[Rendered in HTML and posted at Fudgery.net by Gordon A. Cooper.]

"Back Cover Blurb" and Introduction

FUDGE: Freeform Universal Do-it-yourself Gaming Engine

FUDGE is a unique role-playing game. The basic rules are for experienced Game Masters, but players can range from complete novice to experienced pro. FUDGE works with any genre. Sample characters from many genres are included.

FUDGE has some interesting aspects, including many new concepts in role-playing gaming:

• No fixed attributes. The GM chooses appropriate attributes depending on taste and genre played. Many sample attributes are included.
• FUDGE is a skill-driven system. Skills can also be defined by the GM, anywhere from finely defined individual skills to broadly defined skill groups. The choice is yours, even to mixing as you choose.
• Attributes and skills are word-based, making it easy to determine how good any given character is at anything. You'll never hear players say, "I'm a level (or skill) 14 Fighter." Instead, they'll simply say, "I'm a Great swordsman!"
• Inborn gifts and faults can be created and described by individual players, being as brief or lengthy as the player desires. Many examples are provided to get you started.
• Due to the word-based system, any campaign world or adventure written in FUDGE can be translated painlessly to any other system — and vice versa. This makes FUDGE extremely useful as the "universal translator" of gaming systems.
• A simple action resolution system allows players to know how well they performed an individual action — in words. Rules for six-sided dice, percentile dice, and special FUDGE dice are included. FUDGE can also be run diceless, if desired.
• You can integrate other role-playing rules with FUDGE. If an existing game has a brilliant game mechanism in an otherwise lackluster set of rules, you can easily import the brilliance into FUDGE without bringing along the mediocrity. Do you like the way game X handles psi, game Y combat, and game Z sanity? Use them all freely with FUDGE.
• The GM is given options to help her customize FUDGE toward either a realistic campaign or an "epic" (or "legendary" or "cinematic") campaign. Any genre can be played at any point between these opposing stances of realistic vs. legendary.
• The basic rules can be copied and given away legally. In fact, any publisher can publish FUDGE rules and add their own world backgrounds and adventures — see the Legal Notice for details.
• If you are thinking of designing your own home rules RPG, simply reading FUDGE can provide an excellent introduction to what you need to consider as a game designer.

FUDGE is specifically for people who want a good bedrock to build their own system on. It provides the building blocks you need to customize your own rules. If you haven't found a commercial role- playing game that suits your needs exactly, then FUDGE may be what you're looking for. If you have created a great game setting (or translated one from fiction), but no other game system's rules seem to do it justice, perhaps FUDGE can help you.

The basic FUDGE rules contain no campaign world information (except for samples). Future releases from Grey Ghost Games will include campaign worlds, generic resource books, and adventures. Due to FUDGE's flexible universal nature, these will be usable with any game system.

