GMless, Narrative Rules-lite Fudge (GNRF) RPG

GMless, Narrative Rules-lite Fudge (GNRF)

---Fudge Ladder---

+3: Superb
+2: Great
+1: Good
0: Fair
-1: Mediocre
-2: Poor
-3: Terrible

Skill (or attribute) check: Roll 4dF + skill.  If the result is equal to or greater than the target difficulty, you succeeded.

Skills default to poor.  Attributes default to Fair.

Character Creation:

Attributes:

Strength
Agility
Perception
Defense (define it)
Magic Resistance
Health
Magic (optional) (choose your domain)

Attributes start out at Fair.  Players get 3 free levels to spend on increasing their levels, and may reduce attributes to increase others.

You must define *how* your character typically avoids taking damage (armor, evasion, armor+evasion, mana shield, etc.)
Magic must be defined as belonging to a specific domain (fire, holy, earth+plants, technomagic, etc.)

Both of these can be deferred if the player hasn't decided yet.

Each level of Health gives the player 4 hit points.

Rank:		|Hit Points:
-------------------------------------
Terrible:	|4
Poor		|8
Mediocre	|12
Fair		|16
Good		|20
Great		|24
Superb		|28
Legendary	|32


Skills:

Superb   [       ]
Great    [       ] [       ]
Good     [       ] [       ] [       ]
Fair     [       ] [       ] [       ] [       ]
Mediocre [       ] [       ] [       ] [       ] [       ]

Each skill takes up a slot on the skill pyramid.

Skills do not have to be completely (or even partially) chosen before the game starts.  Players can add skills to their character during the game, so long as there's room for it on the skill pyramid.

Conflicts:

Before each scene starts the players collaborate to decide:
	Location
	Time since previous scene
	Minimum of 3 scene-describing details ("dark", "damp", "moldy"; "A large empty room lies abandoned, full of cobwebs.")
	Goal
	Number of obstacles in the scene
	List of potential obstacles in the scene

Running obstacles:
	A player selects an obstacle from list
	That player decides if he'll be the primary narrator* for that obstacle
	If not, anybody else gets the chance
	Players decide obstacle Threat Rating and Health
	(not sure which order this should go in: stat then primary narrator, or primary narrator then stat?)
	Wushu Combat (see next section)
	Play until the obstacle is overcome

Success: overcoming all obstacles
Failure: losing all HP

Players narrate result of success or failure.

New scene exploring the results of their success/failure.

After each scene the players regain their entire HP back.

*The Primary Narrator is the person who describes what the obstacle does, generating a back-and-forth between players and obstacle.  The role is optional; if nobody wants to be the primary narrator, everybody gets to describe the obstacle's behavior in response to their characters' behaviors.

Wushu Combat:

The obstacle has a Threat Rating/Difficulty level and a level of Obstacle Health.  Players narrate working to overcome the obstacle.  Everything happens as narrated, then a skill roll is made to see if the actions moved the conflict towards completion.  If the roll is successful, the obstacle takes 1d6 damage.  If the roll was unsuccessful, the player takes 1d6 damage.

The player who drops the obstacle to 0 hp is allowed to describe ending the obstacle (the "coup de grace").

Obstacles aren't only for combat.  An obstacle could just as easily be "lack of knowledge".  Regardless of the obstacle type, resolution occurs the same way: the players narrate what happens, the dice are rolled, and the obstacle health is lowered.  The player who dropped scene health to 0 gets to describe, in this case, the information being imparted to the players.

Veto:
Players should discuss ahead of time what sort of campaign they wish to run (gritty, wire-fu, goofy, etc.)
Any details that are thematically or otherwise inappropriate can be vetoed by any other player.  This should be seen as a chance for the player to rework his description and bring it in line with the campaign style.
Don't abuse the veto.


(03:26:06 AM) DML: Alrighty, I'd like to suppose a hypothetical case: the players wish to gain the trust of a double agent they believe is posing as the Duke at the Queen's Royal Reception. The  agent doesn't seem keen to talk to them. How would you expect a scene like this to be played out, assuming the players decide to stay on the rails?
(03:26:21 AM) DML: the Duke, or some kind of nobility.
(03:26:42 AM) DML: Would the lack of rapport they have built with the agent count as "Obstacle Health?"
(03:28:21 AM) abcd_z: The scene goal might be "gain the duke's trust".  The PCs would work out beforehand what obstacles exist to doing so.  Perhaps the duke's cousin saw them doing something shifty earlier.  If that's the only obstacle, the PCs would then describe them doing things to either discredit the cousin or convince him he was mistaken.
(03:28:53 AM) abcd_z: Everything they narrate doing decreases the scene health, and once it hits zero a player might narrate the cousin saying "I was wrong about you.  I'm going to tell the duke to trust you."
(03:29:32 AM) DML: Alrighty, I like this, quite a lot actually. Having a quantified objective and a 'progress meter' really does give the players something to gather around on and keeps it coherent. Hell, I might have to steal this idea :O.
(03:29:40 AM) abcd_z: Help yourself.  :)
(03:29:44 AM) DML: Thanks :D.


