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Advanced Guidebook

About this GuidebookThis guidebook is intended for players that are already familiar with tabletop role playing games and want some more detailed information on Budding Heroes.

In the interest of saving space, we’ve skipped the absolute basics like what a GM does, how a game fl ows between narrative and combat, and the more detailed minutiae of how rules play out in borderline situations.

Budding Heroes isn’t only about the combat, but this guidebook focuses on it since that’s one of the largest ways Budding Heroes diff ers from other systems.

Play Sample BattlesThis booklet contains information on Character Molds that your players can use, the stats for several diff erent types of enemies, a guideline on how to balance battles, and the basic combat rules.

Just throw together a couple standard battles, or even some 3-vs-3 PVP between players, and you’ll see how fast and fun combat is with Budding Heroes!

Spread the WordDon’t forget to tell your friends about Budding Heroes! Our Patreon page has plenty of information to get newcomers up to speed on TTRPGs, and you can share this booklet with other experienced players.

This PDF is available at http://buddingheroes.com, so feel free to print extra copies for your gaming group.

What is Budding Heroes?Budding Heroes is a new tabletop role playing game that was created from the ground up to be perfect for players of every age and skill level.

The game is simple enough that parents or teachers can easily introduce kids to the world of TTRPGs, but it’s still deep enough that even the most tactical players can have a great time tearing apart the enemy.

Not Too Light, Not Too HeavyBudding Heroes is a game that falls between the entirely narrative-driven rules-lite systems and the more daunting games that have page after page of tables on carrying capacity and the stats of enchanted swords.

Budding Heroes embraces tactical map-based combat while streamlining the experience to make the game fast and fun. Every character has multiple types of attacks and utility powers, and there are tons of diff erent types of enemies that are fi t for every diffi culty level.

Character creation takes minutes rather than hours, your choices in combat are presented in a simple and straightforward list, and you don’t need to worry about constantly calculating to-hit rolls.

Combat is Never BoringEvery player character has its own health regeneration based on how they fi ght during combat, the support characters deal damage at the same time that they heal others, tanks can yank enemies away from the ranged attackers, and everyone can deal massive damage with teamwork bonuses and special attacks!

Please note that this reference is intended for players that are already familiar with tabletop role playing games. The rules are fully explained in plain English with illustrations and diagrams in Budding Heroes: The Complete Foundation, but the basics and in-depth details are omitted from this summary. Check out our site for free guides, more details on the rules, and information on accessories and optional add-ons.

Share this free game with your friends! Visit http://buddingheroes.com to help create the adventure!©2014-2016 Cloak Gaming LLC. Budding Heroes is a registered trademark of M Greenwald. Character Mold and Adventure Flavor are trademarks of Cloak Gaming LLC.

Taking Your TurnDuring each turn, you can move and take a single action. You can choose to move or take the action in either order, but movement cannot be split. Once you take an action, your remaining Speed points are discarded. You can choose to not move or act, but you cannot save actions to use later in the round.

MovementYou begin each turn with your full number of Speed points, and moving each square of distance costs one Speed point. Movement and distance measurement follow whichever grid-based method your GM feels is right for your game. If you aren’t using a hex-based grid, moving diagonally might cost more than one Speed point.

A character must end its movement in an empty square. Some maps may have obstacles that cost extra Speed points to move through, so your GM will let you know any details. Passing through a square occupied by an ally costs one extra Speed point. Passing directly through an enemy’s square is not possible.

Making an AttackRoll all of the attack’s damage dice, the total is the attack’s power. Attack’s Power - Target’s Armor = Damage. Remove the damage from the target’s Health. If the target’s Health reaches 0 or lower, the target is KO’d and cannot be revived during combat.

Any written instructions or status eff ects are followed, even if the attack dealt no immediate damage.

If your attack hits multiple targets at the same time (such as a burst or grenade), the full attack power from the original roll is used for each target, and each target uses its own Armor value. If it’s a multi-attack, your targets use their full Armor value for each hit, even if you are attacking the same target multiple times.

ActionsPrimary AttackPrimary attacks are how characters normally deal damage. If an ally is next to your target, you qualify for the Teamwork bonus and can add the bonus die to your damage roll.

Secondary AttackSecondary attacks are typically less powerful than primary attacks, but they can be very useful in certain situations.

Special AttackSpecial attacks are very powerful, but they can only be used a single time until you spend a turn’s action to recharge the attack.

Extra MovementYou can move again with your turn’s full number of Speed points.

ThrowRoll a d4 and move any adjacent character, even an enemy, with that number of Speed points in any direction.

