Yoki's Fantasy Flavored FUDGE

Table of Contents

Yoki's Fantasy Flavored FUDGE

Yoki's Fantasy Flavored FUDGE is a fleshed out RPG system based on FUDGE, suitable for beginners to role playing games, and long-time veterans as well. Yoki's FUDGE is suitable for any genre, but another flavor might require new skill lists, gifts, faults, etc. The version presented here is most suitable for fantasy games (although it would work well for historical, Medieval or Renaissance, campaigns).

Note: Yoki's Fantasy Flavored FUDGE has set skills, gifts, and faults. These lists should not be considered THE LAW. Each player should remember that FUDGE is fully customizable, and if you want to modify or add something, just tell Yoki.

The Basic Concepts

I made this flavor of FUDGE in order to relive some of the best times I've had gaming. The general feel of the gaming world is intended to be a mix between some of my favorite games, campaign and fictional settings, they are (in no particular order): Hyboria, Palladium Fantasy, Lankhmar, Greyhawk, Warhammer, Fighting Fantasy (Deathtrap Dungeon and City of Thieves in particular) and the two AD&D campaigns centered around the Temple of Elemental Evil, and Waterdeep in the Forgotten Realms respectively.

FUDGE Trait Levels

Yoki's Fantasy Flavored FUDGE uses ordinary words to describe character traits (skills, stats, etc.). The following nine terms are used from best to worst:

  • Legendary
  • Superb
  • Great
  • Good
  • Fair
  • Mediocre
  • Poor
  • Terrible
  • Infamous

In FUDGE, a character with a trait at Fair will succeed at ordinary tasks 62% of the time - there is usually no need to create a superhero. In fact, Great is just that: great! Superb should be reserved for the occasional trait in which your character is the best he's ever met.

Any trait that is not defined at character creation will be at a default level:

  • For stats, both social and physical: Fair.
  • For personality traits: Fair.
  • For most skills: Poor, certain skills have a default of non-existent (or Infamous). These would include skills which must be studied to be known at all. When a character studies such a skill (puts a level into it at character creation, or experience points later in the game), the level he gets it at depends on how hard it is to learn. Putting one level into learning a skill of average difficulty to learn would get it at Mediocre. A skill default means untrained, or close to it. However, it is possible to take a skill at Terrible or Infamous (below the default level for most skills), which implies an ineptness worse than untrained.
  • For most gifts: Non-Existent. That is, the default is non-existent. The trait itself exists in some character, somewhere.

Each player should expect the Storyteller to modify his character after creation - it's normal in FUDGE. It is in fact best if the characters are made in the presence of the Storyteller so she can answer questions during the process.

The Character Sheet

Please use the official Yoki's Fantasy Flavored FUDGE Character Sheet. There is even a second page to help with book-keeping and combat, for those detail oriented players out there.

Note: The character sheet breaks in Netscape.

Creating a Character

Character Trait Levels

  • 15 Skills at Fair level
  • 5 Free Stat Levels
  • 2 Free Gifts
  • No Mandatory Faults (each Fault taken grants one Gift)

Skill Levels

Chose 15 skills at Fair. Once you have settled on a good selection of skills, you may raise or lower your skill levels. This is done by raising one skill, while lowering another the same number of levels. Players wanting more control over character creation may trade trait levels.

Once your skills are chosen, you can then set your Stats, Gifts, and Faults. At that point you'll easily be able to see what levels your Stats should logically be, and which Gifts and Faults would go most appropriately with your character.

Starting Limits

The following limits and restrictions apply to starting characters:

  • STATS:
    • 1 Superb stat
    • 2 Great stats
    • 4 Good stats
  • SKILLS:
    • 1 Superb skill
    • 2 Great skills
    • 4 Good skills
  • PERSONALITY:
    • 2 Superb or Terrible traits (which counts as Faults)

Gaining Trait Levels

A player may gain extra trait levels by taking Storyteller-approved faults at the following rate:

  • 1 fault = 1 gift
  • 1 fault = 2 stat levels
  • 1 fault = 6 skill levels

Trading Trait Levels

Each character also gets two free Gifts. Although all stats start at Fair, they can be raised by lowering another Stat, or several Stats, by the same number of levels. You also get 5 free Stat levels in Yoki's Fantasy Flavored FUDGE. Free trait levels, of all sorts, may be traded (in either direction) at the following rate:

  • 1 stat level = 3 skill levels
  • 1 gift = 2 stat levels
  • 1 gift = 6 skill levels

Uncommitted Skills

Each character has three free uncommitted skill levels at his disposal. These are good for increasing an existing skill one level, or taking a new skill at Mediocre level (which can then be further raised by the remaining two skill levels). At some point in the game, a player will realize that he forgot something about the character that should have been mentioned. He may request to stop the action, and define a previously undefined trait, subject to the Storyteller's approval. A sympathetic Storyteller will allow this to happen even during combat.

Storyteller-set skill limits (such as one Superb and three Great skills) are still in effect: if the character already has the maximum number of Superb skills allowed, he can't make an uncommitted trait a Superb skill.

Stats

There are ten Stats, five personal and five physical, in Yoki's Fantasy Flavored FUDGE. (Note: Stats are normally referred to as "Attributes" in FUDGE.) They are:

  • PERSONAL STATS
    • Looks: Attractiveness, appearance and style
    • Charm: Empathy, charisma and social skills
    • Cool: Courage, willpower and chutzpah
    • Smarts: Intelligence, cleverness, and learning ability
    • Spirit: Self discipline, awareness and intuition
  • PHYSICAL STATS
    • Speed: How fast you are, speed of movement
    • Reflex: Reactions, response time and hand-eye coordination
    • Vigor: Agility, physical prowess and competence
    • Health: Damage capacity, stamina and endurance
    • Build: Raw size, muscle mass, strength and toughness

All Stats start at Fair. Each player receives 5 free stat levels, which can be used to improve his character's stats. Players may also trade levels - that is, lower a Stat by one level in order to raise another Stat one level, and so on.

