7  Addenda
==========

The Addenda consist of a variety of supplementary material for FUDGE.

Chapters 2 through 5 represent plain, vanilla FUDGE - here you can
find and create fancier fare.  If you pass FUDGE around, please add
any customization to this chapter (quoting Section number and name,
such as 2.33, Gifts), rather than change the original. Suggestions for
a specific genre also go in the Addenda.  Examples: a list of sample
superpowers, or a list of guns and their damage.

Please include a date and credit (your name) for the change, and, if
possible, notify Steffan O'Sullivan, the original author of FUDGE, via
the Internet (to sos@oz.plymouth.edu) or via the Post Office (c/o Wild
Mule Games, P.O. Box 838, Randolph, MA 02368).

7.1  Sample Magic System: FUDGE Magic
-------------------------------------

Date: November, 1992 to November, 1993
By: Steffan O'Sullivan

Here is a sample magic system, based on the following premises
mentioned in Section 3.5, Magic:

Who can cast: Magicians only (supernormal power needed).
Levels of Power: yes.  There are two game effects: the greater the
   power, the easier it is to cast more powerful spells; and power
   levels act as a reserve in case of severe failure, which
   temporarily drains Power.  Voluntarily draining a level of Power
   can also guarantee success for one spell.
Source of Power: manipulation of local area mana.
Reliability: Fair.
Time to cast spells: depends on potency of spell (one minute to days).
   This can be speeded up by taking a penalty to the roll.
Spells: improvised.  Exact wording isn't important, so magic books
   tend to be collections of effects, not formulae.
Material Components: none needed, but good use can give a +1 bonus to
   skill.
Drawbacks: casting non-trivial spells is fatiguing; severe failure
   causes distress.
Societal constraints: none - magic is rare, but not unheard of.

This system is based on the conviction that a *player* using magic
should never be blase: there should always be some tension and
excitement when a character casts a spell, or the magic has gone out
of the game.  Too often in a roleplaying game, the player running a
magician uses tried-and-true spells so regularly that spell-casting
becomes mundane.  Since "mundane magic" seems a contradiction in
terms, FUDGE Magic attempts to instill a little excitement into spell-
casting.

There are many ways to achieve this.  FUDGE Magic has chosen the
following limitations:

1) The mana available for a specific spell result gradually becomes
   depleted in a given area.  That is, casting two fireballs in a row
   is harder than casting one fireball and one lightning blast, for
   example.

2) Magic is an untamable force; there is a skill cap for casting
   spells.

3) Magic is somewhat risky to use - there are penalties for severe
   failure.

Options are provided to alter these limitations, for any GMs who
disagree with them.  In fact, Section 7.193, Spell-Casting Skill
Alternatives, is essential for Faerie races and demigods, who have
much more dependable magic powers than humans.  (However, such
characters would have to buy it normally if using the Objective
Character Creation system, unless the GM is very generous.  Taking
some faults to balance such Powers is quite in keeping with the nature
of demigods and Faerie races.)

See Section 6.31 for sample characters using FUDGE Magic.

7.11  Magic Potential
---------------------

Magic Potential is a Supernormal Power.  (A suggested cost in the
Objective Character Creation system is two gifts for each level of
Magic Potential.  This can be reduced in a magic-rich campaign.)  A
character with at least one level of Magic Potential (usually
abbreviated to Potential, sometimes simply called Power) is referred
to as a "magician" in these rules - substitute your favorite word.
Only magicians may cast spells.  (However, see Section 7.192,
Magicians & Non-Magicians, for other options.)  Magic Potential may be
taken more than once, but each level counts as a separate supernormal
power.

Each level of Magic Potential must be bought as a specialization.
Specializations can be suggested by the player or set by the GM.  (In
the latter case, she should make a list of acceptable magic
specializations.)  The categories can be as broad or as narrow as the
GM wishes - the broader the terms, the more powerful the magicians.

Examples of specialized Potential: Alter Inanimate Material, Augury,
Combat Magic, Communication Magic, Defensive Magic, Elemental Magic,
Flying Magic, Healing Magic, Illusion, Information-Gathering Magic,
Mind Control, Necromancy, Only Affects Living Beings, Only Affects
Sentient Beings, Only Affects Technological Items, Shapeshifting,
White Magic (cannot harm anyone, even indirectly), etc.

A character may have Power levels in more than one specialization,
unless the GM disallows it for some reason.  Certain disciplines may
have societal constraints: in most cultures, studying Necromancy is
offensive and probably illegal.  Mind Control, Invisibility,
Teleportation, Illusion Magic, etc., might all be limited to
government-approved magicians, at best.  It's even possible that such
magicians will be outlaws.  Anything that can be used easily to commit
a crime (especially assassination or thievery) will be difficult, if
not impossible, to learn openly in most cultures.  If a given culture
allows such magic openly, it is sure to have powerful defenses against
being damaged by it.

Very narrow specializations should probably cost less than one
supernormal power: perhaps each very specialized Potential is worth
one gift.

In order to cast a spell of a given result, the magician *must* have
at least +1 Potential specialized in that type of magic (on the
character sheet, that is: he may be temporarily reduced to 0
Potential).  Someone with +1 Potential: Combat Magic and +2 Potential:
Information-Gathering Magic could not cast a spell to control
someone's mind, for example.

Failing a spell miserably causes the temporary loss of a level of
Magic Potential (see Section 7.15, Resolution).  When this happens,
the magician faints for at least one combat round.  He needs a Good
Constitution roll to wake up (roll each round).  When he comes to, the
magician may function normally, even attempting to cast the same spell
again - *if* he hasn't dropped below 0 Potential.

If a magician has two or more types of Potential that are appropriate
for the spell being cast, and a loss of Potential is called for, the
GMype of Potential is reduced.  For example, if a
magician has one level of Combat Magic and two levels of Fire Magic,
and fails miserably on a fireball spell, the GM could say that he has
lost either his one level of Combat Magic or one of his Fire Magic
levels, but not one of each.

If a magician drops to -1 Potential in *any* given specialty, he
immediately falls into a coma, lasting anywhere from an hour to a day
(GM's decision).  When he wakes, he must roll against his
Constitution: on a Mediocre or worse roll, he takes a point of damage.
He checks Constitution again at the end of every day he is *active* -
a failed result means another point of damage.  These wounds *cannot*
be healed until he recharges his Magic Potential back up to level 0.

A magician with 0 Potential may still cast spells; a magician at -1
Magic Potential, however, cannot attempt any magic spells that would
involve that specialty.  He *may* still cast spells of another
specialty.  For example, a magician who falls to -1 Encyclopedic Magic
can no longer cast a spell that allows him to open his blank book and
read the encyclopedia entry on a specified topic that would magically
appear.  But he *can* still cast spells using his Animal Empathy
Magic, allowing him to call and converse with wild animals, provided
that Potential is still 0 or greater.  He must still make a
Constitution check for every day he his active, however, to see if his
-1 Encyclopedic Magic Potential is causing him wounds.

