- FUDGE Firearms -
Rules and suggestions for firearms handling
in FUDGE system
(C) Massimiliano "Max" Lambertini, December 1995
Fudge is (C) Steffan O' Sullivan 1992, 1993, 1995
8.0 - Copyright issues
++++++++++++++++++++++
- ABOUT FUDGE
FUDGE is a role-playing game written by Steffan O'Sullivan, with
extensive input from the Usenet community of rec.games.design. The
basic rules of FUDGE are available on the internet via anonymous
ftp at ftp.csua.berkeley.edu, and in book form or on disk from Grey
Ghost Games, P.O. Box 838, Randolph, MA 02368. They may be used
with any gaming genre. While an individual work derived from FUDGE
may specify certain attributes and skills, many more are possible
with FUDGE. Every Game Master using FUDGE is encouraged to add or
ignore any character traits. Anyone who wishes to distribute such
material for free may do so - merely include this ABOUT FUDGE
notice and disclaimer (complete with FUDGE copyright notice). If
you wish to charge a fee for such material, other than as an
article in a magazine or other periodical, you must first obtain a
royalty-free license from the author of FUDGE, Steffan O'Sullivan,
P.O. Box 465, Plymouth, NH 03264.
You must include at the beginning of each derivative work the
following disclaimer, completed with your name, in its entirety.
- DISCLAIMER
The following materials based on FUDGE, entitled FUDGE Firearms, are
created by Massimiliano Lambertini and made available by the FTP
site ftp.csua.berkeley.edu, and are not authorized or endorsed in
any way by Steffan O'Sullivan or any publisher of other FUDGE
materials. Neither Steffan O'Sullivan or any publisher of other
FUDGE material is in any way responsible for the content of these
materials. Original FUDGE materials (c) Copyright 1992-1995 Steffan
O'Sullivan, All Rights Reserved.
- AUTHOR'S COPYRIGHT AND DISCLAIMER
While you can distribute freely this material, the author,
Massimiliano Lambertini retains all copyright on this work. You may
not charge any fee for this material, or publish it in any way
(except distributing it in Internet), without a written permission
from the Author.
You can use and modify freely this material, provided that you, the
end user, give credits where is due.
- THE AUTHOR
Massimiliano "Max" Lambertini can be contacted at these Net addresses:
- lambermx@arci01.bo.cnr.it
- nof0125@iperbole.bologna.it
or
Max Lambertini
Via Stoppato, 12
40128 Bologna
Italy.
8.1 - Introduction
++++++++++++++++++
FUDGE is for sure one of the most interesting RPG available in the
RPG world. It's got a lot of good features: it's generic, it's
coherent, it's comprehensive, it can cover almost any possible
background and, last but not the least, it's free.
The basic FUDGE rules include, in the task resolution chapter, a combat
system that's both simple and flexible. But it's got one major flaw, in
my humble opinion...It does not cover firearm combat adequately.
Some people might groan and moan (as I did, since I'm developing a
sci-fi campaign using this system), but the philosophy behind FUDGE is
a simple and unforgiving one: "You're a good GM, and these are just the
core rules. So wake up, stop moaning and design your own firearms
handling system!"
and that's what I did....
This is by no means a "definitive" guide for firearms handling. It just
wants to be a good starting point to provide Fudge a good, easy and
reliable firearms handling system, useful for hi-tec scenarios and
backgrounds.
Note: Since this work comes from a person whose first language is NOT
English, please be indulgent.....:-)
8.11 Notes
---------
FUDGE Firearms relies firmly in the FUDGE mechanics, but some ideas
about the implementation of this system were drawn from some other
RPG's
I think some friends of mine - and I - were the only people to play a
strange, underrated SFRP from GDW, 2300AD. This is a SFRP who's got
some very good features, like a comprehensive combat system and a
simple, beautifully designed (and word-based, too!) task resolution
system.
Since FUDGE encourages borrowing good features from others RP, I did
the same thing, extracting the juice from 2300AD rules and embedding
them in a FUDGE context.
