From timbyrd1@aol.com Tue Oct 10 13:32:52 EDT 1995 Here it is, folks. Look it over and let me know what you think. WEREWOLF: THE APOCALYPSE ADAPTED TO FUDGE by Tim Byrd ABOUT FUDGE FUDGE is a role-playing game written by Steffan O'Sullivan, with estensive input from the Usenet community of rec.games.design. The basic rules of FUDGE are available on the Internet via anonymous ftp at ftp.csua.berkeley.edu, and in book form or on disk from Grey Ghost Games, P.O. Box 838, Randolph, MA 02368. They may be used with any gaming genre. While an individual work derived from FUDGE may specify certain attributes and skills, many more are possible with FUDGE. Every Game Master using FUDGE is encouraged to add or ignore any character traits. Anyone who wishes to distribute such material for free may do so - merely include this ABOUT FUDGE notice and disclaimer (complete with FUDGE copyright notice). If you wish to charge a fee for such material, other than as an article in a magazine or other periodical, you must first obtain a royalty-free license from the author of FUDGE, Steffan O'Sullivan, P.O. Box 465, Plymouth, NH 03264. DISCLAIMER The following materials based on FUDGE [and on White Wolf Games' WEREWOLF: THE APOCALYPSE], entitled WEREWOLF:THE APOCALYPSE ADAPTED TO FUDGE, are created by Tim Byrd, and are not authorized or endorsed in any way by Steffan O'Sullivan or any publisher of other FUDGE materials [nor by White Wolf Game Studios]. Neither Steffan O'Sullivan or any publisher of FUDGE materials is in any way responsible for the content of these materials [nor is White Wolf, natch]. Original FUDGE materials (c) Copyright 1992-1995 Steffan O'Sullivan, All Rights Reserved. [All WEREWOLF source material (c) Copyright 1991-1995 White Wolf, Inc., All Rights Also Reserved]. So there. A word of thanks also to Steve Jackson Games for their well-done GURPS version of WEREWOLF, adapted and written by Robert M. Schroeck ((c) Copyright 1993 Steve Jackson Games Inc.), which provided hints of inspiration here and there when I hit the really hard bricks in the wall of conversion. ==================== 1 Character Creation ==================== Notes on CONVERSION for characters already existing under Storyteller rules and for characters from White Wolf supplements can be found at the end of the Character Creation section. Character creation in FUDGE:WEREWOLF will follow a sequence roughly correspondent to character creation in White Wolf's original game. Instead of a five "dot" rating system like that used in WW's Storyteller mechanics, FUDGE's seven-level system of trait rating will be used. From best to worst, these levels are: Superb Great Good Fair Mediocre Poor Terrible This adaptation allows for use of FUDGE's "Legendary" trait level, but it is recommended that beginning characters not be allowed access to this level. They are, after all, just pups. ***************** CHARACTER CONCEPT ***************** The most important part of character creation is always having a strong vision of exactly WHO the character is. I will assume that those reading this document are players with enough experience to not need to have this preached to them, or at least players with access to White Wolf's fine essays on the topic in the original W:TA book (which IS needed to use this translation). For our purposes, once the basic character idea is fleshed out, this stage is simply when the player chooses his character's Breed, Auspice, and Tribe. BREED HOMID, Initial Gnosis 1 METIS, Initial Gnosis 3, Must take at least 1 deformity. LUPUS, Initial Gnosis 5, limited from many technological or social skills, including firearms, driving, and medical skills. AUSPICE RAGABASH (New Moon), Initial Rage 1 THEURGE (Crescent Moon), Initial Rage 2 PHILODOX (Half Moon), Initial Rage 3 GALLIARD (Gibbous Moon), Initial Rage 4 AHROUN (Full Moon), Initial Rage 5 TRIBE BLACK FURIES +1 to Rage for Frenzy roll vs. men BONE GNAWERS Default Willpower "Good" -1 to all social rolls dealing with other tribes May not buy Past Life, Pure Breed, or Resources advantages. CHILDREN OF GAIA Default Willpower "Good" Weak Veil: Witness +5 on Delerium chart. FIANNA Default Willpower "Mediocre" GET OF FENRIS Must