This chapter contains all the information you'll need to create human characters, including character traits and trait levels, and two different systems of how to allocate them.
For non-human characters - or characters with supernormal abilities
(magic, psionics, super powers, etc.) - you will also need to read
Chapter 3, Supernormal Powers, before your
characters will be complete.
2.1 Character Creation Terms
FUDGE uses ordinary words to describe various traits of a character. The following terms of a seven-level sequence are suggested (from best to worst):
These levels should be written on each character sheet for easy reference.
A GM may alter this list in any way she desires, including expanding or shrinking it. For example, if Superb doesn't sound right to you, use Awesome - or even Way Cool. If the words Mediocre and Fair don't make sense to you, change them! These seven terms will be used in the rules, however, for clarity.
The best way to remember the order is to compare adjacent words. If, as a beginner, your eventual goal is to become an excellent game player, for example, ask yourself if you'd rather be called a Fair game player or a Mediocre game player?
There is an additional level that can be used in FUDGE, but is not listed above: Legendary, which is beyond Superb. Those with Legendary Strength, for example, are in the 99.9th percentile, and their names can be found in any book of world records.
IMPORTANT NOTE: not every GM will allow PCs to become Legendary! Even in games that do include the Legendary level, it is not recommended that any character be allowed to start the game as Legendary. Superb represents the 98th to 99.9th percentile of any given trait, which should be enough for any beginning PC! Of course, if a player character gets a bit overconfident, meeting an NPC Legendary swordswoman can be a grounding experience. . .
If someone really has to begin play as a Legendary
swordsman, strong man, etc., doing the GM's laundry for half a year or
so (in advance) should be sufficient bribe to be allowed to start at
that level. Of course, working towards Legendary makes a great
campaign goal, and so PCs may rise to that height, given enough
playing time and a generous GM.
2.3 Character Traits
Traits are divided into Attributes, Skills, Gifts, Faults and
Supernormal Powers. Not every GM will have all five types of traits
in her game. These traits are defined in Section 2.1, Character
Creation Terms.
2.31 Attributes
Gamers often disagree on how many attributes a game should have. Some prefer few attributes, others many. Even those that agree on the number of attributes may disagree on the selection. While FUDGE discusses some attributes (Strength, Fatigue, Constitution, etc.) in later sections, none of these are mandatory. The only attribute the basic FUDGE rules assume is Damage Capacity, and even that is needed only if you use the Objective Damage system (Section 4.72).
Damage Capacity may be called Hit Points, if desired. It may be tied to a character trait such as Constitution (or Hardiness, Fitness, Health, Body, etc.), or it may be a separate trait - see Section 6.3, Character Examples. In FUDGE, Damage Capacity determines how wounds affect a character, and is an attribute on the Terrible ... Fair ... Superb scale. See Section 4.72, Objective Damage System, for details.
Here is a partial list of attributes in use by other games; select to your taste, or skip these altogether:
Note that most games combine many of these attributes, while others treat some of them as gifts or even skills. In FUDGE, if you wish, you can even split these attributes into smaller ones: Lifting Strength, Carrying Strength, Damage-dealing Strength, etc.
At this point, the GM might decide how many attributes she deems
necessary - or she might leave it up to each player. (Commercial
games range from one or two to over 20.) See
Section 6.3, Character Examples,
for some possibilities.
2.32 Skills
Skills are not related to attributes or their levels in FUDGE. Players are encouraged to design their characters logically - a character with a lot of Good physical skills should probably have better than average physical attributes, for example. On the other hand, FUDGE allows a player to create someone like Groo the Wanderer (TM), who is very clumsy yet extremely skilled with his swords.
The GM should then decide what level of skill depth she wants. Are skills broad categories such as "Social skills," or moderately broad abilities, such as "Inspire People, Parley, and Market Savvy," or are they very specific abilities such as "Barter, Seduce, Repartee, Persuade, Fast-Talk, Bully, Grovel, Carouse, Flatter, Bribe," etc.?
Note that an attribute is, in some ways, a very broad skill group, and skills may be ignored altogether if desired.