Magic Potential may be recharged *only* by resting for one week per
level.  (GMs may alter this time to taste, of course: resting for one
day might be sufficient for more epic campaigns.)  For example, a
magician falls to -1 Potential.  Resting one week will bring him up to
0 Potential (and cure any wounds incurred by being active while at -1
Potential).  A second week of rest will bring him up to +1 Potential.

However, no character may gain Magic Potential levels beyond his
starting level (except through Character Development - see Chapter 5).

7.12  Spells
------------

When a magician wishes to cast a spell, he describes the result he has
in mind.  The GM assesses how powerful such an effect would be, based
on how prevalent magic is in her campaign.  In a low-magic campaign,
even a simple spell such as levitating the jail keys to an imprisoned
character would be taxing.  In a high-magic campaign, however, that
would be a trivial spell, and even shooting forth a flash of lightning
from a fingertip wouldn't be out of the ordinary.

The potency of the spell also depends on the magician's appropriate
Power level.  A recommended medium is three levels of Power in a given
specialization.  This means a magician with three levels of Power
governing the spell in question has no modifier.  (Note that the
levels of Power in question do not have to be all of the same
specialization so long as they all govern the spell in question.  For
example, a spell to make a sword fly up and attack a foe could be
governed by Flying Magic, Combat Magic, and Control Inanimate
Material.  If a mage had one level of each of those types of magic,
the spell would be of average potency for him.)  A spell is more
difficult for a magician with less than three levels of an appropriate
Power.  Likewise, a magician with four or more appropriate Power
levels treats a spell as more trivial than it would be for an average
magician.

Spells may then be either Trivial, Average, or Potent.  (They may also
be Very Trivial, or Very Potent, if the GM wishes.  In fact, the
players will undoubtedly propose truly awesome spells, which should be
labelled as Extraordinarily Potent, or with some other impressive
adjective.)  The GM tells the player what the potency of a proposed
spell is - any magician character would have a fairly good idea of a
spell's potency.

The spell's potency determines the Difficulty level.  A spell of
average potency has a Fair Difficultly level, while a Potent spell has
a Difficulty level of at least Good.  Likewise, a Trivial spell has a
Difficulty level of Mediocre or Poor.

The GM also decides the duration of the spell, if it succeeds -
seconds, minutes, hours, days, etc.  The character may try to adjust
this, subject to GM approval.  For example, the magician can
voluntarily take more fatigue or reduce the scope of the effect - or
accept some other penalty - to lengthen the spell's duration.  Rolling
a higher relative degree can also mean the spell lasts longer.  Some
spells might have permanent effects: healing (until wounded again),
busting a hole in a wall (until repaired manually or by magic),
teleporting to a distant place (until you come back), and so on.  Of
course, even these spell effects may be temporary in a given GM's
world: healing only lasts a day and the wound reappears, or a hole in
the wall fixes itself after a few minutes, or a teleported person
automatically returns after an hour in the other location . . .

The GM also needs to determine if there are any drawbacks to casting a
spell.  FUDGE Magic assumes that spells are tiring to cast, and a
magician reduces his Fatigue attribute when casting.  The more potent
the spell, the more the fatigue.  (Fatigue is regained by resting, of
course.  If Fatigue goes below Terrible, the character passes out.
The GM may have separate Fatigue attribute, or base it on Endurance,
Constitution, Strength, etc.)

A GM who dislikes the idea of keeping track of fatigue can change the
drawback to something else.  Perhaps a magician has a limited number
of spells he can cast in a day (or in an hour).  In this case, he may
have a Spell Point attribute, which is drained by spell casting and
regained simply by the passage of time.  (A trivial spell might not
drain any Spell Point levels, while an average spell might drop a
magician from Good Spell Points to Fair, for example, and more potent
spells drain 2 or more levels at a time.)  Draining spell points would
not necessarily make the magician tired in this case, and Spell Points
would regenerate whether the magician was resting or not.  (Or they
might only regenerate with sleep.)  Or maybe each spell affects his
Sanity attribute, and he needs to convalesce to restore it.  (Reduced
Sanity can manifest in many amusing ways in the meantime, of course!)

7.13  Mana
----------

Mana is an energy source capable of manipulating matter, time and
space.  It can be tapped only by those with Magic Potential.

The GM determines the availability and density of mana in a given game
world, just as she does the average potency of a spell.  Mana density
can affect two things: how large an area is needed to fuel a given
spell effect, and (optionally), how easy or hard it is to cast a
spell.

When a spell of a particular effect is cast, the magician draws a
specific type of mana to him to create the effect.  The next time this
same effect is desired, it will be harder to do: he has drained some
of that mana type in the local area.

The size of the area is defined by the GM.  For most fantasy worlds,
assume it's about 50 yards or meters in diameter.  In a low-level
magic campaign, the area might be the size of town or even city.
(This would give meaning to the old line, "This town ain't big enough
for both of us" - dueling wizards!)  On the other hand, a high-level
magic campaign might be so mana-rich that the magician can simply take
a step or two and be in a new area.  Note that the *area* governs
which spells can be cast without penalty: if one magician casts a
healing spell, a second magician will be at -1 to cast a healing spell
in the same area within the next 24 hours.  (Mana may recharge at a
different rate in a given game world, of course.)  Note also that a
magician may be unaware of what spells were cast in an area before he
arrived . . .

In a mana-rich area, spells may also be easier to cast: +1 or +2 to
skill level.  Likewise, in a mana-poor area, spells can be harder to
cast: -1 or more.  The GM decides if this rule is in effect.

Mana is probably very dispersed and weak in a world such as modern
Earth.  The average fantasy game world will have much stronger mana,
and somly reek of mana.  But even in a
given world, it is possible to vary the amount of mana.  Some lands
may be mana-rich, while neighboring countries are mana-poor.  Mana may
flow in currents, or tides with the phases of the moon.  There may be
"rogue" mana streams that change course and invade new areas, or a
mana drought may afflict a given locale.  Astrological alignments can
affect mana, too - thus even here on mana-poor Earth there will be
places and times of the year when cultist gather to call forth unseen
powers . . .

A PC magician would know the general mana level for at least his home
area.  He may or may not know whether it fluctuates periodically, or
if far lands have different mana levels.  In order to determine the
mana level of the local area at a given time, a magician must cast a
spell specifically to that end.

7.14  Skill
-----------

Spell-casting is a skill that must be learned.  The default is Non-
Existent, and, due to the element of uncertainty in FUDGE Magic
(mentioned in Section 7.1, FUDGE Magic), the maximum base skill level
is Fair.  This cannot be raised permanently - but see Section 7.193,
Spell-Casting Skill Alternatives.

One generic Spell-Casting skill is assumed, but the GM may require
more if she breaks magic down into different types.  It should cost
one level just to get a Spell-Casting skill at Terrible.

