Each BattleSauce Age will have its unique characters or species called Proteins.
The first thing you should do is download and print the free BattleSauce Protein Pack. Or pop it open and write your own if you don’t have a printer. Go ahead. We’ll wait. Got it? Good. Let’s take a look and get it filled out. Maybe use a pencil for this part. Or print a couple. Just saying.
TIP: Print our Protein Pack, laminate it, and fill it out with a dry-erase pen. You’ll be able to reset Armor, Grit, Gear, Weapons, and the like without having to erase holes in your beautiful, painstakingly detailed Protein Pack.
BattleSauce-Blank-Protein-Pack.pdf
As you may have guessed, this is the name of your character and how all other players, including the SauceBoss, should address you.
Proteins refer to the species or race of any character. While humans are relatively common in BattleSauce, every Age will have its own defining Proteins.
Evos are your Protein’s natural abilities. Each BattleSauce Age will have detailed information about their Protein’s Evos and how to use them. Characters gain Evos and Trade Skills as they intake Calories. Some Evos will need to be created by the player.
Trades are occupations or areas of “study” available to a character within a given Age. Trades are characterized by specialized skills learned through discipline and extensive training, whether by schooling, apprenticeship, or some other rigorous program. These skills are called Trade Skills and are chosen by the player from a list of ten. Characters will progress through their Trade - from Apprentice, Novice, Skilled, Expert, and Master - gaining a new Trade Skill as their Calorie count increases. See Calories on the next page.
A new character begins as an Apprentice, choosing one Trade Skill from the Trade's available ten Trade Skills. When a character gains 200 Calories, they become a Novice and choose a second Trade Skill. After obtaining 300 more Calories, the character becomes Skilled for a total of 500 and may select a third Trade Skill until becoming a Master in their Trade.
After a player has Mastered a Trade, they may continue to learn the remaining Trade Skills, ranking them beyond Master and into Categories. Categories advance in number from Category 6 and end at Category X or 10 (see the following page).
While Ages will offer Trades that are significant to them, the SauceBoss and players are encouraged to expand their Age with as many new exciting Trades that seem applicable.
The sheer willpower and life force that keeps your character going. Or how many points your character can lose before dire consequences. Most characters can take several hits before they start feeling the effect of the blows. When a player reaches ten remaining GP (Grit points, stay with me here), apply -1 to all skills and abilities. At five remaining GPs, apply -2. If your Grit reaches zero, your character dies.
Some Proteins handle depleting Grit differently than others, so read your Protein Pack closely. And, of course, there are all kinds of things that modify Armor and Grit - you only have to find them. Average humans would have a Grit between 60-80. Characters should adjust in regards to the Protein being played.
Calories determine when a character reaches a new Trade, Category, and Evolutionary Trait. Characters acquire Calories by defeating enemies - the primary way to advance in Categories - individual Ages may contain other methods. Every player starts with zero Calories. After defeating an enemy, use the cards from their final hand to gain Calories: red-suited card values contribute Calories to a character’s Evos, while black-suited card values add Calories to the Trade Skills. If you defeat the enemy using dice instead of cards, use the required Difficulty Number as the Caloric intake, dividing the Calories between Evos and Trade Skills.
Evo + Trade Ranks
Apprentice - 0 - 100 Calories
Novice - 200 Calories
Skilled - 500 Calories
Expert - 900 Calories
Master - 1400 Calories
Category 6 - 2000 Calories
Category 7 - 2700 Calories
Category 8 - 3500 Calories
Category 9 - 4400 Calories
Category X - 5400 Calories
Protects your character from taking any real damage, like dying. Unless targeted explicitly against an unarmored location (Aiming). All Damage depletes the Armor score first. Once the Armor is zero, the damage is inflicted against the character’s Grit. Armor variety will vary based on the Age. Typically, beginning players start with an Armor that is more befitting their lack of Pieces, which is cheaper and less protection, around 50 - 75 points. Armor does not replenish. The SauceBoss is encouraged to determine a fee scale for Armor (and Iron + Cutlery) that best fits their Age. Of course, some Proteins will have natural Armor.
After a character has Mastered a single Trade AND gained five Evos, they can become even more powerful and more skilled: so powerful they become ranked as threat level Categories. Categories start at six and progress through Category X or ten. Categories are achieved in the same way as Trade Skills and Evolutionary Traits: by counting Calories. A character must Master a Trade and have evolved five times (gained five Evos) before achieving Category 6. Trade rank and Evo numbers must be equal to gain a new Category. For example, when a character achieves a Category X threat level, they will have ALL ten of their Protein’s Evos AND all ten Trade Skills from any single Trade.
Unlike Trade Skills, Street Skills are picked up and learned through necessity rather than training, and they are improved upon as characters continue to perform them in-game successfully. Street Skills include lock picking, foraging, sneaking, charming other characters, forging, tracking, cooking, first aid, and so on - when not included in your Trade Skills.
When a character successfully performs any new skill with a Difficulty of 7 or higher, write it on a Street Skill line. After five successful attempts at this skill, add a +1 to it. Continue to add +1 each time the skill is performed successfully - with a Difficulty of 7 or more - five times - indicating that your character is learning! Maxes out at +5.
When creating a new character, write ANY three Street Skills you want your character to know and give them a +1.
The following three attributes share two standard rules:
A “+” increases your chances of success while a “-” decreases your chances, and weapons, charms, curses, potions, items, Armor, clothing, food, and character abilities can modify each.
Modifies your fighting abilities. Use Sting when fighting any opponent. Most new characters won’t have modifiers for Sting but may be acquired through Evos, Trades, and other means.
