:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.: : Earth's Dreamlands : Info on: RPG's, :(313)558-5024 : area code : :RPGNet World HQ & Archive: Drugs, Industrial :(313)558-5517 : changes to : : 1000's of text files : music, Fiction, :InterNet : (810) after : : No Elite / No porn : HomeBrew Beer. :rpgnet@aol.com: Dec 1,1993 : :.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.: =======================> GET FUDGE-ADDENDA.RULES Getting File: SERVER:[GRASS]FUDGE-ADDENDA.RULES;1 Subject: FUDGE June19, Chapter 7 FUDGE: Freeform, Universal, Donated Gaming Engine A Free Role-playing Game (RPG). By Steffan O'Sullivan Version: June 19, 1993 1.2 Legal Notice ----------------- Version: June 19, 1993 FUDGE is copyright 1992, 1993 by Steffan O'Sullivan. It may be freely copied and distributed by any means desired. This legal notice must be included with each copy of FUDGE. No charge may be made for FUDGE beyond a maximum US$6 fee (at 1993 rates) for materials and shipping, without written permission from the author. A publisher who wishes to include FUDGE in a book of copyrighted source material or adventures may do so, so long as (1) the publisher's copyrighted material is longer than the amount of FUDGE material included, (2) at least Chapter 1 of FUDGE, including this legal notice and the full Table of Contents, is included, (3) the words to Chapter 1 of FUDGE, including this legal notice, are not changed in any way, and (4) there is no extra charge for including FUDGE in the book. FUDGE was first published in 1992 on internet, and was written by Steffan O'Sullivan (sos@oz.plymouth.edu) with an extensive amount of high-quality input from Andy Skinner. Other valued contributors include Martin Bergendahl, Thomas Brettinger, Robert Bridson, Travis Casey, Paul Jason Clegg, Peter F. Delaney, Jay Doane, Shawn Garbett, Ed Heil, Bernard Hsiung, John H. Kim, Christian Otkjaer, Bill Seurer, Larry Smith, Stephan Szabo, and others on rec.games.design on internet. Groo the Wanderer (TM) is a trademark of Sergio Aragones, and use of the name does not challenge the trademark status in any way. 7 Addenda: Samples and Options =============================== The Addenda consist of a variety of supplementary material for FUDGE. Anyone may add to any sections beyond this point, including creating brand new ones. Chapters 1.3 through 5 represent plain, vanilla FUDGE - here you can find and create fancier fare. If you pass FUDGE around, please add any of your customizations to this chapter (quoting Section number and name, such as 2.33, Gifts), rather than change the original. Suggestions for a specific genre also go in the Addenda. Examples: a list of sample superpowers, or a list of guns and their damage. Please include a date and credit for the change, and, if possible, notify Steffan O'Sullivan (sos@oz.plymouth.edu, or P.O. Box 465, Plymouth, NH 03264), the original author of FUDGE. 7.1 Sample Magic System: FUDGE Magic ------------------------------------- Date: November & December, 1992 By: Steffan O'Sullivan Here is a sample magic system, based on the following premises mentioned in Section 3.5, Magic: Who can cast: Magicians only (supernormal power needed). Levels of Power: yes. The only game effect is as a reserve in case of severe failure, which temporarily drains Power. Source of Power: manipulation of local area mana. Reliability: Fair. Time to cast spells: depends on potency of spell: 1 minute to days. This can be speeded up by taking a penalty to the roll. Spells: improvised. Exact wording isn't important, so magic books tend to be collections of effects, not formulae. Material Components: none needed, but good use can give a +1 bonus to skill. Drawbacks: casting non-trivial spells is fatiguing; severe failure causes distress. This system is based on the conviction that a *player* using magic should never be blase: there should always be some tension and excitement when casting a spell, or the magic has gone out of the game. Too often in a roleplaying game, the player running a magician uses tried-and-true spells so often that spell-casting becomes mundane. Since "mundane magic" seems a contradiction in terms, FUDGE Magic attempts to instill a little excitement into spell-casting. There are many ways to achieve this. FUDGE Magic has chosen the following limitations: 1) The mana available for a specific spell result gradually becomes depleted as it used up. That is, casting two fireballs in a row is harder than casting one fireball and one lightning blast, for example. 2) Magic is an untamable force; there is a skill cap for casting spells. 3) Magic is somewhat risky to use - there are penalties for severe failure. Options are provided to alter these, for any GMs who disagree. In fact, Section 7.193, Spell-Casting Skill Alternatives, is essential for Faerie races and demigods, who have much more dependable magic powers than humans. (Such characters would have to buy it normally, however, unless the GM is very generous. Taking some superfaults to balance it is quite in keeping with their nature.) See Section 6.3 for sample characters using FUDGE Magic. 7.11 Magic Potential --------------------- A character with at least one level of Magic Potential (usually abbreviated to Potential, sometimes simply called Power) is referred to as a magician in this text - substitute your favorite word. Only magicians may cast spells (but see Section 7.192, Magicians & Non- Magicians). Magic Potential may be taken more than once, but each level counts as a separate supernormal power. Thus, if the GM is allowing three free powers, a character may have Magic Potential 3. A character may also trade 2 gifts (or 6 attribute levels, or 18 skill levels) for one level of Potential. Failing a spell miserably causes the temporary loss of a level of Magic Potential (see Section 7.15, Resolution). When this happens, the magician faints for at least one combat round. He needs a Constitution Fair degree result to wake up, roll each round. When he comes to, the magician may function normally, even attempting to cast the same spell again - *if* he hasn't dropped below 0 Potential. If a magician drops to -1 Potential, he immediately falls into a coma, lasting anywhere from an hour to a day (GM's decision). When he wakes, he must roll a degree task against his Constitution: on a Mediocre or worse roll, he takes a wound. He checks Constitution again at the end of every day he is *active* - a failed result means another wound. These wounds *cannot* be healed until he recharges his Magic Potential to level 0. A magician with 0 Potential may still cast spells; a magician at -1 Magic Potential, however, cannot attempt any magic spells. Magic Potential may be recharged *only* by resting for one week per level. (GMs may alter this time to taste, of course: resting for one day might be sufficient for more epic campaigns.) For example, a magician falls to -1 Potential. Resting one week will bring him up to 0 Potential (and cure any wounds incurred by being active while at -1 Potential). A second week of rest will bring him up to +1 Potential. However, no character may gain Magic Potential levels beyond his starting level except through Character Development - see Chapter 5. 