- FUDGE Dice
- The Ranking System
- Ranking Explanation
- Determining the difficulty level of actions
- Beyond Superb
- Non-Combat Action
- The mechanics of determining action success
- Combat Action
- Combat dice rolls
- Hand-to-hand combat results
- Skills and other modifiers
- Wounds
- Damage modifiers
- Healing Wounds
- Character Advancement
- Spending Adventure Points
- Limitations
- Relevance
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Introduction:
The rules in Darklands have been kept to a bare
minimum, and contain everything (and more than) a player needs to understand how
exactly game action can be resolved over the internet. You will
notice as you read through the rules that there is some amount of
dice-rolling. All dice rolling is done by the Gamemaster, and
therefore, it is important that players trust the Gamemaster before
deciding to play.
There are
other rules that the GM will contrive but will intentionally
keep hidden from players. If you read this entire
section,
consider yourself a Darklands rules expert!
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FUDGE Dice:
FUDGE Dice are part of Steffan O'Sullivan's game
system. A FUDGE die is a six-sided die with two sides marked -1,
two sides marked 0, and two sides marked +1. Whenever a
dice-roll is called for (to determine the success of a non-combat
action), the Gamesmaster rolls 4DFUDGE
(i.e. four fudge dice) on the player's or the non-player's
behalf and tallies the result. Therefore, a 4DFUDGE
roll of +1, 0, -1, and +1 adds-up to a +1 result, while a roll
of +1, +1, +1, and 0 adds up to a +3 result.
In Darklands, it is always desirable to roll higher
(positive) numbers over lower (negative) numbers.
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The Ranking System:
In Darklands, all attributes, skills, objects,
actions, and anything else you can think of, are ranked by words
instead of numbers. In short, the ranking system is:
(+3) - Superb
(+2) - Great
(+1) - Good
(+0) - Fair
(-1) - Mediocre
(-2) - Poor
(-3) - Terrible
Ranking Explanation.
From looking at the list above, we can surmise that the average two
year-old child has Terrible Strength, a renowned bandit leader might
have Great or Superb Presence, a rotting chest could have Poor
sturdiness, and a particularly steep cliff might require a Great
effort to be climbed successfully. More details on how these
areas affect play (with examples) are described in the sections that
follow.
Determining the difficulty level of
actions.
When a character interacts with the game world, the player will not be
explicitly told how easy or difficult a task will be. However,
many actions and the potential chances of success associated with them
can be surmised. Most common actions will not require rolls
(i.e. riding over the countryside at a fair gallop by a character with
the "Ride Horse" Skill, bashing down the wall of a decrepit
waddle & dob outshed, etc...) However, this is not always
the case. Consider the following examples:
Example 1:
Fermond the Explorer is being chased by small band of humanoid
creatures intent on ripping him to shreds. As he turns the corner of
a cavernous tunnel, he sees a long log spanning a wide chasm.
The GM's description in the post described the log as
"glistening with mold and dampness and being almost perfectly
round in its circumference ."
Although the Fermond's player is not told the
difficulty of the task, he considers the slipperiness and roundness
of the log, combined with the fact that he must rush, and makes an
educated guess that crossing the log successfully would probably
require a Great or Superb effort. The player examines
Fermond's Fair Agility and considers the difficulty of the feat
again. It comes down to determining the greater risk - turning
to face his pursuers or taking a great gamble to try and cross the
chasm.
Example 2:
Verillion the Bard is enjoying the "hospitality" of
the mad Lord of the Mire, Adeptus the Fat. In an attempt to
get on his new Lord's better side, Verillion decides to compose a
moving ballad of eternal love (knowing his Lord's weakness for such
things) Verillion has a Great Poetry Skill and begins creating
his masterpiece.
In this case, Verillion's player is not necessarily
worried about the outcome of the action, but can still make an
educated guess at his chances of completely winning the respect of
his captor-liege. Combining his Great Poetry skill with the
knowledge that Adeptus has a weakness for such things gives the
player great confidence that this ploy will work.
Beyond Superb.
The range of Terrible to Superb encompasses the limits of bad and
good for humans and most human-like creatures. However, players
should know that there are levels beyond Superb, namely Legendary,
Super Legendary, and so on. This is mentioned so that
character's with Superb combat skills or Superb Health don't fall into
the trap of feeling invulnerable. Furthermore, even if the
character is Superb in every way, it won't make much difference if
faced by an undead horde numbering in the hundreds.
(note: If you came here from the Creating a
Darklander section of the site, you can go
back there now and continue your character creation. If
you're hooked on the rules section, keep reading.)
