Transformers FUDGE RPG

E X P A N D E D E D I T I O N
A Role Playing Game for FUDGE
version 3.11 by James & Ed Wedig

THE TRANSFORMERS
CONTENTS Attack Modifiers 30

Wounds 31
Chapter 1: Introduction Wound Levels 32
More than Meets the Eye 3 Armor 32
Transformer Origins 6 Wound Factors 32
Chapter 2: Introduction to Role-Playing Determining Wound Level 33
Player Characters 8 Applying Armor 33
The Game Master 8 Special combat Situations 34
Non-Player Characters 8 Combat Example 34
Dice 9 Chapter 7: Gestalt Transformers
What You Need to Get Started 9 Gestalt Character Creation 36
Chapter 3: The FUDGE System Gestalt Scale 36
Action Resolution Terms 10 Transforming 36
Rolling the Dice 11 Using Gestalt Transformers 37
Reading the Dice 11 Damage to Gestalt Transformers 37
Action Modifiers 12 Chapter 8: Campaigning
Unopposed Actions 12 The Transformers Genre 38
Opposed Actions 13 Creating a Campaign 38
NPC Reactions 14 Transformer Scale 40
FUDGE Points 15 Humans 40
Acquiring FUDGE Points 15 Stunts 40
Chapter 4: Character Creation Courage Rolls 41
Objective Character Creation 16 Converting Characters 41
Attributes 16 Experience 41
Armor 17 Other Transformer Genres 43
Gifts 18 Transformer Glossary 43
Gift Descriptions 18 Chapter 9: Character Index
Faults 24 The Transformers 45
Fault Description 24 How to Use These Characters 45
Trading Traits 26 Original Transformer Characters as PCs 45
Rounding Out the Character 26 Characters not Presented 45
Finishing the Character 27 Autobot Cars 45
Chapter 5: Transformed Mode Autobot Minicars 49
Attributes 28 Decepticons 51
Gifts and Faults 28 Decepticon Cassettes 52
Limitations on Gifts and Faults 29 Constructicons 54
Trading Traits 29 Chapter 10: Sample Adventure
Other Effects of Transforming 29 Introduction 57
What Everyone can do when they Transform 29 Part 1: Scouting the North 57
Chapter 6: Combat Part 2: Battle on the Oilrig 58
Combat Terms 30 Part 3: Stopping the Decepticons 59
Alternating Combat Rounds 30 Conclusion 60
EVIL
GRIN
GAMES
1
THE TRANSFORMERS: EXPANDED EDITION
DISCLAIMER SPECIAL THANKS

The following materials based on FUDGE, entitled THE I would like to thank the following people who contributed
TRANSFORMERS: EXPANDED EDITION, are created by, to the creation of FUDGE Transformers. They are in no
made available by, and Copyright (C) 2001 by JAMES particular order.
WEDIG, and are not necessarily endorsed in any way by
Steffan O'Sullivan or any publisher of other Fudge materi- * Steffan O'Sullivan for creating FUDGE.
als. Neither Steffan O'Sullivan nor any publisher of other * Hasbro for creating the Transformers.
Fudge materials is in any way responsible for the content * The Online Transformers Encyclopedia for having great
of these materials unless specifically credited. Original Transformer related information.
Fudge materials Copyright (C)1992-1995 by Steffan * Transfans.com for having loads of Transformer pictures.
O'Sullivan, All Rights Reserved * My play testers for sticking through the multiple versions
of the rules.
* Transformers and all related information are the copy- * Ed Wedig for all his help with the web site design.
rights of their respective owners.
CREDITS
ABOUT FUDGE The Transformers: Expanded Edition
FUDGE is a role-playing game written by Steffan by James Wedig and Ed Wedig
O'Sullivan, with extensive input from the Usenet communi- The Fudge Roleplaying System
ty of rec.games.design. The basic rules of FUDGE are by Steffan O'Sullivan
available on the internet at http://www.fudgerpg.com and in Page Layout and Design
book form from Grey Ghost Games, P.O. Box 838, by James Wedig
Randolph, MA 02368. They may be used with any gaming
genre. While an individual work derived from FUDGE may PLAY TESTERS
specify certain attributes and skills, many more are possi-
ble with FUDGE. Every Game Master using FUDGE is Scott Boersema Ed Wedig
encouraged to add or ignore any character traits. Anyone Jason Forshey Nick Wedig
who wishes to distribute such material for free may do so - Ross Fulton Sean Wedig
merely include this ABOUT FUDGE notice and disclaimer Eric Johnson William Wedig
(complete with FUDGE copyright notice). If you wish to John Strain
charge a fee for such material, other than as an article in a
magazine or other periodical, you must first obtain a royal-
ty-free license from the author of Fudge, Steffan Special Note:
O'Sullivan, P.O. Box 465, Plymouth, NH 03264. The Transformers: Expanded Edition is in no way
endorsed by Hasbro or any other group associated with the
Transformers toy line or cartoon series. This work is solely
NOTE ON EXAMPLES created by Transformer fans for the enjoyment of roleplay-
These rules quote directly from the FUDGE rules. ing in the Transformer universe.
However, many of the examples given in the FUDGE rules
are not appropriate for this genre and have been changed
to fit. These examples cover the same aspects as the ones
given in the FUDGE rules. Only the names of the charac-
ters and the situations have been changed to fit the
Transformer genre.
THE SIDEBARS
The sidebar areas (gray boxes with bold type like this
one) give various optional rules, tips, examples, and
other useful information throughout the text. They are
used as an addition to the rules for the benefit of the
players and the GM.
2
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER ONE:
"We're nearing the bridge to Iacon," says Wheeljack part
way through their trip. "One mega-mile to go."
"Ah, home sweet home," replies Bumblebee as they near
INTRODUCTION the bridge.

"Uh oh, a Decepticon welcoming committee," says
Wheeljack as he notices a group of Decepticons up ahead.
He raises armor plates over his hull to protect himself.
"Autobots!" shouts one of the Decepticons.
MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE "Stop them!" yells another as he raises his weapon. The
Many millions of years ago, on the planet Cybertron, life Decepticons begin firing at Wheeljack and Bumblebee, but
existed, but not life as we know it today. Intelligent robots his armored hull protects him for the moment.
that could think and feel inhabited the cities. They were A well place shot causes Wheeljack to swerve and stop
called Autobots and Decepticons. But the brutal suddenly. Bumblebee hops out of the back and begins to
Decepticons were driven by a single goal, total domination. return fire.
They set out to destroy the peace loving Autobots. And a "Prime told me there'd be days like this," says Bumblebee
war between the forces of good and evil raged across as he moves behind Wheeljack for cover.
Cybertron. Devastating all in its path, draining the planet's "And you didn't believe him," replies Wheeljack.
once rich sources of energy. The Autobots, on the verge of "I do now," says Bumblebee as Decepticon fire shoots
extinction, battled valiantly to survive. past his head.
A Decepticon uses a special weapon that surrounds the
cornered Autobots in a ring of fire. The other Decepticons
keep firing.
"We've got to get these energy conductors back to Iacon!"
yells Wheeljack.
"I'm right behind you," replies Bumblebee as he readies
himself for action. Bumblebee transforms into his vehicle
mode. A flat wedge shaped ground vehicle.
"Mind if I cut in?" says Wheeljack as he starts up full force
driving through the fire and charges into the Decepticon
roadblock.
Wheeljack crashes into the Decepticons full force and
sends them flying in all directions. They don't even realize
what just hit them. Bumblebee follows close behind.
"After them!" cries one the Decepticons as they transform
to pursue. They transform into triangular shaped space
fighter aircraft.
Both Wheeljack and Bumblebee are pelted with
A grate in the ground opens and an Autobot climbs out. Decepticon fire as they try to outrun the pursuing
From inside the hole in the ground several glowing rods are Decepticons. The Decepticons relentless fire gets more
handed up to him. He speaks, and more deadly as the Autobots continue to run. A shot
"There's not enough energy in these conductors to last a hits Bumblebee in the rear sending him sprawling across
quartex." He reaches down and pulls up a smaller Autobot the road and eventually skidding to a stop. Wheeljack
from within the hole. slows down and opens his rear compartment to catch
"Well at least we found these, Wheeljack," replies the Bumblebee.
smaller Autobot, Bumblebee. "Bumblebee!" yells Wheeljack, "get in! Quick!" Bumblebee
"And when these run out?" manages to coast into Wheeljack's rear compartment. "You
"Can't worry about that now. Hey, let's get back to Iacon." all right?" asks Wheeljack.
"Load up," says Wheeljack as he transforms into a "Yeah," replies Bumblebee, "I think it's my rear axel." The
strange alien vehicle. He opened the rear door and words come out slowly from the pain.
Bumblebee begins to load the energy conductors. "Well hang on to your crankshaft, I'm shifting into over-
"I bet Optimus Prime will be glad to see us," says drive!" says Wheeljack as he uses a last burst of speed to
Bumblebee as he climbs inside. shoot down the road. The Decepticons keep firing but the
They both take off and head home. Autobots make it underground before the Decepticons can
catch them.
3
"They've gone underground! We'll never catch them now," "If there's a new source of energy to be found, the
says one of the Decepticons as they pull away and soar Decepticons must find it first," says Megatron as he
into the sky. "We'd better report back to Megatron." addresses several of the other Decepticons.
"Autobots are set to launch, Megatron," says Soundwave
"Wheeljack to Iacon," says Wheeljack over his radio as as he enters the room.
the two Autobots near their home base. "We're coming in." "As are we," replies Megatron. "Shockwave," Megatron
The Autobots enter the base but not with completely yells up to a Decepticon high up in the control tower of the
evading the Decepticons. Soundwave, a rather crafty Decepticon's base.
Decepticon has hidden himself near the Autobot head- "What is your command, Megatron?" says Shockwave.
quarters. He transforms into his robot form. "You are to stay behind. I entrust Cybertron to your,
"Laserbeak, prepare for flight. Destination: Iacon, Shockwave."
Operation: assimilation." Soundwave's chest compartment "Fear not, Megatron," says Shockwave as he salutes his
opens up and out comes another smaller transformer, leader. "Cybertron shall remain as it you leave it."
Laserbeak. Soundwave sends Laserbeak inside the "Excellent," says Megatron. "Now it's merely a matter of
Autobot base as a spy to gather intelligence. Laserbeak time until Optimus Prime admits defeat."
carefully watches the Autobots inside as he sends all the "The Autobots would have lost eons ago if it I'd been call-
information back to his master, Soundwave. Soundwave ing the shots," says Starscream, a rather insidious
just manages to get back under cover as another Autobot Decepticon whose eventual goal is to replace Megatron as
enters the base. the Decepticons' leader.
"Starscream," addresses Megatron. "Only a select few
ever lead."
"My time will come, Megatron," says Starscream.
"Never!" says Megatron, "NEVER!" Megatron shakes his
fist angrily at Starscream. "Prepare to blast off!"
Meanwhile at the Autobot headquarters they are nearly

ready for launch. The Autobots load up into their shuttle
and begin making the final preparations.
"All systems go," says Jazz to Optimus Prime.
"Ignition," says Optimus Prime as he turns on the
thrusters of the shuttle. The shuttle's thruster powers up
and fires. The ship slowly lifts off of Cybertron's surface. A
short distance away a Decepticon ship lifts off as well. The
Decepticon ship almost instantly begins to follow the
Autobots.
"Look!" says Prowl as he checks he ship's sensors.

The Autobot from outside makes his way through the "What is it?" asks Optimus Prime.
base. He eventually meets up with several other Autobots "An asteroid."
and transforms into his robot mode. "There's another one," says another Autobot.
"Any luck Jazz?" says the largest of the Autobots. It is "They're going to collide," says Optimus Prime. The aster-
Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots. oids smash together and shatter into thousands of pieces.
"Negative." Replies Jazz. "The north side of Cybertron's The ship is pelted with the debris from the asteroids and
blacker then the inside of a drive shaft." knocked around violently. Several of the Autobots are
"Unless a new supply of energy is found, nobody is going thrown from their positions. The Decepticon ship is also
to win this war," says Optimus Prime as he shakes his pelted with the remains of the two asteroids.
head. "Hang on everybody," commands Optimus Prime.
"When to we start the search mission?" asks Prowl, A large piece of an asteroid hits the Autobots' ship and
Optimus Prime's right hand man. Jazz, who was piloting the ship, is thrown out of his chair!
"As soon as you're ready to launch," says Optimus. Optimus Prime steps in and grabs the controls.
Lazerbeak has recorded the entire conversation. He floats "Ironhide!" yells Optimus Prime. "Man the laser gun."
into the air and heads back to Soundwave. Soundwave Ironhide, with much effort, struggles to move in and grab
leaves to report to his leader, Megatron. the gun's controls. "Got it," he says.
"Fire!" commands Optimus Prime. The large weapon fires
4
and begins to destroy the smaller fragments of the aster- a heated battle.
oids clearing a path for the Autobot ship. The Decepticons Suddenly the ship begins to shake violently!
see this and immediately alter their course to fall in behind "What's happening?" says Optimus Prime.
the Autobots and use their path to escape as well. "G-forces," says Prowl. "They're dragging us down" Many
of the Autobots and Decepticons are thrown onto the floor
and into the walls as the ship is violently shaken.
"We're out of control," says Optimus Prime as he strug-
gles to get to the ship's controls and regain control of the
ship.
The ship, too close to a nearby planet, gets pulled away
from the Decepticon ship by the planet's gravity and imme-
diately begins to plummet towards the planet's surface.
Optimus Prime just barely manages control as the ship
quickly approaches the planet's surface. The ship eventu-
ally slams into the side of a mountain and is almost com-
pletely destroyed. All of the Autobots and Decepticons are
thrown against the sides of the ship and torn apart. When
the dust settles, no one is left standing.
This was over four million years ago…
That planet was Earth…

The Autobots get out of the field of debris into relative
safety, but just them something else comes up on the sen-
sors.
"Viewtrex report," says Prowl. "We are being followed."
"Decepticons," says Optimus Prime. He grabs the con-
trols and tries to evade the Decepticon ship. Though he
tries valiantly, he just cannot shake the Decepticon ship.
"Let's just blow them away, they've seen us," shouts
Starscream on the Decepticon ship.
"No," shouts Megatron back at Starscream. "I want to
know what they're after. Prepare the tractor beam!" The
Decepticon ship pulls up beside the Autobot ship and an
energy beam shoots out and attaches to the Autobots'
shuttle.
"They've made a magnetic junction," says Jazz in back in
the Autobot ship. "I can't shake them!"
"Fire the laser!" Orders Optimus Prime as a last resort.
Ironhide grabs the weapon's control and tries to fire, but
it's dead. "Nothing," he says. "Power's used up." Four million years later volcanic activity in the mountain
"Release the boarding shoot," yells Megatron. A large brings the Autobot ship's computer, Teletran 1, back online.
tube reaches out from the Decepticon's ship and attaches Realizing it is very badly damaged it and that there is no
itself to the hull of the Autobot shuttle. one to repair it, it sends out probes to explore its new sur-
"They're coming aboard," says and Autobot as the roundings. It searches for any information it can use to
Decepticons begin to burn their way through the hull of the repair the ship's damaged occupants.
ship. The first probe finds a near by human air base. The probe
"Prepare for battle!" commands Optimus Prime as the scans one of the bases fighter jets and applies that infor-
Decepticons begin to break through the hull of the ship. mation to the nearest matching transformer, a Decepticon!
The Decepticons burst through the hull and enter the Teletran 1 then uses that information to repair a random
Autobots' ship. A battle ensues immediately. Autobots Decepticon. That Decepticon, realizing he is once again
engage the Decepticons as they burst through the opening alive pulls Megatron's body over to be repaired.
in the side of the ship. Megatron fights his way through the "Megatron, my leader," says the Decepticon, "we are alive
melee and gets to Optimus Prime. They immediately begin again."
5
"Quickly, we must revive the other Decepticons," says Optimus Prime is aware of the Decepticons plans. He
Megatron. With that the two slowly begin to pull the fallen knows Megatron's plan is to steal all of Earth's resources
Decepticons over so they can be repaired. After awhile, all to create energon for him self. He knows Megatron will stop
the Decepticons are fully repaired and leave the Autobots' at nothing, even if it means destroying most of the planet
damaged ship. They fly to the top of the mountain to sur- and killing its inhabitants. Optimus Prime will not let that
vey their new world. happen.
"Much time as passed," says Megatron as he takes in the And so begin the next stage of the war between the hero-
new landscape. "We are on a planet far from Cybertron. ic Autobots and the evil Decepticons.
But our mission has not changed."
"How do we know Cybertron still exists?" asks one of the This is the world of the Transformers.
Decepticons.
"It must exist," answers Megatron. "And if this land is filled
with resources, we shall return home with the power to TRANSFORMER ORIGINS
build the ultimate weapon, and conquer the universe " Circling the star Alpha Centauri, ages ago, was a plan-
As the Decepticons are leaving Starscream fires several et unlike any other in the heavens, Cybertron. No rock
shots down at the Autobots' ship. or soil or sand contributed to its bizarre geography.
"Starscream!" yells Megatron. Its content was entirely mechanical. Cybertron exist-
"I was just saying goodbye," replies Starscream. ed, from metallic surface to core, as a vast Moon-
"Save your energy, the Autobots have taken their last sized machine world, a world whose origins were lost
flight." in the dead past. Yet life had evolved here. It had
"Thanks for the ride, Prime," says Starscream as he turns grown and adapted and thrived in its environment
a fires a few last shots. "Too bad you can't go the rest of remarkably well. Cities rose across a broad mechani-
the way." One of Starscream's shots hits a large rocky sec- cal expanse, cities that were the products of
tion that collapses down the mountain. The shockwave Cybertron's dominant life forms, the Autobots.
from the falling boulders is just enough to knock Optimus Whereas life elsewhere in the cosmos usually evolved
Prime body within range of Teletran's repair equipment. through carbon bonding, here it was the interaction of
Another of Teletran's probes makes it to a human city and naturally occurring gears, levers, and pulleys that
finds a large truck parked on the side of the road. It scans miraculously brought forth sentient beings. They cre-
that truck and uses that information to rebuild Optimus ated a mechanical paradise, a machine-filled land-
Prime. Optimus Prime, now revived, immediately begins to scape where each Autobot went about his pursuits in
repair the other Autobots. peace and prosperity. But every paradise has its ser-
pent, and on this world it was Megatron, commander
of those who called themselves the Decepticons.
In the weeks that followed, Decepticons from every-

where reported for clandestine meetings to learn the
logistics of the coming clash, and their parts in the
struggle. The wonders of their technology bestowed
upon the Decepticons the awesome ability to trans-
form into weapons of unprecedented power. With
these tasks completed, all was in readiness for the
first assault.
The war spread until it was a global conflict; the

forces unleashed were staggering, inconceivable.
And each attack upon an Autobot stronghold was
orchestrated with the precision of which only finely
tuned machinery is capable. As the powers at play
grew in strength, Cybertron itself was shaken loose
The Decepticons set out to find materials and energy so from its orbit and sent hurtling through space. And
they can build a new space cruiser and return to Cybertron. still the war raged across the battle-scarred surface of
They immediately begin a campaign of destruction attack- the runaway planet. Though taken by surprise, and
ing human power plants and military installations to steal destroyed by the billions in the initial assaults, the
parts and energy to fuel their efforts.
6
surviving Autobots were not defenseless. Each was

gifted with the ability to alter his configuration into
strange, unearthly vehicles, vehicles of great offen-
sive potential. And while the Decepticons in their
armored aircraft shapes swooped down upon the
many Autobot city-states erected during the war the
Autobot warriors stood firm and fought back. In time,
the magnificent armies on each side of the struggle
became known as the Transformers.
The war continued on and most of the planet's ener-

gon resources were depleted. The Autobots facing an
almost certain defeat were forced to flee Cybertron in
search of energy resources. Cybertron was left a
burned out shell in the hands of the Decepticons.
The heroic Autobots, now stranded on Earth, must

defend the earth from the Decepticons' plans to van-
quish all of Earth's resources and win the war.
* Taken from the Online Transformer's Encyclopedia.
AUTOBOT PROWL
7
CHAPTER TWO: VETERAN ROLE PLAYERS