GuardRoll a d6 and add that number to your Armor until your next turn. The extra Armor wears off if you are moved for any reason.

RechargeReady your special attack for use on a diff erent turn. The charge does not have to be used on your next turn. You cannot have more than one charge ready at a time.

Basic Combat Rules

Common Attack TypesHealth RegenerationEach Character Mold has a diff erent event that will trigger its health regeneration. When it happens, you can immediately roll the listed die and add the result to your Health as if it were a normal healing action.

Health regeneration can be triggered an unlimited number of times during combat. It cannot bring a character above max Health.

Melee - Attack any adjacent target. Diagonals are in range, regardless of movement method.Ranged - Attack a target up to the listed squares away. Targets fi rst in line of sight. Unlimited ammo.Burst - Attack every adjacent enemy at once, allies are immune. Diagonals are in range.

Drain - Range attack one target, heal another using damage dealt. Can attack/heal self, allies, enemies.Grenade - Create a ranged burst attack that’s centered up to the listed squares away. It damages enemies and allies, including the center square. The number inside the icon tells you how far from the center is hit by the attack.

1

(The number to the left of each icon is the range.)



Character Molds

Character Mold BasicsCharacters in Budding Heroes might work a bit diff erently than you expect. In most other games, a character is permanently tied to its role in combat due to things like equipment and abilities, but Budding Heroes uses a system that separates the game’s mechanics from the characters themselves.

Things like equipment and spell lists don’t exist in the game’s rules. Instead, you choose a Character Mold that defi nes your role in combat. Each Character Mold has a premade list of abilities and stats, so you can jump right in without needing to make any tough choices or worrying about min-maxers skewing a game’s balance.

Most importantly, your character isn’t locked into a single path. Since Character Molds only defi ne your rolein combat, you’re free to change whenever you want. The same character could be a Brute in one combat and a Longshot in the next!

Character Mold StatsAs you can see, each Character Mold has a list of actions and the three main stats:

• Health: Your maximum Health and amount you have at the start of combat

• Armor: How much damage you can ignore whenever you’re hit by an attack

• Speed: How far you can move during your turn

In this example, a Brute fi lls the role of a tank, so its skills and stats are focused on close range attacks and mitigating damage.

The symbol next to each attack is its type. When you make an attack, you roll all of the listed dice to determine the damage and follow any written instructions.

Teamwork replaces the fl anking bonus that most games have. If you’re making a primary attack and an ally is adjacent to your target, you get to add the bonus die to your damage roll.

Each Character Mold also gets its own Health regen. In this case, a Brute gets to heal itself up to three times per turn every time it ends its turn next to enemies.

A Coat of PaintCharacter Molds are designed to be as generic as possible. Let’s say you want to attack from a distance, so you’re thinking of being a Longshot. The Character Mold will tell you that your primary attack is ranged, but you get to decide what that actually means.

A ranged attack could be an archer loosing an arrow, a mage lobbing a fi reball, a shot from an orbital laser, the ground at your target’s feet erupting with carnivorous plants, or anything at all that’s fi tting for your character or situation.

You’re not even locked in once you decide - that same ranged attack could be an arrow in one turn, setting off a trap in the next, telling a nearby ally to club someone in the face after that, and then kicking someone in the shin if they get too close.

Just like attacks, Armor is also whatever’s appropriate. That generic damage reduction could be caused by thick armor, parrying an attack, dodging for cover, a telekinetic barrier, or anything else.

Since the game’s mechanics are generic, you’re free to be truly creative. You’re in control of your adventure.



Enemy Balance

Enemy Difficulty LevelsFodder (Threat per turn: 0-5)These enemies are basically gnats, and they should only be used to show a huge power disparity that favors your players.

Weak (Threat per turn: 5-12)These enemies are fairly weak and shouldn’t be used as “standard” enemies. They can be useful in tutorial battles, to show that your players are very strong, or as weak henchmen working with stronger enemies.

Common (Threat per turn: 12-20)Most common enemies will fall in this range since this Diffi culty level allows for interesting attack variations without the enemies being too dangerous.

Mighty (Threat per turn: 20-29)These are stronger enemies that usually fi ll the roll of sub-bosses. Attacks in this Diffi culty level are strong enough that they have a chance of devastating the players if the enemy makes a lucky roll, so only use groups of these if the players should feel weak.

Elite (Threat per turn: 29-40)This is the usual Diffi culty level that an enemy should have for a challenging boss fi ght. The enemy’s attacks will be very strong, but your players can survive as long as they use their skills intelligently.