7.12 Spells ------------ When a magician wishes to cast a spell, he describes the result he has in mind. The GM assesses how powerful such an effect would be, based on how prevalent magic is in her campaign. In a low-magic campaign, even a simple spell such as levitating the jail keys over to an imprisoned character would be taxing. In a high-magic campaign, however, that would be a trivial spell, and even shooting forth a flash of lightning from a fingertip wouldn't be out of the ordinary. Spells, then, are either Trivial, Average, or Potent. (And they may be Very Trivial, or Very Potent, of course.) The GM tells the player what the potency of a proposed spell is - a magician would have a sense of this. The GM also decides the duration of the spell, if it succeeds - seconds, minutes, hours, days, etc. The GM and player may try to adjust this: the magician can voluntarily take more fatigue for a longer duration, or reduce the scope of the effect, etc. Rolling a higher relative degree means it lasts longer. Some spells might have permanent effects, such as healing (until wounded again), busting a hole in a wall (until repaired manually or by magic), teleporting to a distant place (until you come back), and so on. Of course, even these spell effects may be temporary in a given GM's world: healing only lasts a day and the wound reappears, or a hole in the wall fixes itself after a few minutes, or a teleported person automatically returns after an hour in the other location . . . The GM also needs to determine if there are any drawbacks to casting a spell. FUDGE Magic assumes that spells are tiring to cast, and a magician reduces his Fatigue attribute when casting. The more potent the spell, the more the fatigue. (Fatigue is regained by resting, of course. If Fatigue goes below Terrible, the character passes out.) You may not like this idea, and either skip it entirely or change the drawback to something else. Perhaps a magician has a limited number of spells he can cast in a day, or in an hour. Or maybe each spell affects his Sanity attribute, and he needs to convalesce to restore it. (Reduced Sanity can manifest in many amusing ways in the meantime, of course!) 7.13 Skill ----------- Spell-casting is a skill that must be learned. The default is Non- Existent, and, due to the element of uncertainty in FUDGE Magic (see Section 7.1, FUDGE Magic), the maximum base skill level is Fair. This cannot be raised permanently - but see Section 7.193, Spell-Casting Skill Alternatives. One generic Spell-Casting skill is assumed, but the GM may require more if she breaks magic down into different types. Spell-casting skill may be modified (to a maximum of Great) by the following: Casting a Trivial spell: +1 or +2. Casting an Average spell: +0. Casting a Potent spell: -1 or more. Taking an average time to cast a spell: +0. (Note: the GM assesses the average time for any given spell proposed. Potent spells might take all day, or even longer, while Trivial ones might take one to five minutes.) Taking a long time to cast a spell carefully: +1. (Relative to each spell, of course. For a Trivial spell, this might mean taking a half an hour or more.) Casting a spell much more quickly than normal: -1. (For a Trivial spell, this could mean as quickly as one combat round of concentration.) Using normal effort to cast a spell: +0. Using extra effort to cast a spell (more fatigue than normal, or counts as two spells cast if there is a limit per day, or reduces Sanity more than normal, etc.): +1 or +2. Using less effort than normal to cast a spell: -1 or more. (Reduced fatigue, or it only counts as half a spell against a daily limit, etc.) First spell-casting of a particular effect in a given area within 24 hours: +0. Additional spell-castings of a particular effect in a given area within 24 hours: -1 per casting. (The size of the area is defined by the GM. For most fantasy worlds, assume it's about 50 yards or meters in diameter. In a low-level magic campaign, the area might be the size of town or even city, while a high-level magic campaign might be so mana-rich that the magician can simply take a step or two and be in a new area. Note that the *area* governs which spells can be cast without penalty: if one magician casts a healing spell, a second magician will be at -1 to cast a healing spell in the same area within the next 24 hours. Note also that a magician may be unaware of what spells were cast in an area before he arrived . . .) For using authentic magic formulae: +1. (The Law of Contagion or the Law of Similarity, for example - see Frazer, _The Golden Bough_. Both Laws require some physical component: a feather to cast a flight spell, a piece of the subject's hair to heal or hurt her, a drop of water that becomes a water jet, a stick that becomes a staff, a bearskin to change the magician into a bear, etc. Drafting the spell in poetical form might also earn +1 level, if the GM is willing.) Multiple magicians casting a spell that they have *all* tried before: +1 (for 2 to X magicians) or +2 (for more than X magicians). (X is set by the GM, anywhere from 2 to 10, or even more for low-magic campaigns. One magician is assumed to be the primary caster: roll only once against his skill.) Other modifiers may also apply, such as in a spell to search the mountains magically for someone you love (+1) or searching for someone you've never met (-1). 