Table of Contents
This chapter covers how to determine whether or not a character succeeds at an attempted action. Traits are defined in terms of levels: Superb, Great, Good, etc. This chapter explains how those levels affect a character's chances of success at an action, whether fighting a giant or tracking down a clue. Sometimes a Fair result is sufficient to complete a task, and sometimes a Good or better result is needed. The better your skill, the better your chances of getting these higher results.
- Dice:
- Players use four FUDGE dice (4dF).
- Unopposed Action:
- Some actions are Unopposed, as when a character is trying to perform an action which isn't influenced by anyone else. Examples include jumping a wide chasm, climbing a cliff, performing a chemistry experiment, etc. The player simply rolls the dice and reads the result.
- Rolled Degree:
- This refers to how well a character does at a particular task. If someone is Good at Climbing in general, but the die-roll shows a Great result on a particular attempt, then the rolled degree is Great.
- Difficulty Level:
- The Storyteller will set a Difficulty Level when a character tries an Unopposed Action. Usually it will be Fair, but some tasks are easier or harder. Example: climbing an average vertical cliff face, even one with lots of handholds, is a fairly difficult obstacle (Fair Difficulty Level). For a very hard cliff, the Storyteller may set the Difficulty Level at Great: the player must make a rolled degree of Great or higher to climb the cliff successfully.
- Opposed Action:
- Actions are Opposed when other people (or animals, etc.) may have an effect on the outcome of the action. In this case, each contestant rolls a set of dice, and the results are compared to determine the outcome. Examples include combat, seduction attempts, haggling, tug-of-war, etc.
- Relative Degree:
- This refers to how well a character did compared to another participant in an Opposed Action. Unlike a rolled degree, relative degree is expressed as a number of levels. For example, if a PC gets a rolled degree result of Good in a fight, and his NPC foe gets a rolled degree result of Mediocre, he beat her by two levels - the relative degree is +2 from his perspective, -2 from hers.
- Situational Roll:
- The Storyteller may occasionally want a die roll that is not based on a character's trait, but on the overall situation or outside circumstances. This Situational roll is simply a normal FUDGE die roll, but not based on any trait. That is, a result of 0 is a Fair result, +1 a Good result, -1 a Mediocre result, and so on. This is most commonly used with Reaction and damage rolls, but can be used elsewhere as needed. For example, the players ask the Storyteller if there are any passersby on the street at the moment - they're worried about witnesses. The Storyteller decides there are none if a Situational roll gives a Good or better result, and rolls the dice. (A close approximation to 50% is an even/odd result: an even result on 4dF occurs 50.6% of the time. Of course, 1d6 or a coin returns an exact 50% probability.)
- Beyond Superb:
- It is possible to achieve a level of rolled degree that is beyond Superb. Rolled degrees from Superb +1 to Superb +4 are possible. These levels are only reachable on rare occasions by human beings. No trait may be taken at (or raised to) a level beyond Superb (unless the Storyteller is allowing a PC to be at Legendary, which is the same as Superb +1. For example, the American baseball player Willie Mays was a Superb outfielder. His most famous catch, often shown on television, is a Superb +4 rolled degree. It isn't possible for a human to have that level of excellence as a routine skill level, however: even Willie was "just" a Superb outfielder, who could sometimes do even better. A Storyteller may set a Difficulty Level beyond Superb for nearly impossible actions.
- Below Terrible:
- Likewise, there are rolled degrees from Terrible -1 down to Terrible -4. No Difficulty Level should be set this low, however: anything requiring a Terrible Difficulty Level or worse should be automatic for most characters - no roll needed.
There is no need to roll the dice when a character performs an action that is so easy as to be automatic. Likewise, an action so difficult that it has no chance to succeed requires no roll, either - it simply can't be done. Dice are used solely in the middle ground, where the
outcome of an action is uncertain.
The Storyteller is encouraged to keep die-rolling to a minimum. Do not make the players roll the dice when their characters do mundane things. There is no need to make a roll to see if someone can cook lunch properly, or pick an item from a shelf, or climb a ladder, etc. Don't
even make them roll to climb a cliff unless it's a difficult cliff or the situation is stressful, such as a chase. (And possibly a Superb climber wouldn't need a roll for a difficult cliff. He should get up it automatically unless it's a very difficult cliff.)
For any action the player character wishes to perform, the Storyteller must determine which trait is tested. (This will usually be a skill or an attribute.) If the action is Unopposed, the Storyteller also determines the Difficulty Level - usually Fair.
FUDGE dice are six-sided dice with two sides marked +1, two sides marked -1, and two sides marked 0. 4dF give results from -4 to +4 quickly and easily, without intruding into role-playing or requiring complex math or a table.
To use FUDGE dice, simply roll four of them, and total the amount. Since a +1 and a -1 cancel each other, remove a +1 and -1 from the table, and the remaining two dice are easy to read no matter what they are. (Example: if you roll +1, +1, 0, -1, remove the -1 and one of
the +1s, as together they equal 0. The remaining two dice, +1 and 0, are easily added to +1.) If there is no opposing pair of +1 and -1 dice, remove any 0s and the remaining dice are again easy to read.
The result of a die roll is a number between -4 and +4. At the top of the character sheet, there should be a simple chart of the attribute levels, such as:
- Legendary
- Superb
- Great
- Good
- Fair
- Mediocre
- Poor
- Terrible
- Infamous
To determine the result of an action, simply put your finger on your trait level, then move it up (for plus results) or down (for minus results).
