FUGU is a Role Playing Game based on Fudge, so a great amount of credit goes to Fudge’s creators and publishers.
You don’t need to know Fudge to play FUGU, however there are some basic concepts and jargon that you need to understand before you read further:
To start playing: put together in a group of 3 or more people, get pencils, paper and dice, decide who will be the GM, then give the GM some time to think things through.
When he’s ready, the GM will propose a Setting, the Players will generate PCs, then, during each session, the GM will describe some interesting situation to the Players, which will decide what the PCs do, then the GM could ask them to roll Fudge Dice: and will tell them how the sitution changes, and how the NPCs react. Repeat until the end of the Session and for several Sessions to make a Campaign. Clear?
If this is not clear, be aware that many other game enthousiasts, websites, companies and psychiatrists explained these concepts much better than I would ever be able to do, so search the web if you have doubts.
During PC generation, and sometimes during game sessions the Players (and the GM) will need to create descriptions, and game stats for things appearing in the game. For example PC’s Class, Gifts, Faults, pieces of equipment etc.
Keep it snappy and scrappy: limit it to 20 words or
less. And forcefully remind it to that Player that just
brought to the table 5 pages worth of backstory for his
PC:
IT CAN BE SAID IN 20 WORDS OR LESS!
The GM will do this. Trust her.
Sometimes, the GM will bring pre-made PCs to the table, but not always.
Most of the times, players will need to make up characters to start playing. They will need to be well matched ot the setting. Or not, maybe a hobbit in space could be fun to play, but let the GM have the last word about it.
Characters will have well defined traits, and even some statistics. Write these up with names and level on a piece of paper, which will have the fancy name of Character Sheet
So, dear player, start deciding on what you want for your PC, starting with:
This is useful whenever other PCs or NPCs want to yell something at him. If you don’t have an inspiration, you can think about this after. No rush.
PCs in a party are usually either the Face (good at handling with people), the Muscle (can hold their own in a fight), the Scout (can go where the others can’t), or the Specialist (possesses a unique power or knowlegde).
Think about the role that you want your PC to have in the story, it will help you choose a Class, and will help the GM to place you in the right situation and with the right tools.
We could call this also a Profession, a Way of Life, and Archetype, an High Concept. Ninja? Soldier? Magician? Mad scientist? You name it.
This is the most important decision in making the PC, it will affect the Player’s game at any moment. You propose a class for your PC to the GM, she can modify or veto it.
It could be something very basic, but some adjectives can add a lot of depth: nothing wrong in playing a nondescript Barbarian, your fellow players and GM will immediately picture a Conan lookalike swinging a bladed thing, but a Vegan Teetotaller Barbarian gives the GM much more to work with. The scenario where he fights the Lamb-Slaugthering Drunkards of Luxor practically writes itself.
A short description and/or biography of the PC could help deciding on other aspects.
So, how good is your barbarian at swinging a sword anyway, and what else can he do?
In FUGU, the competency of PCs (and NPCs by the way) is defined along this Level Ladder:
| Level | %4dF>=Level | Adjective | Description | Number of skills at start |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| +5 | 0% | Legendary | Among the best in the universe and history | |
| +4 | 1.23% | Superb | Among the best in the world | |
| +3 | 6.17% | Great | Among the best in town | X |
| +2 | 18.52% | Good | A professional | XXX |
| +1 | 38.27% | Fair | Experienced, or a talented beginner | XXXXX |
| +0 | 61.73% | Mediocre | Inexperienced, or lacking talent | XXXXXXX |
| -1 | 81.48% | Poor | Worse than most | |
| -2 | 93.83% | Terrible | Inept, or somehow impaired | |
| -3 | 98.77% | Catastrophic | Don’t even try | |
| -4 | 100% | Horrifying | A lemon could be better at this |
Each level can be defined by the adjective, or by the numeric value, it’s up to GM and players to decide which one do they remember better. However, the numeric value will be useful in determining outcomes, in combination with dice rolls.
In dramatic situations, the skill level, added to a Fudge Dice roll, will determine how well the PC is performing.
