Savage Worlds - Understanding the effects of Shaken

Question

I'm just starting out with Savage Worlds and I'm running through the combat rules

I had two humans

Ag6 Sm6 St6 Sp6 Vi6 - Pc6 Pa5 To5, spiked baseball bat Str+d4 + 2

fighting three frogmen

Ag4 Sm6 St6 Sp6 Vi8 - Pc8 Pa5 To6, bite Str+d4

I quickly got to a point in the fight where one of the humans had stunned a frogman.

The rules on page 77 explain Shaken but I just want to be sure I understand it correctly.

If any character (model), wild card or not, is Shaken, they MUST during their activation, in order of initiative, use their action to roll a Spirit test (TN 4) or spend a Bennie to remove the Shaken effect.

If making a Spirit Test a Failure and a Success both restrict the character to free actions only and since their action has been used up making the roll the character can really only Walk or Run their Pace.

I'm assuming doing Multiple actions is not allowed i.e. saying they are Defending or Taking a wild swing at their attacker at -2.

If they Run/Walk away I assume attackers in melee range get a free attack.

The other thing I'm a bit hazy on is does a melee attack on a Shaken target get a hit bonus? Experience tell me that if you land a solid punch on someone the follow up punch usually hits too but I'm pretty sure that being Shaken doesn't let an attacker do a Finishing Move.

Answer 1

By the original formulation of the rules, a Shaken character begins their turn with a Spirit check or spending a Benny to remove the condition. Upon success, the condition is removed, but without a raise the character's turn ends.

This rule is no longer in effect. In a May 2015 rules update, the condition was changed so a successful Spirit roll eliminates Shaken and allows the character to act normally. Failing the roll means the character can only perform free actions. The update can be downloaded for free here: https://www.peginc.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/SW_FAQ_May_2015.pdf

By my experience, the rule change greatly reduces "stunlocking": prolonged periods of gameplay during which a character is unable to act because of being Shaken.

Other than preventing defensive actions, Shaken doesn't make the target easier to hit. It represents, in part, the opponent's defenses being down enough to actually land a proper attack - the target is not easier to hit, but is easier to wound. At the same time, it makes abilities that inflict Shaken slightly less valuable on their own.