7.14 Natural Magic Resistance ------------------------------ Each area has a Natural Magic Resistance, simply called Local Resistance, or just Resistance. Resistance is described as a level, ranging from Terrible to Superb, with an average of Fair for most *fantasy* campaigns. The GM sets the Resistance level based on how prevalent magic is in the game. The general Resistance level is probably Great or Superb in a setting like modern earth, while a fantasy campaign with high levels of magic might have a Mediocre or even a Poor Resistance level. There may be worlds in which the Natural Magic Resistance level fluctuates from place to place, or possibly even with the phases of the moon. There may even be "currents" or "tides" of low or high Resistance that change course periodically, even invading totally new areas. Thus, even here on high-Resistance modern earth, there will be places and times of the year when cultists gather to call forth unseen powers ... A PC magician would know the general Resistance level for at least his home area. He may or may not know whether it fluctuates periodically, or if far lands have different Resistance levels. In order to determine the specific Resistance of the local area at a given time, a magician needs to cast a spell specifically to that end. 7.15 Resolution ---------------- Each spell is then resolved as an Unopposed action: the degree task is equal to the Natural Magic Resistance of the area. If the magician *surpasses* the degree task, he has overcome the area's natural magic resistance and the spell occurs as he described it. The better the relative degree, the better the result. The magician suffers -1 (or more) to his Fatigue attribute *if* the GM deems the spell is fatiguing. (If the GM has chosen some other drawback, of course, that is applied instead.) Sometimes a skill roll is then needed to *do* something with the end result of a spell. For example, a fireball needs to be thrown accurately: use the Throwing Skill and Ranged Weapon rules. If the magician *equals* the degree task, then a watered-down version of the spell occurs. Either it will have a very short duration, or reduced potency, or there is a time lag before the spell takes effect, etc. There may be an unexpected side effect, though it won't be harmful to the magician. There is no penalty for the magician beyond a possible -1 or -2 to Fatigue, at worst. If the magician rolls *below* the degree task, however, he is adversely affected. The Natural Magic Resistance of the area has resisted his attempt to manipulate mana, and his psyche is jolted because of it. There may (or may not) be some magical effect, but it will *not* be the desired effect, and, if he rolled poorly enough, it may even be inimical to the magician's goals - or health . . . On a failed roll, the magician is stunned for one combat round (no actions or defense) and takes at least -1 Fatigue. If he rolls a result of -3 or -4, the spell automatically fails (no matter what the rolled degree) *and* he also temporarily drains one level of his Magic Potential - see Section 7.11, Magic Potential, for effects. (This is the "riskiness" of magic mentioned in Section 7.1, FUDGE Magic.) Examples: Barny casts a spell of Average potency in a Fair Resistance area and gets -2: a Poor result. The spell fails and Barny is stunned for a combat round, but he does *not* drain a level of Magic Potential because he rolled better than -3. Later, in an area of Poor Resistance, Barny takes a long time (+1) to cast a Trivial spell (+1), raising his skill by +2 temporarily to Great. He rolls a -3 result, which is a Mediocre rolled degree. Although the rolled degree is greater than the Resistance, the spell still fails because he rolled a -3 result. Barny also exhausts 1 level of Magic Potential - ouch! 7.16 Personal Magic Resistance ------------------------------- If the spell is one which attempts to Control another being, either mentally, physically or spiritually, then Opposed action rolls are *also* called for. First, the magician needs to overcome the Local Resistance of the area (as above); then he has to overcome the Personal Magic Resistance of the subject. Personal Resistance may be an attribute or gift, as the GM wills; it may even be a different attribute for different types of spells (a mental attribute for attempts to control the mind, etc.). Note that this second roll is Opposed - the subject of the spell gets a chance to resist it, and so can influence the result. If the GM is willing, the magician may roll against the degree result he rolled to cast the spell. That is, if he rolled a Great result on the spell, he rolls the Opposed action as if his skill were Great. Otherwise, he uses the same level he rolled initially against. "Control" can mean many things to different GMs. Personal Resistance would resist an attempt to read someone's mind to one GM, but not to another. Personal Resistance does *not* resist any spell that calls or creates physical energy to lash out at another being, though. If the magician successfully creates lightning at his fingertips to blast at the subject, that is not resisted by Personal Resistance; it is treated as a physical weapon. 7.17 Certain Spell-Casting --------------------------- Sometimes a magician desperately needs a certain result. In this case, he may opt not to roll the dice at all, and simply drain one level of Magic Potential for a guaranteed success. He takes the usual penalties for losing a level of Potential - see Section 7.11, Magic Potential. The GM may restrict this to Trivial spells, or non-Potent spells, or have no restrictions at all, beyond requiring the normal fatigue (or other) penalties. If the spell is one that could logically be resisted by the subject, however, the subject still gets a Resistance roll. In this case, the magician rolls as if his skill were Great. 7.18 Enchanting Items ---------------------- Items may be permanently enchanted in this system. The magician works for a number of weeks or months as required by the GM, depending on the number and potency of the spells desired, and the general availability of magic items in the campaign. At the end of *each* month (or week), the magician rolls against two degree tasks: one to overcome the Resistance of the area, and the other to overcome the Resistance of the item. The usual penalties apply on failing to overcome Resistance. If he surpasses the degree task, the spell is slowly being set into the item, one stage at a time. On a tied degree task, the work counts as only half a time period, but does progress the enchantment. Obviously, an area with low Natural Magic Resistance (Poor or even Terrible) will attract magicians, especially enchanters. 7.19 FUDGE Magic Options ------------------------- One of these options offer a way to limit FUDGE Magic for those who think it is too sweeping. The others make magic more reliable and less risky, and even make it available to non-magicians. 7.191 Specialized Magic Potential ---------------------------------- In this option, each Magic Potential level must be bought as a specialization. A specialization can be suggested by the player or set by the GM. The categories can be as broad or as narrow as the GM wishes: the broader the terms, the more powerful the magicians. Examples of specialized Potential: Augury, Combat Magic, Communication Magic, Defensive Magic, Elemental Magic, Flying Magic, Healing Magic, Illusion, Information-Gathering Magic, Mind Control, Necromancy, Only Affects Living Beings, Only Affects Sentient Beings, White Magic (cannot harm anyone, even indirectly), etc. Very narrow specializations should probably cost less than 1 supernormal power: perhaps each very specialized Potential is worth 1 gift. If the GM allows it, a character may have Power levels in more than one specialization. In order to cast a spell of a given result, the magician *must* have at least +1 Potential specialized in that type of magic (on the character sheet, that is: he may be temporarily reduced to 0 Potential). Someone with +1 Potential: Combat Magic and +2 Potential: Information-Gathering could not cast a spell to control someone's mind, for example. Note that specializations can also be handled as faults: see Section 6.3, Character Examples. 