Table of Contents

• "Back Cover Blurb" and Introduction
  • i. Legal Notice
  • ii. Acknowledgements
  • iii. About the Author
  • iv. Terminology and Format
• 1 Character Creation
  • 1.1 Character Creation Terms
  • 1.2 FUDGE Trait Levels
  • 1.3 Character Traits
    • 1.31 Attributes
    • 1.32 Skills
    • 1.33 Gifts
    • 1.34 Faults
    • 1.35 Personality
    • 1.36 Fudge Points
  • 1.4 Allocating Traits
  • 1.5 Subjective Character Creation
  • 1.6 Objective Character Creation
    • 1.61 Attributes
    • 1.62 Skills
    • 1.63 Gifts & Faults
    • 1.64 Trading Traits
  • 1.7 Uncommitted Traits
  • 1.8 Random Character Creation
  • 1.9 Minimizing Abuse
• 2 Supernormal Powers
  • 2.1 Supernormal Power Terms
  • 2.2 Powers at Character Creation
    • 2.21 Powers Available
    • 2.22 Associated Skills
    • 2.23 Combat Powers
  • 2.3 Non-humans
    • 2.31 Strength and Mass
    • 2.32 Speed
    • 2.33 Scale Correlations
    • 2.34 Cost of Scale
    • 2.35 Racial Bonuses and Penalties
  • 2.4 Legendary Heroes
  • 2.5 Magic
  • 2.6 Miracles
  • 2.7 Psi
  • 2.8 Superpowers
  • 2.9 Cybernetic Enhancements
• 3 Action Resolution
  • 3.1 Action Resolution Terms
  • 3.2 Rolling the Dice
    • 3.21 Reading the Dice
    • 3.22 Other Dice Techniques
    • 3.23 Success Rates
  • 3.3 Action Modifiers
  • 3.4 Unopposed Actions
  • 3.5 Opposed Actions
  • 3.6 Critical Results
  • 3.7 NPC Reactions
• 4 Combat, Wounds & Healing
  • 4.1 Combat Terms
  • 4.2 Melee Combat
    • 4.21 Story Elements
    • 4.22 Simultaneous Combat Rounds
    • 4.23 Alternating Combat Turns
  • 4.3 Melee Combat Options
    • 4.31 Melee Modifiers
    • 4.32 Offensive/Defensive Tactics
    • 4.33 PCs vs. NPCs
    • 4.34 Multiple Combatants in Melee
    • 4.35 Hit Location
    • 4.36 Fancy Stuff
  • 4.4 Ranged Combat
  • 4.5 Wounds
    • 4.51 Wound Levels
    • 4.52 Damage Capacity
    • 4.53 Wound Factors
    • 4.54 Sample Wound Factors List
    • 4.55 Determining Wound Level
    • 4.56 Grazing
    • 4.57 Recording Wounds
    • 4.58 Non-human Scale in Combat
  • 4.6 Wound Options
    • 4.61 Damage Die Roll
    • 4.62 Stun, Knockout, and Pulling Punches
    • 4.63 Min-Mid-Max Die Roll
    • 4.64 PC Death
    • 4.65 Technological Levels as Scale
  • 4.7 Combat and Wounding Example
  • 4.8 Healing
• 5 Character Development
  • 5.1 Subjective Character Development
  • 5.2 Objective Character Development
  • 5.3 Development through Training
• 6 Tips and Examples
  • 6.1 GM Tips and Conversion
    • 6.11 Conversion Hints
    • 6.12 Templates
  • 6.2 Character Sheet Example
  • 6.3 Character Examples
    • 6.31 Fantasy Characters
    • 6.32 Historical Characters
    • 6.33 Modern Characters
    • 6.34 Science Fiction Characters
    • 6.35 Miscellaneous Characters
  • 6.4 Class and Racial Template Examples
    • 6.41 Ranger Template (Fantasy Character Class)
    • 6.42 Broad Class Templates
    • 6.43 Fantasy Race: Cercopes
  • 6.5 Animal & Creature Examples
  • 6.6 Equipment Examples
• 7 Addenda: Samples and Options
  • 7.1 Sample Magic System: FUDGE Magic
    • 7.11 Magic Potential
    • 7.12 Spells
    • 7.13 Mana
    • 7.14 Skill
    • 7.15 Resolution
    • 7.16 Personal Magic Resistance
    • 7.17 Certain Spell-Casting
    • 7.18 Enchanting Items
    • 7.19 FUDGE Magic Options
  • 7.2 Sample Miracle System: FUDGE Miracles
    • 7.21 Divine Favor
    • 7.22 Petitioning a Miracle
    • 7.23 Modifiers to the Petitioning Skill Level
  • 7.3 Sample Psionic System: FUDGE Psi
    • 7.31 Psionic Powers
    • 7.32 Psionic Skills
    • 7.33 Psychic Reservoir
    • 7.34 Psionic Actions
    • 7.35 Desperation Psionics
    • 7.36 Psi Modifiers Summary
    • 7.37 Psi Examples
  • 7.4 Alternate Rules
    • 7.41 On-the-Fly Character Creation
    • 7.42 Running FUDGE Diceless
    • 7.43 Open-Ended Dice
    • 7.44 Heroic Evasion
    • 7.45 Tracking Wounds

i. Legal Notice

FUDGE — Freeform Universal Do-it-yourself Gaming Engine

(c) Copyright 1992-1995 Steffan O'Sullivan. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means (including without limitation photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval), except under a limited, royalty-free license as follows:

1. Copies of all or portions of FUDGE may be made for your own use and for distribution to others, provided that you do not charge any fee for such copies and further provided that each copy contains this Legal Notice in its entirety, whether distributed in print or electronically.

2. You may create derivative works such as additional rules and game scenarios and supplements based on FUDGE, provided that (i) such derivative works are for your own use or for distribution without charge, or for publication in a magazine or other periodical, and (ii) you include at the beginning of each derivative work the following "ABOUT FUDGE" and "DISCLAIMER" paragraphs in their entirety:

ABOUT FUDGE
Fudge is a role-playing game written by Steffan O'Sullivan, 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 from Grey Ghost Games, P.O. Box 838, Randolph, MA 02368. They may be used with any gaming genre. While an individual work derived from Fudge may specify certain attributes and skills, many more are possible with Fudge. Every Game Master using Fudge is encouraged to add or ignore any character traits. Anyone who wishes to distribute such material for free may do so — merely include this ABOUT FUDGE notice and disclaimer (complete with Fudge copyright notice). If you wish to charge a fee for such material, other than as an article in a magazine or other periodical, you must first obtain a royalty-free license from the author of Fudge, Steffan O'Sullivan, P.O. Box 465, Plymouth, NH 03264.

You must include at the beginning of each derivative work the following disclaimer, completed with your name, in its entirety.