Appendix A: Skill Examples (copied from the Fudge SRD)

The following brief list of skill examples is not in any way intended to be comprehensive or official.  It is merely to help those not used to skill-based systems think of some skills for their characters.  By all means, change the names, create new ones, compress or expand those listed, disallow some, etc.  It is useful to print a sample skill list on a separate sheet for each player during character creation.

Animal Skills: Animal Care, Animal Lore, Animal Training, Bee-keeping, Herding, Riding, Teamster, Veterinarian, etc.

Artistic skills: Aesthetics, Cosmetology, Culinary Arts, Literary Arts, Performing Arts (music, theater, storytelling, jester, dance, etc., and such skills as Choreography, Composition, Costuming, etc.), Visual Arts (painting, drawing, sculpting, etc.), and so on.

Athletic skills: Acrobatics, Aerial Acrobatics, Balance Skills, Boating, Climbing, Jumping, Pole-vaulting, Running, Swimming, Throwing, Various Sports, Zero-G Maneuvering, etc.

Combat skills: Ambush, Demolitions, Dodge, Punmanship, Quick-Draw, Shield, Tactics, Throwing, numerous Weapon and Unarmed Combat skills.

Covert skills: Acting, Breaking & Entering, Detect Traps, Deactivate Traps, Disguise, Forgery, Infiltrate, Intrigue, Lockpicking, Pickpocketing, Poisoning, Shadowing, Shady Contacts, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, etc.

Craft skills: Armory, Basket Making, Bowyer/Fletcher, Carpenter, Cooking, Knots, Leatherworking, Masonry, Pottery, Smith, Tailor, Weaving - many others.

Dungeon-delving skills: Avoid Traps, Fight, Find Secret Passages, Pick Locks, Move Quietly, Run, Tell Believable Whoppers.

Knowledge skills (a skill can represent knowledge of a subject as broad or narrow as the GM will allow): Alchemy, Alien Customs, Arcane Lore, Criminology, Cultures, Detective Fiction, Folklore, Geography, History, Literature, Occultism, Political Situations, Psychology, TV SitCom Episodes, Sciences (lots of these), etc.

Language skills: Each individual language, Pantomime, Pick Up Languages, etc.

Manipulative skills: Bamboozle, Bluff, Boot-licking, Bribery, Con, Exhort, Fast-talk, Flattery, Interrogate, Intimidate, Lying, Oratory, Persuade, Seduction, Street Gossip, etc.

Medical skills: Anatomy, Antidotes, Diagnosis, Doctoring, First Aid, Herb Preparation, Medicine, Nursing, Surgery, etc.

Merchant skills: Bargain, Barter, Business Sense, Evaluate Goods, Haggle, Innkeeping, Marketing, Salesmanship, Shopkeeping, etc.

Outdoor skills: Camouflage, Camping, Fishing, Forage, Herb Lore, Hide Traces, Hunting, Mimic Animal Noises, Nature Lore, Navigation, Survival, Tracking, Wildcraft, Woodcraft, etc.

Professional skills: Accounting, Begging, Bureaucracy, Farming, Gambling, Law, Photography, Seamanship - many others.

Social skills (Fellowship): Bar Etiquette, Camaraderie, Carouse, Choosing just the right gift, Control Libido, Flirting, Game Playing, Hold your liquor, Make Amusing Faces or Noises, Matrix Etiquette, Tall Tales, Uplift Spirits, Witty Insults, etc.

Social skills (Formal): Courtly Ways, Detect Lies, Diplomacy, Etiquette, Interviewing, Parley, Repartee, Rituals, Savoir-Faire, Servant, etc.

Spiritual skills: Communing with nature, Fasting, Giving comfort, Listening deeply, Meditation, Patience, Theology, etc.

Supernormal Power skills: Fortune Telling, Levitate, Spell Casting, Use Mind Control, Use Superpower, Use Telekinesis, etc.

Technical skills: Computer Build/Repair, Computer Programming, Computer Use, Driving, Electronics, Engineer, Mechanic, Piloting, Repair Scoutship Systems, Research, Shiphandling, etc.

Urban skills: Barroom Savvy, Street Etiquette, Streetwise, Urban Survival, etc.