This section has been written to give a basic under-
INTRODUCTION
standing of role playing games for novice or first time
players and GMs. If you have some experience with
role-playing and role-playing games in general then
TO ROLE-PLAYING you don't need to read this section and should go
straight on to chapter 3, The FUDGE System.
In a role-playing game a player takes on a certain persona

or character of their own creation. In the case of FUDGE
Transformers the player makes a transformer character to
portray. The character that the player creates is entirely up
to the player. The character could be a rough and tough
brawler type who is quick to fight but a bit slower when it
comes to brains. Or the player could create a character
who is highly intelligent and a great problem solver who
tends to solve problems with his wit rather then his fists.
There is no end to the types of characters that can be cre-
ated. Players will then try to act as that character. Role-
playing is, in a sense, a form of improvisational acting.
In a role-playing game the players portray their characters

through scenarios that are designed by the Game Master,
or GM. The game master is in charge of running the game. THE GAME MASTER
When a player decides that their character is going to do There is usually only one Game master, or GM, in a game.
something in the game the GM then tells the player what In some cases there may be more then one, but more often
happens to the character as a result of that action. There is then not there is only one GM in a game. The GM is the
no script or set of actions the player must perform. Rather person who guides the PCs through various scenarios and
the GM has a basic outline as to what is going to happen adventures that he or she creates. The GM is responsible
to the character and the player tries to navigate through for the actions of all the PCs as well as the people, places,
those events. and things that the PCs encounter over the course of an
adventure. The game master is sort of like a storyteller.
The GM tells a part of the story and then lets the players
decide how their characters are going to react to that part
of the story.
PLAYER CHARACTERS
The players are the people who take on the personas of
the characters. These characters, which are controlled by
the players, are called Player Characters, or PCs. There NON-PLAYER CHARACTERS
can be any number of players in a game each with their Non-Player Characters, or NPCs, are all of the other char-
own PC. acters in a game not controlled by the players. NPCs make
8
CHAPTER TWO: INTRODUCTION TO ROLE-PLAYING
up the rest of the game world. The guy running the gas sta-
tion that the players talked with is an NPC, but so is the vil-
THE TRANSFORMERS GENRE
lain that the players are trying to catch. The GM is respon- In order to properly portray a character in the trans-
sible for the actions of the NPCs and has control over formers universe one must have a basic understand-
them. How an NPC acts is up to the GM and it is possible ing of the transformers universe. The first thing that a
that a GM could be controlling multiple NPCs at a single player needs to remember is that the character they
time. will be creating and portraying is not human; it is a
Transformer. A player's character is a machine from
another world full of machines. Earth and everything
DICE about it is very alien to the character. They have never
Dice are common in many role-playing games. Dice are seen or experienced anything like Earth, so the entire
used to determine the outcome of certain actions. Most experience can be very interesting.
actions are so mundane and casual that dice are not need-
ed. Actions like sleeping, walking, eating, watching TV, etc. The second thing that players may keep in mind is
are actions that are so simple or so routine that they are that Transformers is a very cinematic style of game.
just assumed to happen. Dice are used when there is a Characters do not have to worry about being realistic
certain degree of uncertainty involved in the action. If there too much and will do thing that would normally be
is a strong possibility that the character may fail at the considered too difficult or too dangerous to succeed.
action then dice may be used. More on the use of dice is The Transformers universe is full of action and adven-
covered in chapter 3, The FUDGE System. ture so characters should not sweat the small stuff
too much. Once they have achieved an objective they
FUDGE Transformers uses a special kind of dice known as should feel free to move on to the next event without
FUDGE dice. A FUDGE die is similar to a normal six-sided feeling they have missed some minor clue.
die that can be found in many different kinds of games. The
main difference is that there are no numbers on a FUDGE Knowing this and having a basic idea of where the
die. A FUDGE die has two blank sides, two sides marked transformers came from and how they work, you
with a '+' and two with a '-'. More on using FUDGE dice is should be ready to move onto the next chapter, the
covered in chapter 3, The FUDGE System. FUDGE System.
WHAT YOU NEED TO GET STARTED

There are a few basic things that are required before a
group of people can begin playing Transformers. The first
obvious thing a group would need is a copy of the FUDGE
Transformers rules. But since you are reading this I
assume you have that covered. Dice are needed for game
play as well. FUDGE dice are not required but highly rec-
ommended. There are various other dice techniques that
do not require FUDGE dice given in the FUDGE rules but
the simplest method is to use FUDGE dice. Some paper
and pencils are also useful for making notes and keeping
track of things as well as a few blank character sheets.
Blank character sheets are available for download at the
same location as these rules. Once these things have been
acquired you can begin to create characters and begin
adventuring. If you as a GM or a player feel that there is
something else you would like to have to get started there
is nothing stopping you. The things mentioned above are
just the basic parts to run a game.
9
CHAPTER THREE:
simply rolls the dice and reads the result.
Rolled Degree:
THE FUDGE SYSTEM This refers to how well a character does at a particular
task. If someone is Good at Climbing in general, but the
die-roll shows a Great result on a particular attempt, then
the rolled degree is Great.
Transformers is written using the FUDGE role-playing sys-
Difficulty Level:
tem. It is important that both players and GMs have a good
The GM will set a Difficulty Level when a character tries an
knowledge of the FUDGE system before they begin creat-
Unopposed Action. Usually it will be Fair, but some tasks
ing characters and campaigns. This section has been writ-
are easier or harder. Example: climbing an average vertical
ten to give a brief overview of the FUDGE system. This
cliff face, even one with lots of handholds, is a fairly difficult
section directly quotes sections of the FUDGE rules so a
obstacle (Fair Difficulty Level). For a very hard cliff, the GM
copy of the rules is not necessary. It is, however, recom-
may set the Difficulty Level at Great: the player must make
mended, but not required, to have a copy of the FUDGE
a rolled degree of Great or higher to climb the cliff suc-
rules for further reference.
cessfully.
Opposed Action:
Actions are *Opposed* when other people (or animals,
etc.) may have an effect on the outcome of the action. In
this case, each contestant rolls a set of dice, and the
results are compared to determine the outcome.
Examples include combat, seduction attempts, haggling,
tug-of-war, etc.
Relative Degree:
This refers to how well a character did compared to anoth-
er participant in an Opposed Action. Unlike a rolled degree,
relative degree is expressed as a number of levels. For
example, if a PC gets a rolled degree result of Good in a
fight, and his NPC foe gets a rolled degree result of
Mediocre, he beat her by two levels - the relative degree is
+2 from his perspective, -2 from hers.
ACTION RESOLUTION TERMS
Situational Roll:
Dice:
The GM may occasionally want a die roll that is not based
Various options for dice are given: players may use either
on a character's trait, but on the overall situation or outside
three or four six-sided dice (3d6 or 4d6), or two ten-sided
circumstances. This Situational roll is simply a normal
dice as percentile dice (d%), or four FUDGE dice (4dF),
FUDGE die roll, but not based on any trait. That is, a result
described in the text. It is also possible to play FUDGE
of 0 is a Fair result, +1 a Good result, -1 a Mediocre result,
diceless.
and so on. This is most commonly used with Reaction and
[3.1 Action Resolution Terms]
damage rolls, but can be used elsewhere as needed. For
example, the players ask the GM if there are any passers-
There are several different dice techniques given in the
by on the street at the moment - they're worried about wit-
FUDGE rules. For simplicity these rules will only refer to
nesses. The GM decides there are none if a Situational roll
using FUDGE dice for given situations. GMs may choose
gives a Good or better result, and rolls the dice. (A close
any die technique they choose however.
approximation to 50% is an even/odd result: an even result
on 4dF occurs 50.6% of the time. Of course, 1d6 or a coin
Unopposed Action:
returns an exact 50% probability.)
Some actions are *Unopposed*, as when a character is try-
ing to perform an action which isn't influenced by anyone
Beyond Superb:
else. Examples include jumping a wide chasm, climbing a
It is possible to achieve a level of rolled degree that is
cliff, performing a chemistry experiment, etc. The player
beyond Superb. Rolled degrees from Superb+1 to
10
CHAPTER THREE: THE FUDGE SYSTEM
Superb+4 are possible. These levels are only reachable on READING THE DICE
rare occasions by Transformer characters. No trait may be
taken at (or raised to) a level beyond Superb (unless the Of the four dice techniques presented in FUDGE, this one
GM is allowing a PC to be at Legendary, which is the same is recommended. It gives results from -4 to +4 quickly and
as Superb +1. easily, without intruding into role-playing or requiring com-
[3.1 Action Resolution Terms] plex math or a table.
For example, the Autobot Prowl is a very accurate marks- FUDGE dice are six-sided dice with two sides marked +1,
man with a Superb Skill. In an attempt to thwart a two sides marked -1, and two sides marked 0. They are
Decepticon attack he tries to shoot an automatic door commercially available from Grey Ghost Games - see the
panel and trap the Decepticons. Prowl rolls to hit and gets Legal Notice for their address.
a Superb+4 rolled degree, way above the normal maxi-
mum. It is not possible for Prowl to have that level of excel- You can make your own FUDGE easily enough. Simply get
lence as a routine skill level, however: even Prowl is "just" four normal white d6s. Using a permanent marker, color
a Superb marksman, who could sometimes do even better. two sides of each die green, two sides red, and leave the
A GM may set a Difficulty Level beyond Superb for nearly other two sides white. When the ink has dried, spray the
impossible actions. dice lightly with clear matte finish to prevent the ink from
staining your hands. You now have 4dF: the green sides =
Below Terrible: +1, the red sides = -1, and the white sides = 0.
Likewise, there are rolled degrees from Terrible-1 down to [3.21 reading the Dice]
Terrible-4. No Difficulty Level should be set this low, how-
ever: anything requiring a Terrible Difficulty Level or worse (While you can try to play with normal d6s, reading:
should be automatic for most characters - no roll needed.
[3.1 Action Resolution Terms] 1,2 = -1
3,4 = 0
ROLLING THE DICE 5,6 = +1
There is no need to roll the dice when a character performs
this is not recommended. It takes too much effort, and
an action that is so easy as to be automatic. Likewise, an
intrudes into role-playing. 4dF is functionally equivalent to
action so difficult that it has no chance to succeed requires
4d3-8, but this is also not recommended for the same rea-
no roll, either - it simply can't be done. Dice are used sole -
son, even if you have d6s labeled 1-3 twice.)
ly in the middle ground, where the outcome of an action is
uncertain.
To use FUDGE dice, simply roll four of them, and total the
amount. Since a +1 and a -1 cancel each other, remove a
The GM is encouraged to keep die-rolling to a minimum.
+1 and -1 from the table, and the remaining two dice are
Do not make the players roll the dice when their characters
easy to read no matter what they are. (Example: if you roll
do mundane things. There is no need to make a roll to see
+1, +1, 0, -1, remove the -1 and one of the +1s, as togeth-
if someone can cook lunch properly, or pick an item from a
er they equal 0. The remaining two dice, +1 and 0, are
shelf, or climb a ladder, etc. Don't even make them roll to
easily added to +1.) If there is no opposing pair of +1 and
climb a cliff unless it's a difficult cliff or the situation is
-1 dice, remove any 0s and the remaining dice are again
stressful, such as a chase. (And possibly a Superb climber
easy to read.
wouldn't need a roll for a difficult cliff. He should get up it
automatically unless it's a *very* difficult cliff.)
The result of a die roll is a number between -4 and +4. At
the top of the character sheet, there should be a simple
For any action the player character wishes to perform, the
chart of the attribute levels, such as:
Game Master must determine which trait is tested. (This
will usually be an attribute.) If the action is Unopposed, the
Superb
GM also determines the Difficulty Level - usually Fair. (See
Great
also Opposed Actions.)
[3.2 Rolling the Dice] Good
Fair
Mediocre
Poor
Terrible
11
To determine the result of an action, simply put your finger are more important than merely knowing success/failure.
on your trait level, then move it up (for plus results) or down [3.21 reading the Dice]
(for minus results).
[3.21 reading the Dice] There are other dice techniques given in the FUDGE rules
in section 3.22: Other Dice Techniques. The rules for
Example: Bluestreak, who has a Good Skill, is shooting in FUDGE Transformers recommend the use of FUDGE dice
an accuracy contest. The player rolls 4dF, using the proce- and will not discuss other dice techniques. GMs do have
dure described above. If he rolls a 0, he gets a result equal the option of using any technique they wish.
to Bluestreak's skill: Good, in this case. If he rolls a +1,
however, he gets a Great result, since Great is one level ACTION MODIFIERS
higher than his Good Skill. If he rolls a -3, unlucky
Bluestreak has just made a Poor shot. There may be modifiers for any given action, which can
affect the odds referred to in the preceding section.
It is not always necessary to figure the exact rolled degree. Modifiers temporarily improve or reduce a character's
If you only need to know whether or not a character suc- traits.
ceeded at something, it is usually sufficient for the player [3.3 Action Modifiers]
simply to announce the appropriate trait level and the die
roll result. The game goes much faster this way. Examples: Sideswipe, Fair with a gun, is Hurt (-1 to all
[3.21 reading the Dice] actions). He is thus only Mediocre with his gun until he's
healed. Brawn has Mediocre Skill, but an exceptionally fine
set of tools for his task gives him a Fair Skill while he's
using them.
If a character has a secondary trait that could contribute

significantly to a task, the GM may allow a +1 bonus if the
trait is Good or better.
[3.3 Action Modifiers]
Example: Prowl is escaping from a Decepticon ambush.

He uses his SPD attribute of Good, but he also has an
END of Superb. The GM decides that Prowl's END is sig -
nificant enough to give Prowl Great SPD for evading the
Decepticons (Prowl can run farther, if not faster). If Prowl's
SPD attribute was Superb the GM could simply use that
instead. You can't be too fast without having some degree
of endurance.
For example, a player wants his character, Ironhide, to Other conditions may grant a +/-1 to any trait. In FUDGE,
dodge between two rocks that are fairly close together. The +/-2 is a large modifier - +/-3 is the maximum that should
GM says this requires a Good Difficulty Level Skill roll (the ever be granted except under *extreme* conditions.
rocks are pretty close together) and asks the player to roll [3.3 Action Modifiers]
the dice. The player looks up Ironhide's Skill, which is
Good, and rolls a +2 result. He simply announces
"Good+2" as the result. This answer is sufficient - the GM UNOPPOSED ACTIONS
knows that Ironhide not only succeeded at the task, but he For each Unopposed action, the GM sets a Difficulty Level
didn't even come close to hitting the rocks and possibly (Fair is the most common) and announces which attribute
damaging himself. should be rolled against.
[3.4 Unopposed Actions]
Of course, there are many times when you want to know
exactly how well the character did, even if it's not a matter For example, a character wishes to spy on an enemy
of being close. If the character is composing a poem, for encampment without being observed. The GM says to use
example, and his Poetry skill is Fair, you will want to figure the SKL attribute to hide, but the character has a fairly low
out what "Fair+2" means: he just wrote a Great poem! SKL attribute, only Mediocre. The player points out that the
There are many other instances where degrees of success character's INT attribute is Superb, so the GM allows a rat-
12
ing of Fair for this attempt at hiding. (The whole situation was merely described as an example
of setting Difficulty levels. In actual game play, the GM
The player then rolls against the character's trait level, and should describe the cliff, and ask the players how the char-
tries to match or surpass the Difficulty Level set by the GM. acters intend to get up it. If they came up with the idea of
In cases where there are degrees of success, the better Sunstreaker climbing the cliff and lowering a rope, no rolls
the roll, the better the character did; the worse the roll, the would be needed at all - unless, possibly, time was a criti-
worse the character did. cal factor, or there were hidden difficulties the GM chose
not to reveal because they couldn't have been perceived
In setting the Difficulty Level of a task, the GM should from the bottom of the cliff.)
remember that Fair is the default for attributes. The aver-
age *trained* individual can perform an action most of the Occasionally, the GM will roll in secret for the PC. There
time, but the average *untrained* individual will usually get are times when even a failed roll would give the player
a Fair result or worse. In the example in mentioned above knowledge he wouldn't otherwise have. These are usually
with Bluestreak and the target shoot, if the target is large information rolls. For example, if the GM asks the player to
and close, even a Mediocre marksman could be expected make a roll against INT attribute, and the player fails, the
to hit it: Mediocre Difficulty Level. If it were *much* smaller character doesn't notice anything out of the ordinary. But
and farther away, perhaps only a Great marksman could the player now knows that there *is* something out of the
expect to hit it regularly: Great Difficulty Level. And so on. ordinary that his character didn't notice… Far better for the
[3.4 Unopposed Actions] GM to make the roll in secret, and only mention it on a suc-
cessful result.
Example of setting Difficulty Level: Two PCs (Sunstreaker [3.4 Unopposed Actions]
and Sideswipe) and an NPC guide (Bumblebee) come to a
cliff the guide tells them they have to climb to get to a
Decepticon outpost. The GM announces this is a difficult,
but not impossible, cliff: a Good Difficulty Level STR roll is
required to scale it with no delays or complications.
Checking the character sheets, they find that Sunstreaker's
STR attribute is Fair and Sideswipe's is Good.
Bumblebee's character sheet lists a STR of Terrible.
Sunstreaker and Sideswipe decide to climb it, then lower a
rope for Bumblebee.
Sunstreaker rolls a +1 result: a rolled degree of Great. He

gets up the cliff without difficulty, and much more quickly
than expected. Sideswipe rolls a -1, however, for a rolled
degree of Fair. Since this is one level lower than the
Difficulty Level, he's having problems. Had Sideswipe done
Poorly or even Mediocre, he would perhaps have fallen - or
not even been able to start. Since his rolled degree is only
slightly below the Difficulty Level, though, the GM simply OPPOSED ACTIONS
rules he is stuck half way up, and can't figure out how to go To resolve an Opposed action between two characters,
on. Sunstreaker ties a rope to a large rock at the top of the each side rolls two dice against the appropriate trait and
cliff, and lowers it for Sideswipe. The GM says it is now announces the result. The traits rolled against are not nec-
Difficulty Level: Poor to climb the cliff with the rope in place, essarily the same.
and Sideswipe makes this easily on another roll. [3.5 Opposed Actions]
Bumblebee would also need a Poor rolled degree to climb For example, a tackle attempt would be rolled with the SKL
the cliff with the rope, but since his attribute is Terrible, they attribute for the attacker and with SPD for the defender.
decide not to risk it. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker have There may be modifiers: someone who is quick footed may
Bumblebee loop the rope under his arms, and pull him up have a bonus to dodge, while a person who is absent mind-
as he grabs handholds along the way in case they slip. No ed (and not paying attention) might have a penalty, or not
roll is needed in this case, unless they are suddenly even be able to dodge.
attacked when Bumblebee is only half way up the cliff…
The Game Master compares the rolled degrees to deter-
13
mine a relative degree.

[3.5 Opposed Actions]
For example, Starscream is trying to convince Skywarp

into thinking he's should be leader of the Decepticons and
rolls a Great result. This is not automatic success, howev-
er. If Skywarp also rolls a Great result on his trait to avoid
being flimflammed (INT, RNK, etc. - whatever the GM
decides is appropriate), then the relative degree is 0: the
status quo is maintained. In this case, Skywarp remains
unconvinced that Starscream is correct. If Skywarp rolled a
Superb result, Starscream's Great result would have actu-
ally earned him a relative degree of -1: Skywarp is not
going to be fooled this encounter, and will probably even
have a bad reaction to Starscream.
The Opposed action mechanism can be used to resolve

stranger is always an unknown quantity to the players - it
almost any conflict between two characters. Are two peo-
may be so for the GM, too.
ple both grabbing the same item at the same time? This is
an Opposed action based on a SKL attribute - the winner
When in doubt, the GM should secretly make a Situational
gets the item. Is one character trying to shove another one
roll. If the PC in question has a trait that can affect a
down? Roll STR vs. STR to see who goes down.
stranger's reaction, this should grant a +/-1 (or more) to the
Someone trying to hide from a search party? INT attribute
result. Examples include Appearance, High RNK attribute,
to spot vs. SKL attribute to hide. And so on.
Reputation, Status, and such habits as vulgar language.
The Reaction roll can also be modified up or down by cir-
Some Opposed actions have a minimum level needed for
cumstances: bribes, suspicious or friendly nature of the
success. For example, an attempt to control a character's
NPC, proximity of the NPC's boss, observed PC behavior,
mind with a Telepathy gift might require at least a Fair
etc.
result. If the telepath only gets a Mediocre result, it doesn't
matter if the intended victim rolls a Poor resistance: the
The higher the Reaction roll result, the better the reaction.
attempt fails. Most combat falls into this category.
On a Fair result, for example, the NPC will be mildly help -
ful, but only if it's not too much effort. She won't be helpful
An Opposed action can also be handled as an Unopposed
at all on Mediocre or worse results, but will react well on a
action. When a PC is opposing an NPC, have only the
Good result or better.
player roll, and simply let the NPC's trait level be the
[3.7 NPC Reactions]
Difficulty Level. This method assumes the NPC will always
roll a 0. This emphasizes the PCs' performance, and
Example: Bumblebee is on a human military base and
reduces the possibility of an NPC's lucky roll deciding the
needs some information about the local general, who sus-
game.
pects is working with the Decepticons. He has observed
that most of the soldiers don't know much and those who
As a slight variation on the above, the GM rolls 1dF or 2dF
do are reluctant to talk about it. Bumblebee approaches a
when rolling for an NPC in an opposed action. This allows
talkative tech that is working on repairing a tank.
some variation in the NPC's ability, but still puts the empha-
Bumblebee be has no real modifiers, but is somewhat
sis on the PCs' actions.
charismatic (RNK: Good). He makes small talk for a bit and
[3.5 Opposed Actions]
slowly brings up the subject of the general. The GM
decides this was done skillfully enough to warrant another
NPC REACTIONS +1 on the reaction roll. However, the situation is prickly: -2
Sometimes a non-player character has a set reaction to the in general to elicit *any* information about the sinister gen-
PCs. Perhaps she's automatically their enemy, or perhaps eral. This cancels Bumblebee's bonuses. The GM rolls in
the party has rescued her, and earned her gratitude. But secret, and gets a Fair result. The tech slips out a bit of
there will be many NPCs that don't have a set reaction. useful information before realizing what he's just said. At
When the PCs request information or aid, it might go that point he clams up, but Bumblebee casually changes
smoothly or it might not go well at all. Negotiation with a the subject to the weather, dispelling his suspicions. He
14
wanders off to try his luck elsewhere. time. This could be a special tool or piece of equipment, or
it could be a gift. The character has the ability until its use
has been fulfilled. Another FUDGE point must be spent to
FUDGE POINTS use the ability again.
Fudge Points are meta-game gifts that may be used to buy
"luck" during a game - they let the *players* fudge a game
result. These are "meta- game" gifts because they operate
at the player-GM level, not character-character level. Not
every GM will allow Fudge Points - those who prefer real-
istic games should probably not use them.
The GM sets the starting number of Fudge Points. The rec-

ommended range is from one to five. Unused Fudge Points
are saved up for the next gaming session. Each player may
get an additional number each gaming session. (This is
also set by the GM, and may or may not equal the starting
level.) Alternately, the GM may simply allow Experience
Points (EP) to be traded for Fudge Points at a rate appro-
priate for the campaign: three EP = one Fudge Point, down
to one EP = one Fudge Point.
Fudge Points can be used in many ways, depending on

what level on the realistic-legendary scale the game is ACQUIRING FUDGE POINTS
played at. Here are some suggested ways to use them -
The GM will determine how many FUDGE points (FP) a
the GM can create her own uses, of course. A GM may
character begins a campaign with, usually one to five
allow as few or many of these options as she wishes - the
depending on the level of the campaign. Over the course
players should ask her before assuming they can do some-
of play characters will likely use FPs and could eventually
thing with Fudge Points.
run out. There are a few different ways for characters to
[1.36 FUDGE Points]
earn more FPs. The first way is for the character to do
something exceptional. Any time a character solves a mys-
Automatic Success
tery, defeats a much stronger opponent, etc. they may be
The character may spend one FUDGE point to automati-
rewarded with a FUDGE point. The GM may award it
cally succeed at a non-combat action. This means the
immediately or wait til the end of the playing session.
character does not need to roll the dice at all, the action
just happens.
The second way is by spending Experience Points (EP).
More on EP is given in Chapter Eight: Campaigning, GM's
Die-Roll Modification
Tips. Two FP equal one point of experience. A player may
The character may alter any die roll up or down one level
elect to either trade experience for FUDGE points or vice
as desired. The roll gets either a +1 or -1 per FUDGE point
versa.
spent. For rolls made by the character, FUDGE points may
be used either before or after the actual dice are rolled. For
Lastly, GMs may wish to give out extra FP at the beginning
rolls made by other characters or the GM, FUDGE points
of each playing session. This is usually only done for high-
must be spent before the roll is actually made.
er powered campaigns where character are given much
tougher challenges to overcome. In these types of cam-
Just a Scratch
paigns FP may be the only ticket for survival and are there-
The character may spend a FUDGE point to reduce the
fore highly abundant.
severity of a Hurt wound to that of a Scratch. This does not
work on wounds worse then Hurt and a point must be spent
for each Hurt wound. This must be done after combat is
over.
Special Ability
The character may spend one FUDGE point to have as
ability or gift they do not already have for a short period of
15
CHAPTER FOUR: TRANSFORMED MODE

