Fudge Psi-Wars Example Scenario Part 4

Noriko Tan-Shai and a Mysterious Robot

“Have you ever wondered why we have continued the war here instead of eradicating the population pulled out and reallocating our resources? Why could we possibly gain from maintaining a bloody stasis?”

Noriko Tan-Shai didn’t answer.

“We know you have knowledge of the ancient Monolith Builders. You know that they engaged in mass killings to harness mysterious energies. The Builders also created beings - a sort of background process - to assist them in controlling those energies. We require your assistance to create one of those beings here under our control. Your cooperation is not optional!”

Dr. Tan-Shai gasped, and then an alarm sounded. “It appears that we have guests. It does not matter. They will die, and you will help us achieve the powers of the ancients!”

Ben Dayfall and Yuanto Zero Arrive

After sneaking and then fighting passed the sentries, the daring duo located Dr. Tan-Shai. Ben Dayfall received a vision as soon as he saw Dr. Tan-Shai and her mysterious captor. Ben wanted to capture her and bring her back to Sepulcher for questioning, but he needed her out first. Letting her remain in the hands of these robots would lead to disaster.

“My lady! I am here for you!” Yuanto Zero opened fire on the mysterious robot. A small distortion appeared in the air in the path of the blaster fire, and the blaster bolts dissipated.

Ben Dayfall ignited his force sword and strained to pull Dr. Tan-Shai toward her bodyguard. “Take her and run! I will handle this one.”

The Duel

The Mysterious Robot is apparently a psiborg space knight. Ben Dayfall has trained against other Wardens, but this was his first duel against a real enemy knight.

This duel will take place using Simultaneous Combat Rounds but will have some elements of Story Elements.

The psiborg has Great skill with the force sword and has no shield but does have an ergokinetic shield capable of deflecting a blaster pistol with a Good skill level. It also does not have external armor, but does have a Great damage capacity. It is also quite strong with Good strength.

Ben Dayfall has ODF +8 and DDF +4. The psiborg has ODF +8 and DDF +2 + the ergokinetic shield bonus.

“Round” 1

Ben Dayfall has his sword and shield out and begins with a normal posture (normal offense and defense) to test his opponent and rolls { , ,+, } for a Great result.

The psiborg does the same but is at -2 to offense because of the shield and rolls {+,+, ,-} for a Good result.

Ben’s blade manages to slip passed the psiborg who defends with a { ,+,+,-} for a Great ergokinetic shield. The ODF is +8 + a relative degree 1 for +9, and the DDF +2 + 2 for the ergokinetic shield bonus for a total DF of 5. Ben manages to Hurt the psiborg.

“Round” 2

Ben continues his strategy of a normal posture and rolls {+,-,-,-} for a Mediocre result.

The psiborg finds the shield to be a challenge and so tries to get inside of it using a Positional Advantage (Close In) maneuver and rolls {+, ,-,-} but is Hurt and has a -1 penalty for a Fair result.

There were no injuries in this round, but the psiborg has gotten inside Ben’s shield. It is now a liability.

“Round” 3

Ben is forced to deactivate his shield and makes a defensive attack (-1 to offense, +1 to defense) and rolls {+,+, ,-} for a Fair offense and a Great defense.

The psiborg makes an offensive attack (+1 to offense, -1 to defense) and rolls {-,-,+, } for a Good offense and a Mediocre defense and rolls { , ,+,-} for a Fair ergokinetic shield.

Ben’s blade manages another graze this time. The ODF is +9, but the DDF is only +2! This results in DF of 7. Since it is a graze, the gives a Hurt result. Since the psiborg is already Hurt, this leaves it Very Hurt for a -2 penalty.

“Round” 4

Ben continues his defensive strategy. He doesn’t have a shield available. He rolls { ,+,-,+} for a Good offense and a Superb defense.

The psiborg, injured and knowing it can’t escape, decides on an all out offense (+2 offense, -2 defense) and rolls {-, ,-,-} for a Mediocre offense and a Terrible defense and {-,+, +} for a Poor ergokinetic shield.

The ODF is +8 + 4 for relative degree for a total +12 and DDF of +2 for a total DF of 10. This is not a graze and gives an instant Near Death result. Ben has won his first true duel.

Retrospective

FAQ

Q: Why did the the Mysterious Robot reveal its plan so readily?

A: Because evil villains do that.

Q: Isn’t this force sword battle contrived? Why is there a robot space knight here?

A: It is contrived. The battle is here so we can see what a duel between space knights might look like.

Q: How did a Good level ergokinetic shield stop a blaster?

A: A good roll combined with high Damage Capacity and dodge. Use your imagination.

Q: This isn’t a real FAQ! You/I are/am the only only one asking the questions.

A: That isn’t a question.

And Now Back to the Retrospective

The shield is OP, and the ability to deactivate it removes any real weakness. Even with superior skill, the shield was simply too much for the psiborg. The psiborg really should have had better armor too. Great Damage Capacity sounds great, but it doesn’t compete with real armor even with the ergokinetic shield.

While the fight seemed one sided, it could have easily gone either way. The Fudge “death spiral” is real. In a one on one combat, the first one to score anything more than a scratch gains a significant advantage.

And that concludes the initial example scenario. These examples show some ways of running Psi-Wars using Fudge. There may be ways to improve it, and there are certainly other options to add additional detail, but these tests show that it is possible to run a somewhat engaging scenario in Fudge (what a surprise).

I may come back to explore some of these options later, but the next part will be where I expect Fudge to shine - vehicles.