THE COMPLETE NET.GUIDE TO BEING TRAMPLED, STOMPED, AND MANGLED!

(C) 1994 by Thomas Biskup and Steven Miller. All Rights Reserved. NUELOW is Wordsmiths' trademark ("I'll trade ya two NUELOW gamebooks for one FUDGE setting," said the gamer who was momentarily confused) for its multi-genre humor role-playing game system. All other games mentioned are trademarked by someone else, and we mention them in the hopes of some of their lofty reputations rubbing off on us. No infringements or challenges to ownership are intended.

INTRODUCTION (or "Why We Did What We Did")

What is the best way to handle the trampling of a player character in a NUELOW game? As we asked this question, different game solutions came to mind. Among them was The Dramatist Approach in which the GM would say, "Yes, you ARE completely annihilated by the horde of reporters and NO, I do _not_ have to roll dice to determine this"; and The Chartmaster Approach in which the GM would say, "Wait, 2^m beings trying to trample your character. Give me a roll on table TT-241, adjusted by -2.3 for dark conditions, multiplied by (m-2)^2 and adjusted for you encumbrance, their encumbrance, the weather conditions, blah blah blah....")

Since none of the approaches that we might steal were well suited for the NUELOW game, the idea to create a new rule was born. (As NUELOW players know, the Design Team is loathe to create new rules; we prefer to cut-and-paste from previous NUELOW gamebooks.)

The main problem is to overcome was the vast options of being trampled when playing NUELOW. Whether the character is a supermodel clad in a chainmail caught between a bunch of gamers and a crate of half-price JYHAD cards, or a street urchin who has slipped on a patch of ice and is about to be run over by the Ice Queen's sleigh, the rule had to work. Therefore, as always, we chose the generic approach, and left it up to each individual, highly talented GM who runs NUELOW games to plug the holes.

With these rules "trampling" not only means being turned to hamburger by stampeding feet and hooves, but it also refers to ending under wheels and skids and treads on vehicles ranging from a child's sled to a Sherman tank. In sea-going adventures, characters can conceivably also be "trampled" by wales and the bows of ships.

THE TRAMPLING RULES (or "How to Slaughter a Character Without Even Trying")

                                 Mass
           lower           equal           greater
 Size             
 smaller    -1/4            0/2              1/1  
 equal       0/2            1/1              2/1
 greater     1/1            2/1              4/1

The first number is the base amount of damage points the victim suffers, and if the trampler's size and mass is equal to, or greater than, the victim, the damage taken is lethal. The second number is the minimum amount of creatures required to cause that damage. If there are less creatures than that number, no damage is caused. From now on the number of creatures will be called the threshold number.

Total damage is calculated by modifying the base damage according to the number of creatures trampling the character. The GM determines the number of creatures that are passing over (or ramming) the character's body, and each time the number of trampling creatures doubles, the damage received is increased by +1: If the threshold number is reached once, the character suffers base damage; if the threshold number is reached twice, it suffers base damage +1; if the threshold number is reached four times, it suffers base damage +2; if the threshold number is reached eight times, it suffers base damage +3; if the... (Okay, you get the idea -- if not, try optional rule #2 below).

All is not lost for the character about to become a puddle of gore, however. Armor provides limited protection from trampling, absorbing damage to the tune of one-third of its usual Armor Rating (round down), and if the GM is merciful, the character being trampled can make an Agility Check to lower the damage incurred. On a successful check, it suffers but one-half damage (round down).

The trampling rules work thus in practice:

EXAMPLE 1: A human somehow managed to land in the middle of an elephant stampede. An average elephant has more mass than a human and is also larger. Thus the human suffers a base damage of 4 lethal damage points. However, there are 16 stampeding elephants, so the human will suffer 20 lethal damage points. Though the human is wearing a full suit of platemail (which has an Armor Rating of 4), it will be turned into a blob of goo.

EXAMPLE 2: A child player character in Hansland slips and falls right before the Ice Queen's horse-drawn sleigh as it thunders through the streets of the city. The child has a Health Attribute Rating of 4, an Agility Attribute Rating of 5, and isn't wearing armor. First, the child must survive the hoofs of the Ice Queen's two horses. The benevolent GM decides that only one horse is trampling the child. Since the horse is both of greater mass and size than the child, the character will suffer 4 lethal damage points. Fortunately, its player makes a successful Agility check. The character suffers two lethal damage points. Now comes the sleigh the horses are drawing. It, too, is of greater size and mass than the child player character, so once again it needs to absorb 4 lethal damage points. Even if the player makes another successful Agility check, the child will be left broken and mangled on the cobblestone streets of The City. Unless this game is using rules from the forthcoming "Phantom Lovers!" gamebook, the player must generate a new character.

EXAMPLE 3 An elephant somehow lands in the middle of a storming horde of GEN CON attendees trying to get their hands on a set of JYHAD cards. Since most GEN CON attendees are arguably human, and the average human is smaller and weights less than an elephant, the elephant suffers a base damage of -1 points, which is rounded to 0. However, since there were more than 4 gamers stampeding in search of JYHAD cards, as anyone who was on the floor when the doors were opened will attest to, it is likely the elephant will suffer a least some damage. Sixteen gamers are sufficient to cause 1 non-lethal damage point, and 32 are required to cause 2 non-lethal damage points, and so on. It is likely that the gamers who stormed the exhibit hall that frightful morning would have caused enough non-lethal damage to stun the elephant. (The average elephant has a Health Attribute Rating of 13.)

OPTIONAL RULES

1. The Dice-Rolling Approach (also called: 'The Introductory Storyteller Approach'): Instead of directly applying adjusted damage, the GM rolls 1d6 for every three points of adjusted damage. EXAMPLE: Instead of making the character suffer 5 points of adjusted damage, the GM decides to roll 1d6, add 2 and then make it suffer the rolled amount.

2. The Tableless Approach (also called: 'The Amber Approach' -- don't ask for details): Ignore all the rules above and declare a result; if players bitch, don't give them any character points.

3. The 'There is No Optional Rule Number 3 Approach': Make up your own rules and send them NUELOW@aol.com. We're dying for material.

4. Avoid being trampled. It will extend a character's life considerably.

AFTERWORD (or "Shameless Plugs for Forthcoming Net.Freebies")

If your stuff is really fun, we'll incorporate it in a future gamebook, or possibly a "Complete Net.Guide To The Complete Net.Guides." Join the few, the proud, the totally insane...

The NUELOW Design Team.