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Non-Combat Action:
In short, non-combat action is any action in the game
other than close combat. As stated above, there are many common
tasks that require no FUDGE roll, however, there are many times when
characters will engage in activities that have some level of risk or
uncertainty. These actions are referred to as non-combat
actions.
(Note: missile combat is considered non-combat action.
This is because, unlike close combat, missile combat doesn't involve
stacking the players skill against their enemy. This will make
more sense after the rules section has been read completely.)
The mechanics of determining action success.
If you have no interest in understanding how the Gamemaster will
actually be resolving your action, it is quite acceptable to skip this
section entirely. However, the curious may continue.
After reading the examples outlined on the previous page, it is clear
how a player makes an educated guess as to what his/her probability of
success is during an action. Here, we will go a little deeper
into understanding how each of these actions would be resolved by the
GM.
Example 1:
The Gamesmaster considers two factors when assessing the difficulty
of crossing the chasm - the slipperiness of the log, and the
pressure imposed on the character because of the creatures chasing
him intent on killing him. Fair is considered the benchmark
when determining what level of effort (easy or hard) is required to
complete an action successfully. However in this case, the GM
decides that the slipperiness and length of the log bump-up the
effort required by two notches (i.e. from Fair to Great).
Furthermore, the GM notes that the pressure of the situation bumps
it up one more notch (from Great to Superb). This means that
Fermond must make a Superb action roll in order to cross the chasm
successfully.
Before rolling for a action, the GM determines
whether there are any other circumstances to consider that might
affect the situation (i.e. Does the character have an Acrobatics
skill that is higher than his Agility of Fair? Maybe a Fault of
"Fear of Heights? Maybe a Gift of Iron Will?). In
this case, there are no other circumstances to consider.
To reiterate, Fermond has a Fair chance of
succeeding in an action that requires a Superb effort. The GM
rolls 4DFUDGE.
The results are +1, 0, 0 and 0. The total of one is added to
the character's chance, bumping it up one level. Therefore,
Fermond gets a Good result, but considering how incredibly difficult
this action is, the required Superb effort failed fairly badly - by
two levels! Unfortunately, Fermond careens off the log as he
runs across the chasm, plummeting into the darkness below.
Whether the bottom of the chasm drops 300 ft to a pit of stakes, or
drops 15 ft to a feather mattress, will be revealed by the GM in the
action that follows.
Example 2:
The process is very similar to Example 1. The major
difference is that Verillion has a much better chance at success
than Fermond did. The GM considers the two important points -
Verillion's Great Poetry skill and Adeptus' professed love for such
epics. The GM decides that the action roll will be
automatically bumped-up one level because of the Warlord's weakness
for love ballads.
The GM rolls 4DFUDGE
and gets the following results; +1, 0, -1 and -1. This
totals to a -1 result. This brings the quality of Verillion's
product down one level from Great to Good. However, even
though the epic is Good, it will have Great effect on the recently
heart-broken warlord. Adeptus is so impressed and moved by the
heart-pulling epic that he decides to appoint the bard to create a
six hour song about the warlord's many feats and victories.
Not exactly what Verillion had in mind! But, success all the
same.
As you can see, determining success is a fairly easy
process, but is detailed and free-form enough to be realistic (or
realistic enough for a PBEM game)
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Combat Action:
Combat action is
obviously any action that involves the character fighting another being
of some sort. (note: shooting attacks are resolved as non-combat
actions) Combat is resolved slightly differently than
non-combat action. (note: Not all conceivable actions or
possibilities of combat are covered in these rules. If something
which is not covered below arises, it is more likely that the GM will
use their discretion to resolve the situation (in consultation with the
player) rather than creating a new rule to cover every out of the
ordinary combat even that arises. I refuse to let this game become
bogged down in rule-mongering) Combat dice rolls.
Combat actions are not resolved using FUDGE dice. Instead, when a
character decides to engage in hand-to-hand combat, three
six-sided dice are rolled and the median roll is taken as the final
result. Each number represents a rank, starting with Poor
(Terrible is ignored in combat, since combat action is always
comparative) and rising to Superb (i.e. 1 = Poor, 2 = Mediocre, 3 =
Fair, 4 = Good, 5 = Great, 6 = Superb). Therefore, if three dice
are rolled with the following results; 1, 4 and 5, the median is 4,
meaning that the character had a Good result on his combat roll.