Spell-casting skill may be modified (to a maximum of Great) by the
following:

Taking an average time to cast a spell: +0.  (Note: the GM assesses
   the average time for any given spell proposed.  Potent spells might
   take all day, or even longer, while Trivial ones might take one to
   five minutes.)
Taking a long time to cast a spell carefully: +1.  (Relative to each
   spell, of course.  For a Trivial spell, this might mean taking a
   half an hour or more.)
Casting a spell much more quickly than normal: -1.  (For a Trivial
   spell, this could mean as quickly as one combat round of
   concentration.)

Using normal effort to cast a spell: +0.
Using extra effort to cast a spell (more fatigue than normal, or
   counts as two spells cast if there is a limit per day, or reduces
   Sanity more than normal, etc.): +1 or +2.
Using less effort than normal to cast a spell: -1 or more.  (Reduced
   fatigue, or it only counts as half a spell against a daily limit,
   etc.)

First spell-casting of a particular effect in a given area within 24
   hours: +0.  (See Section 7.13, Mana, for the size of an area.)
Additional spell-castings of a particular effect in a given area
   within 24 hours: -1 per casting.

For using authentic magic formulae: +1.  (The Law of Contagion or the
   Law of Similarity, for example - see James Frazer's classic
   anthropological study, *The Golden Bough*.  Both Laws require some
   physical component: a feather to cast a flight spell, a piece of
   the subject's hair to heal or hurt her, a drop of water that
   becomes a water jet, a stick that becomes a staff, a bearskin to
   change the magician into a bear, etc.  Drafting the spell in
   poetical form might also earn +1 level, if the GM is willing.)

Multiple magicians casting a spell that they have *all* tried before:
   +1 (for 2 to X magicians) or +2 (for more than X magicians).  (X is
   set by the GM, anywhere from two to ten, or even more for low-magic
   campaigns.  One magician is assumed to be the primary caster: roll
   only once against his skill.)

Mana-rich area: +1 or +2 (optional).
Normal mana area: +0
Mana-poor area: -1 or more (optional).

Other modifiers may also apply, such as in a spell to search the
   mountains magically for someone you love (+1) or searching for
   someone you've never met (-1).

7.15  Resolution
----------------

Each spell is then resolved as an Unopposed action: the Difficulty
level is dependent on the spell potency.  Spells of average potency
have a Difficulty level of Fair, while more trivial spells have
difficultly levels of Mediocre or Poor.  (No spell has a Difficulty
level of Terrible - magic just doesn't work at that level.)  More
potent spells have Difficultly levels of Good to Superb, or even
beyond Superb if a truly powerful effect is desired.

If the magician *surpasses* the Difficulty level, the spell occurs as
he described it.  The better the relative degree, the better the
result.  The magician suffers -1 (or more) to his Fatigue attribute
*if* the GM deems the spell is fatiguing.  (If the GM has chosen some
other drawback, of course, that is applied instead.)

Sometimes a skill roll is then needed to *do* something with the end
result of a spell.  For example, a fireball needs to be thrown
accurately: use the Throwing Skill and Ranged Weapon rules in Chapter
4.

If the magician *equals* the Difficulty level, then a watered-down
version of the spell occurs.  Either it will have a very short
duration, or reduced potency, or there is a time lag before the spell
takes effect, etc.  There may be an unexpected side effect, though it
won't be harmful to the magician.  There is no penalty for the
magician beyond a possible -1 or -2 to Fatigue, at worst.

If the magician rolls *below* the Difficulty level, however, he is
adversely affected.  The energy inherent in mana lashes out at the
magician's psyche instead of being focused as desired.  There may (or
may not) be some visible magical effect, but it will *not* be the
desired effect, and, if he rolled poorly enough, it may even be
inimical to the magician's goals - or health . . .

On a failed roll, the magician is stunned for one combat round (no
actions or defense) and takes at least -1 Fatigue.  A Terrible result
always fails.

If he rolls a result of -4, the spell automatically fails (no matter
what the resulting level) *and* he also temporarily drains one level
of his Magic Potential - see Section 7.11, Magic Potential, for
effects.  (This is the "riskiness" of magic mentioned in Section 7.1,
FUDGE Magic.)

Examples: Barney casts a spell, Create Pizza, of Average potency in a
normal mana area and gets -3: a Terrible result.  The spell fails and
Barney is stunned for a combat round, but he does *not* drain a level
of Magic Potential because he did not roll a -4.  Later, in a mana-
rich area (+1 to cast), Barney takes a long time (+1) to cast Detect
Food, a very Trivial spell (Poor result or better needed for success).
He has temporarily raised his skill to Great, the maximum allowed.  He
rolls a -4 result, which is a Poor rolled result.  Although the rolled
degree is good enough to cast the spell, Barney still fails because he
rolled a -4 result.  Barney not only doesn't detect any food, he also
exhausts 1 level of Magic Potential - ouch!

7.16  Personal Magic Resistance
-------------------------------

If the spell is one which attempts to Control another being - either
mentally, physically or spiritually - Opposed action rolls are *also*
called for.  First, the magician casts the spell (as above); then he
has to overcome the Personal Magic Resistance of the subject.  Magic
Resistance may be an attribute or gift (Willpower is a good choice, if
there is no specific anti-magic trait), as the GM desires.  Magic
Resistance may even be a different attribute for different types of
spells (a mental attribute for attempts to control the mind, etc.).
Note that this second roll is Opposed - the subject of the spell gets
a chance to resist it, and so can influence the result.

If the GM is willing, the magician may use the result he just *rolled*
as his skill level for the Opposed action.  That is, if he rolled a
Great result on the spell, he rolls the Opposed action as if his skill
were Great. Otherwise, he uses the same level he rolled initially
against.

"Control" can mean many things to different GMs.  Personal Magic
Resistance would resist an attempt to read someone's mind to one GM,
but not to another.  Magic Resistance does *not* resist any spell that
calls or creates physical energy to lash out at another being, though.
If the magician successfully creates lightning at his fingertips to
blast at the subject, that is not resisted by Personal Resistance; it
is treated as a physical weapon.

7.17  Certain Spell-Casting
-----------

Sometimes a magician desperately needs a certain result.  In this
case, he may opt not to roll the dice at all, and simply drain one
level of Magic Potential for a guaranteed success.  He takes the usual
penalties for losing a level of Potential - see Section 7.11, Magic
Potential.  This means he'll faint - be unconscious - after casting
the spell, which limits the utility for certain spells.  You can't
control someone's mind when you are unconscious, for example . . .

The GM may restrict this to Trivial spells, or non-Potent spells, or
have no restrictions at all, beyond requiring the normal fatigue (or
other) penalties.  If the spell is one that could logically be
resisted by the subject, however, the subject still gets a Resistance
roll.  In this case, the magician rolls as if his skill were Great.

