The Road to Bum-bo ep.5
Much like The Binding of isaacs original 4 characters, the main 4 characters in Bum-bo fit into general classic fantasy archetypes ( and the 4 main suites of the tarot) .
Fighter - Bum-bo the Brave - hits hard and can take a beating.
Wizard - Bum-bo the Weird - a glass cannon who's all about strategy
Cleric - Bum-bo the Stout - a defense driven chonker who loves to eat.
Theif - Bum-bo the Nimble - a quick stabby dude who loves to steal.
You start the game as Bum-bo the Brave and as you progress you unlock the rest,
There are of course a few more... but i'm not telling!
Today ill focus on Bum-bo The Brave! our little ragtag fighter/berzerker type who loves to bash!
The Brave starts with 2 spells:
- Bum-bo Smash: a high damage (3) attack spell that costs 4 bones (white) mana to use. it hits the closest enemy in a column.
- Snow Globe: a puzzle spell that rerolls the whole puzzle board costing 2 Tooth (black) mana.
the mana types are specific for each character, Bum-bo the brave wants to hit and hit hard so all his starting mana types revolve around damage dealing puzzle pieces and his puzzle spell is focused on chaotic chance, when in doubt punch the board and see what happens!
The Brave's stats:
Hearts: 3 ( the highest of the starting characters )
Spell Damage: 3 ( also the highest of all characters )
Moves: 2
Puzzle damage: 1
Luck: 0
Like all characters Bum-bo the Brave also has a starting passive ability that makes him unique, his Bag of Last Gasp!
Bag of Last Gasp : whenever Bum-bo reaches 2 hearts, he gains +1 spell and puzzle Damage. whenever Bum-bo reaches 1 heart he gains +2 spell and puzzle damage. so in a lot of ways The Brave acts kind of like an Eve character who enjoys taking a beating and becomes stronger the lower their HP. hes a very fun and chaotic risk reward character that makes short work of bosses and high HP enemies, but can be easily overwhelmed by small mobs at low hp.. so dont play too risky!
this Friday ill be showing off a full play session of chapter 1 start to finish as Bum-bo the Brave, with commentary! and next monday ill be spoiling the deets of my personal favorite character Bum-bo the Weird!! woooooo!
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Bonus QA (common questions gathered from twitter):
Q: Do different characters have different item/spell pools like in dicey dungeons and slay the spire?
A: No, all the items we have in work well with each character. the characters are designed to play differently at their core so forcing pools felt a lot less fun than a more full random isaac like experience. we currently have well over 100 spells and 100 trinkets (passive effects) and possibly more once we release.. making each play session very different even if you use the same character.
Q: How is replayability? are there multiple unlocks and or endings? or is it a one shot?
A: There are currently 4+ characters you unlock by finishing the game with each of them, you can also unlock their starting items as well as 10 more locked items and other things the more you play and the better you do. think of this as on the scale of the original flash version of isaac in terms of replay unlocks. there are multiple endings for sure.
Q: how many floors are there and will you be doing alt floors?
A: there are only a few floors in bum-bo but i cant detail out how many or it will spoil stuff. there wont be any alt paths, but if you guys dig it i dont see why we couldnt add stuff like that in a dlc if it makes sense to the design.
XOXO
-Edmund
Fighter - Bum-bo the Brave - hits hard and can take a beating.
Wizard - Bum-bo the Weird - a glass cannon who's all about strategy
Cleric - Bum-bo the Stout - a defense driven chonker who loves to eat.
Theif - Bum-bo the Nimble - a quick stabby dude who loves to steal.
You start the game as Bum-bo the Brave and as you progress you unlock the rest,
There are of course a few more... but i'm not telling!
Today ill focus on Bum-bo The Brave! our little ragtag fighter/berzerker type who loves to bash!
The Brave starts with 2 spells:
- Bum-bo Smash: a high damage (3) attack spell that costs 4 bones (white) mana to use. it hits the closest enemy in a column.
- Snow Globe: a puzzle spell that rerolls the whole puzzle board costing 2 Tooth (black) mana.
the mana types are specific for each character, Bum-bo the brave wants to hit and hit hard so all his starting mana types revolve around damage dealing puzzle pieces and his puzzle spell is focused on chaotic chance, when in doubt punch the board and see what happens!
The Brave's stats:
Hearts: 3 ( the highest of the starting characters )
Spell Damage: 3 ( also the highest of all characters )
Moves: 2
Puzzle damage: 1
Luck: 0
Like all characters Bum-bo the Brave also has a starting passive ability that makes him unique, his Bag of Last Gasp!
Bag of Last Gasp : whenever Bum-bo reaches 2 hearts, he gains +1 spell and puzzle Damage. whenever Bum-bo reaches 1 heart he gains +2 spell and puzzle damage. so in a lot of ways The Brave acts kind of like an Eve character who enjoys taking a beating and becomes stronger the lower their HP. hes a very fun and chaotic risk reward character that makes short work of bosses and high HP enemies, but can be easily overwhelmed by small mobs at low hp.. so dont play too risky!
this Friday ill be showing off a full play session of chapter 1 start to finish as Bum-bo the Brave, with commentary! and next monday ill be spoiling the deets of my personal favorite character Bum-bo the Weird!! woooooo!
-------------
Bonus QA (common questions gathered from twitter):
Q: Do different characters have different item/spell pools like in dicey dungeons and slay the spire?
A: No, all the items we have in work well with each character. the characters are designed to play differently at their core so forcing pools felt a lot less fun than a more full random isaac like experience. we currently have well over 100 spells and 100 trinkets (passive effects) and possibly more once we release.. making each play session very different even if you use the same character.
Q: How is replayability? are there multiple unlocks and or endings? or is it a one shot?
A: There are currently 4+ characters you unlock by finishing the game with each of them, you can also unlock their starting items as well as 10 more locked items and other things the more you play and the better you do. think of this as on the scale of the original flash version of isaac in terms of replay unlocks. there are multiple endings for sure.
Q: how many floors are there and will you be doing alt floors?
A: there are only a few floors in bum-bo but i cant detail out how many or it will spoil stuff. there wont be any alt paths, but if you guys dig it i dont see why we couldnt add stuff like that in a dlc if it makes sense to the design.
XOXO
-Edmund