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anAnimal Companions Adventure

by Ann Dupuis

Credits

Adventure Design: Ann Dupuis, with help and inspiration from Paul Dupuis

Character Creation: Ann & Paul Dupuis, Scott Gray, Steffan O’Sullivan, and Sharon Tripp

Illustrations: Jane Irwin, and various artists (clip-art supplied by arttoday.com)

Page Layout, Cartography, and Image Editing: Ann Dupuis

Proofreading: J. Hunter Johnson, Maurizio Paoluzi, Greg Yon

Playtesting: Jennifer Brinn, Andrew Byers, Paul Drapeau, Ann Dupuis, Paul Dupuis, James Goodrich, Scott Gray,Steven Hammond, Carrie Handverger, Mark Klein, Rob Knop, Valerie Lubben, Andrew Martin, GordonMcCormick, Charlotte Newell, Maurizio Paoluzi, John Parker, Ann Marie Riley, Tony Spallino, Phil Tow, SharonTripp, and Greg Yon

Thanks to everyone for their help and suggestions. Many thanks also to Barney, Reek Havoc, and Shadow for their inspiration andthe use of their names. Any errors in fact or presentation are the sole responsibility of the author.

About FudgeFudge is a roleplaying game written by Steffan O’Sullivan, with extensive input from the Usenet community of

rec.games.design and other online forums. The core rules of Fudge are available free on the Internet athttp://www.fudgerpg.com and other sites. Fudge was designed to be customized, and may be used with any gaminggenre. Fudge gamemasters and game designers are encouraged to modify Fudge to suit their needs, and to sharetheir modifications and additions with the Fudge community. The Fudge game system is Copyright ©2000 by GreyGhost Press, Inc., and is available for use under the Open Game License. See the fudgerpg.com website for moreinformation.

Another Fine Mess Copyright ©2000 by Grey Ghost Press, Inc.Abominations artwork Copyright ©2000 by Jane Irwin.

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Table of Contents

2 Table of Contents

Introduction (Player Information)Adventure Background..........................................................................3Player Characters ....................................................................................3

Anaxagoras (Great Horned Owl) ...................................................3Bandit (Raccoon).................................................................................3Barney (Mutt).......................................................................................4Isabelle (Bloodhound)........................................................................4Midnight (Horse) ................................................................................4Penny (Peregrine Falcon)..................................................................4Reek Havoc (Ferret) ...........................................................................5Shadow (Cat) ........................................................................................5

Roleplaying Animals ..............................................................................5

Pullout: Player Character SheetsAnaxagoras/Bandit .................................................................................6Barney/Isabelle ........................................................................................7Midnight/Penny.......................................................................................8Reek Havoc/Shadow ..............................................................................9

The Adventure (GM’s Eyes Only)Setting Up the Adventure ...................................................................10

Background ........................................................................................10About the Map: Camp, Cave, and Environs.............................10

Map: Camp, Cave, and Environs......................................................11Map: Cave Plan and Cave Profile.....................................................11Combat Summary Sheet .....................................................................12At the Camp ...........................................................................................13The Master’s Trail ................................................................................13

The Dog Things................................................................................14Bleeding Thing .............................................................................14Crying Thing.................................................................................14Two-Faced Thing.........................................................................14

The Cave .................................................................................................15Cave Formations...............................................................................15About the Map: Cave Plan and Cave Profile............................16Cave Entrance ...................................................................................16Bat Den................................................................................................16Sky Eye................................................................................................17

Male Flying Thing .......................................................................17Female Flying Thing...................................................................17

Beyond the Sky Eye .........................................................................18Crawling Thing ............................................................................18

Light!....................................................................................................18Big Cave ..............................................................................................19The Walk-About ...............................................................................19The Pit.................................................................................................19The Rock Forest ...............................................................................19The Sump ...........................................................................................19Tight Squeeze ....................................................................................19Big Step ...............................................................................................19

The Adventure (Continued)Yet Another Split..............................................................................20Big Jump .............................................................................................20Falling Into the Cold River............................................................20The Crossing......................................................................................21The Bridge..........................................................................................21Drooling Thing .................................................................................22

Lumpy Cave ...........................................................................................22Bumpy Tunnel.......................................................................................22Slippery Hill ...........................................................................................22The Sorcerer’s Lair...............................................................................22

The Doors...........................................................................................22Snarling Thing ..................................................................................23The Side Chambers .........................................................................23Main Temple Chamber ..................................................................23Black Bear...........................................................................................24Balancing the Encounter with the Sorcerer ..............................24Magic ...................................................................................................24The Sorcerer ......................................................................................25The Master .........................................................................................25