There is a total of 16 skills, and the PC will start with:
The list of skills in FUGU is kept short, but many skills, like Science, are very broad and will have a different meaning depending on the Class of the PC. Example: for a Field Doctor PC, Science will mean Medicine, while for a Rogue Chemist it will mean Chemistry (what a surprise). If a PC wants a versatile character (like a Field Doctor with a degree in Archeology ), make him “buy” the extra specializations as Gifts. At this point, it is clear that the GM will desperately try to limit the abuse of FUGU’s broad skills, while the Players will propose PCs with classes like “Delta Force Super-scientist Ninja Surgeon with psychic powers”. It will take some bargaining but compromises are possible.
The skill list is divided in 4 groups: Action, Social, Technical, Intellectual. This is just meant to organize and remember them better, no character is restricted to any of the four groups.
Action Skills
Social Skills
Technical Skills
Intellectual Skills
Some of the listed skills, like Agility and Strength, could be considered innate traits of a person, rather than abilities that can be learned and improved. However, this is not relevant in FUGU: those traits can be also improved with training and experience, so there’s no need to handle them differently than skills in game terms.
Don’t sweat it, think first what your PC is Great at (1 skill), then Good at (3 skills), and take it from there.
If you get stuck, just start playing and assign your remaining skill levels during the game as you need to use the skills. However, the GM will not award you Experience Points until you have assigned all the remaining skill levels!
Some tasks the PC undertake are not entirely covered by any one skill in the list, but a combination of 2 (or more) skills could do the trick. For example, “hacking” requires both Software and Burglary skills. In this cases, if the most important skill is the highest, use the average numeric level of the skills, rounding up. If the most important skill is the lowest, take that as the level. If our hacker is Superb(+4) at Software and Fair(+1) at Burglary, the combination will be Good(+3). Had he been Fair at Software and Superb at Burglary, he would be rolling just at +1. The GM will rule which skill is the most important for the task, and in case they’re all equally important, just use the average, rounding down.
Some other characteristics of the PC could influence his role in the story and his chance of success in some actions. Is he double-jointed? Fearless? Cleptomaniac? Accolite of a shady cult? The player makes up a maximum of 4 Gifts and Faults, with number of Gifts = number of Faults. The GM takes care that they are well balanced, and approves/modifies/vetoes them.
No Gifts or Faults at all is also an option. Your PC could gain some during the adventure.
These are positive, or mostly positive. A cyborg PC could have problems whith repairs and recharges, but this is more than compensated by his superuman strength, or speed, or random gadgets. As a rule of thumb, a Gift could grant an Advantage of 2 dice on skill rolls in specific relevant situations.
Things that hamper the PC. Duties, phobias, handicaps, enemies. The player should choose something that he wants to roleplay, and that makes the PC more complex and interesting. As usual, the GM will be the judge of that. A fault could cause a Disadvantage of 2 dice on rolls in specific situations.
A characteristic could be neither obviously good nor bad and work for or against the PC. For example, a affiliation to a cult could mean limitations in behavior and duties that other people don’t have, but, at the same time, having allies and occult knowledge, so the “pros” and “cons” of this aspect balance each other. In this case, write it down as both a gift and a fault.
Here a tiny selection of generic Gifts and Faults to get you started.
Gifts:
Faults:
Each PC will have 5+Strength as his starting and maximum Health Points (HP). For example, someone of Average strength will have 6. In a similar way, the PC’s starting Stamina will be 5+Will, and Coin will be 5+Business
These scores could be depleted and regained during play. It’s bad if they get low. Specially HP, don’t get to 0 HP.
It’s handy to have them in the Character Sheet in the form of checkboxes, like this:
[ ] [ ] [ ] … as many as your maximum score
A PCs Wealth will depend on his Business skill, but the relevant levels are just Poor, Fair, Great and Legendary, so round down the Business level to one of those 4.
Don’t try to track to the detail how much a PC or NPC can move in every scene: the GM will describe the situation and decide if he can flee from an enemy or reach him, maybe requiring an Agility roll. If strictly needed, use 5+Agility meters per second as maximum movement.
The PCs have a Class, so they will have all the tools of the trade available. Maybe not top-notch, maybe borrowed instead of bought (a plane pilot needs to be rich to own the plane), but they have enough to survive and thrive.
Therefore, just write down objects that are particularly
significant for the story, or out of the ordinary: a pocket knife
doesn’t need to be listed, but Excalibur does.
An object could even have one or more qualities rated on the Level
Ladder (if the story requires it). For example, an Axe found in the
corner could be described as “axe of Poor quality”, which is
bad news if the PC needs it to break a Cellar Door of Great
resistance.