Stats are not linked to skills in this game. The player is encouraged to choose Stat levels which make sense, given his skill list. Stats are used for three things in the game:

  1. As very broad skills or "saving throws." There will be times in which no particular skill listed in the rules is appropriate for the task the character is attempting. In these cases, the Storyteller will choose the closest Stat and have the player roll versus the Stat.
  2. In certain opposed actions, such as attempting to sneak by a guard (Sneaking skill versus Spirit) or a con attempt (Con skill versus Smarts). The Storyteller will think of other cases readily.
  3. As a broad handle on who the character is. A high Smarts, low Build character has a different flavor from the opposite Stat levels.

Personality Traits

Yoki's Fantasy Flavored FUDGE uses a Personality Trait system. There are thirteen different Personality Traits on which each character is rated from Infamous to Superb as normal. The traits are:

  • Bravery (cowardly)
  • Chaste (lustful)
  • Energetic (lazy)
  • Forgiving (vengeful)
  • Generous (selfish)
  • Honest (deceitful)
  • Just (arbitrary)
  • Merciful (cruel)
  • Modest (proud)
  • Pious (worldly)
  • Prudent (reckless)
  • Temperate (indulgent)
  • Trusting (suspicious)

Beginning character's Personality Traits all start at Fair, but a player may lower one trait in order to raise another. A trait rated at Superb or Terrible counts as one Fault, and grants the normal amount of character points a fault does. Your character will also be well-known for any such traits. Remember you will have to roleplay these Personality Traits.

To give you a better idea of what the different traits are their opposites are listed in parenthesis. That means if you have a rating below Fair you tend to behave more like the word in parenthesis, and with a rating over Fair you act more like the personality trait itself. A Fair rating means that you are aligned to neither end of the spectrum.

The Storyteller will call for personality trait checks from time to time. The player will then have to roll against the specified trait and tell the Storyteller the result. Based on the result the Storyteller may restrict the characters available actions.

Determine the outcome of a personality trait roll in accordance to the following quick outline:

  • Legendary: The character has to act in accordance with the given personality trait, and often in an extreme manner as well. He also receives an automatic positive personality point.
  • Good, Great or Superb: The character ought to act in accordance with the given personality trait, but may choose not to at the cost of a negative personality point.
  • Fair: The character exercises free will. The player is free to choose exactly how his character will handle the situation, an extreme action may still warrant personality points.
  • Mediocre, Poor or Terrible: The character ought to act in accordance to the reverse personality trait checked, but may choose not to at the cost of a positive personality point.
  • Infamous: The character has to act in accordance to the reverse personality trait checked, and often in an extreme manner as well. He also receives an automatic negative personality point.

After a gaming session when the Storyteller awards Fudge Points he will also award personality points. Personality Traits are increased and lowered according to your point total in each trait, at the following rate:

Legendary +16 points
Superb +8 points
Great +4 points
Good +2 points
Fair 0 points
Mediocre -2 points
Poor -4 points
Terrible -8 points
Infamous -16 points

Bravery

To be Brave means you are valorous and courageous, willing to place yourself in danger for the sake of victory, your friends, or for the simple love of battle. Knights would be considered doughty, stalwart, and valiant. Extremely heroic individuals are called fearless and intrepid

Cowardly means to be fearful and afraid enough to affect actions. Someone who is extremely faint-hearted is labeled as a poltroon, dastard, craven, caitiff, or recreant.

Bravery may be exhibited not only in combat, but whenever risks are involved.

Chaste

To be chaste is to be monogamous, or faithful to one's sexual mores. It does not always require virginity; a man being faithful to his wife is being chaste. A chaste person is modest and decorous in behavior. A fanatically chaste person is celibate and probably virginal.

Lustful describes sexual desire, and implies activity, often without personal commitment between the persons involved. Excessive promiscuity is called lechery, wantonness, and bawdiness.

Energetic

A vigorous person is energetic. It includes the natural ability to get up and go to work, and to apply oneself to the tasks at hand. Persons who are energetic are called vigorous, robust, and industrious.

Laziness includes all slothful activity, such as loafing and general sedentary behavior. At the end of the spectrum lies indolence.

Forgiving

To be forgiving means that a character can take insult without injury, and that he is unlikely to seek revenge for injuries intended or done to him. Extremely forgiving people are called meek, in the Biblical sense.

Vengeful indicates a character's propensity to seek revenge, perhaps petty, but possibly sweeping and grandiose, for wrongs done or imagined done to him. This trait also includes spitefulness.

Generous

To be generous includes the impulse, learning, or desire to share. It includes the largesse of the Saxon and Cymric chieftains, and also the Christian virtue of Charity. Extremely generous persons are called unselfish, magnanimous, and big-hearted.

Selfish is the desire to possess, keep, and further accumulate things for yourself. Greed is usually a component of selfishness. Possession could be of material property, with the character being known as a miser or hoarder, or of credit, like hogging attention. Very selfish persons are labeled both stingy and self-seeking.

Honest

To be honest is to deal truthfully in matters of importance or triviality, no matter what the consequences. Persons of extreme honesty are said to have integrity and to be trustworthy, scrupulous, and reliable.

Deceitful means that a person is likely to distort truth to his own or other end. Chronically deceitful people are called liars, frauds, and false-hearted.

Just

Just means that a character is capable of telling what is right and wrong, and is desirous of making a judgment on that information. A very just person is called fair and impartial.

