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Fudge provides two basic means of

Fudge Basics is a collection of rules I creating characters: the “subjective”
use for my Fudge games and most of and “objective” systems.
them can be found in Fudge Ex- A Fudge Rules-Collection In the subjective system, the player
panded Edition by Grey Ghost Press.
Compiled by David Bruns, August 2002 and GM work together to describe the
I wrote this document for my group character in Fudge terms, building
and my friends, feel free to use it. from a strong character concept.
In the objective system, a character’s traits start at a default
level (Fair for attributes; Poor for most skills) and the GM
The following materials based on Fudge, entitled Fudge grants each player a number of “free” levels to allocate. She
Basics, were collected, arranged, and made available in 2002 may also grant “free” gifts, or require one or more faults. The
by David Bruns, and are not necessarily endorsed in any way player can then spend two free levels to raise an attribute
by Steffan O'Sullivan or any publisher of other Fudge from Fair to Great, for instance; or sacrifice a number of
material. Neither Steffan O'Sullivan nor any other publisher levels to gain a gift, or give his character a fault in return for
of Fudge material is in any way responsible for the content of levels to apply somewhere else.
these materials unless specifically credited. Original Fudge
materials Copyright © 1992 - 1995 by Steffan O'Sullivan, All
Rights Reserved. 1 attribute level = 3 skill levels
1 gift = 6 skill levels
1 gift = 2 attribute levels
Fudge is a role-playing game written by Steffan O'Sullivan, 1 gift = 1 fault
with extensive input from the Usenet community of
rec.games.design. The basic rules of Fudge are available on
the internet at http://www.fudgerpg.com and in book form Some characters or creatures have certain attributes that are
from Grey Ghost Games, P.O. Box 838, Randolph, MA way beyond the human norm. Prime examples include
02368. They may be used with any gaming genre. While an Strength, Mass, and Speed. Such attributes are rated in Scale,
individual work derived from Fudge may specify certain which acts as a modifier in interactions between creatures or
attributes and skills, many more are possible with Fudge. items of different Scale. In a human-based game, Human
Every Game Master using Fudge is encouraged to add or Scale is 0. A race of greater-than-human average strength
ignore any character traits. would be Scale +1 Strength or more, while a race of lesser
Anyone who wishes to distribute such material for free may average strength would be Scale –1 Strength or less.
do so - merely include this About Fudge notice and Individuals are then of Fair or Good Strength, etc., relative to
disclaimer (complete with Fudge copyright notice). those of their own Scale. In a “Bunnies” game, where the
If you wish to charge a fee for such material, other than as an player characters are rabbits, Rabbit Scale would be 0, while
article in a magazine or other periodical, you must first obtain Human Scale would likely be +7. In a “Mecha” game, where
a royalty-free license from the author of Fudge, Steffan the player characters were giant robots, Mecha Scale would
O'Sullivan, P.O. Box 465, Plymouth, NH 03264. be 0, while Human Scale would depend on the actual size
difference between the Mechs and humans; a Human Scale of
–15 relative to the Mecha Scale of 0 would not be
unreasonable.
Fudge characters are described by “traits,” including
To calculate appropriate Strength/Mass Scale values, figure
attributes (any trait that everyone in the game world has),
that each level of Strength Scale represents an increase of
skills (any trait that isn’t an attribute and can be improved
about 1.5 times the Strength and Mass of the previous Scale
through practice), gifts (any trait that isn’t an attribute or skill
level. This is because the Fudge core rules define each level
but is something positive for the character), and faults (any
of Strength (from Terrible to Superb) to be 1.5 times stronger
trait that limits a character’s actions or earns him a bad
than the previous level. (This progression isn’t necessarily
reaction from other people). Supernormal powers are treated
true for other attributes. Superb Dexterity is only about twice
as potent gifts.
as good as Fair Dexterity, and each level of Speed is 1.2
Fudge uses ordinary words to describe some traits, especially
times faster than the previous level.) Strength Scale increases
attributes and skills. The following terms of a seven-level
at the same rate: a Scale 1, Fair Strength individual is 1.5
sequence are the words suggested by the Fudge author:
times stronger than a Scale 0, Fair Strength individual. Note
Superb
that Scale 1 Fair Strength is not exactly equal to a Scale 0
Great
Good Strength – Scale really measures Mass, or Density, and
Good
affects how easily a creature may be hurt. A Scale 1 Fair
Fair
Strength fighter has an advantage over a Scale 0 Good
Mediocre
Strength fighter, even though their Strengths are equal. The
Poor
Scale 1 fighter is less affected by the other’s damage due to
Terrible
his greater mass.
There is an additional level not listed above: Legendary,
which is beyond Superb. GMs may restrict Legendary traits to
non-player characters.

