Fudge in a Nutshell

Although Fudge is designed to be customized by each

Game Master, there are some game design decisions at the Scale — Strength and Mass
core of Fudge that are used by most Fudge Game Masters. Some characters or creatures have certain attributes that
are way beyond the human norm. Prime examples include
Strength, Mass, and Speed. Such attributes are rated in
Characters and Character Traits Scale, which acts as a modifier in interactions between
Fudge characters are described by “traits,” including creatures or items of different Scale.
attributes (any trait that everyone in the game world has), In a human-based game, Human Scale is 0. A race of
skills (any trait that isn’t an attribute and can be improved greater-than-human average strength would be Scale +1
through practice), gifts (any trait that isn’t an attribute or Strength or more, while a race of lesser average strength
skill but is something positive for the character), and faults would be Scale –1 Strength or less. Individuals are then of
(any trait that limits a character’s actions or earns him a Fair or Good Strength, etc., relative to those of their own
bad reaction from other people). Supernormal powers are Scale.
treated as potent gifts. In a “Bunnies” game, where the player characters are
Fudge uses ordinary words to describe some traits, rabbits, Rabbit Scale would be 0, while Human Scale
especially attributes and skills. The following terms of a would likely be +7. In a “Mecha” game, where the player
seven-level sequence are the words suggested by the characters were giant robots, Mecha Scale would be 0,
Fudge author and used in Grey Ghost Games products: while Human Scale would depend on the actual size dif-
ference between the Mechs and humans; a Human Scale
Superb
of –15 relative to the Mecha Scale of 0 would not be
Great
unreasonable.
Good
To calculate appropriate Strength/Mass Scale values, fig-
Fair
ure that each level of Strength Scale represents an increase
Mediocre
of about 1.5 times the Strength and Mass of the previous
Poor
Scale level. This is because the Fudge core rules define
Terrible
each level of Strength (from Terrible to Superb) to be 1.5
There is an additional level not listed above: Legendary, times stronger than the previous level. (This progression
which is beyond Superb. GMs may restrict Legendary isn’t necessarily true for other attributes. Superb Dexterity
traits to non-player characters. is only about twice as good as Fair Dexterity, and each
level of Speed is 1.2 times faster than the previous level.)
Strength Scale increases at the same rate: a Scale 1, Fair
Character Creation Strength individual is 1.5 times stronger than a Scale 0,
Fudge provides two basic means of creating characters: Fair Strength individual.
the “subjective” and “objective” systems. Note that Scale 1 Fair Strength is not exactly equal to a
In the subjective system, the player and GM work together Scale 0 Good Strength — Scale really measures Mass, or
to describe the character in Fudge terms, building from a Density, and affects how easily a creature may be hurt. A
strong character concept. Scale 1 Fair Strength fighter has an advantage over a Scale
In the objective system, a character’s traits start at a 0 Good Strength fighter, even though their Strengths are
default level (Fair for attributes; Poor for most skills) and equal. The Scale 1 fighter is less affected by the other’s
the GM grants each player a number of “free” levels to allo- damage due to his greater mass.
cate. She may also grant “free” gifts, or require one or more
faults. The player can then spend two free levels to raise an
attribute from Fair to Great, for instance; or sacrifice a Action Resolution
number of levels to gain a gift, or give his character a fault For any action the player character wishes to perform, the
in return for levels to apply somewhere else. GM must determine which trait is tested. (This will usually
The trading “values” of various traits and trait levels are: be a skill or an attribute.) If the action is Unopposed, the
GM determines the Difficulty Level. Some actions are so
1 attribute level = 3 skill levels easy that the character succeeds automatically; others are
1 gift = 6 skill levels impossible (no rolls needed).
1 gift = 2 attribute levels
1 gift = 1 fault

Excerpt From: Fudge Expanded Edition, Copyright ©2000 by Grey Ghost Press, Inc., All Rights Reserved. Original Fudge Materials Copyright ©1992-1995 by Steffan
O’Sullivan, All Right Reserved. May be copied for personal use. See http://www.fudgerpg.com for more information about Fudge.
 Fudge in a Nutshell