choose a target for their Intolerance (as per Storyteller's Handbook or Get tribebook). May not purchase Contacts or Mentors. GLASS WALKERS May not buy Pure Breed, Mentor, or Past Life. Weaver Affinity: Cannot regain Gnosis in wilderness. RED TALONS May not buy Allies, Contacts, nor Resources. Only Kinfolk are wolves. Wyld Affinity: Cannot regain Gnosis in cities. SHADOW LORDS May not buy Allies nor Mentor. Failure's Dagger: -1 Renown for failure. SILENT STRIDERS May not buy Past Life nor Resources. Haunted (see details in Storyteller's Handbook, or the Silent Strider tribebook one o' these days) SILVER FANGS Must buy Pure Breed of at least "Great" (12 point Advantage). Must choose a Derangement (as per Storyteller's Handbook or future tribebook) STARGAZERS Default Willpower "Great". May not buy Allies, Fetishes, nor Resources. Obsessive Mind Games (as in ST HB or tribebook, natch). UKTENA Intense Curiosity (as in ST HB or tribebook...you know this by now, right?) WENDIGO Default Willpower "Good". May not buy Contacts nor Resources. Wheel of the Seasons (SPRING +1 to Willpower rolls; SUMMER +1 Rage for Frenzy rolls only; FALL must make Willpower roll to change forms; WINTER +1 to Defensive Damage Factor). ------------ CHOOSE GIFTS ------------ Once Breed, Auspice, and Tribe have been chosen, the character now chooses one Level 1 Gift for each from the appropriate list. Remember that new Gifts may be available in the assorted tribebooks. Additional Gifts may be bought later in the creation process if desired. ******************* CHOOSING ATTRIBUTES ******************* Attributes in FUDGE:WEREWOLF (or F:W) are slightly altered from those used in the Storyteller system, as per my inclinations. Other Storytellers may, of course, follow White Wolf's list of attributes exactly, or use one that differs entirely, as they please. STRENGTH: Sheer physical strength. DEXTERITY: Manual dexterity; hand-eye coordination. AGILITY: Physical gracefulness and speed. STAMINA: Overall health & physical resilience. INTELLIGENCE: Knowledge & learning ability. PERCEPTION: Sensory sharpness & overall awareness. WILLPOWER: Determination and mental resilience. APPEARANCE: Attractiveness and bearing. The initial value of these attributes represents the level held in human form. Changes in ability due to changes in werewolf form will be covered later. Characters are assumed to have a default level of "Fair" in all attributes, putting them on a par with the average human being (except Willpower, which may have higher or lower defaults based on Tribe, as above). This is vastly different than in ST, which assumes a "Poor" rating as the default (i.e., if you don't use your free dots to raise Appearance, you're assumed to be so "poor" looking that "You tend to attract the hostility of others.") Thus, unless you lower a rating, or take a Fault of some sort, you can count on being at least as strong/smart/attractive/etc. as most everybody else on your block, superheroes or supernaturals notwithstanding. A character is given 6 "free" levels to distribute among the above attributes as he likes. Each free level will raise an attribute one level above Fair, thus it would cost 1 free level to raise Strength to Good, 2 free levels to raise it to Great, and 3 free levels to raise it to Superb. When all free levels have been spent, an attribute can be raised further by lowering another attribute an equal amount. *************** CHOOSING SKILLS *************** FUDGE allows for a great deal of flexibility in skill selection, and one essential choice the ST must make is how broadly or narrowly to define skills. EXTREMELY BROAD skill groups would have things like "Social Skills" or "Combat Skills." MODERATELY BROAD groups might be things like "Inspire People", "Parley", "Market Savvy", "Melee Weapons", "Unarmed Combat", or "Missile Weapons." SPECIFIC SKILLS might include "Lie," "Bribe", "Seduce", "Pistol," "Shaolin Kung-Fu," or "Longbow". White Wolf's Storyteller system uses the Moderately Broad level, with such skills as Brawl (for hand-to-hand combat), Melee (for combat with handheld weapons), and Firearms (for using guns). For those who wish to use WW's skills as presented, giving