It isn’t always obvious from the published material what Fudge Bunnies – as a distinct rule set – is and how it is different from Gurps B&B. Steffan O’Sullivan, the author of both Fudge and Gurps Bunnies & Burrows (B&B), has been evolving his thinking on Fudge Bunnies since 1992. So in this post I attempt to reverse engineer Steffan’s thinking on Fudge Bunnies in 2014 and fill in a few gaps. At least for Attributes, skills and animal languages.
The big change is in the language to describe character traits. Gurps has fairly bland and generic names for character traits but Fudge is all about evocative language. So the trait names Fudge Bunnies are much more, well bunny-like.
Attributes
Steffan refined his thinking about the attributes of bunny characters over time. The example bunny, “Chicory”, in the Fudge book (p. 73 in 1995 and p. 68 in 2010), has a different list of attributes to the Fudge Bunnies on his website (1992b), and is very different to the VG Fudge Bunnies (2011). Actually Chicory is quite similar to a Gurps bunny.
I think the Attributes of bunnies evolved like this:
| Gurps B&B (1995) | Fudge (1995, 2010) | Fudge Bunnies (1992b) | VG Fudge Bunnies (2011) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Survival | Perception | Notice Things Good Nose |
Survival |
| IQ | Smarts | Cleverness | Cleverness |
| – | – | Self-control | Pluck |
| Strength | Strength | Strength | Strength |
| Dexterity | Dexterity | Agility | Agility |
| Health | Health | Fitness | Fitness |
| Speed | Speed | Speed | Speed |
Skills
Gurps B&B
Despite the fact I’d prefer to play Fudge Bunnies than Gurps B&B I thoroughly recommend Gurps B&B as a GM resource. If you’re interested in bunny adventures then get this book. The section at the back about running adventures is a treasure trove.
The table below translates the Gurps B&B Skills and maps them to the skills listed for the VG Fudge Bunnies. Steffan has also provided some guidance about Fudge Bunny Skills and Combat.
Gurps went for very generic skills with quite abstract names. I much prefer the Fudge replacements as I find them much more intuitive.
In some cases the Gurps skill maps to an attribute in Fudge. In other cases a single Gurps skill maps to more than one skill in Fudge.
If the VG Fudge Bunnies don’t have an equivalent for a Gurps skill then I put a “?” in the Fudge Bunnies Skill column. I then did a quick search of the skills in the Fudge book (2010, p. 85-105) for an equivalent. And if there doesn’t seem to be a Gurps equivalent for the Fudge Bunnies skill I put a dash (“-“) in the Gurps column.
| Gurps B&B Skill | Fudge Bunnies Skill | Fudge Bunnies Skill Category | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acrobatics (P/H) | Acrobatics (or “Dodge, Evade”) | Agility | “Dodge, Evade” is more obvious in intent |
| Acting (M/A) | ? | – | Perhaps “Mimic Rabbit” to mirror “Mimic Non-Rabbit” but Fudge does call it “Acting” |
| Administration (M/A) | ? | – | Chief bureaucrat of the warren? |
| Agronomy (M/A) | ? | – | “Farming” and normally be restricted to pikas |
| Anthropology (M/VH) | Knowledge of Human Habits Knowledge of Human Dangers |
Knowledge | |
| Architecture (M/A) | Burrowing | Other | |
| Area Knowledge (M/E) | Knowledge of Area around Warren (Near, Medium-Sized, Large) | Knowledge | Choose how far afield the area knowledge extends. Further afield means more vague. |
| Artist (M/H) | ? | – | Probably not needed for Bunnies |
| Astronomy (M/H) | ? | – | Star gazing bunnies; perhaps not. But if it fits the game then try Fudge’s “Knowledge of Astronomy” |
