Fudge System

The Fudge System is a generic tabletop roleplaying game system that uses "fudge dice", six-sided dice marked with two plus signs, two minus signs, and two blank sides. Originally an acronym for the Freeform Universal Donated Game Engine, Fudge was designed as a basic mechanical system on which other designers could build their game. The core mechanic is rolling the four fudge dice and counting the total value of all the plus and minus signs. The two signs cancel each other out, giving a potential range of -4 to +4 and an average roll of 0 on a very evenly distributed bell curve. This die result may then be modified by a character's skill level and then compared to a difficulty set by the game master, ranked using an ascending system of descriptive adjectives. A more difficult challenge will have a higher difficulty. A total that meets or exceeds the difficulty succeeds. The best-known implementation of the Fudge system is the Fate RPG and its derivatives, like the Dresden Files RPG, Fate Accelerated, Atomic Robo, Spirit of the Century, and more. Fate adds Fate points, a metacurrency players can spend for bonuses and special permissions, as well as levels of success like succeeding at a cost. The Fudge system, and Fate by extension, are designed to be setting-agnostic, allowing game designers and game masters to customize the game. Fudge remains one of the simplest roleplaying game systems ever designed, and represents a paradigm shift in TTRPG design that still resonates today.