From: sos@oz.plymouth.edu (Steffan O'Sullivan)
Subject: FUDGE: Another Terminology Change
Reply-To: sos@oz.plymouth.edu (Steffan O'Sullivan)
Organization: Plymouth State College - Plymouth, N.H.
Date: Sat, 19 Dec 92 02:45:41 GMT

Here's a minor step in correcting the Damage/Scale/Hit Points problem
in FUDGE:  I changed the terminology.

I was never happy with "Hit Points," which is why I used Wound
Resistance in the first few drafts.  Hit points is a gygaxism that
doesn't really mean anything to me.

I found a better phrase than Wound Resistance, though, which sounds
like what GURPS calls Health to me (but was never what I intended it
as):  Damage Capacity.  The very first definition in my edition of the
OED says that capacity is the ability to take in or hold, and that's
the word I'm looking for: the ability to take wounds, and the measure
of it.

So here is an updated edition of just the relevent Sections:  

Damage Capacity (was Hit Points) from Section A, Character Creation; 

Objective Damage from Section B, Action Resolution, and 

Damage Capacity (was Hit Points) from Section B, Non-Human Scales.


Posting this doesn't mean I'm satisfied with the scaling as it stands:
I still think it needs work.  This is just a small step in the right
direction, I feel.

Also included is a Decker character - thanks, Acroyear!

----------------------------excerpts from FUDGE---------------

Version: December 18, 1992

**********************************************************************
LEGAL NOTICE: FUDGE is copyright 1992 by Steffan O'Sullivan.  It may
be freely copied and distributed by any means desired.  This legal
notice must be included with each copy of FUDGE.  No charge may be
made for FUDGE beyond a maximum US$5 fee (at 1992 rates) for materials
and shipping.

A publisher who wishes to include FUDGE in a book of copyrighted
source material or adventures may do so, so long as (1) the
publisher's copyrighted material is longer than FUDGE, (2) this legal
notice is included with FUDGE, (3) there is no extra charge for
including FUDGE in the book, and (4) no changes are made to the words
in Sections A through D of FUDGE.  (Sections E and F may be customized
freely; any references to Sections E and F may be inserted or deleted
as needed in Sections A through D.)

FUDGE was first published in 1992 on internet, and was written by
Steffan O'Sullivan (sos@oz.plymouth.edu) with valuable suggestions
from Martin Bergendahl, Thomas Brettinger, Robert Bridson, Paul Jason
Clegg, Peter F. Delaney, Jay Doane, Ed Heil, Bernard Hsiung, John H.
Kim, Bill Seurer, Andy Skinner, Stephan Szabo, and others on
rec.games.design on internet.

Groo the Wanderer (TM) is a trademark of Sergio Aragones, and use of
the name does not challenge the trademark status in any way.
**********************************************************************

A4.2-b  Damage Capacity
-----------------------

As outlined in Section B8.4, Damage, there is a five-tiered scale of
wounds in FUDGE: Scratched, Hurt, Very Hurt, Incapacitated and Near
Death.  Someone with Fair Damage Capacity (on the human scale) takes
damage in that order: the first hit is just a Scratch, the second
Hurts, etc.

The different levels of Damage Capacity take wounds as follows:

Terrible: Very Hurt, Incapacitated, Near Death
Poor: Hurt, Incapacitated, Near Death
Mediocre: Hurt, Very Hurt, Incapacitated, Near Death
Fair: Scratch, Hurt, Very Hurt, Incapacitated, Near Death
Good: Scratch, Hurt, Hurt, Very Hurt, Incapacitated, Near Death
Great: Scratch, Scratch, Hurt, Hurt, Very Hurt, Incapacitated, Near
   Death
Superb: Scratch, Scratch, Hurt, Hurt, Very Hurt, Very Hurt,
   Incapacitated, Near Death

That is, the first two wounds to a character with Great Damage
Capacity count as Scratches, and the next two wounds as Hurt, and so
on.

The player should write the character's wound progression on the
character sheet.

See Section B8.4, Damage, for details.  See also Section B9, Non-Human
Scales.  For a more cinematic campaign without magic or science
fiction healing, add an extra Scratch or two at the beginning of each
level.


B8.4-b  Objective Damage System
-------------------------------

This system quantifies damage more than the other, and is quite
mechanical.  Simply check down each step below, modifying the damage
done as you go.

Amount of damage done = relative degree by which the winner hit the
   loser.

(Example: if Lisa rolls a Great combat result and Joe only a Fair
result, Lisa has hit Joe for two points of damage.)

This is modified as follows:

For defender's armor:
    -1 for a good shield (additive with other armor).
    -1 for light armor.
    -2 for medium armor.
    -3 for heavy armor.
    -4 or more for SF advanced armor.

For attacker's muscle-powered weapon:
    -2 for no weapon, no Martial Art skill.
    -1 Martial Art skill at Fair or better, no weapon.
    -1 for small weapon (knife, etc.)
    +0 for average-sized weapon (sword, axe, spear, bow, etc.).
    +1 for large weapon (polearm, battleaxe, etc.).
    +1 for sharp weapon (additive with other weapon damage).

For attacker's Strength (muscle-powered weapons only):
    +0 for Fair, Mediocre or Good Strength.
    +1 for Great Strength
    +2 for Superb Strength
    -1 for Poor Strength
    -2 for Terrible Strength

For weapon's Strength (Guns, Crossbows, Beam weapons, etc.,):
    +/- Strength of weapon.

(Note to GM: guns and similar weapons that do not rely on muscle power
should be rated at the beginning of the game.  The average small hand
gun might be of +1 Strength, while a derringer might be +0 or even -1.
Powerful guns will be +4 and higher, while bazookas and other anti-
tank weapons will be +8 and higher.)