Used for dodging attacks. Players use Float modifiers to avoid traps, distance attacks, or when they don’t want to hurt an attacker (a friend under a curse, etc.). Most new characters won’t have modifiers for Sting but may be acquired through Evos, Trades, and other means.
Movement is how fast your character is at covering ground. Or how slow. A plus (+) will increase the squares a character can move on a BattleMap and aid against Difficulty roles involving covering ground. Conversely, a minus (-) will reduce the number of squares a character can move and make a Difficulty roll more, well, difficult.
Like Sub-Zero’s chiropractic clinic, all characters have a signature finishing move. This move is primarily a flashy way of finishing off your opponent. But here’s the best part: It’s your character, so you decide what the move is and what it does. We just tell you how to pull it off.
In order to perform your SCFM there are two prerequisites:
Opponent must be under 50% of their Grit, and the
Character has more Grit than their opponent.
Then it’s all up to the die - Roll 1D6:
Apprentice characters need to roll a 1 to pull off the SCFM
Novice characters need to roll a 1 or a 2
Skilled characters need to roll a 1, 2 or 3
Expert (you see the pattern here, right?) roll a 1-4
Master needs to roll any number except a 6
Rolling a 6 at any skill means your extraordinary move didn’t work.
If your character misses their SCFM, they are left wide open, providing the enemy with a single, uncontested attack. Sorry. #notsorry
Want to try your SCFM even though you don’t meet the prerequisites? Go for it. BUT...for each prerequisite you don’t meet, +1 to your roll.
In case it wasn’t obvious, the SCFM is intended to be slightly ridiculous, completely over-the-top, and full of cartoon violence. So have fun with it and wreak some mayhem on your enemies!
Example SCFM: CAN-OPENING, CLAW CRUSHER ATTACK
As a member of the elite Lobster Force, Red’s SCFM features his giant right arm claw of the law. First, he hoists his opponent high in the air with his bone fist and then...pops their noggin clean off with his giant claw - launching the headstrong missile for miles. But wait, there’s more! Red crushes the remainder of his foe accordion style - then drop-kicks it in the opposite direction.
During gameplay, a character can undergo positive or negative (or both!) changes called alterations. There are three types of alterations.
Nutritional: Changes that occur through repeated successes or failures at a specific task or event. This may include situations like losing a battle to the same type of creature, finding treasure, etc.
Infliction: Diseases/ailments or any change a character has had forced on them.
Mutation: Changes in the character related to exposure to surrounding enchantments.
Nutritional Info are stats or statistics that grow and develop your character - but they’re out of your control. As you play BattleSauce, your character will experience all kinds of unexpected events due to dice rolls, cards drawn, dubious SauceBosses, etc. - things like having a curse placed on them, drawing a BattleSauce, having the weird luck of encountering the same type of monster, accumulating treasure, and even dying. When these experiences happen repeatedly, your character changes, just as an actual person will grow and learn from their experiences.
When the same occurrence happens to a character more than once, write it down in your notes. After that same occurrence happens five times, your character permanently changes. Add or subtract modifiers to any character attributes that make sense for that particular experience:
Nutrition Example
Your character has died five times from werewolf attacks - from then on, your character will have a -1 on attacks when dealing with werewolves. Or perhaps your character has defeated werewolves five times and now is adept at slaying them, earning a +1.
Inflictions are significant transformations that can happen to a character, often bringing about dramatic changes. Examples of Inflictions include Vampirism, WereThing, Zombieism, Madness, Possession, Parasitic Control, or the addition of unexpected modifications like cybernetics, surgery, or cross-species appendage grafting. The possibilities are endless! While these transformations may be reversible, they should be considered impactful. Most starting characters won’t have an Infliction unless specified by the Protein or as part of a unique backstory, such as vampirism or lycanthropy.
Mutation is a unique mechanic in BattleSauce. It is included to add some unpredictability and excitement to the game. Just like Magic, Mutation can be used or disregarded in your gameplay.
Mutations can occur in various ways. For example, when a character gains a new Evo or encounters elements that can cause mutations, such as radiation exposure, arcane and enchanted items, or any other exposure that could lead to such a condition. In addition, some enchanted or magic items might require rolling for a mutation after a specified number of uses, depending on their potency. To determine a mutation, the player rolls a D20. If they roll a one, it signals a mutation.
Mutant variations can be standardized by using the mutant pool. For example, you can randomly choose a mutation or draw a card with a value corresponding to the mutation of the same number. You are also encouraged to create your own mutations and their effects using our list as a guide and inspiration.
Although some weapons remain consistent, the choice of weapons depends on the Age. When a character successfully attacks, they may roll dice, pull cards, or inflict damage immediately. Each weapon has a unique damage. Some weapons have special attributes, while others simply cause destruction. New characters start with basic weapons and can upgrade to better, more powerful weapons by finding, earning, buying, stealing, trading, or completing quests.
Gear is any miscellaneous equipment a character may want to bring, and each Age will have its selection of Gear. Most Gear serves to modify an action a character may wish to or most likely need to achieve. Rope can help a character climb; a charm may protect a character from a specific spell or curse; matches can help spark a fire, etc. Characters should be limited in what they can carry - based on the Protein and common sense. Gear can also hinder a character’s movement if the piece is too bulky or is an item to carry more Gear, like a backpack.
Pieces (PCS) is the universal term for money in BattleSauce - it comes and goes pretty quickly, and all beginning characters should start with 150pcs. Pieces are used to buy weapons and Armor, hire mercenaries, learn information, gather supplies, and so on.
To keep things simple and avoid the endless drudge of conversions, there are no denominations, simply Pieces.
PS: We love to use clay poker chips to represent Pieces. They have a great feel and are fun to collect as you play BattleSauce.