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$ %
Roll 3 six-sided dice. Add the numbers and compare to the
For any action the player character wishes to perform, the following table:
GM must determine which trait is tested. (This will usually be Rolled 3-4 5 6-7 8-9 10-11 12-13 14-15 16 17-18
a skill or an attribute.) If the action is unopposed, the GM
determines the difficulty level. Some actions are so easy that Result –4 –3 –2 –1 +0 +1 +2 +3 +4
the character succeeds automatically; others are impossible # &' ( )
(no rolls needed). When setting difficulty levels, it may help to keep the statis-
! "" tical results of rolling four Fudge dice in mind.
Result Target Higher
When a character performs an action that isn’t influenced by +4 1.2% 1.2%
anyone else, it is referred to as an unopposed action. +3 4.9% 6.2%
Examples include jumping a wide chasm, climbing a cliff, +2 12.3% 18.5%
etc. +1 19.8% 38.3%
Difficulty Level: The GM will set a difficulty level when a 0 23.5% 61.7%
character tries an unopposed action. Usually the difficulty –1 19.8% 81.5%
level will be Fair, but some tasks are easier or harder. –2 12.3% 93.8%
Rolled Degree: This refers to how well a character does at a –3 4.9% 98.8%
particular task. If someone is Good at Climbing in general, –4 1.2% 100.0%
but the die-roll shows a +1 to the character’s skill, then the
rolled degree is one level higher than the character’s skill
level – Great, in this case. Rolled degrees from Superb +1 to
Superb +4 are possible; a GM may thus set a difficulty level Combat – as presented here – will be dealt with in a quick
beyond Superb for nearly impossible actions. Likewise, there and loose manner, and therefore only the most important
are rolled degrees from Terrible –1 down to Terrible –4. The aspects are portrayed.
GM should use her imagination in determining the The basic time unit of combat is a turn, which represents a
consequences of such abysmal failures. short period of time (1 to 3 seconds) which allows only a
single action per character and turn.
# ""
Actions are opposed when other people (or animals, etc.) may *
have an effect on the outcome of the action. In this case, the In most situations, the questions of 'who acts first' and 'in
player of each contestant rolls some dice, and the results are which order do other characters follow' can be settled by
compared to determine the outcome. comparing all participating characters' relevant traits, such as
Relative Degree: This refers to how well a character did Speed, Dexterity, Coordination, and the like. Characters with
compared to another participant in an opposed action. The the same level in the respective trait act simultaneously.
relative degree is expressed as a number of levels. If a PC Ambushes and Surprise: Obviously the attackers strike in the
gets a rolled degree result of Good in a fight, and his NPC foe first turn of combat before the defenders can act. Subsequent
gets a rolled degree result of Mediocre, the PC beat his foe by turns should be handled according to the development of the
two levels – the relative degree is +2 from his perspective, –2 situation, leading to 'normal combat' after the first few turns.
from hers.

All participants have one action per turn, for example

If a character gets a rolled degree four or more levels better drawing a weapon, attacking, dodging, using a simple object,
than the difficulty level, he has gotten a critical success. reloading a firearm, etc. Some actions can be done
Likewise, four levels below a difficulty level is a critical simultaneously, such as drawing a weapon while moving. Use
failure. This mechanic is also applied to opposed rolls. The common sense to determine what can be done in such a short
exact effects of critical results are up to the GM. time.
"
When a character performs more than one action per turn, all
Fudge dice are six-sided dice with two sides marked + (+1),
his rolls are at a cumulative -1 per additional action. So when
two sides marked – (–1), and two sides left blank (+/–0).
a character charges an enemy he is at -1 to movement (which
Rolling four Fudge dice (4dF) gives results from –4 (sub-
is ignored in case no roll is needed) and -1 to attack.
Terrible) to +4 (trans-Superb). To determine the result of an
More actions (except simultaneous ones) are only allowed if
action, roll the dice; use the result to modify the trait level
the attacker has a trait allowing this!
being tested. For example, a +3 dice result added to a Fair
trait is a Superb rolled degree; a –1 result added to a Fair trait +
indicates a Mediocre result.
The most important part in combat is attacking and defen-
ding. Close and ranged combat will be dealt with separately.
Critical results allow the attacker to bypass armor (totally
ignoring armor Damage Factors) or to increase the weapon's