Arbitrary means that the character has no concern for what is right or wrong, and uses other information in his decision making. Very arbitrary people are labeled unjust, unfair, wrongful, and probably biased and partial.

Merciful

Merciful means that a character is willing to extend unusual pity or aid to others. This includes sparing an enemy, giving money to the poor, helping the weak, and any other act which is not expected of one's rank and station. A very merciful person is called compassionate.

Cruel indicates a disregard for the feelings and needs of others, or lack of sympathy. Extreme values indicate the character even enjoys others' discomforts and troubles.

Modest

To be modest means that your character is quiet and does not seek excessive attention in the recitation of his deeds. He is glad to bask in the mere doing of his deeds, rather than in the repeated glory of hearing about them. Very modest people are called humble and reserved, perhaps even shy.

Proud means that a character gets pleasure from hearing and/or boasting of his deeds. Excessive pride implies arrogance, and likely a boastful nature.

Pious

Pious shows that a character thinks often of the spiritual matters of the world and is aware of them and their implications. This should be contrasted with Worship, which is an action rather than a belief. A pious person is a spiritual person. An extremely pious person devout, zealous, and saintly.

Worldly indicates a disregard or disbelief in the spiritual side of life. Extreme values might indicate blasphemy and sacrilege. Alternatively, it might just indicate great pleasure in mundane and profane delights such as fine clothes, comfortable furnishings, good music and poetry, and the best company.

Prudent

Prudent means a character gives thought to what he does before he acts. Such a character is called cautious, and excessively prudent people are slow to act or thoughtful.

Reckless means that the character acts before he thinks, without concern for anything but the immediate consequences. Almost any time someone follows one of his passions they will act rashly. An extremely reckless character is called careless, or a hot-head.

Temperate

Temperate means that a character takes only what he needs of food and drink. He is frugal and abstains from excess. Extreme temperance indicates asceticism, perhaps even self-mortification.

Indulgent means that a character takes pleasure in food and drink, both in quality and quantity. Extremes of this indicate gluttony and drunkenness.

Trusting

To be trusting is to believe information without any inclination to suspect its falsity. An excessively trusting person is gullible, credulous, perhaps even a dupe.

Suspicious indicates that a person is an unbeliever and unlikely to believe what he hears unless proof is offered. An extremely suspicious person is called a skeptic or doubter.

Jealously is included under the trait of suspicious. Jealousy cannot exist without suspiciousness. Thus when someone acts jealous, they get experience for their Suspiciousness.

The Skill Groups

Listed here are eight skill groups for Yoki's Fantasy Flavored FUDGE. Following the lists is a comprehensive, alphabetical list of the skills, with descriptions and which skill group they appear in.

Animal Skills

  • Animal Handling
  • Animal Training (animal)
  • Animal Husbandry
  • Bullfighting
  • Falconry
  • Packing
  • Riding/Equestrian (animal)
  • Teamster (animal)
  • Veterinary (H)
  • Zoology

Artistic Skills

  • Acting
  • Artist (medium/art)
  • Bard
  • Calligraphy
  • Choreography
  • Composing Music
  • Conducting Orchestras
  • Dancing
  • Directing
  • Featherworking
  • Fight Choreography
  • Fire Eating
  • Flower Arranging
  • Gardening
  • Illumination
  • Juggling
  • Lucid Dreaming
  • Make-Up
  • Musical Instrument (instrument)
  • Origami
  • Poetry
  • Sculpting
  • Singing
  • Songwriting
  • Storytelling
  • Theater
  • Weaving
  • Whittling
  • Writing, creative

Athletic Skills

  • Acrobatics/Tumbling
  • Aerial Acrobatics
  • Breath Control
  • Climbing
  • Contortionist
  • Juggling
  • Jumping
  • Lifting
  • Skating
  • Skiing
  • Sports (sport)
  • Swimming

Combat Skills

  • Archery
  • Axe/Mace, hand
  • Axe/Mace, great
  • Blowgun/Blowpipe
  • Bolas
  • Boomerang
  • Brawling
  • Cloak
  • Crossbow
  • Dodge
  • Evasion
  • Fast-Draw (weapon)
  • Fencing
  • Flail/Chain Weapons, hand
  • Flail/Chain Weapons, great
  • Gladiator Combat (staged fighting)
  • Jousting
  • Lasso
  • Knife/Dagger
  • Knife/Dagger, parrying
  • Martial Art (art)
  • Net
  • Paired Weapons
  • Polearm
  • Pugilism/Boxing
  • Shield & Weapon (specify)
  • Siege Engines
  • Sling
  • Spear
  • Spear, throwing
  • Spear Thrower
  • Speed-Load (weapon)
  • Staff
  • Sword, hand
  • Sword, great
  • Thrown Weapons, hand
  • Whips
  • Wrestling

Covert/Urban Skills

  • B&E (Breaking and Entering)
  • Detect Traps
  • Disarm/Set Traps
  • Disguise
  • Fence/Streetdeal
  • Filch/Steal
  • Find Hidden
  • Forgery
  • Hiding
  • Lip reading
  • Lockpicking
  • Pick Pockets
  • Scrounge
  • Sleight of Hand/Legerdemain
  • Stealth/Prowling
  • Streetwise
  • Tailing/Shadowing
  • Ventriloquism

Hobby Skills

  • Darts
  • Gambling
  • Games (game)
  • Hobby (hobby)
  • Kite Flying

Knowledge Skills

  • Anthropology
  • Arcane Lore
  • Archaeology
  • Architecture
  • Area Knowledge (area)
  • Astrology
  • Botany
  • Counting/Basic Math
  • Evaluate Goods
  • Geography
  • Gesture
  • Heraldry/Court Rituals
  • History (area/time)
  • Knowledge, other (knowledge)
  • Language (language)
  • Language, sign (language)
  • Legends/Stories
  • Linguistics
  • Literacy
  • Mathematics
  • Metallurgy
  • Myths
  • Politics
  • Psychology
  • Tournament Law (type)
  • Weather Sense

Magic Skills (See the Magic section.)

