Fudge: Atlantis

Introduction

The setting we are using is based on the old Bard Games book "Atlantis: The Lost World." You should already has some background material photocopied from the book along with an email note giving you the setup for the game.

You don't need to buy a copy of the Fudge rules, but it would probably be helpful to refer to the free version of the rules available on the web. There is a two page "Fudge in a Nutshell" document here.

Or you can download a full version of an older version of the rules from links on this page.

We will be using a slightly expanded version of the Fudge scale. From best to worst, the scale runs:

  • Legendary
  • Superb
  • Great
  • Very Good
  • Good
  • Fair
  • Mediocre
  • Poor
  • Very Poor
  • Terrible

Character Creation

We will not be using attributes. Characters are defined using skill, gifts, and faults (and, of course, through play). The skills are moderately broad in terms of granularity and most skills default to Poor although some are easier and some are harder.

Magic is handled the same way as are other skills. Each spell counts as one skill which defaults to impossible (below Terrible on the scale). Spells are taken from the GURPS "Magic" and "Grimoire" books. More information on Magic follows.

Initially, you have 45 points to spend on skills (we may need to adjust this up a little after initial character generation is done). It is possible to increase that number by taking additional Faults.

Fudge Points

Players start with three fudge points and acquire one additional fudge point for every session. Additional fudge points may be awarded for exceptional roleplaying or for bringing tasty snacks. You can use a fudge point to change the results of a dice roll: from failure to success or from success to more impressive success. You can also use a fudge point to influence the story. For example, you could use a fudge point to make an NPC that you have been interacting with into a friend or to ensure that you show up in a scene at the point you prefer.

Skills

A good skill list can be found on Steffan O'Sullivan's website. Feel free to add additional skills that are approximately the same level of granularity.

Gifts and Faults

Characters start with one free gift and can add others at a cost of one fault for each added gift. Faults can also be used to gain six skill levels. There are good lists of gifts and faults at Steffan O'Sullivan's website. Feel free to add your own gifts and faults.

Combat

Combat takes place in simultaneous combat rounds. Rolls are generally opposed rolls; that is, both participants roll against their relevant skill. A roll of Poor is required to hit an opponent of the same size (and the opposed roll must be won). The relative degree of success defines the amount of damage. Characters may have gifts that adjust the amount of damage up or down, and situational modifiers may also affect damage.

Each character has a wound track that looks like this:

	1,2	  3,4	 5,6	     7,8             9+
	scratch	  hurt   very hurt   incapacitated   near death
	0 0 0	  0	 0	     0               0
The top row of numbers represents the final degree of success after all modifiers have been applied to the difference betweeen the winner and the loser in a combat round. The circles on the bottom row represent the number of wounds of that type that the character can take. When all wounds of a type are taken, future wounds of that type default to the next available wound type.

A character who is Hurt is at -1 to all actions. A character who is Very Hurt is at -2 to all actions. A character who is Incapacitated cannot attack and is -3 to other actions.

Magic

We will be using GURPS magic for this game. Mages require the gift of Magery which can be bought in multiple levels Each spell learned is a hard skill (defaults to Terrible). Spells can have prerequisites, and you cannot know a spell at a higher skill level than that spell's prerequisite spells. Spells may be taken from the GURPS "Magic" and "Grimoire" books. I have a copy of each.

Magic is fatiguing. Every level of Magery gives the mage three spell points. Each spell has a spell point cost. After a mage has used up his spell points, he is Fatigued and all actions are at -2. Spell points are recovered by resting at a rate of 1 point every 15 minutes.

In the larger society, powerful magic is rare but most people have had some encounters with minor magic such as charms.

Character Development

We will not be using any mechanics for character development. Instead, when a natural break in the narrative occurs, we will jointly decide how your character has improved.