Rethinking Fudge Combat

Goals (or Why Muck With It)¶

• Something that is fast and easy (for players) during play. Setup (pre-calculating modifiers from skills/weapon characteristics) and GM complexity are less of a concern.

• Inject some “tactical” flavor and detail into combat. Call it graininess if you want. Many of the things introduced are covered in the main Fudge rules; my purpose is to bring them “out”, highlight them so the players “see” more of an effect.

• I always viewed losing 8 out of 43 hit points not as a small cut, but rather that you got a little more tired, used up some more of your luck, etc. Now that I’ve got rid of hit points I want to bring back the fatiguing aspect of combat.

• More mechanics that magic/gifts/skills can affect (in)directly, because I want items like a Feather Mace (superior speed), a sword that provides two opportunity rolls, or The Seeker that gets automatic opportunity. As opposed to sword +1, dagger +1, foobar +1. This is even more of a concern to me with Fudge, as +1 is a big bonus (or so I’ve read) and I like lots of weak but unique magic.

Assumptions and Beliefs¶

• There is more to weapons than just damage potential. Flails should “work around”/negate shields. Picks and maces should be the weapons of choice vs. knights encased in plate. Long weapons should give the wielder an advantage over someone without.

• Armor makes it harder to seriously damage the wearer. It does not make them harder to hit. It should probably make them easier to hit (sort of hard to deftly leap out of the way in plate).

• Combat is tiring. A combatant with good endurance should have an advantage; a malnourished soldier who just finished a forced march should collapse after a few swings no matter how skilled they are.

• I don’t really believe weapons vary that much in effect once they “get” you. No hit points is one of Fudge’s best features. (Of course, a dart in some part is nothing like a mace to the face.) But if you are stabbed in the gut with a knife, short sword or spear, you still have a serious wound.

• Combat is a lot of dancing around, maneuvering, bashing on shields. But once someone gets a wound it is rapidly over, often on that first hit. So two equal combatants will likely wear each other out before one of them delivers a serious wound, while a superior warrior will be stabbing lesser foes left and right, dispatching them with single blows.

Second Thoughts¶

When I came up with the idea for opportunity I thought it was the greatest idea; now I’m not so hot on it. I seem to be just shifting around where the abstraction goes. Instead of lumping skill/luck/opportunity into one combat to-hit/damage roll I’m splitting it out into a couple of rolls. Is there any benefit?

Unfinished notes:

• Staggered rolls

• 1-3 per round

• Opportunity

• To-hit