From: [s--s] at [oz.plymouth.edu] (Steffan O'Sullivan) Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc,rec.games.design,rec.games.frp.dnd,rec.games.frp.gurps,rec.games.frp.superheroes Subject: Revised FUDGE FAQ Date: 2 Nov 1995 16:10:47 -0500 Keywords: Revised FUDGE FAQ [Follow-up set to rec.games.frp.misc] FUDGE Frequently Asked Questions, Revised November 1, 1995 (Answers by Steffan O'Sullivan, [s--s] at [io.com]) Contents: -------- Q1. What is the Current Version? Q2. What is FUDGE? Q3. Who is the target audience? Q4. What genres is it for? Q5. Where can I get it? Q6. What if I don't have ftp capability? Q7. Can I create FUDGE-based articles and post or otherwise publish them? Q8. What's this about 4d3? Q9. Are there any known errata? Q10. Where can I discuss FUDGE? Q1. What is the Current Version? ================================= A1. Electronic Version: June, 1995 The Grey Ghost Games printed version: August, 1995. Much easier to use in book format! No significant textual differences - a few typos cleaned up. Q2. What is FUDGE? =================== A2. FUDGE is a free role-playing game (face-to-face table gaming, that is - not a computer game or Live Roleplaying Game). It is just a gaming "engine" - each GM must provide the "body" of the RPG in order to make it work. A certain amount of customization work is necessary in order to use FUDGE, and many things are left unstated: the GM will have to fudge a lot. -:- No fixed attributes - the GM chooses attributes appropriate to the campaign. -:- Skill-driven system, with sample but expandable skill list included. -:- Word-based traits and action resolution make it easy to know just how good any character is at anything. This also allows FUDGE to be a "universal translator" between gaming systems. -:- Simple action resolution system. FUDGE is very easy to run no matter what the genre - no tables to look up. -:- It's easy to import good mechanics from your favorite game into FUDGE. FUDGE stands for: Freeform (simple, laid-back, not rules-heavy.) Universal (usable with any genre.) Do-it-yourself (customizable to taste.) Gaming (role-playing gaming, that is.) Engine (it's just the basic mechanism for character creation and development, as well as action resolution. No world details are provided.) FUDGE was written by, and is copyright by, Steffan O'Sullivan. Much valuable aid was received from many people on rec.games.design, most of whom are credited in the actual FUDGE manuscript. Q3. Who is the target audience? ================================ A3. FUDGE is for experienced GMs, though it can be used with novice or experienced players. You must enjoy making decisions on the fly in order to run FUDGE - it's rules-light. It's also not for those who want extreme detail. You must enjoy either creating or adapting your own world background, as none is provided (but sample characters from a number of genres are included). Q4. What genres is it for? =========================== A4. Any. Of course, it hasn't yet been tried with *every* possible genre, so only time will tell if it really works with any genre. So far, it works for every genre tried, though not to everyone's tastes, of course - that would be impossible. Q5. Where can I get it? ======================== A5. FUDGE is available via anonymous ftp from: Site: oz.plymouth.edu Directory: pub/fudge It is in a single, zipped file called fudge.zip. Ask your sys admin if you don't know how to ftp or unzip files. Basically, after you get the file via ftp (be sure to enter "binary" before getting the file), you can unzip it either on a home computer or on a unix system. If on a home system, be sure to set file type to binary before downloading it. If on a unix system, there may be an extra carriage return after each line which will look like: ^M. This can be removed with a common unix utility called dos2ult or dos2bsd. Do not remove these carriage returns if downloading the file to a Mac or MS-DOS system. Some VMS systems can do "unzip -a fudge.zip" to remove the ^M. Note that this can be accessed with a Web browser with: ftp://oz.plymouth.edu/pub/fudge/ It is also available from: Site: ftp.csua.berkeley.edu Directory: /pub/fudge/rules Supplementary materials are available at ftp.csua.berkeley.edu, also, in the directories: /pub/fudge/options /pub/fudge/samples /pub/fudge/programs And a third official site: ftp.indirect.com in the directory /pub/rpg/fudge. Q6. What if I don't have ftp capability? ========================================= A6. You have four choices. However, as of this date, I don't yet guarantee the latest version from these sources. 