  • Alchemy (see Alchemy)
  • Concentration
  • Exorcism
  • Meditation
  • Occultism
  • Petition (deity)
  • Religion
  • Spells (scholarly magic spells)
  • Theology
  • Thaumatology

Medical Skills

  • Apothecary
  • Chirurgy
  • Diagnosis
  • First Aid
  • Herbalist
  • Hypnosis
  • Poisons

Military Skills

  • Analyze Opponent
  • Leadership
  • Strategy
  • Tactics
  • Tactics, naval

Professional Skills

  • Agronomy
  • Armorer
  • Barber
  • Bartender
  • Basketry
  • Beekeeping
  • Blacksmith
  • Bookkeeping
  • Bowyer/Fletcher
  • Brewer
  • Carpentry
  • Cooking
  • Cooperage
  • Counseling
  • Courtesan
  • Distilling
  • Dyeing
  • Embalming
  • Engineer
  • Glassblowing
  • Inn Keeping
  • Jeweler
  • Lawyer
  • Leatherworking
  • Masonry
  • Merchant
  • Netmaking
  • Panhandling
  • Pottery
  • Profession, other (profession)
  • Seamanship
  • Shipbuilding
  • Shiphandling
  • Shopkeeping
  • Stone Knapping
  • Tailor
  • Tanning
  • Tattooing
  • Teaching
  • Teamster
  • Weaving
  • Winemaker
  • Woodworking

Scouting/Outdoor Skills

  • Ambush, set and detect
  • Boating
  • Camouflage
  • Camping
  • Cartography/Mapping
  • Danger Sense
  • Fishing
  • Flint Sparking
  • Hide Traces
  • Hiking
  • Hunting
  • Knot-tying
  • Mimic Animal Noises
  • Navigation/Orienteering
  • Observation
  • Skating
  • Surveying
  • Tracking
  • Trail Blazing
  • Wilderness Survival
  • Woods Lore

Social/Manipulative Skills

  • Administration
  • Bargain
  • Barroom Savvy
  • Bluff
  • Camaraderie
  • Carousing
  • Con
  • Detect Lies
  • Diplomacy
  • Etiquette/Savoir-Faire
  • Fast-talk
  • Flatter
  • Flirt/Vamp
  • Guile
  • Interrogate
  • Intimidate
  • Oratory
  • Overseer
  • Persuade
  • Repartee
  • Salesmanship
  • Storytelling
  • Teaching

Skill Descriptions

This section contains an alphabetical list of all skills, including a brief description and which groups the skills appear in. Skills which have a default other than Poor have the default listed in [brackets]. Magic spells are listed separately - see Magic.