For each Unopposed action, the Storyteller sets a Difficulty Level (Fair is the most common) and announces which trait should be rolled against. If no Skill seems relevant, choose the most appropriate Attribute. If there is a relevant Skill, but the character is untrained in it (it's
not listed on his character sheet), then use the default: usually Poor. If a high attribute could logically help an untrained skill, set the default at Mediocre.
For example, a character wishes to palm some coins without being observed. The Storyteller says to use Sleight of Hand skill, but the character is untrained in Sleight of Hand. The player points out that the character's Dexterity attribute is Superb, so the Storyteller allows a default of Mediocre Sleight of Hand for this attempt.
The player then rolls against the character's trait level, and tries to match or surpass the Difficulty Level set by the Storyteller. In cases where there are degrees of success, the better the roll, the better the character did; the worse the roll, the worse the character did.
Example of setting Difficulty Level: Two PCs (Mickey and Arnold) and an NPC guide (Parri) come to a cliff the guide tells them they have to climb. The Storyteller announces this is a difficult, but not impossible, cliff: a Good Difficulty Level roll is required to scale it with no delays or complications. Checking the character sheets, they find that Parri's Climbing skill is Great and Mickey's is Good. Arnold's character sheet doesn't list Climbing, so his skill level is at default: Poor. Parri and Mickey decide to climb it, then lower a rope for Arnold.
Parri rolls a +1 result: a rolled degree of Superb. She gets up the cliff without difficulty, and much more quickly than expected. Mickey rolls a -1, however, for a rolled degree of Fair. Since this is one level lower than the Difficulty Level, he's having problems. Had Mickey done Poorly or even Mediocre, he would perhaps have fallen - or not even been able to start. Since his rolled degree is only slightly below the Difficulty Level, though, the Storyteller simply rules he is stuck half way up, and can't figure out how to go on. Parri ties a rope to a tree at the top of the cliff, and lowers it for Mickey. The Storyteller says it is now Difficulty Level: Poor to climb the cliff with the rope in place, and Mickey makes this easily on another roll.
Arnold would also need a Poor rolled degree to climb the cliff with the rope, but since his skill is Poor, they decide not to risk it. Mickey and Parri have Arnold loop the rope under his arms, and pull him up as he grabs handholds along the way in case they slip. No roll is needed in this case, unless they are suddenly attacked when Arnold is only half way up the cliff...
(The whole situation was merely described as an example of setting Difficulty levels. In actual game play, the Storyteller should describe the cliff, and ask the players how the characters intend to get up it. If they came up with the idea of Parri climbing the cliff and lowering a rope, no rolls would be needed at all - unless, possibly, time was a critical factor, or there were hidden difficulties the Storyteller chose not to reveal because they couldn't have been perceived from the bottom of the cliff.)
Occasionally, the Storyteller will roll in secret for the PC. There are times when even a failed roll would give the player knowledge he wouldn't otherwise have. These are usually information rolls. For example, if the Storyteller asks the player to make a roll against Perception attribute (or Find Hidden Things skill), and the player fails, the character doesn't
notice anything out of the ordinary. But the player now knows that there is something out of the ordinary that his character didn't notice... Far better for the Storyteller to make the roll in secret, and only mention it on a successful result.
To resolve an Opposed action between two characters, each side rolls against the appropriate trait and announces the result. The traits rolled against are not necessarily the same.
For example, a seduction attempt would be rolled against a Seduction skill for the active participant (or possibly Appearance attribute) and against Will for the resisting participant. There may be modifiers: someone with a vow of chastity might get a bonus of +2 to his Will, while someone with a Lecherous fault would have a penalty - or not even try to resist.
The Storyteller compares the rolled degrees to determine a relative degree.
For example, Lisa is trying to flimflam Joe into thinking she's from the FBI and rolls a Great result. This is not automatic success, however. If Joe also rolls a Great result on his trait to avoid being flimflammed (Knowledge of Police Procedure, Learning, Intelligence, etc. - whatever the Storyteller decides is appropriate), then the relative degree is 0: the status quo is maintained. In this case, Joe remains unconvinced that Lisa is legitimate. If Joe rolled a Superb result, Lisa's Great result would have actually earned her a relative degree of -1: Joe is not going to be fooled this encounter, and will probably even have a bad reaction to Lisa.
The Opposed action mechanism can be used to resolve almost any conflict between two characters. Are two people both grabbing the same item at the same time? This is an Opposed action based on a Dexterity attribute - the winner gets the item. Is one character trying to shove another one down? Roll Strength vs. Strength (or Wrestling skill) to see who goes down. Someone trying to hide from a search party? Perception attribute (or Find Hidden skill) vs. Hide skill (or Camouflage, Stealth, etc.). Trying to out-drink a rival? Constitution vs. Constitution (or Drinking skill, Carousing, etc.). And so on.
Some Opposed actions have a minimum level needed for success. For example, an attempt to control a person's mind with a Telepathy skill might require at least a Fair result. If the telepath only gets a Mediocre result, it doesn't matter if the intended victim rolls a Poor
resistance: the attempt fails. Most combat falls into this category.
An Opposed action can also be handled as an Unopposed action. When a PC is opposing an NPC, have only the player roll, and simply let the NPC's trait level be the Difficulty Level. This method assumes the NPC will always roll a 0. This emphasizes the PCs' performance, and reduces the possibility of an NPC's lucky roll deciding the game.