7.18  Enchanting Items
----------------------

Items may be permanently enchanted in this system.  The magician works
for a number of weeks or months (as required by the GM), depending on
the number and potency of the spells desired, and the general
availability of magic items in the campaign.  At the end of *each*
month (or week), the magician rolls against two skills: Spell-casting,
and the appropriate Craft skill for the material being worked.  The
usual penalties apply on failing a spell roll.  If he surpasses the
Difficulty level on each roll, the spell is slowly being set into the
item, one stage at a time.  On a roll that only matches the Difficulty
level, the work counts as only half a time period, but does progress
the enchantment.

Obviously, a mana-rich area will attract magicians, especially
enchanters.

7.19  FUDGE Magic Options
-------------------------

These options offer ways to make FUDGE Magic more sweeping, more
reliable, less risky, and even make it available to non-magicians.

7.191  Generalized Magic Potential
----------------------------------

Some GMs may want the players to have sweeping powers.  In this case,
each level of Magic Potential allows a character to try *any* magic
effect desired.  This is in keeping with certain fictional settings in
which learning magic involves general principles rather than specific
spell effects.  This makes for a *very* free and open game, which may
or may not be to your tastes.

Note that specializations can still be handled in this system.  Simply
use faults to limit a mage's ability to cast certain spells.  See
Section 6.311, Character Examples, Brogo the Scout.

7.192  Magicians & Non-Magicians
--------------------------------

The GM may allow non-magicians to cast spells.  In this case, it is
*very* risky, as there is no Magic Potential "cushion" - one severe
failure is enough to devastate the character.  Still, in an emergency,
it may be worth the risk.  Such a character would still need to have
some Spell-casting skill, however.  (But see Section 7.193, Spell-
casting Skill Alternatives).

As a substitute for Magic Potential specialization, the GM looks over
the character sheet (checking traits, personality, and character
background) and decides if a proposed spell would be appropriate for
the character.  The character must have some aptitude in the proposed
spell subject, or he may not cast such a spell.  For example, a
trained fighter with no knowledge of book learning or foreign
languages could conceivably try a combat spell, but not a spell to
translate a book written in an unknown script.

Of course, the same spell is of greater potency for a non-magician
than for a magician.  This probably means that a non-magician will
only have a chance of casting a spell that a magician would consider
trivial.

7.193  Spell-Casting Skill Alternatives
---------------------------------------

Since tastes differ, and FUDGE Magic tends to be undependable (see
Section 7.1, FUDGE Magic), three options are provided for more
reliable spell-casting:

1) Use the basic FUDGE Magic system, but allow a magician to improve
   his chances of casting a spell beyond Fair.  At a cost of one gift
   (or even supernormal power), this may be raised to Good.  At a cost
   of *two more* gifts (or supernormal powers), casting skill may be
   raised from Good to Great, the maximum.

2) GMs who want magic to be a *lot* more reliable can simply treat
   Spell-casting as any other skill.  That is, it costs the usual
   skill costs to raise it to Good or even Great.  Superb Spell-
   casting is not recommended for any but inherently magical races,
   however, even in high-level magic campaigns.

3) Another possibility for potent magic is simply having Spell-Casting
   equal to the Will attribute, or perhaps at Will-2.  (There may
   still be a ceiling of Great, Good, or even Fair for Spell-Casting,
   regardless of the level of Will.)  This is especially appropriate
   for games in which non-magicians can cast spells - see Section
   7.192, Magicians & Non-Magicians.  This is a potent option because
   the player doesn't have to buy Spell-casting skill for his
   character.

7.194  Less Risky Spell-Casting
-------------------------------

To make spell-casting less risky (not necessarily a good thing - see
Section 7.1, FUDGE Magic), make it harder to drain a level of
Potential.

Examples (apply as many or as few as desired):

1) A magician cannot deplete a level of Magic Potential if he is
   attempting a Trivial spell;
2) A magician cannot exhaust a level of Magic Potential if he is
   attempting a Trivial or Average spell;
3) A magician cannot deplete a level of Magic Potential if he takes
   enough time to get a +1 bonus for slow and careful spell-casting;
4) A level of Magic Potential can only be depleted on a hurried spell-
   casting attempt that fails badly;
5) A magician cannot drain a level of Magic Potential on the first
   spell cast each day, or when the moon is full, or if the mana level
   is low (not enough mana to backlash potently), etc.

7.2  Sample Miracle System: FUDGE Miracles
------------------------------------------

Date: December, 1992
By: Steffan O'Sullivan

Here is a sample miracle system (not generic), based on the following
premises mentioned in Section 3.6, Miracles:

Can miracles occur by petition: Yes.
Who can petition: Anyone.  Holy persons have an advantage, however.
   (A holy person is one with the supernormal power: Divine Favor.  In
   addition, a holy person's behavior must be in synch with the
   deity's goals - GM decision on how the player is roleplaying.)
   Religious Investiture is not required, and, in fact, does no good
   if behavior is inappropriate.  Religious Investiture is primarily a
   social title that may or may not coincide with Divine Favor.
Certainty of petitioned miracles: Mediocre.
Broad or specific requests: Specific requests are more likely to be
   granted.

7.21  Divine Favor
------------------

Divine Favor is a supernormal power that can be taken more than once.
Each time Divine Favor is taken, it is dedicated to a single deity.
It is possible to have Divine Favor from more than one deity in a
polytheistic world, or you can have multiple steps of Divine Favor
from a single deity.  Each step of Divine Favor counts as *two*
supernormal powers (recommended).

Divine Favor can be temporarily lost if the character does not act in
accordance with the deity's desires.  Usually a period of atonement is
required to regain Divine Favor.  This may be instantaneous for a very
merciful deity, or it may take up to a month for stricter deities.
All steps are lost and regained as a unit when this happens.

7.22  Petitioning a Miracle
---------------------------

A character may petition a miracle at any time.  However, some deities
do not like to be disturbed for trivial matters, and may ignore
requests when it is obvious the character hasn't even tried to help
himself.

In FUDGE Miracles, the petition should be fairly precisely worded.
Rather than a simple, "Please help me," the character should focus the
plea: "We are starving, please feed us," or, "My friend is dying,
please heal him."  A holy character can petition for any miraculous
result desired, however - there is no established list of miracles.

have a Petitioning skill of Poor (or
Mediocre, if the GM wants a more deity-active game).  Those with one
or more steps of Divine Favor have a Petitioning skill of Fair.
Petitioning skill cannot be raised.  (If the GM wants a high-level
deity-active campaign, Petitioning skill can be raised to Good at the
cost of one supernormal power.)  Petitioning skill *can* be modified,
however - see the next section.

To resolve a petition, make an Unopposed action roll against
Petitioning skill.  Each step of Divine Favor grants the holy
character one extra chance to roll the dice in a petition to his
deity.

On a Fair or worse result, the roll is a failure.  If the character
has any steps of Divine Favor from the same deity, he may roll again
for each step (this does not count as a separate petition).  He can
stop at any point - only the last result rolled counts.  This means a
character with two steps of Divine Favor can try one, two, or three
rolls.  If he gets Good, Fair, and Mediocre results, in that order,
the result of the petition is Mediocre.