Combat skills require special consideration. The broadest possible category is simply that: Combat Skills. A very broad range might break that down to Melee Weapons, Unarmed Combat, and Missile Weapons. A somewhat narrower approach would break down Melee Weapons into Close Combat Melee Weapons (knives, blackjacks, etc.), One-handed Melee Weapons (one-handed swords, axes, maces, etc.) and Two-handed Melee Weapons (polearms, spears, battle-axes, two-handed swords, etc.). Or, for a very precise list of skills, each group in parentheses could be listed as a separate skill; a character skilled at using a broadsword might know nothing about using a saber, for example.
Each choice has its merits. Broad skill groups that include many sub- skills make for an easy character sheet and fairly competent characters, while specific skills allow fine-tuning a character to a precise degree.
See Section 6.3, Character Examples, for an idea of how broadly or finely skills can be defined in a game.
The following brief list of skill examples is not in any way intended to be comprehensive or official. It is merely to help those not used to skill-based systems think of some skills for their characters. By all means, change the names, create new ones, compress or expand those listed, disallow some, etc. It is useful to print a sample skill list on a separate sheet for each player during character creation.
A gift is a positive trait that doesn't seem to fit the Terrible... Fair... Superb scale that attributes and skills fall into. However, this will vary from GM to GM: a photographic memory might be a gift to one GM, while it will be a Superb Memory attribute to another. Some GMs will define Charisma as an attribute, while others might define it as a gift. To one Game Master, a character either has Night Vision or he doesn't; another will allow characters to take different levels of it. A Game Master may not even have gifts in her game at all.
Alternatively, gifts might come in levels, but the levels don't necessarily coincide with the levels used by other traits. For example, Status might be three- or four-tiered, or even nine-tiered instead of fitting into the seven levels of attributes and skills. Wealth might come only in five different levels - whatever each GM desires.
One final way to look at a gift is as the positive aspect of a trait, and a fault (Section 2.34) as the negative aspect. For example, a GM might describe a character's monetary status as a gift of Superb Wealth or a fault of Terrible Wealth. Using this approach, normal people would have Fair Night Vision (not listed on the character sheet), while Superb Night Vision would be a gift, and Terrible Night Vision (Night Blindness) a fault.
Supernormal powers, such as the ability to cast magic spells, fly, read minds, etc., are technically very powerful gifts, but are handled separately in Chapter 3. Likewise, traits above the human norm, such as a very strong fantasy or alien race, are treated by definition as supernormal powers.
In general, if a gift isn't written on the character sheet, the character doesn't have it.
See Section 6.3, Character Examples,
for examples of different gifts. Many others are possible.
2.34 Faults
Faults are anything that makes life more difficult for a character. The primary faults are those that restrict a character's actions or earn him a bad reaction from chance-met NPCs. Various attitudes, neuroses and phobias are faults; so are physical disabilities and social stigmas. There are heroic faults, too: a code of honor and inability to tell a lie restrict your actions significantly, but are not signs of flawed personality - see the next section.
Some faults are superfaults: the converse of supernormal powers, such as a trait far below the human norm (e.g., a pixie's Strength). These are discussed in Section 3.1, Supernormal Power Terms.
See Section 6.3, Character Examples,
for examples of different faults. Many others are possible.
2.35 Personality
A character's personality may be represented by one or more traits, or it might simply be written out as character background or description.
As an example of the first case, courage might be an attribute, a gift or even a fault. As attributes, Superb Courage and Terrible Courage have obvious meanings. As a gift, obvious bravery might give the character a positive reaction from people he meets (assuming they see him being courageous, or have heard of his deeds, of course).
However, both Very Courageous and Very Cowardly can be faults because they might limit a character's actions. A very courageous character might not run away from a fight even if it were in his best interest, while a cowardly one would have a hard time staying in a fight even if he stood to gain by staying.
Or a character's level of courage might not be a quantified trait at all, but something the player simply decides. "Moose is very brave," a player might jot down, and that is that. It doesn't have to count as a high attribute, gift or fault.
A player should ask the GM how she wants to handle specific
personality traits. An excellent way to handle this is for the player
simply to describe his character in detail, and let the GM decide
which personality traits should be handled as attributes, gifts, or
faults. However they are handled, most characters benefit by having
their personalities fleshed out.