As you probably know by now all transformer charac-
C H A R A C T E R
ters have two modes. They have one robot mode and
one transformed mode. The first section of these
rules covers creation of the character's robot mode. A
C R E A T I O N character's robot mode determines certain aspects of
the character's transformed mode, so the robot mode
must be created first. Rules for creating a character's
transformed mode are given in the next chapter.
The following chapter covers all of the rules for creating
Transformer characters. This section refers to the FUDGE
ALTERNATE ROBOT MODES
rules for reference on various rules. The FUDGE rules are
not required for this section but may be useful. Although it is called the character's robot mode that
does not infer that that mode must be humanoid in
form. While most characters have a robot mode that is
OBJECTIVE CHARACTER CREATION humanoid there are a few whose robot mode is a dif-
In this system, all traits start at default level. The GM then ferent form. Ravage, one of the Decepticon cassettes,
allows a number of free levels the players may use to raise has a robot mode that is the form of a panther.
selected traits to higher levels. Players may then lower cer- Laserbeak, another cassette, has the form of a bird of
tain traits in order to raise others even further. Finally, a prey. In most cases a character's robot mode will be
player may opt to trade some levels of one trait type (such humanoid, but it is not required to be so.
as attributes) for another (gifts, for example). The whole
process insures that no single character will dominate
Strength (STR):
every aspect of play.
Strength represents a character's ability to exert force.
[1.6 Objective Character Creation]
Lifting heavy objects, bending bars, etc. require some
degree of strength. Strength also determines how much
ATTRIBUTES damage a character can do with unarmed attacks like
All attributes are considered to be Fair until the player rais- punches and kicks as well as with melee weapons.
es or lowers them. The cost of raising or lowering an attrib -
ute is Intelligence (INT):
Intelligence measures a character's brainpower. A charac-
Superb +3 ter with a high intelligence has a better understanding of
Great +2 things and tends to notice clues and pick up on information
quicker.
Good +1
Fair 0
Speed (SPD):
Mediocre -1 Speed determines how fast a character can move. A char-
Poor -2 acter with a high Speed can move much further faster than
Terrible -3 a character with a low Speed. Speed also helps characters
avoid being hit in combat.
When the free attribute levels have been exhausted, an
attribute can be raised further by lowering another attribute Endurance (END):
an equal amount. (See also Section 1.64, Trading Traits.) Endurance represents how much physical torment a char-
From the previous example, Strength can be raised one acter may take before breaking down. It also determines
more level (to Superb) if the player lowers the character's how long a character may operate before refueling.
Charm to Mediocre to compensate for the increase in Endurance helps when a character is trying to fight off pain,
Strength. fatigue, etc.
[1.61 Attributes]
Rank (RNK):
Players will have five free levels to add to their character's Rank is a character's ability to organize and lead others.
eight attributes. The attribute descriptions are as follows. Rank is also a measure of how 'together' a character is and
how well they can keep their cool.
16
CHAPTER FOUR: CHARACTER CREATION
Courage (COU):
NO SKILLS
Courage measures how brave a character is and how well One may have noticed that there is no skill section in
they compose themselves in dangerous situations. the rules. That is because there are no skills in
FUDGE Transformers. Any time a character wants to
Firepower (FRP): perform an action they will use whatever attribute is
Firepower is the degree of armament the character has appropriate for that action. In some cases they may
equipped. The higher the rating in Firepower, the more also use a gift to perform an action. For characters
armament they have and therefore the more damage they that have special areas of study or expertise they
do. should place levels into attributes, gifts, or both to
simulate that ability.
Skill (SKL):
Skill represents how competent the character is at per- CARRIED/BUILT-IN WEAPONS
forming basic actions. Skill is the degree of ability and
A character's FRP attribute determines what kind of
prowess a character actually has.
armament the character is equipped with. This can
either be in carried weapons, mounted weapons, or
CHARACTER CREATION EXAMPLE:
both. Whether a weapon is a carried weapon or a
Mike is creating his character, Outback. He feels his char-
mounted weapon has no effect on the character dur-
acter is fairly tough and fast, so he spends two free levels
ing creation. A character could be considered to carry
on END and two on SPD bring them both up to Great. He
a rifle or have a weapon implanted in their arm. This
spends his last free level raising his character's SKL to
has no affect on game play and, regardless of how the
Good. This means he has spent all of his free levels. Mike,
weapon is equipped, it can be targeted and taken
however, also wants his character to be brave, so he elects
away.
to lower his character's INT one level to Mediocre so he
can add one level to COU, making it Good. All other attrib-
utes stay at their default value. This means his character LEGENDARY ATRIBUTES
attributes are STR: Fair (+0), INT: Mediocre (-1), SPD: Legendary attributes are attributes that have gone
Great (+2), END: Great (+2), RNK: Fair (+0), COU: Good beyond the normal maximum of Superb. Legendary is
(+1), FRP: Fair (+0), and SKL: Good (+1). This gives a total the same as Superb+1. A character with a Legendary
of (0-1+2+2+0+1+0+1=5) five free attributes levels. attribute is considered to be in the top 99.9th per-
centile of ability. Character may not normally have an
attribute at the Legendary attribute except under cer-
tain conditions. A Legendary attribute must be earned
through the course of play and cannot be taken dur-
ing character creation.
acting. Armor is determined by the average of a character's

Endurance and Courage attributes. Any fractions, howev-
er, are always rounded down. It is possible for a character
to have a negative Armor value if their END and COU are
both below Fair.

Mike's character Outback has Great END (+2) and Good
COU (+1). The average of these attributes is (3/2=1.5)
ARMOR +1.5, which rounds down to +1. Outback will have an
Armor defends a character from damage. Armor functions Armor value of Good.
the same as Damage Capacity, which is covered in chap-
ter 6: Combat in the FUDGE rules. Armor is determined by
two factors. The first factor is how tough the character is
physically. This helps them shrug off damage. The second
factor is how tough the character is mentally. This allows
them to overcome small amounts of damage and continue
17
WHAT ALL CHARACTERS CAN DO

There were a variety of different things the
Transformers could do in the cartoon series.
Unfortunately there was often some inconsistency
with what characters were capable of doing.
Sometimes character could fly, other times they
couldn't, etc. The following abilities are given to the
character automatically and work for all of a charac-
ter's transformed modes as well as their robot mode.
These abilities do not cost the character any free lev-
els, gifts, etc. However, any ability that is not listed
GIFTS here is not given to the character and therefore the
Gifts are abilities that do not fit into the normal FUDGE character does not have it.
Terrible-Superb range. They are special abilities that a
character can use at any time. Characters start with two Life Support
free Gifts. All characters have built in life support systems.
Since Transformer characters are robots they do not
GIFT DESCRIPTIONS need to eat, breath, etc. as long as they have power.
Should a character become deactivated due to power
loss they will remain alive and will reactivate when
Advanced Optics:
they receive more power.
The character has advanced optical sensors. This means
the character has the ability to use normal vision and zoom
up to 100x. The character also has the ability to see differ-
Atomic Clocks
ent spectrums including infrared, ultraviolet, etc. as well as All characters have a built in time measurement.
thermal patterns. This also allows a character to act nor- Characters know exactly what day, month, year, and
mally in complete darkness. A character with Advanced hour it is at all times.
Optics can still be blinded however.
Radio Communications
Additional Ability: All characters have the ability to use short-range
This gift allows a character to be particularly good at one radio communications with other characters of the
narrow aspect of an attribute. A character could be very same affiliation. The range on the communications is
strong when it comes to lifting objects but may not as usually less then 25 miles.
strong when it comes to pulling, pushing, etc. A character
could be very good at performing certain kinds of actions Optical Sensors
but is average when it comes to other actions. Having this All characters have basic vision with the ability to
gift gives a +3 to all die rolls involving the particular aspect zoom in up to 10x. Characters also have a low light
chosen. When this gift is selected the player chooses what ability that allows them to see in low light conditions
aspect of an attribute gets the bonus. The following are a normally but does not allow them to see in complete
few examples of Additional Ability. darkness.
Added Strength +3 Strength for Lifting Damage Resistance

Excellent Vision +3 for Visual Awareness Transformer characters are naturally much tougher
Super Fast +3 Speed for Movement then humans. Therefore things that have the potential
Great Mileage +3 Endurance to Avoid to hurt a human may not hurt a Transformer. Small
Fatigue human weapons, like pistols and rifles, have no effect
Very Nimble +3 Skill for Acrobatics on Transformers, although larger weapons may. High
levels of cold or hot, such as fire, do not hurt
Transformers (although a very large fire will). It is the
Additional Ability is a non-combat gift and cannot be used GMs call whether a Transformer is immune to a cer-
to increase or decrease damage in combat. Depending on tain type of damage or not.
the gift Additional Ability may be used in combat but the
bonus is reduced to +1 instead of +3.
18
transport other characters inside them. A character can

carry two other characters for each gift spent on Carrier.
The carried characters must be of a scale two levels small-
er then the character doing the carrying (for more on size
see the Scale gift). So if a character is scale +0, he may
carry characters of scale -2. If the character is scale +1
they can carry character of scale -1, etc.
In most cases the carrier character and the carried charac-

ters have something in common to link the carrying. This is
not required though. For example, the character
Soundwave is a cassette player and the carried characters
are cassettes.
Earthquake:
A character with the Earthquake gift has the ability to cre-
Armor Piercing Weapon: ate powerful shock waves in the ground knocking down
The character's weapon is exceptionally good at punching opponents. To use an earthquake the attacker rolls their
through armor and damaging internal components. A tar- FRP or STR (whichever is higher) +1 against the target's
get struck with an armor-piercing (AP) weapon suffers a -1 SKL. If the attacker is successful, then the target falls and
penalty to their armor value to avoid damage. However, suffers a penalty to their next action while they get back up.
armor piercing weapons use much of their power to punc- The penalty is determined by the outcome of the roll. The
ture armor and therefore do less damage overall. So once following chart shows the progression.
an AP shot has struck and done damage, the damage of
the wound is reduced one level. The damage of an attack Result Penalty
cannot be reduced lower then +1 after it has penetrated +1 -1
armor. +2 to +3 -2
+4 to +6 -3 …etc
An AP weapon has five shots the character may use at any
time. Spending an additional gift will raise the number of
Earthquake has no effect on characters that are not on the
shots to ten. Spending three gifts gives the character an
ground. If two characters are standing close together (with-
unlimited amount of shots using their AP weapon.
in arms reach) the Earthquake may affect both characters.
Earthquake is a short-range weapon with a maximum
Example: Mirage fires his AP weapon at a Decepticon and
range of about 100 meters.
scores an excellent hit with a relative degree of +3. The
Decepticon's Armor value is Good, but is reduced to Fair
The Earthquake gift may also cause major terrain damage.
from the AP weapon. Mirage's FRP is Fair which adds +0
to the damage of the weapon. Mirage applies the +3
Example: Rumble is fighting with Bumblebee and uses his
wound against the Decepticon's Armor value of +0 for a
Earthquake gift. Rumble's FRP is Superb (+3), and is at +1
result of +3, a Hurt wound. But since the shot did penetrate
giving him a total of +4. Rumble rolls his +4 (Legendary)
the armor it is reduced one level to +2, just a Scratch.
FRP against Bumblebee's Good (+1) Skill. Both roll a
degree of +0. Rumble's outcome is +3 so Bumblebee is
Example 2: Mirage fires again the next round at a different
knocked to the ground and will be at -2 to his next action.
Decepticon with an Armor value of Great. This time Mirage
hits with a relative degree of +2. The Decepticon's Armor
Extra Tough:
value is reduced to Good from the AP weapon. Mirage
Some character can just soak up more damage then oth-
adds +0 for FRP for a final result of +2. This is applied to
ers. This gift allows a character to have one extra wound
the Decepticon's Armor value of +1 and is reduced to a +1
box in both Hurt and Very Hurt. This brings their maximum
wound, a Scratch. The wound penetrated the armor and so
wounds to three Hurt and two Very Hurt. More on wound-
is one level less, but since it cannot be reduced below +1
ing is discussed in the combat section.
it remains at +1, a Scratch.
It is possible for a character to have the gift extra tough in
Carrier:
one mode and not the other. This means a character has
Characters with the Carrier gift have the ability to carry and
19
extra wound boxes in one mode but not in the other. In the tive degree of the attack. Flash is a short-range weapon
event that an extra wound box is filled and the character with a maximum range of about 100 meters. After a flash
transforms, that wound immediately moves up to the next has been used it must recharge for 1 round before it can be
higher level. So a Hurt wound would turn into a Very Hurt used again. During that time the character may act but can-
wound. This does not work in reverse however. not use the flash.
Example 1: Sideswipe has the gift Extra Tough when he is Flight: Limited:
in robot mode but not when he is in his car mode. This The character has limited flight capabilities. The character
means he has extra wound boxes, but only in robot mode. can only move a limited distance of about 1000 meters.
In a battle he fills all three of his Hurt wound boxes. He then During that time the character may hover and maneuver
transforms. He does not have the gift Extra Tough in trans- freely but suffers a -1 penalty to all actions. After Limited
formed mode, so the third Hurt wound becomes a Very Flight has been used it takes a few minutes to recharge.
Hurt wound. If he were to transform back into a robot, the During that time the character may act but cannot use
wound would become a Hurt wound again. Limited Flight.
Example 2: In another battle Sideswipe suffers a Very Hurt

wound while in vehicle mode. When he transforms back
into robot mode the wound remains as a Very Hurt wound.
Because the wound was suffered while he did not have the
gift Extra Tough, the wound does not change when he
transforms.
Characters may not have the gift Extra Tough and the fault
Frail at the same time.
Extra Transformed Mode:

All Transformer characters have the ability to transform
between two different modes. Some characters, however,
have the ability to transform into more then two modes.
This gift gives the character an extra transformed mode
beyond the first one. A character that has three modes is
called a Triple Changer. The third transformed mode is cre-
Flight: Total:
ated the same as any other transformed mode (see the
The character has full range of movement while in flight.
section on Transformed Mode for more). The cost of hav-
The character can move, float, and maneuver freely with
ing a third transformed mode is two gifts. For each addi-
no penalty. This ability costs two gifts.
tional transformed mode past the third add +1 to the cost.
So a fourth transformed mode costs three gifts, a fifth
Force Field:
would cost four, etc.
The character has the ability to create a force wall that can
then be use to protect the character and his comrades. The
This extra Transformed mode only need to be purchased in
force field can protect a maximum of five characters if they
one of the character main modes, such as the robot mode.
are close together. A force field gives +2 to the armor value
For example, a character has two modes, their robot mode
of all characters covered by the force field. To use a Force
and a car mode. The player has purchased the gift 'Extra
Field the character rolls their Skill against a difficulty of Fair.
Transformed Mode' for the character's robot mode and
The Force Field lasts a number of rounds equal to the rel-
gives the character a third jet mode. The character may still
ative degree of that roll.
transform from the car mode to the jet mode even though
the gifts were not spent on the car mode.
If the character that is using the force field receives a
wound of Hurt or worse or becomes incapacitated some-
Flash:
how the Force Field is immediately deactivated.
The character has the ability to emit a flash of light that
blinds an opponent. A character that has been blinded is -
Group Transform:
3 to all actions that require sight. To use a Flash roll SKL+1
The character has the ability to transform with other char-
against the target's SKL. If the attack is successful, the tar-
acters to create one large robot mode. This involves at
get will be blind for a number of rounds equal to the rela -
20
least five characters with a maximum of six. Each charac- Die Roll Result
ter must have the Group Transform gift and specify what Terrible Add one Hurt wound
other characters they can be grouped with. Only one group Poor Add one Scratch
of characters may be selected to group. See chapter 7: Mediocre No effect
Gestalt Transformers for more on group transformation. Fair Heal one Scratch
Good Heal one Hurt wound
Group Transform is not considered a third transformed Great Heal one Very Hurt wound
mode. Superb Heal one Incapacitated wound
Legendary Heal one Near Death wound
Holographic Projector:
The character has the ability to create holographic images.
Using the Medic gift requires certain tools and equipment.
These images can be used to create distractions or con-
Not having the proper equipment gives a -1 to the roll.
fuse enemies. To create a holographic image the user rolls
Having access to a full repair bay and advanced equipment
their Skill attribute against a Fair difficulty. The character
may give a +1 to the roll.
may create a number of holographic images equal to the
relative degree of that roll. If a holographic image is struck
The results from a healing attempt take time. A character
by a weapon or attack it immediately disappears. A new
is not instantly healed when a successful roll is made. The
holographic image cannot be created until the previous
roll just determines that the character has the ability to
images have been deactivated. Using a Holographic
repair the wound. It is up to the GM to determine how long
Projector is a full action and no other actions (except
the wound takes to heal. Scratches should heal in a matter
defense) may be taken while the holographs are active.
of a few hours. A Hurt wound might take a day or two. A
Very Hurt wound might take a week or more.
Long Range Communications:
The character has the ability to send long-range communi-
Melee Weapon:
cations. The character can only transmit messages to
The character is equipped with a close combat hand
other characters that have the Long Range
weapon of some sort. Damage from such a weapon is
Communication gift or have access to a long-range com-
equal to the character's STR Attribute. Spending an addi-
munications array. The character has the ability to send
tional gift adds +1 to the damage raising the damage to
messages anywhere in the world. Sending messages any
STR+1. A maximum damage of STR+3 can be achieved if
further, however, requires an enhanced communications
enough gifts are spent.
system and other special equipment.
Motion Scanner:
The character is equipped with a sensor that can detect
motion in an area. Using a motion scanner requires a Skill
roll against a Fair difficulty. The better the rolled degree, the
more accurate the reading. A failed roll results in an inac-
curate reading. A motion scanner can only detect the gen-
eral location of movement, not the specific location or the
source of that movement. Therefore a motion scanner can-
not be used to target enemies.
Invisibility:
The character has the ability to become invisible to normal
sight. This does not mean that the character is invisible to
all visual spectrums (such as infrared or UV) or sound. The
character is only invisible to normal sight. Spending a sec-
ond gift will make character invisible to all visual spectrums
as well as sound. A character is -3 to hit while invisible.
Medic:
Activating invisibility requires full concentration of the char-
The character is skilled in medical and repair procedures
acter and cannot be activated in combat.
and has the ability to heal wounds. To use this ability the
character rolls their Skill or Intelligence attribute and
Invisibility lasts three minutes for each gift spend not
applies the result to the following chart. A separate roll
including a gift for all spectrums (if any). At the end of three
must be made for each wound.
21
given in the chart below.
Damage Ammo Damage Ammo

