As seen on http://www.fudgefactor.org.
by John Ughrin (jughrin @ yahoo.com)
Roleplaying games have traditionally reduced
wounds to a single notation (either a number or wound
track.) While this makes sense in the first
approximation, it also loses some of the flavor of
reality or different genres. People don't fear fire so
much because it is so damaging, but because the wounds
are so much more gruesome and difficult to heal. Some
damage is more than physical, or at least different.
When situations like this arise, Fudge is easily
adaptable to cover our bases. I've handled this by
adding damage "Types" to my game. These types are
noted by changing the letter used to note the wound in
the wound track.
The following damage types are typical of the
markings we may need. More can be added in a campaign
that needs them. Note that this is an extension of the
normal Fudge rules.
These are just the normal or traditional physical
damage. If hit locations are used, the damage may only
affect the activities associated with that limb.
Otherwise, the effects are considered to affect only
physical actions. (At least until you're
Incapacitated, and then -- well -- you're out!)
Fatigue damage is usually self-inflicted by
extending a character too far. Often fatigue is the
result of pushing magical or special abilities.
Fatigue damage affects anything the character does.
Psi)
Most commonly the result of a magical or psychic
attack, P damage represents the delusions, phobias,
nightmares or whatnot that accompany having your
thoughts and memories scrambled. If a character is
Incapacitated by P damage, that character is reduced
to a semi-vegetative state. Characters that are killed
this way die from the inside out. P damage affects all
actions a character makes, and doesn?t really need any
hit location. As the mood strikes him, the GM may
specify the nature of the mental illness inflicted.
As with Fatigue or P damage, the character
experiences the damage to all actions. Unlike those
other types, this can be a progressive effect that is
related to hit location. For example, a snake bite in
the ankle can slowly incapacitate the rest of the
body. Such effects should be noted in the description
of the poison or disease.
Magical damage is harder to pin down. This is not
the same damage done by a magical fire blast or
lightning bolt, that's just a Burn or Physical. This
is damage to the Karmic life force itself. It may
include paralysis or other sundry effects. Magical
damage might even be inflicted by a curse.
Burn damage is caused by energy like heat,
electricity, cold, or even some chemicals like acids
or bases. While Scratches, and usually Hurts heal
normally, Very Hurt or worse Burns often leave horrid
scars, and they heal very slowly due to the tissue
damage. Such wound may impose permanent penalties to
the victim's good looks.
This is all well and good, but what happens if I
have taken two Magical (M) scratches and then take a
Burn (B) scratch? It?s simple, there's plenty of room
on the wound track, so write Bs or B/S in the Hurt
box.
Hopefully, your character will be lucky enough to
attempt a recovery from injuries received in the
course of duty. Each special damage type carries its
own healing concerns. Note that these healing times
and methods may vary by genre and adventure.
Scratch level damage heals automatically within a
day. Especially if the character gets rest, this can
be erased quickly.
Hurt and worse damage requires a Constitution
roll to heal. The difficulty of the roll is determined
by the level of the wound. This is conveniently
referenced on the Universal Translator Table. Please
note that this roll is penalized by the effects of the
wounds. Such Constitution rolls occur the day after
the wound is received, and every d6 days after that.
Each individual wound gets a roll. Successful checks
reduce the wound by one step until gone.
All damage types heal according to the wound
level as dealt. Hence, a character who is
incapacitated from three Hurts, need only beat a Fair
Constitution roll three times. A Very Hurt character
who has taken four scratches will recover after a day
of rest. When a wound is healed, the other wounds
're-stack'. This means that if the character has two
Hurts, and the first one makes the roll, the other H,
in the Very Hurt box, is reduced to a Hurt wound.
Characters who are Near Death will not generally
recover without outside care. This is described in the
Medicine skill description.
Fatigue damage heals after a full day of rest,
regardless of Constitution or wound penalties. This
does not just mean eight hours of sleep. This means a
day of sitting and resting and eating and drinking.
After an incident that deals Mental or Psychic
Damage, a wounded character makes a Willpower roll to
fend off permanent emotional scars. If the roll fails,
then the injury is sustained. Mental or Psychic damage
can only be healed in two ways. The natural way is
that a week of rest can possibly allow the mental
phantoms to leave. This rest permits a mental recovery
roll, which may be affected by Gifts, but is straight
circumstantial roll. If this roll is failed, the
damage becomes permanent, and can only be removed by
the second recovery method. However, this can be
erased from the Wound Track and noted as a fault on
the character. For example a Very Hurt P wound could
become: Hydrophobia (V, fault) -- The character must
make Good Willpower rolls to enter or approach water.
Notice how the Universal translator table provides the
difficulty of the roll.
A healer with Telepathy or similar
powers may also attempt to fix the problem.
The second recovery method is more complicated. A
character with the appropriate magical or
psychological skills or powers can attempt therapy.
The difficulty of such therapy is affected by the
extent of the injuries. So a Very Hurt (M) character
imposes a -2 to the therapy roll.
Wounds caused by Toxins or Disease do not have a
general curing method. Indeed, each toxin or disease
will have a prescribed treatment or antidote. If such
an injury will not heal on its own accord, an
herbalist or physician can attempt to remove it
through treatment.
Magical Damage requires use of the Thaumaturgy
skill to remove. Alternatively, magical damage will
fade with time like a normal wound. The determination
is made by the nature of the damage. Damage not
initially directed at the character proper, perhaps
through an enchanted area or food, fades as normal
damage. Damage directed straight at the character,
usually through sorcery, requires another wizard to
remove it.
Burn damage is perhaps the worst type of damage
available. Burn damage heals at a rate of one
Constitution roll every d12 days. There is no roll the
morning after. Very Hurt burns are subject to
infection or scarring, which might impose permanent
penalties to the character in the form of Faults like
'Disfigured Left Arm' or 'Grotesque Scars on Face'
Well, I hope that this offers some ideas for people
to use in their games. It adds a bit of depth that
players may find interesting. For example, a
pyromancer in my campaign recently enchanted a sword
so that it does Burn damage instead of normal damage.
I have printed a "GM screen" for myself with an
abbreviated healing chart on it, and it takes up not
one-fourth of a page.
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