This system is open to editings and contributions. Have no fear, say
your word!
8.2 - Basic premises
++++++++++++++++++
FUDGE combat is centred around two basic concepts: the Superb...
Fair... Terrible scale and the Scale concept. The first concept
represents the "measure" system of almost everything covered in Fudge,
while the second one deals with physical features that are not in the
human norm.
FUDGE Firearms sets its foundation in these concepts, thus integrating
well in the FUDGE system.
8.21 Damage Capacity and Wounds level : extending the concepts
-------------------------------------------------------------
Damage Capacity is one of the most used attribute in Fudge. It measures
the hardiness of a game character. It is used to determine one's hit
points.
We can extend these concepts beyond the world of living things to the
world of all things. Hence, we can say that *everything* has its Damage
capacity attribute, and any obiects' physical condition can be
described using Wounds level.
Using this scale, we can say that a badly damaged - but still working -
car is Serious Wounded (although we can redefine the level terms to
better suit the situation). The same car with a simple surface damage
is a Grazed car.
Obviously we can use Mass Scale here, since different objects have
different masses. We can think of a German WWII Panzer as a Scale 11
Object, and we can say that a 10 cubic cm plastic box filled with water
is a Scale -11 object. (Scale 0 objects are, of course, objects with a
weight comparable to average humans'.)
8.22 Weapon characteristics
Every firearm has, at least, one attribute, NOT MEASURABLE with the
Superb..Terrible scale but represented by a decimal number :
Basic Damage.
This attribute is the average damage (measured in hit points) that can
be delivered by a given weapon on an average human, that is, a human
who has her Damage Capacity attribute set at Fair, with no armour.
Some firearms also have Scale. In this case, Basic Damage represents
the average damage that can be delivered to an object with a Scale
equal to the weapon's Scale.
8.221 Damage Modifiers
There are four damage modifiers that are used when calculating firearm
damage. These are the Armour modifier, the Damage Capacity modifier,
the Shot modifier and the Scale modifier.
- The first stands for the protection given by an armour.
- The second takes account of the Damage Capacity attribute. Higher
Damage Capacity means less damage; conversely, low Damage Capacity
means more damage.
- The third is the Damage Roll, that gives the quality of the shot.
- The last measures the Scale effect: bigger, tougher objects will be
less affected from a given amount of Damage than smaller, weaker
ones.
8.2211 - Armour Modifier
You must subtract from the Basic Damage the appropriate armour
value. The armour must take account of the appropriate scale.
8.2212 - Damage Capacity modifier
This is determined using this table.
Damage Capacity; Modifier
--------------------------------
Superb; -2
Great; -1
Good; -1
Fair; 0
Mediocre; +1
Poor; +1
Terrible +2
You can see how a Poor or Terrible Damage Capacity actually
results in a higher damage inflicted to the target.
8.2213 - Shot modifier
Roll the dice, and check for the outcome on the following
table...Round any fractions DOWN.
Roll Modifier
------------------------
+4; +50% Basic Damage (or Critical)
+3; +25% " "
+2; +25% " "
+1; No modifier
0; No modifier
-1; No modifier
-2; -25% Basic Damage
-3; -25% " "
-4; -50% Basic Damage (or Critical roll)
This modifier measures the sheer "quality" of the shot; a good
placed shot makes more damage than a scratch shot.
8.2214 - Scale modifier
The scale of a weapon reflects itself in making damage. Higher
scale weapons tends to make more damage on lower scale objects.