As a slight variation on the above, the Storyteller rolls 1dF or 2dF when rolling for an NPC in an opposed action. This allows some variation in the NPC's ability, but still puts the emphasis on the PCs' actions.
Unless one participant is unaware of an attack or decides to ignore it, combat is an Opposed action in FUDGE. The easiest way to handle combat in FUDGE is as a series of Opposed action. This can be done simply or with more complexity. The author of FUDGE uses simple and loose combat rules in order to get combat over with quickly and get back to more interesting role-playing. This chapter, largely optional, is for players who prefer combat options spelled out in detail.
Melee combat and Ranged combat are treated separately.
- Melee:
- Any combat that involves striking the opponent with a fist or hand-held weapon. Any attack from further away is a Ranged attack.
- Story Element:
- A distinct segment of the storyline in the game. In combat, the interval between story elements can be a practical place for a die roll.
- Combat Round:
- A combat round is 5 seconds long. A given Storyteller's combat round may vary in length, depending on the situation. Generally, when each character involved has made an action, a given round is over.
- Offensive damage factors:
- Those which contribute to damaging an opponent: Strength (if using a Strength-driven weapon), Scale, and deadliness of weapon.
- Defensive damage factors:
- Those which contribute to reducing the severity of a received blow: Scale, armor, and possibly Damage Capacity.
- Total damage factor (or simply damage factor):
- The attacker's offensive damage factor minus the defender's defensive damage factor.
Yoki's Fantasy Flavored FUDGE uses simultaneous combat rounds throughout combat. In simultaneous combat rounds, all offensive and defensive maneuvers happen at the same time. This is realistic: few real combats consist of fighters taking turns whacking at each other.
The Storyteller determines which traits the combatants should roll against. This depends largely on which weapon they are using, which might simply be a fist. Weapon type also affects damage.
Each combatant makes an Opposed action roll. On a relative degree of 0, the combat round is a stand-off - the fighters either circled each other looking for an opening, or exchanged blows on each other's shields, etc. - nobody is hurt.
A minimum result of Poor is needed to hit a (roughly) equal-sized opponent. That is, a human needs to score a Poor blow (and still win the Opposed action) in order to hit another human. If both opponents roll worse than Poor, the round is a standoff (and both fighters looked rather silly!).
If one opponent is significantly bigger than the other (of a different Scale, at least), he needs a Mediocre or even Fair result to hit his smaller foe, while even a Terrible result will allow the small fighter to hit the larger. (Of course, such a blow must still win the Opposed action.) Extremely small targets, such as a pixie, may require a Good or even a Great result. Examples include humans fighting giants, or very large or small animals.
If the result is a relative degree other than 0, and the minimum level needed to score a hit is achieved or surpassed, the winner checks to see if he hit hard enough to damage the loser. In general, the better the hit (the greater the relative degree), the greater the likelihood
of damage.
If one combatant is unable to fight in a given round (possibly because he's unaware of the attacker, or because of a critical result in the previous round, the combat may become an Unopposed Action for the active fighter, usually with a Poor Difficulty Level. If a character can defend himself in some way, such as using a shield, it is still an Opposed Action, but the defending character cannot hurt the other character even if he wins the combat round.
Combat often takes more than one combat round. Characters are not limited to attacking each round - they may attempt to flee, negotiate, try a fancy acrobatic stunt, or any other appropriate action.
Some situations call for one side or the other's trait level to be modified. Here are some examples:
- A fighter with a Light Wound is at -1, while one with a Major Wound is at -2, etc.
- If one fighter has a positional advantage over the other, there may be a penalty (-1 or -2) to the fighter in the worse position. Examples include bad footing, lower elevation, light in his eyes, kneeling, etc.
- Subtract the value of a shield from the opponent's weapon skill. A small shield has a value of +1 in melee combat only, while a medium shield has a value of +1 in melee combat and +1 to defense against ranged attacks (if the shield material is impervious to the weapon). A large shield (+2 in all combat) is cumbersome to lug around. The larger the shield carried, the more the Storyteller should assess penalties for things such as acrobatic and other fancy maneuvers. Shields can also be used offensively to push an opponent back, for example, or knock someone over.
- Compare combatants' weapon sizes and shields. If one fighter's weapon + shield value is +2 (or more) greater than the other fighter's weapon + shield value, the fighter with the smaller weapon is at -1 to his combat skill. (Example: one fighter has a Two-handed sword: +4 to damage. His opponent has a knife and an average shield: +1 to damage, +1 for shield makes a total of +2. The knife wielder is at -1 to skill in this combat since his weapon modifier is -2 less than the sword fighter's.)
- Aiming at a specific body parts...
- A fighter may have a magical blessing (+1 or more) or curse (-1 or worse).
This optional rule, used with simultaneous combat rounds, allows more tactical flavor to combat at a small expense of complexity. This option replaces the All-out attack and defense options listed above, and allows for both combatants to be injured in the same combat round.
Before each round, a fighter may choose to be in a normal posture, an offensive posture or defensive posture. An offensive or defensive stance increases combat skill in one aspect of combat (offense or defense), and decrease the same skill by an equal amount for the other
aspect of combat.