  • Axe/Mace, hand: ability to use any one-handed unbalanced weapon, such as an axe, hatchet, maul, pick, warhammer, mace, club, etc.
  • Axe/Mace, great: same as for hand axe/mace, but two handed versions.
  • Acrobatics/Tumbling: the ability to move your body gracefully and successfully through difficult maneuvers, such as rolls, tumbles, leaps, springing to your feet, etc.
  • Aerial Acrobatics: the ability to swing from ropes, chandeliers, vines, trapezes, rigging, etc., safely and accurately.
  • Agronomy: the ability to raise crops, and everything associated with that: soil preparation, planting, weeding, tending, harvest, drying, storage, markets, etc.
  • Alchemy: knowledge of and the ability to create elixirs and talismans of magical power. See Magic.
  • Analyze Opponent: the ability to estimate roughly a given opponent's skill level in combat. An exceptionally good result may even reveal a particular combat "style," if appropriate.
  • Animal Handling: the ability to manage animals in many situations.
  • Animal Training: the ability to train animals for specific tasks.
  • Animal Husbandry: the ability to raise livestock.
  • Arcane Lore: knowledge of occult things - otherworldly stories, legends, etc.
  • Area Knowledge: knowledge of a given area. The larger the area, the more shallow the knowledge.
  • Armorer: the ability to make, alter, and repair armor.
  • Artist: the ability to create aesthetically pleasing art in a given medium. Each medium is a separate skill.
  • Astrology: this is either simple astronomy or an actual potent forecasting and divination tool - ask the Storyteller.
  • Bargain: the ability to barter and haggle, raise or reduce prices, depending on whether you're selling or buying.
  • Basketry: the ability to make baskets and other woven products from bark, grasses, and other plant materials. Includes a knowledge of materials, market prices, etc.
  • Blacksmith: the ability to work metal into tools, weapons, ornaments, etc.
  • Bluff: the ability to mislead people into thinking you will perform an action you have no intention of performing.
  • Boating: small boat handling.
  • Bookkeeping: knowledge of accounting practices - requires Literacy and some math ability.
  • Botany: broad knowledge of plants - their habitats, growing needs, uses, dangers, etc. See Herb Lore, Farming, Basketry, Poisons, etc., for more specific skills.
  • Bowyer/Fletcher: the ability to make bows and arrows, including harvest the appropriate material.
  • Brawling: the ability to fight without weapons, or using special brawling weapons such as blackjacks, saps, brass knuckles, punching knifes, garrotte, tonfa, etc. This is also a general defensive skills if you are ever caught unarmed.
  • Camaraderie: the ability to be entertaining in social settings, such as at a bar, at a party, around a campfire, etc., which can gain someone's confidence and approval.
  • Camouflage: the ability to blend in with your surroundings so you don't stand out. Covers how to hide more than yourself in the wild. Primarily used in natural settings.
  • Camping: similar to Survival, but requires some tools, such as blankets, pots, an axe, a tent, etc. In return, it allows greater comfort and quality of life in the wild.
  • Carpentry: the ability to work with wood, to make anything from houses to furniture to cabinets.
  • Chirurgy: the ability to treat injuries in humans and other sentient beings. Requires both First Aid and Diagnosis, and can never exceed either of these skills in level.
  • Climbing: the ability to climb, either natural formations such as cliffs and trees, or man-made ones such as stone, brick, etc., (but not sheer) walls.
  • Con: the ability to make people believe in some plan or product you are pushing.
  • Contortionist: the ability to escape from bonds. Sometimes done by causing joints to pop out of their sockets.
  • Cooking: the art of preparing tasty and nourishing food.
  • Counseling: the ability to comfort the afflicted, restore good emotional health, help people through grief, etc. Common among men of the cloth.
  • Counting: basic math, addition and subtraction, plus maybe some easy multiplication and division on higher levels.
  • Courtesan: professional pleasure giving.
  • Dancing: the ability to dance aesthetically.
  • Danger Sense: you have the ability to be warned of imminent danger. The warning is not very specific, having skills in finding traps and detect ambushes works better, but this is a sort of default. Basically you feel a tingle just before danger strikes.
  • Detect Lies: the ability to tell when someone is lying.
  • Detect Traps: the ability to determine if a given area has a trap of some sort set, and what type.
  • Diagnosis: the ability to diagnose injuries and diseases in humans and other sentient beings.
  • Diplomacy: ability to reach a compromise or solution.
  • Disarm/Set Traps: the ability to deactivate, or set, a trap without harm.
  • Disguise: the ability to pass for someone else under visual inspection. There is a penalty for serious inspection, of course.
  • Dodge: avoid getting hit. Normally this is a skill only inherent in pacifists, since fighters use Brawling for the same thing.
  • Engineer: the ability to design and make tools, structures, sewer systems, etc.
  • Etiquette/Savoir-Faire: knowledge of good manners in any society. The ability to function smoothly, without social blunders, in any upper or middle class setting.
  • Evaluate Goods: a general skill to assess the value of something. It won't be as accurate as a specific Professional skill (for example, a Potter will be a better judge of Pottery than someone with this skill), but as a broad skill allows a good general knowledge.
  • Falconry: the ability to train and control a raptor for sport and hunting.
  • Fast-draw: the ability to ready a weapon for combat use effectively instantly. A different skill for each weapon, and some weapons cannot be fast-drawn.
  • Fast-talk: the ability to convince someone of something, which, upon reflection, they may realize isn't true. Fast-talk doesn't create lasting belief - see the Con skill for that.
  • Find Hidden: the ability to locate concealed doors, compartments, catches, etc.
  • First aid: the ability and knowledge to administer emergency medical treatment.
  • Fishing: the ability to catch fish for food, sale, barter, or sport.
  • Flail/Chain Weapon, hand: the ability to use a small or medium sized flail or chain as a weapon.
  • Flail/Chain Weapon, great: the ability to use a two-handed flail or chain as a weapon.
  • Flatter: the ability to make people like you by complimenting them to the point they begin to trust your judgement.
  • Flirt/Vamp: the ability to arouse sexual interest in an appropriate subject, for whatever reason.
  • Forgery: the ability to make fake documents and/or signatures that look authentic.
  • Gambling: the skill of gaming for money. Note that some gambling includes games of skill, and others games of chance - this skill helps largely with the former, and knowledge of the latter, including a good estimate of the odds. Also the ability to cheat at games, and spot cheaters.
  • Geography: broader than Area Knowledge, Geography is the knowledge of general topography, terrain nature, etc.
  • Guile: the ability to dissemble your true intentions, origins, or role from others.
  • Heraldry/Court Rituals: knowledge of signs, symbols, and devices used to denote rank and family of the nobility. Also knowledge of court rituals, such as how many trumpet calls to announce a king as opposed to a duke, etc.
  • Herbalist: knowledge of, preparation of, dosage of, and dangers of using herbs as medicinal agents. While it may tell you which herbs to avoid, this skill does not go into specific poisons - see Poisons for that skill. See Botany for a broader knowledge of plants.
  • Hide Traces: the ability to hide any traces that an area was used by people or even animals. This includes hiding tracks as well as camping areas.
  • Hiding: the ability to find good hiding places and making the most of them. It also covers remaining unseen while in hiding.
  • Hiking: training for endurance walking, hiking, marching, etc. It also includes knowledge on how to best carry your pack and how to pace yourself, etc.
  • History: knowledge of historical figures and events. This can be a broad and shallow skill, such as World History, or a narrower and deeper skill, such as history of a specific state.
  • Hunting: the ability to hunt and kill animals for food, hides, sport, or whatever.
  • Inn Keeping: the specific knowledge of running a hotel or inn. Running a kitchen, bar-keeping, maid service, stable, etc.
