FUDGE

OtherSpace uses FUDGE (The Freeform, Do-It-Yourself Gaming Engine) as a basis for its RPG mechanics. FUDGE is an open source ruleset produced by Grey Ghost Press and is available on the Web. Skills, Attributes and how they interact and are judged are a modified version of this ruleset.

Characters
The heart of every RPG is the characters. After all, what's playing a role without having a role to play? OtherSpace is no exception. The character is your creation, a product of your imagination. Maybe he's a Martian Legionaire or a corporate shill for a large Sivadian Trust. Maybe she's a Vollistan Interrogator, raised by the Nall to ferret out dissent and rebellion in the Parallax Empire, or maybe she's a Demarian seamstress, daughter of a proud Noble House on New Alhira. Characters are what drives the game.

Characters have to interact with the game and each other, however; so, in addition to a background and a history, they require a tangible, quantative representation of their skills and abilities. This is where the Game part of role-playing comes in. A character is also described by his or her abilities. Is he a Zangali warrior, born ugly and built to last, and possessed of strength well beyond what any other race is capable of? Is she a Nall warrior, lightning quick and vicious by nature? Or is she just a normal, average, everyday Jane that just tries to live her life the best she can? All of them have attributes and skills.

Simplified Character Sheet

Davis  - Human Male ====================ATTRIBUTES======================== Intelligence: Fair           Perception:   Great Willpower:   Good            Charisma:     Good Reaction:    Good            Agility:      Fair Strength:    Good            Constitution: Good ======================SKILLS========================== Brawling:         Good     Running:           Good Energy Pistol:    Fair     Swimming:          Good Energy Rifle:     Good     Survival Training: Fair Projectile Rifle: Fair     Unarmed Combat:    Fair Projectile Pistol: Good ==================GIFTS, FLAWS, QUIRKS================ Xenophobic =======================WOUNDS========================= Scratch       Hurt     V. Hurt   Incap. Nr. Death [ ] [ ] [ ]  [ ] [ ]      [ ]      [ ]        [ ] Wound Types: ======================================================

Our character sheet subject is the fictitious Karl Davis. Karl was a Guardian Fleet Marine who, unfortunately, bit the big one when Earth was decimated by plasma bombs. He does, however, make a good subject to start explaining the nuts and bolts of FUDGE and the OtherSpace-specific rules. Let's start with attributes.

Intelligence
Intelligence is a measurement of just that. This is a combination of learning, experience and potential that a character has upstairs. Karl is a normal guy (Intelligence: Fair), with a normal brain pan. As a Marine, he doesn't need to be Einstein, although a little common sense would help. Of course, if he had common sense, he might have picked a different profession. Values would represent the following: Terrible (-3) - This individual is severely retarded by the standards of his race. He's probably unable to speak properly or perform simple problem solving tasks, such as tying his own shoes. Poor (-2)- Looking up, but still not the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree. A person with a poor intellect is mildly retarded, and could probably find a job pushing a mop around on the floor. Good luck getting him to actually dunk the mop in water first. Mediocre (-1)- The lowest functional intelligence for that race. This is the guy we all know from High School, you know, the one pumping gas down at the local Handi Stop now. Fair (0)- Middle of the road. You're a capable individual and able to function normally in society. You aren't going to be nominated for the Nobel Prize in your lifetime, but you get along just fine. Good (1)- You're fairly sharp and probably educated or blessed with an abundance of common sense. You can do just about anything you apply yourself to, except maybe quantum physics. Great (2)- You're whip smart. You never have trouble picking up new tasks or new bits of information. You can do anything you apply yourself to and do it well. Superb (3)- You are a genius, hands down. You can calculate PI in your head while pontificating on why Einstein’s Theory of Relativity is flawed. Not only do you have raw potential, you have realized potential in some way, shape or form.