7.192 Magicians & Non-Magicians -------------------------------- The GM may allow non-magicians to cast spells. In this case, it is *very* risky, as there is no Magic Potential "cushion" - one severe failure is enough to devastate the character. Still, in an emergency, it may be worth the risk. Such a character would still need to have some Spell-casting skill, however. (But see Section 7.193, Spell- casting Skill Alternatives). The GM may choose to define a spell of "average" potency differently for a magician (anyone with at least 1 level of Magic Potential on the character sheet) and a non-magician. In this case, a non-magician is at -1 or -2 to cast what a magician can cast with no penalties. For an even greater difference between magicians and non-magicians, rule that a non-magician can only cast a spell that a magician considers Trivial. (That is, the spell is so Trivial that a magician gets a bonus for casting it, as stated in Section 7.13, Skill.) The non-magician may even be at -1 or -2 for trying such a powerful (to him) spell. 7.193 Spell-Casting Skill Alternatives --------------------------------------- Since tastes differ, and FUDGE Magic tends to be undependable (see Section 7.1, FUDGE Magic), three options are provided for more reliable spell-casting: 1) Use the basic FUDGE Magic system, but allow a magician to improve his chances of casting a spell beyond Fair. At a cost of one *supernormal power,* this may be raised to Good. At a cost of *two more* supernormal powers, casting skill may be raised from Good to Great, the maximum. 2) GMs who want magic to be a *lot* more reliable can simply treat Spell-casting as any other skill. That is, it costs the usual skill costs to raise it to Good or even Great. Superb Spell- casting is not recommended for any but inherently magical races, however, even in high-level magic campaigns. 3) Another possibility for potent magic is simply having Spell-Casting equal to the Will attribute. (There may still be a ceiling of Great, Good, or even Fair. In the latter case, this is still a potent option because the player doesn't have to buy Spell-casting skill.) This is especially appropriate for games in which non- magicians can cast spells - see Section 7.192, Magicians & Non- Magicians. 7.194 Less Risky Spell-Casting ------------------------------- To make spell-casting less risky (not necessarily a good thing - see Section 7.1, FUDGE Magic), make it harder to drain a level of Potential. Examples (apply as many or as few as desired): 1) 1 level of Potential is drained only on a -4 result; 2) A magician cannot deplete a level of Magic Potential if he is attempting a Trivial spell; 3) A magician cannot exhaust a level of Magic Potential if he is attempting a Trivial or Average spell; 4) A magician cannot deplete a level of Magic Potential if he takes enough time to get a +1 bonus for slow and careful spell-casting; 5) 1 level of Magic Potential can only be depleted on a hurried spell- casting attempt that fails badly; 6) A magician cannot drain a level of Magic Potential on the first spell cast each day, or when the moon is full, or if the Natural Magic Resistance is Mediocre or worse, etc., etc. 7.2 Sample Miracle System: FUDGE Miracles ------------------------------------------ Date: December, 1992 By: Steffan O'Sullivan Here is a sample miracle system (not generic), based on the following premises mentioned in Section 3.6, Miracles: Can miracles occur by petition: yes. Who can petition: anyone. Holy persons have an advantage, however. (A holy person is one with the supernormal power: Divine Favor, *plus* character behavior must be in synch with deity's goals - GM decision on how the player is roleplaying.) Religious Investiture is not required, and, in fact, does no good if behavior is inappropriate. It is primarily a social advantage that may or may not coincide with Divine Favor. Certainty of petitioned miracles: Mediocre. Broad or specific requests: specific requests are more likely to be granted. 7.21 Divine Favor ------------------ Divine Favor is a supernormal power that can be taken more than once. Each time Divine Favor is taken, it is dedicated to a single deity. It is possible to have Divine Favor from more than one deity in a polytheistic world, or you can have multiple steps of Divine Favor from a single deity. Each step of Divine Favor counts as *two* supernormal powers. Divine Favor can be temporarily lost if the character does not act in accordance with the deity's desires. Usually a period of atonement is required to regain Divine Favor. This may be instantaneous for a very merciful deity, or it may take up to a month for stricter deities. All steps are lost and regained as a unit when this happens. 7.22 Petitioning a Miracle --------------------------- A character may petition a miracle at any time. However, some deities do not like to be disturbed for trivial matters, and may ignore requests when it is obvious the character hasn't even tried to help himself. In FUDGE Miracles, the petition should be fairly precisely worded. Rather than a simple, "Please help me," the character should focus the plea: "We are starving, please feed us," or, "My friend is dying, please heal him." A holy character can petition for any miraculous result desired, however - there is no established list of miracles. Characters without Divine Favor have a Petitioning skill of Poor (or Mediocre, if the GM wants a more deity-active game). Those with one or more steps of Divine Favor have a Petitioning skill of Fair. Petitioning skill cannot be raised. (If the GM wants a high-level deity-active campaign, Petitioning skill can be raised to Good at the cost of one supernormal power.) Petitioning skill *can* be modified, however - see the next section. To resolve a petition, make an Unopposed action roll against Petitioning skill. Each step of Divine Favor grants the holy character one extra chance to roll the dice in a petition to his deity. On a Fair or worse result, the roll is a failure. If the character has any steps of Divine Favor from the same deity, he may roll again for each step (this does not count as a separate petition). He can stop at any point: only the last result rolled counts. This means a character with two steps of Divine Favor can try one, two, or three rolls. If he gets Good, Fair, and