The scale represented here is the "Relative Scale" and it is
the difference between the target's Scale and the weapon's
Scale. (Humans, as usual, have Scale 0);
Rel. Scale -15 -14 -13 -12 -11 -10 -9 -8 -7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0
--------------------------------------------------------------
Modifier +30 +27 +24 +21 +18 +15 +13 +11 +9 +7 +5 +4 +3 +2 +1 0
Rel. Scale +15 +14 +13 +12 +11 +10 +9 +8 +7 +6 +5 +4 +3 +2 +1 0
--------------------------------------------------------------
Modifier -30 -27 -24 -21 -18 -15 -13 -11 -9 -7 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0
8.222 Basic Example
Bazookas are used to destroy tanks. We can think of a tank as a
Scale 11 Object. Let's say that the average Tank has a Damage
Capacity of Fair, although Good or even Great would be more
appropriate. This means that its Wound Levels are:
Scratch Wound Serious Incapacitated Near Death Dead
2 2 2 2 2 2
It takes 12 (Scale 11) Hit Points to destroy an average tank. Hence
our bazooka has a maximum Basic Damage of 12-15. A realistic Basic
Damage of 9 could be a good starting point for our bazooka. So we
shall write:
Bazooka:
BD : 9
Scale : 11
When used on simple, average humans our bazooka will make this
damage (not including target modifiers or roll modifiers):
BD : +9
Scale mod (-10) : +18
-----_
+27
And we're not counting any damage roll or Damage Capacity
attribute! In fact, a direct bazooka shot will blow *any* human
into smithereens. We also note that Damage Capacity modifier and
Shot modifier pale in comparison to Scale modifier. The lowest Shot
modifier is -4 (the worst shot possible) and the maximum damage
that a Superb Damage Capacity can save is -3.
So, our human target, given a Damage Capacity of Superb, given the
worst shot possible, would only get...20 hp of damage, enough to
kill him almost twice! (a character that hurt will surely need a
companion with a teaspoon to pick up his scattered remains....)
Using this system, normal humans would not survive direct hits from
such weapons. In real world, humans do not usually survive bazooka
hits, although some generous GM could find a way for the character to
pull itself out of trouble, or have him crippled but alive, and so
on...
8.3. Explosives and explosions
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
We can think of explosives as a different kind of firearms, and thus
apply to them Basic Damage and Scale. To reflect, however, their
peculiarity, we must introduce some new quantities: Concussion,
Concussion Value and Concussion range.
8.31 Explosive Characteristics
------------------------------
Concussion damage is the damage inflicted by the sudden moving of large
air masses, caused by the explosion. The more an object is near to the
explosion point, the more damage will take. This type of damage is
different from Basic Damage, since Basic Damage comes from direct
contact with the detonating agent.
Concussion's basic range is Concussion Range. This range affects the
Concussion damage value in this way:
---------------- CD = Concussion Damage
CR/2; CD*2 CR = Concussion Range
CR; CD
CR*2; CD/2
CR*3; CD/4
CR*4; CD/8
CR*5; CD/16
And so on...
- Example : A dynamite stick with a Concussion Value of 12, Scale 2,
and Concussion Range = 5 metres, causes double damage if the victim
is nearer than 2.5 metres. The damage is halved if the victim is in
5..10 metres range, and is divided by four if the victim is in the
10..15 metres range.
Concussion Value measures the likelihood of Concussion Damage. Unlike
Basic Damage, Scale and Concussion, it is a quantity represented by the
Superb...Terrible scale. The higher its value, the higher is the
chance to be hurt by the airwaves created by the explosion. Concussion
is usually twice the Basic Damage of a given explosive.
Most explosions produce fragmentation, and all explosions who do so
have a burst radius. All characters within this radius must make a
Situational Roll of Good or better to avoid taking a fragmentation
damage of 4 Wounds (all Damage Capacity modifiers apply here). All
character within twice this radius must make a Situational Roll of
Mediocre of better to avoid taking half fragmentation damage (2 Wounds)
8.32 Explosive effects
----------------------
Tamping: this is the procedure which enables explosive user to direct
explosions' force. This effect can be obtained by placing some heavy
material which contain this force and directs it to the desired
direction. Tamping explosions properly requires an Explosives roll of
Fair or better.
Tamped explosions have half Concussion, normal Fragmentation and twice
Basic Damage.
Breaching barriers: these are breached by blowing a hole in them.
Demolition charges are used to open breach in walls, armoured veichles,
starship hulls, and so on...
The size of the breach depends from many factors: The explosive's
power, the barrier's hardness, and so on.