Each wound affects the character's Damage Capacity, as outlined in
Section A4.2-b, Damage Capacity.  Wounds are cumulative: that is, if a
character with Fair Damage Capacity receives one per turn, he is Hurt
on the second wound.  When the character takes enough hits to be Hurt,
he is at -1 level for all traits that would logically be affected by a
wound.  When he is Very Hurt, he is at -2 levels to all traits.

At Incapacitated, he's reeling, and may even be unconscious - roll a
Mediocre degree task against Constitution to stay conscious.  Even if
he passes the consciousness check, he still can't fight or do much
beyond drag himself along and gasp out messages.  A very lenient GM
might allow an Incapacitated character to perform such complicated
actions as opening a door or grabbing a gem . . .

When he falls to Near Death, he isn't quite dead yet, but he's
definitely no longer conscious.  He'll be Dead if left untended -
nobody recovers from Near Death on their own.  In fact, he'll die
pretty quickly: a few minutes at most.  Two more wounds while at Near
Death also means he's Dead.

Automatic Death: sometimes you don't have to roll the dice: holding a
knife to a helpless character's throat is a good example - no roll
needed to kill such a character.


B9  Non-human Scales
--------------------

B9.2  Damage Capacity
---------------------

Many characters and creatures can take damage far beyond what humans
can, while others cannot survive a small percentage of the damage we
can bandage and walk around with.

Damage Capacity can be handled in two ways: subjectively or
objectively.  It is already figured into the subjective damage system
as point number 5, so we need only examine the objective system.

The GM simply assigns a multiplier to determine how many wounds per
Damage Capacity stage someone/something has.  If the being is much
larger than a human, every stage of Damage Capacity might take 2, 3,
or even more human-scale hits to affect.  Conversely, 2, 3, or more
Wee Folk hits equals 1 human hit.

Damage is figured normally per the strength of the attacker, then
converted.  However, convert armor to the same scale as the lesser
creature - that is, rate both a human's armor and dragon's hide in
terms of human damage when in combat with each other, but rate a
human's armor in terms of a leprechaun's damage if in a fight with one
of the Wee Folk (generally a bad move, by the way).

Example: Wilbur, a human knight with a sword, is attacking a dragon.
Wilbur, has Great strength (for a human: +1 to damage) and is using a
large two-handed sword (+1 for size of weapon, +1 for sharpness = +2
to damage).  If he hits the dragon with a relative degree of +3, he
does 3+1+2 = 6 points of damage.  The dragon, however, has a very
tough hide that subtracts 2 points of damage on the human scale,
meaning 4 get through to wound her.  This would be a very severe blow
to a human (Incapacitated for a person with Fair Damage Capacity), but
the GM had decided in advance that this dragon is quite hearty: 5
human hits = 1 Dragon hit.  So it's not even a Scratch for the dragon.
Still, if Wilbur can do it again, the dragon will be Scratched next
turn, then at -1 to her own attacks the time after that (assuming she
has Fair Damage Capacity relative to dragons).  Hmm - he may need help
for a dragon this size!

Another example: Sheba, a human warrior, has just kicked McMurtree, a
wee leprechaun.  Sheba won with a relative degree of +1, her hard
boots and Unarmed Combat skill give her +0, and her strength +0, for a
final result of +1 damage.  However, McMurtree (who's wearing light
leprechaun armor: -1 damage) is one of the Wee Folk, and 3 leprechaun
hits = 1 human hit, so he takes 2 points of damage (1 human point,
converted to 3 leprechaun points, -1 for his armor).  Since his Damage
Capacity is Fair, he's now Hurt.  It would have taken leprechaun Heavy
armor (-3) to have stopped all the damage.

McMurtree's friend, Fionn, now swings his shillelagh at Sheba.  He
wins by +3, aiming at her knee.  +3 for the hit, +0 for his Strength
(Good, for a leprechaun) and +0 for the weapon result in +3 damage.
Unfortunately, Sheba's light armor, converted to Wee Folk scale, stops
exactly 3 points of damage.  Fionn and McMurtree had better think of
some other strategies, quickly!


E4.8  Screamer (Fredrick Grant); Occupation: Decker
---------------------------------------------------

(By: Stephan Szabo)

(GM limits: 7 attributes (3 free levels); 30 free skill levels,
w/maximum of 1 Superb, 4 Greats; 2 free gifts; Cybernetic enhancements
count as gifts, not supernormal powers.)

Attributes (3 free levels, 5 taken, balanced by fault):
     Body: Good                                        (1)
     Charisma: Poor                                    (-2)
     Intelligence: Superb                              (3)
     Quickness: Good                                   (1)
     Reaction: Great                                   (2)
     Strength: Fair                                    (0)
     Willpower: Fair                                   (0)
Skills (30 Free levels, 30 taken)
     Computer Build/Repair: Great                      (4)
     Computer Programming: Superb                      (5)
     Computer Theory: Great                            (4)
     Cycle: Fair                                       (2)
     Electronics: Great                                (4)
     Firearms: Great                                   (4)
     Matrix Etiquette: Good                            (3)
     Street Etiquette: Fair                            (2)
     Unarmed Combat: Fair                              (2)
Gifts/Faults: (2 free gifts, 6 taken, balanced by faults)
     Gift: Cybernetics, Datajack
     Gift: Cybernetics, Can multitask cognitive processes
     Gift: Cybernetics, Thermographic Vision
     Gift: Cybernetics, Flash Compensation
     Gift: Cybernetics, Telescopic Sight
     Gift: Lucky
     Fault: Bloodlust
     Fault: Doesn't care if he lives or dies
     Fault: Manic/Depressive
     Fault: Multiple Personality
     Fault: Overconfident

-- 
  - Steffan O'Sullivan		         sos@oz.plymouth.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.design