Mediocre results, in that order, the result of the petition is Mediocre. On a Fair or Mediocre result, the petition isn't answered by the deity, but the deity isn't annoyed by the petitioner. On Poor or worse result, however, the deity is angry with the character, and there will be a -1 on the next petition attempt. If the deity is evil, a miracle may actually occur, but not one the petitioner is likely to enjoy . . . On a Good or better result, the petition is granted. The better the rolled degree, the better the answer to the prayer. For example, a Good result might heal one wound, while a Superb result would totally heal the character. A Good result might call a wolf to defend the petitioner, while a Superb result might call three lions. And so on. 7.23 Modifiers to the Petitioning Skill Level ---------------------------------------------- All modifiers are decided by the GM: The petitioner's behavior lately has been strictly in accordance with the deity's desires: +1 The petitioner's behavior lately has not been in accordance with the deity's desires: -1 or more The petition is specific to furthering the deity's desires: +1 The petition goes against the deity's desires: -1 or more The petition involves the specific sphere of influence of the deity: +1 (Calling for a fireball from a fire god, for example. This is not appropriate for a Supreme God, whose sphere encompasses all things!) The petition involves an element antagonistic to the deity: -1 or more (asking the Fire deity to use water, for example.) The petition is phrased too generally: -1 or more The petition is too trivial to bother the deity with: -1 or more The petition is a simple, but important, request: +1, provided the petitioner has exhausted his own abilities to accomplish this task. (An example might be requesting a piece of chalk, which is trifling, but simply cannot be found anywhere near the character. In this case, chalk would have to be essential to the character's state of body, mind or soul.) The petitioner has not tried to help himself first: -1 or more. The last petition was a Poor or worse result: -1 The deity feels the petitioner is calling for help too frequently: -1 or more (This is optional, and may be invoked by a GM annoyed at constant requests for miracles . . .) 7.3 Sample Psionic System: FUDGE Psi ------------------------------------- Date: February, 1993 By: Shawn Garbett This sample FUDGE psionics system is based loosely on FUDGE Magic. Only a skeletal outline is provided here. GMs can use this as a basis to expand as needed. In this system, only psionicists can *use* psi powers, though everyone has latent abilities. There are two attributes known as Psychic Ability and Psychic Reservoir, which are defined below. Like most attributes, these start at Fair unless deliberately changed. The GM may change this, though, depending on the level of psi she envisions: the defaults may be Poor or Terrible, for example, and there may be a ceiling on how high they can be set. However, merely having the attributes does not mean the character is capable of actively using psi. There are an indeterminate number of psionic skills - as many as the GM wishes to include. It is the presence of these skills that separates a psionicist from mundane people. 7.31 Psychic Attributes ------------------------ Psychic Ability is used to activate psychic skills, draw on one's Psychic Reservoir and to defend oneself against psychic attacks. Psychic Reservoir is a measure of power available. A low Psychic Reservoir can negatively modify your ability, while a high Reservoir allows you to tap it to increase your chances of success. Individuals with a large Psychic Reservoir and a low Psychic Ability are sought out for their power, which can be tapped by skilled psionicists. Such a person is also a prime candidate for possession, a rich fertile target with little resistance. A psionicist taps his Psychic Reservoir when he uses a psychic skill. Continued use will gradually drain a Reservoir, but normal quick use doesn't. However, a rolled degree of Terrible on a psionic skill roll will always lower Psychic Reservoir by one level, at least. A psionicist can also deliberately drain his Psychic Reservoir. After using his Psychic Ability (including defending against a psionic attack), a character may attempt to improve the results by sacrificing a level of his Psychic Reservoir for each +1. This "extension" of his skill is not automatic, however. The character must exceed a Fair degree task Unopposed roll versus his Psychic Ability. For each level the individual surpasses the Fair Task Degree, one level of Psychic Reservoir can be converted into a +1 level for his result, thus extending the action and changing the initial outcome by straining his psyche to the limits. A rolled degree below Fair means one level of Psychic Reservoir is drained anyway, but no bonus is added to the roll. A rolled degree of Terrible at this point can be disastrous, *lowering* the previous roll by 1, as well as draining the Psychic Reservoir by as many as the GM sees fit. There is no immediate penalty per se for dropping a level of Psychic Reservoir, as long as it remains Terrible or higher. There is a -1 modifier for each level below Fair Psychic Reservoir on all subsequent uses of Psychic Ability, however. A character can regain one level of his Psychic Reservoir for each week of rest, up to his current maximum level. If the Psychic Reservoir is drained to below Terrible, the character immediately loses consciousness. It requires a Good degree task versus Psychic Ability to regain consciousness, which may be attempted every turn. Even after regaining consciousness, a character at negative Psychic Reservoir is in trouble. The GM can optionally impose any type of affliction she desires on such a character until the Psychic Reservoir reaches at least Terrible. The affliction can range from mild insanity (hallucinations, delusions, paranoia, etc.) to physical debility (drooling, shaking, twitching, etc.) to attribute reductions to negative modifiers even for non-psi actions. 7.32 Psychic Skills -------------------- While no rolls are made against psychic skills, they are very important. You cannot attempt any psionic action unless you have the specific skill at degree task or better. In addition, you can earn up to +2 if your skill is higher than the degree task. All psionic skills are normally Non-existent, but may be taken as high as Fair at the beginning of the game. They may be improved through normal character development, and new ones may be added if the GM is willing. The player should have a good story concerning awakening new skills, however. Skills can range from very broad groups, such as Telekinesis, ESP, Telepathy, etc., to very precise psi skills within each group: Mind Reading, Thought Sending, Mind Shield, Emotion Sensing, Emotion Control, etc. The GM sets the level of skill detail, of course. 