Savage (Threat per turn: 40-52)These enemies are very strong and will normally beat careless or unlucky players. You should use this Diffi culty level if your players are facing a boss too early or your players are tactical, lucky, and demanding a challenge.

Legendary (Threat per turn: 52-65)Enemies in this Diffi culty level hit extremely hard and will almost always beat a group of players if they have appropriate Endurance values. They should only be used if players are supposed to feel overwhelmed.

Apex (Threat per turn: Over 65)There is a very high chance that a single attack from this enemy will KO a character with full Health, so only use this Diffi culty level if you want the battle to feel completely unwinnable.

Understanding the EnemyPlanning battles may seem like a daunting task, but each enemy Character Mold has 4 main stats that will help you plan battles that are appropriate for your group’s size and the battle’s intended diffi culty.

EnduranceEndurance represents the number of attacks that the enemy should survive, based on the average damage from a player character. Endurance is calculated based on the enemy actually being attacked, so a battle with 4 diff erent enemies that each have an Endurance of 2.0 should last for about 8 player attacks.

A good starting balance to aim for is a combined rating of around 3.0 to 4.0 Endurance per player character. Remember that some Character Molds can damage multiple targets with a single attack, so a group of Demolishers may warrant a higher total Endurance.

ThreatThreat is the measure of how much damage an enemy will deal during its estimated survival. It’s based on the percentage of a Character Mold’s starting Health but doesn’t account for healing, so a good combined Threat should be in the area of 65 to 75 per player character. Lower amounts will make for easier battles, and higher amounts (even over 100 per character) are survivable as long as the players are lucky or use their skills wisely.

Diffi cultyDiffi culty lets you know how much damage an enemy can cause per attack. Diffi culties are categorized into tiers based on Threat per turn to help you easily understand how dangerous an enemy is regardless of its Endurance.

Eff ectivenessThe Eff ectiveness table helps you understand how well an enemy will handle diff erent situations in battle. Diff erent types of enemies work better in diff erent situations, and the Eff ectiveness table takes all the guesswork out of your planning.

Eff ectiveness is shown for how well it handles long range versus short range, how having a Teamwork bonus aff ects the enemy, and how eff ective its attacks are against groups of one, two, or more characters.



Enemy Sheet Example

Taking a Closer LookHere’s an example of the information you’ll see in a full enemy sheet. This particular character is an Elite version of a “Brute Boss” Character Mold with Health and Armor tuned for a group of three player characters.

A Threat of 226 means that this enemy would be a good challenge on its own for three players, but it’d be tough for smaller groups to survive. The Endurance of 6.1, especially with an Armor of only 3, means that this enemy is a bit of a glass cannon. The fi ght would be over quickly (on average, a group of 3 players would KO the enemy during the players’ third turn), so it’s best paired with a couple weaker enemies to bring the fi ght to a proper total Endurance.

The Eff ectiveness table shows you that this particular enemy works best in short ranges when it can hit a group of two or more players at a time, regardless of whether or not it can qualify for the Teamwork bonus. That means that the enemy is a great choice for a normal party compositions, but the fi ght would be easy for a spread out group of Longshots. If your players are the kind that take pot shots against a boss, you should either choose a diff erent type of enemy for your battle or add a couple supporting enemies that work best against long-range solo targets.

It’s worth noting that this enemy has more than one Secondary attack. The (1) and (2) just mean that you have extra options when it comes to choosing the character’s attack, not that they’re both part of a giant multi-attack. An enemy may have multiple secondary attacks or special attacks to choose from, but it will only have one primary attack that can qualify for the Teamwork bonus. If an enemy has multiple special attacks, it is still limited to using only one before needing to recharge. You don’t have to decide which special attack the enemy will use in advance, but it can only have one charge readied at a time.

3

3

2



Status Effects and Modifying Enemies

Status EffectsCharacter FreedomCharacter Freedom is a rule designed to stop one side from stun-locking another. If an enemy’s status eff ect takes away a character’s turn (such as Fear, Stun, or Puppet), the target is immune to any other turn-forfeiting status eff ects until it has had at least 2 turns under its own control.

Common Status Eff ectsThe following list covers the basics of some of the most common status eff ects. There are additional status eff ects possessed by certain enemies, and further details of the rules are covered in the book.

• Burning: The character takes damage at the start of its turn, determined by rolling the appropriate damage die. The damage ignores the target’s Armor, but it can’t bring the target’s Health below 1 point.