When setting Difficulty Levels, it may help to keep the

Unopposed Actions statistical results of rolling four Fudge dice in mind:
When a character performs an action that isn’t influ-
enced by anyone else, it is referred to as an Unopposed Odds of rolling Odds of Rolling
action. Examples include jumping a wide chasm, climbing exactly on 4dF: Target or Higher
a cliff, etc. +4 1.2% 1.2%
Difficulty Level: The GM will set a Difficulty Level when a +3 4.9% 6.2%
character tries an Unopposed Action. Usually the Difficulty +2 12.3% 18.5%
Level will be Fair, but some tasks are easier or harder. +1 19.8% 38.3%
Rolled Degree: This refers to how well a character does at a 0 23.5% 61.7%
particular task. If someone is Good at Climbing in general, –1 19.8% 81.5%
but the die-roll shows a +1 to the character’s skill, then the –2 12.3% 93.8%
rolled degree is one level higher than the character’s skill –3 4.9% 98.8%
level — Great, in this case. Rolled degrees from Superb +1 –4 1.2% 100.0%
to Superb +4 are possible; a GM may thus set a Difficulty
Level beyond Superb for nearly impossible actions.
Likewise, there are rolled degrees from Terrible –1 down Wounds
to Terrible –4. The GM should use her imagination in Combat damage to a character can be described as being
determining the consequences of such abysmal failures. at one of seven stages of severity:
Undamaged (no wounds at all)
Just a Scratch (no real game effect)
Opposed Actions Hurt (–1 to traits)
Actions are Opposed when other people (or animals, etc.) Very Hurt (–2 to traits)
may have an effect on the outcome of the action. In this Incapacitated (only the most basic actions allowed)
case, the player of each contestant rolls some dice, and the Near Death (unconscious; death without medical help)
results are compared to determine the outcome. Dead
Relative Degree: This refers to how well a character did
compared to another participant in an Opposed Action. Determining Wound Levels: Fudge offers many ways to track
The relative degree is expressed as a number of levels. If a combat damage. The Objective Damage System assumes
PC gets a rolled degree result of Good in a fight, and his each character will have an Offensive Damage Factor (the
NPC foe gets a rolled degree result of Mediocre, the PC total of modifiers, including any applicable Strength and
beat his foe by two levels — the relative degree is +2 from Scale bonuses, that reflects the deadliness of the weapon
his perspective, –2 from hers. used) and a Defensive Damage Factor (the total of modi-
fiers, including Scale and armor, that reflects the charac-
Fudge Dice and ter’s ability to withstand or avoid damage). To determine
how much damage is done in a given combat round, the
Other Random Generators following formula may be used:
Fudge dice are six-sided dice with two sides marked +
Winner’s Relative Degree + Offensive Damage
(+1), two sides marked – (–1), and two sides left blank
Factor – Loser’s Defensive Damage Factor
(+/–0). Rolling four Fudge dice (4dF) gives results from –4
(sub-Terrible) to +4 (trans-Superb). To determine the result
Damage: 1-2 3-4 5-6 7-8 9+
of an action, roll the dice; use the result to modify the trait
Wounds: Scratch Hurt Very Hurt Incap. Nr. Death
level being tested. For example, a +3 dice result added to a
Fair trait is a Superb rolled degree; a –1 result added to a Most characters can withstand three Scratches, one
Fair trait indicates a Mediocre result. Hurt, and one Very Hurt. Further Scratches are marked as
Alternative 3d6 dice method: Roll 3 six-sided dice. Add the Hurts, further Hurts are marked as Very Hurt, etc. For
numbers and compare to the following table: more cinematic games, GMs may adjust the wound boxes,
allowing two Hurts instead of one, for example.
Rolled: 3-4 5 6-7 8-9 10-11 12-13 14-15 16 17-18 Fudge games will vary, of course, but many have these
Result: –4 –3 –2 –1 +0 +1 +2 +3 +4 simple character creation and action resolution rules at
their core. See Fantasy Fudge, p. 88, as an example.

Excerpt From: Fudge Expanded Edition, Copyright ©2000 by Grey Ghost Press, Inc., All Rights Reserved. Original Fudge Materials Copyright ©1992-1995 by Steffan
O’Sullivan, All Right Reserved. May be copied for personal use. See http://www.fudgerpg.com for more information about Fudge.