Each combatant makes a combat roll and the NPC result is subtracted from
the player's roll, leaving a result between -5 and +5 (It is possible to
have higher/lower results. This will have no affect on the
mechanics of the outcome. For all intents and purposes, +5 or more
is the best, and -5 or lower is the worst) Hand-to-hand
combat results.
Combat
results are described generally below. The specifics of any combat
result will be decided (and embellished) by the GM. Obviously, a
character with a +5 combat result will absolutely destroy his enemy,
dazzle onlookers, and put the fear of the gods in any other nearby
enemies. Conversely, a character with a -5 combat result, if not
dead, is on death's door. Any result between -4 and +4 will more
than likely result in the character receiving or dishing-out that many
wounds. (i.e. -2: the character takes 2 wounds; +2 the character
inflicts 2 wounds. The higher the result (or lower with regards to
negative numbers) will also determine the general flair and other
effects of the combat.
Skills and
other modifiers.
Various considerations are taken into effect when a character
engages in combat. When fighting, the character's weapon skill
factor is used as the basis for totaling their result. The
difference between the character's skill level and their opponent's is
subtracted and adjusts the final result accordingly. Consider this
example:
Example 3:
Simius the Bold is involved in a dramatic swordplay with a
Bandit. After rolling the dice for each combatant, the GM notes
that Simius had a median result of Good (+1) and the the Bandit had a
median result of Mediocre (-1). The difference between these is
+2 in the player's favour. However, the outcome is not ready to
be decided yet. The GM consults the relevant skills
for each combatant. Simius has a 1-Hand Edged Skill of Great
(+2) and the Dodge Skill (fixed +1 modifier to combat result), and the
Bandit has a 1-Hand Edged Skill of Fair (+0). To reiterate,
Simius' relevant skills add up to 3 and the Bandit's add up to
0. This number is added to the combat result of +2 which was
described above; 2 + 3 = 5. What a hit. The GM decides
that posting "Simius kills the Bandit" is just not good
enough. He embellishes the post by describing the action in
detail. Perhaps Simius slashed up through the Bandit's body
cavity on a charge and let his sword fly up into the air in one deft
motion. With perfect timing and grim nonchalance, he turns and
catches the sword, blade extended, in his outstretched arm.
Needless to say, the bandits cowering in the woods contemplating
sneaking up decide to turn tail and head for greener pastures.
Other circumstances (being outnumbered, darkness, being
ambushed) will be taken into account by the GM on a
situation-to-situation basis.
There are also various gifts and faults (from the lists
and that the player's create themselves) that will affect combat
outcomes. They are described in those sections of the site. Wounds.
A human character will have between 2 and 8 wounds. When a
character is wounded, he subtracts as many wounds from his total as
the GM instructs. When a character loses half of his wounds
(rounding down) he is fairly beat-up and is at -1 to all actions, combat
included. Damage modifiers.
Some characters prefer to wear armour in order
to reduce the damage they take in combat. There are two general
classes of armour in Darklands - light armour and heavy armour.
The modifier is subtracted from the wounds a character takes.
|
|
Modifier |
Description |
| light armour |
-1 |
light armour can be
anything the player imagines; hardened leather with metal rings,
light chain mail, etc... |
| heavy armour |
-2 |
generally heavy and
cumbersome armour; full plate armour, full chain mail with
breastplate and greaves would probably be the norm. |
| shield |
-1 |
Using a shield effectively
requires the character to have the shield skill as described in
the skills section. A shield can be used in a combination
with armour |
| Tough |
-1 |
described in the gift
section of the site. |
| Wimp |
+1 |
described in the fault
section of the site. |
| Other |
- |
as determined by the GM. |
Also note the following circumstances that modify
damage taken.
|
|
Modifier |
Description |
| Strength Bonus |
- |
combatants add their
strength modifier to damage inflicted. (i.e.Good Strength =
+1 modifier) |
| Size |
- |
combatants that are
considerably larger or smaller than human size may have their
damage capability modified accordingly. |
| 2-Hand Weapon |
+1 |
2-Handed Weapons give the
wielder a bonus to damage done. However, there is an
automatic -1 to the combat result as described in the skills
section. |
| Other |
- |
as determined by the GM. |
Example 4:
After rolling combat results, Lydia is left with a result of -3 when
battling a fierce manticore. It is now time to total the damage
that she takes as a result of losing the combat. The manticore has
a Great Strength (+2). However, Lydia has the gift of toughness
(-1 to damage taken), wears light armour (-1), and uses a shield
(-1). The difference between the manticore's damage bonus and
Lydia's modifers is -1 in her favour. Therefore, even though her
result was -3, she will only take 2 wounds. With 6 wounds in total,
(and 4 remaining), Lydia is determined to continue battling the foul
creature.