Yes, the PC could have some money, you little greedy burgeouis, but we won’t write down how many cents and bitcoins are in his possess, we will just approximate this using his Coin score and Wealth level. More about this later.
And now, guess what… our heroes are ready to go!
Some game settings will require the player to keep track of other things. This will mostly fit in as Gifts or Faults, but sometimes they could be different. For example:
These can be fitted in a handy “Extras” area of the Character Sheet
The GM will introduce the story. The Players will probably have some questions before they get into character, but sooner than later they will need to think how their PCs will act (or react). Talking, moving, other basic interactions with the (fictional) environment and the NPCs can be just announced and the GM will tell what’s happening next, but soon the Players will want their PCs’ to do something…interesting!
Many times also when using a skill, a satisfying result should be taken for granted. For example, a PC that’s Fair (+1) at piloting will have no problem driving a car downtown. No need to roll dice here.
However, in tense or dramatic situations, or when success is not granted, the Dice will come into play. The Skill level+Fudge Dice roll will determine the level of the action.
The GM will decide which level is needed to succeed.
In some cases a PC will use this skill in a more (or less) favorable condition. For example, relevant Gifts or Faults will give you Advantage or Disadvantage dice. This will influence the skill roll:
The GM can assign Disadvantage dice also if the PC uses a skill in unfamiliar or adverse conditions: for example, if the PC is a jet pilot trying to land an helicopter.
A PC could just need to get something done, with no-one opposing him. The GM will set a target level that the action of the PC needs to reach to be successful, based on the environment and the goal.
Example: Derrick wants to pick a door’s lock of Good quality, for some reason. He is Fair at Burglary, and he has the right equipment (lockpicks and a beer). The GM rules that he needs to score a +2 at least on his action (because of the quality of the lock) He rolls a +2 on his Fudge dice, so the level of his action is: +1 +2 = +3. It’s a Great action: the lock springs open and Derrick takes a look inside the room.
A PC could be in a contest of some kind against an NPC or another PC. In that case, both will be using their relevant skills, and one with the highest action level will win.
In case of a tie: depending on the situation (GM discretion) the outcome could be:
Example: A police car is following Sander. He tries an evasive manouver to lose them. He’s Fair at piloting, and he rolls a 0 (zero). That makest it a Fair action (+1), Sander takes speed and keeps control of the car. Unfortunately, the cops have a Good (+2) pilot, and they’re able to follow. Sander needed to roll at least a +1 to escape.
There is no need for the GM to roll for NPCs actions, she can just assume they always roll a “0”.
Sometimes, it’s not interesting just if an action is successful, but also how successful it is. For example, a Good action, performed when an Mediocre action was needed, has a margin of success of +2
The GM can rely on this extended version of the ladder to set actions’ difficulty, and also to interpret margins of success.
| Level | %4dF>= Level | Adjective | Difficulty | Distance | HP/Stamina |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +5 | 0% | Legendary | Impossible | 10 | |
| +4 | 1.23% | Superb | Heroic | Very Far | 9 |
| +3 | 6.17% | Great | Unlikely | 8 | |
| +2 | 18.52% | Good | Hard | Far | 7 |
| +1 | 38.27% | Fair | Tricky | 6 | |
| +0 | 61.73% | Mediocre | Simple | Near | 5 |
| -1 | 81.48% | Poor | Easy | 4 | |
| -2 | 93.83% | Terrible | Very easy | Close | 3 |
| -3 | 98.77% | Catastrophic | Trivial | 2 | |
| -4 | 100% | Horrifying | Already done | 1 |
A player can announce, before making a skill roll, that the PC will put in Act with Grit. This will cost Stamina, but for every point spent he will have one Advantage die for the roll.
Grit gives PCs a chance to overcome critical situations, at the risk of getting exhausted. Stamina used for “gritting” can be recovered as usual (see Wounds and fatigue).
The GM will determine the order of characters’ actions, based on the situation he’s describing. If there is no “logical” order, initiative will go to the characters with the highest Perception skill (the most alert). In case of ties, PCs go before NPCs. The order in which characters act will stay the same through the scene (for example, during the whole conflict).
The PCs made someone angry, and now it’s on!
A physical conflict will be a series of competing actions, each involving an attacker and a defender.
If the defender has a way to block (intercept the attack
with a object or a limb), he can use the Fight skill to
defend himself. Note that blocking a melee weapon with a bare limb
(like a hand or arm) doesn’t mean avoiding damage, but rather
taking damage on that specific limb.
