Fudge in a Nutshell

Although Fudge is designed to be customized by each gamemaster, are then of Fair or Good Strength, etc., relative to those of their own outcome.
there are some game design decisions at the core of Fudge that are used Scale. Relative Degree: This refers to how well a character did compared to an-
by most Fudge GMs. In a Bunnies game, where the player characters are rabbits, Rabbit other participant in an opposed action. The relative degree is expressed
Scale would be 0, while Human Scale would likely be +7. In a Mecha as a number of levels. If a PC gets a rolled degree result of Good in a
Characters and Character Traits game, where the player characters were giant robots, Mecha Scale fight, and his NPC foe gets a rolled degree result of Mediocre, the PC
Fudge characters are described by traits, including attributes (any trait would be 0, while Human Scale would depend on the actual size differ- beat his foe by two levels the relative degree is +2 from his perspec-
that everyone in the game world has), skills (any trait that isnt an attri- ence between the mechs and humans; a Human Scale of 15 relative to tive, 2 from hers.
bute and can be improved through practice), gifts (any trait that isnt an the Mecha Scale of 0 would not be unreasonable.
attribute or skill but is something positive for the character), and faults Fudge Dice
(any trait that limits a characters actions or earns him a bad reaction To calculate appropriate Strength/Mass Scale values, figure that each Fudge dice are six-sided dice with two sides marked + (+1), two sides
from other people). Supernormal powers are treated as potent gifts. level of Strength Scale represents an increase of about 1.5 times the marked - (1), and two sides left blank (+/-0). Rolling four Fudge dice
Fudge uses ordinary words to describe some traits, especially attributes Strength and Mass of the previous Scale level. This is because the Fudge (4dF) gives results from 4 (sub-Terrible) to +4 (trans-Superb). To de-
and skills. The following terms of a seven-level sequence are the words core rules define each level of Strength (from Terrible to Superb) to be termine the result of an action, roll the dice; use the result to modify
suggested by the Fudge author and used in Grey Ghost Games products: 1.5 times stronger than the previous level. (This progression isnt neces- the trait level being tested. For example, a +3 dice result added to a Fair
sarily true for other attributes. Superb Dexterity is only about twice as trait is a Superb rolled degree; a 1 result added to a Fair trait indicates
Superb good as Fair Dexterity, and each level of Speed is 1.2 times faster than a Mediocre result.
Great the previous level.) Strength Scale increases at the same rate: a Scale 1
Good Fair Strength individual is 1.5 times stronger than a Scale 0 Fair Strength
individual.
Wounds
Fair Combat damage to a character can be described as being at one of sev-
Mediocre Note that Scale 1 Fair Strength is not exactly equal to a Scale 0 Good
en stages of severity:
Poor Strength Scale really measures Mass, or Density, and affects how eas-
Terrible ily a creature may be hurt. A Scale 1 Fair Strength fighter has an advan-
Undamaged (no wounds at all)
tage over a Scale 0 Good Strength fighter, even though their Strengths
Just a Scratch (no real game effect)
There is an additional level not listed above: Legendary, which is beyond are equal. The Scale 1 fighter is less affected by the others damage due
Hurt (1 to traits)
Superb. GMs may restrict Legendary traits to non-player characters. to his greater mass.
Very Hurt (2 to traits)
Incapacitated (only the most basic actions allowed)
Character Creation Action Resolution Near Death (unconscious; death without medical help)
Fudge provides two basic means of creating characters: the subjective For any action the player character wishes to perform, the GM must de- Dead
and objective systems. termine which trait is tested. (This will usually be a skill or an attribute.)
In the subjective system, the player and GM work together to describe If the action is unopposed, the GM determines the difficulty level. Some Determining Wound Levels: Fudge offers many ways to track combat
the character in Fudge terms, building from a strong character concept. actions are so easy that the character succeeds automatically; others are damage. The Objective Damage System assumes each character will
In the objective system, a characters traits start at a default level (Fair impossible (no rolls needed). have an Offensive Damage Factor (the total of modifiers, including any
for attributes; Poor for most skills) and the GM grants each player a applicable Strength and Scale bonuses, that reflects the deadliness of
number of free levels to allocate. She may also grant free gifts, or Unopposed Actions the weapon used) and a Defensive Damage Factor (the total of modi-
require one or more faults. The player can then spend two free levels to When a character performs an action that isnt influenced by anyone fiers, including Scale and armor, that reflects the characters ability to
raise an attribute from Fair to Great, for instance; or sacrifice a number else, it is referred to as an unopposed action. Examples include jumping withstand or avoid damage). To determine how much damage is done in
of levels to gain a gift; or give his character a fault in return for levels to a wide chasm, climbing a cliff, etc. a given combat round, the following formula may be used:
apply somewhere else. Difficulty Level: The GM will set a difficulty level when a character tries
The trading values of various traits and trait levels are: an unopposed action. Usually the difficulty level will be Fair, but some Winners Relative Degree + Offensive Damage Factor Losers Defen-
tasks are easier or harder. sive Damage Factor
1 attribute level = 3 skill levels Rolled Degree: This refers to how well a character does at a particular
1 gift = 6 skill levels task. If someone is Good at Climbing in general, but the die roll shows
Damage: 1-2 3-4 5-6 7-8 9+
1 gift = 2 attribute levels a +1 to the characters skill, then the rolled degree is one level higher
1 gift = 1 fault than the characters skill level Great, in this case. Rolled degrees from Wounds: Scratch Hurt Very Hurt Incap. Nr. Death
Superb +1 to Superb +4 are possible; a GM may thus set a difficulty level
Scale Strength and Mass beyond Superb for nearly impossible actions. Likewise, there are rolled Most characters can withstand three Scratches, one Hurt, and one Very
Some characters or creatures have certain attributes that are way be- degrees from Terrible 1 down to Terrible 4. The GM should use her Hurt. Further Scratches are marked as Hurts, further Hurts are marked
yond the human norm. Prime examples include Strength, Mass, and imagination in determining the consequences of such abysmal failures. as Very Hurt, etc. For more cinematic games, GMs may adjust the wound
Speed. Such attributes are rated in Scale, which acts as a modifier in boxes, allowing two Hurts instead of one, for example.
interactions between creatures or items of different Scale. Opposed Actions
In a human-based game, Human Scale is 0. A race of greater-than-hu- Actions are opposed when other people (or animals, etc.) may have an To learn more about Fudge, please check out
man average strength would be Scale +1 Strength or more, while a race effect on the outcome of the action. In this case, the player of each con- www.fudgerpg.com
of lesser average strength would be Scale 1 Strength or less. Individuals testant rolls some dice, and the results are compared to determine the
LICENSE
Fudge is a roleplaying game written by Steffan OSullivan, with extensive Used under and in terms of this License. You must affix such a notice to able, such provision shall be reformed only to the extent necessary to
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http://www.fudgerpg.com and other sites. Fudge was designed to be No other terms or conditions may be applied to any Open Game Content 15 COPYRIGHT NOTICE
customized, and may be used with any gaming genre. Fudge gamemas- distributed using this License. Open Game License v 1.0 Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
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