There are five basic fighting stances:
- Violent stance: +2 to Offense, -2 to Defense
- Offensive stance: +1 to Offense, -1 to Defense
- Normal stance: no modifiers
- Defensive stance: -1 to Offense, +1 to Defense
- Protective stance: -2 to Offense, +2 to Defense
Each combat round, a player secretly chooses a combat stance by selecting two FUDGE dice and setting them to a result from +2 to -2, which represents an offensive modifier. (The defensive modifier shown above with the offensive modifier is automatically included.) Both sides simultaneously reveal their choices.
Each fighter then makes a single Opposed action roll as normal. The result is applied to both offense and defense, however, and will thus have different results for offense and defense if anything other than a normal posture is chosen. The offensive rolled result of each fighter is then compared to the defense of the other fighter.
There are also two more options:
- Berserk Attack: +1 to both sides Offense scores
- Feint: -1 to both sides Defense scores
- Repartee: Successful insults without a comeback will give the insulted party -1 to all rolls for the given round.
When more than one opponent attacks a single fighter, they have, at least, a positional advantage. To reflect this, the lone fighter is at -1 to his skill for each additional foe beyond the first. (For epic-style games, with a few heroes battling hordes of enemies, this
penalty can be reduced, or the Storyteller can simply give the hordes Poor skills and low Damage Capacity - which is not out of character for a horde.)
The lone fighter rolls once, and the result is compared with each of the opponents' rolled degrees, one after the other. The solo combatant has to defeat or tie all of the opponents in order to inflict a wound on one of them. If he beats all of his foes, he may
hit the foe of his choice. If he ties his best opponent, he can only wound another whose result is at least two levels below his.
The lone fighter takes multiple wounds in a single round if two or more enemies hit him. Usually, he can inflict damage on only one foe in any given round - his choice of those he bested. It's also possible to allow a sweeping blow to damage more than one foe at a time. Of course, this slows a slash down: reduce damage done by 1 or 2 for each foe cut through.
A well-armored fighter facing weak opponents can simply concentrate on one foe and let the others try to get through his armor (that is, not defend himself at all against some of his attackers). In this case, the lone fighter can damage his chosen foe even if he is hit by other, ignored foes. This is historically accurate for knights wading through peasant levies, for example. There may or may not be a penalty for the lone fighter in this case.
There's a limit to the number of foes that can simultaneously attack a single opponent. Six is about the maximum under ideal conditions (such as wolves, or spear-wielders), while only three or four can attack if using weapons or martial arts that require a lot of maneuvering space. If the lone fighter is in a doorway, only one or two fighters can reach him.
When one side in a battle is composed of a large number of similar, or perhaps identical, combatants the unit's size is treated as a Scale bonus, consult the following table for each unit's bonus:
| Unit size |
Bonus |
| 1 |
+0 |
| 2 |
+1 |
| 3 |
+2 |
| 5 |
+3 |
| 7 |
+4 |
| 10 |
+5 |
| 15 |
+6 |
| 25 |
+7 |
| 40 |
+8 |
| 60 |
+9 |
| 90 |
+10 |
| (+50%) |
(+1) |
Then simply treat the combat as a normal opposed combat action, with the larger unit receiving a relative Scale bonus (that is, the smaller unit's Scale bonus is deducted from the larger unit's bonus for a final relative Scale bonus). Each unit is treated as one entity.
In battles of huge magnitudes each combat round is an indefinite amount of time. Here's how you prepare for a large battle:
- Calculate a Relative Scale bonus for the larger side. Each level of Scale is equivelent to about a 50% difference in size. That is if side A is about 50% larger than side B then side A has a +1 Relative Scale.
- Roll for each side's Combat Skill + Scale bonus in an opposed action.
- The winner of the action adds his base damage for weapon type to the degree of success and references the result against the wound level chart normally.
- Evaluate Results. Character wounds are treated normally, for Units consult the following table:
| Wound Level |
Result |
| Scratch |
Only minor losses |
| Light Wound (-1) |
25% Losses |
| Major Wound (-2) |
50% Losses |
| Critical Wound (-3) |
75% Losses |
| Coma/Fatal |
100% Losses |
NOTE: The second Light Wound is treated more as an escalation in damage (just like Scratches), rather than another 25% loss. The overall wound status is more important that the individual wound in large battles. Losses don't necessarily translate into dead enemies, but can also account for disabling injuries, routed and surrendered fighters.
A leader of a combat unit is allowed an opposed Tactics (or Leadership) roll against the opposing unit's leader. The winner gets a +1 level bonus to all rolls during the combat at hand.
Ranged combat may or may not be an Opposed action. If the target is unaware of the assault, the attacker makes an Unopposed action roll to see if he hits his target. The Storyteller sets the Difficulty Level based on distance, lighting, cover, etc. Do not modify the attacker's skill for range, partial cover, or other circumstances - that's included in the Difficulty Level. Equipment such as a laser sighting scope can modify the attacker's skill, though.
If the defender is aware of the attack it is an Opposed action: the attacker's ranged weapon skill against the defender's defensive trait. (A Difficulty Level for range, lighting, etc., is still set by the Storyteller, and is the minimum rolled degree needed to hit.) A defensive roll should be made against a Dodge skill, or Agility attribute, or something similar.
If the ranged weapon is thrown, there is no modifier to the defense roll. However, a propelled weapon, such as a bow, gun, or beam weapon, is much harder to avoid. In this case, reduce the defender's trait by -2 or -3. Obviously, the defender isn't trying to dodge a bullet, but dodging the presumed path of a bullet when an attacker points a gun at him.
