An Example Fudge Implementation of “Combat Profiles”
If you don’t have time to read all this, then check out the cut-down version v0.1.1!
What started as some rough ideas and thoughts on the combat experience in roleplaying games, developed in a kind of simplistic theory I called “Combat Profiles”. After some discussion, I put together this system as an example of using these concepts. In fact, putting together this system has helped me scope and define the ideas into something more tangible, but that’s for another day. This system priorities player-experience over strategy or realism but doesn’t try to exclude anything either. I don’t know if it delivers, as I haven’t tested it yet.
It uses Fudge and Story Elements, as I believe they are uniquely suited to “Combat Profiles” compared to the other systems I’ve played (of course I haven’t played every system out there). It is task-based (i.e. not “conflict resolution”), another of my biases I guess. However I believe the general principals can be applied to other systems. It’s geared as a system that can be applied to all settings and all combat situations. The system attempts to define what combat is to understand how to apply it.
This system is in part inspired by the Shadow of Yesterday RPG, Riddle of Steel RPG, Spirit of the Century RPG, Fate System, several Fudge Factor articles and the FudgeList. If you are familiar with these sources, their influence should be obvious.
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Or rather: Should I know who Doc Savage is?
In less than 5 seconds I can get answer from the wikipedia pipe, but that’s not really my question. I got my copy of Spirit of the Century (and this is not meant to be a criticism of SOTC, I’ve only flicked through the introduction) which is a roleplaying gaming about “pulp” and specifically “era pulp”. I know what pulp is and I recognise it’s influences. But my first taste as a child was Indiana Jones. What came before that I don’t’ really know anything about. Should I? Have I missed some sci-fi cultural element? Who is Doc Savage, the atypical pulp hero? Am I a sci-fi philistine?
It just occurred to me why, after seeing the cover of White Wolf’s “Adventure!” when it was released, I never bothered to even look at the blurb. I knew what pulp was but I had no interest in it. Likewise SOTC, shrug, yea pulp looks fun but it’s not something I completely get. It’s not part of my… actually is there a word for that? Personal/historical culture/media/history? If it wasn’t for the internet noise (and that it uses Fate, a tangent/brew/derivative/insert-word of Fudge), I probably wouldn’t bat an eyelid about it.
I’m a big fan of the Fudge roleplaying system. Loved it so much I hoping to have my Reboot adventure (now a full setting) published under the Now Playing Fudge derivative and my bigger project LH published as a full Fudge product.
Don’t get me wrong, I like many of the new ideas of Fate system (which is a derivative of Fudge). There are elements I don’t like but I’ll put that aside. I plan even to get my hands on Spirit of the Century at some point. But when I saw this post on the Fudge List, it saddened me:
Sorry, I almost mentioned you. But I’m afraid Starblazer is going to overshadow Ignition both because Fate has more fans than Fudge, and because Starblazer is coming out first. Even if Ignition is a better product, it’s got a huge handicap.
HQ is apparently successful within its niche, but it’s a small niche… if you’re not interested in the genre/medium, no matter how great the revision is it’s not going to appeal.
Fudge Magic may do well, but there again I’m afraid it’s going to do best if you reach they “Heyyyyy, I could use this with *Fate*!” (or “…with SotC!”) crowd. It’s just a bigger market (and a market that doesn’t have the “I deserve all this for FREE!” mindset that much of the Fudge community is burdened with).
I could be wrong. For your sake, and for the future of Fudge-that-isn’t-Fate, I hope so… but I just don’t see it revitalizing the 1995 ruleset to the level of Fate. As far as people outside our dwindling community are concerned, it’s an antique set of rules… even if you did a rewrite at this point (of the text, without changing the rules), I’m afraid you’re going to run into “Hey, you stole that from Fate” – Fate’s simply a far better presentation, even of (or especially of) things that it inherited from Fudge unchanged.
(I just wish I liked the things it *didn’t* inherit from Fudge.)
It’s sad, because she’s probably right. The Fudge Planet that I thought was neat, no longer exists and instead the URLs point to EvilHat (makers of STOC) where they maintain the equivalent of a Fate planet. Not particularly the nicest way to find out tbh, wondering why my posts were appearing the feed and why it was all only STOC.
It’s enough to put me completely off FATE/STOC before I give it a chance. 
I know a few people think I’m a little “out there” when I start talking or writing about roleplaying theory and concepts (see “no need for backgrounds” for example). Well I found something that I think is a little “out there”! I came cross the phrase “Conflict Resolution” on the Fudge mailing list.
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