Most GMs will evaluate the size of the breach on the fly, since they
have enough data to do this. GMs who are fond of hyper-realistic
roleplay style, however, will usually resort to a math formula. Here is
a sample way to find the breach's size.
1) Subtract the barrier's Scale from the explosive's Scale.
2) Add the explosive's Basic Damage
3) Roll the dice and apply the following modifier and add the
result.
4) Subtract the barrier's Wounds to the overall result.
If the result is greater than zero, the barrier is breached: the
greater the result, the wider will be the breach. If the result is
zero, the barrier is about to breach, and further actions will surely
blow the way for the party. If the result is lower than zero, the
barrier is not breached, and the result's absolute value will tell the
party whether the wall is damage or just scratched.
EXAMPLE: An Eurasian storming party is assaulting an alien
stronghold. They have a powerful Scale 10 explosive, with a BD of
8, a concussion damage of 16 and a Concussion range of 5 metres.
Since the walls look very sturdy, (Scale 12, 15 Wounds) the party
tries to tamp the explosion by using a precedently dug hole and
some rocks found here and there. The party manages to damp the
explosion (the chosen soldier rolls a Good using his Explosives
skill).
Now the party tries to set up the timer. The GM dictates that this
action contains a certain degree of uncertainity, so, after the
party has rolled its Explosives roll to set up the timer right, he
rolls the dice to check wheter the party has REALLY done its job
right. The GM sets the threshold level to Mediocre or better.
Unfortunately, the GM rolls a Poor. This is bad, but not critical,
so the GM dictates that the charge detonates just before the party
manages to take cover and it is slightly less than 20 metres from
the wall.
The party's Situational Roll is +2, so the charge has been placed
very good. so the wall takes the following damage:
1) 10 - 12 = -2;
2) -2 + (8*2) = 14
3) 14+2 = 16
4) 16-15 = 1
The result is positive, so the wall is breached. Since the result
is just 1, this means (GM Decision) that a breach wide enough to
let a single person pass through.
The party has succeeded in breaching the wall, but now it has to
face the concussion and fragmentation damage... Since the party is
about 20 metres from the wall it takes only one eight of Concussion
damage, which is still 2 Wounds...
Note: don't forget to add the Damage Capacity (see 2.212) modifier
when computing total explosion damage!
8.4. Covers
+++++++++++
A character is considered "covered" when:
1: he is ducked.
2: The whole or part of his body is hidden by some sort of solid
protection, as a wall, or a tree, and so on.
Ducking may be considered as a cover, since ducked characters are very
difficult to hit (-1, or even a -2 penalty to the appropriate skill
roll when hitting a ducked character).
Ducked characters are less affected from concussion, since a lesser
part of their body is exposed to it. To reflect this, ducked characters
receive half the concussion damage, (provided they duck in time....)
A character may be fully covered or partially covered. Fully covered
means that he is totally covered by some sort of static protection. He
cannot be hit directly by a firearm, or he is not affected by
concussion directly.
When a character is fully covered, he takes little or no damage from
firearms (he may be hit only indirectly) and concussion. If the cover
is weak, however, bullets might make a hole in it or concussion might
blow it away.... (A H-Bomb would certainly blow away any concrete walls
in a kilometre radius...)
A fully covered character usually takes no damage from firearms, except
1) he is hit from indirect fire.
2) The opponent uses a weapon that can cause a breach in the
cover...
He also takes no damage from concussion, provided he is safely distant
from the explosion point. If he is sufficiently near the explosion
point, however, he will take half concussion damage.
A character is considered partially covered when only parts of his body
are hidden by some protection.
A partially covered character usually receives half concussion damage,
unless he is very near to the explosion point.
A partially covered character is more difficult to hit: a penalty di -1
or -2 to the appropriate Firearms skill might be required.
8.5. Miscellanea
++++++++++++++++
This section contains rules that are not strictly related to firearms
issues, but can be used in a more general context. For instance, the
rules explained in section 8.51, Hit locations and crippling, may be
used with low technology weapons and melee combat, while almost any
action might benefit from the timing rule described in the section
8.52, Timing the actions.