On a Fair or Mediocre result, the petition isn't answered by the
deity, but the deity isn't annoyed by the petitioner.  On Poor or
worse result, however, the deity is angry with the character, and
there will be a -1 on the next petition attempt.  If the deity is
evil, a miracle may actually occur, but not one the petitioner is
likely to enjoy . . .

On a Good or better result, the petition is granted.  The better the
rolled result, the better the answer to the prayer.  For example, a
Good result might heal one wound, while a Superb result would totally
heal the character.  A Good result might call a wolf to defend the
petitioner, while a Superb result might call three lions.  And so on.

7.23  Modifiers to the Petitioning Skill Level
----------------------------------------------

The GM decides modifiers.  The following modifiers are suggested:

The petitioner's behavior has been strictly in accordance with the
   deity's desires: +1
The petitioner's behavior has not been in accordance with the deity's
   desires: -1 or more

The petition will further the deity's desires: +1
The petition goes against the deity's desires: -1 or more

The petition involves the deity's sphere of influence: +1  (Calling
   for a fireball from a fire god, for example.  This is not
   appropriate for a Supreme God, whose sphere encompasses all
   things!)
The petition involves an element antagonistic to the deity: -1 or more
   (asking the Fire deity to use water, for example.)

The petition is phrased too generally: -1 or more

The petitioner has not tried to help himself first: -1 or more.
The petition is too trivial to bother the deity with: -1 or more
The petition is a simple, but important, request: +1, provided the
   petitioner has exhausted his own abilities to accomplish this task.
   (An example might be requesting a piece of chalk, which is
   trifling, but simply cannot be found anywhere near the character.
   In this case, chalk would have to be essential to the character's
   state of body, mind or soul.)

The last petition was a Poor or worse result: -1
The deity feels the petitioner is calling for help too frequently: -1
   or more  (This is optional, and may be invoked by a GM annoyed at
   constant requests for miracles . . .)

7.3  Sample Psionic System: FUDGE Psi
-------------------------------------

Date: February, 1993 & December, 1993
By: Shawn Garbett and Steffan O'Sullivan

In this system, only psionicists can *use* psi powers, though everyone
has some ability to resist psionic attacks.  Psychic Reservoir, an
attribute, is defined below.  Like most attributes, this starts at
Fair unless deliberately altered.  The GM may change this, depending
on the level of psi she envisions: the default may be Poor or
Terrible, for example, and there may be a ceiling on how high Psychic
Reservoir can be set.

Merely having a Psychic Reservoir attribute does not mean the
character is capable of actively using psi.  There are an
indeterminate number of psionic Powers and skills - as many as the GM
wishes to include.  It is the presence of these Powers and skills that
separates a psionicist from mundane people.

7.31  Psychic Reservoir
-----------------------

Psychic Reservoir is a measure of psi power available.  A low Psychic
Reservoir can negatively modify any active psi ability, while a high
Reservoir can be tapped to increase your chances of success.

A psionicist taps his Psychic Reservoir when he uses a psychic skill.
Continued use gradually drains a Reservoir, and short but potent uses
of a psi Power also drains a Reservoir, but normal brief use doesn't.
However, a rolled degree of Terrible or worse on a psionic skill roll
always lowers Psychic Reservoir by one level, at least.

A psionicist can also attempt to drain his Psychic Reservoir
deliberately.  Each level of Psychic Reservoir sacrificed gains a +1
bonus to a psionic *skill*, if done after rolling for the skill (see
Section 7.34, Psionic Actions).  If done before rolling for the skill,
each level drained gains +1 *Power* level (see Section 7.35,
Desperation Psionics).

There is no *immediate* penalty for dropping a level of Psychic
Reservoir, as long as it remains Terrible or higher.  However, your
next use of psi may be affected: there is a negative modifier for
using a Psychic skill when your Psychic Reservoir is below Fair - see
Section 7.36, Psi Modifiers Summary.

If the Psychic Reservoir is drained to below Terrible, the character
immediately loses consciousness.  It requires a Good roll versus some
sort of Constitution attribute to regain consciousness, which may be
attempted every combat round.

Even after regaining consciousness, a character with Psychic Reservoir
below Terrible is in trouble.  The GM may impose any type of
affliction she desires on such a character until the Psychic Reservoir
reaches at least Terrible.  Suggested afflictions include mild
insanity (hallucinations, delusions, paranoia, etc.), physical
debility (drooling, shaking, twitching, etc.), attribute reductions,
and negative modifiers for even non-psi actions.

A character can regain one level of his Psychic Reservoir for each
week of rest, up to his current maximum level.  (This time period may
be adjusted by the GM, of course.)

7.32  Psionic Powers
--------------------

The GM must decide how precisely she wants to define Psi Powers.
Since each Power must be bought separately, defining them broadly
makes for more powerful characters.  The following chart shows some
*very* broad groups that include the more narrowly defined Psi power
groups listed with them.  These in turn contain even more narrowly
defined powers, which a GM may use as individual Powers if desired.
This list may be regrouped, expanded, some powers disallowed, a
narrowly defined group made into a broad group that includes other
powers, etc.  The list is not intended to be comprehensive, but merely
a sample.

Very Broad Groups   Mildly Broad Groups     Narrow Groups
-----------------   -------------------     -------------
Antipsi                                     Distort
                                            Nullify
                                            Resist
ESP                 Astral Projection
                    Telesense               Clairaudience
                                            Clairvoyance
                                            Locate Object
                                            Locate Person
                                            Sense Aura
                    Temporal Revelation     Postcognition
                                            Precognition
                                            Psychometry
Psychokinesis       Control Animate         Healing
                                            Levitation
                                            Metabolism Control
                                            Shapeshifting
                    Control Inanimate       Force Shield
                                            Photokinesis
                                            Sonarkinesis
kinesis
                                            Transmogrify Object
                    Electrokinesis          Alter Electric Current
                                            Control Electrical Devices
                                            Cyberpsi
                                            Electric Blast
                    Temperature Control     Cryokinesis
                                            Pyrokinesis
Telepathy           Empathy                 Emotion Control
                                            Emotion Sensing
                    Mind Shield
                    Mental Communication    Mind Reading
                                            Thought Sending
                    Mental Control          Alter Memory
                                            Persuasion
                                            Prevent Clear Thinking
                                            Send Violent Energy
                                            Telehypnosis
                    Vampirism               Borrow Skill
                                            Drain Psychic Reservoir
                                            Drain Health
                                            Drain Energy
Teleportation                               Teleport Self
                                            Teleport Other
                                            Teleport Object
                                            Planar Travel
                                            Open Dimension Portal

The GM should let the players know what depth of Psi skills she is
using.  Each Power costs one Supernormal Power (two gifts).

Buying a Psi Power gets it at Terrible.  Powers may then be raised at
the cost of two *skill* levels per level, if using the Objective
Character Creation system.  That is, to raise Telekinesis Power to
Poor, for example, requires two skill levels, and to raise it to
Mediocre would cost two more skill levels.