Perception
Perception manifests itself in a variety of ways. It's not just eyesight or hearing, but the ability to focus your attention to the world around you. Karl is a perceptive guy (Perception: Great), which is probably a double edged sword for a marine. It means he'll feel that ambush before it’s sprung, which is a good thing. It also means that he's going to be the point man an awful lot, which is not a good thing. Values would represent the following: Terrible (-3)- You're a rock. People have to try for hours to get your attention, and usually have to use bright lights and loud sounds to do so. Poor (-2)- You're not quite a rock. People still have to try for hours to get your attention, but they usually just jump up and down and wave to do it. Mediocre (-1)- You just don't pay attention to things. You're the guy who buys his girlfriend a cat collar the day after Fluffy got run down by the drunk guy down the street. Fair (0)- You do a pretty good job of noticing things. You'd probably make a lousy detective, but you won't be falling into an open manhole any time soon. Good (1)- You sometimes pick up on things that other people don't. You're more likely to notice something that's out of place, or pick out a suspicious character. Great (2)- You've got a knack for finding things. Maybe it was all the hunting trips as a kid or maybe you're hardwired that way, but you notice things that have other people scratching their heads. Superb (3)- Nothing gets past you. You're so perceptive it borders on ESP, you'd notice the shift in the wind when a butterfly flaps its wings.

Willpower
Willpower encompasses your powers of self-regulation. This is your ability to resist everything from a mental command to a two hundred credit watch you know you can't afford. Karl, being a trained combatant, has above average willpower (Willpower: Good), a necessity when getting shot at. Values would represent the following: Terrible (-3)- You are the definition of sheep. There isn't an infomercial that you haven't bought from yet. Your garage is littered with Garden Weasels and Ab Rollers. Poor (-2)- You constantly fall to temptation, whatever your poison happens to be. Alcoholics and drug addicts are a good representation of poor willpower. Mediocre (-1)- You've got a large collection of bits and pieces you thought would be cool but now take up space. Alternately, you are a submissive personality. Fair (0)- It's half and half with you. Sometimes you stand strong, sometimes you give in. Good (1)- You've got determination. You can force yourself to do obviously dangerous things and you don't pay a lot for your muffler. Great (2)- You can deny yourself almost anything and your mind is locked up tighter than Fort Knox. Superb (3)- You're possessed of an extremely strong will, able to resist all but the most powerful psionics and urges.

Charisma
Charisma is a combination of traits. Physical attractiveness plays only a minor role in this statistic, as some races will never find another attractive (minus a few deviants). Force of personality and general likeability make up the bulk of this attribute. Karl is a likeable guy (Charisma: Good) and will probably make a good squad leader someday (or would have, if he wasn't blown up). Values would represent the following: Terrible (-3)- You are either horribly disfigured or socially retarded. People make pains to avoid you at all costs (Hint: They really don't have a sick aunt.) Poor (-2)- You're a bore. People tend not to like you and sometimes even tell you so. Mediocre (-1)- There's something odd about you that people can't quite put theirfinger on. It makes them slightly uncomfortable around you. Fair (0)- You've got friends, you've got enemies. Neither of them is going to follow you to the gates of hell. Good (1)- You're a people person. You've never had a problem getting along with people and would make an excellent used hovercar salesman. Great (2)- You inspire people with your words and action. You'd have a hell of a career as a politician. Superb (3)- Like Gandhi or Kennedy, or even Joe Stalin, you have the ability to erect a cult of personality around yourself.

Reaction
Reaction is the speed of your reflexes. It covers everything from how fast you are off of the traffic light to wether or not you move fast enough to catch an infield line drive heading for your coconut. Karl has good reflexes (Reaction: Good), a necessity if he's going to survive as a Marine for any length of time. Values represent the following: Terrible (-3)- Doctors measure your reaction time on a calendar. Poor (-2)- People usually get one or two good beeps of the horn before you finally realize the light has indeed turned green. Mediocre (-1)- You're slower than average. You were the last kid anyone wanted on their softball team at recess (except for Marvin, the kid with the coke bottle glasses). Fair (0)- You manage to avoid the beeps at the light, most of the time. Good (1)- Your faster than average and had no problem playing outfield in high school. Great (2)- You're the guy who grew up racing everything he could get his hands on. Even when you're surprised, you can usually react appropriately. Superb (3)- You've got the reaction time of a good hockey goalie or champion drag racer.