2.36 Fudge Points
Fudge Points are meta-game gifts that may be used to buy "luck" during a game - they let the players fudge a game result. These are "meta-game" gifts because they operate at the player-GM level, not character-character level. Not every GM will allow Fudge Points - those who prefer very realistic games should probably not use them.
The GM sets the starting number of Fudge Points. The recommended range is from one to five, but very cinematic campaigns may allow more. Unused Fudge Points are saved up for the next gaming session. Each player may get an additional number each gaming session. (This is also set by the GM, and may or may not equal the starting level.) Alternately, the GM may simply allow Experience Points to be traded for Fudge Points at a rate appropriate for the campaign: 3 EP = 1 Fudge Point, down to 1 EP = Fudge Point. Example: in a game of Space Opera derring-do, a GM decides that each character can start with three Fudge Points. In addition, each session they will receive an additional two Fudge Points. If a character doesn't use any during the first session, he will have five Fudge Points available to use during the second session.
Fudge Points can be used in many ways, depending on what level on the realistic-legendary scale the game is played at. Here are some suggested ways to use them, ranging (in order) from a realistic game to an intensely legendary game - the GM can create her own uses, of course. A GM may allow as few or many of these options as she wishes the players should ask her before assuming they can do something with Fudge Points.
Character creation in FUDGE assumes the players will design their characters, rather than leaving attributes and other traits to chance. The GM may allow randomly determined traits if she desires - a suggested method is given in Section 2.8, Random Character Creation.
There are no mandatory traits in FUDGE. The GM should inform the players which traits she expects to be most important, and the players may suggest others to the GM for her approval. The GM may even make a template, if desired - a collection of traits she deems important (with room for customization) - and let the players define the level of each trait.
When a character is created, the player should define as many character traits as he finds necessary - which may or may not coincide with a GM-determined list. If a player adds an attribute the GM deems unnecessary, the GM may treat that attribute as simply a description of the character. She may require a roll against a different attribute than the player has in mind, and the player must abide by her decision.
As an example, a certain GM decides she wants physical attributes to be Strength, Dexterity and Constitution. A player takes Good Dexterity for his PC, but wants to show that the character is better at whole body dexterity than at manual dexterity. So he breaks Dexterity down into: Great Agility and Fair Manual Dexterity (which average Good). However, the GM can ignore these distinctions, and simply require a Dexterity roll, since that is the trait she has chosen. Of course, she can also accept the player's choices and allow him to roll on the attributes he has created.
FUDGE offers two methods of creating characters: a subjective method (in which each player simply rates his character's traits according to his conception of the character's abilities); and an objective method (in which the GM grants players a certain number of free trait levels which the players may allocate as they see fit).
In FUDGE, a character with a trait at Fair will succeed at ordinary tasks 61% of the time - there is usually no need to create a superstar. In fact, Great is really just that: great! Superb should be reserved for the occasional trait in which your character is the best he's ever met.
Any traits that are not defined at character creation will be at one of three default levels:
For attributes: Fair.
For most skills: Poor (easier skills might be Mediocre, while harder ones are at Terrible). Note that a skill default basically means untrained, or very close to it. However, it is possible to take a skill at Terrible, which is below the default level for most skills. Taking a skill at Terrible implies an actual ineptitude - the character is worse at this particular skill than most people who haven't even tried it.
For most gifts, supernormal powers and certain GM-defined skills: Non- Existent. (That is, the default is non-existent. The trait itself exists in some character, somewhere!)
Each player should expect the GM to modify his character after
creation - it's the nature of the game. The GM should expect to
review each character before play. It would, in fact, be best if the
characters were made in the presence of the GM so she can answer
questions during the process.
2.5 Subjective Character Creation
A very easy way to create a character in FUDGE is for the player simply to write down everything about the character that he feels is important. Any attribute or skill should be rated using one of the levels Terrible through Superb (see Section 2.2, FUDGE Trait Levels).
It may be easiest, though, if the GM supplies a template of attributes she'll be using. See Section 6.3, Character Examples, for template ideas.
