FUDGE
Freeform, Universal, Do-it-yourself Gaming Engine
A Free Role-playing Game (RPG).
Copyright 1992, 1995 by Steffan O'Sullivan
Version: June, 1995
Table of Contents
"Back Cover Blurb" and Introduction
FUDGE: Freeform Universal Do-it-yourself Gaming Engine
FUDGE is a unique role-playing game. The basic rules are for
experienced Game Masters, but players can range from complete novice to experienced pro.
FUDGE works with any genre. Sample characters from many genres are included.
FUDGE has some interesting aspects, including many new concepts in
role-playing gaming:
- No fixed attributes. The GM chooses appropriate attributes depending
on taste and genre played. Many sample attributes are included.
- FUDGE is a skill-driven system. Skills can also be defined by the GM,
anywhere from finely defined individual skills to broadly defined skill groups. The choice
is yours, even to mixing as you choose.
- Attributes and skills are word-based, making it easy to determine how
good any given character is at anything. You'll never hear players say, "I'm a level
(or skill) 14 Fighter." Instead, they'll simply say, "I'm a Great
swordsman!"
- Inborn gifts and faults can be created and described by individual
players, being as brief or lengthy as the player desires. Many examples are provided to
get you started.
- Due to the word-based system, any campaign world or adventure written
in FUDGE can be translated painlessly to any other system - and vice versa. This makes
FUDGE extremely useful as the "universal translator" of gaming systems.
- A simple action resolution system allows players to know how well
they performed an individual action - in words. Rules for six-sided dice, percentile dice,
and special FUDGE dice are included. FUDGE can also be run diceless, if desired.
- You can integrate other role-playing rules with FUDGE. If an existing
game has a brilliant game mechanism in an otherwise lackluster set of rules, you can
easily import the brilliance into FUDGE without bringing along the mediocrity. Do you like
the way game X handles psi, game Y combat, and game Z sanity? Use them all freely with
FUDGE.
- The GM is given options to help her customize FUDGE toward either a
realistic campaign or an "epic" (or "legendary" or
"cinematic") campaign. Any genre can be played at any point between these
opposing stances of realistic vs. legendary.
- The basic rules can be copied and given away legally. In fact, any
publisher can publish FUDGE rules and add their own world backgrounds and adventures - see
the Legal Notice for details.
- If you are thinking of designing your own home rules RPG, simply
reading FUDGE can provide an excellent introduction to what you need to consider as a game
designer.
FUDGE is specifically for people who want a good bedrock to build
their own system on. It provides the building blocks you need to customize your own rules.
If you haven't found a commercial role- playing game that suits your needs exactly, then
FUDGE may be what you're looking for. If you have created a great game setting (or
translated one from fiction), but no other game system's rules seem to do it justice,
perhaps FUDGE can help you.
The basic FUDGE rules contain no campaign world information (except
for samples). Future releases from Grey Ghost Games will include campaign worlds, generic
resource books, and adventures. Due to FUDGE's flexible universal nature, these will be
usable with any game system.
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