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damage (weapon Damage Factor, see Special Weapon ,

Properties, below). Fudge offers many ways to track combat damage. The
Objective Damage System assumes each character will have
Close combat can either be unarmed (brawling, martial arts, an Offensive Damage Factor (the total of modifiers, including
etc.) or melee (using real or improvised weapons). In any any applicable Strength and Scale bonuses, that reflects the
case, close combat very abstract and one attack represents an deadliness of the weapon used) and a Defensive Damage
exchange of blows or other maneuvers, counting towards both Factor (the total of modifiers, including Scale and armor, that
the attacker's and the defender's number of actions. reflects the character’s ability to withstand or avoid damage).
Unless one participant is unaware of an attack or decides to To determine how much damage is done in a given combat
ignore it, close combat is an opposed action. The 'winner' of turn, the following formula may be used:
the roll inflicts damage (see Wounds, below), which can lead [Winner’s Relative/Rolled Degree + Offensive Damage
to the attacking character being wounded, while the defender Factor] – [Loser’s Defensive Damage Factor]
stays unharmed. The defender might choose to initiate a , +
counter attack, at which both characters are at -1. The following Wound Track is used, allowing multiple
In addition to his Strength, his weapon's Damage Factor and injuries at lower levels before threatening a character's life.
his Scale, the winner's relative degree is used to determine This Wound Track is truly lethal when high-powered
damage. weapons are used or characters with high skill perform
attacks.
Ranged combat always uses unopposed rolls, depending on DF Wound Penalty # of Wounds
the range to the target and other circumstances of the attack 1 Scratch ooooo
(cover, lighting, movement, etc.). Some projectiles (like 2,3 Hurt -1 oooo
thrown knives) may be dodged, depending on the situation 4,5 V.Hurt -2 ooo
and the GM's decision. 6 Inc. oo
In addition to his weapon's Damage Factor, the winner's 7+ Nr.Death. o
rolled degree is used to determine damage. Characters can suffer multiple wounds of lower level, as
Weapon Range: Each weapon has a base range, in which a indicated in the last column. If a character receives more than
Fair result is needed to hit the target. With each additional this number of wounds, treat any excess wounds as one level
increment of the weapon range, the difficulty of the task is higher. Yes, this can lead to a Near Death result inflicted by a
increased by one Level. For small weapons (handguns and simple Scratch.
submachine guns) the difficulty drops to Mediocre at half
base range, and for very small weapons (handguns only),
#
difficulty drops to Poor at a quarter of the weapon's base The following list is a simple tool to calculate Damage
range. Factors of various weapons and armor, according to their type
Semi-automatic Weapons: Semi-automatic weapons (such as and properties.
pistols, double-action revolvers, etc.) may be fired up to 3 -
times per turn, imposing a cumulative -1 per additional shot +3 for Superb Strength
and target. +2 for Great Strength
Automatic Weapons: Automatic weapons can be simulated +1 for Good Strength
roughly by allowing more bullets to hit with higher relative +0 for Fair Strength
degrees. That is, blasting away with a weapon that fires 20 -1 for Mediocre Strength
bullets in a combat round and hitting with relative degree +1 -2 for Poor Strength
means only one or two hit the target. If a relative degree +8 -3 for Terrible Strength
represents maximum amount of ammunition on target
(whatever that may be for a given weapon), then hitting with a . / , "
+4 means about half maximum hit the target, while +2 means +0 for no weapon
only one quarter. +1 for small weapons
Firearm Accuracy: As an additional feature, certain weapons +2 for medium-weight one-handed weapons
can be given accuracy modifiers (from -1 to +1) to reflect +3 for large one-handed or light two-handed weapons
weapon quality and increased combat range. +4 for most two-handed weapons
+1 for sharpness (add to other weapon damage)
, +1 for powered weapon (add to other weapon damage)
Combat damage to a character can be described as being at
one of the following stages of severity: +1 for small caliber, +5m base range
Undamaged (no wounds at all) +2 for medium caliber, +10m base range
Just a Scratch (no real game effect) +3 for large caliber, +10m base range
Hurt (–1 to traits) +4 for magnum caliber, +5m base range
Very Hurt (–2 to traits) +1 for handgun or machine pistol, base range 10m
Incapacitated (only the most basic actions allowed) +2 for submachine gun or carbine, base range 20m
Near Death (unconscious; death without medical help) +3 for rifles (base range 50m) and shotguns (base range 10m)
Dead