Of course, the defender may decline to dodge, but shoot back instead. In this case, the action is Unopposed - making the Difficulty Level is all that is needed to hit. The Storyteller may make such actions simultaneous.
A skilled archer can shoot more than one arrow per combat round if he so chooses. A Good archer can shoot two arrows per turn at Fair level, a Great archer can shoot 3 arrows per turn at Fair level, a Superb archer can shoot 4 arrows per turn at Fair level, and a Legendary archer can shoot 5 arrows per turn at Fair level. As the Storyteller you may of course allow an archer to shoot less than the maximum at a higher level, and the player can always decide to shoot just one arrow at his full archery skill level.
- Difficutly Levels
- Target within reach = No shot possible
- Target in close range = Mediocre
- Target in medium range = Fair
- Target at far range = Good
- Target at extreme range = Great or higher
- Difficutly Modifiers
- Target is obscured by cover = -1
- Target is obscured by darkness = -1
- Target is running = -1
- Target is sprinting = -2
- Aiming for one round = +1 (maximum)
- Target has a shiled = deduct the shield's size
- Target's has a positive relative scale = used as a bonus
- Target's has a negative relative scale = used as a penalty
Combat damage to a character can be described as being at one of seven stages of severity. The stages are:
- Undamaged:
- no wounds at all. The character is not necessarily healthy - he may be sick, for example. But he doesn't have a combat wound that's recent enough to be bothering him.
- Just A Scratch:
- no real game effect, except to create tension. This may eventually lead to a Light Wound if the character is hit again. This term comes from the famous movie line, "I'm okay, it's only a scratch." The actual wound itself may be a graze, bruise, cut, abrasion, etc., and the Storyteller whose game is more serious in tone may choose to use one of these terms instead.
- Light Wound:
- the character is wounded significantly, enough to slow him down: -1 to all traits which would logically be affected.
- Major Wound:
- the character is seriously hurt, possibly stumbling: -2 to all traits which would logically be affected.
- Critical Wound:
- the character is so badly wounded as to be almost incapable of any actions: -3, to all traits which would logically be affected. The extent of actions a critically wounded character can perform usually consists mainly of holding his innards in place, but could include such elaborate actions as opening a door or grabbing a gem...
- Coma/Fatal:
- the character is not only unconscious, he'll die in less than an hour - maybe a lot less - without medical help. No one recovers from Near Death on their own unless very lucky. A lenient Storyteller can allow a character (who passes one hell of a Health test) to possibly drag himself a few feet every now and then or gasp out an important message.
- Dead:
- he has no more use for his possessions, unless he belongs to a culture that believes he'll need them in the afterlife...
The Storyteller may allow a high Difficulty Level Will roll to reduce or even nullify penalties listed at Hurt, Very Hurt, and possibly Critical. A gift of a High Pain Threshold will reduce the penalties by one level, while a fault of a Low Pain Threshold will
increase penalties by one.
In FUDGE, Damage Capacity determines how wounds affect a character. It is tied to the Physical Stat: Health.
When determining how wounded a character is when hit in combat, take into consideration all of the following factors:
- The relative degree the attack succeeded by - the better the hit, the greater likelihood of damage. Winning a combat round with a relative degree of +1 means you probably hit where the opponent is most heavily armored. Scoring a hit with a +3 finds a chink in the armor.
- The strength of the blow. For muscle-powered weapons, such as melee weapons, unarmed attacks, bows, slings, etc., this is determined by the attacker's Build attribute: stronger folks tend to hit harder. The relative Scale modifier is also figured in here. For things like guns, beam weapons, etc., it is relative to the nature of the weapon: a .38 usually does more damage than a .22. The technological level of the weapon can be important.
- The deadliness of the attacker's weapon. Big weapons tend to do more damage than little weapons; sharp weapons rip tissue more than dull ones, but blunt weapons can cause concussive damage through armor thick enough to stop a sharp weapon. People trained in Karate tend to do more damage than those untrained in any martial art.
- The defender's armor. People wearing thicker armor, and more of it, tend to get hurt less than those wearing no armor. Armor can be finely differentiated, or simply said to be Light, Medium, or Heavy armor. Science fiction scenarios will have Extra-Heavy armor, and even further levels. Fantasy campaigns may include magic armor that offers even greater protection, sometimes specific against certain types of damage.
- The amount of damage the victim can soak up (Robustness, Damage Capacity, or Mass). Big, healthy guys can take more damage before collapsing than little, sickly guys. But it's your call if it's a big, sickly fighter against a little, healthy fellow.
Relative Degree:
The relative degree is more important than the type of weapon alone. Double it and add it to to the damage factor. A relative degree of +1 is however always treated as a graze.
Attacker's Build (muscle-powered weapons only):
- +3 for Superb Build
- +2 for Great Build
- +1 for Good Build
- +0 for Fair Build
- -1 for Mediocre Build
- -2 for Poor Build
- -3 for Terrible Build
Attacker's Scale:
- Add the attacker's Strength Scale.
Note: the attacker's Strength Scale is relevant only for muscle-powered weapons and for those projectile weapons scaled to the attacker's size, such as miniature bazookas or giant-sized handguns. A superhero of Scale 10 using an ordinary pistol would not figure his Scale into the Offensive Damage Modifier.
Weapon Strength
For Weapon's Strength (Guns, Crossbows, Beam weapons, etc.,):
Muscle-Powered Weapons:
- -1 for no weapon, not using a Martial Art skill.
