The following table is based on an idea by Peter Mikelsons. Though it
assigns different scales to various creatures than his table, the idea
is still the same.
Peter suggested that since the Strength Scale is used for mass, that we
simply assign a Scale to a given species or item based on mass. This
is quite logical, but does have some problems, discussed after the
table.
Regardless of flaws, the system has a lot of advantages. For example,
say you wish to introduce a new race into your Fudge
game, and you know it's of a different Scale than humans, but you're
not sure exactly what Scale it should be. It now becomes easy: find
the species in the example column below that most closely matches the
mass of the race you wish to introduce. Voila - you have your
Scale!
It's important to remember to categorize an entire species by
Scale, not just individuals. Figure what you consider to be the mass
of an average adult member of the species, male and female included.
Then look that figure up on the table. Individuals within a race then
will vary in Strength using the Terrible ... Fair ... Superb
levels, but all be of the same Scale.
Note, however, that there are other ways to do this: in some species,
males and females are actually of different Scales. In other species,
such as the water vole listed below ("Ratty," of Wind in the
Willows fame), there can be a seasonal variation.
The table can also be used for quick relative lifting ability. If you
feel the average human can lift 100 pounds (45 kg) without straining
oneself, then a member of a humanoid fantasy race of Scale -10 could
probably lift 1.7 lbs (0.8 kg) without straining oneself. Of course,
this won't necessarily be true for species with different musculature:
lifting capacity is heavily influenced by physical structure.
[And, in
fact, the square-cube law assures us that physical structure will
be different for differently Scaled creatures. Lilliputians and
Brobdingnagians must have very different bone structures from normal
humans, for example. But you can ignore all that unless you're a
stickler for scientific accuracy even in a fantasy game ... in which case
Fudge is probably too freeform for your tastes, anyway.]
If you find something of a weight somewhere in between two of the
listed weights, assign it to the closest Scale that meets your needs.
If something weighs 900 pounds (410 kg) for example, is that Scale 4 or
Scale 5? It depends on the GM's needs: if you need something the PCs
can overcome without too much effort, then it's Scale 4. If you need
something a little tougher, then it's Scale 5. And so on.
Note: measurements are approximate, as suits a game called
Fudge.
(Oz = ounce, lb = pound, tn = ton, g = gram, kg = kilogram, t = metric
ton.)
Scale Mass Mass
(US) (Metric)
-19 1 oz 30 g
-18 1.5 oz 45 g
-17 2.4 oz 70 g
-16 3.6 oz 100 g
-15 5.5 oz 150 g
-14 8 oz 230 g
-13 12 oz 350 g
-12 1 lb 0.5 kg
-11 1.7 lb 0.8 kg
-10 3 lb 1.2 kg
-9 4 lb 2 kg
-8 6 lb 3 kg
-7 9 lb 4 kg
-6 13 lb 6 kg
-5 20 lb 9 kg
-4 30 lb 13 kg
-3 45 lb 20 kg
-2 68 lb 30 kg
-1 100 lb 45 kg
0 150 lb 68 kg
+1 225 lb 100 kg
+2 333 lb 150 kg
+3 500 lb 225 kg
+4 750 lb 333 kg
+5 1125 lb 500 kg
+6 1687 lb 750 kg
+7 1.25 tn 1.1 t
+8 2 tn 1.7 t
+9 3 tn 2.6 t
+10 4.5 tn 4 t
+11 6.5 tn 6 t
+12 10 tn 9 t
+13 15 tn 13.5 t
+14 22 tn 20 t
+15 33 tn 30 t
+16 50 tn 45 t
+17 75 tn 67 t
+18 112 tn 100 t
+19 165 tn 150 t
... ... ...
+24 1300 tn 1200 t
Scale Species Example Item Example
-19 mouse walnut, politician's brain
-18 field vole
-17 garden mole
-16 chipmunk, hamster
-15 pika, water vole (winter) apple, baseball, billiard ball
-14 weasel, water vole (summer)
-13 common rat pliers
-12 gray squirrel soccer ball, pint of water
-11 ferret
-10 marten human brain, cabbage, liter of water
-9 skunk
-8 rabbit
-7 house cat gallon of water
-6 fisher, tasmanian devil
-5 fox, jackal
-4 badger, otter ripe watermelon
-3 coyote
-2 medium dog
-1 large dog, cheetah
0 human, hyena, deinonychus
+1 leopard, puma
+2 black bear
+3 lion, tiger, utahraptor
+4 grizzly bear
+5 alligator, horse
+6 bison a blue whale's heart
+7 great white shark compact car
+8 killer whale, stegosaurus passenger van
+9 mastodon, allosaurus
+10 tyranosaurus rex small truck, comanche helicopter
+11 African elephant a blue whale's tongue, armored car
+12 titanosaurus
+13 bruhathkayosaurus Greyhound bus
+14 gray whale, alamosaurus 18-wheeler truck
+15 apatosaurus (brontosaurus) small modern tank
+16 brachiosaurus
+17 right whale main battle tank
+18 blue whale, 2000 AD
+19 blue whale before overhunting Boeing 747
+20 Statue of Liberty
... ... ...
+24 Giant Sequoia (2,200+ yrs) large 17th-century galleon, small
WWII destroyer
For additional levels above +19, simply multiply mass by 1.5 for each
level. Likewise, for levels below -19, divide mass by 1.5. Although
this table is humano-centric, humans are actually very large creatures.
A mouse is more likely to be Scale 0 when you take all living creatures
into consideration (which is left as an exercise for the reader to
pursue if desired ...).
Flaws of this system: Scale doesn't take combat specialization
into account. As an example, a weasel is Scale -6 relative to a rabbit,
but in a one-on-one fight, a weasel will win more often than a rabbit.
This is because a weasel is an extremely efficient killer, and most
rabbits go into shock when attacked by a carnivore. As another example,
the author of Fudge was once walking down a country road in
New Hampshire (USA) when he startled a fisher (Martes pennanti)
by the side of the road. The fisher angrily charged him, and it was
the human that beat a hasty retreat, despite the +6 Scale advantage.
At the time, it sure did look as if those teeth and claws belonged to
a much larger creature ... While it's true a fisher probably wouldn't
be able to kill a human the way a weasel can kill a rabbit, this is
largely because a human is a much more effective fighter than a rabbit,
overall.
At any rate, if you remember to take fighting efficiency into account,
you will know when not to subtract Scale from damage (or subtract only
some of it) when a creature of smaller Scale attacks a larger
creature.
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