Animal & Creature Examples

Non-PC animals need not be built using level limits.

Just define what traits are essential to the animal, and let it go at that. The Strength Scale refers to Section 2.3, Non-humans. Damage may include a “weapon deadliness” factor for teeth, claws, and, in some cases, body optimized for combat (usually carnivores).

Dog

Perception: Great to Superb (Smell should be Scale: Dog) Strength/Mass Scale: -7 to 0 Skills: Mediocre to Superb (tailor to specific training received; examples include attack, guard, guide, track, hunt, and tricks) Melee Combat: Fair to Superb Damage Capacity: Good to Great

Cat

Agility: Great to Superb Scale: -6 or -7 Skills: Survival, Hunting, Playing Gifts: Night Vision, Nine Lives (e.g., each time a cat receives damage that would kill it in one blow, check off one life and don’t count the damage. There are other ways to play this, of course, such as a Legendary Dodge ability.)

Faults: Independent-minded, Curious, Lazy, Vain Damage Capacity: Fair to Superb

Horse

Strength: Scale 3 Good to Great

Endurance: Good

Speed: Scale 4 Good to Great

Skills: Mediocre to Superb (tailor to specific training received; examples include riding, driving, racing, fighting, and various tricks)

Faults: Tailor to specific animal (Runaway, bites, kicks, etc.) Damage Capacity: Mediocre to Good

Camel

Strength: Scale 2 Good to Great

Endurance: Great to Superb Speed: Scale 3 Mediocre to Good

Skills: Mediocre to Superb (tailor to specific training received; examples include riding, driving, packing) Gifts: Desert Survival Damage Capacity: Fair to Great

Elephant

Strength: Scale 8 Good to Superb Agility: Good to Superb Skills: Mediocre to Superb (tailor to specific training received; examples include riding, hauling, stacking (logs etc.), tricks) Gifts: Exceptional animal intelligence

Faults: Males subject to Musth (annual madness) Damage Capacity: Good to Superb

Falcon

Courage: Fair to Superb Agility: Good to Superb Speed: Scale 5 Fair to Great Strength: Scale -6, Fair to Superb (Scale may be from -8 to -4 to reflect sizes from sparrow hawk to eagle) Skills: Mediocre to Superb (tailor to specific training received; examples include manning a measure of the degree of taming, hunting ground mammals, hunting birds, aerial acrobatics, trained to the lure, etc.) Gifts: Flight Damage Capacity: Fair to Good

Lion

Perception: Great

Melee Combat: Great

Stalking: Great

Dodge: Fair Strength: Scale 2 Fair to Great

Fault: Lazy

Damage Capacity: Fair to Superb

Grizzly Bear

Perception: Good

Melee Combat: Good

Dodge: Fair Strength: Scale 3 Fair to Great

Fault: Berserker Damage Capacity: Fair to Great

Cobra

Perception: Good

Melee Combat: Great

Dodge: Good

Supernormal Power: Poison, +4 damage bonus

Fault: Bad temper

Damage Capacity: Poor

Skunk

Melee Combat: Poor Ranged Combat: Good, short range Dodge: Poor Supernormal Power: Noxious Fluid (blinds, incapacitates, renders foul) Damage Capacity: Terrible Giant Spider Melee Combat: Good

Dodge: Poor Supernormal Powers: Poison (paralyzes); Web (Good Difficulty Level Strength roll to break) Damage Capacity: Good

Griffin

Perception: Great

Melee Combat: Great

Dodge: Good

Supernormal Powers: Flight; Tough Hide (light armor) Strength: Mediocre to Great, Scale 4

Damage Capacity: Good to Superb

Dragon

(customize to taste)

Melee Combat: Good to Great

Ranged Combat: Good, short range Dodge: Mediocre Supernormal Powers: Fire Breath (+2 damage); Flight; Tough Hide (-1 to -3); Charm with Eyes; Magic Potential (some of them) Fault: Greedy Strength: Scale 3 to Scale 9 Fair to Great

Damage Capacity: Fair to Great

Equipment Examples

It’s possible to define equipment in Fudge character terms. This is probably unnecessary, but can be done if desired.

Equipment from any technological level, stone age to science fiction, can be detailed this way. A piece of equipment can be defined by as many Fudge traits as are needed: attributes, skills, gifts or faults.

For example, an old, battered sword found in a damp dungeon has:

Attributes: Sharpness: Terrible Durability: Poor Fault: Looks Shabby.

Such a weapon is treated as a club for damage, rather than a sword (no Sharpness bonus). The GM may require a Situational roll every few combat rounds: the sword breaks on a Mediocre or worse result from parrying or being parried. And finally, some people will make fun of anyone carrying such a shoddy-looking weapon.

When the sword was new, however, it had:

Attributes: Sharpness: Good

Sturdiness: Great

Gift: Beautifully Made

In that case, it would indeed merit the +1 for Sharpness (perhaps any Sharpness level of Mediocre to Good gets the +1 Sharpness bonus, while duller blades get no bonus, and better blades might get an additional +1 bonus). It also would never break under ordinary circumstances, and its appearance probably earns its owner a positive reaction from many people.

A bejeweled magic sword found in a dragon’s hoard might have:

Attribute: Appearance: Superb (+3 to impress those who value wealth) Gift:

Troll-slaying (+3 to hit when fighting Trolls; such wounds will never heal) Fault: Dedicated Purpose (it tries to control the wielder to hunt trolls) Skill:

Dominate Wielder: Fair (Opposed action against a Will attribute) A different magic sword:

Supernormal Power:

Flame Creation (+2 damage) Skill:

Flame Shooting: Great (Range: 3 yards or meters) Fault: Flame Creation only works on a Good or better Situational roll

Of course, even if the flaming missile fails, it can still be used as a regular sword, so it’s not exactly worthless in such cases.

As a final example, consider a science fiction double-seat fighter spaceship:

Attributes: Acceleration: Great

Handling: Superb

Speed: Good (Scale 15) Size: Fair (Scale 8) Skills:

Navigation: Good

Targeting: Superb

Auto-pilot: Fair Food Preparation: Poor Entertainment: Mediocre Gifts:

Turret-mounted Laser Rifles, above and below

Bucket Seats in the bridge Hyperdrive Can be used in an atmosphere or in deep space Faults:

Non-standard parts (expensive to repair)

Unattractive exterior

Cramped sleeping quarters

Airlock squeaks annoyingly

Ordinary, every-day equipment should not be detailed out in this manner. There is no need to define a canteen, for example, as anything other than “metal, 1 quart (liter) capacity.” Even for equipment that may have an impact on the game, such as weapons or thieves’ tools, you do not need to have any more information than “+2 offensive damage factor” or “adds 1 to Pick Locks skill.’

It’s best to restrict defining equipment in Fudge character terms to the truly extraordinary (such as magic items). Another use is when the equipment’s powers may be used in an opposed action: in a car race, for instance, you need to know the relative speeds and handling capabilities of the vehicles as well as the skills of the drivers. A battle between spaceships is another good example.

Equipment with personality, such as sentient magic items or advanced robots, may be treated as full-fledged Fudge characters if desired.