Agility
Agility encompasses both fine and gross motor skills to some degree. Not only is it your ability to balance, but also your ability to manipulate small objects deftly. Karl isn't going to be a world class gymnast (Agility: Fair), but he manages to get by. Its hard enough to move in combat armor, in any event. Values represent the following: Terrible (-3)- Ever hear of the term, Accident Prone? This is you, in spades. You approach every set of stairs as a new challenge to be surmounted. Poor (-2)- You're clumsy. Nobody trusts you to set the table, especially not with the good china. Mediocre (-1)- You're not deft, but you don't fall all over the place. You sometimes have problems with mildly complex actions, such as chewing bubble gum and walking at the same time. Fair (0)- Dead average. You only fall if there's a patch of ice on the stairs. Good (1)- You've got some skills. You were probably a good, but not a star athlete in high school. Great (2)- You're naturally talented and have a great sense of balance. Superb (3)- Gymnasts and martial artists fall under this category. You have no problem doing such complex maneuvers as backflips, cartwheels, and patting your head and rubbing your stomach at the same time.

Strength
Strength is actually a measure of two things, physical strength and density or mass. The higher the strength score, the more massive the character. Karl is a fairly strong guy (Strength: Good), having spent a lot of time in physically strenuous situations. Values represent the following: Terrible (-3)- Babies and extremely small critters fall into this range. Poor (-2)- You've got the frame and strength of a frail child. Mediocre (-1)- Less time stuffing chips in your mouth and more time at the gym would do you a world of good. Fair (0)- You spend some time working out, but it never became a priority. Good (1)- You're good sized and in good shape. You probably have a job that requires quite a bit of physical exercise. Either that or your just genetically gifted. Great (2)- You like the gym, it's your second home. Superb (3)- You're either a body builder, or genetic freak. Either way, you are massive and as strong as any member of your race.

Constitution
Constitution is a measure of endurance and general resilience. A good constitution can help with anything from surviving trauma from being shot to surviving rat poison in your afternoon beer. Karl is a healthy guy (Constitution: Good), he lives (lived) right and kept himself up. Values represent the following: Terrible (-3)- You catch colds by just looking at sick people. Poor (-2)- You tend to break bones in various, amusing ways, such as being slammed in a door or falling into a couch. Mediocre (-1)- You spent a lot of time out from school as a kid being sick. Fair (0)- You're normal, you get sick and you don't particularly react well to getting shot. Good (1)- You don't spend a lot of time sick and you have a pretty good tolerance for punishing your body. Great (2)- You could go a couple of rounds with Tyson and still walk out of the ring. Superb (3)- You laugh at anything that doesn't involve amputating a limb.

A Note On Scale
Scale is an adjustment to a character's base attributes. This can be due to the character's race, as some races either fall below or rise above the human norm, or due to gifts and faults. For practical purposes, scale is added to the attribute to determine the effective attribute. A Zangali (Scale 2 for Strength) with fair strength is as strong as a human with great strength. Zangali are not the sharpest knives in the drawer, however (Scale -2 for Intelligence), so a Fair Intelligence Zangali is the equivalent of a Poor human intellect.

Skill Categories
Attributes are the innate abilities of your character. Skills are the abilities that you learn or pick up on the long, winding road of life. Skills in OtherSpace fall into several groups or categories. Within these categories are specific skills which are usually, but not always, related to each other. Certain skills also require other skills, or prerequisites, before they can be purchased. The following is a quick rundown of skill categories and examples of skills in those categories.

Artistic
Artistic skills cover a broad range. From painting to poetry, jewelry to underwater basket weaving, anything requiring both creativity and skill to create a work of art is covered. If your character wants a career as an artist of any type, from performer to writer, this is the place to look for those skills. Artistic skills are usually subject to unopposed taskrolls during the course of creating a work of art or performing.

Combat
Combat skills are fairly self-explanatory. If it involves beating, shooting or blowing someone up, it’s here. If you want to be the guy who knows which end of the pistol to point at the enemy, look here.

Engineering
Engineering covers a wide range of technical skills. Construction and architecture join mechanics, electrical systems, and drafting to form this skill set. If your character has a knack for building things (or taking them apart, for that matter), then he's going to want to take a look at this skill group.

Fringe
Contrary to the name, this skill group does not involve making frilly clothing or table fringes. Fringe refers to skills of dubious legality. Gambling, safecracking, lockpicking, and torture are just some of the skills that make up this highly useful skill set. If your character dabbles in less than legal activities, visiting here is essential to their survival.

Languages
Languages cover all of the languages spoken among the worlds of the Orion Arm. Languages are one of the more expensive skill sets due to the amount of time, study, and experience that goes into learning a new, alien language. So, if you ever really wanted to know what that Zangali was saying to you when he threw you out of the bar (and through the wall, incidentally), then languages is for you.