If a GM envisions a psi-rich campaign, of course, the costs should be
much cheaper.  The best way to arrange this is probably to allow many
free levels of Supernormal Powers and Supernormal skills, but not
allow them to be traded for mundane traits.

Power levels define range, quantity or size of subject affected, etc.
- see Section 3.7, Psi.  A Fair Power can do whatever the default
average is for the campaign world.

Some tasks require a minimum Power level, as set by the GM.  If the
character has the Power, but not at the minimum level required, he may
not attempt the action unless he uses Desperation Psionics (Section
7.35).  If the psi has the appropriate Power at three or more levels
above the minimum required, he is at +1 for that use.

No psionic ability can be used unless the character has the Power
listed on his character sheet.

Latent Powers: a character may take a *latent* psi Power at the cost
of one gift.  He can't use the Power (may not take any related psi
skills), but later in the campaign he may spend EP equal to another
gift to awaken the Power.  He would then have to learn the skills to
control the Power.

It is also possible to take some interesting faults that will limit
the nature of any Power.  "Usable only in emergencies" is a common
theme in fiction, for example.

7.33  Psionic Skills
--------------------

You cannot attempt any psionic action unless you have the specific
skill to control the Power in question.  Each Power must have an
accompanying skill of corresponding broadness or narrowness (Control
Telekinesis, Use Telepathy, Read Minds, etc.).

The default for psionic skills is Non-existent.  Raising a skill to
Terrible costs one skill level, etc.  Skills may be taken as high as
Fair at the beginning of a game.  (The GM may allow higher levels if
the campaign is centered around psionic abilities.)  They may be
improved through normal character development, and new ones may be
added if the GM is willing.  The player should have a good story
concerning awakening new skills, however.

7.34  Psionic Actions
---------------------

Two kinds of psionic action are possible, Opposed and Unopposed.

An Opposed action is a psionic attack upon an unwilling subject.  The
attacker rolls against his specific psionic skill, and defender rolls
against some sort of Will attribute to resist.  (A defender may have
an appropriate psi skill to use instead, such as Mind Shield.)  An
example of an Opposed action would be an attempt to control someone's
emotions by filling them with fear.

Unopposed psionic actions usually target inanimate objects.  An
Unopposed action could be as simple as examining an object
psychically, or as complex as opening a dimensional door at one's
feet.  Telekinetically hurling an object at a foe is an Unopposed
action because the object, not the foe, is the subject of the psionic
skill.

When a Psi wishes to use an ability, the player describes the result
he wants to the GM.  The GM then assesses how difficult such an effect
would be and assigns a Difficulty level to it.  Even if a psi
overcomes a defender's Will roll to resist, he must still roll the
Difficulty level or higher to succeed at a task.

There may also be a minimum Power level needed in order to attempt an
action.  For example, telekinetically lifting a pencil might only
require a Terrible Telekinesis Power, but lifting a large book might
require a Mediocre Telekinesis Power, and lifting a car might require
a Superb Telekinesis Power.  If the psi's Power level is three or more
above the minimum needed, he gets a +1 to his skill level.

Note that mentally lifting a pencil might only require a Terrible
Power level, but manipulating it to sign one's name would probably
require a Superb skill result.  To accurately forge another person's
signature would not only require a Superb Telekinesis skill result,
but also a Fair or better Forgery skill result.

The time required to activate a psionic ability depends on the potency
of the desired effect and the Power level of the character.  It is set
by the GM.  This can range from a single combat round to hours of
concentration.  The individual can also vary the time concentrating
(which must be uninterrupted) to speed up the results or increase the
chances of success - see Section 7.36, Psi Modifiers Summary.

The Psi now applies all modifiers and rolls against the Difficulty
level using the appropriate skill.  In an Opposed action, both parties
involved make their rolls.  On tie results, the status quo is
maintained, whatever that may be.

At this point, a psi (or animate target of a psionic attack) may
attempt to sacrifice one or more levels of Psychic Reservoir to
augment his rolled result.  (That is, if a psi fails in an Unopposed
action, he may stress himself in attempt to succeed.  In an Opposed
action, this can be considered two people locked in psionic combat,
each struggling to boost their power a bit to overcome the other.)

To augment a rolled result, a Psionicist rolls against the psionic
skill he just used, with current modifiers still effective.  If the
result is Good, he may sacrifice one level of Psychic Reservoir to
give him a +1 on the result of the skill attempt.  On a result of
Great, he may sacrifice one or two levels, gaining +1 for each level,
and on a roll of Superb or better, he may sacrifice up to three levels
of Psychic Reservoir.  On a result of Fair, Mediocre or Poor, there is
no effect: he may not sacrifice a level of Psychic Reservoir, but
there is no penalty for having tried.  On a result of Terrible or
worse, however, he not only drains one level of Psychic Reservoir, he
also *loses* one level of rolled result!  This can intensify any
negative consequences of having failed.

If one party of an Opposed action is successful in augmenting his
rolled result, the other may then try to augment his.  They may
continue to trade sacrificing levels of Psychic Reservoir until one of
them fails to change the result, or falls below Terrible Psychic
Reservoir.

Someone defending with no psionic abilities rolls against Will-2 to
augment his result.  While a psionic attack is resisted by straight
wioir is actually a psionic activity.
This is hard for people totally untrained in psi skills to do - harder
than merely defending yourself against a psionic attack.

Once augmenting is complete, the GM decides the duration of the
effects - the better the roll, the better the results.  Continuous
concentration may be required to sustain the effect; this may slowly
drain one's Psychic Reservoir.  Rolling above the Difficulty level can
increase the effect and/or cause it to last longer.  Some effects will
be permanent, such as Healing.

Psionic abilities are sometimes dangerous to use.  A rolled degree of
Terrible or worse will usually result in the exact opposite of the
desired outcome, or some other entertaining backfire.  In addition,
the psi loses one level of Psychic Reservoir, as outlined in Section
7.31.  It may also have a gruesome result: brain hemorrhage, loss of
sanity, or a similar outcome.  A Terrible result on an Opposed psionic
action can mean the loser is now psychically open to his opponent.
Such an open channel to another's psyche means that if the winner has
any psychic ability at all, he can automatically draw on the loser's
Psychic Reservoir to power his own abilities!  The GM should determine
these effects based on the situation at hand.

7.35  Desperation Psionics
--------------------------

Ordinarily, if the minimum Power level of a proposed psionic action is
higher than the character's Power level, the psionicist may not
attempt the action at all.  However, if one is desperate enough, he
*can* try it - at a great price.

For each level of Psychic Reservoir voluntarily drained *before* the
skill roll, a psionicist can increase his Power level by +1.  Simply
pushing the Power level up to match the minimum level needed is all it
takes to try the skill - but he is at -2 to his skill for *each* level
of Psychic Reservoir he drained for this attempt.  Unlike augmenting a
rolled result (as described in the previous section), no roll against
a psi skill is needed to willingly drain a level of Psychic Reservoir.
Draining one level of Psychic Reservoir *before* the die roll is
automatically successful: it raises Power level by one (so you can
even try an action), and lowers the skill rolled against by 2.

