To avoid confusion, "he, him," etc., are used to describe a player and PC, and "she, her," etc., are used to describe a Game Master and NPC.
FUDGE is divided into six Chapters, each of which is divided into
Sections. The decimal point in Section numbers is a true decimal.
For example, Section 2.35 comes between Section 2.3 and Section 2.4.
1 FUDGE Overview
FUDGE (Freeform, Universal Donated Gaming Engine, or Freeform Universal Do-it-yourself Gaming Experience) is a roleplaying game. The basic rules of FUDGE contain no world background whatsoever. They may be used with any gaming genre, and some customization tips are included. However, Game Masters using the basic FUDGE rules must do some work to customize the rules to their game worlds.
Freedom of choice is the basic premise behind FUDGE. Every Game Master using FUDGE has the right to add or ignore any attributes, skills, or other character traits. Hence, the FUDGE rules are easily adaptable to a world of your own creation, a setting from your favorite fiction, or a commercial source book from any game company.
You can even integrate FUDGE with other role-playing rules. 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 complete version of FUDGE includes many examples of character creation, each using different collections of character traits. In addition to supplying tips on how to build your own unique set of character traits, Chapter Two presents both a subjective and objective system of character creation. Chapter Three provides guidelines for supernormal abilities if you wish to include character traits and powers beyond the realistic human range: magic, psionic powers, aliens, super heroes, etc.
FUDGE's action resolution system, detailed in Chapter Four, is simple and consistent. In summary, a player rolls two dice and adjusts his character's trait level up or down (according to the dice result) to determine how well his character succeeds - or how badly he fails. When two or more characters can influence the outcome of an action, all their players roll and compare the results. Combat is just an extension of the action resolution system. FUDGE offers both a subjective and objective system for tracking damage to characters.
Chapter Five covers character development (experience). Chapter Six is a collection of Game Master tips and FUDGE examples, while Chapter Seven offers several ready-made additions to the FUDGE basic rules, including sample systems for magic and psionics as well as alternative systems for character creation and action resolution.
Throughout 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.
FUDGE may be used as an engine for other game designers. FUDGE's word-based descriptive levels are easily translated to any other game. Any publisher who has a good world to game in is welcome to adapt FUDGE to that world and publish as much or as little of the FUDGE rules with that game world as desired. The FUDGE rules may also be customized to an individual setting by the publisher. If you are reading this overview in such a book, it may or may not include all the FUDGE rules. This overview will tell you what you are missing in such a case, so you can judge if it's worth hunting down the full FUDGE rules.
For those of you with access to the Internet, the basic FUDGE rules can be obtained free via anonymous ftp at soda.berkeley.edu in the directory pub/fudge/rules. Many FUDGE options, such as described above as contained in Chapter Seven, can also be found at that site, in other /pub/fudge directories. (These samples and options are occasionally referred to in the FUDGE rules as the Addenda.)
The current version of FUDGE and the Addenda can also be obtained from Wild Mule Games, P.O. Box 838, Randolph, MA 02368. FUDGE is available from Wild Mule Games in book format or on Macintosh or IBM diskette. Send a self-addressed stamped envelope for current prices (including shipping and handling charges). Outside the U.S.A., enclose an International Reply Coupon.