Superb 1 shot Good 4 shots
Great 2 shots Fair 8 shots
This gift can be selected multiple times for additional

ammunition.
minutes the character must make a Skill roll against a

Good difficulty. If the roll is successful then the character is
invisible for another 15 seconds or so. At the end of that
time another roll is made with a difficulty of Great. Each
successive roll is made at a higher difficulty until the char-
acter fails a roll. Invisibility may not be used again for a
number of minutes equal to the time invisible (round up to
the nearest minute).
Scale:
A character cannot attack while invisible. If a character Scale determines the size of a character. Keep in mind that
makes any sort of attack or offensive action while invisible Transformers are much larger then humans. The average
they immediately become visible. Once Invisibility has Transformer character is Scale 0. For each gift spent the
been deactivated, it cannot be used again, as above, for a character is Scale+1. For each level of Scale+1 the char-
number of minutes equal to the time invisibility was used acter gains +1 STR as well as +1 to their Armor trait.
(round up to the nearest minute). Larger characters are more beefy and therefore tougher. In
addition to these bonuses, they also gain +1 to their FRP
Radio Disruptor: attribute for every two levels of Scale. On the downside,
The character has the ability to disrupt radio transmissions larger characters tend to be easier to hit in combat. For
and prevent them from getting through. To disrupt a trans- every two levels of Scale+1 the character is -1 to dodge
mission roll SKL against the SKL of the character transmit- attacks.
ting the message. If the roll is successful then the message
is blocked and does not get through. Using this gift requires Scale can also work to make a character smaller. For each
full concentration and no other actions may be performed level of Scale-1 the character loses one level of STR and
other then defense. their armor value drops one level. For every two levels of
lowered Scale, they are -1 to their FRP attribute. The
Recorder: upside is that for every two levels of Scale-1 the character
The character has the ability to record both visual and audi- gains a +1 to dodge. Scale-1 is considered a fault.
tory information and play it back later. This prevents a char-
acter from misinterpreting information and allows them to The Scale modifier determines how the character relates to
retrieve large amounts of information accurately. other characters of different sizes/scales. A Scale-1 char-
acter may still have Superb STR, but it is Superb in relation
Rocket Launcher: to other Scale-1 characters. Therefore on some level a
The character is equipped with a rocket launcher as an Scale-1 Superb STR character is equivalent to a Scale+0
additional weapon. A rocket launcher is used the same as Great STR character. A character's scale should be noted
any other attack. Rocket launchers are area affect with both STR and Armor traits. Scale modifiers still apply
weapons and are fired at an area rather then a single tar- whenever the character uses either attribute.
get, often making them very accurate. In game terms this
means using a rocket launcher is an unopposed action. GMs should keep in mind that scale is a relative trait. Two
The number of shots and damage for a rocket launcher is Scale+6 character do not gain +6 STR against each other
22
and are not -3 to dodge each other. Scale cancels itself. additional gifts spend on them.
The following chart shows some examples of different Sonic Boom:

Scale sizes. The character has the ability to emit a loud burst of sound
that deafens an opponent. A character that has been deaf-
Char Scale STR ARM FRP Dg. ened is -3 to all actions that require hearing and -1 to all
Rumble -2 -2 -2 -1 +1 actions due to disorientation. To use a Sonic Boom roll
Bumblebee -1 -1 -1 +0 +0 SKL+1 against the target's SKL. If the attack is successful,
Hound +0 +0 +0 +0 +0 the target will be deaf for a number of rounds equal to the
Optimus Prime +1 +1 +1 +0 +0 relative degree of the attack. Sonic Boom is a short-range
Grimlock +2 +2 +2 +1 -1 weapon with a maximum range of about 100 meters. After
Devastator +5 +5 +5 +2 -2 a Sonic Boom has been used it must recharge for 1 round
before it can be used again. During that time the character
Relative Sizes may act but cannot use the Sonic Boom.
Rumble Human Sized
Bumblebee VW Beetle (Small Car) Super Sonic Speed:
Hound Jeep (Regular Car) The character has the ability to travel at extremely high
Optimus Prime Semi Truck (Large Vehicle) speeds. A character is -3 to target while moving at super
Grimlock T-Rex (Very Large) sonic speed. A character using Super Sonic Speed cannot
Devastator Gestalt Character attack or perform any other action while traveling at top
speed. To use this gift the character must already have the
For more on these characters see the Autobots gift 'Flight: Total.' This gift can be selected multiple times to
and Decepticons expansion packs. represent faster speeds. Super Sonic Speed Lv1 is slower
the Super Sonic Speed Lv2. So a character moving at
Super Sonic Speed Lv1 is -3 to hit a character moving at
A character may not be smaller then Scale -2. There is no Super Sonic Speed Lv2 that is one level higher then them
limit to how large a character can be. A character may not selves.
have levels of both Scale +1 and Scale -1 at the same time.
Teleportation:
Sidekick: The character has the ability to instantaneously move from
The character has a sidekick. A sidekick will always follow one location to another. The movement is instant and does
their master into any situation and always obey orders. not count as an action during combat. A character may only
Sidekicks must be related to the character in some way. In teleport to a location they can see. Teleportation does not
some cases they are part of the same transformed mode. work through solid objects. The ability to teleport through
For example, if the main character transforms into a pick- solid objects may be purchased for an additional gift. The
up truck his sidekick may transform into a canopy that fits distance a character may travel is determined by rolling the
over the bed of the pickup. It is required for the character character's SKL. The character rolls their SKL attribute and
and their sidekick to be related in some way. compares the result to the following chart.
A sidekick character is always smaller then the main char- Result Distance
acter by at least one level of Scale. A sidekick is created Terrible none
the same way as any other character. They have attributes, Poor 5 meters
gifts, faults, etc. The amount of free levels a sidekick Mediocre 10 meters
receives depends on the number of gifts spent. For every Fair 20 meters
gift spent, the sidekick has two attributes levels and one Good 40 meters
gift. Only the main character must spend a gift on the side- Great 80 meters
kick. Sidekicks may trade attributes and gifts normally as Superb 150 meters
well as select faults to acquire additional gifts and attrib - Legendary 300 meters
utes.
All of a sidekick's actions are rolled by the GM, even Tool Kit:
though the player has control of the sidekick. Sidekicks do The character has various tools built inside of them. This
not gain experience like other characters. Sidekicks only means that the character always has the right tool for the
gain experience for performing special actions or having job and never suffers a -1 penalty for not having the right
23
tools. A tool kit can be taken from a character negating the in relation to the code. The following are a few examples of
gift until they can recover or replace their tools. a Code of Ethics.
When the character selects the gift Tool Kit they specify Noble Will not strike from behind,
what type of tool kit they have equipped. The tool kit will always fair, doesn't cheat, etc.
either be Mechanical (tools for mechanical devices), Warrior Ethic Always fights to the end, no
Electrical (tools for working with electrical wiring), or matter the cost.
Medical (tools for repairing other Transformers). This gift
may be selected multiple times for different tool kits.
Doubtful:
The character doubts the cause of either the Autobots or
the Decepticons (whichever affiliation to which the charac-
Mike is selecting gifts for his character Outback. Mike has
ter belongs). They constantly question the motives and
two free gifts to use. He decides that Outback is pretty
actions of their comrades and always need to be motivat-
rugged and can take a hit, so he selects the gift Extra
ed to help out. This can often lead to a great deal of ani-
Tough. He also wants Outback to have some sort of back-
mosity from members of their affiliation.
up weapon, so he selects the gift Rocket Launcher.
Easily Distracted:
The character is distracted very easily. It is hard for the
CREATING NEW GIFTS character to stay on task for any lengthy amount of time.
The list of gifts does not represent every gift a char- The character suffers a -1 penalty to any task that is long
acter could have. The list just gives some examples of and involved, or requires concentration.
common gifts in the Transformer universe. Players
and GMs should feel free to create new gifts for their Frail:
characters. GMs should be careful when developing The character just can't take a hit as well as the others. A
new gifts though. It is entirely possible for a player to character that is Frail only has one Hurt wound box and two
create a gift that is far too powerful. GMs have the Scratch boxes. For more on wounding see the Combat
ability to veto any gift that they see is too powerful. section of the rules.
On the other hand, one must be considerate not to
make gifts too weak as well. No one wants a gift that Characters may not have the fault Frail and the gift Extra
is useless for his or her character. Tough at the same time.
Limited Ability:
FAULTS The opposite of the gift 'Additional Ability,' the character
Faults are the opposite of gifts. Faults act like gifts in the suffers a -3 penalty to any action involving a certain aspect
sense that they do not fit the normal FUDGE Terrible- of an attribute. The following are a few examples.
Superb scale. Unfortunately, faults are bad to have. Faults
are the imperfections in the character. All characters start Clumsy -3 Skill for Acrobatics or technical
with at least one fault. actions
Low Mileage -3 Endurance to avoid
fatigue
FAULT DESCRIPTION
Poor Vision -3 to visual awareness
The following is a list of some possible faults a character
might have.
No Hands
Aggressive: The character has no hands. This means the character
The character tends to act before thinking. This often gets cannot perform any kind of action involving fine manipula -
the character into situations that they cannot handle by tion. The character may have the ability to grip or carry
themselves and leaves the rest of the characters to bail objects, but they may not use the objects they carry.
them out.
No Speech:
Code of Ethics: The character cannot communicate in the normal manner.
The character has a specific code or set of morals that they The character must perform gestures or use other means
always abide by. Any time the character tries to perform an to communicate with other characters. This can make it
action that breaks their Code of Ethics that action suffers a very difficult for a character to get a message across in an
-1 penalty or more depending on the severity of the action emergency.
24
Obsession: Unlucky:
The character is completely obsessed with something. The Bad things just tend to happen to the character on a regu-
character will stop at nothing to obtain whatever the object lar basis. There are two ways a GM may have this ability
of their obsession may be. This often means that a char- affect a character. The first option is for the GM add a -1
acter will drop what they are doing in order to obtain some- penalty to the characters die roll every so often. The play-
thing related to their obsession. er does not need to be aware of this penalty. This version
of the fault just makes it harder for the character to succeed
Overconfident: at actions.
The character feels that they can compete at a level far
above their range of ability. This can get a character into The second way is to have bad things just happen to the
trouble when they get into a situation they can't handle. character on a regular basis. For example, if the unlucky
character and his Autobot companions are battling a few
Rivalry: Decepticons, and Decepticon reinforcements arrive, they
The character is constantly trying to outdo another charac- will attack the unlucky character before they will attack the
ter. The target of the rivalry may not be aware of the rival- others.
ry. The character will stop at nothing to make their rival look
bad and come out on top. This kind of rivalry can either be Unlucky can be a very damaging fault. GMs should only
a friendly rival or a more hostile form of rivalry. have the fault effect the character a few times per playing
session. In many cases the player may not be aware of the
Secret: effects of the gift.
The character has something to hide. This is something so
severe that it could be very detrimental to the future of the Vulnerability:
character. Maybe it is some sort of hidden weakness, or a The character has a difficult time resisting certain kinds of
secret vice, addiction, etc. Whatever the character is hid - attacks. The character suffers a -2 penalty to their armor
ing, they want to keep it that way, and will do everything in value to avoid being hurt by these kinds of attacks. A vul-
their power to keep it that way. nerability must be some kind of common form of attack. For
example, a character could be vulnerable to melee attacks.
Super Patriot: They can shrug off laser blasts easily but have a tough time
The character believes in the cause of their affiliation no taking punches. Melee attacks are common attacks and so
matter what. Whatever their superior tells them is the way could be considered a vulnerability. The character could
things should be. If the character is an Autobot they will not have a vulnerability to falling asteroids since it is not
never question the will of Optimus Prime and always pro- likely that the character is hit by falling asteroids on a reg-
tect him as well as any other life. If the character is a ular basis.
Decepticon they will always obey the orders of Megatron
no matter how dangerous or foolhardy. CHARACTER CREATION EXAMPLE:
Mike has one fault he must select for his character
Outback. He decides that Outback is the kind of character
25
who acts before thinking out a situation and often gets into
trouble. Mike then selects the fault Aggressive.
FAULTS THAT AREN'T FAULTS
GMs need to pay attention when players are selecting
faults for their characters. It is possible to abuse this
TRADING TRAITS part of a character by creating a fault that does not
During character creation, free levels may be traded (in affect the character much or any at all. GMs should
either direction) at the following rate: keep in mind that a fault that is not a disadvantage is
not a fault and does not count. GMs have the right to
1 gift = 2 attribute levels veto any selected fault that they see as being unfit.
1 gift = 1 fault
Therefore it is possible for a character to select more then DIFFERENT KINDS OF FAULTS
their one required fault to have a few extra levels for attrib - As you may have noticed some faults have a direct
utes or an extra gift or two. Player should be careful not to affect on the character (such as a penalty to certain
take too many faults. Keep in mind that faults are bad actions) while other do not. The faults that do not
things, and too many can severely hinder a character, even assess a penalty are the ones that require the great-
if their other abilities are very high est amount of the GM's attention. These are faults that
are usually left up to the player to role-play. GMs need
to remind players when their characters are about to
ROUNDING OUT THE CHARACTER perform an action that is out of character. If the play-
At this point the character has all the basics covered. A er insists on the action they may be severely penal-
player knows at this point what the character is capable of ized later in the game.
doing. But also at this point the character is nothing but a
few general terms. What makes a character unique are into dinosaurs) are such examples of this.
various quirks or a certain personality. Players should have
some idea of how their characters act in certain situations Function:
and try to develop at least a basic idea of the character's This is the character's occupation within the ranks of his or
personality. her affiliation. This is often related to what the character is
good at. A character with a low intelligence and no medic
The following items are also a few elements to help flesh gift would not make a good medic, and so would not have
out a character and make them more believable. the function 'Medic.' That type of character would be more
likely a soldier. Some examples of possible functions are
Affiliation: Artillery, Communications, Medic, Scout, Security
This is what side of the war the character fights for. It can Technician, Special Operations, Spy, Tactical Engineer,
be as simple as Autobot (the good guys) or Decepticon Transport Specialist, Warrior, etc.
(the bad guys). It could also be more specific a branch of
each side. The Constructicons (Decepticons who turn into Quote:
construction vehicles) or the Dinobots (Autobots who turn This just gives a hint into the character's personality. It
could be a catch phrase or maybe more of a personal doc-
trine.
Background:
This is any sort of information regarding the character's his-
tory, actions, etc. Players should try to come up with at
least a few sentences regarding a character's origins. They
may even come into play for the character at some point.
26
FINISHING THE CHARACTER

At this point Mike has finished the basic concepts for his
character Outback. He has all of his traits filled out and
spent some time filling in some background information.
Now it is time to move on to the next stage of character cre-
ation, the Transformed Mode.
DECEPTICON SOUNDWAVE
27
CHAPTER FIVE:
Mike's character Outback has STR: Fair (+0), INT:
Mediocre (-1), SPD: Great (+2), END: Great (+2), RNK:
TRANSFORMED Fair (+0), COU: Good (+1), FRP: Fair (+0), and SKL: Good.
He cannot change Outback's INT, RNK, or COU so they
M O D E
stay the same. Mike decides that Outback is very fast when
he transforms into his car mode. Mike raises Outback's
SPD attribute one level to Superb (+3). To counter his
increase in SPD, Mike lowers Outback's STR one level to
Mediocre (-1). Mike also feels that Outback is more
All Transformer characters have at least one transformed maneuverable in vehicle mode as well. He raises
mode. This is the alternate form the character may 'trans- Outback's SKL attribute two levels to Superb (+3). To
form' into. What a character transforms into is up to the counter this raise Mike lowers Outback's END two levels to
player. In most cases the transformed mode is some sort Fair (+0). This means Outback's attribute when he trans-
of vehicle used for travel or disguise, but a player may forms are STR: Mediocre (-1), INT: Mediocre (-1), SPD:
select something else as well. Superb (+3), END: Fair (+0), RNK: Fair (+0), COU: Good
(+1), FRP: Fair (+0), SKL: Superb (+3).
Characters default to their robot modes. Certain factors of
a character's robot mode are used to determine the traits
for a transformed character. The following rules cover more
on a character's transformed traits.
GIFTS & FAULTS

Characters have gifts in their transformed mode much the
same as they do in their robot mode. Players have the
option of selecting different gifts for their character's trans-
ATTRIBUTES
formed mode if they desire. Like in robot mode, characters
A character may have different attributes when trans- will have two free gifts for their transformed mode.
formed. Physical attributes (STR, SPD, END, FRP, SKL) Selecting different gifts for a character's transformed mode
may be modified in transformed mode. However, mental is an option and is not required. A character may have the
attributes (INT, RNK, COU) cannot be altered. Therefore a same gifts in both modes.
character's mental traits (INT, RNK, and COU) are the
same in either mode. The same can be done with faults. A character may have
some sort of fault, but only when in a certain mode.
All transformed attributes default to their robot mode val- Therefore a character can be restricted in different ways in
ues. So if a character has Good STR, then the character different modes.
also has Good STR in their transformed mode. A player
may elect to lower a trait in their transformed mode to There are a few restrictions on a character's choice of gifts
increase another trait. This means a character could be and faults for their transformed mode however. The next
strong and slow as a robot but weak and fast when they section discusses those restrictions.
transform.
28
CHAPTER FIVE: TRANSFORMED MODE
LIMITATIONS ON GIFTS AND OTHER EFFECTS OF

FAULTS TRANSFORMING
Character may have very different traits when they trans- When a character transforms they no longer remain in their
form. A character may be strong and tough when in robot robot mode. This has some effects on the character and
mode and skilled and fast in transformed mode. There is may restrict the type of actions the character can perform.
one consideration when determining a character's trans- The first main effect is that the character will not have
formed traits; any sort of mental or psychological trait can- hands when they transform. This functions like the fault No
not be changed. This counts for attributes, gifts, and faults. Hands, except a character does not receive any free levels
Mental attributes such as INT, RNK, and COU remain the for the fault.
same when a character transforms (as described previ-
ously). Gifts and faults are no exception to this rule. If a It may seem that a character is less effective when they
character has a gift or fault that is related to a characters transform however. The tradeoff for transforming is that the
mind, it does not change. character that has transformed is always a bit faster then
those who have not. A character's transformed mode is
CHARACTER CREATION EXAMPLE: often used for travel. This means that in any contest of
Mike's character Outback has the gifts Extra Tough and speed, or requiring the SPD attribute, a character in trans-
Rocket Launcher, as well as the fault Aggressive. Neither formed mode will win ties with a character that is not trans-
of Outback's gifts are mental abilities, so they can be formed. If both characters are transformed or not trans-
changed in transformed mode. Outback is still pretty tough formed there is no other effect.
in car mode, so he keeps the gift Extra Tough. However,
Outback is somewhat of a scout character, so he decides
he would rather have Advanced Optics when in car mode
over the Rocket Launcher. As for Outback's fault,
Aggressive, he cannot change this fault when he is in car
mode. This is a mental trait and so it remains when
Outback transforms.
WHAT EVERYONE CAN DO WHEN

THEY TRANSFORM
All characters are equipped with some sort of headlight or
illuminating device. This allows characters to see in the
dark, but also may reveal their location in a dark area. This
light may not be used to blind a target as by the Flash gift
TRADING TRAITS although it may distract a target for a moment. Other then
A character may trade traits in transformed mode the same this the character doesn't have any other special equip -
way they can in robot mode. See the Trading Traits section ment for their transformed mode.
in Chapter 4: Character Creation for mode on trading traits.
29
CHAPTER SIX: Offensive Damage Factors:

Those factors which contribute to damaging an opponent:
C O M B A T STR (if using a Strength-driven weapon), and the deadli-

ness of a weapon.
Defensive Damage Factors:

Those factors which contribute to reducing the severity of
Unless one participant is unaware of an attack or decides
a received blow: armor, and possibly Damage Capacity.
to ignore it, combat is an Opposed action in FUDGE. The
easiest way to handle combat in FUDGE is as a series of
Total Damage Factor (or simply damage factor):
Opposed actions. This can be done simply or with more
The attacker's offensive damage factor minus the defend-
complexity. The author of FUDGE uses simple and loose
er's defensive damage factor.
combat rules in order to get combat over with quickly and
[4.1 Combat Terms]
get back to more interesting role-playing. This chapter,
largely optional, is for players who prefer combat options
spelled out in detail. ALTERNATING COMBAT TURNS
[Chapter 4: Combat] Using alternating combat turns, each combat round con-
sists of two actions: the fighter with the higher initiative
attacks while the other defends, then the second combat-
ant attacks while the first defends. With multiple characters
involved in combat, the *side* with the initiative makes all
their attacks, then the other side makes all their attacks. Or
the GM may run the combat in initiative order, even if fight-
ers from both sides are interspersed throughout the com-
bat turn.
[4.23 Alternating Combat turns]
At the beginning of each combat round, all characters

involved roll initiative. Each character rolls their SPD attrib -
ute +2dF. The character with the highest rolled degree acts
first, then the next highest, and so one. If two characters
have the same rolled degree, their actions are simultane-
ous and both act before the results are applied.
A character may make one attack or one action per com-

