, 
  suddenly leaping forward and shouting “Boo!” in an attempt 
  to make your opponent flinch is an Intimidation Test of Will 
  rather than a Smarts Tricks.
  You should avoid allowing Tests of Will to become Tricks. It 
  diminishes the use of two useful skills (Taunt and Intimidation), 
  which produce different effects from a Test of Will.
  It may be a player didn’t realize his description constituted 
  a Test of Will, in which case he should be allowed to change his 
  description to make it more like a Trick or stick with the Test 
  of Wills. The important things are to be consistent and fair to 
  the players.
  Other maneuvers may also be mistaken for Tricks. Disarming 
  someone, for instance, is not a Trick as there are specific rules 
  covering this. When a set of rules exists for a stunt, they always 
  take precedent.
  Further Complexity
  Only one of three things can happen because of a Trick 
  (nothing, Parry penalty, or Shaken and Parry penalty), but they 
  can also be used to set up other events. For example, a hero 
  smears a villain in honey as an Agility Trick. Shortly afterward, 
  the swarm of angry bees they were running from appears 
  Expanded Trickery!
  Whispers from the pit
  
  on the scene and ignores the hero in favor of the villain. Our 
  hero makes his escape, leaving his foe to enjoy angry bee 
  hospitality.
  Now, there’s no way any set of rules can, or indeed should, 
  cover every eventuality, and things like this are one obvious 
  example. So here’s a quick tip—prepare for the unexpected. 
  Players will always find a way to surprise a GM.
  No Penalties
  For the vast majority of Tricks, no penalties apply (other 
  than fixed penalties such as wounds or Fatigue). Flavor text 
  used to detail a Trick is just that—a cool bit of description 
  which replaces terrible phrases like, “I’ll do an Agility Trick.”
  Take this example. A character is being pinned into a 
  corner by a burly pirate. The player declares that his character 
  is going to turn, run up the wall, leap over the seadog, and pull 
  his hat down over his eyes.
  A nice little maneuver, but what penalty should the GM 
  apply to such a complex feat? The answer is NONE. All the 
  player has done is describe an Agility Trick followed by an 
  attack. Sure, it sounds difficult to pull off, but at the end of 
  the day it’s still just an Agility Trick. Start applying unnecessary 
  modifiers and players will stop trying cool stunts.
  However, the GM is within his right to tone down 
  descriptive text. In a swashbuckling game, like Pirates of the 
  Spanish Main, the trick above is a good fit. In a gritty post-
  apocalyptic game, it’s rather too showy. Kicking the mook in 
  the love spuds is probably more in keeping with the style of 
  the setting.
  As a last note before we look at some sample Tricks, GMs 
  should avoid using a flat “No” when turning down a Trick idea. 
  Encourage your players to think as the setting requires by saying 
  something like, “That doesn’t fit, but what about this instead?” 
  GMs are not just storytellers—they are there to nurture the 
  players’ creative talents.
  The Rules
  For the benefit of readers who are new to Savage Worlds 
  and wondering what this is all about, we’ve generously included 
  the rules for using Tricks just to show how easy they are to 
  implement.
  To perform the trick, the player must first describe exactly 
  what his character is doing. Next he makes an opposed Strength, 
  Agility, or Smarts roll against his foe. The GM must determine 
  which is more appropriate based on the player’s description of 
  the trick. For instance, yanking a rug might use Strength versus 
  the defender’s Agility.
  If the character is successful, his opponent is distracted 
  and suffers –2 to his Parry until his next action. With a raise, the 
  enemy is distracted and Shaken as well.
  These penalties do not stack. Tricking a foe twice has no 
  additional effect.
  Sample Tricks
  Unless otherwise stated, these are Agility tricks. For those 
  fans who have seen our shorter list of Tricks before, note 
  that some of those Tricks repeated here have been split into 
  separate entries to allow for more flavor text. For more ideas, 
  watch swashbuckling or pulp movies like The Mummy, Mask 
  of Zorro, Crimson Pirate, or Pirates of the Caribbean.
  Note as well that all Tricks are, by their very nature, 
  variations on a common theme—there’s only so many ways to 
  Trick a foe. What’s more important, from a gaming atmosphere 
  view, is to use at least a little description and to vary it often.
  • Appel: A sudden stamp of the foot to distract your 
  opponent.
  • Backflip: Using an obstacle, such as barrels, a cart, or 
  even a wall, to help you flip over an opponent.
  • Balesta: A sudden hop forward, either as the prelude to 
  an attack or to catch an opponent off guard.
  • Beat: Slapping an opponent’s blade out of the way to 
  leave his body open to an attack. Could also be used to slap an 
  opponent’s hand to cause him to snatch it back, thus leaving a 
  gap in his defenses.
  • Bind: Encircling an opponent’s blade with your own. 
  This move is designed to prevent him from moving his blade 
  while you slide yours forward along his.
  • Buffeted: Moving past a foe and jostling him as you do 
  so is a way of helping an ally with a Trick. Very handy if the foe 
  has already acted and your ally has not, since they can be sure 
  to take advantage of the –2 Parry bonus (well, hopefully).
  • Catch! (or Hold This): Usually involves throwing one 
  of your weapons at a foe in a bid to force a reflex catching 
  motion. Always best to make sure you are holding two weapons, 
  though. In some settings, this also works with expensive items, 
  like coins or the gold statue you just swiped from a musty 
  tomb. Of course, you can always fake throwing the object as 
  well if you prefer.
  • Corps a Corps: French for “body to body.” This usually 
  involves giving your opponent a shove to unbalance him.
  • Duck (Smarts): The hero ducks or flinches, hoping to 
  convince his foe there’s something nasty heading his way.
  • Falling Objects: Cutting through a rope holding up a 
  chandelier to cause foes to jump back (not to damage them) 
  is a Trick. Pulling down a tapestry or curtain and throwing it 
  toward a foe can also be a Trick (although a hero may wish to 
  use it as a form of grapple so he can make a quick escape).
  • Flash (Smarts): A lady can distract a foe by flashing her 
  cleavage or thigh. Only tends to work on men.
  
  • Flick: A sudden movement of the blade designed to 
  distract a foe.
  • Flip: Kicking a stool at a foe or knocking over a table 
  to distract him. Can also work with small objects, like plates, 
  mugs, candles, or books. Depending on the GM’s interpretation 
  of the weight of the object, this may require a Strength roll 
  from the hero instead.
  • Flurry: Ever had a friend come up and begin jabbing 
  at your head and torso with his hands, aiming to cause you to 
  try and react to his moves rather than beat you senseless? Well, 
  that makes a great Agility Trick. It basically overwhelms a foe’s 
  defenses searching for a weak point.
  • Head Butt: Another Trick designed to distract but not 
  actually harm a foe. Head butts can certainly be dangerous, but 
  that’s a Called Shot to the head for damage.
  • In Your Face!: Throwing sand, ale, or some other 
  substance (food fight!) in a foe’s face to temporarily blind them. 
  Note that lobbing around substances like acid is an attack, not 
  a Trick.
  • Meet Mr. Table: Smacking a foe’s head against a table or 
  wall to momentarily stun him could easily be a Trick. As usual, 
  no damage rolls are made as a Trick.
  • My Eyes!: Slashing the forehead so it bleeds into a foe’s 
  eyes. The same sort of Trick also covers nicking ears (ears bled a 
  lot), cutting off locks of hair, or even removing entire ponytails. 
  All are distracting rather than deadly.
  • Nice Clothes: May involve pulling a foe’s hat over his 
  eyes or flipping a cloak over his head.
  • Overbalance: Useful as an interrupt. Before a foe 
  strikes, interrupt his action and say you’re sidestepping (it’s 
  just a Trick—you don’t actually have to move your character). 
  If he misses or is Shaken, it leaves him overbalanced.
  • Pull the Rug (Strength): Yanking a rug out from 
  under a foe’s feet. At the GM’s discretion, this Trick can work 
  against more than one opponent. However, a penalty of –1 per 
  additional foe would not be amiss in this circumstance, if only 
  to prevent overuse.
  • Revealing Underwear: Slashing an opponent’s braces 
  or belt so his trousers fall down, causing him to grab them and 
  hold them up. A similar Trick can be used to remove buttons, 
  sashes, and such like.
  • Shoelaces (Smarts): Another old one. The character 
  tells his foe his shoelaces (or trouser zip) are untied.
  • Singe: Setting fire to a villain’s hem line or hair forces 
  him to put it out, thus distracting him. Trying to set him on fire, 
  however, is an attack and uses the standard rules for Catching 
  Fire. Requires a source of fire. This could also be used to knock 
  a foe’s hand onto a hot surface (briefly).
  • Slippery When Wet: Scattering something slippery 
  under a foe’s feet causes him to lose his balance and possible 
  fall. It is worth noting that in some settings using a bag of 
  marbles or pool of oil may have long-lasting effects when 
  used in this manner, such as being treated as Difficult Ground 
  affecting everything in a Medium Burst Template. If the effect 
  is only to last a single action, however, keep it as a Trick and 
  assume whatever the substance was has dispersed.
  • Stamp: Similar to slapping the hand, but this involves 
  stamping on someone’s foot.
  • Three Stooges Routine: Nose pinches, ear pulls, head 
  slaps, beard tugs, and eye jabs are all forms of related trickery.
  • Trip: Shoving a foe back over a low obstacle or kicking 
  out his legs so he falls prone.
  • Who’s That? (Smarts): The hero points behind him 
  and utters the clichéd words. The oldest trick in the book, but 
  it still works.
  • Z: Carving your initial into a foe’s clothing or flesh. As 
  always, carving flesh may cause bleeding, but never actual 
  wounds. A raise might even leave a scar, and create a new 
  Enemy.
  Until next time, stay tricksy, my precious readers. Wiggy 
  needs feeding now, masters!
  Wiggy
  Got an idea for another 
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  alWays Wanted to knoW more 
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SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Savage Worlds System (SWADE) [multi]/_Misc/Whispers from the Pit/Whispers from the Pit #07 - Expanded Trickery.pdf