  • Interrogate: the ability to extract information from an unwilling subject. There are two basic types of interrogators: those who get their subjects to trust them, and those who psychologically abuse them. Chose one type.
  • Intimidate: the ability to psychologically brow beat someone else into doing your will. Does not involve any physical component.
  • Jeweler: the ability to make and evaluate jewelry. Includes assessment of gems, gold, silver, etc.
  • Jousting: the ability to use a lance, which is basically a hand-held type of spear used from horseback. Does not include the Riding skill.
  • Juggling: the ability to juggle.
  • Jumping: the ability to jump for distance and accuracy.
  • Knife/Dagger: the ability to use a knife in combat, but not necessarily to throw it.
  • Knife/Dagger, parrying: the ability to use forked and hilted daggers such as the jitte and sai.
  • Knot-tying: the ability to tie functional and/or ornamental knots for various purposes.
  • Language: the ability to speak and understand a language. Every character knows their native language well at no cost - take this skill to learn foreign languages. Each language learned is a separate skill.
  • Lawyer: knowledge of legal matters.
  • Leatherwork: the ability to work with leather - includes tanning, preparation, tooling, sewing, etc.
  • Legends/Stories: knowledge of legends and stories, either as a source for entertainment, wisdom, or clues to treasure hunting, etc.
  • Lip reading: the ability to see what people are saying by watching their lips move.
  • Literacy: the ability to read and write.
  • Lockpicking: ability to open locks without the correct key.
  • Map Sketching: the ability to create reasonably accurate and readable maps from observation.
  • Masonry: the ability to work with stone.
  • Martial art: specify the martial art of your choice, requires a set of "basic" fighting skills at the same level or higher (such as brawling, evasion, dodge, wrestling, etc.).
  • Merchant: broad knowledge of what it takes to be in the business of selling or trading, either retail or wholesale.
  • Mimic Animal Noises: the ability to make a noise which sounds like a specific animal.
  • Navigation: the ability to find your way based on the stars, position of the sun, map-reading, etc.
  • Observation: trained ability to notice and remember things - conscious application of perception and memory. The player's notes are the character's memory.
  • Oratory: ability to keep the focus of a group of people through speaking, and attempt to sway them to your point of view.
  • Paired Weapons: the ability to fight with two weapons at once. Here are some of the most common variations; cloak and dagger, shortsword and dagger, two shortswords, two hand axes, trident and net. Each pair is a separate skill and you can not have a higher level in Paired Weapons than you have in the individual weapon skills forming the pair.
  • Persuade: ability to convince an individual of your point of view.
  • Pick Pockets: ability to remove items from an individual's pockets, belt, purse, etc., without them noticing it.
  • Poisons: knowledge of, use of, preparation of, dosage of various poisons. Need herbalism or apothecary skills to manufacture poisons.
  • Polearm: ability to use polearms as weapons.
  • Politics/International: knowledge of the international situation in a given area, and of the internal politics of states within that area. May be for a broad area, such the entire known world, or a more focused area, such as Europe. In the latter case, the knowledge is more detailed.
  • Pottery: the ability to make pots, plates, bowls, etc., from clay. Includes the ability to assess the value of other potters' work, knowledge of good clay sources, etc.
  • Religion: broad, but shallow knowledge of religions and cults, and their rituals and myths.
  • Repartee: the ability to deliver witty sayings, usually double entendres, which cannot be construed as libelous but carry hidden insults or stings.
  • Riding: the ability to ride and control a horse (or other riding animal) comfortably, safely, and with precision. Also how to do acrobatic mounts, dismounts, trick riding, etc.
  • Salesmanship: the ability to sell someone something.
  • Scrounging: the skill of the urban poor: where to find free or cheap food, shelter and clothing.
  • Seamanship: the ability to assist in any task on a large sailing vessel.
  • Shield & Weapon: the ability to use a shield or buckler in combat, both on offense and defense, in combination with a weapon. Each combination is a separate skill.
  • Shiphandling: the ability to direct seamen to correctly handle a large sailing ship. Includes piloting and navigation skills.
  • Shopkeeping: the ability to run a shop of some sort - knowledge of basic bookkeeping, sources of materials, rotation of stock, general prices, elementary sales techniques, etc.
  • Sleight of Hand: the ability to manipulate small objects cleverly in your hands so as to conceal what you are actually doing with them.
  • Sling: the ability to use a sling or staff sling in combat.
  • Spear: the ability to use a spear, pike or trident in combat, but not including throwing it accurately or powerfully - pikes are most useful in formations, especially against cavalry.
  • Spear Thrower: the ability to use a spear thrower powerfully and accurately.
  • Spear, throwing: the ability to throw a spear or javelin powerfully and accurately.
  • Spells: Scholarly Magic Spells, see Magic. Each spell is a separate skill.
  • Sports, various: each sport is a separate skill.
  • Staff: the ability to use a staff as a weapon.
  • Stealth/Prowling: this is the ability to sneak, prowl and move silently and without attracting attention.
  • Storytelling: the ability to entertain by recounting stories, either from your past or from other sources.
  • Strategy: the ability to plan military actions and to predict the actions of the enemy. Successful rolls let you deduce in advance what the enemy is planning to do.
  • Streetwise: Savoir-Faire for the lower classes, what parts of the city to avoid, who not to offend, etc.
  • Swimming: the ability to move yourself in water without danger of drowning.
  • Sword, hand: use of any sword designed to be used with one hand.
  • Sword, great: use of any sword designed to be used with two hands.
  • Tactics: the ability to outguess the enemy when the fight is man-to-man or in small skirmishes. Successful rolls give you information on the enemy's plans.
  • Tailing/Shadowing: the ability to follow someone without their noticing.
  • Tailor: the ability to turn cloth into clothes, as well as mend clothing. Can also make other items out of cloth, such as tents.
  • Teaching: the ability to impart knowledge or skills to others.
  • Teamster: the ability to handle an animal or team of animals pulling a wagon, carriage, coach, etc.
  • Thaumatology: the knowledge of, and ability to recognize magic spells, skills, and possibly magic items and artifacts (especially if powerful or well known), but not cast magic. Does not require any Magical Talent, nor is it required to perform magic.
  • Theater: the skills and knowledge associated with the theater: acting, directing, management of props, sets, the house, the stage, etc. Not the same as pretending to be someone else offstage.
  • Theology: knowledge of a specific religion's and/or cult's beliefs, dogma, and rituals.
  • Thrown Weapon, hand: the ability to throw any balanced throwing weapon such as throwing axes, knives, daggers, stars, spikes, darts, etc.
  • Tracking: the ability to follow animals or sentient beings in terrain where they might leave traces. Of limited use in urban areas, it is more a nature skill.
  • Trail Blazing: the skill of finding an optimum route through wilderness, and marking your trail, either obviously or subtly.
  • Ventriloquism: the ability to "throw your voice" so as to make it sound as if it comes from somewhere else. Also the ability to disguise your voice.
  • Veterinary: the ability to diagnose and treat animal injuries and diseases.
  • Weather Sense: the ability to predict the weather for the near future.
  • Weaving: the ability to spin yarn from wool or plants, then make cloth from yarn.
  • Whittling: the ability to carve wood into useful or aesthetic shapes.
  • Wilderness Survival: the ability to survive in the wilds. Includes basic fire making, food procurement, and shelter construction. Won't be fancy, but you'll be alive.
  • Woods Lore: knowledge of woodland animals, plants, cycles, etc.
  • Zoology: knowledge of animal behavior, habits, diets, capabilities, etc.