COMBAT TERMS bat round. Making an attack consists of the attacker rolling
Melee: their SKL attribute +2dF against their target's SPD attribute
Any combat that involves striking the opponent with a fist +2dF. If the attacker's rolled degree is higher then the
or hand-held weapon. Any attack from further away is a defender's the attack is a success. If the rolled degrees are
Ranged attack. equal or the defender's is higher, the attack misses. Both
melee and ranged attacks are handled this way.
Story Element:
A distinct segment of the storyline in the game. In combat, ATTACK MODIFIERS
the interval between story elements can be a practical
Some situations call for one side or the other's trait level
place for a die roll.
to be modified. Here are some examples:
Combat Round:
A fighter who is Hurt is at -1, while one who is Very Hurt
An indeterminate length of time set by the GM - around
is at -2.
three seconds seems reasonable to some people, while
that seems grossly short or absurdly long to others. A given
If one fighter has a positional advantage over the other,
GM's combat round may vary in length, depending on the
there may be a penalty (-1 or -2) to the fighter in the
situation. Generally, when each character involved has
worse position. Examples include bad footing, lower ele-
made an action, a given round is over.
30
CHAPTER SIX: COMBAT
RANGE FACTORS MOVEMENT

Range could be a factor when making an attack. For In combat characters may want to close the range to
simplicity range has been broken down into three cat- get closer or move farther away from their opponents.
egories: Short, Medium, and Long range. All characters have the ability to move and fire in the
same round without penalty. However, if a character
At Short range the characters are assumed to be decides that movement is their only action for the
close enough that they can easily see each other. round, they may either decrease or increase the range
Characters are also close enough that melee attacks to an opponent one level. The character does not per-
may be made. form any other action during that round. If a character
decides they want to act while moving, it takes two
At Medium range the characters are close enough to rounds to decrease or increase the range one level. A
see each other easily, but not close enough to use character that is concentrating only on movement
melee attacks. Most ranged combat is made at this receives a +1 bonus to dodge incoming attacks.
level.
Targeting a Moving Character
At Long range the characters are very far apart. Melee If one character is targeting another character that is
combat is impossible since the target is way off. only moving to close the range, the range is consid-
Ranged attacks at this range have a -1 penalty. ered to be the first level for the combat round. So if
the first character decides to move from long range to
If a character moves to a range beyond Long Range, medium range, that is their only action. Another char-
they are considered to be too far off to be the target of acter attacking them later that turn would target them
a ranged attack. at long range, even though they are moving to medi-
um range. The change does not occur until the end of
Range is just a tool used to assume a relative dis- the round.
tance between opponents in combat. GMs do not
have to use this rule and can ignore it completely if Running Away
they feel it requires too much thinking. GMs may con-
In some cases the best course of action is to make a
sider applying their own penalties for range depend-
hasty retreat. When a character wants to retreat, they
ing on the situation. The following rules are given as
must increase the range from their opponents to a
a very basic system for determining where characters
level beyond Long Range. In most cases this just
are in combat.
means spending a turn or two moving and escaping,
but what if the opponent decides to pursue.
vation, light in his eyes, kneeling, etc.
In a situation where one character is pursuing anoth-
Aiming at a specific small body part (such as an eye or er, both characters roll SPD attributes +2dF. If the
hand) will require a minimum result of Good or Great to character trying to escape has a higher rolled degree
hit and also have a -1 to the trait level. If a result of Great then their pursuer, then the range increases on level
is needed and the fighter only gets a Good result but still normally. However, if the pursuer rolls higher, they
wins the Opposed action, he hits the other fighter - but close the range one level. If both rolled degrees are
not in the part aimed for. the same, the range stays the same.
[4.31 Melee Modifiers]
Keep in mind that while one character is fleeing, their
WOUNDS pursuer might stay close behind, but other combat-
FUDGE offers various methods of tracking wounds, with ants may get left behind.
many options. It is impossible to be 100% accurate when
simulating damage to such an intricate mechanism as a liv- Others want as much accuracy as they can get. FUDGE
ing being. This is true even for detailed simulations - for an presents a simple freeform system that works, and sug-
abstract role-playing game, it is hard to get close to reality gests some options to make it more mechanical, and
at all. encourages each GM to add as much detail as she is
happy with.
Consequently, many GMs don't try to be very accurate, and [4.5 Wounds]
want a simple system that works and lets the story flow.
31
Near Death:
The character is not only unconscious, he'll die in less than
an hour - maybe a *lot* less - without medical help. No one
recovers from Near Death on their own unless very lucky.
Dead:
He has no more use for his possessions, unless he
belongs to a culture that believes he'll need them in the
afterlife…
[4.51 Wound Levels]
WOUND LEVELS
Combat damage to a character can be described as being
at one of seven stages of severity. The stages are:
Undamaged:
No wounds at all. The character is not necessarily healthy
- he may be sick, for example. But he doesn't have a com-
bat wound that's recent enough to be bothering him.
Just A Scratch:
No real game effect, except to create tension. This may
eventually lead to being Hurt if the character is hit again.
This term comes from the famous movie line, "I'm okay, it's ARMOR
only a scratch." The actual wound itself may be a graze, FUDGE assumes that all character will have some sort of
bruise, cut, abrasion, etc., and the GM whose game is Damage Capacity trait. In Transformers this trait is called
more serious in tone may choose to use one of these terms Armor. Armor reduces the amount of damage a character
instead. suffers in combat. It is possible to have a negative Armor
value (if the character's END and COU attributes are low
Hurt: enough). This means a character will take MORE damage
The character is wounded significantly, enough to slow him in combat. More on applying Armor in combat is covered
down: -1 to all traits which would logically be affected. A later. For more on Damage Capacity, see section 4.52
Hurt result in combat can also be called a Light Wound. Damage Capacity in the FUDGE rules.
[4.51 Wound Levels]
Very Hurt: WOUND FACTORS

The character is seriously hurt, possibly stumbling: -2 to all When determining how wounded a character is when hit in
traits which would logically be affected. A Very Hurt result combat, take into consideration all of the following factors:
can also be called a Severe Wound. [4.53 Wound Factors]
Incapacitated: The Relative Degree of the Attack

The character is so badly wounded as to be incapable of A relative degree of +1 only means the character just bare-
any actions, except possibly dragging himself a few feet ly hit their target, possibly hitting the most heavily armored
every now and then or gasping out an important message. section. A higher rolled degree means the character made
A lenient GM can allow an Incapacitated character to per- a better-placed shot and will have a much better effect.
form such elaborate actions as opening a door or grabbing
a gem…
32
CHAPTER SIX: COMBAT
The Strength of the Attack If a character suffers a wound in a level that has already
A character that is stronger tends to hit harder, and there- been filled the wound jumps to the next higher level. So a
fore do more damage when they hit. A character with a Very hurt character suffering another very hurt wound
larger weapon will also do more damage then a character would actually suffer an Incapacitation wound.
with a small weapon. The strength of the character or
weapon will influence how much damage is inflicted. Depending on the level of the wound, there may be a mod-
ifier to the character's actions. This modifier comes from
The Strength of an attack is determined by the type of the effects of pain, shock, etc. This modifier will apply to
attack, either melee or ranged. A melee attack is deter- most of the character's action, but not all. Any sort of phys-
mined by the character's STR attribute. This can be a pos- ical action will be modified, but a mental action may not.
itive or negative value. For unarmed attacks damage is
equal to STR -1. When a character suffers an Incapacitated wound or worse
they are out cold. They cannot act, except maybe to crawl
Ranged attack use the character's FRP attribute. Again, a few feet in some direction. They may still be able to
this can be a positive or negative value. Ranged attack speak, but that's about it.
strength is equal to the character's FRP.
Once a character has reached near Death they are in real
The Defender's Armor trouble. The character is in danger of dying and may die if
A more heavily armored character is less likely to be hurt medical attention is not soon applied. The amount of time
and take damage. Therefore a character's Armor is a sig - the character has is up to the GM, but should not be more
nificant factor when determining damage. then a few hours.
DETERMINGING WOUND LEVEL CHARACTER DEATH

All of the factors mentioned in the above section are used In the original cartoon characters never died. Despite
when determining the severity of a wound. The attacker being wounded and damaged a character was never
applies the relative degree of their attack plus the numeric really in any danger of actually dying. GMs have this
value of the strength of the attack. So if a character made option if they want to run their campaign that way. A
a successful ranged attack with a relative degree of +2 and GM who does decide to run their game that way
has a Good (+1) FRP, the wound level would be +3. should keep in mind that characters may do more
dangerous actions without worrying about them,
Keep in mind that it is possible for a character to hit and do since they know they can't die. A GM should note to a
no damage. A successful melee attack with a relative character that their character 'could' still die in a given
degree of +1 and a Mediocre (-1) STR wound result in a circumstance, despite the 'no death' rule.
wound level of +0! This does not mean the attack misses,
it just means the attack hit, but did no damage.
APPLYING ARMOR
Once the wound level has been determined, apply that A character's Armor trait helps to reduce the damage taken
number to the following chart. from an attack. A character's Armor value is applied
against the final damage level for an attack. If the charac-
ter has a positive Armor value, then the attack will be
Level Wound Mod. Num. reduced a number of levels equal to their Armor value. So
1,2 Scratch -0 [ ][ ][ ] a character suffering a +5 (Very Hurt) wound and having
3,4 Hurt -1 [ ][ ] Great Armor (+2) would only suffer a +3 (Hurt) wound. If a
5,6 Very hurt -2 [ ] character has a negative Armor value, they will unfortu-
7,8 Incapacitated out [ ] nately add the number of levels to the damage taken. So
9+ Near Death out [ ] another character suffering a +5 (Very Hurt) wound and
having Mediocre Armor (-1) would actually suffer a -6 (Very
When a character is wounded they mark the appropriate Hurt) wound.
box on their character sheet. Wound boxes below the
wound level are not filled, however. A character may suffer
a Hurt wound without suffering any Scratches. A Scratch
suffered later, however, will be marked.
33
SPECIAL COMBAT SITUATIONS attacker loses, the defender pins them! Once pinned,
another successful STR challenge must be made. The
There are times when the standard combat rules may need pinned character is -1 to this action and can perform no
a bit of a tweek to allow a characters to perform special other action other then to try and break the hold.
actions. The following are rules for special combat situa-
tions. They do not cover all the possible occurrences in Attacking with random objects
combat, but give a few common examples. Sometimes it just makes sense to grab something from the
ground and clobber someone with it. For many improvised
weapons, the result is obvious (a club does damage, dust
might blind an opponent temporarily, etc.) The following
chart gives some examples of the effects of various impro-
vised weapons.
Damage Weapon
STR -1 Unarmed
STR+0 Small one-handed weapon,
Small Pipe,
STR+1 Medium one-handed weapon,
Large Pipe, Heavy Wooden Beam
STR+2 Large one-handed weapon, Tree,
Steel Girder
Aiming
The character may take the time to aim a weapon before
they fire. This mean the character automatically acts last
for the combat round, but they gain a +1 to their attack roll.
This can be done with either melee or ranged attacks.
Multiple Actions
Characters already have the ability to move and attack in
the same combat round. A character may attempt two
actions at once (such as firing a weapon while trying to
open a locked security door). Each action is rolled sepa-
rately and has a -1 penalty. Character may not perform
more then two actions in a single combat round.
Transforming in Combat
Normally a character has the ability to transform without Applying Scale in Combat
restriction. Transforming is an action that is so routine that The majority of the time characters are scale+0. So
it does not require any sort of roll. However, in the heat of scale+0 characters are battling other scale+0 characters.
battle, transforming may be a bit trickier. A character that The complexity increases when character of different
wishes to transform in combat must make a SKL roll scales are battling. When applying scale in combat, only
against a Fair difficulty. If the roll is successful the charac- apply a relative degree. Two characters of scale+2 battling
ter transforms and gets their full action for that round. If the each other should not have any modifiers. But a scale+2
roll fails, the character must spend a half action transform- character attacking a scale+0 will gain a significant advan-
ing and can only move OR attack that round. tage from size. A scale+2 character fighting a scale+0
character is the same as a scale+1 character battling a
Wrestling scale-1 character. The key thing is if both characters are
Sometimes one character might just try and overbear the same size don't worry about the modifiers. Only use a
another character to try and subdue them. For this situation relative degree of size.
each character rolls STR in an opposed action. If the
attacker wins they manage to pin the defender. But if the
34
CHAPTER SIX: COMBAT
COMBAT EXAMPLE his SKL this is a Great result. Starscream transforms with
The following example has been created to give a basic no problem and still has his full action. Starscream decides
overview of how combat might run. The two combatants to return fire. Starscream rolls to hit and gets a +1 result.
are: With his SKL the rolled degree becomes Great. Ironhide
rolls to dodge and rolls a +1, but since his SPD is Poor, he
Autobot: Ironhide only has a rolled degree of Mediocre. This means
STR: Good +1 Starscream hits with a relative degree of +3. Time to apply
SPD: Poor -2 damage. Starscream takes the relative degree of his hit
FRP: Good +1 (+3) and adds the value of his FRP attribute (+1) for a final
SKL: Good +1 wound level of +4. Normally this would be a Hurt wound,
Armor: Superb +3 but Ironhide's Superb armor (+3) will reduce the wound
three levels. This reduces the wound level to +1, only a
Base Melee Damage: +0 Scratch.
Base Ranged Damage: +1
Ironhide decides that Starscream is much to fast to hit with
Decepticon: Starscream a ranged shot, so he decides he would rather pummel
STR: Good +1 Starscream then shoot at him. Ironhide lowers his weapon
SPD: Superb +3 and runs toward Starscream. Ironhide spend his entire
FRP: Good +1 action closing the range to close range.
SKL: Good +1
Armor: Good +1 The next round, Starscream realizes that Ironhide is right
on top of him and fires another shot to slow him down.
Base Melee Damage: +0 Starscream rolls to hit and gets a -1. With his SKL his rolled
Base Ranged Damage: +1 degree is Fair. Ironhide rolls to dodge and rolls a +1 for a
rolled degree of Mediocre. Starscreams relative degree is
While out scouting an area Ironhide spots Starscream on thus +1 and he adds his +1 for FRP for a wound level of
the horizon. Ironhide decides that Starscream must be +2. Unfortunately for Starscream, Ironhide has +3 Armor
dealt with and moves in to attack. The GM determines they that drops the wound level to -1. The shot hits Ironhide, but
are at long range. Both characters roll initiative. Ironhide does no damage.
rolls a +1 for a Mediocre (-1) result. Starscream rolls a -2
for a Good (+1) result. Starscream acts first. Ironhide is now right on top or Starscream. Ironhide moves
in and takes a swing at Starscream. Ironhide rolls to hit and
* For simplicity only the first initiative roll was made. Since gets a +2 for a rolled degree of Superb. Starscream rolls to
there are only two combatants, they can just take alternat- dodge and rolls a -2 for a rolled degree of Good. Ironhide
ing turns. In a situation with more then two combatants, a applies his +2 with his base melee damage (STR -1), Fair.
separate initiative roll would be made each round. His final wound level is +2. Starscream receives a Scratch.
Starscream notices Ironhide and decides that he needs to And the battle continues from there…
close the gap a bit before he attacks. Starscream, in jet
mode, spends his turn closing the distance between him
and Ironhide. This reduces the range to Medium at the end
of the round.
Ironhide stops where he is and fires his weapon at

Starscream. Since the change in range does not occur until
the end of the round, Ironhide has a -1 to hit for long range.
Ironhide rolls +0. This value applied to Good SKL (+1) and
the -1 for range is applied resulting in a Fair shot.
Starscream rolls his SPD attribute to dodge and also rolls
+0 for a Superb result. Ironhide's shot misses completely.
The next round Starscream decides to stop where he is

and attack. Starscream rolls to transform and rolls +1. With
35
CHAPTER SEVEN:
els equal to the number of characters involved +4. So if the
larger robot is made up of five characters, they would have
9 (5 characters +4) free levels for attributes.
G E S T A L T Gifts
TRANSFORMERS
A Gestalt Transformer has a number of free gifts equal to
the number of characters involved divided by two (round
up). So it minimum number of free gifts will be three.
Faults
Some characters have the ability to transform, in combina- A Gestalt Transformer has a minimum number of faults
tion with other characters, into one larger robot. These equal to the number of characters divided by three (round
larger robots are called Gestalt Transformers. A Gestalt up). So the minimum number of faults will always be at
Transformer is usually made up of five or six characters. least two.
Gestalt Transformers act just like normal characters for
actions, combat, etc. They have attributes, gifts, faults, etc. Purchasing traits for a Gestalt Transformer is the same as
The only difference is that since they are made up of sev- it would be for any other character. Gestalt transformers do
eral different characters, those characters must work have the ability to select additional faults to buy additional
together to control the larger robot. positive traits. See the character creation section for rules
on assigning traits.
GESTALT SCALE
Because they are made up of several characters, Gestalt
Transformers tend to be very large. This translates to a
very high scale for size. A Gestalt Transformer's base scale
is determined by the largest character involved. Take that
number and then add one for every character past the first.
So if a Gestalt Transformer made up of four scale +0 char-
acters and one scale +1 character would be scale +5 (base
of scale +1 plus four more characters). The Gestalt
Transformer gets all the bonuses and penalties for having
such large scale, including STR and Armor bonuses and
penalties to dodge. Due to their incredible size, Gestalt
characters may have their STR and Armor attributes way
above the normal limits. They cannot, however, raise any
traits that are not modified by scale above the normal max-
GESTALT TRANSFORMER imums.
CREATION
The creation of a Gestalt Transformer involves a few dif- TRANSFORMING
ferent factors. Gestalt Transformers have all the same Gestalt Transformers do not transform. Their transforming
traits as any other Transformer character. The following consists of them changing back into the smaller robots.
sections cover how each of those traits is handled. Therefore it is unnecessary to create a transformed mode
for the Gestalt character. If the players wish, they may buy
But before you get started assigning traits, you have to the option to have their Gestalt character transform. This
have a group of characters to make up the larger charac- ability costs two gifts for both modes of the Gestalt
ter. Each character in the group must have purchased the Transformer, but does allow them to transform into anoth-
gift 'Group Transform.' Only after a group has been assem- er mode. The base scale for the transformed mode is equal
bled can the real construction of a Gestalt Transformer to the robot mode of the Gestalt Transformer.
begin.
Attributes
The Gestalt Transformer has a number of free attribute lev-
36
CHAPTER SEVEN: GESTALT TRANSFORMERS
Damage sustained by a Gestalt Transformer will transfer to

some degree to the smaller robots when they revert to their
normal modes (whether intentionally or not). Any damage
sustained by a Gestalt Transformer will also occur to each
character involved, less one wound category. So if a
Gestalt Transformer suffers a Very Hurt wound, all the
characters involved will suffer a Hurt wound when they
separate.
On the other hand, if a group of character is wounded and

transform into their Gestalt Transformer, the Gestalt char-
acter is not wounded. The wounds to the individual char-
acters, however, do stay and remain after they revert to
their individual forms.
GESTALT CHARACTER EXAMPLES:

The Constructicons, a group of six Decepticons who trans-
form into construction vehicles, can transform into a larger
robot named Devastator. All of the Constructicons are
scale +0. Devastator will have ten free attributes levels
(base 4 +6 characters), three free gifts (6 characters divid -
ed by 2), and two faults (six characters divided by 3).
Devastator will also be scale +5 (base 0 +5 more charac-
ters).
USING GESTALT TRANSFORMERS