characters 30 levels to buy skills with allows for a very close approximation of the original. Remember that ST allows for the addition of Abilities not listed, so players can come up with their own Abilities to fine-tune their characters, though it would be best to keep them at the Moderately Broad level for balance (thus spending points on Pistol, allowing for the use of only one type of firearm, is a waste in this system, when you can get ALL Firearms for the same point cost). I prefer (and suggest) a system using Specific Skills. It allows for more variety in the way characters are created, and in how they operate in the game world. I suggest using a good skill list as a guide in choosing these skills. Also, skills should be classified as EASY, AVERAGE, HARD, or VERY HARD to determine the cost in levels to buy the skill at the desired level (GURPS provides a wonderful skill list already rated in this way--just disregard their point costs and go with FUDGE costs as detailed below). Each player gets 50 free skill levels to spend. Starting characters can have no more than 2 skills at Superb level and 4 at Great level. All Garou characters automatically get the skill GAROU LANGUAGE at Fair level; it can be improved like any other skill. Also remember limitations on skill buying for Lupus breed characters as detailed under CHARACTER CONCEPT. Costs of Skills --------------- | Easy | Average | Hard | Very Hard Terrible... | -2 | -1 | 0 | 1 Poor... | -1 | 0 | 1 | 2 Mediocre... | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 Fair... | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 Good... | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 Great... | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 Superb... | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 Default level for skills not taken by a character will for the most part fall at the points of 0 cost on the above table. Thus an Easy skill would default to Mediocre, an Average skill to Poor, and a Hard skill to Terrible. Very Hard skills, or skills at any level requiring extremely specific knowledge which can only be learned, have no default. If using the aforementioned GURPS skill list, STs may want to rule that some physical skills classify as Very Hard, even though the highest difficulty for physical skills in that game is Hard. For example, Brawling ["unscientific roaring-and-punching close combat"] is Easy, and translating directly to FUDGE would allow a default of Mediocre; most folks on the street have at least SOME potential to do damage this way. GURPS's generic martial arts skills in the basic rules are Karate ["represents the general skill of trained punching and kicking, rather than any specific school of unarmed combat"] and Judo ["the general skill of unarmed throws and grapples, rather than any specific school of unarmed combat"], and both are Hard, thereby defaulting to Terrible. Fine so far, as this allows even the untrained to get in the occasional karate chop or throw. But more complicated arts than Karate, Judo, or similar styles should be considered Very Hard, in my opinion, and as such having no default at all. These would include Ninjutsu (or, rather, Taijutsu, the combat arts of the ninja; Ninjutsu would be more accurately represented by a skills package including Taijutsu and other diverse options, from Stealth and Acrobatics to Computer Hacking and Motorcycle), the different styles of Kung Fu, and the werewolf martial art of Kailindo, among many other esoteric styles. The same logic might be applied to other categories, as well. These costs are for use in the SPECIFIC SKILL system. Those using the WW equivalent system of MODERATELY BROAD skill groups will spend one free level per level of skill. Further conversions are up to you. It is possible to trade free skill levels for additional levels to apply to a character's attributes, and vice versa. The rate for such conversion is: 1 attribute level = 3 skill levels. ************************** ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES ************************** At this point, allocate the points for RENOWN as per the W:TA rulebook, preferably the 2nd Edition, but 1st if that's what