8.51 Hit locations and crippling
---------------------------------
To add a little realism to firearm fighting, it might be useful to add
the possibility to focus hits to single body parts. So a character
might receive only 4-5 pts of damage (out of 12), but being crippled.
Two method are hereby explained. The first relies on a simple die
roll, leaving all to chance; the second introduces penalties for
hitting a single body part.
NOTE: these tables must be used with human characters. Animals or alien
characters might require different tables.
8.511 Hit locations table
Method 1: Method 2:
Body Part Die Roll Level required
------------------------------------------------
Head +4 Good
Eye +3 Great
Heart +2 Great
Neck +1 Great
Torso 0 Mediocre
Right arm -1 Fair (Hand : Great)
Left arm -2 Fair " "
Right leg -3 Fair
Left leg -4 Fair
8.512 Damage multipliers & crippling table
Body part Damage Cripple at...
--------------------------------------------------
Head 1.5 10 Hit / 15
Eye 1.5 4 / 6
Heart Double N/A
Neck 1.5 N/A
Torso Normal N/A
Right arm " 6 / 9
Left arm " 6 / 9
Right leg " 6 / 9
Left leg " 6 / 9
The Damage column contains the damage multiplier for each single body
part.
The "Cripple at..." column is the number of Wounds point required *per
single blow* to cut out the given body part. The second number is the
cumulative number of Wounds required to cut out the given body part.
EXAMPLE: Vaclav and Hubert, the valiant Eurasian soldiers, are facing
two aliens. Since the latter are almost humanoid in shape and
resistance, we can use the tables above.
Using his blaster set to maximum, Vaclav aims to a leg, hits and scores
6 Wounds, the maximum his weapon can deliver. This means that his
blaster severed the alien's leg.
Hubert hits a leg, too, but he only inflicts 5 Wounds. This means he
did not cripple the alien, although it is now Seriously Wounded.
Second Round. the first alien has swooned (he's just lost a leg...), so
Hubert and Vaclav can attack the last alien left. The first delivers 3
Wounds, while the second delivers 2 Wounds. They chose to hit the same
leg. Since more than 9 Wound have been inflicted on the same leg, this
is now destroyed and the second alien is permanently crippled.
8.52 Range & Speed damage modifiers
-----------------------------------
This optional rule may be used when you have to translate the
difficulty to hit a far, moving target into Difficulty level. It also
includes some environmental modifiers (It's more difficult to hit
someone with a rifle when you're in the fog, isn't it?)
8.521 Range & Speed (and environment) modifiers
-----------------------------------------------
- Distance > 10 mt; -1
- Distance in 10..50 mt; -2
- Distance in 50..200 mt; -3
- Distance > 200 mt; -4
- Target is walking; 0
- Target is running (<40 kmh); -1
- Target is on a motorcycle; -2
- Target is on a plane/helicopter; -3
- It is night w/moon; -1
- It is night; -2
- It is pitch black; -3
- It is foggy; -1 or -2
- Attacker has an advanced
aiming device; +1
- Attacker has an infrared
aiming device; +1, +2 when dark
- Attacker has a laser pointing
device; +2 when distance < 10 mt.
8.53 Timing the actions
-----------------------
This section presents you two rules to help the GM determine the length
of a single Action.
First, the master must determine the average length of a single action.
This can be done on the fly or the GM may prepare a directory of tasks
just before the game. The length of a single action may be measured in
minutes, seconds or even hours.
Then, when a character performs an action, the GM must roll the dice
and check the outcome using the table below.
8.531 Time determination table
Result Outcome
------------------------
+4 Avg.Time / 4
+3 Avg.Time / 3
+2 Avg.Time / 2
+1 Avg.Time
0 Avg.Time
-1 Avg.Time
-2 Avg.Time * 2
-3 Avg.Time * 3
-4 Avg.Time * 4
A GM might declare an Action as Absolute, that is, this action takes no
or little time. In this case, the 8.531 table must not be used.
[END FUDGE FIREARMS]