Gestalt Transformer can be extremely powerful. Their size
and strength alone can devastate normal characters. Quite
often it is the case that characters who transform into a
Gestalt Transformer will have some sort of rival group that
form their own larger robot. This can result in two Gestalt
Transformer characters battling each other, which can The Constructicons as well as Devastator are given as an
cause tremendous damage to the surrounding terrain as example Gestalt Transformer in Chapter Nine: Character
the two giants plow across the battlefield. Index.
Gestalt Transformers should usually be used as a last

resort. When the opposition is pounding the characters
they could consider transforming into their larger robot to
help even the odds.
DAMAGE TO GESTALT
TRANSFORMERS
Gestalt Transformers are bigger and tougher then normal
characters, but that doesn't mean they don't get hurt.
Gestalt Transformers take damage the same way as any
other character does. The tricky part comes when the
Gestalt Transformer takes a great deal of damage. If a
Gestalt Transformer ever suffers an Incapacitated wound
or worse, it immediately breaks apart and transforms back
into its smaller robots.
37
CHAPTER EIGHT:
players satisfaction while they work towards a larger goal.
Once the GM has a basic idea for a plot there are a few
CAMPAIGNING, other things to consider for their game as well.
G M ` S T I P S
THE TRANSFORMER GENRE
The Transformers genre is that of an action cartoon. It
combines cinematic action and high technology to create
an epic battle between the forces of good an evil. The fol-
lowing section has been written to give GMs some tips of
creating and running Transformer campaigns.
Action
The Transformers genre is full of action. The basis of the
plot revolves around the war between the Autobots and the
Decepticons, so it is likely that character would be involved
in at least some combat every adventure. Most of the time
the Decepticons are either attacking human facilities or the
Autobots, so combat is an inevitable part of the
Transformers genre.
Some GMs may not want to have a campaign solely

revolve around combat. Many GMs would rather spend
more time with the character problem solving and role-
CREATING A CAMPAIGN playing. This is fine, and it is possible to have a
Transformers campaign with very little combat. GMs who
Creating a Transformer campaign without having some wish to run these types of games do need to keep in mind
prior knowledge of The Transformers can be difficult. It was that combat is an essential part of the Transformers genre
truly a product of the time. This is not meant to discourage and characters should be involved in combat every so
any potential players or GMs in any way though. The often. The Decepticons tend to get what they want through
Transformers can be a fun and exciting gaming world for force and are not likely to sit down and discuss a ceasefire,
anyone. so combat is a likely occurrence.
Creating a Transformers campaign can be as simple or as Adventure

complex as the GM wishes. Many of the plots in the origi- There is also a great deal of adventuring involved in the
nal cartoons were very simple (Megatron attacks this site Transformers Genre. The Autobots are constantly trying to
to steal energon and build a super weapon) but some were find the Decepticons' hidden bases and locate energy
more complex (Megatron uses Cybertron's remaining ener- sources of their own. Not everything in the Transformer
gy to transport the entire planet close the Earth's surface world involves strictly combat. A good balance of action
causing massive chaos in the Earth's climate which and adventure can provide the best results when running a
Megatron then harnesses to create energon). Either way is campaign.
suitable for a good Transformer campaign. One possible
route is to have one large plot with several smaller plots. GMs may also want to keep in mind that the planet Earth
The smaller plots, that are more easily solved, give the is a very alien environment to most of the Transformers. A
38
CHAPTER EIGHT: CAMPAIGNING, GM`S TIPS
great deal of adventuring can be done in just figuring out their actions and attack targets to steal what they need to
how the world works. fuel the war. The leader of this diabolical menace is
Megatron, a particularly powerful and cruel Decepticon
with only one goal, total domination of the universe. He will
stop at nothing to destroy the Autobots and win the war. He
is the greatest threat the universe has ever seen.
Every good game has villains, and the Decepticons are no

exception. They are cunning, ruthless, and diabolical. The
Decepticons are driven by their lust for power and will stop
at nothing to have it, even if it means destroying everything
else. GMs should try to show this side of the Decepticons.
They fire without remorse for hurting innocent bystanders;
they damage equipment just because they can, etc. The
Decepticon are truly evil, and should show how evil they
are every chance they get.
In most cases a villain is going to be much tough then the

heroes. This gives the heroes time to grow and expand
Heroes their abilities so they can one day overcome their enemies.
The Autobots are the good guys, plain and simple. They Creating a villain who is too weak would allow the heroes
have made it their goal to protect the Earth and its inhabi- to defeat them too easily. It should be a challenge to fight
tants from the Decepticon forces. This is no easy task. The off the Decepticons every time. The Decepticons should
Decepticons are strong and ruthless. The Autobots bravery almost always win but just barely be defeated at the last
and ingenuity are their only weapons against their much moment.
stronger opponent. They fight valiantly to stop the
Decepticons in their every move in hopes of one day Villain Abilities
defeating the Decepticons and bringing peace to the world. Particularly evil GMs may want to create gifts and abilities
for villains that are not available to the PCs. Though this is
In most cases the PCs are going to be Autobots. It is much not always recommended it can sometimes give a particu-
easier to run a campaign where the good guys struggle to lar NPC a bit of an edge over the PCs. GMs must make
overcome the forces of evil. certain that they do not make the NPC too powerful how-
ever.
For examples, in a very early play testing campaign a

group of PCs went up against Megatron and a few other
Decepticons. Megatron, when translated directly from the
toy box, has a Poor SPD attribute. One of the characters
with Great SKL and Superb FRP attacked Megatron in the
first round of combat. Both characters rolled +0 for their
actions. This gave the attacker a rolled degree of Great
and Megatron a rolled degree of Poor. This meant the
attacker already had a +4 relative degree. Add his FRP on
top of that and it ends up being a +7 (Incapacitated)
wound. Although with Megatron's Legendary Armor it was
reduced to +3 Hurt. But Megatron was still Hurt on the first
round of combat.
Some GMs may not see this as a problem. Obviously a

character with Great SKL and Superb FRP is very deadly
Villains
in combat, even against Megatron. Other GMs may not
The bad guys in The Transformers are the Decepticons.
want to have Megatron taken out so easily. There are a few
Their lust for power leads them on a path of destruction
different ways a GM could handle this.
across the face of the Earth. They have no remorse for
39
One way is allow NPCs to spend FUDGE points to reduce Scale Height Weight
the severity of a wound one category. This means reducing -2 2 meters 200-400kg
a Hurt wound to a Scratch, a Very Hurt to a Hurt, etc. This -1 2-3 meters 400-1000kg
should not be done very often though. It should only be 0 3-4 meters 1000-4000kg
done if the PCs are winning too easily against a strong +1 4-6 meters 4000-8000kg
opponent. The same can be done in reverse if the PCs are +2 6-9 meters 8000-16000kg
having bad luck and losing horribly. As the GM you have
the power to 'FUDGE' a die roll or two to help out the play-
Due to their size, Transformer can be restricted in some
ers when they need it.
ways, especially when dealing with human structures and
equipment. It is not likely that a character could fit into a
Another way is to give them a gift that gives them some
normal human home, although they could probably trans-
additional special ability. With the above examples, per-
form and fit in the garage. GMs should always keep in mind
haps Megatron could have a 'Reduced Damage' gift that
that Transformers are much larger then humans and
gives him additional armor, therefore reducing the wound
should enforce any restriction because of that.
even more. GMs should be especially careful of this since
it can make a particular character very powerful in the long
run. HUMANS
Chances are after while Transformers will come in contact
One thing to keep in mind is never to let the PCs see the
with humans. Most of the time humans are just there to run
villains' character sheets. You as the GM need to know
around in fear as the Decepticons attack and the Autobots
what is on that sheet, but the PCs don't. This gives the GM
try to save them while stopping the Decepticons. Although
greater flexibility when the time comes to 'FUDGE' a die
every once in awhile a human may prove to be more then
roll. It also means you can give that NPC that extra ability
that. It is possible to have human allies for either side,
at a moment's notice without players complaining you
Autobot or Decepticon.
changed the sheet in the middle of combat.
Humans should never be PCs, in a world with super pow-
ered Transformers, playing a human is nearly worthless. In
most cases a human does not have much to offer to the
Transformers, except maybe some information. Humans
should always be NPCs. All humans are considered to be
scale -2 (the smallest possible Transformer size). Humans
also suffer a -2 to their STR and END attributes. These
attributes are rated on a Transformer scale and humans
are extremely weak by comparison. Humans also have a
FRP attribute of non-existent. They do not have built in
weapons and cannot shoot at Transformers (unless they
are carrying a weapon, which usually has a FRP rating of
Terrible or worse).
STUNTS
The Transformers genre involves a great deal cinematic
action. It is not meant to be a highly realistic system with
TRANSFORMER SCALE fine tuned and calculated rules. Rather the system has
One thing that both GMs and players need to keep in mind been designed to be fast and fluent to allow the action to
is that Transformer characters are not human sized. move quickly along without worrying about the fine details.
Transformers are much later then humans both in size and
weight. The average (scale +0) Transformer usually stands Because of this characters can perform some pretty daring
between three and four meters tall and weighs between maneuvers more easily. In a realistic game diving for cover
500 and 1000kg. This is very large in comparison to and firing a weapon accurately at the same time would be
humans. The following chart gives some idea of how large a very difficult task. In Transformers, the GM should not be
characters are at different scale levels. as harsh. There may still be a modifier involved (maybe -
1), but it should not be as severe as it would be in a more
realistic setting.
40
Gifts and faults were usually listed in the character descrip -

tion. Many of the gifts and faults listed in these rules are
derived from abilities listed on original character write-ups.
Therefore it should not be difficult to select gifts and faults
when translating a character.
COURAGE ROLLS
Despite Transformers being bigger, stronger, and tougher
then humans, they can still get themselves into dangerous
situations. In some situations, the GM may feel that a
Courage Roll is appropriate. A courage roll is made using
the character's COU attribute. The character will roll their
COU attribute against a GM set difficulty. The following are EXPERIENCE
a few examples of possible courage rolls. Over time characters will have the ability to grow. They will
get stronger, smarter, faster, etc. This character develop-
Fair Leaping through fire to save someone ment is done with Experience Points, or EP. At the end of
Good Leaping into battle when outnumbered an adventure the GM will give each character a certain
Great Attacking Megatron single handedly number of EP depending on the adventure. This is usually
Superb Attacking Devastator single handedly about two or three points. GMs should keep in mind that
characters get EP at the end of an adventure and not just
Courage rolls should only be made if the difficulty is higher the playing session. An adventure could run over several
then the character's COU attribute. A character with a high playing sessions. The following list shows a few examples
COU attribute should never have to roll for a task that is of what a character can do to earn EP.
below their level. So a character with a Great COU would
never have to make a courage roll with a difficulty of Fair. 1pt Base EP for participating in an adventure
+1 The adventure was a success
+1 The player role-played very well
CONVERTING CHARACTERS +1 The character were heavily outnumbered
Some GMs may want to give their players the option of +1 The adventure was long and involved*
playing characters from the original Transformers series. +1 The character did something spectacular
The following chart gives the values for translating charac- -1 The adventure was a miserable failure
ters from the toy boxes into this game. -1 The player role-played very poorly
-1 The adventure was very short
Num. Val. FUDGE Val.
* for this the GM may give an additional one or two
1, 2 Terrible
EP per playing session past the first.
3 Poor
4 Mediocre
5, 6 Fair A character should almost never receive zero EP for an
7 Good adventure. A zero represents some sort of conflict between
8 Great the GM and the player. Somehow the character did not
9 Superb accomplish what was set up for them. Either the adventure
10 Legendary was too difficult or the player didn't understand the proper
course of action. The fault from this can go either way, to
41
the GM or to the player. Either way, a zero means that

there is obviously some sort of communication problem
between the GM and the player that needs to be
addressed.
Spending EP
A player may elect to spend their character's EP between
playing sessions. Players should not be allowed to raise a
trait during play. The spending of EP is restricted to before
or after a playing session. Players may, however, spend as
much of their character EP as they wish. Some players
may spend a little bit at a time while others may save up for
awhile to buy a more powerful trait.
When a player decides they are going to spend some EP,

they will spend the EP to alter a trait in the character's
default mode. This is usually the character's robot mode.
Buying New Gifts
The following section covers the spending of EP on differ-
A character may select a new gift from the list or create a
ent traits.
new gift. A new gift costs 12 EP plus the GM's approval.
The player must have a logical reason why their character
Raising Attributes
has the new gift.
Character may raise any traits they like up to the maximum
value, as long as they have enough EP to do so. The fol-
The new gift can also be traded in transformed mode. A
lowing chart shows the costs to raise attributes.
character could gain the gift 'Extra Tough' in robot mode
From: To: Cost: but gain a 'Rocket Launcher' in transformed mode. The
Terrible Poor 3 EP only restriction is if the GM declares the new gift to be a
Poor Mediocre 3 EP mental ability. See the rules for Transformed Mode for
Mediocre Fair 3 EP more on transferring gifts.
Fair Good 6 EP
Good Great 12 EP Removing Faults
Great Superb 24 EP A character may also decide to remove a fault by spending
Superb Legendary 48 EP + GM's EP. Removing a fault costs 12 EP plus the GM's approval.
Approval The player must have a legitimate reason why their char-
Legendary Legendary+1 96 EP + GM's acter no longer has the fault.
Approval
Faults, like other traits, transfers to the transformed mode.
Once a character has raised an attribute they may receive
This can be traded as above for gifts unless it is a mental
a free level for their transformed mode as well. A character
trait. Removing a mental trait in robot mode also removes
that raises their character's STR attribute in robot mode
it in transformed mode, but it is possible to remove two dif-
may translate that level as a +1 SPD in transformed mode.
ferent physical traits.
The only restriction, however, is on the mental traits, such
as INT, RNK, and COU. Raising these traits in robot mode
also raises them in transformed. FUDGE Points
FUDGE points can be converted into EP and vice versa. It
One other restriction on traits is if the character has any takes three FUDGE points to make up one EP. Characters
trait at the level of Legendary. A character may not have a may only convert EP to FUDGE points or FUDGE points to
trait at Legendary in their transformed mode unless they EP between sessions.
also have a trait at Legendary in their robot mode. Since all
EP are spent for the character's robot mode, this does not
cause a problem. It is possible to have a different
Legendary ability in transformed mode. A character may
have Legendary STR in robot mode but Legendary END in
transformed mode.
42
OTHER TRANSFORMER GENRES Constructicon(s): Decepticons who transform into con-

struction equipment. The Constructicons also have the
These rules have been meant to design and play ability to transform together and form the Gestalt
Transformer campaigns in the original Transformers world. Transformer Devastator.
There were many other genres of Transformers later
released however. There was a great deal of difference
between the pre-movie and post-movie Transformer
series. Also toy lines such as Beast Wars and Beast
Machines were released much later then the original
Transformers but still bared the same name. These rules
are flexible enough to allow playing in such a Transformer
world, although much of the background knowledge may
not apply. GMs should feel free to modify or alter these
rules in any way they see fit to allow for the best role play-
ing experience.
TRANSFORMER GLOSARY
Here are some terms that have been gathered and could
Cybertron: A small planet by universal standards, the
be useful for GMs, old players, new players, or anyone
planet Cybertron produced Transformers and they made it
looking for terms that would be good for a Transformers
their home, despite the odd fact that it did not revolve
campaign. They cover some of the basic elements that can
around any stars like most planets. When the Transformers
be involved in any Transformers campaign.
gained sentience and overthrew their masters, their former
masters left the planet leaving it for the Transformers to
Ark (The): The ship the Autobots used to escape
claim as a home. Thus began the first Golden Age of
Cybertron. The ship was attacked by Decepticons during
Cybertron. Many years later (some speculate 2 million
the escape and was thrown of course. Passing through a
years, though it was never specifically mentioned) the
nearby solar system the ship eventually crash-landed on
Cybertronian Civil Wars broke out. During this time, the
Earth, depositing many Autobots and Decepticons in the
planet passed through the Sol system, depositing a num-
process. The force of the impact was such that all of the
ber of Autobots and Decepticons on Earth. The
ship's occupants were severely damaged and it was
Decepticons main goal was to regain communication with
almost four million years before the ship came back online
Cybertron and build up enough energon to get back to
and managed to repair its occupants.
Cybertron before the Autobots, so that they can conquer
Cybertron and destroy the Autobots.
Autobot(s): The good guys in the Transformer universe.

The Autobots goal is to stop the Decepticons from stealing
Decepticon(s): The bad guys. Their goal is to steal all of
all of Earth's resources and to protect all sentient life.
Earth's resources and use them for their own personal
43
gain. They also wish to destroy all of the Autobots, who try past from leader to leader, and is said to have a great
to stop their plans. amount of power that will "light our darkest hour." It is cur-
rently being carried by Optimus Prime.
Dinobot(s): The Dinobots were the fist generation of
Autobots constructed on Earth. Seismic activity allowed the
Autobots to find hidden caverns in the mountainsides of
their volcanic headquarters. Entering these caverns the
Autobots discovered the remains of various dinosaurs that
were then used as a model to create the first three
Dinobots. Unfortunately due to their very small brains the
Dinobots were highly aggressive and proved to be too
much of a threat to the Autobots to be of any use. They
were deactivated immediately. Later they were reactivated
against orders to save several Autobots and the Dinobots
were again admitted into the Autobot ranks.
Megatron: The leader of the Decepticons. He is cold, ruth-

less, and intimidating. His main goal is to destroy the
Autobots, but more importantly, their leader, Optimus
Prime. Quite possibly the most dangerous sentient in the
universe. See Chapter 9: Character Index for Megatron’s
traits.
Optimus Prime: The leader of the Autobots. His main

goals are to stop the evil Decepticons, and protect earth
and all its life from the Decepticon threat. See Chapter 9:
Character Index for Optimus Prime’s traits.
Energon: Energon is, in short, the fuel source used by the
Transformers. In the cartoon, it has been shown with a liq -
Transformer: The characters of this game. Large robot
uid viscosity, the ability to be stored in certain containers,
beings that can change their shape into other forms, such
and the ability to be compressed. It is the Decepticons goal
as motor vehicles and jets.
to build up enough Energon to get back to Cybertron via
spaceship and destroy the Autobots.
Insecticon(s): The Insecticons are Decepticons with the

ability to transform into insect like form. They can eat
through just about anything and are often used as cannon
fodder while the stronger Decepticons do the real work.
Teletran I: The main computer on the Ark. Quite possibly

the most powerful computer on Earth. The Autobots use
Teletran to gather intelligence about Decepticon activity as
well as using it for data processing and problem solving.
Triple Changers: Any character who has two Transformed

modes instead of just one is a Triple Changer. These types
of characters are extremely rare though.
Matrix of Leadership: The Autobot Matrix of Leadership

was an object that held the combined knowledge and wis-
dom of the past Autobot leaders who possessed it. It is
44
CHAPTER NINE: CHARACTER INDEX
CHAPTER NINE:
C H A R A C T E R
I N D E X
AUTOBOTS
THE TRANSFORMERS OPTIMUS PRIME
The Transformers had an endless series of character
released each year for over a decade. The Transformers “Freedom is the right of all
progressed from a simple child’s toy to a major phenome- sentient beings.”
non. Included here are the original Transformer characters Function: Commander
from the first series. They have been translated directly into Transformed: Semi Truck
the rules for ease of use. They can be either used as play- Scale: +1
er characters or as NPCs as the GM sees fit. Background
OPTIMUS PRIME is the
HOW TO USE THESE CHARACTERS largest, strongest and wis-
This section of the rules has been designed as a back- est of all Autobots. Feels his
ground resource for a Transformers campaign. It gives all role is the protection of all
the necessary information about both Autobot and life, including Earth-life.
Decepticon characters from the first series. By knowing the Fights unceasingly to defeat the Decepticons.
traits of the preexisting Transformer characters it allows a
GM to involve the PCs more directly into Transformer uni- Robot Mode:
verse by having them encounter characters they can STR Legendary (Scale +1) INT Legendary SPD Great
remember from the original series. This book provides a END Legendary RNK Legendary COU Legendary
good base for a GM to construct his/her campaign on. FRP Great SKL Legendary
Armor Legendary (Scale +1)
Gifts: Scale +1, AP Weapon, Extra Tough, Sidekick (2) -
ORIGINAL TRANSFORMER Roller (Trailer, given at the end)
Faults: Protector - Must protect all life forms
CHARACTERS AS PCS
Any of the included character may be used as a player Semi Truck Mode:
character. But the GM should keep in mind that these char- STR Legendary (Scale +1) INT Legendary SPD Superb
acters are translated directly from the toy boxes and so are END Legendary RNK Legendary COU Legendary
very unbalanced. Some characters are very weak while FRP Good SKL Legendary
others are very strong. Any GM who wishes to use these Armor Legendary (Scale +1)
characters may need to modify them slightly to fir their Gifts: Scale +1, AP Weapon, Extra Tough, Sidekick (2) -
needs. Roller (Trailer, given at the end)
Faults: Protector - Must protect all life forms
CHARACTERS NOT PRESENTED
Special Note: Optimus Prime should always be an NPC.
This text has been presented to give both players and GMs
No player should ever have control of Optimus Prime.
an idea of how the original Transformer characters related
Optimus Prime is the strongest, smartest, and most skilled
to the rules. Unfortunately this text does not cover every
of all Autobots. Giving control of him over to a player can
Transformer character from the first series. Information on
completely throw off the balance of a campaign. Those six
some of the more obscure or less popular characters is
Legendary attributes can be devastating to a GM's careful-
very difficult to come by and almost nothing could be found
ly laid plots. He is the Autobot leader and should be used
for the Autobot Minicars Huffer and Windcharger as well as
more as guidance for the PCs rather then a PC himself.
the Decepticon Cassette Buzzsaw. All other characters
This does not mean that Optimus Prime cannot show up
from the first series have been included, however.
every once in awhile to help out.
45
BLUESTREAK Jeep Mode:

STR Fair INT Great SPD Good END Good
“I never met a Decepticon I RNK Fair COU Legendary FRP Poor SKL Great
didn’t dislike.” Armor Fair
Function: Gunner Gifts: AP Weapon, Good Memory, Holographic Projector
Transformed: Sports Car Faults: Secretly desires to be human
Scale: +0
Background IRONHIDE
BLUESTEAK often talks
incessantly and inanely. “High tech circuitry is no
Lightens the situation for all match for guts.”
Autobots with his good Function: Security
natured manner. Despite Transformed: Van
formidable weaponry and blazing speed, he hates war. Scale: +0
Haunted by memories of Decepticons destroying his home Background
city. Often inhibited by his disdain for combat. “Go chew on a microchip,”
is IRONHIDE’s slogan.
Robot Mode: Prefers action to words.
STR Fair INT Fair SPD Good END Superb Oldest, toughest, most bat-
RNK Fair COU Terrible FRP Superb SKL Good tle-tested Autobot.
Armor Fair Bodyguard to Optimus Prime. In charge of gaurding any-
Gifts: AP Weapon, Rocket Launcher (2 shots) thing of importance. Gruff but kind.
Faults: Pacifist - Dislikes fighting
Robot Mode:
Sports Car Mode: STR Good INT Good SPD Poor END Superb
STR Fair INT Fair SPD Great END Superb RNK Good COU Legendary FRP Good SKL Good
RNK Fair COU Terrible FRP Good SKL Great Armor Superb
Armor Fair Gifts: AP Weapon, Extra Tough
Gifts: AP Weapon, Rocket Launcher (2 shots) Faults: Aggressive
Faults: Pacifist - Dislikes fighting
Van Mode:
STR Good INT Good SPD Fair END Superb
HOUND RNK Good COU Legendary FRP Fair SKL Fair
Armor Superb
“Observe everything, Gifts: AP Weapon, Extra Tough
remember even more.” Faults: Aggressive
Function: Scout
Transformed: Jeep JAZZ
Scale: +0
Background “Do it with style or don’t
HOUND loves the natural bother doing it.”
wonders of Earth, prefers it Function: Spec. Ops.
to Cybertron. Brave, fear- Transformed: Stock Car
less, loyal. Secretly desires Scale: +0
to be human. Background
JAZZ loves Earth culture.
Robot Mode: Always looking to learn
STR Fair INT Great SPD Fair END Good more. His knowledge of
RNK Fair COU Legendary FRP Poor SKL Superb Earth makes him the inde-
Armor Great spensible right-hand man to
Gifts: Rocket Launcher (1 shot), Good Memory, Optimus Prime. Takes most dangerous missions. Very
Holographic Projector cool, very stylish, very compitent. Versatile, daring, clever,
Faults: Secretly desires to be human but prone to distraction.
46
Robot Mode: PROWL

