Tuesday, January 8, 2013

FUDGE Dice Rollers

Image for the Android
FATE Dice Roller

To paraphrase Marx, "It's no accident" that over on G+ I learned about two new dice rollers for use with FATE  in one day - one for Android called FUDGE DICE, and one for the iPad and the iPhone called Fate Dice. This says a lot about peoples' enthusiasm for the new FATE Core system.

The Android app allows you to "pre-adjust" results. In other words, you can add or subtract whole numbers from a range of +1 to +5 (i.e., add a skill value) and -1 to -5 (a penalty) in order to modify the roll (e.g., roll 4dF-1, etc.). You can also add or subtract the number of dF rolled, or even do an averaging roll of 4dF-4dF.

Android's FUDGE Dice roller

The Android app allows for use of both the historical FUDGE and FATE scales. These two ladders are presented as both a word (i.e., Good) and its corresponding numerical value on the FUDGE scale (+1) or typical FATE ladder (e.g., +3).

You need to go use the Preferences menu option of the app to set the descriptors for the numerical scale to either the FATE scale terminology or the FUDGE scale terminology. You can also enter different words for the descriptors if you want to alter the terms used in the ladder.

Android's FUDGE Dice roller,
Preferences menu

The iPad app is less versatile but considerably more straightforward. You can set a skill quality (or just leave it at "Mediocre" aka zero), set +N or -N modifiers to the roll (simulating skills/modifiers), and then you hit the roll button for the results

Fate Dice roller for iPad/iPhone

The app displays the roll as +, -, and blank dice, as well as reporting the result as a descriptor (i.e., "Average" in the picture above) and a numerical result.

Both apps are free. Both work. I think the iPad one is more straightforward for regular use in a FATE game, and the Android version lets you fiddle around with things a bit more (such as modifying the number of FUDGE dice rolled).

I have the first one running on my Samsung Note II and the latter running on my iPad.

I'll probably use both on occasion, but because I run games using Starblazer Adventures and Legends of Anglerre, I also need the an app that can roll the 1d6-1d6 dice combo.

With the Diceonomicon, the premium dice roller for the iPad/iPhone, you get 4DF right out of the box, and you can also program it to roll 1d6-1d6. It costs about $5, still less than or equal in cost to the price you'll pay for most 4DF sets in plastic.

That being said, I like my recently purchased black and white 4DF Deryni Dice sets a lot!




3 comments:

  1. I saw those today as well. I have a boatload of FUDGE dice that Ann Dupuis gave me at GAMA a number of years back. I think with Fate Core I will use the d6-d6 method. My players liked it when we played Feng Shui and it uses that method. I am going to try the one app on my wife's iPad soon though.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I like 1d6-1d6 too, and am currently running a mini-campaign using Starblazer Adventures. I have these dice within dice that I picked up at the Source Comics and Games in Roseville, MN. They are clear plastic d6's with solid red smaller d6's inside. Perfect for 1d6-1d6 rolls.

    We have wondered whether the outer shell restricts the tumbling of the inner dice, but so far the journey is out on that.

    ReplyDelete
  3. We have a Kickstarter going on (at the time of this reply) that is for some custom Fate/Fudge dice. You should come on over and check it out.

    http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1343279035/thematic-fate-fudge-dice-mystic-rose

    ReplyDelete