1) You can get FUDGE by e-mail. There are two providers I know of: [games request] at [monosys.com] [t--er--a] at [indirect.com] From [games request] at [monosys.com], simply send a blank message with a subject of HELP - you will get an answer on how to get FUDGE (and many other games). From indirect.com, send a message to [t--er--a] at [indirect.com] and politely ask her to send it to you. Indicate if you'd like it in a uuencoded tar file or a plain text version. Give her some time to respond before giving up, usually about five days. My thanks to Britt Klein for this service above and beyond the call of duty. 2) Your second choice is gopher. Here is a gopher bookmark to go directly to it: Name=Fudge Type=1 Host=gopher.plymouth.edu Port=70 Path=1/remote/fudge 3) You can buy a copy. The August, 1995, version is a 104-page paperback book including the basic rules and the addenda which costs $12 plus shipping ($3 in the USA, $4 in Canada, $6 elsewhere). It is illustrated, but only with copyright-free clip art, so the book can be photocopied legally. Order from: Grey Ghost Games P.O. Box 838 Randolph, MA 02368 Formats available: softcover perfect bound book, and on disk. Disk formats available: ASCII (text-only) files on IBM 5.25", IBM 3.5"; Mac 3.5". You can e-mail them for a full hard sell if you want: [g--tg--s] at [aol.com] They also sell FUDGE dice (recommended - see Q8) - enquire if interested. 4) For those with World Wide Web capability (lynx, netscape, mosaic, etc.), you can access: ftp://oz.plymouth.edu/pub/fudge/ Or: http://www.astro.indiana.edu/personnel/ericg/games/ which contains FUDGE broken down into several files. Or, to get the entire compressed file: gopher://gopher.plymouth.edu/11/remote/fudge Q7. Can I create FUDGE-based articles and post or otherwise publish them? ===================================================================== A7. Yes! I even like it when you do! You can contribute alternate rules, or an adventure setting, or whatever. Simply write a clear, concise rules addition, in ASCII, using existing Addenda sections as guidelines. Then include the "About FUDGE" and "Disclaimer" sections of the FUDGE lecal notice, and it's legal! If you want to sell your work, you need a royalty-free license from me - see the legal notice for details. Upload any submissions via ftp to: ftp.csua.berkeley.edu Directory: /pub/fudge/upload and send e-mail to [a--p--l] at [soda.berkeley.edu] that incoming FUDGE material has arrived. If possible, compress each file. Although it may take only a few hours, please allow Shannon a day or two to move the material to the correct directory. Each submission should be clearly labelled as an OPTION, SAMPLE, or PROGRAM so Shannon knows which directory to put the material in: OPTIONS include alternate rules and proposed changes. SAMPLES include lists of equipment or skills or powers, as well as new magic systems, psi systems, world backgrounds, adventures, etc. See the directories for examples. PROGRAMS are anything that run on a computer. My thanks to Shannon Appel for for making this site available! Please announce any uploads to rec.games.frp.misc! In addition, Grey Ghost Games is seeking creative, quality FUDGE sourcebooks to publish - with royalties for the author. While the basic FUDGE rules will always be freely copyable, any source books published by Grey Ghost will be copyright by the individual authors. Contact Grey Ghost Games at the postal or e-mail address in A6 above if interested. Q8. What's this about 4d3? =========================== A8. A special d3 is now available from Grey Ghost Games. This is actually a d6, with two faces containing a plus sign (+), two faces containing a minus sign (-), and two faces blank. Each plus represents +1, each minus -1, and each blank 0. Rolling 4 of these dice gives a lovely distribution of results from -4 to +4, with easy to figure math, and no table. In addition, they are very flexible, allowing other uses, such as as a damage roll, and as dice in other games. Contact Grey Ghost Games if interested: [g--tg--s] at [aol.com.] Q9. Are there any known errata? ================================ A9. Sadly, there is one erratum. While there are also minor typos, they are for the most part insignificant. The one erratum that could be confusing is the first sentence in Section 3.5, Opposed Actions. This should read: "To resolve an Opposed action between two characters, each side makes a normal FUDGE dice roll against the appropriate trait and announces the result." Q10. Where can I discuss FUDGE? =============================== A10. Usenet discussion should be on rec.games.frp.misc - FUDGE is a genuine RPG, and deserves to be discussed there. Simply put the the word FUDGE in the subject line and have fun! If you really want to do a major redesign of some section of FUDGE, you might try posting to rec.games.design. There is also a FUDGE mailing list: FUDGE-L. To subscribe to the list, send mail to [m--r--o] at [southwind.net] with a message body of "subscribe fudge-l". Mail intended for the list should go to [fudge l] at [southwind.net.] The FUDGE mailing list FAQ and FTP links to official archives can be found at: http://www.southwind.net/~ravenpub/fudge.html. -- Steffan O'Sullivan [s--s] at [oz.plymouth.edu] Plymouth, NH, USA