7.33 Psionic Actions --------------------- Two kinds of psionic action are possible, Opposed and Unopposed. An Opposed action is a psionic attack upon an unwilling subject. The attacker rolls against his modified Psychic Ability level, and the defender against his modified Psychic Ability level. An Unopposed psionic action is usually on an inanimate object. Of course, an Unopposed action could still be an attack. Telekinetically hurling an object at a foe is an Unopposed action because the object, not the foe, is the subject of the psionic skill. An Unopposed action could be as simple as examining an object psychically, or as complex as opening a dimensional door at one's feet. Psionic abilities are sometimes dangerous to use. A rolled degree of Terrible may result in brain hemorrhage, loss of sanity or a similarly gruesome outcome. The GM should determine these effects based on the situation at hand. When a Psi wishes to use an ability, the player describes the result he wants to the GM. For an Unopposed action, the GM then assesses how powerful such an effect would be and assigns a degree task to it. If this an Opposed action, the degree task is the other individual's Psychic Ability plus any modifiers. (A defending modifier might be a high Mind Shield skill against a Mind Reading attack, for example. However, the defender never takes a negative modifier for skills below his Psychic Ability level.) The Psionicist then compares the degree task with his skill level in the appropriate skill. If his skill is lower than the degree task, he cannot attempt it. (Exception: see Desperation Psionics, Section 7.35.) If he can attempt the action, he adds a +1 modifier for each level above the degree task his skill is, to a maximum of +2. The time required to activate a psionic ability depends on the potency of the desired effect, and is set by the GM. This can range from a single combat round to hours of concentration. The individual can also vary the time concentrating (which must be uninterrupted) to speed up the results or increase the chances of success - see Section 7.34, Psi Modifiers Summary. The Psi then applies any other modifiers and rolls against the degree task using his Psychic Ability. Remember that an extension of the outcome can occur at this point by anyone using Psychic Ability as described above. If more than one Psionic is using an ability that they have all used before against an opponent, the opponent is at -1 for each additional opponent. Each individual in the action rolls only once (except for an extension) and all the results compared. The GM also decides the duration of the effects - the better the roll, the better the results. Continuous concentration may be required to sustain the effect and this could also slowly drain one's Psychic Reservoir. Exceeding the task degree can increase the effect and/or cause it to last longer. Of course, some effects will be permanent, such as Healing and others described in Section 7.12, FUDGE Magic Spells. A rolled degree of Terrible will usually result in the exact opposite of the desired outcome, or some other entertaining backfire. 7.34 Psi Modifiers Summary --------------------------- For each Level of Psychic Reservoir below Fair: -1 For each Skill Level Mastery above Task Degree: +1 (max +2) Normal amount of spent concentrating: +0 Half normal amount of spent concentrating: -1 Double normal amount of time spent concentrating: +1 Successful Extensions (see Section 7.31): +1 or more Rolled degree Terrible on Extension attempts: -1 Desperation attempts (Section 7.35): -2 per level of Psychic Reservoir spent Certain drugs, devices, fields, star alignments, locations, etc., can also have modifiers. Optional: All psionics are blocked by metals which dissipate their forces into the crystal lattice of the metal. 7.35 Desperation Psionics -------------------------- A psionicist may wish to use a skill that is beyond his capability. While not recommended, it *is* possible. For each level of Psychic Reservoir drained, a psionicist can increase his skill level +1. Simply getting the skill level to the degree task level is all it takes to try the skill - *BUT* he is at -2 to his Psychic Ability for *each* level of Psychic Reservoir he drained for this attempt. This is obviously not for casual use: the risk of a Terrible outcome is much higher than normal, as well as the guaranteed drain on Psychic Reservoir. Nonetheless, if one were being attacked by the Spawn of The Other, a demon of tremendous power, one might try anything to survive. 7.36 Psi Examples ------------------ Yardmower Man wants to mow the lawn without exerting himself physically. He's not lazy, it's just the ego satisfaction he's after. He currently has a Good Psychic Reservoir and a Fair Psychic Ability. The GM decides that to move and control the yard mower is a Great Telekinetic degree task. This requires at least a Great Telekinetic skill, which Yardmower Man currently has. Yardmower Man declares he's going to spend twice as much time concentrating (+1) and is also under the influence of Batch-5, a psi-enhancing drug (+1). He rolls a Fair result, which is modified to Great. (There is no modifier for his skill, since it equals the degree task.) He just met the degree task and mows the lawn telekinetically, but not too neatly. Since this is a continued use, the GM then decides that for each hour spent mowing he reduces his Psychic Reservoir by one level. It takes him two hours. The next day, Yardmower Man decides the director the local government psionic research facility is beginning to get on his nerves. He's always snooping around, and has been known to lock up psis in the past. Yardmower Man decides that the director should be Molecularly Rearranged. The GM decides that the Molecular Rearrangement is a Superb Task Degree and will be opposed by the director's psyche. Coincidentally, Yardmower man has the Molecular Rearrangement skill at Superb level. He also consumes a double dose of Batch-5, giving him a +2 in the Opposed action, but severely risking side effects. However, his Psychic Reservoir is down to Mediocre from activities the night before (-1 to skill). Yardmower man rolls a Great Result. This is modified -1 for low Psychic Reservoir, and +2 for Batch-5, giving him a Superb Result. The poor director has a Fair Psychic Ability and a Fair Psychic Reservoir. He gets lucky and rolls a Great result. But Great is not good enough, so he tries to extend to hold on his existence. His extension roll is a Good Result, so with a Fair Psychic Ability he extends his result to Superb. He's still holding on, but just barely. Also, his Reservoir will now be reduced to Mediocre