DISCLAIMER
The following materials based on Fudge, entitled [your title], are created by, made available by, and Copyright (C) [copyright year] by [your name], and are not necessarily endorsed in any way by Steffan O'Sullivan or any publisher of other Fudge materials. Neither Steffan O'Sullivan nor any publisher of other Fudge materials is in any way responsible for the content of these materials unless specifically credited. Original Fudge materials Copyright (C)1992-1995 by Steffan O'Sullivan, All Rights Reserved.

If you wish to distribute copies of all or portions of FUDGE or derivative works based on FUDGE for a fee or charge, other than in a magazine or other periodical, you must first obtain written permission from:

Steffan O'Sullivan
P.O. Box 465
Plymouth, NH 03264
sos@io.com

ii. Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Andy Skinner for quality input above and beyond anyone else's. Andy's contributions over the years have been both major and profound.

Other valued contributors include Reimer Behrends, Martin Bergendahl, Peter Bonney, Thomas Brettinger, Robert Bridson, Travis Casey, Paul Jason Clegg, Peter F. Delaney, Jay Doane, Ann Dupuis, Paul Dupuis, Brian Edmonds, Shawn Garbett, Ed Heil, Richard Hough, Bernard Hsiung, John H. Kim, Pete Lindsay, Bruce Onder, Christian Otkjaer, Bill Seurer, Larry Smith, Stephan Szabo, John Troyer, Corran Webster, and others on rec.games.design on the Internet.

I would also like to thank, most warmly, Ann Dupuis of Grey Ghost Games for her strong support of FUDGE over the years. Not only has she urged me forward with the work when I got lazy, published FUDGE, promoted it, had FUDGE dice made, and paid my way to many conventions, she's managed to remain a good friend during this time. If you've ever tried to push a lazy, stubborn person into doing what they should be doing, you'll know this is a difficult and usually thankless task. I'd like to break precedent and actually thank her for it.

Groo the Wanderer (TM) is a trademark of Sergio Aragones, and use of the name in this product does not challenge the trademark status in any way.

iii. About the Author

Steffan O'Sullivan is the author of GURPS Bestiary, GURPS Swashbucklers, GURPS Fantasy Bestiary and GURPS Bunnies & Burrows. He lives in New Hampshire, U.S.A., and has wide-ranging interests. He has formally studied history, pre-med, theater and transpersonal psychology.

iv. Terminology and Format

To avoid confusion, "he, him," etc., are used to describe a player and PC, and "she, her," etc., are used to describe a Game Master and NPC.

FUDGE is divided into six Chapters, each of which is divided into Sections. The decimal point in Section numbers is a true decimal. For example, Section 1.35 comes between Section 1.3 and Section 1.4.

[The following is rendered in its original format, but the actual section headers in the text have been converted to HTML. —G.A. Cooper]

Section headers are denoted four different ways:

      ==========       Chapter headers are marked above and below with
      X Chapter       lines of equal signs. There is no decimal point
      ==========       in a Chapter number.


      -----------       Major section headers are marked above and below
      X.1 Section       with lines of hyphens. Note one number after
      -----------       the decimal point.


      - - - - - - -       Minor subsection headers are marked above and
      X.12 Section       below with broken lines of hyphens. Note two
      - - - - - - -       numbers after the decimal point.


      - + - + - + -       Very minor subsection headers are marked above and
      X.123 Section       below with broken lines of hyphens and plus signs.
      - + - + - + -       Note three numbers after the decimal point.

FUDGE is posted to the internet in Plain Vanilla ASCII, as defined by
the Gutenberg project. While this may be a minor inconvenience when
translating to certain word processors, it assures that FUDGE will be
available to as wide an audience as possible, both now and twenty
years from now when most other current formats will be obsolete.

Keep the following in mind when setting FUDGE in a proportional font:

      No tabs are used at all.

      Most indentations are either three, six, or nine spaces. The few
      exceptions are tables where the first column is centered under the
      heading, which sometimes requires an indentation of one or two
      spaces.

      Examples that are one or more paragraphs long are indented three
      spaces. Section-long examples (such as Section 4.7, Combat and
      Wounding Example) are exceptions. In such a case, *commentary* is
      indented three spaces.

      A *table* is defined as text that will be garbled in a proportional
      font. These are set off with [TABLE] and [END TABLE] as a warning
      to the typesetter. However, most tables in Chapter 6 are not set
      off because the majority of the chapter consists of tables. Some
      other tables are not marked as [TABLE] because they are readable
      "as is" in proportional font.

      There are two easy ways to set tables in proportional font:

      1) Open the file in a monospaced file browser (such as Windows
            Notepad) and view the table in question on screen or in a
            printout. Adjust the table in the proportional font
            accordingly.

      2) Copy the table right in the document, change the copied table to
            a monospaced font (such as Courier), and with that as a guide
            adjust the table in the proportional font accordingly. Then
            delete the copied monospace table.