• Fear: Fear is caused by the Terrify action. A character aff ected by it spends its turn moving as far as possible from what caused the status eff ect. It only uses Speed points from the movement portion of its turn, and its action is discarded.

• Slow: The character has its maximum number of Speed points lowered to 3, and the maximum range for all abilities is limited to adjacent squares. A character aff ected by the Slow status eff ect cannot use its action to guard.

• Stun: The character cannot move or attack until the Stun status eff ect expires. It immediately gains the benefi ts of the guard action as if it had been used during the previous turn (toward any future attacks). Stun can be removed if another character moves into an adjacent square and spends 1 Speed point to revive the character.

• Threatened: The character has its armor value lowered to 0. Threatened can be removed before it normally expires if the character completely skips its turn. A character aff ected by Threatened cannot use its action to guard.

Changing Enemy Endurance and ThreatThe following pages have Character Molds for example enemies, but only one level of Health and Armor values are given for each enemy in order to save space. If you want to customize their Health and Armor values, you can use the information on this page to calculate their correct Endurance and Threat. Enemies can have any amount of Health; the amounts listed below are just examples. To know the Endurance for your enemy, simply multiply the enemy’s new maximum Health by the “per Health” number under the appropriate Armor value. Multiply the enemy’s new Endurance by its listed Threat per turn (next to the diffi culty name) to know its new Threat value.

Don’t Miss the PointOne important point to remember is that if a player doesn’t deal any damage, they feel like their turn was wasted.High Armor values should be rare since the chance to miss does NOT increase on a linear scale. For example, an attack that deals d6+d12 damage has a 1.4% chance to miss against Armor 3, an 8.3% chance against Armor 5, and it quickly spikes to over 54% against Armor 10. If your enemies need a high Endurance, you should almost always err on the side of increasing Health rather than having Armor over 5 or 6.

Weak EnemiesArmor 1

Endurance(0.087 per Health)10 Health: 0.915 Health: 1.320 Health: 1.740 Health: 3.575 Health: 6.5

Armor 2 Endurance

(0.095 per Health)10 Health: 1.015 Health: 1.420 Health: 1.940 Health: 3.875 Health: 7.1

Normal EnemiesArmor 3


Armor 4 Endurance


Armor 5 Endurance


Durable EnemiesArmor 6


Armor 7 Endurance




Adventure Flavors

Coldhammer PrivateersInstead of relying on a magical high fantasy setting, one of the Adventure Flavors available at launch takes place on the high seas with a group of privateers.

You’ll join Thomas Anders and his crew as they battle pirates and other forces that threaten to overtake their homeland of Lorea.

Piecing it All TogetherCommunity InvolvementThe Budding Heroes website will feature a section where players can share their own Adventure Flavor pieces without needing to give up their copyright. Keep an eye on http://buddingheroes.com for updates!

Settings and PlotlinesDon’t keep your adventure to yourself, let everyone experience it! You can share towns, maps, story hooks, and even entire worlds.

Characters and ActionsIs your world feeling a little empty? Find some existing characters or share your own for others to enjoy.

Enemy Character MoldsThe website will also include tools to create your own Character Molds. You can even run the information through the offi cial calculators, so you can easily share your ideas without breaking the game’s balance!

Exploring Existing WorldsBudding Heroes has the power to be anything you can imagine, but sometimes people don’t have the time or energy to come up with everything from scratch.

The Adventure Flavor system is the perfect solution for GMs that just need a little bit of inspiration or want to jump right into a world that’s ready to be explored. Adventure Flavors are a layer that sit on top of the game to provide it with premade settings, characters, and storylines. The rules of the game stay exactly the same, but Adventure Flavors are able to instantly transport your group into another world.

Budding Heroes will launch with at least one offi cial Adventure Flavor setting, and more will be released in an ongoing line of companion books.

Some settings are created uniquely for Budding Heroes, and others can license existing intellectual properties to transport your group into your favorite books, TV shows, and movies!



Player Character Molds

Choosing a Character MoldHow do you know which Character Mold is right for your character? It usually comes down to personality. Just think of how your character would approach the situation, and you’re bound to fi nd the right role.

• Brute: They’re strong, resilient, and can stand up to overwhelming odds without breaking a sweat.

• Commander: They can turn the tide of battle by stealing Health from enemies and giving it to allies.

• Demolisher: A few well-placed shots can turn any daunting formation into tattered remains.

• Enforcer: They focus on powerful teamwork attacks and use high-risk, high-reward tactics when alone.

• Hybrid: Jacks-of-all-trades that are eff ective at a distance, up close, and against groups of enemies.