Legal
Legal skills refer to the skills needed to work with a legal system, they are not just the opposite of Fringe skills. If your character is a lawyer, judge, or even just a legal clerk, his main skills will be here.

Liberal Arts
Remember those guys in college that had all the fun and lightweight classes like Astronomy and Sociology? Those were liberal arts majors and this skill group covers that area.

Medical
Want to help society? Cure illness? Bandage up the poor and the needy? Then you'll probably be looking into the Medical skill group. First aid is the most basic skill in the set. Each separate race has its own peculiarities and requires an intricate understanding of its physiology to be an effective doctor for that race. It's awful embarrassing to remove a patients appendix and find out you just removed his stomach instead.

Physical
As the name suggests, this skill group covers such physical endeavors as climbing, running, and swimming. Also covered, animal riding, gymnastics, and golf. We're still debating that last one, but it doesn't fit in anywhere else. Basically, any physical skill that doesn't involve maiming people falls in this category.

Professional
The Professional skill group is probably the most diverse. It deals with jobs that fall out of the scope of the other skill groups. Law enforcement, fire fighting, tailoring, logistics and other skills necessary for various jobs fall under the bailiwick of this skill group.

Psionic
Psionic skills are limited to only a few races who are, incidentally, psionic. Castori, Centauri, Vollistan and Mystics fit this bill. Timonae are mildly psychic but don't possess the power of any of the former races mentioned. Other psionic races exist, just not as player characters. Psionics cover the gamut of cool mental tricks from controlling someone else's mind to moving objects with the power of a thought. Only Vollistans get the cool glowing effect, sorry.

Scientific
So, you're character has a big brain and wants to prove it? Science is where its at then. Chemistry, physics, anything ending in -ology. If you want to work in a lab, wear a white coat, and have people call you doctor but faint at the sight of blood, science is probably for you.

Social
Ahh, interaction with other people (or Zangali, or Demarians, or Nall, take your pick). Social skills make the universe go round. Most skills dealing with people fall under the Social group. Leadership, Intimidation, and even Seduction and Bluffing are all social skills.

Vehicle Operations
You're character is a hotshot pilot you say? Well, she isn't getting far without some sort of vehicle operation skill. Hang gliders, hovercars and spaceships are all governed by these skills, as is manning the turret gunnery on some of the heavier outfitted ships.

Prerequisites
Some skills don't come easily or cheaply. Most of these skills involve a lot of highly specialized education. Generally, skills in the Science and Engineering groups and some of the more advanced combat skills require other skills before they can be taken. Some skills require more than one prerequisite, some require a certain level of the prerequisite skill.

Gifts, Quirks, And Faults
Gifts, Quirks, and Faults are specialized attributes that can be purchased at character creation. Alternately, they can be applied if certain conditions are met during play. If selected at character generation, the gift or fault will either cost or refund a specific amount of XP depending on the usefulness or debilitation the gift or fault creates. It is your responsibility to play out the gift or fault. If these are ignored, consequences usually follow. (I.E. the insomniac that falls asleep at the controls of his ship.)

Taskrolls Or How Do I Use All Of This Stuff
Okay, you've got a character, you've decided on his race. You've decided what he was going to do for a living and what his life has been like. You've filled in the blanks on your sheet appropriately and decked him out with some skills and maybe a gift or fault or two. Now what? Well, during the course of the game, you will come across situations that require these skills and attributes to resolve. There are two types of taskrolls used in OtherSpace, the opposed and unopposed taskrolls. The opposed taskroll is used when skills or attributes from two different characters (or a character and an NPC) are used against each other. Combat is one good example, although a game of cards or arm wrestling match also works. Unopposed taskrolls cover tasks that are used either to create something or against an inanimate object. These have an applied difficulty level depending on the complexity of the task or the results are determined by the roll.