STR Fair INT Superb SPD Good END Good
RNK Great COU Superb FRP Fair SKL Legendary “Logic is the ultimate
Armor Great weapon.”
Gifts: Rocket Launcher (1 shot), Sonic Boom Function: Military Strategist
Faults: Easily Destracted Transformed: Police Car
Scale: +0
Stock Car Mode: Background
STR Fair INT Superb SPD Superb END Good PROWL will keep at a task
RNK Great COU Superb FRP Fair SKL Great for as long as it takes.
Armor Great Strives to find reason and
Gifts: AP Weapon, Sonic Boom logic in everything. A listen-
Faults: Easily Destracted er, not a talker. Has the
most sophisticated logic center of all Autobots. Able to ana-
MIRAGE lyze and advise on complex combat situations almost
instantaneously. Fires wire-guided incendiary missiles and
“Who and what I am I hide highly corrosive acid pellets. The unexpected can often
from the enemy. ” scramble his circuits.
Function: Spy
Transformed: F1 Race Car Robot Mode:
Scale: +0 STR Good INT Superb SPD Good END Superb
Background RNK Superb COU Superb FRP Mediocre SKL Superb
MIRAGE is not thrilled Armor Superb
about being an Autobot Gifts: Rocket Launcher (2 shots), Logic Center (+1 to
freedom fighter. Prefers lengthy tasks)
hunting turbofoxes on Faults: Must find logic in everything
Cybertron with his high-
priced friends. Effective fighter, more effective intelligence Police Car Mode:
gatherer. Unsure of Autobot cause... can’t be fully trusted. STR Good INT Superb SPD Great END Superb
RNK Superb COU Superb FRP Poor SKL Superb
Robot Mode: Armor Superb
STR Fair INT Superb SPD Good END Fair Gifts: AP Weapon, Logic Center (+1 to lengthy tasks)
RNK Good COU Fair FRP Fair SKL Legendary Faults: Must find logic in everything
Armor Fair
Gifts: AP Weapon, Invisibility (2) RATCHET
Faults: Doubts Autobot cause
“You break it, I’ll remake it.”
F1 Race Car Mode: Function: Medic
STR Fair INT Superb SPD Superb END Fair Transformed: Ambulance
RNK Good COU Fair FRP Fair SKL Great Scale: +0
Armor Fair Background
Gifts: AP Weapon, Invisibility (2) RATCHET was the best
Faults: Doubts Autobot cause tool-and-die man on
cybertron. repairs injured
Autobots, given the right
parts. Likes to party, give
back-talk, but does any job
as well as anyone. Sometimes his having a good time
interfereswith his effectiveness.
Robot Mode:
STR Mediocre INT Great SPD Mediocre END Fair
RNK Good COU Great FRP Poor SKL Legendary
47
Armor Good SUNSTREAKER

Gifts: Medic, Toolkit: Medic
Faults: Pacifist “You can’t beat the best.”
Function: Warrior
Ambulance Mode: Transformed: Sports Car
STR Mediocre INT Great SPD Fair END Fair Scale: +0
RNK Good COU Great FRP Poor SKL Superb Background
Armor Good The complete egotist, SUN-
Gifts: Medic, Toolkit: Medic STREAKER thinks he is the
Faults: Pacifist most beautiful thing on
earth. Loves his sleek
SIDESWIPE styling, contemptuous of
other Autobot race cars
“I don’t break rules, I bend (particularly his twin Sideswipe). Not a team player. Can be
them-- a lot.” baited into dangerous situations, but is a calm, compitent
Function: Warrior and ruthless war machine.
Transformed: Sports Car
Scale: +0 Robot Mode:
Background STR Fair INT Fair SPD Good END Great
SIDESWIPE is nearly the RNK Fair COU Good FRP Good SKL Fair
equal of his twin brother, Armor Good
SUNSTREAKER, in the Gifts: Rocket Launcher (2 shots), Extra Tough, AP
combat arts, but less cold Weapon
blooded. Relishes a fight to Faults: Rival - Sideswipe, Arrogant
the finish with an opponent. Uses underhanded tactics
when absolutely nescessary. Rash actions often lead to Sports Car Mode:
injuries to himself. Takes them all in stride. STR Fair INT Fair SPD Great END Great
RNK Fair COU Good FRP Mediocre SKL Good
Robot Mode: Armor Good
STR Good INT Good SPD Good END Good Gifts: Rocket Launcher (2 shots), Extra Tough, AP
RNK Fair COU Legendary FRP Poor SKL Fair Weapon
Armor Great Faults: Rival - Sideswipe, Arrogant
Gifts: Rocket Launcher (1 shot), Extra Tough, Flight:
Limited TRAILBREAKER
Faults: Rival - Sunstreaker, Rash - Overestimates himself
“An Autobot’s as good as
Sports Car Mode: the fuel in his tank.”
STR Good INT Good SPD Good END Good Function: Def. Strategist
RNK Fair COU Legendary FRP Poor SKL Fair Transformed: SUV
Armor Great Scale: +0
Gifts: Rocket Launcher (1 shot), Extra Tough, AP Weapon Background
Faults: Rival - Sunstreaker, Rash - Overestimates himself TRAILBREAKER makes
light of any situation, no
matter how serious.
Practical joker and cheer-
leader, but considers him-
self a liability to the Autobots since he consumes the most
fuel. Lacks self-esteem and often asks to be left behind.
Projects nearly impenetrable force-field. Can jam radio
transmissions. Slow in comparison to other Autobots.
Often mopes about his handicaps, but his bravery and
defensive prowess are unquestionable.
48
Robot Mode: AUTOBOT MINICARS

STR Good INT Fair SPD Mediocre END Legendary
RNK Good COU Superb FRP Mediocre SKL Good BRAWN
Armor Superb
Gifts: Force Field, Radio Disruptor
“Might over microchips.”
Faults: High fuel use, No self esteem
Function: Demolitions
Transformed: SUV
SUV Mode:
Scale: +0
STR Great INT Fair SPD Mediocre END Legendary
Background
RNK Good COU Superb FRP Mediocre SKL Fair
To BRAWN, Earth is essen-
Armor Superb
tially a hostile environment,
Gifts: Force Field, Radio Disruptor
and he loves it. Strong,
Faults: High fuel use, No self esteem
rugged, agile, the most
macho of all Autobots.
WHEELJACK Delights in challenges.
Sorry for those not as tough as himself.
“Never do what your enemy
expects you to do.” Robot Mode:
Function: Mech. Engineer STR Superb INT Poor SPD Mediocre END Superb
Transformed: Stock Car RNK Fair COU Legendary FRP Poor SKL Fair
Scale: +0 Armor Superb
Background Gifts: Extra Tough, Melee Weapon - Fists, Extra Strength
WHEELJACK is the mad (+3 to lift only)
scientist of the Autobots. Faults: Macho
Always inventing new
weapons and gadgets. Most SUV Mode:
adept and driving in car STR Great INT Poor SPD Good END Superb
mode. Likes to show off his stunts. He is his own worst RNK Fair COU Legendary FRP Terrible SKL Mediocre
enemy. Often injured while experimenting with new Armor Superb
weapons. Gifts: Extra Tough, Melee Weapon - Bumper, Extra
Strength (+3 to pull only)
Robot Mode: Faults: Macho
STR Good INT Superb SPD Good END Fair
RNK Great COU Superb FRP Good SKL Legendary
BUMBLEBEE
Armor Good
Gifts: Rocket Launcher (2 shots), Flight: Limited
“The least likely can be the
Faults: Show off, Unlucky
most dangerous.”
Function: Espionage
Stock Mode:
Transformed: VW Beetle
STR Good INT Superb SPD Superb END Fair
Scale: -1
RNK Great COU Superb FRP Fair SKL Superb
Background
Armor Good
Small, eager and brave.
Gifts: Rocket Launcher (2 shots), Flight: Limited
BUMBLEBEE acts as mes-
Faults: Show off, Unlucky
senger and spy. Due to his
small size, he dares to go
where others can’t and
won’t. He idolizes the bigger Autobots, especially Optimus
Prime and Prowl, and strives to be accpeted. He is the
most energy efficient and has the best vision of all
Autobots. He can go underwater for reconnaissance and
salvage missions. Although physically the weakest
Autobot, his stealth more the compensates for this inade-
quacy.
49
Robot Mode: GEARS

STR Poor (Scale -1) INT Great SPD Mediocre
END Good RNK Good COU Legendary “Nobody win a war-- some-
FRP Terrible SKL Good body loses.”
Armor Great (Scale -1) Function: Transport,
Gifts: Prowl (+3 Avoid Detection), Great Vision (+1), Reconnaissance
Underwater Operation (No penalty) Transformed: Truck
Faults: Overconfident, Scale -1 Scale: +0
Background
VW Beetle Mode: GEARS is anti-social, a self-
STR Poor (Scale -1) INT Great SPD Fair proclaimed misfit. Finds
END Good RNK Good COU Legendary fault in everything and
FRP Terrible SKL Fair everyone. Acts this way to
Armor Great (Scale -1) help cheer others up as they try to cheer him up.
Gifts: Prowl (+3 Avoid Detection), Great Vision (+1), Tremendous strength and endurance. Totes heavy loads
Underwater Operation (No penalty) long distances.
Faults: Overconfident, Scale -1
Robot Mode:
CLIFFJUMPER STR Great INT Good SPD Fair END Great
RNK Fair COU Superb FRP Terrible SKL Good
“Strike first, strike fast, strike Armor Great
hard.” Gifts: Extra Strength (+3 to lift only), Flight: Limited
Function: Warrior Faults: Anti-Social
Transformed: Hatchback
Scale: -1 Truck Mode:
Background STR Great INT Good SPD Good END Superb
“Let me at’em,” is RNK Fair COU Superb FRP Terrible SKL Mediocre
CLIFFJUMPER’s motto. His Armor Superb
eagerness and daring have Gifts: Extra Strength (+3 to pull only), Extra Tough
no equal. He’s driven be a Faults: Anti-Social
desire to win the battle
against the Decepticons. Finds earth terrain a hindrance.
ROLLER
Often uses his speed to draw fire away from others. His
recklessness often leads to actual blow-outs and situations
Background
too dangerous for him to handle.
Roller is Optimus Prime’s trailer when in vehicle mode. Not
much in known about Roller and he was only rarely used in
Robot Mode:
the cartoon series. It is up to the GM to create Roller as
STR Fair (Scale -1) INT Mediocre SPD Good
they see fit. Roller is built on two gifts worth of sidekick giv-
END Mediocre RNK Fair COU Legendary
ing him four attribute levels and two gifts, plus any faults.
FRP Good SKL Fair
The following traits are given as a possible creation of
Armor Good (Scale -1)
Roller in robot mode.
Gifts: Extra Tough, AP Weapon, Extra Speed (+3 move
only)
Robot Mode:
Faults: Aggressive, Scale -1
STR Fair (Scale +2) INT Good SPD Mediocre END Fair
RNK Fair COU Good FRP Great SKL Good
Hatchback Mode:
Armor Fair (Scale +2)
STR Fair (Scale -1) INT Mediocre SPD Great
Gifts: AP Weapon, Rocket Launcher (2 shots), Scale +2
END Fair RNK Fair COU Legendary
Faults: No Hands, No Speech
FRP Mediocre SKL Fair
Armor Good (Scale -1)
When Roller is in vehicle mode he is the trailer to Optimus
Gifts: Extra Tough, AP Weapon, Extra Speed (+3 move
Prime. He is still Scale +2 but otherwise has no use. He
only)
just adds to the size of Optimus Prime.
Faults: Aggressive, Scale -1
50
SKYWARP
“Strike when the enemy isn’t

looking.”
Function: Warrior
Transformed: Fighter Jet
Scale: +0
Background
DECEPTICONS SKYWARP is the sneakiest
of all Decepticons. Enjoys
MEGATRON playing cruel pranks on fel-
low Decepticons and
“Peace through tyranny. ” appearing out of no where
Function: Leader to attack Autobots. Would be useless without Megatron’s
Transformed: Handgun supervision.
Scale: +1/-2
Background Robot Mode:
MEGATRON combines STR Good INT Superb SPD Legendary END Good
brute strength, military cun- RNK Superb COU Superb FRP Great SKL Great
ning, ruthlessness and ter- Armor Great
ror. Aches to return to Gifts: AP Weapon, Extra Tough, Flight: Full, Rocket
Cybertron to complete the Launcher (4 shots), Teleport
Decepticon comquest, but Faults: No Guidance
only after destroying all Autobots on Earth. Plans to pos-
sess all of Earth’s resources. Incredibly powerful and intel- Fighter Jet Mode:
ligent. No known weakness. STR Good INT Superb SPD Legendary END Good
RNK Superb COU Superb FRP Superb SKL Good
Robot Mode: Armor Great
STR Legendary (Scale +1) INT Legendary Gifts: AP Weapon, Extra Tough, Flight: Full, Rocket
SPD Mediocre END Great RNK Legendary Launcher (4 shots), Super Sonic Speed
COU Superb FRP Legendary SKL Superb Faults: No Guidance
Armor Superb (Scale +1)
Gifts: Scale +1, AP Weapon (Infinite Ammo), Extra Tough,
SOUNDWAVE
Flight: Full
Faults: Megalomaniac
“Cries and screams are
music to me ears.”
Handgun Mode:
Function: Communications
STR Legendary (Scale -2) INT Legendary
Transformed: Cassette
SPD Poor END Superb RNK Legendary
Recorder
COU Superb FRP Legendary SKL Superb
Scale: +0
Armor Superb (Scale -2)
Background
Gifts: AP Weapon (Infinite Ammo), Extra Tough, Flight:
It is said SOUNDWAVE can
Full
hear a fly sneeze. Uses
Faults: Megalomaniac, Scale -2
anything he hears for black-
mail to advance his status.
Special Note: Megatron is the most powerful of all
Opportunist. Despised by all other Decepticons. Locates
Decepticons and is feared by all Autobots. The GM should
and identified Autobots, then informs Decepticons. Often
keep this in mind when players encounter Megatron.
target of retaliation by his comrades.
Players should never be able to get the edge over
Megatron. He should always outsmart them at the last
Robot Mode:
moment. Megatron should also not be easy to take down in
STR Great INT Superb SPD Terrible END Fair
combat. Although due to his slow speed he becomes an
RNK Great COU Fair FRP Fair SKL Legendary
easy target. The GM may wish to ‘fudge’ a few die rolls in
Armor Fair
Megatron’s favor for this effect.
51
Gifts: AP Weapon, Rocket Launcher (1 shots), Carrier (2), THUNDERCRACKER

Detect Lies - SKL vs. RNK roll
Faults: Disliked by other Decepticons “The deadliest weapon is
terror.”
Tape Recorder Mode: Function: Warrior
STR Great INT Superb SPD Terrible END Superb Transformed: Fighter Jet
RNK Great COU Fair FRP Terrible SKL Legendary Scale: +0
Armor Fair Background
Gifts: Carrier (2), Detect Lies - SKL vs. RNK roll, Long THUNDERCRACKER i s
Range Comm. contemptuous of anything
Faults: Disliked by other Decepticons that cannot fly. Not totally
convinced of the
STARSCREAM Decepticons’ cause, but
they’ve persuaded him to continue battling the Autobots.
“Conquest is made of the Doubts about his cause sometimes impedes his effective-
ashes of one’s enemies.” ness.
Function: Warrior
Transformed: Fighter Jet Robot Mode:
Scale: +0 STR Good INT Mediocre SPD Superb END Good
Background RNK Fair COU Great FRP Good SKL Good
Seeks to replace Megatron Armor Good
as leader. Ruthless, cold- Gifts: AP Weapon, Extra Tough, Flight: Full, Sonic Boom
blooded, cruel...considers Faults: Doubtful
himself the most sophisti-
cated and handsome of all Fighter Jet Mode:
Decepticons. Believes Decepticons should rely more on STR Fair INT Mediocre SPD Superb END Good
guile and speed rather then brute force to defeat Autobots. RNK Fair COU Great FRP Superb SKL Fair
Very good at what he does, but sometimes overrates him- Armor Good
self. Gifts: AP Weapon, Extra Tough, Flight: Full, Rocket
Launcher (4 shots)
Robot Mode: Faults: Doubtful
STR Good INT Good SPD Superb END Good
RNK Fair COU Great FRP Good SKL Good
DECEPTICON CASSETTES
Armor Good
Gifts: AP Weapon, Extra Tough, Flight: Full, Rocket These are the cassette tape character that were carried by
Launcher (4 shots) Soundwave in the original series.
Faults: Arrogant, Untrusted
FRENZY
Fighter Jet Mode:
STR Fair INT Good SPD Superb END Fair
“Sow panic and surrender
RNK Fair COU Great FRP Great SKL Great
will bloom.”
Armor Good
Function: Warrior
Gifts: Extra Tough, Flight: Full, Rocket Launcher (4 shots),
Transformed: Cassette
Super Sonic Speed
Tape
Faults: Arrogant, Untrusted
Scale: -2
Background
If FRENZY needed to
breath, war would be his
oxygen. He knows no
cause, only craves to
spread fear and destruction. His efforts are appreciated by
other Decepticons. His devotion to warfare makes him
hard to deal with on a personal level. His manic attack can
52
be countered with cool logic. RAVAGE

Robot Mode: “Today’s Autobots are tom-
STR Fair (Scale -2) INT Fair SPD Poor END Fair morows scrap metal.”
RNK Fair COU Legendary FRP Superb (-1 Scale) Function: Sabotuer
SKL Fair Transformed: Cassette
Armor Great (Scale -2) Tape
Gifts: Sonic Boom Scale: -1/-2
Faults: Bloodlust, Scale -2 Background
RAVAGE operates best
Cassette Tape Mode: alone. A creature of the
STR Fair (Scale -2) INT Fair SPD Poor END Fair night. Craftiest of all
RNK Fair COU Legendary FRP Fair (-1 Scale) Decepticons. Adept at
SKL Superb devising deadly new strategies. Remains aloof from others,
Armor Great (Scale -2) but his deeds command their respect.
Gifts: Extra Tough
Faults: Bloodlust, Scale -2 Robot Mode:
STR Fair (Scale -1) INT Great SPD Fair END Fair
LASERBEAK RNK Good COU Mediocre FRP Good SKL Legendary
Armor Mediocre (Scale -1)
“The only point I like in Gifts: Rocket Launcher (2 shots), Prowl (+3 Avoid
Autobots: melting point.” Detection)
Function: Interrogation Faults: Vulnerable - Bright Light, Scale -1, No Hands, No
Transformed: Cassette Speech
Tape
Scale: -2 Cassette Tape Mode:
Background STR Fair (Scale -2) INT Great SPD Fair END Fair
LASERBEAK takes pleas- RNK Good COU Mediocre FRP Good (-1 Scale)
ure in hunting his prey, usu- SKL Legendary
ally the straggling survivors Armor Mediocre (Scale -2)
or a battle. Noticeably not Gifts: AP Weapon, Prowl (+3 Avoid Detection)
brave. Will run for safety if threatened. Faults: Vulnerable - Bright Light, Scale -2
Robot Mode: RUMBLE

STR Fair (Scale -2) INT Fair SPD Great END Fair
RNK Fair COU Terrible FRP Great (-1 Scale) “Destroy what’s below and
SKL Superb what’s above will follow.”
Armor Poor (Scale -2) Function: Demolitions
Gifts: AP Weapon, Flight: Full Transformed: Cassette
Faults: Coward, Scale -2, No Hands, No Speech Tape
Scale: -2
Cassette Tape Mode: Background
STR Fair (Scale -2) INT Fair SPD Great END Great RUMBLE is your basic
RNK Fair COU Terrible FRP Fair (-1 Scale) street punk. Quick temper
SKL Superb and mean disposition.
Armor Mediocre (Scale -2) Follows Megatron’s orders
Gifts: AP Weapon, Flight: Full eagerly. His small size limits his physical strength, But his
Faults: Coward, Scale -2 ability to shatter the ground makes his difficult to approach
in a fight.
Robot Mode:
STR Mediocre (Scale -2) INT Fair SPD Terrible
END Superb RNK Fair COU Good
FRP Superb (-1 Scale) SKL Fair
53
Armor Great (Scale -2) HOOK

