Fudge's features are that its easily customable and has a simple qualitative description and resolution system.
Description Numeric Value Terrible -3 Poor -2 Mediocre -1 Fair 0 Good +1 Great +2 Superb +3 (Legendary) (+4)This leads to intuitive descriptions such as: Naru-naru is a Kaer plains-woman with Good Health, Fair Strength but Poor Dexterity who is a Superb Horsewoman, Fair with a knife but Terrible at Tribal Law.
Health: ability to heal, sustain damage, resist poison etc.
Strength: ability to carry burdens, lift, inflict damage etc.
Agility: balance, whole body co-ordination etc.
Dexterity: fine motor control, skill with hands etc.
Perception: awareness, zanshin, etc.
Will: ability to push the body, resistance to mind magic etc.
Intuition: insight, lateral thinking, non-linear thought etc.
Empathy: emotional sympathy and communication etc.
Reasoning: logical thought etc.
Each of the 9 Attributes will have a rating chosen from the previous table of 7 adjectives.
As for attributes, skills are rated using the seven adjective system.
In the game characters start with two gifts and some example gifts can be found in the character creation document.
By default characters have no faults but players are encouraged to consider one or two to add flavour to their character, provide hooks for the GM, and to allow the purchase of the skills, gifts and attributes the player desires.
This result is then added to the appropriate skill attribute to find the final result.
For example say the character had a rating of Great (+2) in the skill that was appropriate for the current task. If they rolled a -1 there would be a shift of one lower on the table and a Good (+1 = +2 + -1) result would be obtained. Conversely if +1 had been rolled a Superb result would be obtained.
In these cases the player simply makes the roll, adds the appropriate skill/attribute to find the final result.
For instance Max is slightly drunk in the tavern's common room and has jumped atop a table with a musician's mandolin in an attempt to impress his date. Max's "Play Mandolin" skill is only Fair but Max's player rolls a +2. Even though Max chose a rather bawdy ballad his playing was Great and impressed Fiona a lot.
Sometimes actions are either successful or not: the character either succeeds or fails in the attempt. In these cases the GM pre-assigns a result level that is necessary for a success.
For instance despite his fine playing Max said something rather stupid to Fiona and she left in a huff for her room on the 2nd floor of the inn. Deep in his cups Max decides on a risky and ambitious plan to climb the tree outside Fiona's window and plead with her. The GM decides that a Fair result is necessary to successfully climb the tree. Max's climbing is rated at Good but after so much wine the GM assesses a -1 penalty reducing it to a Fair. Unfortunately Max's player rolls a -1 giving a final result of Mediocre (-1). Maybe Max falls or worse, maybe he gets stuck halfway up and has to call for help.
In these cases the results of the characters and NPCs that are opposed and the one with the best result wins.
For example the Duerager outcast Dwarzuga has challenged the other warrior Nanthanene to a competition of axe-throwing to determine who is the best. Targets are set up and Dwarzuga goes first. His skill is Good and his player obtains a 0 result on the roll, yielding a Good throw--enough to hit the target (need a Fair result to hit). Nathanene goes second and though his skill is only Poor his player rolls a +4 to yield a final result of Superb. Nathanene's axe shears through the handle of the Duerager's axe before hitting the target square in the bulls-eye. Dwarzuga just lost a lot of face.
Combat, which is described separately, uses a series of these opposed actions (combat rounds) to determine who strikes who in each three-second interval. Usually the fighters oppose their weapon skill against their opponent's dodge or parry ability.
Often the GM has the hide/fudge their dice rolls or use other methods to get the story back on track. Fudge points are a method for shifting the responsibility to include the players as well.
Each character has a number of Fudge Points (e.g., start the game with 2) that the player can use to modify results within the game (such as a die roll). In story terms these represent the heroic abilities and features of the character as well as the outrageous luck that seems to accompany the best heroes.
Spending a Fudge point will let you:
Panache: automatically accomplish an unopposed action
Skill: alter a die roll by 1 up or down
Luck: reroll
Only a Scratch: halve the number of wound levels inflicted by a single blow
Still Ticking: a blow that should cause death leaves a player at Near Death. If already at Near Death it costs 2 points.
For instance in Max's earlier tree climbing escapade his player could have elected to spend a Fudge point to ensure he climbed the tree with no problems. Similarly he could have modified the die roll by +1 to achieve the necessary result. Finally, if he took a nasty fall he could have reduced the damage by use of a Fudge point (maybe he fell on his head :-).
There are five wound categories:
Scratched: No effect on the character's actions
Hurt: Character is injured. All actions suffer a -1 penalty.
Very Hurt: Character is quite injured (e.g., deep cut). All actions suffer a -2 penalty.
Incapacitated: Character is severely injured and while conscious is incapable of most actions. Maybe they can talk or drag themselves along the floor.
Near Death: Character is unconscious and will likely die if she/he doesn't receive aid soon.