Big Tunnel.................................................................................................26Cold River .................................................................................................26Cold Lake ..................................................................................................26Concluding the Adventure ...................................................................26What Next?................................................................................................27

All the Rules You Need to KnowCharacter Traits ....................................................................................28Skill Descriptions ..................................................................................29Action Resolution .................................................................................30

Rolling the Dice ................................................................................30Unopposed Actions ..........................................................................30Opposed Actions ..............................................................................31Combat................................................................................................31

Scale and Minimum Target Levels .........................................31Multiple Opponents ....................................................................31Wounds...........................................................................................31Stun, Knockout, and Pulling Punches ...................................32Scale, Damage, and Knockback...............................................32

Situational Rolls ....................................................................................32Fudge Points...........................................................................................32Magic ........................................................................................................32The Only Rule You Really Need to Know.....................................32

Adapting “Another Fine Mess”Running a More Traditional Adventure ........................................33Using Other Game Systems ...............................................................33

Grey Ghost GamesGrey Ghost Games ...............................................................................34Sample

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Another Fine Mess is a fantasy adventure for Fudge, a skill-based roleplaying game. This booklet includes ready-madeplayer characters (pp. 6-9) and “All the Rules You Need toKnow” (pp. 28-32).

The Game Master should read through the entire adven-ture before running Another Fine Mess for her players.

The following information is for players as well as GameMasters. Before beginning the adventure, please make sureall players understand the information contained in“Adventure Background” and “Player Characters” sec-tions. (Reading these sections out loud after handing outcopies of the character sheets can help set the mood of theadventure, and serves to introduce the animal characters tothe players.)

Players may also want to read the “Roleplaying Animals”section before beginning play.

Note: The Game Master may replace the “AdventureBackground” with a suitable backstory tailored to her pre-ferred game world, if desired.

Adventure BackgroundThe player characters presented with Another Fine Mess

aren’t your typical party of fantasy adventurers. They’reanimals. Fairly ordinary animals, at that, or at least theywere before they began their travels with the Master.

The Master is a mage in the service of the Free Rangersof Amberland. His duties mostly involve travelling theremote reaches of Amberland and sending reports back toheadquarters. As a Free Ranger, he is charged with ensur-ing that the Queen’s Peace is kept, even in the wilderness.As a practitioner of magic, the Master also keeps a sharpeye out for magical disturbances.

The Master’s specialty is in Animal Magics, and over theyears he’s collected quite a menagerie to aid in his patrols.His animals are his best friends and companions. He is thetype of master who would earn the love and loyalty of hisanimal companions even without the aid of magic, but hisability to speak with animals helps. Some of the Master’smagic has rubbed off on his companions. They exhibitmore than ordinary animal intelligence, and share a com-mon language that allows them to speak with one another.

This adventure begins with the animals in camp, waitingfor the Master to return from scouting. The Master hasn’texplained everything that’s happened recently (he rarelydoes), but the animals know it has something to do with abad man who’s been doing bad things with magic. TheMaster is sure to fix that, though. Any moment now hewill return to announce victory over the evil-doer….

The Player Characters

Anaxagoras (Great Horned Owl)As the Master’s apprentice (or so he thinks), Anaxagoras

bears himself with much dignity and reserve. He takesquiet delight in sharing his vast knowledge with his less for-tunate companions. Anaxagoras struggles daily with hisinborn nature as a Great Horned Owl – especially whenpresented with the distraction of a squeaking rodent.

Anaxagoras is a large owl with round yellow eyes; mot-tled brown, black, and white feathers; a white throat patch,and large ear tufts. His taloned feet are the size of a humanhand and have feathered toes. His normal prey consists ofreptiles, birds, small mammals, and sometimes fish. Owlsswallow small prey whole.

Anaxagoras is civilized enough to consider Reek Havoca friend rather than prey. Wild birds don’t recognizeAnaxagoras as “civilized,” though, so he’s just as subject tobeing mobbed by crows as any wild owl.

Great Horned Owls are patient, and can remain immo-bile for hours. Their hearing is superb, able to distinguish abeetle crawling through grass 100 yards away.

Anaxagoras can emit a number of sounds, includingdeep hoots, shrill shrieks, cooing, growling or screaming(when attacking), barking, and even meowing like a cat.He’s a bit of a ventriloquist, able to make some soundsappear to come from somewhere else.

Bandit (Raccoon)To Bandit, the world is full of wonder. Every nook and

cranny is worth exploring; one never knows what treasuresone may find. All treasures are equally valuable, whetherthey’re tasty grubs, crunchy beetles, or shiny baubles. Agenerous soul, Bandit will often share a newly discoveredtreasure with friends.

Raccoons are insatiably curious. Aided by a keen senseof touch and slender, agile “fingers,” they can manipulateman-made objects better than most animals. Bandit canturn door handles and jar lids, pull or push levers, andpoke and twist things until his curiosity is satisfied. Hollowtrees are his favorite resting and nesting spots.

Although capable of hunting and killing frogs, fish, andother small prey, raccoons more commonly eat eggs,insects, fruits, acorns, vegetables, and seeds. They’re alsonot averse to eating carrion they happen upon.

A raccoon’s vocabulary includes low twitterings, growls,snarls, and sharp barks. Bandit uses all of these sounds toexpress himself, sometimes vociferously.

Introduction

Adventure Background/Player Characters: Anaxagoras, Bandit 3

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Barney (Mutt)Barney likes nothing better than a good romp in the

woods. Fortunately, the Master’s travels take them througha lot of woods, and sometimes into the mountains! A gentlesoul, Barney approaches everyone he meets as a potentialfriend. While he rarely starts a fight, he’s in no way reluc-tant to finish one if someone else starts it.

Barney is a deep-chested, solidly built dog with a thickdouble coat that sheds water and dirt easily. The skinaround his neck is loose and well furred, giving him anadvantage in a fight. Animals attempting to go for the jugu-lar are likely to grab nothing but fur and a bit of skin.

Young and agile, Barney can leap up to 4' easily. He canjump on and clamber up and over rocks and other obsta-cles substantially larger than that. He’s strong, too, andseemingly suffers no ill effects after slamming head- orshoulder-first into obstacles such as trees and boulders, ashe sometimes does when chasing squirrels or sticks. Heloves the chase, but has little actual drive to kill.

Barney rarely barks, but when he does it’s a deep, throaty“Ruff!” He whines when he’s afraid he’ll be left alone, orwhen he’s excited. He pants a lot, especially after a goodrun or when he’s anticipating some rough-and-tumble play.

Isabelle (Bloodhound)Although she moves more slowly and stiffly than she did

in her prime, Isabelle is still a powerful dog. She can tracka spoor for hours – or days. She has a soft spot for Barney,and worries that his unbounded enthusiasm may lead himinto trouble. Isabelle often guides the other companionswith soft-spoken suggestions.

Through no fault of her own, Isabelle slobbers evenmore than Barney. (That’s just the way her heavy, droopylips work.) Sometimes she forgets, and sends slobber flyingin all directions with a shake of her head.

Isabelle is a persistent dog, especially when following atrail. At times she’ll concentrate so hard that she ignoreseverything else. She can easily follow a trail that’s no morethan 8 hours old. Trails up to 72 hours old require moredeliberate tracking, but are still within her capabilities.Upon catching sight of her quarry, Isabelle may break intoa deep, bell-toned baying.

Isabelle can be stubborn if someone tries to tell her to dosomething she disagrees with. She will patiently explain,over and over, why she doesn’t think such-and-such is agood idea.

Rainy days bother Isabelle now, as do cold nights. Shegamely plugs along, though, despite pain or discomfortfrom her arthritic joints.

Midnight (Horse)Midnight has been with the Master since he was just a

colt, and even remembers Isabelle as a puppy. As the old-est, most experienced, and by far the strongest of theMaster’s companions, Midnight considers himself thegroup’s protector. When given a choice, he prefers to avoiddanger rather than confront it directly, but is a capable,trained warrior.

Horses excel at running, and only Penny the falcon canmove faster than Midnight. Midnight is well muscled andstrong for his size (he’s a large but fine-boned horse, not asmassive as a draft horse). As herbivores, horses are wary ofsituations that may indicate potential predators; suddensounds or movement can spook them. Midnight hasenough experience and training to limit his “spooks” toquick flinches while he assesses the situation – then hedecides whether to run or stand his ground.

Equine vocalizations include snorts, nickers, and a loudwhinnying call. Midnight, a stallion, has been known toscream his defiance in battle, a sound normally reservedfor fights between stallions over breeding rights. Horsestend to vocalize much less than TV and movies would havepeople believe.

Penny (Peregrine Falcon)Peregrine falcons are streamlined birds. Penny has slate-

blue feathers on her back and wings and cream-coloredfeathers on her breast and the underside of her wings. Herlegs and talons are yellow.

Penny watches everything sharply, and sometimes makessharp comments. A fierce fighter, Penny has no fear of hercompanions, even the owl or the raccoon, who would beher enemies in nature. She tolerates Reek as helpmaterather than prey because he flushes so many partridges forher.

Peregrines prey mostly on small to medium sized birds.Penny is particularly fond of ducks.

Penny is by far the fastest of the Master’s animal com-panions. She can fly at 60 miles per hour in level flight;three times that in a steep dive or “stoop.” Peregrines killtheir prey by impacting at high speed with their talons.

Like most falcons, Penny is easily agitated. She maybecome enraged if deprived of prey, and doesn’t acceptfailure in her hunts gracefully.

Vocalizations include a staccato “ee-chup, ee-chup, ee-chup” as a greeting; a very loud “kak, kak, kak” when agi-tated, and a quick chittering of disapproval. When hunting,she may make a sharp “kee, kee, kee” call to warn other fal-cons in the area to stay away.

Introduction

4 Player Characters: Barney, Isabelle, Midnight, Penny

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Reek Havoc (Ferret)Reek Havoc’s inability to comprehend the concept of

personal property is balanced by his genuine concern forthe well-being and happiness of the Master and his animalcompanions. Unfortunately, Reek is prone to acting with-out thinking. His apologies are sincere – and frequent!

Reek is a contortionist, and can squeeze through a spaceas small as 2" × 2". He delights in flushing rabbits fromtheir burrows, and can be a fierce warrior or hunter whennecessary. He’ll also snatch up small rodents or insects withglee, and especially relishes crunchy grasshoppers. The dis-covery of some bauble or trinket is an occasion of great joyand may merit the “ferret dance” in which Reek flings him-self about with stiff legs and an arched back.

The ferret’s curiosity is matched only by Bandit’s. Reekoften teases the coon, bragging about how many morenooks and crannies he can fit into than can his plumpfriend. But even Reek has to admit that Bandit’s paws arethe cleverest of all.

Usually quiet, Reek will sometimes chuckle or cluck tohimself when particularly happy or excited — especiallywhen exploring a new area. He hisses when frustrated orangry, and sometimes while fighting. When frightened orin pain, he will screech or chitter loudly.

Shadow (Cat)Like most cats, Shadow’s main concern is the protection

of his dignity. He’s a great hunter, and quite proudly bringshis prey back to the group to show off his prowess. Heprefers not to eat wild-caught game, though, until the Master(or sometimes Bandit) has skinned or plucked it for him.

Shadow has been with the Master since he was a kitten.Of all the companions, Shadow has the closest bond withthe Master. He can usually tell what the Master is thinkingand feeling, and can often “hear” the Master’s voice insidehis head. Shadow can tell when the Master is lookingthrough his eyes. Sometimes, Shadow can see through theMaster’s eyes, feel what he’s feeling, or hear what the he’shearing even when the Master is well out of sight.

Cats are agile creatures, able to leap several times theirown height. While many cats “specialize,” perfecting apouncing technique for hunting small mammals or a leap-ing technique for catching birds, Shadow is equally adeptat both hunting practices.

Shadow is a fairly vocal cat. He meows loudly when hewants attention, especially at dinnertime. Hisses and growlsare common when he’s annoyed. Purring is loudest whenthe Master is petting him, but Shadow also purrs wheneverhe’s feeling contented.

Roleplaying AnimalsHere are some tips to help players “get into” their animal

characters.

Physical CapabilitiesAnimals are physically limited by their lack of opposable

thumbs. If you’re not sure if your character can perform aparticular task, try doing something similar, either wearingmittens or using your mouth.

Each animal has strengths and weaknesses based on itsbody form. The birds are graceful in flight but shufflewhen on the ground. The dogs are strong, but hamperedon slippery ground or in tight places. Shadow and Banditcan climb anything they can sink their claws into, butShadow is more agile and Bandit more dexterous. Reek isquick, but his short legs make jumping difficult. Midnightis by far the strongest, but his size limits where he can go.

Motivations and Mental CapabilitiesAnimals are motivated by the same things humans are –

fear, hunger, pain, joy, and even love. But they’re obliviousto the nuances of society; politics, traditions, and otherideas humans take for granted. They know only what theythemselves have experienced.

Animals can reason, but not to the depth humans can.Many animals can grasp the idea of cause-and-effect (whenI do this, that happens…), but most animal behavior is reac-tive rather than proactive. Try imagining everything non-verbally, as images or feelings or smells or tastes….

LanguageAnimals communicate with one another primarily

through body language, although each species has certainsounds that carry basic meanings (much as the tone of ahuman voice can carry meaning). In this adventure, you’reencouraged to stretch reality and assume that the playercharacters can “talk” to and understand one another.Blame this on the Master’s magic, if you like; or assume acommon language among all animals.

Just “Fudge” It!Don’t worry about getting everything “right” when role-

playing an animal. As long as everyone’s having fun, factual accu-racy in animal behavior isn’t very important. Remember this is afantasy adventure. Feel free to base your character’s actionson things you’ve seen animals do in the movies.

Introduction

Player Characters: Reek, Shadow/Roleplaying Animals 5

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