Healing Wounds.
Players may wonder how their characters can regain wounds
after being injured. There are some general guidelines,
but no detailed rules on how this will happen. Generally,
a character who is still above the halfway mark of their total
Wounds score is only lightly injured. Each day of normal
activity (non-combat, non-strenuous) will restore one
wound. After a character has been reduced to less than
half of their total Wounds score, he is considered to be badly
wounded. First of all, badly wounded characters suffer a
-1 penalty to all actions. Secondly, healing may
require the hands of an expert, bed rest, or other measures as
the GM sees fit.
There are obviously factors and situations not
considered in this list. Any other situations that do
arise will be dealt with the GM as they arise. Remember,
rule-worshipping and number-crunching do not form the core of
Darklands - Having fun and writing posts that bring the life of
dangerous adventure alive is what it's all about!
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Character Advancement:
Other then
the sheer excitement of gameplay, players usually anticipate the
advancement of their character's attributes and skills as their
abilities are honed by experience. Character advancement is pretty
straight-forward in Darklands. In short, a character receives one
Adventure Point every time they successfully complete an action.
After a certain number of Adventure Points are accumulated, a player may
cash them in to increase skills and attributes, and to gain new skills
and FUDGE Points. Remember, that gifts can
never be purchased after a character's initial creation. Spending
Adventure Points.
Adventure Points may be spent to purchase A FUDGE point (costing 6
AP) or to purchase advancements as shown
below:
|
From...
|
To... |
Skill |
Attribute |
| Terrible |
Poor |
1 AP |
3 AP |
| Poor |
Mediocre |
1 AP |
3AP |
| Mediocre |
Fair |
2 AP |
6 AP |
| Fair |
Good |
2 AP |
6 AP |
| Good |
Great |
4 AP |
12 AP |
| Great |
Superb |
8 AP |
24 AP |
| Superb |
Legendary |
16 AP |
48 AP |
Limitations.
A new skill must be bought at the entry level. A character
cannot take Animal Care at Great level, no matter how many AP's have been
saved.. The skill must be taken at the starting level (from Poor
to Mediocre in this case since the skill falls into the "Most"
category), and furthermore, new skills during game-play cost 4 AP.
Therefore, taking Animal Care as a skill would cost 4+1=5 AP's and start
at the Mediocre level. Although a player can buy new skills with Adventure Points, this is
not always plausible. The new skill must reflect the game events
and the exposure of the character during play. Characters cannot
pull a Boat-building skill or a Play Lute skill out of their butt.
However, there are times when a new skill may present itself as a
possible purchase. Consider the following example:
Example 5:
Sirius the Bold has saved up 8 Adventure Points and decides to spend
some of them on a new skill. Sirius has spent two
months of game time traveling on a sailing barge traveling along the
Northern Wastes. The GM decides that Sirius could have started
to pick up some of the fundamentals of Sailing during this time.
The GM also decides that Sailing would fall into the "Most"
skill category (as described in the Skill section of the site).
He notifies the player that he has the option of spending the 5 AP's to give Sirius a Sailing Skill of
Mediocre. Sirius has 3 AP's left, and the player spends 2 of
those points to raise a Poor Bribe skill to Mediocre. The player
records the 1 remaining AP on the character record.
Relevance.
It is important to note that experience is only given for skills
that are used in a relevant fashion. If a character has a Play
Flute skill and decides to attempt a difficult piece of music three or
four times a day, he will not gain any experience. However, if a
successful Play Flute action earns enough money to gain the party
passage on a merchant ship, then the character would receive the
Adventure Point. The boundaries of relevance in any given
situation will be decided by the GM. Note: The point cost
for purchasing advancements may be adjusted depending on the speed of
game play. It is hard to determine what is too cheap and what is
too expensive until the game is played for a while. In any event,
the point of Darklands is great roleplaying, not trying to create
butt-kicking characters in the least amount of time. And
that's it for the rules - for now...
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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 at http://www.fudgerpg.com and
in book form 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. You must include at the beginning of each derivative
work the following disclaimer, completed with your name, in its entirety.
DISCLAIMER: The material based on Fudge,
entitled Darklands Pbem, are created by, made available by, and
Copyright (C) 2001 by Jason Tilley, 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 (C)1992-1995 by Steffan O'Sullivan, All
Rights Reserved.
All images on this site were created by Jason
Tilley (c) 2001 or taken from free for use images sites with explicit
guidelines for use. All guidelines have been adhered to.
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