The GM may also tell the player in advance that his character can be Superb in a certain number of attributes, Great in so many others, and Good in yet another group. For example, in an epic-style game with eight attributes, the GM might allow one Superb attribute, two Greats, and three Goods. In a more realistic game, this might be one Superb, one Great, and two Goods.
This can apply to skills, too: one Superb skill, two Great skills, and six Good skills is a respectable number for a realistic campaign, while two Superbs, three Greats, and ten Goods is quite generous, even in a highly cinematic game.
The GM may also simply limit the number of skills a character can take at character creation: 10, 15, or 20 are possible choices.
Gifts and faults can be defined this way, also. For example, a GM might say that a character may have two gifts, and must take at least three faults. Taking another fault will allow another gift, or perhaps another skill at Great, and so on.
These limitations help the player define the focus of the character a bit better: what is his best trait (what can he do best)?
If the player has a Jack-of-all-Trades in mind, most of his character's traits should be rated Mediocre to Good. In this case, a very simple "two lower for one higher" trait-conversion mechanic can be used. If the GM allows one Superb attribute, for example, the player may forego that and take two attributes at Great, instead. Likewise, one Great skill could be "traded" for two Good skills, and so on. As an extreme example, consider a game with limits of one Superb skill, two Great skills and six Good skills. A player decides he wants his character to be Good at a lot of things. So he trades the one Superb skill limit for two Great skills, which means he could now take four skills at Great. However, he trades all four Great skills in order to have eight more Good skills. His character can now have 14 skills at Good!
In the Subjective Character Creation system, it is very easy to use both broad and narrow skill groups, as appropriate for the character. In these cases, a broad skill group is assumed to contain the phrase, "except as listed otherwise." For example, a player wishes to play the science officer of a starship. He decides this character has spent so much time studying the sciences, that he's weak in most physical skills. So on his character sheet he could simply write:
Physical Skills: Poor
He also decides that his character's profession would take him out of the ship in vacuum quite a bit, to examine things. So he'd have to be somewhat skilled at zero-G maneuvering. So he then adds:
Zero-G Maneuvering: Good
Even though this is a physical skill, it is not at Poor because he specifically listed it as an exception to the broad category. As another example, a barbarian character might have "Terrible Social Skills," and "Great Carousing Skill." Even though Carousing is a social skill, there is no conflict, since "Terrible Social Skills" actually means "Terrible Social Skills except as listed otherwise."
The player and GM then meet and discuss the character. If the GM feels the character is too potent for the campaign she has in mind, she'll ask the player either to limit the character's power, or take some faults that will balance him. See also Section 2.9, Minimizing Abuse.
The GM may then need to suggest areas that she sees as being too weak perhaps she has a game situation in mind that will test a trait the player didn't think of. Gentle hints, such as "Does he have any social skills?" can help the player through the weak spots. Of course, if there are multiple players, other PCs can compensate for an individual PC's weaknesses. In this case, the question to the whole group might then be, "Does anyone have any social skills?"
Instead of the player writing up the character in terms of traits and
levels, he can simply write out a prose description of his character.
This requires the GM to translate everything into traits and
appropriate levels, but that's not hard to do if the description is
well written. This method actually produces some of the best
characters. ("Let's start by defining Captain Wallop's best skill -
what is he absolutely best at. I see you rate his blaster skill
highly, and also his piloting and gunnery, but I'm only allowing one
Superb skill - which is it? Blaster? Okay, Superb Blaster. Now you
say he's known throughout the Imperium for his piloting and gunnery
skills. That would then be Great Piloting and Great Gunnery, all
right? That leaves you with two more skills to be at Great, since I
allow four to start out. Let's see, I notice he successfully
penetrated the main Khothi hive and rescued the kidnapped ambassador -
that sounds like a Great Ability to Move Quietly to me - is that
accurate, or would you describe it as some other ability?" And so
on.)
2.6 Objective Character Creation
For those who don't mind counting numbers a bit, the following method
creates interesting and well-balanced characters. In this system, all
traits start at default level. The GM then allows a number of free
levels the players may use to raise selected traits to higher levels.
Players may then lower certain traits in order to raise others even
further. Finally, a player may opt to trade some levels of one trait
type (such as attributes) for another (skills, for example). The
whole process insures that no character will dominate every aspect of
play, and forces the player to focus his character much more than the
Subjective Character Creation system.