• Longshot: They support melee allies and take out enemies before they ever get a chance to get close.

Modifying Character MoldsYou may be tempted to modify player Character Molds to better suit your idea of how powerful a character should be, but that’s not the best idea. Even though the game seems relatively simple on the surface, it has been rigorously balanced based on the player Character Molds as presented.

Making any of them stronger or weaker could have wide-reaching eff ects on battle balance. Threat levels, Endurance, and even Eff ectiveness tables could be drastically changed to the point of being worthless as tools, and you could end up feeling lost.

If you feel like your characters are too weak, try making the enemies weaker instead. A weak-feeling character is usually a symptom of enemies that have too high of an Endurance, and fragile-feeling characters are going against too many enemies with a high Diffi culty rating.

Melee - Attack any adjacent target.Diagonals are in range, regardless of movement method.

Ranged - Attack a target up to thedlisted squares away. Targets fi rst inline of sight. Unlimited ammo.

Burst - Attack every adjacent tenemy at once, allies are immune. Diagonals are in range.

Drain - Range attack one target,heal another using damage dealt. Can attack/heal self, allies, enemies.

Grenade - Create a ranged burst attack that’s centered up to thelisted squares away. It damagesenemies and allies, including the center square. The number insidethe icon tells you how far from thecenter is hit by the attack.

1



Player Character Molds (Ctd)

1

2

1

Melee - Attack any adjacent target.Diagonals are in range, regardless of movement method.

Ranged - Attack a target up to thedlisted squares away. Targets fi rst inline of sight. Unlimited ammo.

Burst - Attack every adjacenttenemy at once, allies are immune.Diagonals are in range.

Drain - Range attack one target,heal another using damage dealt. Can attack/heal self, allies, enemies.

Grenade - Create a ranged burst attack that’s centered up to thelisted squares away. It damagesenemies and allies, including the center square. The number insidethe icon tells you how far from thecenter is hit by the attack.

1



Enemy Character Molds

Eff ectiveness 1 2 3+

Short, Solo C+ C D+

Short, Team A C+ C

Long, Solo A C+ C

Long, Team A++ A A


Short, Solo A B C+

Short, Team A++ A+ A

Long, Solo C D+ D+

Long, Team A C+ C


Short, Solo C+ A C+

Short, Team A A C+

Long, Solo C+ A C+

Long, Team C+ A C+


Short, Solo A A C+

Short, Team A+ A+ A

Long, Solo C C D+

Long, Team A B C


Short, Solo B A C+

Short, Team A A B

Long, Solo B B C

Long, Team B B C


Short, Solo C A C+

Short, Team C A C+

Long, Solo C A C+

Long, Team C A C+

Endurance:3.4Threat:54Diffi culty:Common (16)

Health:32Armor:3Speed:6

Gladiator



Ranger



Blaster



Brawler



Lancer



Speeder

1

Primary

Secondary

Special

Teamwork

Primary

Secondary

Special

Teamwork

Primary

Secondary

Special

Teamwork

Primary

Secondary

Special

Teamwork

Primary

Secondary

Special

Teamwork

Primary

Secondary

Special

Teamwork



Enemy Character Molds (Ctd)


Short, Solo A A A

Short, Team A++ A++ A

Long, Solo D+ C D+

Long, Team C C D+


Short, Solo A A B

Short, Team A++ A++ A+

Long, Solo D+ D+ D

Long, Team C D+ D+


Short, Solo A A B

Short, Team A++ A++ A

Long, Solo D D+ D

Long, Team B C+ C


Short, Solo A B C+

Short, Team A B C+

Long, Solo A A C+

Long, Team A A C+


Short, Solo D+ B C

Short, Team A A C+

Long, Solo C A B

Long, Team C A B


Short, Solo C+ B C+

Short, Team C+ B C+

Long, Solo C+ A B

Long, Team C+ A B

Endurance:2.5Threat:27Diffi culty:Weak (11)


Viper



Viper

Endurance:6.4Threat:160Diffi culty:Mighty (25)


Viper

Endurance:2.6Threat:27Diffi culty:Weak (10)


Pelter



Pelter

Endurance:6.5Threat:182Diffi culty:Mighty (28)


Pelter

1

1

1

Primary

Secondary

Special

Teamwork

Primary

Secondary

Special

Teamwork

Primary

Secondary

Special

Teamwork

Primary

Secondary

Special

Teamwork

Primary

Secondary

Special

Teamwork

Primary

Secondary

Special

Teamwork

advanced guidebook - v3 - patreon - 4chan · familiar with tabletop role playing games and want...

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