The defender could also try to dodge using his
Agility skill.
In both cases, if the attacker’s action level matches (or
exceeds) the skill level of the defender, the attacker has hit the
defender. If, for some reason, the target doesn’t try to protect
itself, then the attack will be like an action “Against the
environment” and the GM will set the Difficulty of
it, most likely as Easy, even lower if the target is not
moving at all!
Example: Derrick, who’s a Fair (+1) fighter is trying to punch Sander, a Good (+2) fighter, who’s trying to block. He will need to roll at least a +1 to hit. Next, Sander tries to kick Derrick, who will try to dodge using his Good Agility (+2). Sander need just to roll 0 or more so that Derrick doesn’t dodge is kick.
If you are using the “NPCs always roll a”0” option, and the NPC is attacking, let the Player roll for his PC’s defense skill so that the result is not predetermined.
A (violent) conflict round consists of three seconds in fictional game time of intense, nearly simultaneus action of many PCs and NPCs (getting punched takes surprisingly little time!). Dramatic pauses, circling around and staredowns can happen, if the GM and the players describe them, thus lenghtening the fight.
A PC or NPC defending from multiple enemies at the same time is acting in adverse condition. The GM will decide a penalty based on the situation (is he sorrounded? flanked? can he put his back to a wall?). However, as a minimum:
When the attacker hits, he will deal Damage to the target. The damage will usually be fixed, depending on the weapon used and sometimes (in close combat) from the attacker’s strength.
Each weapon will have a Damage Level measured on the ladder, from Poor (-1) to… whatever the setting can provide.
Example: A machete could be an Fair (+1) melee weapon, dealing a Damage of 1 when used by someone of Fair +1 strenght
The list of weapons will depend on the setting, but as a reference:
If the total damage is 0, or negative, increase the difficulty of the attack roll by -(Damage-1), and give 1 point of damage in case of success.
Example: Beavis has Mediocre Strength and Mediocre Fight, and is punching Butthead, which tries blocking with his Mediocre Fight. In order to inflict one point of damage, Beavis needs to roll a +3: +1 to overtake Butthead’s Mediocre block, +2 because his basic damage is -1 (therefore -(-1-1)=+2 is the added difficulty). With a roll of +4 he will still deal just 1 point of damage. This fight is more likely to end by Stamina depletion than by KO.
It takes Fair Strength to attack unarmed and inflict damage without increased difficulty.
A Great (+3) margin of success grants extra effects, determined by the GM, such as: +2 damage, stamina damage, temporary Fault (e.g., stunned, scared), weapon drop, or other effects. At least 1 extra damage is mandatory for a Great Hit.
Armor can protect from harm. Each armor will have an Armor level (minimum Average), that the target of an attack can subtract to the damage received. What kind of armor is available will depend on the setting, but in general is easier to make stuff that deals damage rather then stuff that protects, and allows moving around.
Bottom line, most armor will be Fair or Good. Armor offering Great protection should be rare, or expensive, or bulky and impossible to conceal.
Often a character will try to hit a target from a distance, using the Shoot skill and a ranged weapon, be it a Stone, a Crossbow or a Quantum-Powered Bowel Disruptor. Shooting will be handled as a normal attack, except that there will be an extra difficulty modifier based on the range of the shot: from -2 (Very Easy) for “Close”, to +4 (Very Hard) Very far, to even more for really desperate shots.
A defender can try to block or dodge a thrown object normally, because he can see it coming, but against a bullet or other fast-moving projectile, the difficulty of the dodge roll will be increased by +2. Blocking such projectiles will usually be impossible, unless it involves ducking behind a big shield (the GM has the last word in these situations).