Gifts

Each character may have one Gift from the following list. In addition, for each Fault chosen, the character may have an additional Gift. The Storyteller may limit the number Gifts available from this method, as things can get out of hand. You may also gain a Gift, with Storyteller approval, by foregoing two of your free attribute levels.

  • Ambidexterity: you can use either hand equally well. Great for those times when you're wounded in one arm...
  • Blind Fighting: you have extraordinarily trained senses which allow you to fight in the dark without penalty.
  • Common Sense: when you are about to do something incredibly stupid that will harm yourself or the party, the Storyteller will warn you.
  • Contacts *: you know some influential or knowledgeable people who can supply you with information.
  • Divine Favor: the ability to cast Clerical Magic - see Magic. Each Divine Favor gift is dedicated to a specific deity.
  • Empathy with Animals: animals trust you and domesticated ones tend to obey you. Cruelty to animals nullifies this Gift.
  • Empathy with Sentient Beings: see Innate Magical Ability: Second Sight.
  • Familiar: only available to characters with Magical Talent. You have a magical familiar, which may talk, aid you in spell-casting and other tasks. This is an NPC played by the Storyteller.
  • Favors due *: some people owe you favors, which you may collect. Each favor you collect must be approved by the Storyteller.
  • Focused: you are at +1 to any lengthy task, but don't notice things outside this task, such as that brigand about to skewer you...
  • Good Memory: you have an unusually good memory. The player may take notes during the game and act as if the character remembered them.
  • Good Reputation *: you're well known as a hero, healer, leader, fighter for justice, etc.
  • High Status: you are of the gentry or religious class - or nobility if you take this Gift twice.
  • Intuition: you have a feeling about what option to take when confronted with a choice. The Storyteller will make a Situational roll in secret.
  • Lucky: once per hour (real time), you may reroll a bad dice roll, and choose the better of the two rolls.
  • Magic Resistance: you are resistant to magic: you may roll a Cool save versus any adverse effects.
  • Magical Talent (Specify type): the ability to perform magical feats. There are several kinds of Magical Talent: Innate, Hedge Magic, Pagan Magic, Second Sight and Scholarly, plus the two flavors Runes and Wizardry. See the section on Magic for details.
  • Never forgets a ____: fill in the blank with name, face, or whatever the Storyteller will allow.
  • Never Gets Lost: you always know which way is North, and can retrace your route with a little effort.
  • Night Vision: you see well in dim light, but not in absolute darkness, of course.
  • Pain Tolerance: deduct one from all wound penalties suffered (that is you're only -1 for a Major Wound).
  • Patron *: someone in power likes you. This can be simply a letter of recommendation, or it can be a favor granted.
  • Perfect Timing: if someone says to open the gate in five minutes, you'll do it within two seconds of that time. Also valuable in performing.
  • Peripheral Vision: you can see further to the sides than most people - less easily attacked from the side-rear.
  • Rank *: you have the right to command others in an organized body of soldiers or police.
  • Rapid Healing: you heal twice as fast from wounds - but not magically fast.
  • Resistant to Poison: poison has only half effect on you.
  • Wealthy: you start with more money than the average starting character. This can be in cash and/or equipment.
* = these Gifts may be lost if abused. Contacts, Favors Due, and Patron depend on the goodwill of others, and it's possible to push them too far or too frequently. Good Reputation can be eroded by inappropriate behavior, and Rank can be lost if you break the rules of the organization granting the rank.

Faults

Each character must start with two Faults from the following list, or other Storyteller-approved Fault. In addition, each Fault chosen beyond the mandatory two allows the player to choose an additional Gift for his character, or raise an attribute one level, subject to Storyteller approval.