you're using. The Renown system for F:W is unchanged from the original. Allocate the RANK of the character. If a beginning character, this will be Rank 0. For a more experienced character, Rank will be based on the character's Renown rating. The ST traits known as BACKGROUND are no longer a separate category, but are instead simply options in the Advantage & Disadvantage system which follows. FUDGE, like many systems, has provisions for buying special advantages in the creation of a heroic character, and for taking Disadvantages to gain points to spend in improving other areas of the character. In FUDGE, these traits are called "Gifts" and "Faults", but I'll use the terms Advantages and Disadvantages, both because I think they encompass a wider range of possibility (being hunted by the CIA wouldn't really be a fault per se, but would definitely be disadvantageous), and because WEREWOLF already uses the term "Gift" to describe a very specific *type* of Advantage. ************** GAROU TEMPLATE ************** All werewolves automatically have the following non-negotiable, permanent Advantages and Disadvantages (these cost nothing and likewise give no extra points for other traits; nor can they be traded for extra levels): -------------------- **GAROU ADVANTAGES** -------------------- INSTANT REGENERATION When injured, Garou heal one damage level per minute of game time if active, one level every ten seconds if at rest. EXCEPTIONS to this are when the character is in his Breed form or when he takes Aggravated Damage; in both these instances, healing is at normal human rate as detailed in FUDGE. A FURTHER EXCEPTION is a character who takes damage *beyond* Near Death; this is considered "Critically Wounded" as described in the ST rules. In this instance, the character makes a roll on 2d6; if the result is equal to or under current Rage, the Garou loses 1 point from his Rage pool and his wounds decrease to Near Death and after another hour to Incapacitated, whereupon Instant Regeneration kicks back in as normal. If the result rolled is above current Rage, Regeneration ceases and the character is in a coma and will remain so until successfully rolling Rage or below (every week he gets to try a new roll), or until healed magically, whereupon he heals to Near Death, then Incapacitated as above. Medical attention has no effect on a Garou in this condition as a human in this bad of shape would be dead. Vicious STs (like me) may optionally subtract a Rage point from current Rage each week, thereby making the recovery roll progressively more difficult; when Rage reaches 0, the character dies. ANY Aggravated damage suffered by the character who is beyond Near Death will also kill him, though non-Aggravated damage has no further effect. Any character who has been Critically Wounded and recovered will gain a Battle Scar; refer to the table in W:TA or make up a good ugly one yourself. STEP SIDEWAYS Garou have the ability to "step sideways" into the spirit world, or "Umbra". To do so, a Garou must stare into a reflective surface and roll his *current* Gnosis or lower on 2d6, with the ROLL (not the Gnosis) modified according to the local Gauntlet as follows: MODIFIER GAUNTLET AREA -3 2 The greatest caerns -2 3 Powerful caern -1 4 Typical active caern 0 5 Deep wilderness +1 6 Rural countryside +2 7 Most places +3 8 Inner city +4 9 Science lab A natural 12 is a Critical Failure and the character is caught between worlds as detailed in the WW rulebook. A natural 2 is a Critical Success and the character slips instantly into the Umbra. Otherwise, any roll above the current Gnosis is a failure, and the character loses a point of Gnosis and may not enter the Umbra for another hour. Successful rolls allow passage into the Umbra with a time of passage based on the level of success: ROLL TIME OF PASSAGE = to Gnosis 15 minutes Gnosis-1 10 minutes Gnosis-2 5 minutes Gnosis-3 1 minute Gnosis-4 30 seconds Garou may step sideways individually (and risk entering at different times) or as a pack, with the roll done by the member with the highest Gnosis. **Gnosis rolls and Rage rolls, unlike other rolls in this system, are based on rolling UNDER the trait rather than OVER it for success.** THE MANY FORMS Garou have five forms they may assume. In anthrocentric order, they are: Homid, Glabro, Crinos, Hispo, and Lupus. Shifting form moves through each stage in the continuum, thus to go from Homid to Hispo, a character would have to become Glabro, then Crinos, before reaching Hispo. A Garou does not need to perfect the intermediate forms, and it takes only 1 second to pass through each. It takes approximately 6 seconds to fully perfect a final form, however. Thus, the change from Homid to Hispo would take 1 second to mutate through Glabro, another to burble through Crinos, and 6 more to fully shift into Hispo, for a total of 8 seconds. Alternately, a Garou may choose to spend one Rage point to shift instantly, no matter the number of forms passed through. I have chosen to disregard the original ST mechanic requiring characters to roll each time they try to change form, as my experience has been that it slows the game. Others may use the roll if they wish. The basic "powers" of the different forms are mostly changes in scale, as detailed in FUDGE, and a few modifiers here and there for such things as damage from claws and teeth or heightened senses. Attributes affected by changes in scale remain at their original rating, thus a character in Homid form (scale 0) with Good Strength would have Good Strength, Scale 3 in Hispo form. SPEED in this instance is equal to the AGILITY attribute. STAMINA is not changed, as the increase of STRENGTH scale already affects Damage Capacity. As to modifiers to Appearance, or to social rolls of any sort, I see no reason to quantify; common sense should serve. Details of what the actual forms are should be familiar to players of W:TA. Those not familiar can read the original for specifics. +++HOMID The character is unmodified from the basic traits already determined. He does not benefit from Instant Regeneration, healing at the normal human rate. He is unburned by silver, though it will still reduce his Gnosis as detailed under Garou Disadvantages. +++GLABRO STRENGTH @ SCALE 2 SPEED @ SCALE 1 BITE and SCRATCH attacks +1 to Offensive Damage Factor PERCEPTION rolls +1 +++CRINOS STRENGTH @ SCALE 4 SPEED @ SCALE 2 BITE and TALONS +3 to Offensive Damage Factor DELERIUM PERCEPTION rolls +2 LIMITED SPEECH w/ "Fair" Willpower roll +++HISPO STRENGTH @ SCALE 3 SPEED @ SCALE 3 BITE +5, CLAWS +3 to Offensive Damage Factor SPEAK WITH WOLVES (can do so in any form, but only be completely understood in more lupine forms) PERCEPTION rolls +2 DELERIUM (optional; WW doesn't give Hispo this advantage, but I can see an argument for it, though I haven't decided on this myself yet) *VERY* LIMITED SPEECH w/ "Good" Willpower roll NO HANDS +++LUPUS STRENGTH @ SCALE 2 SPEED @ SCALE 4 PERCEPTION rolls +2 SPEAK WITH WOLVES NO HUMAN SPEECH NO HANDS If Lupus breed, character is unaffected by silver in this form. ----------------------- **GAROU DISADVANTAGES** ----------------------- FRENZY Rage rolls are made similarly to Gnosis rolls, on 2d6. When a Frenzy roll is made, roll against *current* Rage; if the roll succeeds by 2 or more, i.e. is 2 or more LESS than the Rage score, the character will Frenzy unless he gets a Good or better result on a Willpower roll. If this roll fails, the character goes Crinos and either Fox or Berserk Frenzies as in the WW rules. The Frenzy ROLL (not the Rage scord) is modified according to the current phase of the moon: MODIFIER LUNAR PHASE +2 New +1 Crescent 0 Half -1 Gibbous -2 Full Additionally, higher Rank characters gain a modifier to their Frenzy rolls, reflecting the self control gained with experience: MODIFIER RANK +1 3 +1 4 +2 5 +2 6 +3 7 For Frenzy rolls, a natural 2 automatically Frenzies, but also subtracts 3 levels from the Garou's current Rage. A natural 12 automatically prevents a Frenzy, and adds 2 levels to the current Rage. THE BEAST WITHIN The Beast is too close to the surface for other people to be totally at ease with a Garou. Reaction or social rolls will have a -1 applied to their result for each level by which the character's Willpower is exceeded by his current Rage. ENEMY (WYRM) All Garou are constantly in danger of discovery and/or attack by the forces of the Wyrm. SECRET (WERE) All Garou are likewise cursed with the secret of their dual natures. Were this secret to be learned by those outside werewolf society, a Garou would face death not only from human agencies or agents of the Wyrm, but also from his own kind for violating the Litany and endangering the Veil. VULNERABLE TO SILVER Silver does Aggravated damage to Garou, except when they are in Homid form. Lupus Breed characters are ALSO unaffected in Lupus form. Even the simple touch of silver burns Garou badly: it causes one level of damage per five seconds (or fraction thereof) of contact. This level is added to any basic damage done by a silver weapon, all of which will of course be Aggravated as well. Additionally, each item of silver handled or carried by a Garou reduces effective Gnosis by 1 level. This effect will last up to a day after the silver is discarded. Every 5 such objects carried by pack members will reduce EACH member's effective Gnosis by 1. A single silver bullet would count as an object, while larger items (such as a klaive) might count as more than one object. ********************************* CHOSEN ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES ********************************* As noted, the above Ads & Disads are automatic, free, and non-tradeable for all Garou characters. Further Advantages and Disadvantages can now be bought as follows. ADVANTAGES are rated in a three-level scale and are priced according to level: LEVEL COST ----- ---- Minor 3 Helpful 6 Outstanding 12 Phenomenal 18 Most Advantages will fall into the Helpful category. STs should closely moderate the buying of Advantages and rule on the appropriate cost of each chosen by the player; some Advanatges may be worth less or more than the above, it's only a guideline. Don't forget that W:TA BACKGROUNDS count as Advantages in this system, and so are bought here; you may treat a 1 dot BG as Minor, a 2-3 as Helpful, a 4 as Outstanding, and a 5 as Phenomenal. (As with skills, I find the Advantage/Disadvantage lists in GURPS to be quite helpful in choosing these, but apply ST discretion to costs instead of GURPS point costs. Worth a look also are the Merits & Flaws in the Werewolf Players' Guide). Some specific Advantages & Disadvantages may be available at different levels to represent more or less power. Each character starts with 12 free levels to spend on Advantages, and which MUST be spent on Advantages, not on any other traits. Up to 24 additional levels can be gained by taking Disadvantages, according to the chart below: LEVEL GAINED ----- ------ Inconvienient +3 Harmful +6 Severe +12 Horrible +18 These latter 24 levels MAY be applied to buying or raising traits other than Advantages at costs listed on the table under FINISHING TOUCHES below. RITES When created, characters can only buy Rites as Advantages, and they may only buy Level 1 Rites, @ a cost of 6 levels per Rite. They may buy Minor Rites @ a cost of 3 levels per Rite. As in the original game, however, after character creation Rites can only be gained through roleplay, and may not be bought with Experience Points. GIFTS Additional Level 1 Gifts may also be bought with these points at a cost of 12 levels. ***************** FINISHING TOUCHES ***************** Each Garou now gains 12 free levels to spend on any trait that he wishes according to the following costs: TRAIT COST PER LEVEL ----- -------------- Attribute 3 Skill see skill cost chart Advantage see Advantage cost chart Gift (level 1) 12 Rite (level 1) 6 Minor Rite 3 Rage 2/point (maximum 10) Gnosis 4/point (maximum 10) Once this is done, additional fine-tuning MAY be done if the ST wishes to allow it, wherein the player may redistribute levels from one trait or category to another, but this should be kept to a minimum of one or two minor changes, and point costs as on the above table should be honored. For example, in creating my character, I ended up with 1 unspent level in the FINISHING TOUCHES stage, and still wanted an extra point of Rage, so I dropped my character's Acrobatics skill (a Hard skill) from Great (costing 5) to Good (costing 4). This gave me the additional point needed to buy the desired point of Rage. (cont...)