Saturday, August 17, 2024

Babidra! Dinosaur Racing (and Gambling) for Heroes of Cerulea

 

Tyrannomon, as seen in
Bandai's Digimon Analyzer


Howdy, Farmhands.

    During the Kickstarter campaign of my current ttrpg fixation, Heroes of Cerulea, one of the met stretch goals was for the creation of a proper Third Party License for others to make and sell content compatible with the game. At the time, reading through the unlocked content and my pledge already safely invested, a single thought came unbidden to me and branded it's words into my soul; "I must add Chocobos." Years later, and with the final product in hand, I seek to fulfill this glorious purpose.

    There is a number of problems I had to address first, the largest being "how can I shave off the fewest serial numbers without making Square-Enix mad at me," so I sat down to determine what EXACTLY I wanted to include for an experience similar to the one in classic Final Fantasy. Using them as Mounts for easier travel was more or less out. Heroes of Cerulea has no codified rules for Overland Travel.  What I had left was "funny bipedal bird fellow" with "Racing?" underlined multiple times in my notebook. But Heroes of Cerula already has the playable Avian Kin, so even the BIRD part of this formula wasn't going to work.

    After some tinkering and scrolling pinterest for inspiration, I've settled on combining a Racing minigame with a separate inventory space for storing Items, in the form of a bunch of bumbling little Dino-guys, The Babidra! I hope you like them!

Until Next time,

    Farmer Gadda


Disclaimer:

    This is an independent production, unaffiliated with Lucas Falk and Blackfisk Publishing, published through the Heroes of Cerulea Third Party License. Heroes of Cerulea is copyright Lucas Falk and Blackfisk Publishing.

look at these little GOOBERS
Dino Character Sprites by @ArksDigital


BABIDRA

    Descendants of the great dragons that hatched at the beginning of the world. Millennia has changed them from gigantic beasts of terror into their current form of short, stumpy armed bird brains. These friendly, though cowardly, reptiles can be found across Cereulea acting as companions or work animals depending on the region's need.

    Freshly Hatched Babidra, after imprinting on a Party, can carry 1 Item for the group. Babidra aren't capable of manipulating Items, nor will it partake in any Combat. Lucky for them, Monsters completely ignore Babidra, for reasons that are entirely unclear. It will follow it's Party wherever it goes, but refuses to enter Dungeons. It will bravely wait at the entrance for their Party to defeat the Boss inside, or Game Over and respawn next to them.

Babidra Life Stages

     Babidra who have been raised well can grow into a myriad of powerful forms and seem to undergo growth spurts after completing some arbitrary goal in their life. With each advancement to a new life stage, the Babidra's carrying Capacity can be upgraded to a grand total of 4 Slots, though if it reaches adulthood, it can also act as a beast of burden, pulling a Cart with its own storage space.
 
Digiegg model found Here

  • EGG: It's an Egg. When it hatches, roll on the tables below to generate its appearance.

  • BEGINNER : A weak and inexperienced little Babidra. Beginner Babidra don't fully know how to use their bodies efficiently, swinging their arms haphazardly while they try to keep from tripping over their own two feet. They have a roundness to them that makes them cute while fumbling about, and it's hard to be upset when they make mistakes. They are about the size of an Elf Toddler.
    Inventory Slot: 1

  • NOVICE : A more energetic Babidra, having gained confidence from its first victory. Novice Stage Babidra retain their stumpy forms, but begin to lean into their forward momentum for better aerodynamics. Their size increases to that of a large dog, or tall Seedling.
    Inventory Slot: 2

  • ATHLETE : A Babidra that has tasted success and desires more. Athlete Babidra become lankier, with longer tails and stronger legs, gaining enough height to match an adult Elf. Their stance begins to reflect the bestial nature of their heritage.
    Inventory Slot: 3
    Capable of Equipping [LARGE CART]