This is obviously not for casual use: the risk of a Terrible outcome
is much higher than normal, as well as the guaranteed drain on Psychic
Reservoir.  Nonetheless, if one were being attacked by the Spawn of
The Other, a demon of tremendous power, one might try anything to
survive.

7.36  Psi Modifiers Summary
---------------------------

Apply as many modifiers to the skill as are appropriate:

Psychic Reservoir Level:      Psionic Skill use at:
       Mediocre                        -1
       Poor                            -2
       Terrible                        -3
       Below Terrible              Prohibited

Concentration time reduced by half: -1
Concentration time doubled: +1

Power level is 3 or more greater than necessary for the task: +1

Successful sacrifice of Psychic Reservoir after the roll: +1 per level
Rolled Terrible or worse on sacrifice attempt: -1

Desperation attempts: -2 per level of Psychic Reservoir spent

Certain drugs, devices, fields, star alignments, areas, etc., can also
have modifiers.  As a GM-chosen option, psionics may be blocked by
metal - either all metal or just certain ones.

7.37  Psi Examples
------------------

Yardmower Man wants to mow the lawn without exerting himself
physically.  He's not lazy, it's just the ego satisfaction he's after,
as well as the practice.  He currently has a Good Psychic Reservoir
and an interesting assortment of psi Powers and skills.  The GM
decides that to move and control the yard mower is a Great Difficulty
level task on Telekinesis skill.  It requires only Mediocre
Telekinesis Power, however.  Yardmower Man has a Good Telekinesis
Power but only Fair Telekinesis skill.  It may be tough to do it well,
but he's willing to try it.

Yardmower Man declares he's going to spend twice as much time
concentrating (+1) and is also under the influence of Batch-5, a psi-
enhancing drug (+1).  He rolls a -1 result, which means a Good
Telekinesis effort due to his modifiers.  He just missed the
Difficulty level.  Since his power is adequate to move the lawn mower,
he still mows the lawn telekinetically, but doesn't do a very good
job.  In fact, it looks sloppy: there are thin strips of unmowed grass
here and there, and he took out half of his daisy bed with one poorly
aimed swipe.

Since this is a continued use, the GM decides that for each hour spent
mowing he reduces his Psychic Reservoir by one level.  It takes him
two hours.

The next day, Yardmower Man decides the director of the local
government psionic research facility should be Molecularly Rearranged.
(He's always snooping around, and has been known to lock up psis in
the past.)  The GM rules that Molecularly Rearranging a human other
than the Psi himself is a Superb Difficulty level task against the
Shapeshift skill, and requires at least a Great Shapeshift Power.  It
is also a taxing thing to do: it will drain one level of Psychic
Reservoir at the end of the action.  It will be opposed by the
director's Presence attribute, which is close as this campaign comes
to willpower.

Fortunately for Yardmower man, he has the Shapeshift Power and skill
both at Superb level.  He also consumes a double dose of Batch-5,
giving him a +2 in the Opposed action, but severely risking side
effects.  His Psychic Reservoir is down to Mediocre from activities
the night before (-1 to skill).  Yardmower man rolls a -1 Result.
This is modified -1 for low Psychic Reservoir, and +2 for Batch-5,
giving him a Superb Result.

The poor director has a Good Presence and Fair Psychic Reservoir.  He
gets lucky and rolls a Great Presence result trying to resist the
psionic attack.  But Great is not good enough (Yardmower man got a
Superb result), so he tries to augment his result by sacrificing a
level of Psychic Reservoir to fight the rearrangement of his
molecules.  His sacrifice roll (against Presence) is a Good Result, so
he increases his result to Superb.  He's still holding on, but just
barely.  Also, his Reservoir will be Mediocre after this round of
psychic combat.

Yardmower Man, not to be outdone, attempts to sacrifice his own
Psychic Reservoir.  He started the combat with a Mediocre Psychic
Reservoir and full of Batch-5, so he still applies the +1 overall
modifier to his Superb Shapeshift skill on his augmentation roll.  He
easily achieves a Good Result, and he therefore augments *his* result
to Superb+1.  (After this round, his Reservoir will also drop another
level.)

The director desperately tries to augment his result again, but rolls
a Fair result: he's reached the limit of his ability to stave off
defeat.  Yardmower Man rearranges the director into a lovely bush, and
stares blankly at the outcome.  At this point, his Psychic Reservoir
drops one more level, as required by the GM for such a taxing action.

Since he lost one level of Psychic Reservoir augmenting his skill, and
another for the difficult Shapeshift action, Yardmower Man is now left
with a Terrible Psychic Reservoir; he'd better not try anything this
difficult for a while.  Also, the GM demands a Good Difficulty level
roll against Constitution to avoid any unpleasant side effects from
the Batch-5 overdose.  Yardmower Man gets a Mediocre result, missing
by two levels.  The GM smiles at the player, and secretly jots down
that the next time he uses Batch-5, he'll hallucinate that the
director has returned to human form and is out to get him . . .
Yardmower Man may someday drain his Psychic Reservoir fighting someone
that isn't there.

7.4  Alternate Rules
--------------------

It is one of FUDGE's basic premises that people have different tastes.
Here are a collection of alternate rules sections for doing things
slightly differently.

7.41  Alternate Section 2.4:  Character Creation
------------------------------------------------

Date: December, 1992
By: Ed Heil

Instead of creating characters before starting the game, create them
as the game progresses!

The GM assigns a number of *skill* levels available to a PC during a
session.  This should be based on how finely the GM defines skills:
about 10 to 15 for very broad skill-group games, and maybe twice that
for very fine skill-group games.  These may be traded at the regular
rate of 3 skill levels = 1 attribute level, or 6 skill levels = 1
gift.  Faults may also be taken, subject to GM approval.

The players start with most of the character sheets blank - simply
write out a brief sentence or two describing the character in a
general way.  ("Jeb is a surly dwarf, a good fighter, who is out to
make a name for himself as a mean customer - and pick up some loot on
the way.  He likes to talk tough, and doesn't care much for
halflings.")

As the character is confronted with challenging situations, the player
must decide the level of the trait in question.  For example, the PCs
are confronted with a ruined castle to explore, and all the players
state their characters are looking for hidden passageways.  At this
point, each player must set his PC's skill in finding hidden
passageways (however the GM defines such a trait: Perception
attribute, or Find Hidden skill, or Architecture skill, etc.).  Those
who are not yet willing to set such a trait must stop searching: if
you use a trait, you must define it.  Since setting an initial skill
at Fair level uses up two skill levels, and setting it at Superb uses
up five levels, one must carefully weigh spending levels on skills as
they are used versus saving them for emergency situations.

As usual, attributes are considered Fair unless altered, and most
skills are considered Poor.  Taking a trait at a level below the
default adds to your available skill level pool, of course. However,
you may only define a trait as it is used in a game situation.