The standard Fudge wound table looks as follows:
Each time a character receives a wound the total points of damage are determine. The player looks across the table until they find the category that corresponds to that level of damage (e.g., 5 or 6 points of damage represents a Very Hurt status). The circle is then filled in and the character suffers any penalties associated with that wound level. If there are no more wound circles at that level then mark off the next highest free circle (cumulative scratches can't push you past the Very Hurt status).
For instance Max ends up in a seedy bar after his fall from the tree and before he knows it he's in a knife fight. Max receives a slash for 4 points and being of Fair Health this corresponds to a Hurt status and all actions are now at -1. In the next round Max throws his opponent through the window but receives a stab for 3 points of damage. Normally this would correspond to a Hurt status but Max's
only Hurt box is full so the Very Hurt must be filled in. Max is now at -2 to all actions and wisely decides to flee.
A character's Health attribute modifies their wound table--those who are healthy can take more damage before being injured and handicapped, while those with frail health. The default wound chart is for a character of Fair Health:- there are three scratched boxes, and one each of the other status boxes, each two points of damage corresponds to a different wound status (i.e., scratched 1-2, hurt 3-4 etc.).
The following table shows the effect of Health on the wound table of a character.
Health Wound Chart Good 4 Scratched boxes Great Good + 2 Hurt Boxes Superb Great + Scratched[1-3], Hurt[4-6],V.Hurt[7-8] etc. Legendary Great + extra Scratched, Hurt, V.Hurt box Mediocre 2 Scratched boxes Poor Mediocre + Scratched[1],Hurt[2-3], etc. Terrible 1 Scratch box, Scratch[1],Hurt[2],V.Hurt[3-4] etc.
Initiative is calculated by adding the character's Initiative trait (normally a number in the range -3 to +3) to the roll of 4dF. The final total is the character's initiative for the round.
The Initiative trait is a derived one: it is the rounded average of a character's Perception, Agility and Intuition ([Perception+Agility+Intuition]/3) and calculated once at the character generation stage.
For instance Max has Good (+1) Perception, Fair (0) Agility and Terrible (-3) Intuition. Adding them together we get a result of -2 or an average of -0.67, which after rounding becomes -1. Max is a bit slow to act in most combat situations as most times he has no clue what his opponent is up to (due to low Intuition).
To score a hit a character must obtain a minimum result of Poor and exceed their target's dodge or parry result.
For instance during the tavern knife-fight Max found himself unarmed and hence was forced to use his fists and feet. Max's Unarmed skill was Good and his opponent was dodging with a Fair skill. Max's net result was a Good unarmed attack (a roll of 0), while his opponent's dodge ended up being poor. Max landed a solid blow due to his result being better than Poor and exceeding his opponent's dodge.
The character rolls their weapon parry or dodge and if the result matches or exceeds that of the opponent the blow is avoided.
For instance Risonda the Blade is fighting another duel. His sword attack skill is Superb while his sword parry skill is merely Great. His opponent attacks and achieves a Good result. Risonda parries and also receives a Good result (-1 rolled)--enough to barely parry the attack.
Each weapon is rated for damage and this is added to the player's Strength (and Scale) value to obtain the basic damage for that weapon in that character's hands.
For instance Max's Strength is Good (+1) and a normal fighting dagger is +1 damage due to its sharpness. Thus the basic damage for Max with a knife is +2.
To the basic damage of the weapon is then added the difference between the character's successful attack result and the defender's avoidance result. This reflects how good the blow was. If the opponent was not avoiding the attack result is compared with a Poor result.
For instance Max is wielding his dagger is some back alley altercation. His attack result is Great (+2) while his opponent's result is simply Fair (0). The difference between these is 2 so this is added to Max's damage with a dagger (2) for a total of 4 points.
There is a luck factor in all actions and this is reflected by rolling 4dF and adding that to the current damage point total. This can shift the result by 4 in either direction though in general the total should vary little.
For instance Max's player rolls 4dF to see how luck might have influenced the blow. He gets a +1, changing the total damage to 5 points.
Finally the protective rating of any armour that the recipient of the blow is wearing (plus the defender's Scale) is subtracted from the damage points. This yields the total damage points which "get through" and this total is then converted into a result on the wound table.
For instance Max's attack is against a man wearing heavy clothing due to it being winter time. This clothing counts as 1-point of armour. Hence 4 points of damage get through (5-1=4) which equates to a wound status of Hurt for someone of Fair Health.
For instance Philmore is throwing darts at an unsuspecting guard who is pacing the grounds of mansion Philmore wants to rob. The GM determines that Philmore needs only a Fair result to hit (it is dark but he is quite close and the guard has no cover). Philmore's attack result is Great and the darts hit...I wonder if they're poisoned.