- +0 Martial Art skill, or for small weapons (blackjack, knife, brass knuckles, sling, thick boots if kicking, etc.).
- +1 for medium-weight one-handed weapons (billy club, machete, shortsword, epee, hatchet, rock, etc.).
- +2 for large one-handed weapons (broadsword, axe, large club, etc.), or for light two-handed weapons (spear, bow, etc.).
- +3 for most two-handed weapons (polearm, two-handed sword, battleaxe, etc.).
- +1 for sharpness (add to other weapon damage: knife becomes +1, shortsword +2, broadsword +3, greatsword +4, etc.).
Note: the value of a shield is subtracted from the opponent's skill.
Defender's Health:
- +4 for Legendary Health
- +3 for Superb Health
- +2 for Great Health
- +1 for Good Health
- +0 for Fair Health
- -1 for Mediocre Health
- -2 for Poor Health
- -3 for Terrible Health
- -4 for Infamous Health
Defender's Armor:
- +1 for light, pliable non-metal armor.
- +2 for heavy, rigid non-metal armor
- +2 for light metal armor.
- +3 for medium metal armor.
- +4 for heavy metal armor.
- +5 or more for science fiction advanced armor.
Note: magical armor may add anywhere from +1 to whatever the Storyteller will allow to any given armor type above.
Note: for heavy blunt metal weapons, such as maces and flails, halve any protection from the defender's armor, round down. The concussive damage from such weapons is slowed, but not totally stopped, by most armor. Example: if using a large mace (+2 weapon) against plate armor (+4 armor), the armor only counts as +2 armor.
Defender's Mass Scale:
Plus the defender's Mass Scale. (If the defender has Mass other than Fair, or a gift of Tough Hide, it should also be figured in.)
This system requires each character sheet to have a wound record track which looks like:
| Damage: |
1-3 |
4-6 |
7-9 |
10-12 |
13+ |
| Wounds: |
Scratch |
Light |
Major |
Critical |
Coma/Fatal |
| Boxes: |
O O O |
O O |
O |
O |
O |
The numbers above the wound levels represent the amount of damage needed in a single blow to inflict the wound listed under the number. For example, a blow of three or four points inflicts a Light Wound, while a blow of ten to twelve points inflicts a Critical Wound.
The boxes below the wound levels represent how many of each wound type a fighter can take.
When a wound is received, mark off the appropriate box. If there is no open box for a given wound result, the character takes the next highest wound for which there is an open box.
Note: Keep track of each individual wound received, not only the current wound level. That is, if your receive a third Light Wound and have to check the Major Wound box, make a note that it was in fact only a Light Wound (perhaps by checking the box with an "L"). This will affect your healing.
You may also want to determine where you hit.
Roll 4DF for hit location:
| Random |
Melee |
Ranged |
| +4 |
Head |
Head |
| +3 |
Left Leg |
Left Arm |
| +2 |
Left Arm |
Left Leg |
| +1 |
Torso |
Torso |
| 0 |
Abdomen |
Abdomen |
| -1 |
Torso |
Torso |
| -2 |
Right Arm |
Right Leg |
| -3 |
Right Leg |
Right Arm |
| -4 |
Head |
Head |
Minimum relative degree needed to hit.
| Relative Degree |
Location |
| +1 |
Torso, abdomen, legs, arms |
| +2 |
Specific leg or arm, groin |
| +3 |
Head, hand, foot |
| +4 |
Eye, ear, finger |
| HIGH |
+4 |
+3 |
+2 |
+1 |
0 |
-1 |
-2 |
-3 |
-4 |
| chop: |
Abs |
Hand |
Arm |
Chest |
Head |
Chest |
Arm |
Hand |
Abs |
| swing: |
Groin |
Hand |
Arm |
Head |
Chest |
Abs |
Arm |
Hand |
Groin |
| thrust: |
Head |
Hand |
Abs |
Chest |
Arm |
Chest |
Abs |
Groin |
Head |
| LOW |
+4 |
+3 |
+2 |
+1 |
0 |
-1 |
-2 |
-3 |
-4 |
| swing: |
Abs |
Groin |
Foot |
Leg |
Leg |
Leg |
Foot |
Groin |
Abs |
| thrust: |
Foot |
Leg |
Groin |
Leg |
Leg |
Leg |
Groin |
Leg |
Foot |
| SHOT |
+4 |
+3 |
+2 |
+1 |
0 |
-1 |
-2 |
-3 |
-4 |
| h. close: |
Hand |
Head |
Abs |
Chest |
Arm |
Chest |
Abs |
Head |
Hand |
| l. close: |
Foot |
Leg |
Groin |
Leg |
Leg |
Leg |
Groin |
Leg |
Foot |
| long: |
Foot |
Groin |
Chest |
Arm |
Abs |
Leg |
Chest |
Head |
Hand |
| BRAWL |
+4 |
+3 |
+2 |
+1 |
0 |
-1 |
-2 |
-3 |
-4 |
| h. swing: |
Hand |
Abs |
Arm |
Chest |
Head |
Chest |
Arm |
Abs |
Hand |
| l. swing: |
Arm |
Chest |
Groin |
Abs |
Abs |
Abs |
Groin |
Chest |
Arm |
| jab: |
Arm |
Head |
Abs |
Chest |
Head |
Chest |
Abs |
Head |
Arm |
| kick: |
Foot |
Leg |
Groin |
Leg |
Leg |
Leg |
Groin |
Leg |
Foot |
| hold: |
Foot |
Leg |
Arm |
Chest |
Head |
Abs |
Arm |
Leg |
Hand |
Any relative degree of +1 can do at most a Storyteller-set Wound level (plus any Scale difference). It may do no damage at all, depending on the opponent's defensive factors: a fist hitting plate mail won't hurt the armored knight in the slightest - unless it's a giant's fist.