| Bard (M/A) | Storytelling | Other | Fudge has both “Storytelling” and “Oratory” |
| Botany (M/VH) | Knowledge of Fibrous plants Knowledge of Other Plants |
Other | |
| Brawling (P/E) | Brawling | Strength | |
| Bun Fu (P/H) | Bun Fu | Strength | |
| Camouflage (M/E) | ? | – | Gurps has camouflage as an inherent skill applicable when a bunny is stationary. Fudge has “Camouflage”, “Hide Self” and “Hide Traces” skills |
| Carousing (P/A) | ? | – | Fudge has a “Carousing” skill too |
| Climbing (P/H) | Climb | Agility | |
| Dancing (P/A) | ? | – | I guess bunnies can dance |
| Detect Lies (M/H) | Detect Lies | Other | |
| Diagnosis (M/H) | Diagnosis | Other | |
| Diplomacy (M/H) | Diplomacy | Other | |
| Disguise (M/A) | Disguise | Other | |
| Engineer (M/H) | Contraption Ideas Build Contraptions |
Other | |
| Escape (P/H) | Escape from traps | – | Fudge has “Escape artist” but hard to imagine a Houdini bunny |
| Fast Draw: Herb (P/E) | ? | – | |
| Fast-Talk (M/H) | Bluff Pretence/Lies |
Pluck Other |
Fudge does have a “Fast-talk” skill and also a “Lie” skill |
| Fiber Crafts (M/H) | Fibre Crafts | Other | |
| First Aid (M/E) | First Aid | Cleverness | |
| Gambling (M/A) | ? | – | Bunnies, in the game, love to gamble and Fudge has a “Gambling” skill |
| Gesture (M/E) | ? | – | |
| Hedgewise (M/A) | Hedgewise | Other | |
| Heraldry (M/A) | ? | – | Fudge has “Knowledge of Heraldry” if relevant to the game |
| Herbary (M/VH) | Prepare/Use Herbs Knowledge of Useful Herbs |
Other Knowledge |
|
| History (M/H) | Knowledge of Warren History | Knowledge | |
| Holdout (M/A) | ? | – | Called “Concealment” in Fudge; basically for concealing herbs in a bunnies fur |
| Interrogation (M/A) | ? | – | Fudge has an “Interrogation” skill |
| Jumping (P/E) | Jump | Agility | |
| Law (M/H) | ? | – | Fudge has “Knowledge of Law” |
| Leadership (M/A) | ? | – | Fudge has a “Leadership” skill |
| Linguistics (M/VH) | ? | – | |
| Lip Reading (M/A) | ? | – | Fudge has “Lip Reading” |
| Mechanic (M/H) | Manipulate Things | Other | Fudge does have a “Mechanic” skill |
| Merchant (M/A) | Barter | Other | Fudge also has a “Merchant”, “Haggle”, Appraisal, and Salesmanship skills |
| Meteorology (M/A) | Weather Sense | Other | |
| Mimic Non-Rabbit (P/H) | Mimic Non-Rabbit Mimic dog bark |
Other | |
| Naturalist (M/H) | ? | – | |
| Navigation (M/H) | Bearings | Other | |
| Occultism (M/A) | Knowledge of Occult events | Knowledge | |
| Oral Literature (M/H) | Knowledge of Stories | Knowledge | |
| Poetry (M/A) | ? | – | |
| Poisons (M/H) | Knowledge of Poisons | Knowledge | |
| Psychology (M/H) | ? | – | Fudge has Psychology and Psychiatry |
| Running (P/H) | *Speed* Attribute | Speed | The “Running” skill in Fudge means long distance. Bunnies are sprinters so would certainly benefit from this if they had a dog on their trail. |
| Savoir-Faire (M/E) | Knowledge of Court Etiquette | Knowledge | |
| Scrounging (M/E) | Scrounge | Other | |
| Sex Appeal (M/A) | ? | – | Fudge has “Seduction” |
| Sleight of Paw (P/H) | ? | – | Fudge has a “Sleight of Hand” skill but “Sleight of Paw” fits better. |
| Sports (P/A) | ? | – | Fudge has a “Sports” skill but what sports do bunnies play? |
| Stealth (P/A) | Move Quietly “Light Walk” (leave no tracks) |
Survival Other |
Fudge has both “Stealth” and “Move Quietly” |
| Strategy (M/H) | ? | – | |
| Survival (M/A) | *Survival* Attribute | Survival | |
| Swimming (P/E) | Swim | Fitness | |
| Tactics (M/H) | Tactics Knowledge of Tactics Predator Tactics |
Other Knowledge Other |
|
| Teaching (M/A) | ? | – | Fudge has a professional skill “Teacher” |