after this round of psychic combat. Yardmower Man not to be outdone, extends himself further. He started the combat with a low Psychic Reservoir and full of Batch-5, so he still applies the +1 modifier to his Fair Psychic Ability on his extension roll. With the modifier, he achieves a Good Result, and he therefore extends *his* result to Superb+1. (After this round, his Reservoir will also drop.) The director tries to extend again, but rolls a Fair result: he can't extend. Yardmower Man rearranges the director into a lovely bush, and stares blankly at the outcome. Yardmower Man is now left with a Poor Psychic Reservoir; he'd better not be trying anything this difficult for a while. Also, the GM demands a Constitution Good degree task to avoid any unpleasant side effects from the Batch-5 overdose. He gets a Mediocre result, missing by two levels. The GM just smiles to the player, and secretly jots down that the next time he uses Batch-5, he'll hallucinate that the director has returned to human form and is out to get him . . . In the near future, Yardmower Man may be spending his Psychic Reservoir fighting someone that isn't there. 7.4 Alternate Rules -------------------- It is one of FUDGE's basic premises that people have different tastes. Here are a collection of alternate rules sections for doing things slightly differently. Just in case you might be confused by finding Section 2.2 following Section 7.41, each of these sections has a general two-space indentation to distinguish it from the original section it replaces. 7.41 Alternate Section 2.2: Levels ------------------------------------ Date: May, 1993 By: Steffan O'Sullivan 2.2 Less Granular Levels ------------------------- Instead of using words (Terrible ... Fair ... Superb) to describe Levels, a GM may wish to use numbers. This allows a less granular system to be used, but the numbers tend to dehumanize the characters to some people. It also makes for a more awkward non-human scale system. As an example, a fairly familiar system would be to make 8 to 13 a Fair attribute, 2 Terrible, and 19 Superb. This way, two characters could both be of Fair Strength, but one have a Strength 9 and another a Strength 11. The players and GM can fine-tune the characters more, hence the phrase "less granular" - or "finer resolution," if you prefer. You could even try a greater range, if desired, but you would need to use percentile dice. Under the current dice methods, someone with a skill of 25 could not make a degree task of 40 without a *lot* of modifiers, and someone with a skill of 55 couldn't fail such a degree task. Assuming you might want to try the 2 to 20 scale (which includes Legendary), the following changes would be necessary: A rough correlation of the words becomes: Terrible 2 Poor 3-4 Mediocre 5-7 Fair 8-13 Good 14-16 Great 17-18 Superb 19 Any die results, such as +1 or -1, are applied directly to the numbers, not to the adjectives. However, continue to use the adjectives for Strength when calculating damage modifiers. (That is, Superb Strength gives +3 bonus to damage, not +19!) Degree tasks are numbers, not adjectives in this system. The GM might say you need a result of 14 to succeed at something, for example. However, the Scale changes. Instead of each number being 1.5 times as strong as the previous number, for example, it is roughly 1.2 times as strong. This would make for an awkward system for very high and low Scale characters if the progression continued. Therefore, if you are using any non-human Scale characters, you have to change the progression beyond Legendary (20) and Human Terrible (2). At Strength 21 and above, each level is 1.5 times as strong as the previous level: e.g., Strength 21 is 1.5 times as strong as Strength 20, Strength 26 is 1.5 times as Strong as Strength 25. Each level of Strength starting with 21 adds +1 Mass. So Strength 25 would be +5 Mass (usually - see below). Since Human Legendary already has a +4 damage bonus, Strength 21 has +5 damage bonus, and Strength 25 would have +9. Likewise, for very small characters, each level below Human Terrible is 2/3 the Strength of the next higher level, and has a -1 Mass. You will have to use zero and negative numbers, which will look funny, but there are very few creatures that small that require character sheets. There is no reason to use the word Scale at all in this system. It is best simply to list the Strength level and both Damage and Mass bonus on the character sheet. Examples: Giant, Strength 30, +14 Damage, +10 Mass. Leprechaun, Strength 0, -5 damage, -1 Mass. For any character beyond the human range, the Mass bonus will usually be 4 closer to 0 than the Damage bonus. Of course, an individual can vary this: Mongo the Leprechaun, Strength 3, -2 damage, -1 Mass. When fighting another leprechaun, though, damage bonuses should be listed relative to Leprechaun Fair Strength: in this case, Mongo would have a +3 to damage, not -2. Damage Capacity also changes. It would be best simply to add one wound-level sequentially for each new level, cycling through Scratch, Hurt, Very Hurt and Incapacitated in that order. (Near Death never changes.) Thus, Damage Capacity 10 has 2 Scratch, 2 Hurt, 2 Very Hurt, 2 Incapacitated and 2 Near Death. Damage Capacity 11 adds one Scratch to that, while Damage Capacity 12 adds one Hurt to what 11 has. Damage Capacity 18 would look exactly like Superb Damage Capacity in the main text, in this case. 7.42 Alternate Section 2.4: Creation Methods ---------------------------------------------- Date: November, 1992 By: Steffan O'Sullivan 2.4 Random Character Creation ------------------------------ If the GM allows random determination of traits, have the player roll 2d6 for each *attribute*. The results are: 2 = Terrible 4 = Poor 3,5 = Mediocre 6-8 = Fair 9,11 = Good 10 = Great 12 = Superb The player still gets the standard number of free levels, but the GM may restrict trading levels. For *skills*, the results are read as: 2-5,12 = Terrible 6-8 = Poor 9-10 = Mediocre 11 = Fair The player still gets the standard number of free levels. 