Sample graze severity table:
| Damage Factor:
|
Result:
|
| <0 |
Undamaged |
| 0-4 |
Scratch |
| 5+ |
Light Wound |
Scale difference is a little trickier to figure, but it should be minimized for such a narrow victory: a giant's club could give a human a glancing blow that might inflict a Major Wound result, but not necessarily a Critical Wound.
On the other hand, a tiger biting a mouse with a relative degree of +1 grazes the mouse as a cow grazes grass...
The attacker's Strength Scale is added to his offensive damage factor, and the defender's Mass Scale is added to her defensive damage factor. If you have combat with beings weaker than humans, remember what you learned in school about adding and subtracting negative numbers...
An extremely small character is not likely to be able to wound a large one in this wounding system. The Storyteller may allow a point or two of damage to penetrate if the small character gets a critical success. Poison-tipped arrows and lances are also a possibility: the small character can aim for joints in the armor and merely has to break the skin to inject the poison.
Also, this system treats Mass Scale like armor, which isn't quite accurate. In reality, a small opponent may be slowly carving the larger fighter up, but each wound is too petty, relative to the large scale, to do much damage by itself. To reflect a lot of small wounds gradually inflicting damage on a large-scale foe, a hit prevented only by Scale from doing any damage (that is, when Scale is the only difference between getting a Scratch and no damage at all) deserves a damage roll; roll one die, a plus result equals a scratch.
There are also "scale piercing" weapons, such as whale harpoons and elephant guns. These don't have massive damage numbers: instead, if they hit well, simply halve the Scale value, or ignore it all together. Of course, if such a weapon is used on a human, it would indeed have a massive damage modifier...
A player can announce that his character is trying to stun or knock his opponent out rather than damage her. Using the flat of a blade instead of the edge, for example, can accomplish this. Damage is figured normally, but any damage inflicted doesn't wound the opponent:
it stuns her instead.
In this case, a Light Wound result is called a "Stun" - a stunned character cannot attack or change his combat stance, and is at -1 to defend for one combat turn only. However, the Stun result stays on the character sheet: that is, a second Stun result, even if delivered more than one combat round after the first, will cause the character to become Very Stunned. (Stun results heal like Scratches: after combat is over.)
A Major Wound result in a stunning attack is called a Very Stunned result instead: no attacks and -2 to all actions for two combat rounds.
A result of Critical Wound or worse when going for stun damage results in a knockout. A knocked-out character doesn't need healing to recuperate to full health - just time.
Likewise, a player may choose to have his character do reduced damage in any given attack. This is known as "pulling your punch," even if you are using a sword. This commonly occurs in duels of honor, where it is only necessary to draw "first blood" to win, and killing your opponent can get you charged with murder. A Scratch will win a "first
blood" duel - it is not necessary to wound someone.
To pull your punch, simply announce the maximum wound level you will do if you are successful.
Wounds heal on their own at the rate of one level per week of rest. Scratches heal immediately after battle, if the character has the chance to catch his breath.
A Good result on a healing skill heals all wounds one level. Great results heal two levels and Superb results three levels. A successful roll ensures no complications. A Fair result will only stop bleeding and further deterioration of the wounds for the time being.
To determine your movement rate in meters per 5-second combat round (and kilometers per hour, they are within 10% of each other) consult the following chart:
| Speed |
Walking |
(minute) |
Sustained |
Sprinting |
| Infamous |
2 |
24m |
5 |
8 |
| Terrible |
4 |
48m |
10 |
16 |
| Poor |
6 |
72m |
15 |
24 |
| Mediocre |
8 |
96m |
20 |
32 |
| Fair |
10 |
120m |
25 |
40 |
| Good |
12 |
144m |
30 |
48 |
| Great |
14 |
168m |
35 |
56 |
| Superb |
16 |
192m |
40 |
64 |
| Legendary |
18 |
216m |
45 |
72 |
Note: The minute columns shows how many meter you can walk in a minute (kilometers per hour does not apply here). You should also keep in mind that while walking around in a damp, dark and dank, old dungeon, while checking for traps and trying to avoid any and all attention, your walking speed is halved.
Weapon: the common name of the weapon.
Damage: damage inflicted, cumulative in most cases: so +1 size/+1 sharp is basically +2.
Size: how large the weapon is.
Hands: if the weapon is one or two-handed.
Type: the type of damage/wound inflicted multiple types means the wielder has a choice.
