Fudging with Oddball Dice

by John Ughrin (jughrin @ yahoo.com)

While preparing my players to leave d20(TM) for Fudge, one constant kept reappearing... the funny-shaped dice that are the mainstay of the old-time gamer's memories. We all had boxes of them, and favorites that we were loath to give up to play Fudge.

We also had an issue with the bijillions of questions that come up in a game that are effectively un-rulable. That is to say, impossible to catalog in an easily-referenced way. We had come to despise the feverish research that went into any d20 combat action while obscure rules and spell effects were compared and compiled. So we didn't want any "comprehensive" set of rulings. On the other hand, my players weren't as familiar with Fudge, and so weren't comfortable 'Just Fudging It'. Instead, we needed a reliable way to 'just Fudge it' that could be reflected back into the game in a predictable way.

The result of my pondering and tinkering was a table that was crunchy enough, yet comprehensive enough to allow us to use the oddball dice and keep things Fudgey. Not to belabor the point... the table looks like this:

Universal Translator Table
Trait Level	Wound Level	Points	Die
Legendary	Dead	12+	d20
Superb	Near Death	10, 11	d12
Great	Incapacitated	8, 9	d10
Good	Very Hurt (-2)	6, 7	d8
Fair	Hurt (-1)	4, 5	d6
Mediocre	Scratch	2, 3	d4
Poor	Scratch	0, 1	d3
Terrible	No Damage	<0	-
Abysmal	No Damage	<0	-

Using the table in combat is relatively simple. However, as with most things Fudge, it can be used many ways. My preferred method is as follows:

1. ) "Both" combatants declare their intentions - GM rates the attacks, if needed.
2. ) Roll the appropriate traits
3. ) Winner gets to do damage adding his Relative Degree of success to a damage die roll based on the GM's rating.
4. ) Loser rolls his defense die (based on GM rating of his armor) and subtract from damage done.
5. ) Loser takes appropriate wound.

Now, I don't take the time to rate each and every attack. I usually rate weapons with a general description like: Rapier-Fencing (Good), Warcraft (Poor) then use the appropriate rating depending on the situation. The GM would only rate unusual attacks, like if the rapier was being used from the inside of a dragon's belly. Armor is similarly rated against a number of typical attacks. The ratings needed would vary with the GM and the game. The deadliness of any given weapon, or protection offered by any given armor would vary with situation and genre.

Let's see an example: Leartes is a Fair fencer with a Good fencing weapon. Olives is a Good fencer, caught unprepared with a Poor fencing weapon (a broken bottle). Neither is wearing armor.

The action begins. Leartes will attempt to skewer Olives, while Olives will attempt to disarm him. [Note - since Leartes is a Fair fencer, Olives will need to score a "Hurt" or better result >3 points] They roll: Leartes - Great, Olives - Superb Olive has an RD of +1! He rolls a d3 getting a 3! a total of +4

GM: Leartes lunges forward, Olives leans to one side, allowing the point to slide through the bottle's neck, and easily twisting to disarm Leartes. Now the tables are turned!

The table can also be used to quickly fit new powers and effects into a combat. How much damage can a Good Psionicist do? "d8 + his Relative Degree" How much with those Great Shields protect the ship? "d10 damage reduction" How much damage does that Great fall do? "d10" How well does this armor work? "It's Great against projectiles, but Poor against Energy weapons."

While this may not be for every game, and long-time Fudgers may not see the need for it at all, it can help bridge the gap between d20(TM) and Fudge. You will probably find, as my group has, that as you play, you learn the Fudge system more instinctively and drop the more complicated thoughts like this one.

Good Gaming, John Ughrin