Opposed Taskrolls
Opposed taskrolls are the result of conflict of some sort. Combat is covered in depth later on. For now, we'll just focus on a generic example of an opposed taskroll. Urfkgar and Tkagorth are both Zangali. They're both proud of their accomplishments and proclaim themselves strongestest basherer all time. They meet up at the Rockhopper for the first time in months and, after some good natured sparring and several broken tables, decide to settle their differences with an Arm Wresting Match. Let's look at the tale of the tape:

Urfkgar Height: 10' Weight: 600lbs Strength: Legendary (4) Scale: 2 Scale: 2 Hygiene: Foul Arm Wrestling: Great Tkagorth Height: 8' 6" Weight: 450lbs Strength: Superb (3) Scale: 2 Hygiene: Unmentionable Arm Wrestling: Superb

Anyway, from the above description, we can see that Urfkgar (or Urf to his friends) has the size advantage over Tkagorth (Tka to what friends he has). Both of them tend to radiate a distinct smell, so that doesn't really factor into the match. Tka, however, is the savvier arm wrestler, having honed his skills on Tomin Kora. The match would go something like this: Urfkgar rolls his Arm Wrestling with a 1 modifier due to being the stronger of the two. The result is Good (1). Not the best, but then again, Urfkgar is probably a bit rusty, having been off the Arm Wrestling circuit for a few years. Tkagorth then rolls his Arm Wrestling with a 0 modifier and scores a Legendary (4). Tkagorth's tactics pay off and he firmly puts Urf's hand through the table with authority, resulting in another broken table.

Let's dissect the situation. Generally, if everything else is equal, both characters will roll a standard, at 0, taskroll. In the above situation, Urfkgar is a little (1 point) stronger than Tkagorth. Since Arm Wrestling is a test of strength, albeit with some tactics thrown in, Urfkgar has a bit of an advantage over the smaller Zangali, so he rolls at a +1. Tkagorth then rolls at 0 and we have our results. Tkagorth bested Urfkgar by 3 levels, so the match was quick, dirty and clearly one sided. If the rolls had been closer, then it would have taken longer. If the rolls would have been even, they would have stalemated and had to roll again until a clear winner was decided.

So, opposed rolls consist of the following. Two characters in direct conflict, their appropriate skills, and any applicable modifiers. Modifiers are malleable and vary from situation to situation.

Unopposed Rolls
Unopposed rolls result from a character testing a skill or attribute against either an inanimate object, a willing animate object, or a similar task. For our example we'll stick with another contest between Urfkgar and Tkagorth. Urfkgar is understandably peeved that Tkagorth has won the arm wrestling match. Urf demands another, more traditional test of skill. In other words, Urf challenges Tka to a game of Throw Bar.

Throw Bar is a traditional Zangali game of skill, strength, and general abuse. The short version is one Zangali throws the other, then the other Zangali throws the thrower from where the thrower threw him. The original throwing spot is usually marked with a bar of some sort. Urf and Tka decide to use a broken table. This game would go something like this (Keep in mind the scores above for strength):

Urfkgar rolls his Strength with a -3 modifier (Tkagorth's Strength/Mass).

The result is a Superb (3). After crashing through two Demarians, a Timonae, and a rather surprised Castori, Tkagorth stands up and prepares for his throw. Urf, being a paragon of Zangali virtue, takes careful pains to make sure his spot is marked accurately before he lopes over to where Tka landed. Tkagorth then picks up Urfkgar and throws:

Tkagorth rolls his Strength with a -4 modifier (Urfkgar's Strength/Mass) and scores a Fair (0).

Tkagorth's throw is well short of Urf's leading Urf to celebrate and declare himself the bestestest basherer all time. Tka takes exception and they start brawling again.

Okay, dissection time again. First off, the throwing distance of each Zangali is determined by how strong he is versus the mass of the other Zangali. For Urf, throwing Tkagorth was a Superbly difficult feat, hence the -3 adjustment to the roll. For Tka, throwing Urf was a feat nothing less than Legendary. All unopposed taskrolls follow the same formula. A task is assigned a difficulty level depending on the complexity of it. Positive modifiers can be added if the task is sufficiently simple. Then, the characters appropriate skill or attribute is rolled with that modifier. Anything fair or above is a success. For situations like the above, anything over fair determined extra distance on the throw. For different rolls this could lead to different effects such as a computer hacker being able to cover his tracks more efficiently after breaking into a system, or a doctor being able to heal a patient quicker than was originally thought.

So, unopposed rolls consist of a character rolling his skill or attribute versus a difficulty level. The difficulty level is assigned according to the complexity of the task, or difficulty of the task. Any result of Fair or greater is a success, with a higher roll indicating additional benefits if applicable to the roll.