7.43 Alternate Section 2.4: Creation Methods ---------------------------------------------- Date: December, 1992 By: Ed Heil 2.4 On-the-Fly Character Creation ---------------------------------- Instead of creating characters before starting the game, create them as the game progresses! The GM assigns a number of *skill* levels available to a PC during a session. This should be based on how finely the GM defines skills: about 15 to 20 for very broad skill-group games, and maybe twice that for very fine skill-group games. These may be traded at the regular rate of 3 skill levels = 1 attribute level, or 6 skill levels = 1 gift. Faults may also be taken, subject to GM approval. The players start with mostly blank character sheets - simply write out a brief sentence or two about the character in a very general way. ("Jeb is a surly dwarf, a good fighter, who is out to make a name for himself as a mean customer - and pick up some loot on the way. He likes to talk tough, and doesn't care much for halflings.") As the character is confronted with challenging situations, the player must decide the level of the trait in question. For example, the PCs are confronted with a ruined castle to explore, and they all state they are looking for hidden passageways. At this point, each player must set his PC's skill in finding hidden passageways (however the GM defines such a trait: Perception attribute, or Find- Hidden skill, or Architecture skill, etc.). Those who are not yet willing to set such a trait must stop searching: if you use a trait, you must define it. Since setting an initial skill at Fair level uses up two skill levels, and setting it at Superb uses up five levels, one must carefully weigh spending levels on skills as they are used vs. saving them for emergency situations. As usual, attributes are considered Fair unless altered, and most skills are considered Poor. Taking a trait at a level below the default adds to your available skill level pool, of course. However, you may only define a trait as it is used in a game situation. Experience points are given out as usual, but unused skill levels after each session are subtracted from from the amount of EP awarded. (Never below 1, however, except for poor roleplaying.) EP, in this case, can be used either to raise existing skills, as discussed in Section 5.2, Objective Character Development, or they can be used to add new skills, as discussed in this section, above. Note that it costs more EPs to raise an existing skill than it does to define a previously undefined skill in this on-the-fly system. EP should be slightly higher under this system than a regular character creation system, perhaps a range of up to 10. 7.44 Alternate Section 4.2: Rolling the Dice ---------------------------------------------- Date: January, 1993 By: Andy Skinner 4.2 Open-Ended Dice -------------------- As a simple variation on either dice mechanism, allow players who roll a +4 result to roll again. If the result is positive, add it in to the +4 already rolled. If the result is negative or zero, ignore the second roll. This allows a small chance of results up to +8, especially nice in truly dire situations! Only a pitiless GM would balance this by requiring additional rolls to see how miserably a person can do on a -4 result, however. 7.45 Alternate Section 4.2: Rolling the Dice ---------------------------------------------- Date: December, 1992 By: Andy Skinner 4.2 2d10 Method ---------------- This method works best if you modify the die rolls instead of the traits. Instead of 2d6, use 2d10 and the following table: Roll: <1 1-2 3-4 5-6 7-8 9-13 14-15 16-17 18-19 20-21 22+ -------------------------------------------------------------------- Lvls: -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 +0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 This spread means that die modifiers are less severe than in the the 2d6 method. A +/-4 is a moderate amount to affect a trait, and +/-7 becomes the new maximum you should allow. Note the two categories of "Less than One" and "22+." These categories can only be reached with a modifier to the roll. A result of double ones can still be considered Critical Failure, and double zeros Critical Success. (See Section 4.8, Critical Results). Chance of achieving your trait level or better: 72%. Chance of achieving your trait level exactly: 44%. Chance of getting above or below your trait level: 28% each. Specifically: Chance of getting trait level +/-1: 13% each. Chance of getting trait level +/-2: 9% each. Chance of getting trait level +/-3: 5% each. Chance of getting trait level +/-4: 1% each. While this system allows a greater use of die modifiers, the table is much harder to memorize. 7.46 Alternate Section 4.6, Combat ----------------------------------- Date: January, 1993 By: Jay Doane, Andy Skinner, Steffan O'Sullivan 4.6 Offensive/Defensive Combat ------------------------------- Instead of simultaneous actions, melee combat is handled as a series of attacks and defenses. Each combat round has two actions, therefore: the fighter with the higher initiative attacking while the other defends, then the second combatant attacking while the first defends. [Initiative can be determined with a single d6 die roll. However, if the GM has an Initiative attribute or skill, treat it as an Opposed Action. If the GM allows a gift such as Combat Reflexes, that grants a +1 to initiative, whichever system is used. Surprise may grant a bonus to the roll, or give automatic initiative. Initiative could be rolled once for each battle - the simplest way - or once each round. Or the character who did the best the previous round could automatically have the initiative in the next round.] Each attack is an Opposed Action: the attacker's Offensive skill (Sword, Melee Weapon, Martial Art, etc.) against a defender's Defensive skill (Shield, Parry, Dodge, etc.). This makes combat take longer, but some players like the control it gives their character over his fate. In this case, Defensive skill is a separate skill that must be bought independently of an Offensive skill. Simply taking Sword at Superb implies only *offensive* use of the sword: the character must also take Parry with Sword for defensive capability. Obviously, the GM must tell the players at character creation which method she is using - or allow them extra levels on the fly to adjust their defensive abilities. The GM may also allow Parry w/Weapon Skill to default to Weapon Skill minus two levels: that is, a Great Sword skill automatically means a Fair Parry skill. While some GMs might restrict Parry to being no higher than Weapon skill (or even to a maximum of one less than Weapon skill), others can imagine a defensive specialist who might parry Superbly, but attack Poorly! The default for animals depends on their type: carnivores will usually have a Defense value one level less than their Offense, while this is reversed for most prey species. Note that some weapons, such as an Axe, are poor parrying weapons. Such fighters should have decent Shield or Dodge skills. Each player should ask the GM at character creation if a weapon may be used to parry, and still be used to attack without penalty in the next turn. All-out offensive and defensive tactics still work with this system: a character simply forfeits his attack for a round if he chooses All-out defense. Likewise, a fighter is at -2 on his defense on his opponent's next turn if choosing All-out offense (-3 if using the 2d10 method). -- - Steffan O'Sullivan sos@oz.plymouth.edu