2.61 Attributes
A GM using the Objective Character Creation system should decide how many attributes she deems necessary in the campaign. She can choose to leave it up to each player, if she wishes. Players then have a number of free attribute levels equal to half the number of attributes (round up for more cinematic games, down for more realistic games). For example, if she selects four attributes, each player starts with two free levels he can use to raise his character's attributes. NOTE: for a more high-powered game, the GM may allow a number of free levels equal to the number of attributes chosen.
All attributes are considered to be Fair until the player raises or lowers them. The cost of raising or lowering an attribute is
+3 Superb
+2 Great
+1 Good
0 Fair
-1 Mediocre
-2 Poor
-3 Terrible
Thus, a player may raise his Strength attribute (which is Fair by default) to Good by spending one free attribute level. He could then spend another free level to raise Strength again to Great. This would exhaust his free levels if there were only four attributes - but he would have one more if there were six attributes, and eight more free levels if there were 20 attributes.
When the free attribute levels have been exhausted, an attribute can be raised further only by lowering another attribute an equal amount. (See also Section 2.64, Trading Traits.) From the previous example, Strength can be raised one more level (to Superb) if the player lowers the character's Charm to Mediocre to compensate for the increase in Strength.
If the GM allows the players to choose their own attributes, she may
simply tell them to take half as many free levels as attributes they
choose. If a player chooses an attribute and leaves it at Fair, that
attribute does not count towards the total of attributes which
determines the amount of free levels. That is, a player cannot simply
add 12 attributes, all at Fair, in order to get 6 more free levels to
raise the others with! GM-mandated attributes left at Fair do count
toward the total of free levels, though.
2.62 Skills
In the Objective Character Creation system, each player has a number of free skill levels with which to raise his skills. Suggested limits are:
For Very Broad Skill Groups: 15 levels.
For Moderately Broad Skill Groups: 30 levels.
For Very Specific Skills: 40 to 60 levels.
Ask the GM for the allotted amount, which will give you a clue as to how precisely to define your skills. Of course, the GM may choose any number that suits her, such as 23, 42, or 74 . . . See Section 6.3, Character Examples. Game Masters may devise their own skill lists to choose from - some possibilities are included in Section 2.32, Skills.
Most skills have a default value of Poor unless the player raises or lowers them. (The GM may make exceptions: very easy skills might be rated Mediocre unless altered, and very hard ones Terrible. She'll tell you when she reviews your character sheet, or she may have a list of hard and easy skills already made up - ask her.)
Certain skills have a default of non-existent. These would include Languages, Karate, Nuclear Physics, or Knowledge of Aztec Rituals, 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 the Spanish language, for example, would get it at Mediocre, since it's of average difficulty to learn. Nuclear Physics, on the other hand, might only be Poor or even Terrible with only one level put into it. It would take 4 levels just to get such a skill at Fair, for example.
For ease in character creation, use the following table:
Cost of Skills in Objective Character Creation:
----------------------------------------------
| Easy | Most | Hard | VH
Terrible .. | -2 | -1 | 0 | 1
Poor ...... | -1 | 0 | 1 | 2
Mediocre .. | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3
Fair ...... | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
Good ...... | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5
Great ..... | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6
Superb .... | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7
Easy = Cost of GM-Determined Easy Skills
Most = Cost of Average Skill
Hard = Cost of GM-Determined Hard Skills
VH = Cost of GM-Determined Very Hard Skills (usually
related to Supernormal Powers)
As in the Subjective Character Creation system, the GM may limit the number of Superb and Great skills each character may have at character creation. For a highly cinematic or super-powered game, no limit is necessary. For a more realistic game, the GM might set a limit of one Superb skill, three or four Great skills, and eight or so Good skills, for example - see Section 6.3, Character Examples. These limits can be exceeded through character development, of course.
Once the free levels are used up, a skill must be dropped one level (from the default Poor to Terrible) to raise another skill one level. (See also Section 2.64, Trading Traits.) All choices are subject to GM veto, of course.
