Fudgerylog

Some time ago, I posted an article, The Very Idea: Variations on the Trait Ladder, about the lack of adjectives above Superb and below Terrible on the Fudge trait ladder, in which I offered a simple suggestion that was only half in jest. I suggested adding one “Very” to Superb or Terrible for every level above or below the standard trait ladder. Thus, Superb +1 becomes Very Superb, Superb +2 becomes Very Very Superb, and so on. It solves the problem of how to eliminate out-of-character numerical references, although it does so at the expense of seriousness, which may be a problem in some games.

Here I would like to offer a different approach that retains the idea that the additional levels are extensions of the highest and lowest trait levels and not unique trait levels in and of themselves. Instead of adding “Very,” I propose adding a different word to each level, modifying the increasing degrees of Superb and Terrible performance. I have chosen the words, Especially, Exceedingly, Utterly, and Profoundly, although many others lend themselves to this simple function (e.g. Completely, Considerably, Exceptionally, Extremely, Fully, Quintessentially, Really, Significantly, Thoroughly, Totally, Wholly, etc.). It doesn’t matter which words you choose as long as the improved trait ladder is included on every player’s character sheet for reference.

This brings us to a new chart:

With this simple solution we can dispense with the asymmetry of Terrible -4 and the like and remain immersed in our role-playing.