Characters aware of a ranged attack upon them may attempt to dodge or parry the blow (usually at a reduced chance). In these cases the avoidance result (after modification) is compared with the attack result.
thrown weapons: dodge +0, shield parry +0, other parry -1 to -3
propelled weapons: dodge -1, shield parry -2, other parry -3 to -5
Before initiatives are rolled each round characters can modify their base value by up to plus or minus 2. The following table details the affect upon skills:
Initiative Modification Skill Effect
+2 Attack -1, Avoid -2
+1 Attack -1, Avoid -1
0 Attack +0, Avoid +0
-1 Attack +1, Avoid +0
-2 Attack +1, Avoid +1
At the start of each combat round a player may choose an offensive or defensive footing for their character. If no choice is made its assumed to be normal. The following table details the choices:
Posture Attack Effect Defence Effect All-out Offence +2 -2 Aggressive +1 -1 Normal +0 +0 Defensive -1 +1 All-out Defence -2 +2
Firstly, they surrender any avoidance roll for that turn (i.e., can't parry or dodge).
Secondly they must either be armed with a small light weapon (e.g., dagger, fist etc.) or have a weapon in each hand. The weapon in the character's off-hand suffers a -1 penalty unless the character has the Ambidextrous gift.
For the purposes of determining when the blows occur the primary attack occurs at the initiative level of the character and the secondary attack occurs 3 initiative levels later (e.g., a character with a good initiative result would attack on the "Good" initiative round and then have the second attack on the Poor initiative round).
A player must declare this option at the start of the combat round and it may not be combined with other combat options.
Firstly they surrender any attack roll for that turn.
Secondly the player decides whether the character will parry-parry, dodge-dodge or perform a dodge-parry combination.
If the character is solely dodging or parrying there must be two separate attacks that will be avoided or parried (e.g., can't use two dodges on the same incoming blow). Further, if the character is solely parrying then they must be carrying two suitable objects (one per hand) or a single small object that can be moved rapidly.
A dodge-parry combination can also be used to avoid two blows. It may also be used to avoid a single blow--shifting out of the way and parrying at the same time. In this case the player rolls both the dodge and parry against the attack. The best result is compared with the attack result.
A player must declare this option at the start of a combat round and it may not be combined with other options.
To perform the action the character must be armed with an appropriate weapon (e.g., long sword) and be facing multiple opponents.
The character surrenders any dodge or parry for the turn--opponents hit on a Poor or better result.
The character rolls their base attack skill against the first opponent at -1. If they hit they roll against the second opponent at -2. If that hits... As soon as the character misses no further rolls are made.
Behind enemy: +2 to offence
Back to enemy: Dodge -1, Parry -2, Offence -2
Above enemy: +1 to offence
Below enemy: -1 to offence
Prone/Lying: -2 to offence
Upon receiving such a wound the player may declare that they are making a Heroic Avoidance. The severity of the wound is automatically reduced by one class (e.g., an Incapacitated would become a Very Hurt).
In addition the character is knocked back 1-2 metres and must make an Agility roll against a Fair difficulty level. If a Fair or better result is achieved the character is merely unbalanced and acts at a -2 on all actions for the following round. If the Agility roll is failed the character is knocked off their feet and is prone.
For example an ogre might be considered scale 2, on average roughly 2.3 times stronger and more massive than a normal human.
Of the playable species on Atari Isev the Duerager, mature adult Sylthaen, and some Dragonnewts have a non-zero scale.
Scale affects the game in the following manner: scale is added directly to damage of a blow given to reflect superior strength. Scale is subtracted from the damage of a blow received to reflect the additional toughness of the creature. Differences in scale between combatants adjust the basic roll necessary for a hit to be scored.
For instance a Duerager (scale 1) fighting an infant Sylthaen (scale -1) would cause two extra points of damage with each blow that hit, and each blow received from the Sylthaen would cause two less points of damage. Finally the Duerager would need at least a Fair result to hit while for the Sylthaen even a Terrible blow would hit.
At any time a character receives story derived inspiration they may make a willpower roll to temporarily ignore the effects of wounds. Each plus on the result effectively shifts the character to one lower wound status for the length of that scene. Characters that are Near Death cannot perform this action.
Note that the wounds remain but temporarily the character's will and strength of purpose allows them to ignore the effects.
For instance Risonda the Blade is in yet another duel. His opponent finds a momentary weakness in Risonda's defence and stabs him through the bicep with his rapier for a Very Hurt status. Drawing on his immense pride in never having lost a duel Risonda's player makes a Willpower roll for him. Risonda's Willpower is Great and he rolls a 0, obtaining a Great (+2) willpower result. The effects of Risonda's wounds are temporarily reduced two levels (to scratched) and hence Risonda doesn't suffer the -2: "Hah! A mere scratch, but one for which you will pay dearly", Risonda retorts.
Willpower is also used in resisting magical attacks that seek to sway the mind, shrivel or transform the body etc.
If the spell is successful both the mage and the spell target make Willpower rolls. If the mage's result equals or exceeds that of the target the spell has full effect. If the target's result is higher the power of the spell is reduced proportional to the difference in results.
Basically, each of these are carried out using the action resolution system described above. The full details are outlined in the magic system document.