Experience points are given out as usual, but EP awarded are reduced
by any unused skill levels after each session.  That is, if you have
two levels left after the first session, and the GM awards you three
EP, you only get one more level for the next session, since you
already have two levels unused.  EP, in this case, can be used either
to raise existing skills, as discussed in Section 5.2, Objective
Character Development, or they can be used to add new skills, as
discussed in this section, above.  Note that it costs more EPs to
raise an existing skill than it does to define a previously undefined
skill in this on-the-fly system.  EP should be slightly higher under
this system than a regular character creation system, perhaps a range
of up to 10 per session.

7.42  Alternate Section 4.2:  Rolling the Dice
----------------------------------------------

Date: January, 1993
By: Andy Skinner

As a simple variation on any dice technique, allow players who roll a
+4 result to roll again.  If the result is positive, add it in to the
+4 already rolled.  If the result is negative or zero, ignore the
second roll.  This allows a small chance of results up to +8, which is
especially nice in truly dire situations!

Only a pitiless GM would balance this by requiring additional rolls to
see how miserably a person can do on a -4 result, however.

7.43  Alternate Section 4.2:  Rolling the Dice
----------------------------------------------

Date: November, 1993
By: Steffan O'Sullivan, with Andy Skinner and others

Here are two different techniques for rolling the dice, for those who
wish to try something other than the system given in Chapter 4.

1. 2d4

Instead of 2d6, use 2d4.  Any of the three dice methods in the main
FUDGE rules can be used with 2d4, except that 2d6-7 becomes 2d4-5.
This method is actually a bit smoother than the listed method, as
there is no +/-5 result to convert to 0.  Substitute the following
table if using the 2d4-5 method:

Rolled:    2  |  3  |  4  |  5  |  6  |  7  |  8
--------------|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|----
Result:   -3  | -2  | -1  | +0  | +1  | +2  |  +3

This creates a smaller range of possibilities, which is good in some
ways, and bad in others.  Characters will tend to do closer to their
trait levels, which reflects reality better, but can make for a more
static game.

Using 2d4:
Chance of achieving +3 or better:   6%.
Chance of achieving +2 or better:  19%.
Chance of achieving +1 or better:  38%.
Chance of achieving  0 or better:  62%.
Chance of achieving -1 or better:  81%.
Chance of achieving -2 or better:  94%.
Chance of achieving -3 or better: 100%.

Four-sided dice are generally poor-rolling dice.  However, at least
one company, Gamescience, makes eight-sided d4s.  This is a special
d8, numbered twice from 1 to 4, and it rolls very well.  They are
available in five different colors - ask your local retailer if
interested.  (Neither the author nor Wild Mule Games has any
connection with Gamescience.)

2. 2d5

Gamescience also makes a d5: this is a ten-sided die, numbered 1 to 5
twice.  They come in many different colors.  Two of these can be used
instead of 2d6: they return the same range as 2d6 (-4 to +4), without
the inconvenience of having to convert +/-5 results to a zero result.

Any of the dice techniques can be used with 2d5, except 2d6-7 becomes
2d5-6.  Substitute the following chart if using 2d5-6:

Rolled:    2  |  3  |  4  |  5  |  6  |  7  |  8  |  9  | 10
--------------|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----|---
Result:   -4  | -3  | -2  | -1  | +0  | +1  |  +2 |  +3 | +4

Using 2d5:
Chance of achieving +4 or better:   4%.
Chance of achieving +3 or better:  12%.
Chance of achieving +2 or better:  24%.
Chance of achieving +1 or better:  40%.
Chance of achieving  0 or better:  60%.
Chance of achieving -1 or better:  76%.
Chance of achieving -2 or better:  88%.
Chance of achieving -3 or better:  96%.
Chance of achieving -4 or better: 100%.

7.44  Alternate Section 4.6, Combat
-----------------------------------

Date: January, 1993
By: Jay Doane, Andy Skinner, Steffan O'Sullivan

With these alternate rules, melee combat is handled as a series of
attacks and defenses instead of simultaneous action.  Each combat
round involves two actions: the fighter with the higher initiative
attacking while the other defends; then the second combatant attacking
while the first defends.

(Initiative can be determined with a single d6 die roll.  However, if
the GM has an Initiative attribute (such as Reflexes) or skill, treat
gaining initiative as an Opposed Action.  If the GM allows a gift such
as Combat Reflexes, that grants a +1 to initiative.  Surprise may
grant a bonus to the roll, or give automatic initiative.  Initiative
can be rolled once for each battle - the simplest way - or once each
round.  Or the character who did the best the previous round could
automatically control the initiative in the next round.)

Each attack is an Opposed Action: the attacker's Offensive skill
(Sword, Melee Weapon, Martial Art, etc.) against a defender's
Defensive skill (Shield, Parry, Dodge, Duck, etc.).  This makes combat
take longer, but some players feel it gives a character more control
over his own fate.

Using these rules, Defensive skill is a separate skill that must be
bought independently of an Offensive skill.  Simply taking Sword at
Superb implies only *offensive* use of the sword: the character must
also take Parry with Sword for defensive capability.

Obviously, the GM must tell the players at character creation which
method she is using - or allow them extra levels on the fly to adjust
their defensive abilities.  The GM may also allow Parry with Weapon
Skill to default to Weapon Skill minus two levels: that is, a Great
Sword skill automatically means a Fair Parry skill.  While some GMs
might restrict Parry to being no higher than Weapon skill (or even to
a maximum of one less than Weapon skill), others can imagine a
defensive specialist who might parry Superbly, but attack Poorly!

The default for animals depends on their type: carnivores will usually
have a Defense value one level less than their Offense, while this is
reversed for most prey species.

Note that some weapons, such as an Axe, are poor parrying weapons.
Such fighters should have decent Shield or Dodge skills.  Each player
should ask the GM at character creation if a weapon may be used to
parry, and still be used to attack without penalty in the next turn.

All-out offensive and defensive tactics still work with this system: a
character simply forfeits his attack for a round if he chooses All-out
defense.  Likewise, a fighter is at -2 on his defense on his
opponent's next turn if choosing All-out offense.

7.45  Alternate Section 4.7, Damage and Healing
-----------------------------------------------

Date: December, 1992
By: Bernard Hsiung

A very easy way to keep track of wounds is with cards: give a player
one face-down card when his character is Hurt, and another face-down
card when his character is Very Hurt.  He gets rid of them when the
character is healed.  Face-up cards represent fatigue - the character
is reeling from exhaustion.  He gets rid of those by resting.  (A
character can get fatigued by anything that fatigues real people:
physical or mental activity, work, stress, etc.  Note that casting
spells, using psi powers, etc., might or might not count as fatiguing
mental activity.)

Each card the character has represents a -1 to traits that would
logically be affected until the third, which represents
incapacitation.

The cards may also describe hit location, if desired: a black card is
the torso, while a red card means an extremity.  The lower the red
card, the lower the extremity; the higher the red card, the higher the
wound on the body.
