Rolling Dice

FUDGE Dice

Of the four dice techniques presented in FUDGE, this one is recommended. It gives results from –4 to +4 quickly and easily, without intruding into role-playing or requiring complex math or a table.

FUDGE dice are six-sided dice with two sides marked +1, two sides marked –1, and two sides marked 0. You can make your own FUDGE dice easily enough. Simply get four normal white d6s. Using a permanent marker, color two sides of each die green, two sides red, and leave the other two sides white. When the ink has dried, spray the dice lightly with clear matte finish to prevent the ink from staining your hands. You now have 4dF: the green sides = +1, the red sides = –1, and the white sides = 0.

(While you can try to play with normal d6s, reading: 1&2 = –1, 3&4 = 0, 5&6 = +1, this is not recommended. It takes too much effort, and intrudes into role-playing. 4dF is functionally equivalent to 4d3–8, but this is also not recommended for the same reason, even if you have d6s labeled 1-3 twice.)

To use FUDGE dice, simply roll four of them, and total the amount. Since a +1 and a –1 cancel each other, remove a +1 and –1 from the table, and the remaining two dice are easy to read no matter what they are.

Example: if you roll +1, +1, 0, –1, remove the –1 and one of the +1s, as together they equal 0. The remaining two dice, +1 and 0, are easily added to +1. If there is no opposing pair of +1 and –1 dice, remove any zeros and the remaining dice are again easy to read.

The result of a die roll is a number between –4 and +4. At the top of the character sheet, there should be a simple chart of the attribute levels, such as:

• Superb
• Great
• Good
• Fair
• Mediocre
• Poor
• Terrible

To determine the result of an action, simply put your finger on your trait level, then move it up (for plus results) or down (for minus results).

Example: Nathaniel, who has a Good Bow Skill, is shooting in an archery contest. The player rolls 4dF, using the procedure described above. If he rolls a 0, he gets a result equal to Nathaniel’s skill: Good, in this case. If he rolls a +1, however, he gets a Great result, since Great is one level higher than his Good Archery skill. If he rolls a –3, unlucky Nathaniel has just made a Poor shot.

Action Modifiers

There may be modifiers for any given action, which can affect the odds referred to in the preceding section. Modifiers temporarily improve or reduce a character’s traits.

Example: Joe, Good with a sword, is Hurt (–1 to all actions). He is thus only Fair with his sword until he’s healed.

Example: Jill has Mediocre Lockpicking skills, but an exceptionally fine set of lock picks gives her a Fair Lockpicking skill while she’s using them.

Unopposed Actions

For each Unopposed action, the GM sets a Difficulty Level (Fair is the most common) and announces which trait should be rolled against. If no Skill seems relevant, choose the appropriate Attribute. If there is a relevant Skill, but the character is untrained in it, then treat it as one level below Terrible. If a high attribute could logically help an untrained skill, set the level as Terrible or higher.

Example: A character wishes to palm some coins without being observed. The GM says to use Sleight of Hand skill, but the character is untrained in Sleight of Hand. The player points out that the character’s Body attribute is Superb, so the GM allows a default of Poor Sleight of Hand for this attempt.

The player then rolls against the character’s trait level, and tries to match or surpass the Difficulty Level set by the GM. In cases where there are degrees of success, the better the roll, the better the character did; the worse the roll, the worse the character did.

Opposed Actions

To resolve an Opposed action between two characters, each side rolls four dice against the appropriate trait and announces the result. The traits rolled against are not necessarily the same.

Example: A Persuasion attempt would be rolled against a Persuasion skill for the active participant and against Perception for the resisting participant. There may be modifiers: someone with a vow of chastity might get a bonus to his Perception, while someone with a Lecherous fault would have a penalty — or not even try to resist.

The Game Master compares the rolled degrees to decide a relative degree.

Example: Lisa is trying to flimflam Joe into thinking she’s from the FBI and rolls a Great result. This is not automatic success, however. If Joe also rolls a Great result on his trait to avoid being flimflammed, then the relative degree is 0: the status quo is maintained. In this case, Joe remains unconvinced that Lisa is legitimate. If Joe rolled a Superb result, Lisa’s Great result would have actually earned her a relative degree of –1: Joe is not going to be fooled this encounter, and will probably even have a bad reaction to Lisa.

The Opposed action mechanism can be used to resolve almost any conflict between two characters. Are two people both grabbing the same item at the same time? This is an Opposed action based on a Body attribute — the winner gets the item. Is one character trying to shove another one down? Roll Body vs. Body (or Melee Attack skill) to see who goes down. Someone trying to hide from a search party? Perception skill vs. Stealth skill. Trying to out-drink a rival? Body vs. Body (or Socialize skill, Athletics, etc.). And so on.

An Opposed action can also be handled as an Unopposed action. When a PC is opposing an NPC, have only the player roll, and simply let the NPC’s trait level be the Difficulty Level. This method assumes the NPC will always roll a 0. This emphasizes the PCs’ performance, and reduces the possibility of an NPC’s lucky roll deciding the game.

NPC Reactions

Sometimes a non-player character has a set reaction to the PCs. Perhaps she’s automatically their enemy, or perhaps the party has rescued her, and earned her gratitude. But there will be many NPCs that don’t have a set reaction. When the PCs request information or aid, it might go smoothly or it might not go well at all. Negotiation with a stranger is always an unknown quantity to the players — it may be so for the GM, too.

When in doubt, the GM should secretly make a roll. If the PC in question has a trait that can affect a stranger’s reaction, this should grant a +/–1 (or more) to the result. Examples include an appearance gift or fault, Soul, Visibility, Status, and such habits as nose-picking or vulgar language. The Reaction roll can also be modified up or down by circumstances: bribes, suspicious or friendly nature of the NPC, proximity of the NPC’s boss, observed PC behavior, etc.

The higher the Reaction roll result, the better the reaction. On a Fair result, the NPC will be mildly helpful, but only if it’s not too much effort. She won’t be helpful at all on Mediocre or worse results, but will react well on a Good result or better.