  • Absent-Minded: your attention tends to wander if bored.
  • Bad Back: you are limited in what you can lift.
  • Bad Eyesight: you don't see very well - pick one: poor distance or up-close vision.
  • Code of Honor: your actions are constrained by your personal behavior code.
  • Color Blindness: you confuse lots of colors.
  • Delusions: the world doesn't work the way you think it does, in some important way.
  • Dependent: you're responsible for someone unable to care for themselves adequately.
  • Duty: you must perform active duty a certain amount of time.
  • Dwarfism: you are very short for your race.
  • Easily Distractible: did you say something?.
  • Easy to Read: you give away your thoughts and feelings to any who care to observe you.
  • Enemy: there is someone who wants to kill, imprison, or otherwise trouble you.
  • Fanatic Patriot: your country, right or wrong.
  • Frightens Animals: you have an aura that animals find terrifying.
  • Garrulous: you won't shut up.
  • Getting old: and all that implies.
  • Goes Berserk if Wounded: you're a danger to your friends, even.
  • Grouchy: you're usually irritated and try to spread the mood.
  • Hard of Hearing: what?
  • Idealist: you're not grounded in reality.
  • Intolerant: you hate a certain type of person.
  • Lame: you limp, which can affect speed and agility.
  • Magic Susceptibility: you are highly susceptible to hostile magic.
  • Melancholy: life is so sad.
  • Mute: you can't speak.
  • Night Blindness: you see poorly in dim light.
  • Nosy: your neighbor's business is yours.
  • Obese: you waddle.
  • Obsession: you must do it, or have it, or whatever.
  • Odious Personal Habits: too many to list. Some of the other Faults listed actually fall under this category, such as Nosy, Grouchy, Garrulous, etc.
  • Offensive Odor: you stink.
  • One Eye: you lack depth vision and can be blindsided, literally.
  • One Hand: it works overtime.
  • Outlaw: you're wanted by the law.
  • Overconfident: you know you can't fail.
  • Owe favors: you owe someone favors, and they'll ask you for them sometime.
  • Pain Intolerant: you're at -1 if Scratched and add an extra penalty level to all other injury modifiers.
  • Phobias: lots of these - you're at -3 Willpower to avoid acting out of control in certain situations: snakes, darkness, heights, cats, falling, crowds, spiders, open or closed spaces, magic, loud noises, etc.
  • Poor: you start with less equipment and cash, and if you don't buy off this Fault, will always lose any you gain.
  • Practical Joker: you can't resist. Somebody's gonna hurt you someday.
  • Primitive: you're from a pre-metal-working society.
  • Quick to take offense: you're thin-skinned.
  • Quick-Tempered: you blow up when crossed.
  • Quixotic: you vigorously champion lost causes.
  • Reputation: you're well known as some sort of louse.
  • Secret: if it's revealed, you'll be embarrassed, arrested, or worse - maybe that warrant out for your arrest, or your second spouse?
  • Self-defense Pacifist: you'll fight, but you'll never start a fight - no preemptive strikes.
  • Shyness: you never want to talk to strangers.
  • Social Stigma: you're obviously from some low-caste group.
  • Stubborn: you don't easily admit you're wrong.
  • Susceptibility to Poison: you're at -3 to Health in Opposed rolls for poison.
  • Trickster: you regularly have to take a risk to thwart some villain, even if just a petty one.
  • Unlucky: if something bad happens to someone in the party, it's you.
  • Vow: you're committed to some action.
  • Worry Wart: you wring your hands a lot.
  • Xenophobia: you dislike and fear people different from the folks you grew up with.
  • Youth: you're so young no one takes you seriously. Also, lose one level each from three skills - you just haven't had time to develop everything that well yet.

Fudge Points

Fudge Points are meta-game gifts that are used to buy "luck" during a game - they let the players fudge game results. These are meta-game gifts because they operate at the player-Storyteller level, not character-game level.

The starting number of Fudge Points for Yoki's Fantasy Flavored FUDGE is 5. Unused Fudge Points at the end of one session are saved for the next gaming session.

Fudge Points can be used in many ways. Here are some ways in which you can use them. A players should ask her before assuming that they can do something with Fudge Points.

  1. A player may spend one Fudge Point to alter a die roll one level, up or down as desired. The die roll can be either one the player makes, or one the Storyteller makes that directly concerns the player's character.
  2. A player may spend one Fudge Point to declare that wounds aren't as bad as they first looked. This reduces the intensity of each wound by one levels (a Light Wound becomes a Scratch, for example).
  3. A player may spend Fudge Points to ensure favorable coincidences. This is always subject to Storyteller veto. For example, the city guard that turns up to arrest the characters turns out to be an old relative or friend of one of the characters, and turns a blind eye. Or when the characters are confronted by that gangster boss who's been after them he turns out to be none other than Uncle Louie. Or the local mayor is an old friend of one of the characters, and just happens to owe him a favor... And so on.

Experience Points

As a guideline, good roleplaying is rewarded with one to three Fudge Points per gaming session, with an normal upper limit of four Fudge Points for flawless roleplaying. These can be turned in for Experience Points (EP) at the ratio of three Fudge Points for one EP. Players may save EP for as long as they wish.

This forces the players to consider whether they need to save their Fudge Points to get out of a jam the next session, or convert them to EP to raise a trait. Fudge Points can be saved from session to session, so that a player can eventually swap 9 Fudge Points for 3 EP to raise a trait - but he may have to use some of those Fudge Points along the way to survive! This leaves character development totally in the hands of the player.

Character Development

Experience Points (EP) can be traded in at the following rates:
Raising a skill from: To: Costs:
Infamous Terrible 1 EP
Terrible Poor 1 EP
Poor Mediocre 1 EP
Mediocre Fair 1 EP
Fair Good 2 EP
Good Great 4 EP
Great Superb 8 EP
Superb Legendary 16 EP

  • Raising an attribute:
    Triple the cost for skills of the same level.
  • Adding a gift:
    6 EP (or more) + GM approval.
  • Additional levels of Legendary (+1, +2, etc.)
    Twice the cost of the previous level.
  • A trait can only be raised one level at a time.

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 via anonymous ftp at ftp.csua.berkeley.edu, and in book form or on disk 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.

Disclaimer:
The following materials based on Fudge, entitled Yoki's Fantasy Flavor of FUDGE, are created by, made available by, and Copyright © 1999-2000 by Yoki Productions Ltd., 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 © 1992-1995 by Steffan O'Sullivan, All Rights Reserved.

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