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- " ( " of the game setting, and is up to the GM. Whether or not
+3 for Superb Damage Capacity strenuous activity before the healing period ends reopens a
+2 for Great Damage Capacity wound is also left up to the GM…
+1 for Good Damage Capacity Otherwise, wounds heal on their own at one wound level per
+0 for Fair Damage Capacity week of rest - or longer, if the GM is being more realistic.
-1 for Mediocre Damage Capacity That is, after a week of rest, an Incapacitated character
-2 for Poor Damage Capacity becomes Very Hurt, etc. Someone Near Death should take a
-3 for Terrible Damage Capacity long time to heal.

+1 for light, pliable armor . &'"

+2 for medium, pliable armor As a guideline, good roleplaying should be rewarded with one
+3 for heavy, pliable armor to four FP per gaming session, with an upper suggested limit
+1 for metal armor of five FP for flawless roleplaying. Players may save FP as
+1 for rigid armor long as they wish. As a player you can use Fudge Points in
+1 for powered (sci-fi) armor different ways, either to modify in-game activities or to
" , " . " increase your character's traits through experience.
Blunt Weapons: Blunt weapons reduce the Damage Factor of
non-rigid armor by half (round up) and do 50% more damage 1 ! .
on a critical hit (calculated from the weapon's Damage Factor Spending a Fudge Point may accomplish an Unopposed
only; round up). Shotguns are treated as blunt weapons for action automatically and with panache - good for impressing
purposes of damage calculation. members of the appropriate sex, and possibly avoiding injury
Cutting Weapons: Cutting weapons gain +1 Damage Factor in the case of dangerous actions.
(they are sharp) and do 50% more damage on a critical hit A player may spend one Fudge Point to alter a die roll one
(calculated from the weapon's Damage Factor only; round level, up or down as desired. The die roll can be either
up). one the player makes, or one the GM makes that directly
Impaling Weapons and Bullets: Impaling weapons gain +1 concerns the player’s character.
Damage Factor for sharpness. Impaling weapons and Bullets A player may spend one Fudge Point to declare that
do double damage on critical hits (calculated from the wea- wounds aren’t as bad as they first looked. This reduces the
pon's Damage Factor only). intensity of each wound by one level (a Hurt result
Manstopper Ammunition: Manstopper rounds, such as Dum- becomes a Scratch, for example).
Dums or Hollow Point bullets; increase the weapon's Damage A player may spend two Fudge Points to get an automatic
Factor as well as the defender's armor Damage Factor if +4 result, without having to roll the dice. This use is also
available! The exact amount of bonus depends on the weapon available in Opposed actions.
used. Manstoppers are extremely lethal against unarmored
targets. &'"
Armor Penetrators: Armor Penetrators, such as Full Metal Three Fudge Points (3 FP) may be turned into one Experience
Jacket ammunition and Armor Piercing rounds, decrease the Point (1 EP). Experience Points are used to raise skills and
weapon's Damage Factor as well as the defender's armor attributes, to gain new gifts, or to buy-off faults.
Damage Factor if available! The exact amount of reduction
depends on the weapon used. Penetrators are less lethal but +
effective against armored targets. From To Costs
Weapon Scale: Some weapons, such as whale harpoons and Terrible Poor 01 EP
elephant guns, are designed to harm creatures beyond human Poor Mediocre 01 EP
size. Depending on weapon, they may penetrate or even Mediocre Fair 01 EP
ignore Scale modifiers of the defender. Fair Good 02 EP
Good Great 04 EP
0 Great Superb 08 EP
Wounds are healed through a Medical skill. A Scratch is too Superb Legendary 16 EP
insignificant to require a roll on a Healing skill (although it Legendary Legendary 2nd 30 EP
might require a kiss to make it better). Scratches are usually each additional level of Legendary 50 EP
erased after a battle, provided the characters have five or ten
minutes to attend to them. Triple the cost for skills of the same level.
A Good result on a Healing skill heals all wounds one level 1
(Hurt to healed, Very Hurt to Hurt, etc.). (Scratches do not 6 EP (or more).
count as a level for healing purposes. That is, a Hurt wound
that is healed one level is fully healed.) A Great result heals (
all wounds two levels, and a Superb result heals three levels. 9 EP (or more).
Healing with realistic medical skills takes time: the success of
the roll merely insures the wounds will heal, given enough
rest. How long this takes depends on the technological level

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