Was that too vague? Ok, you bloodthirsty psycho, here is a small general-purpose table of weapons and armors to get you started with the mayhem:
| Level | | | Weapon | Damage Level | Max Range | | | Armor | Armor Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mediocre (0) | | | Brass knuckles | 0+Strength | Close | | | ||
| Fair (+1) | | | Dagger | 1+Strength | Close | | | Leather | 1 |
| Good (+2) | | | Sword | 2+Strength | Close | | | Chain Mail | 2 |
| | | Handgun (small caliber) | 2 | Far | | | Light Kevlar | 2 | |
| | | Bow | 2 | Far | | | |||
| Great (+3) | | | Halberd | 3+Strength | Near | | | Full Plate | 3 |
| | | Handgun (large caliber) | 3 | Far | | | Heavy Kevlar | 3 | |
| Superb (+4) | | | Rifle, Machinegun etc | 4 | Far/Very Far | | |
To make Science Fiction or Fantasy magical battle gear:
Each point of damage received is subtracted from the Character’s HP. And here are the consequences of a low HP count:
| 0 | <=1 | <=2 | <=3 | 4 | 5+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dead | Incapacitated | Very Hurt | Hurt(*) | Scratched | Healthy |
| Tough luck | Roll on will to perform any action | gain one permanent Fault | gain one temporary Fault |
(*)>50% of HP lost in 1 single blow is always at least a Hurt
The Fault will be decided by the GM,depend on the nature of the
damage:
a broken arm that can’t be used properly, a slashed leg that causes
limping…the PC will need help
Stamina is used to track a PC’s physical and mental fatigue. The GM will ask to subtract one point after each stressful effort (like a fight). When Stamina gets low the PC will need to rest, because zero Stamina means collapse or burnout. Some specific weapons could deal damage to Stamina rather then to Health.
| Stamina | 0 | <=1 | <=2 | >=3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Out | Tired | Fit | |
| Consequence | collapse or burnout | -1 to all skills |
Stamina can be recovered resting for sufficient time (1 point every 2 hours or so), or reset to its maximum at the end of the game session (unless the game stopped in the middle of an action scene).
Sometimes PCs will face creatures or things that are, by default, bigger, tougher, or just way different from them. Our Barbarian could have Superb Strength, but, if he tries wrestling with a Mediocre T-Rex, he will became a Poor meal at most.
To play situations involving conflict with “big things”:
This allows for a great variety of super (or sub)- human scales. A fantasy Ogre could be Scale X2, tough but in the ballpark of our Superbly Strong Barbarian. The T-Rex is Scale X4, and good luck arguing with it.
The same principle could be applied to speed as a “speed factor” (ex. PC on foot trying to outrun a motorcicle) and other unbalanced contests (differences in technology level, power etc.).
Pieces of equipment (for example vehicles) can also have a Scale factor. This can save time when handling contests (or combat) with vehicles: in a contest between spaceships, both of Scale X5, there will be no need to translate their Health Points, Armor, Damage Level and speed to human levels.
In some settings and campaign, it will be the PCs that are more powerful than regular humans could ever be (like in a superhero/supervillain campaign). To simulate this, the GM could give them specific powerful Gifts that set their Strength, Agility or other skill at a higher scale (like “X3”). These gifts could be given for free to the super-PCs, or balanced by equally big Faults, for example a Compulsion to Protect (or destroy?) humanity, or powerful Super Foes!
From Murderhobos to Wealthy Adventuring Aristocrats, all the PCs will gain, lose and use resources, be it money or equipment.
Their Wealth level determines what level of goods they can own and purchase, or said differently what is within their means: With Great they can buy a car without thinking too much about it, with Fair they can rent one, with Poor they will have to skip a meal to afford a train ticket.
The details of each Wealth level will depend on the setting, and the PCs could start at a different level than their Business skill dictates depending on GM decision and story background (maybe all the PCs start as pennyless fugitives), but the rules that govern Coin use will stay the same:
After each session, the GM will award each participating PC with an Experience Point (XP).
XPs can be accumulated, and used to increase Skills, with the following rules:
Example: Derrick is is Fair (+1) at Burglary, and has accumulated 5 XP. He also has been picking some locks lately, therefore at the end of the session he can use 2 XP to become Good (+2) at Burglary, remaining with 3 XP to spend. He can’t spend them immediately to become Great +3 though, he has to wait another session for this.
In addition to this, the Player could swap 2 skills of adjacent levels
Also: the PCs, during the story, could gain new gadgets, wealth, status and other Gifts, permanent or temporary, that will help them in future sessions.
A Player could propose a new permanent Gift for his PC to the GM, which will decide if it fits in well in the story, and possibly ask a cost in XP. As a rule of thumb, 1 Gift will cost 5 XP.
That’s it! You are ready to play!
1. Skill Checks
2. Advantage / Disadvantage
3. Actions in Contest
4. Grit (Extra Effort)
5. Combat (Attack & Defense)
6. Health & Stamina
7. XP & Advancement