| Theology (M/H) | ? | – | Fudge has “Knowledge of Theology” |
| Throwing (P/H) | Ready/Throw Herb | Other | |
| Tracking (M/A) | Tracking | Other | |
| Traps (M/A) | Knowledge of traps | Other Knowledge |
Fudge has “Find Traps” and “Remove/Disarm Traps” but finding traps can be subsumed into noticing things and disarming traps is pretty tricky for a bunny |
| Ventriloquism (M/H) | Throw Voice | Other | Fudge has a “Ventriloquism” but I do prefer “Throw Voice” |
| Zoology (M/H) | Knowledge of Carnivore Habits Knowledge of Non-Bunny Habits |
Knowledge | |
| – | Notice Things | Survival | |
| – | Nose | Survival | |
| – | Fight | Strength | Fudge calls this “Unarmed Combat” |
| – | Team Acrobatics | Agility | |
| – | Buffoon | Other | |
| – | Insult Carnivore | Other | Please don’t insult the wolf. There’s a good bunny. |
| – | Knowledge of Swamps | Knowledge |
Mechanic and Engineer
In Gurps B&B the skills “Mechanic” and “Engineer” are integral to any plot. Engineers figure out what things are for and mechanics figure how how to use them. I haven’t figured how exactly they transfer into Fudge Bunnies. I’ve guessed that “Engineer” becomes the “Contraption Ideas” and “Build Contraptions” of the VG Fudge Bunnies. Similarly “Mechanic” might become “Manipulate Things” in VG Fudge. But Steffan might have something else in mind.
Skills associated with Attributes
Unusually for a Fudge game Steffan has some skills associated with bunny Attributes. If one of these attribute-skills has no level, use the level of the associated Attribute.
The attribute-skills are listed on the VG Fudge Bunnies Blank Character Sheet however, confusingly, VG Fudge Bunnies has a slightly different set.
Survival
- Move Quietly
- Notice Things
- Nose
Cleverness
- First Aid
Pluck
- Bluff
Strength
- * Fight
- * Brawl
- * Bun Fu
Agility
- Acrobatics (or “Dodge, Evade” *)
- Climb
- Jump
- Team Acrobatics
Fitness
- Swim
Speed
Skills marked with a * are from VG Fudge Bunnies.
Languages
Animal languages are a special class of skills. The animal languages used in the 2011 VG Fudge Bunnies are similar to, but different to, those of Gurps: B&B (1992). Steffan has replaced “Common” languages for a large group of animals with “Pidgin” equivalents. The latin names for languages have also gone and Steffan just uses the normal English names for the group and/or the species name(s). Finally “Fish” have been separated from their cold blooded friends the “Reptile/Amphibians”
As an example of the changes the languages “Common Avian” and “Accipitrine” have been renamed “Pidgin Bird” and “Eagle/Hawk/Owl/Falcon/Vulture”. Makes things much clearer.
These are the languages mentioned in VG Fudge Bunnies:
- Pidgin Carnivore
- Dog/Fox/Wolf
- Weasel Family
- Pidgin Bird
- Small Bird
- Chicken/Quail/Pheasant/Turkey
- Pidgin Rodent
- Beaver/Porcupine
- Squirrel/Chipmunk
- Rat/Mouse/Vole
- Pidgin Insectivore
- Bat
- Possum/Mole/Shrew
- Pidgin Hoofed animal
- Pidgin Reptile/Amphibian
- Pidgin Fish
- Pidgin Spider
These changes also mean that where in Gurps: B&B “all rabbits start the game with Common Lagomorph and Lapine” in Fudge Bunnies I’m guessing they know “Pidgin Rabbit” and the racial language “Rabbit/Hare/Cottontail” (but not “Pika”).
References
O’Sullivan, S. (1992a). Gurps: Bunnies & Burrows. Steve Jackson Games.
O’Sullivan, S. (1992b). Fudge Bunnies.
O’Sullivan, S. (1995). Fudge 1995 Edition. Grey Ghost.
O’Sullivan, S. (1998, 23 July). Fudge Bunny Skills and Combat.
O’Sullivan, S. (2010). Fudge 10th Anniversary Edition. Grey Ghost.
O’Sullivan, S. (2011). VG Fudge Bunnies.
O’Sullivan, S. (2011). VG Fudge Bunnies Blank.