Gifts: Extra tough, Earthquake
Faults: Aggressive, Scale -2 “Strive for perfection even if
others might suffer.”
Cassette Tape Mode: Function : Surgical
STR Mediocre (Scale -2) INT Fair SPD Terrible Engineer
END Superb RNK Fair COU Good Transformed: Crane
FRP Superb (-1 Scale) SKL Fair Scale: +0
Armor Great (Scale -2) Background
Gifts: Extra tough, Earthquake With the precision of a fine
Faults: Aggressive, Scale -2 jeweler, performs his job
with skill unequalled among
CONSTRUCTICONS The Transformers, whether
reconstructing a damaged microchip or setting a two ton
While not being from the first series of characters the girder into place. Snobbish, supercilious, unpopular per-
Constructicons have been included as an example of a fectionist. As shoulders and head module, combines with
Gestalt Transformer. fellow Constructicons to form giant robot Devastator.
BONECRUSHER Robot Mode:

STR Great INT Superb SPD Poor END Fair
“Hit it till it stands no taller RNK Mediocre COU Fair FRP Fair SKL Legendary
the dust.” Armor Fair
Function: Demolitions Gifts: Extra Tough, AP Weapon
Transformed: Bulldozer Faults: Arrogant
Scale: +0
Background Crane Mode:
Ruble strewn wasteland is STR Great INT Superb SPD Mediocre END Fair
his idea of a beautiful land- RNK Mediocre COU Fair FRP Poor SKL Superb
scape. His wild ways create Armor Fair
fear and terror. As left arm Gifts: Extra Tough, Extra Strength (+3 to lift only), Group
module, combines with fel- Transform - Devastator (extra gift balanced with lower
low Constructicons to form giant robot Devastator. attributes)
Faults: Arrogant
Robot Mode:
STR Superb INT Terrible SPD Terrible END Superb
LONG HAUL
RNK Mediocre COU Great FRP Fair SKL Fair
Armor Great
“A battle front is only as
Gifts: Rocket Launcher (1 shot1), Extra Tough, AP
good as its supply line.”
Weapon
Function: Transport
Faults: Likes destruction - Thinks it is beautiful
Transformed: Dump Truck
Scale: +0
Bulldozer Mode:
Background
STR Superb INT Terrible SPD Poor END Superb
Unhappy with unglamorous
RNK Mediocre COU Great FRP Poor SKL Good
role, but understands its
Armor Great
importance…helps build
Gifts: Extra Tough, Extra Strength (+3 to push only), Group
Decepticons massive ener-
Transform - Devastator
gy-recovery installations.
Faults: Likes destruction - Thinks it is beautiful
Can be goaded into a fight in which he's overmatched. As
torso module, combines with fellow Constructicons to form
giant robot Devastator.
54
Robot Mode: SCAVENGER

STR Superb INT Fair SPD Poor END Superb
RNK Mediocre COU Great FRP Good SKL Mediocre “Everything is worth some-
Armor Great thing, even me.”
Gifts: Extra Tough, AP Weapon, Rocket Launcher (2 Function: Mining &
shots) Salvage
Faults: Dislikes his function Transformed: Power
Shovel
Dump Truck Mode: Scale: +0
STR Superb INT Fair SPD Fair END Superb Background
RNK Mediocre COU Great FRP Poor SKL Fair Desperately tries to prove
Armor Great his worth to comrades by
Gifts: Extra Tough, Extra Strength (+3 to pull only), Group trying to find things of
Transform - Devastator value…whether by digging up a hillside or a backyard.
Faults: Dislikes his function Only tolerated by Megatron because of ability to use shov-
el's magnetic, ionic, electrical, and gas sensors to detect
the presence of fuels, metals, etc. As right arm module,
MIXMASTER
combines with fellow Constructicons to form giant robot
Devastator.
“How strong the steel, how
quick the conquest.”
Robot Mode:
Function: Materials
STR Good INT Terrible SPD Poor END Fair
Fabrication
RNK Mediocre COU Superb FRP Fair SKL Good
Transformed: Cement
Armor Good
Truck
Gifts: Extra Tough, AP Weapon
Scale: +0
Faults: Low Self-esteem
Background
Nothing is safe from
Power Shovel Mode:
him…will use anything from
STR Superb INT Terrible SPD Poor END Fair
unloving rock to living robot
RNK Mediocre COU Superb FRP Fair SKL Mediocre
in making new materials. Uses acids and bonding agents
Armor Good
to reduce and combine almost anything inside mixing
Gifts: Extra Tough, Material Scanner, Group Transform -
drum…a chemistry lab on wheels. As left leg module, com-
Devastator
bines with fellow Constructicons to form giant robot
Faults: Low Self-esteem
Devastator.
Robot Mode: SCRAPPER

STR Good INT Fair SPD Poor END Great
RNK Mediocre COU Fair FRP Good SKL Superb “My work is a monument to
Armor Good - and of - my enemies.”
Gifts: Extra Tough, AP Weapon Function: Construction
Faults: Cold Blooded Engineer
Transformed: Bulldozer
Cement Truck Mode: Scale: +0
STR Good INT Fair SPD Fair END Great Background
RNK Mediocre COU Fair FRP Good SKL Good A wizard at designing
Armor Good fortresses and energy
Gifts: Chemistry Lab, Group Transform - Devastator plants, but modest. Shows
Faults: Cold Blooded his true malevolent genius
by incorporating defeated Autobots into his buildings' struc-
tures. As right leg module, combines with fellow
Constructicons to form giant robot Devastator.
55
Robot Mode:
STR Great INT Great SPD Mediocre END Good
RNK Fair COU Fair FRP Poor SKL Superb
Armor Fair
Gifts: Extra Tough, AP Weapon
Faults: Cold Blooded
Bulldozer Mode:
STR Great INT Great SPD Mediocre END Good
RNK Fair COU Fair FRP Poor SKL Superb
Armor Fair
Gifts: Extra Strength (+3 to push only), Group Transform -
Devastator
Faults: Cold Blooded
DEVASTATOR
“Thinking and winning do not mix.”

Function: Warrior
Transformed: none
Scale: +5
Background
Awesome and terrifying, a bizarre combination of the six
Constructicons. Pure brutality…sole purpose is to crush all
in his path. His mind is a melding together of his six parts,
but is limited by their competing thoughts. Enormous
height, incredible strength. Slow, akward, not too bright.
Note: Devastator is built with ten attribute levels, three

gifts, and two faults. four of his attributes levels have been
traded for two gifts.
Robot Mode:
STR Legendary (Scale +5) INT Terrible SPD Terrible
END Superb RNK Fair COU Legendary DECEPTICON DEVASTATOR
FRP Great (+2 Scale) SKL Mediocre
Armor Superb (Scale +5)
Gifts: Extra Tough, AP Weapon, Rocket Launcher (4 shots
- Great Damage)(2), Melee Weapon - Sword
Faults: Slow (always goes last in combat), Vulnerable -
rear attacks
Special Note: Devastator is a Gestalt Transformer created

from the six Constructicons. He has been created using the
Gestalt rules given in these rules.
56
CHAPTER TEN: SAMPLE ADVENTURE
CHAPTER TEN:
"As you may know, we've been slowly mapping the sur-
rounding area around our camp. We must gain any infor-
mation we can about this new planet. We must try to find
S A M P L E any resources we can so that we can begin to rebuild our

ship and eventually get back to Cybertron.'
A D V E N T U R E He then turns his attention to the PCs.
'I want you to scout out the area directly north of the base,
about 200km from here. Gather any information you can
about the terrain and anything else you might find.'
'The most important thing, however, is to keep hidden. We

know very little of the life that inhabits this planet, and do
not want to alarm them too suddenly. So one of your top
priorities is to stay transformed to avoid alerting the
humans."
With that Optimus Prime will give the order for the PCs to
'roll out' and go do their patrol.
PART 1: SCOUTING THE NORTH

The first leg of the patrol is pretty boring. The landscape is
uninteresting and there is very little to see other then the
rocky landscape and random patches of trees.
The following adventure has been designed as an intro-
To keep things interesting on patrol, the GM should throw
ductory adventure for a new group of characters. It allows
the players a few false leads. Perhaps a few military jets fly
players to get familiar with the rules while interacting in the
overhead while out on maneuvers. Chances are the player
Transformer universe.
will suspect them of being Decepticons and possibly try to
follow them. If they do, just have to jets circle each other for
In this adventure the PCs stumble across the Decepticons
a while and then leave. They may even make a few pass-
while out on patrol. They then discover the Decepticons'
es over where the PCs are located. The fact that they don't
plan and must do everything they can to stop them. Failure
attack could be a good indication that they are not
could result in the Autobots being stranded on Earth forev-
Decepticons.
er while the Decepticons conquer Cybertron.
This adventure is set to take place a short while after being INTERACTION WITH HUMANS
revived on Earth. At this point the Autobots still have not Just for a fun stall for the players. Have the PCs run
made contact with any humans and are very cautious through a small human town while out on their patrol.
about their new surroundings. Have at least one of the characters get stuck at a traf-
fic light and have a human vehicle pull up beside
INTRODUCTION them. The human driver will look over and notice that
Since crash landing on Earth, Optimus Prime, with the aid there is no driver in the car! Before too much com-
of other Autobots, has been doing extensive research into motion can be raised, however, the light turns green
this new world he has found himself in. He has been send- and the Autobots can get out of town unhindered.
ing out patrols of various Autobots to scout various areas
outside the Autobots' main camp. Towards the end of the patrol is when things get interest-
ing. Just as the PCs are leaving a small human town they
Optimus Prime will call the PCs to the bridge where he will get a radio call from Autobot Headquarters. It seems the
assign the PCs to go out on patrol. You can either read Decepticons are attacking an oilrig a few miles off shore of
directly or paraphrase the following monologue. the Autobots current location. Optimus Prime wants the
Autobots to move in and try to stop the Decepticons.
57
Optimus Prime is sending in reinforcements and they As for the humans, they are just more of a nuisance then
should join up with the PCs at the oilrig. anything else. Any time it seems an Autobot is getting the
upper hand on a Decepticon, have a group of humans run
Getting to the Oilrig out between them and distract their shot. Or have a group
The oilrig is about five miles off the coastline a few miles of human get stuck in a dangerous position (surrounded by
from the PCs location. So it should take them no time to fire, unstable floor, etc.) This will distract the Autobots away
reach the shore. The tricky part is getting across the water from the Decepticons long enough that the Decepticons
since most Autobots don't fly. can finish what they were doing and fight back.
If the Autobots look around a bit they will notice there is a

small floating pipeline that connects the offshore oilrig to a
storage facility near the beach. Built on top of the pipeline
is a narrow access road so various vehicles can get to the
oilrig. While it may not be the best approach it may be the
only option the PCs have.
OTHER OPTIONS
One of the PCs may elect to spend a Fudge point to
have a gift to cross the water, either by air or by water.
PART 2: BATTLE ON THE OILRIG

For the oilrig battle the PCs will be on their own for the first
part of the battle. However, Optimus Prime will arrive with
some of the other Autobots shortly. Have the PCs do most
of the work fighting the Decepticons and then have The Decepticons
Optimus Prime and the others show up to help finish the The Decepticons are scattered about all over the oilrig.
battle. Skywarp and Thundercracker are on the one side of the oil-
rig near several large oil tanks. They are filling containers
When the PCs get to the oilrig they will notice the with crude oil and converting it to energon. Too much firing
Decepticons have not noticed them. The Decepticons are could either hit the oil tanks or the energon. Either way, it's
too busy collecting crude oil and converting it into energon a bad situation. The PCs will have to get the Decepticons
to notice any attackers. This will give the PCs the element away from the tanks and energon before they can really
of surprise. fight them. The only other option would be to move in clos-
er and fight hand-to-hand.
There is a great deal of confusion on the oilrig. One of the
main control buildings has caught fire. If the fire spreads Starscream is moving about the oilrig shooting up the place
too much it could ignite the oil stored in the rig and the and terrorizing humans. He's probably the easiest target
entire oilrig could explode. Many of the human workers are among the Decepticons, since he's flying around out in the
running about trying to find a way of escape. The PCs open.
know from Optimus Prime's previous orders that the
humans must be protected at all costs. This means that the Megatron is on the far side of the oilrig overseeing the load-
Autobots must watch what weapons they use as well as do ing of energon cubes.
something about the fire.
Soundwave is in the drilling tower acting as both lookout
Fighting the fire shouldn't be too difficult. There is a large and sniper. Soundwave will notice the PCs almost immedi-
water tank very near the building. However, shooting holes ately after they get to the oilrig. He will alert the other
in the tank will not totally extinguish the flames. However, if Decepticons as well. He will then stay in the tower and take
a character wanted to lift the tank and pour it on the build - well-aimed shots at the Autobots as they move about the
ing the flames could be completely snuffed out. Lifting the oilrig. Don't tell the PCs initially where the shot came from
water tank requires a STR roll of at least Great. There unless they were watching for it. Soundwave is well con-
could be several other ways to fight the fire as well. cealed in the tower. Only after a few shots should
Soundwave's position be revealed.
58
CHAPTER TEN: SAMPLE ADVENTURE
The Decepticons Retreat few other Autobots to help balance forces. They will leave
After a heated battle Megatron decides that the energon is immediately to go stop the Decepticons.
far more important then destroying the Autobots. He will
turn his gun on the oil tanks and fire a few shots to ignite The players will be free to decide on any strategy they feel
the oilrig. He then gives the order for the Decepticons to is most effective when striking the Decepticon base. The
grab what energon they can and pull out. This will take a GM should keep in mind that time is of the essence so the
round or two more so the fighting will continue. Autobots will not have enough time to prepare a complete
battle plan. They will need to think on their feet and do the
Optimus Prime and the other Autobots should not arrive best they can.
until the Decepticons have declared their retreat.
After a brief moment for planning Optimus Prime gives the
If at any point it looks like the Autobots are too close to win - order to move out.
ning the battle have the fire spread more rapidly. Optimus
Prime will realize the immense danger of the oilrig explod- The Decepticon Space Cruiser
ing and order all Autobots to begin evacuating the humans. The Decepticon space cruiser is ready for launch and only
This should be enough of a distraction from the battle that the last of the supplies are being loaded into the hull of the
the Decepticons should be able to retreat. ship. Security around the perimeter is very light since the
Decepticons are busy loading the ship. Only one of the jets
Traits for the Decepticons Starscream, Skywarp, and will be circling while the others load supplies. It should be
Thundercracker, Megatron, and Soundwave are given in no problem for the Autobots to move in and surprise the
Chapter Nine: Character Index. Decepticons.
The Decepticons will notice the Autobots and immediately

begin to fire upon them. However, the Decepticons will try
to maintain positions close to the ship in case they need to
make a hasty retreat. After a few rounds of battle with the
Autobots Megatron will give the order for all Decepticons to
board the ship. The Decepticons will immediately withdraw
into the hull of the ship and close all the doors. There is no
way for the Autobots to get inside the ship.
OPTIMUS PRIME
Optimus Prime will accompany the PCs in this raid
against the Decepticons. However, Optimus Prime
should not be the deciding factor of the battle. Have
Optimus Prime go directly after Megatron and get lost
in the battlefield somewhere. Keep the PCs distracted
with the other Decepticons fur the duration of the bat-
tle. Only if the PCs are losing badly will Optimus
PART 3: STOPPING THE Prime reappear and start blasting Decepticons.
DECEPTICONS
After the Autobots clean up the mess at the oilrig and res- Traits for the Decepticons are given in the index. The min -
cue all the humans Optimus Prime gathers all the Autobot imum number of Decepticons should be the three jets,
forces. The Decepticons are up to something and must be Skywarp, Starscream, and Thundercracker, as well as
stopped. Just then a radio transmission from Autobot Soundwave and possibly a few cassettes. The Autobots
Headquarters comes in. An Autobot scouting party has are not supposed to have an easy win over the
located a Decepticon installation out in the desert not far Decepticons, so the more numbers they have the better.
from the oilrig. It seems the Decepticons have been con- Megatron will be too busy fighting Optimus Prime to pose
structing a new space cruiser and gathering energon so much of a threat.
they can get back to Cybertron. Optimus Prime decides
action must be taken at once. Optimus Prime will gather a
strike team made up of himself, the PCs, and possibly a
59
into the ocean where the Decepticons' ship crashed. He

will look thoughtfully, and then turn to the Autobots and say,
"Autobots. We have defeated the Decepticon threat. We

may now concentrate on repairing our own ship so that
maybe we can some day return to our home, Cybertron."
Optimus Prime knows that this is not the end of the

Decepticons, but for now victory belongs to the Autobots.
The Decepticons Escape

The Decepticons will blast off immediately. As the ship
climbs, however, one of the doors opens and Starscream
appears. Apparently he doesn't want to let the Autobots off
so easily, and he starts to fire at them with his normal
weapons. Starscream's arrogance is just the break the
Autobots need. Just behind Starscream is a large pile of
energon cubes. The Autobots will have two options.
First, they can try to shoot the energon cubes in hopes of

causing an explosion. Hitting the cubes requires a SKILL
roll of at least Great. Hitting the energon cubes will set
them off and a huge explosion will rock the ship (see
below).
Their second option is to try and hit Starscream. He is not

moving in the doorway so hitting him only requires a roll of
Good or better. A good solid hit (for a Hurt wound or worse)
will knock Starscream back into the pile of energon cubes.
This will also set them off and cause an explosion (see
below).
The Ship Goes Down

When the energon cubes explode the inside of the ship is
severely damaged. Smoke begins to pour out of the ship
and the engines begin to cut out sporadically. The ship will
begin to lose control and will begin to fall from the sky. The
ship is very far off by the time it crashes into the ocean
several miles off the shoreline. There is a large explosion
as what's left of the energon cubes go up in a tremendous
explosion. The wreckage of the ship sinks into the ocean.
CONCLUSION
The Autobots have won. The Decepticons have been
defeated and their menace for the moment is no more.
Optimus Prime will stand for a few moments and look out
60
Complete rules for role playing

in the Transformers universe.
The Transformers, cybernetic
beings from another planet with
the ability to transform, crash
landed on Earth over four million
years ago. Now the heroic
Autobots must protect the Earth
and battle the evil Decepticons
who wish to steal all of Earth's
resources to fuel their own war
against the Autobots and even-
even-
tually conquer the universe.
FUDGE Transformers: Expanded

Edition is based on the cartoon
from the mid 1980s as well as
the popular toy live by Hasbro of
the same name. New Expanded
Edition includes more back -
ground material, new rules, new
gifts and faults, and more, much
more, then meets the eye!
EVIL
GRIN
GAMES

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E X P A N D E D E D I T I O N

A Role Playing Game for FUDGE

version 3.11 by James & Ed Wedig

CONTENTS Attack Modifiers 30

DISCLAIMER SPECIAL THANKS

INTRODUCTION the bridge.

Meanwhile at the Autobot headquarters they are nearly

"Look!" says Prowl as he checks he ship's sensors.

This was over four million years ago…

That planet was Earth…

In the weeks that followed, Decepticons from every-

The war spread until it was a global conflict; the

surviving Autobots were not defenseless. Each was

The war continued on and most of the planet's ener-

The heroic Autobots, now stranded on Earth, must

* Taken from the Online Transformer's Encyclopedia.

CHAPTER TWO: VETERAN ROLE PLAYERS

In a role-playing game a player takes on a certain persona

In a role-playing game the players portray their characters

WHAT YOU NEED TO GET STARTED

If a character has a secondary trait that could contribute

Example: Prowl is escaping from a Decepticon ambush.

Sunstreaker rolls a +1 result: a rolled degree of Great. He

mine a relative degree.

For example, Starscream is trying to convince Skywarp

The Opposed action mechanism can be used to resolve

The GM sets the starting number of Fudge Points. The rec-

Fudge Points can be used in many ways, depending on

CHAPTER FOUR: TRANSFORMED MODE

acting. Armor is determined by the average of a character's

CHARACTER CREATION EXAMPLE:

WHAT ALL CHARACTERS CAN DO

Added Strength +3 Strength for Lifting Damage Resistance

transport other characters inside them. A character can

In most cases the carrier character and the carried charac-

Example 2: In another battle Sideswipe suffers a Very Hurt

Extra Transformed Mode:

given in the chart below.

Damage Ammo Damage Ammo

This gift can be selected multiple times for additional

minutes the character must make a Skill roll against a

The following chart shows some examples of different Sonic Boom:

FINISHING THE CHARACTER

GIFTS & FAULTS

LIMITATIONS ON GIFTS AND OTHER EFFECTS OF

WHAT EVERYONE CAN DO WHEN

CHAPTER SIX: Offensive Damage Factors:

C O M B A T STR (if using a Strength-driven weapon), and the deadli-

Defensive Damage Factors:

At the beginning of each combat round, all characters

A character may make one attack or one action per com-

RANGE FACTORS MOVEMENT

Very Hurt: WOUND FACTORS

Incapacitated: The Relative Degree of the Attack

DETERMINGING WOUND LEVEL CHARACTER DEATH

Ironhide stops where he is and fires his weapon at

The next round Starscream decides to stop where he is

Damage sustained by a Gestalt Transformer will transfer to

On the other hand, if a group of character is wounded and

GESTALT CHARACTER EXAMPLES: