Back in 2009 I proposed and launched the “Day of Fudge”, or DoF, with the support of some of the members over at the Fudge RPG Community Yahoo Group. Here is some background info from my personal blog (which is nowhere near as popular as this one due to the lack of pointy red felt hats):
Every year the first Saturday of June is the "Day of Fudge" where fans of the Fudge RPG system are encouraged to run Fudge game events out in public. You can run a game at your local game shop, at your public library, a local campus, or anywhere you get permission to host such an event. All you need to participate in the DoF is some imagination, and a little gumption!
You can read about my scenario for this year’s DoF at the link above. For the past two years I have had a blast promoting my favorite system while at the same time running a fun game for others. Fudge is a very simple system that uses adjectives instead of numbers for traits, and it has inspired some great derivatives like FATE, the Dresden Files RPG (which I’ll be posting a review of soon), Diaspora, and Icons (which a certain gnome was involved with).
This year the DoF is already getting attention from folks like Michael Wolf over at Stargazer’s World (which is a blog that you probably want to check out too). There is even a DoF raffle where you can win custom Fudge dice from the Dicecreator’s Blog! I am very happy to see the DoF grow a little bit bigger each year, and I absolutely love seeing the RPG community gather to celebrate our hobby whether it be a niche holiday or a convention.
This year though I want to try and crank the DoF up a notch. The problem is that I can’t do that on my own. I need your help to make it happen, and the best way to get your help is to offer my own back in return.
If you want to run a DoF Fudge game then I want to help you do it!
Over at my forum You Meet In A Tavern I have created a board dedicated to the DoF. If you are interested in learning how to play, run, or design a Fudge game I will help you in any way that I can. Want tips on designing an adventure? I am at your disposal. Need advice on introducing gamers to the Fudge RPG? I’ll share every trick that I know with you. Looking for a recommendation for a Fudge product? I can point you in the right direction.
And if I can’t help you with something, well there are two more gnomes over at the Tavern who might be able to help (we’re everywhere). They aren’t rabid Fudge fans like myself, but they damn well know how to run a good game with any RPG system!
To be clear, I am not associated with any Fudge product that is currently being sold today. I do this out of a passion for my favorite game system, and I can tell you how to run Fudge without having to buy anything at all. This is just my way of giving back to the community that has given me so much.
Step up to the challenge!
If you are ready to run a game of Fudge I salute you, and if you want to run a game of Fudge I will help you to do it. Fudge is a great system that may change how you look at other RPGs in general, and that is always good because it expands your GM’s toolbox.
Are you going to step up to the “Day of Fudge” challenge? Let us know by leaving a comment below, and I’ll be sure to write a follow-up post after the DoF to let you all know how things went.
I accept your challenge! Now I begin the quest of learning to play and settling on a venue.
If you are interested, you can follow my progress on my blog http://thegirlygeekblog.typepad.com/the-girly-geek/
@GirlyGeekBlog – That is excellent! I’m adding your blog to Google Reader right now!
And that is another unexpected consequence of these sorts of events – you expand your gaming network! 🙂
I’ll be interested in your comments regarding DFRPG.
I wish you luck with this. FUDGE is virtually unknown in my gaming community, which is mostly D20, 4E & WoD with Savage Worlds running a distant fourth and a couple of GURPS gamers way back in the cheap seats (but even then out-drawing my DFRPG game).
It’s a shame we’re so far apart, geographically. It’d be cool to sit with you for an evening in a pub and get some of the FATE stuff I have trouble with sorted out.
@Roxysteve – You could use the forum that I linked to in the article since geography prohibits a face-to-face meeting. I’d be happy to help you with your FATE questions there.
And why not run a FATE game on the “Day of Fudge”? It is a derivative after all, and you already mentioned how you run games in public at a game shop in other comments on the Stew. 🙂
I’m pretty excited about the whole thing. I have played RPGs for a long time. Mostly D20, with some White Wolf stuff tossed in. I’d never heard of FUDGE, but from what I’ve read so far it sounds like a really interesting premise.
@GirlyGeekBlog – I’ll see if I can find some materials for you to help get you started, but I would read the “Fudge in a Nutshell” document located here on the official Fudge RPG web site. It is only two pages!
http://www.fudgerpg.com/goodies/fudge-files/commercial-support/fudge10th/Fudge-in-a-Nutshell/
You can also download the complete 1995 verison of the Fudge rules and a build known as “5-Point Fudge” as well!
http://www.fudgerpg.com/goodies/fudge-files/core/
And for your first set of Fudge dice might I suggest?
http://www.sinisterforces.com/?attachment_id=328
So without spending a dime you might just have everything that you need to run Fudge right there! Plus you have access to the System Reference Document of the Fudge rules with a ton of alternative and setting specific rules in both HTML and PDF formats.
http://sonic.net/~rknop/php/Omar/fudge/srd.php/srd.html
In other words, I think that you are pretty well covered. 😉
@GirlyGeekBlog – One last thing!
http://www.sinisterforces.com/2010/06/27/my-2010-day-of-fudge-adventure/fudge-adventure-get-the-girl/
That is a 21 page adventure that I wrote for last year’s “Day of Fudge”. It is set in a sci-fi universe similar to the one in the television series Firefly and the film Serenity.
So you now have rules, Fudge dice, lots of links, and even an adventure!
Believe it or not folks I do play games other than Fudge. 🙂
@Patrick Benson –
I am loving those links! The system feels almost liberating. I am also a huge Firefly fan, so I may just use your adventure.
I will convert some of my d6s to fudge dice for my event and I got my local hobby shop to order some official dice just for me. They agreed to host the event too. Woot!
@GirlyGeekBlog – You already have location at your FLGS? You have truly stepped up to the challenge! Kudos to you!
Fudge dice are wonderful to use in other games too. I sometimes roll one to determine an NPC’s reaction to a PCs behavior when appropriate, or to determine what the weather is that day in the game world. A “+” means it favors the PCs, a blank side means that it has no impact, and a “-” means it stands against the PCs.
But to be clear you don’t need Fudge dice to play Fudge with. There many alternatives that others have developed. 1d6 – 1d6 gives results of +5 to -5, percentile dice have been used, and there are even rules for diceless play too!
I’m already running a game that day, but I will change it to a Fudge game. I’ve been itching to give Fudge a try. I’ll be running my first Fudge game in May.
Beldar
@beldar1215 – Alright! Another GM stepping up to the challenge! That is great!
Thanks to all of you who are going to give Fudge a shot on the “Day of Fudge”! I hope that doing so introduces you to another enjoyable RPG, and that it also gives you a better appreciation for your own RPG of choice. I’ve always found that one of the true joys of RPGs is that by playing one type of RPG I can actually develop a better understanding for another type of RPG. The diversity of product choices helps to make us better GMs when we challenge ourselves to try new games, and that is what this challenge is all about. 🙂
Hey, I just started to get into Fudge a couple months ago – mostly due to the ringing endorsements it got from the Stew and a few other places. I still have to get my gaming group to go for it as its a complete departure from the norm for some of them – but the ‘DoF’ seems like as good a time as any to unleash it on them…
I’ve been thinking of running a FATE homebrew (I picked up the SRD for Spirit of the Century). And just to make my life really difficult I want to run the game as a ‘Ghostbusters: Us’ game (i.e. in a hypothetical 2013 all my players find themselves with some money to invest in the first UK Ghostbusters franchise).
Reading that back, clearly i’m something of a masochist. However, the chance to pick such vaunted brains….mmmmm, brains… Ahem. Is not to be missed.
I’ve done a few weeks work already;
– A character sheet (thanks to the fantastic and free NBOS Character Sheet Designer/viewer).
– the Technical Manual of items they will have the blueprints to create (well, partly done at least)
– The rough format of the first ‘mini-campaign’ (this will centre on the struggle to control a place of ancient power in the middle of London between a WW2 British Officer turned Liche who is locked in a forgotten bunker underground, and Hecate the faerie queen and patron of witches. I’m really going for the ‘Bruckheimer’ effect so the locations the team get to blitz are all national landmarks – starting with the West End Theatre the Old Vic – and a ‘guest star appearance’ by the celebrity backer of the theatre – Kevin Spacey.
Is this the right place to blaze away with questions or should i do that elsewhere?
@witsend – It is awesome to have you join the ranks for the DoF! Your plan looks good so far, and I would suggest posting your questions here instead:
http://www.youmeetinatavern.com/index.php?board=20.0
That is the forum board that I created specifically for DoF questions.
I ran my first Spirit of the Century game at March’s RPG Meet Up group up at my FLGS. It was my first experience with running FATE.
The game was excellent and my players truly made the experience a memorable one. I look forward to my next use of Fudge/Fate. I’m thinking Diaspora or Starblazer Adventures at this point, but I’ve also had thoughts of doing a pulpy Western.
@BryanB – Then you, sir, are ready for the “Day of Fudge”! Why not arrange for a game that day in celebration of it? 🙂