  • OLYMPIAN : A fully grown Babidra. Now towering over the average Elf by at least a head, the Babidra looks and moves like the predator it's ancestors once were. Fully capable of carrying both Cerulean party members and pulling wheeled vehicles, it is a formidable and useful member of any group. Sadly, despite its size and intimidating looks, it's still the same scaredy-cat baby it was when it first hatched.
    Inventory Slot: 4

 This Babidra is (Appearance Table, "Heroes of Cerulea", pg 13) with (Markings Table), (Backspines Table) Backspikes, and a (Snoot Table) Snout.

d4 Marking Backspike Snoot
1 Spots Spiky Narrow
2 Stripes Rounded Square
3 Light Underbelly Frilled Round
4 No Marks Plate Horned


RUN, LITTLE GUYS, RUN!
Dino Family (Expansion) by DemChing

DRACORACING

    The most common method of guiding a Babidra through it's life stages is the formation of The DracoRace, a stadium that hosts racing tournaments for Babidra to compete in. (And Ceruleans to bet on.) Each DracoRace has it's own stipulations for entering, but all play out the same.

    Each DracoRace consists of 5 DracoRacers, 4 Rivals and the Party's Babidra. Number the Rivals 1–4 based on their starting position. There are 4 Laps, during which the Party's Babidra must finish in First Place to advance to the next Dracorace. Each Lap, Players take turns rolling a minimum of 4d4 and comparing the number of MATCHING results to the Results table. Dracosnacks, purchasable at the Stadium before a Dracorace, can be spent to entice your Babidra to move faster, adding 1d4 to the pool per Dracosnack spent, before the pool is rolled.

  •     No Matches = The Babidra falls behind 1 position
  •     2 Matching = The Babidra retains its position
  •     3 Matching = The Babidra moves ahead a position
  •     4 Matching - The Babidra moves ahead 2 positions

    After the Party's Babidra's position is resolved, compare the Lowest value on the Dice Rolled and move that Rival back a Position. Compare the Highest value on the Dice Rolled and move that Rival forward a position. 

(What happens if the Party's Babidra moved from 2nd into 1st with 4 Matching, and the Rival in 2nd moves forward? Assume that the "two spaces" your Babidra moved prevents its Rival from surpassing it.)

List of DracoRaces

  •     Beginner's Jog
    req. 5 Gem Entry
    Starting Position: 1st
  •     Novice's Sprint
    req. 10 Gem Entry
    Unlocks after 1/3rd Trinity Shards collected
    Starting Position: 2nd
  •     Athlete's Dash
    req. 20 Gem Entry
    Unlocks after 2/3rd Trinity Shards collected
    Starting Position: 3rd
  •     Olympian's Marathon
    req. 50 Gem Entry
    Unlocks after acquiring all pieces of the Trinity
    Starting Position: 4th

Olympian Status

    After completing all 4 DracoRaces, you are known as an Olympian, able to participate in any race as a Rival for novice Babidra. You may race to your heart's content, placing down any Gem amount you wish as your entry fee and receiving a price of Gems equal to your fee multiplied by your placing. To determine your starting position for these races, simply roll a d4.

  •     1st Place: x3
  •     2nd Place: x2
  •     3rd Place: x1
  •     4th or Last: No Prize
 

And Just One More Thing...

     It wouldn't do for me to dangle this idea in front of you and then not tell you where to go to encounter it! Should I ever reconfigure these blogs into something prettier for itch, I'll expand the below entry to include the Racing Minigame mechanics listed above. Have a new Overworld Area, on the house!

▸DRACORACE STADIUM (H10)

    ▸A Colosseum, built of Sandstone
    ▸A dusty racetrack in its center
    ▸A wooden stall set up by the entry

     THE BABIDRA-TTENDANT
       ▸Middle aged Geon Salesman
            ▪Handles Entry Fees for the DracoRaces
            ▪Offers DracoSnacks for 10 Gems Each
           
▪Has a Babidra Egg that is about to hatch


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