Weapon Damage Size Hands Type
Axes
Battle +2 size/+1 sharp large one Slash
Double-Bladed +3 size/+1 sharp very large two Slash
Great +3 size/+1 sharp large two Slash
Hatchet +1 sharp small one Slash
Hand +1 size/+1 sharp small/medium one Slash
Throwing +1 sharp small one Slash
Bows
Arctic +1 sharp medium two Pierce
Desert +1 sharp medium two Pierce
Great +1 str/+1 sharp very large two Pierce
Long +1 sharp large two Pierce
Short +1 sharp medium/large two Pierce
Clubs
Club +1 size medium one Crush
Cudgel +1 size small/medium one Crush
Great +3 size large two Crush
Morningstar +2 size/+1 sharp large one Pierce
Crossbows
Hand +1 sharp small one Pierce
Heavy +1 str/+1 sharp large two Pierce
Light +1 sharp medium two Pierce
Dagger
Dagger
Fighting-common +1 sharp small one S/P
Throwing +1 sharp small one Pierce
Knife +1 sharp small one S/P
Stiletto +1 sharp small one Pierce
Flail
Ball and Chain +1 size medium one Crush
Bi- +2 size medium one Crush
Tri- +3 size large one Crush
Flail +1 size medium one Crush
Horseman's +1 size medium one Crush
Star and Chain +1 size/+1 sharp medium one Crush
Bi- +1 size/+1 sharp medium one Crush
Tri- +2 size/+1 sharp large one Crush
War Flail +3 size very large two Crush
Hammers
Hammer +1 size small one Crush
Horseman's +1 size small/medium one Crush
Maul +2 size medium/large two Crush
War +1 size medium one Crush
Lance
Heavy +3 size/+1 sharp very large two Pierce
Light +2 size/+1 sharp very large two Pierce
Medium +3 size/+1 sharp very large two Pierce
Maces
Great +3 size very large two Crush
Heavy +2 size large one Crush
Horseman's +1 size medium one Crush
Light +1 size medium one Crush
Picks
Footman's +2 size/+1 sharp medium two Pierce
Horseman's +1 size/+1 sharp medium one Pierce
Military +2 size/+1 sharp medium one Pierce
Pole Arms
Bardiche +3 size/+1 sharp very large two Slash
Bec de Corbin +2 size/+1 sharp very large two Pierce
Bill-Guisarme +3 size/+1 sharp very large two S/P
Double Moon +3 size/+1 sharp very large two Slash
Fauchard +3 size/+1 sharp very large two Slash
Fauchard-Fork +3 size/+1 sharp very large two S/P
Glaive +3 size/+1 sharp very large two S/P
Glaive-Guisarme +3 size/+1 sharp very large two S/P
Guisarme +3 size/+1 sharp very large two Slash
Guisarme-Voulge +3 size/+1 sharp very large two Slash
Halbard +3 size/+1 sharp very large two S/P
Hook-Fauchard +3 size/+1 sharp very large two Slash
Lucern Hammer +2 size/+1 sharp very large two Pierce
Military Fork +2 size/+1 sharp very large two Pierce
Partisan +3 size/+1 sharp very large two Pierce
Pike +2 size/+1 sharp very large two Pierce
Ranseur +3 size/+1 sharp very large two Pierce
Scythe +3 size/+1 sharp very large two S/P
Spetum +3 size/+1 sharp very large two Pierce
Voulge +3 size/+1 sharp very large two Slash
Shields
Lantern +2 size/+1 sharp large one S/P
Spiked Buckler +1 size/+1 sharp medium one Pierce
Sword +2 size/+1 sharp medium/large one Pierce
Spears
Harpoon +1 size/+1 sharp medium one/two Pierce
Javelin +1 size/+1 sharp medium one Pierce
Pilum +1 size/+1 sharp medium one Pierce
Spear +2 size/+1 sharp large one/two Pierce
Trident +3 size/+1 sharp large one/two Pierce
Staves
Battle +2 size large two Crush
Iron +3 size large two Crush
Quarter +2 size large two Crush
Sling +1 size/+0 size large two Crush
Sword
Bastard large one/two Slash
One-Handed +2 size/+1 sharp
Two-Handed +3 size/+1 sharp
Broad +2 size/+1 sharp medium/large one Slash
Claymore +3 size/+1 sharp large two Slash
Cutlass +2 size/+1 sharp medium one Slash
Gladius +1 size/+1 sharp medium one Pierce
Long +2 size/+1 sharp medium one S/P
Rapier +1 size/+1 sharp medium one Pierce
Sabre +2 size/+1 sharp medium one Slash
Scimitar +2 size/+1 sharp medium one Slash
Short +1 size/+1 sharp medium one S/P
Tulwar +1 size/+1 sharp medium one Slash
Two-Handed +3 size/+1 sharp very large two Slash
Warblade +3 size/+1 sharp large one/two Slash
Whips
Scourge +1 sharp small/medium one Slash
Whip +1 size medium one (Crush)
Other Melee
Adarga +2 size/+1 sharp medium one S/P
Caltrop +1 sharp tiny one Pierce
Cestus +1 sharp small one Slash
Chain +1 size medium one Crush
Claws-large +1 sharp small one Slash
Claws-small +0 sharp small one Slash
Lasso special medium two special
Sap +0 size small one Crush
Sickle +1 size/+1 sharp medium one Slash
Spiked Gloves +0 sharp small one Pierce
Other Missile
Blowgun medium two Pierce
Barbed Dart +0 sharp
Needle +0 sharp
Bola +1 size/special small/medium one Crush
Boomerang +1 size small/medium one Crush
Dart +0 sharp small one Pierce
Net special large two special
Sling +1 strength small/medium one Crush
Throwing
Iron +0 sharp small one Pierce
Ring +0 sharp small one Slash
Spiral +1 sharp small one Slash
Star +0 sharp small one Pierce