As I mentioned in the other thread, we have made the move and hot-swapped the system of our current campaign from D20 to Savage Worlds (Explorer's Edition, SW:EX). The main reason for switching was that D20 combat is so slow. So here are a couple of observations:
Savage Worlds is classless point-buy system. Novice characters are relatively sturdy, but otherwise rather average / one sided. Your character is defined by Attributes (Strength etc.), Skills, Edges and Hindrances. You usually gain an Advance (=Level) every two to three sessions, and each advance you can improve one or two skills or buy an Edge (~Feat), and every four advances you are allowed to improve an Attribute.
Being a point-buy generic system, there are no classes, not even templates. Only a handful of Edges can only be bought at creation, such as Berserk or Magic affinity. Apart from that, everyone can learn anything (many Edges have prerequisites though). I consider this a drawback because it does not support niche protection very well.
Our characters were already high mid levels (12-13) and we didn't want to let all that effort go to waste. So following the advice of some D20->SW conversion guidelines, we re-created our characters as Heroic Rank.
Nevertheless, when you're used to high-level D20 chars, a high-level SW char may at first seem rather incompetent. As a matter of fact, the power curve in SW is rather shallow compared to D20. Particularly skills are comparatively expensive -- in SW you don't get any skill points for free with a level, but have to weigh it against purchasing a new Edge or Attribute increase.
The advancement is open-ended, although it slows down once you reach the "Legendary" rank (comparable to D20 level ~17+).
Actual Playing Experience:
SW feels very different from D20, but mostly in a good way. First and foremost, combat is much faster. In D20, the GM basically has the choice between a) using lots of low-level mooks that can't really hurt the PCs, and b) using fewer, stronger opponents that can dish out, but take a long while to take down. Neither is particularly satisfying in the long run.
SW officially discriminates between two types of characters, "Wild Cards" (PCs and Major NPCs) and "Extras" (mooks, expendables). Wildcards are much more sturdy (can take more wounds) and lucky (get to roll an extra die for any trait test, and take the better result). There are also "bennies" which more or less are the same as Fate Points, allowing to reroll bad rolls or save your sorry hide, but they have a much higher flow rate in SW. (You get a fresh supply every session, and you can't save any up between sessions, so use them or lose them.)
Extras mustn't be mistaken for "cannon fodder", though; at least not with the SW:EX damage rules. Basically Extras go down with one solid hit, but can dish out just as much pain with every blow as Wildcards, and not just as a rather obscure statistical singularity ("...if he rolls a 20 and confirms the crit and rolls maximum damage and pierces the armour and the target fails his Fort save...") but as a _very_ real threat. As a matter of fact, several optional rules exist to tone down the damage potential of Extras.
Nevertheless, SW allows to conduct battles against large numbers of competent foes to be resolved very quickly. We typically have fights like 3 PCs against 20+ NPCs, and while I never paid attention to the time, it never _felt_ long.
The two major factors speeding up combat are:
1. the Initiative system. Instead of rolling dice, you draw poker cards. The advantage being that it's clearly visible whose turn is when.
2. Damage is stepped in meaningful increments: either a blow doesn't do any damage at all, or it has a direct effect (Shaken or Wound). What you don't get is "13 hit points down, 49 to go". It's a totally different pacing; no wars of attrition but real gory action.