It is possible to mix different breadths of skill groupings. A GM who has little interest in combat can simply choose Unarmed Combat, Melee Weapons and Ranged Weapons as the only three combat skills. But this does not stop her from using all the individual Social skills (and many more) listed as examples in Section 2.32, Skills. If this option is chosen, the broad groups should cost double the levels of the narrower groups.
Mixing skill group sizes within the same areas is awkward in the Objective Character Creation system. While this technique works well in the Subjective Character Creation system, it is not recommended here. For example, it is difficult to have a generic Thief Skills group that can be raised one level at a time, and also have individual skills of lockpicking, pick-pocketing, palming, security-device dismantling, etc. If she does wish to do this, then the broad skill group in this case has a maximum limit of Good, and triple cost to raise - or more, if the GM so mandates.
If the GM is using very broad groups, a player may raise a very
specific skill (such as Poker, for example, instead of general
Gambling skill). The only reason to take a specific skill when the GM
is using broad-based skill groups is to fit a character concept - do
not expect the character to be equally adept with the other skills in
the group. This would be true for Groo the Wanderer (TM), for
instance, who would simply raise Sword skill, even if the GM is using
the broad term Melee Weapons as a skill group. Groo would have, in
fact, a Poor rating with all other Melee weapons, and this would
accurately reflect the character.
2.63 Gifts & Faults
If the GM has gifts in her game, she may allow player characters to
start with free gifts. (We recommend two free gifts for realistic
games, more for epic campaigns.) Any further gifts taken must be
balanced by taking on a fault, or by trading traits.
2.64 Trading Traits
During character creation, free levels may be traded (in either direction) at the following rate:
1 attribute level = 3 skill levels.
1 gift = 6 skill levels.
1 gift = 2 attribute levels.
Fudge Points cannot be traded without GM permission. (If tradable, each Fudge Point should be equal to one or two gifts.)
So a player with three free attribute levels and 30 free skill levels may trade 3 of his skill levels to get another free attribute level, or 6 skill levels to get another free gift.
A player may also take extra GM-approved faults at the following rate:
1 fault = 1 gift.
1 fault = 2 attribute levels.
1 fault = 6 skill levels.
However, the GM may rule that a particular fault is not serious enough
to be worth 2 attribute levels, but may be worth 1 attribute level or
3 skill levels. On the other hand, severe faults may be worth more
attribute levels.
2.7 Uncommitted Traits
Whether the character is created subjectively or objectively, each character has three free uncommitted traits (or more, if the GM is so inclined). This means that at some point in the game, the 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 GM's approval. Only a very lenient GM will allow this to happen during combat time.
Also note that GM-set skill limits (such as 1 Superb, 3 Greats) 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.
2.8 Random Character Creation
Some players like to roll their attributes randomly. Here is one possible method to use in such cases. Alternate techniques can be easily designed.
Have the player roll 2d6 for each attribute. Use the following table to find the attribute level:
2 = Terrible
4 = Poor
3,5 = Mediocre
6-8 = Fair
9,11 = Good
10 = Great
12 = Superb
The GM needs to decide if the player still gets the standard number of free levels or not. She may also restrict trading levels.
For skills, the results are read as:
2-5,12 = Terrible
6-8 = Poor
9-10 = Mediocre
11 = Fair
The player still gets the standard number of free skill levels, or the GM may allow only half the normal levels.
The GM can let the players choose their gifts and faults, or she may wish to make up separate tables of gifts and faults, and have the players roll once or twice on each. (Conflicting traits should be rerolled.) For example:
Roll Gift Fault ---- ---- ----- 2 Nice Appearance Poor Appearance 3 Tough Hide Bruises Easily 4 Charismatic Aura of Untrustworthiness 5 Keen Hearing Hard of Hearing 6 Detects Lies Easily Gullible 7 Melodious Voice Stammers 8 . . . . . .
And so on. The GM should customize and complete to her taste. Of
course, she could set up 3d6 table instead of a 2d6 table, or even use
a 1d6 table listing general gift or fault areas (Social, Physical,
Emotional, Mental, Wealth/Status, etc.) and then roll again on an
appropriate second table.
2.9 Minimizing Abuse
Obviously, character creation in FUDGE can be abused. There are many ways to avoid this: