BloodBowl Living Rulebook
BloodBowl Living Rulebook
BloodBowl Living Rulebook
elcome to the Living Handbook. Why is it living? If it’s alive how much will it cost to feed? I hear you
W ask. No, it’s not alive! By ‘living’ I mean in constant flux and always adapting. With the rules review
once a year the BB rules will most likely be tweaked every November. This PDF is an excellent way of
keeping all these rule changes in one nicely formatted document. I’ve even highlighted the rules changes in
blue for ease of reference. I’ve tried to keep the living rulebook as clear and as type-free as possible but
typos have a habit of always creeping in (they’re evil critters!) so if you spot one or feel the rules are
unclear or maybe even incorrect then contact me at Fanatic@games-workshop.co.uk I can then correct the
mistake and update the PDF. As we’ll be using this file to create the new printed handbook later on this
year, the less mistakes in the document, the better. Enjoy!
Andy
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION .............................. 3 STAR PLAYERS ................................ 18 STAR PLAYER ROLLS ........................ 40
GAME COMPONENTS .................... 3 HANDING OFF THE BALL .............. 19 AGEING .............................................. 41
SETTING UP THE GAME ................ 7 THE WEATHER ................................ 19 AGEING RESULTS TABLE.................. 41
THE KICK-OFF .................................. 7 INTERCEPTIONS AND FUMBLES .. 20 TEAM RATINGS .................................. 41
TREASURY.......................................... 41
THE SEQUENCE OF PLAY ............ 8 THE KICK-OFF TABLE .................... 21 MATCH RECORDS.............................. 41
MOVING THE TURN MARKER .......... 8 ASSISTING A BLOCK ...................... 22
PLAYER ACTIONS ............................ 8 PLAYING LEAGUE MATCHES ........ 42
THROWING TEAM-MATES ............ 23 HANDICAP ROLL TABLE .................... 43
TURNOVERS .................................... 8
GOING FOR IT! ................................ 24 HANDICAP TABLE .............................. 43
MOVEMENT .................................... 9
TACKLE ZONES .................................. 9 FOULS, OR KICKING PLAYERS THAT POST MATCH SEQUENCE ................ 44
ARE DOWN ...................................... 24 MATCH WINNINGS TABLE ................ 44
PICKING UP THE BALL .................... 9
BIG GUYS ........................................ 25 FAN FACTOR TABLE .......................... 45
BLOCKS .......................................... 10 CONCEDING ...................................... 45
BLITZ MOVES .................................... 10 BIG GUY ALLIES ................................ 25
STRENGTH ........................................ 10 RACIAL CHARACTERISTICS & ALLIED TOURNAMENTS .............................. 46
TEAMS ................................................ 25 RUNNING A TOURNAMENT .............. 46
KNOCK DOWNS & INJURIES ........ 12 THE GLITTERING PRIZES ................ 47
INJURIES ............................................ 12 BIG GUY PLAYER LIST ...................... 25
RACIAL CHARACTERISTIC THE SPIKE! MAGAZINE TROPHY .... 48
SUBSTITUTES .................................. 12
DESCRIPTIONS .................................. 26 THE DUNGEON BOWL ...................... 48
THE INJURY TABLES ........................ 12
BIG GUYS & STAR PLAYER POINTS 26 THE CHAOS CUP .............................. 48
THROWING THE FOOTBALL .......... 13 CHAOS CUP WINNINGS TABLE ........ 48
THROWING ........................................ 13 WIZARDS ........................................ 25
SPECIAL WIZARDS ............................ 27 THE BLOOD BOWL ............................ 49
CATCHING THE FOOTBALL .............. 14 OTHER TOURNAMENTS.................... 49
BOUNCING BALLS ............................ 14 APOTHECARIES ................................ 28
THROW-INS ...................................... 14 SECRET WEAPONS ........................ 29 THE TEAMS ...................................... 50
TURNOVERS .................................... 14 BALL & CHAIN .................................... 29 AMAZON TEAMS ................................ 50
BOMB .................................................. 30 CHAOS DWARF TEAMS .................... 50
RE-ROLLS ........................................ 15 CHAOS TEAMS .................................. 50
TEAM RE-ROLLS .............................. 15 CHAINSAW .......................................... 31
CHAOS DWARF BLUNDERBUSS ...... 31 DARK ELF TEAMS .............................. 51
PLAYER RE-ROLLS .......................... 15 DWARF TEAMS .................................. 51
SKILLS ................................................ 15 DWARF DEATH ROLLER.................... 32
POISONED DAGGER ........................ 32 GOBLIN TEAMS .................................. 51
WINNING THE MATCH .................... 16 HAFLING TEAMS ................................ 52
SCORING TOUCHDOWNS ................ 16 GOBLIN POGO STICK ........................ 33
SKILLS & TRAITS ............................ 34 HIGH ELF TEAMS .............................. 52
RESTARTING THE MATCH .............. 16 HUMAN TEAMS .................................. 52
SCORING IN THE OPPONENT’S SKILL & TRAIT DESCRIPTIONS ........ 34
SKILL & TRAIT CATEGORIES ............ 37 LIZARDMEN TEAMS .......................... 53
TURN .................................................. 16 NORSE TEAMS .................................. 53
CONCEDING THE MATCH ................ 16 BLOOD BOWL LEAGUES ................ 38 ORC TEAMS........................................ 53
EXTRA RULES ................................ 17 STARTING THE LEAGUE .................. 38 SKAVEN TEAMS ................................ 54
TEAM ROSTER .................................. 38
CREATING A BLOOD BOWL TEAM 17 UNDEAD TEAMS ................................ 54
INJURIES ............................................ 39 WOOD ELF TEAMS ............................ 54
TEAM ROSTER SHEETS .................. 17
STAR PLAYER POINTS ...................... 39
BUYING PLAYERS ............................ 17
STAR PLAYERS & STAR PLAYER
STAR PLAYER LISTS ...................... 55
TEAM RE-ROLLS & FAN FACTORS 17 POINTS................................................ 40 PLAYER SKILL AND TRAIT LIST...... 56
COACHING STAFF ............................ 17 STAR PLAYER POINTS TABLE .......... 40
bloodbowl.com
www.b
★ BLOOD BOWL
INTRODUCTION
“Good evening sports fans and welcome to the Blood
Bowl for tonight’s contest. You join a capacity crowd,
packed with members from every race from across the
Known World, all howling like banshees in anticipation of
tonight's game. Oh, and yes, there are some
banshees... Well, kick-off is in about twenty minutes’
time, so we've just got time to recap on the rules of the
game before battle starts. Your match commentator for
tonight is Jim Johnson. Evening, Jim!”
“Thank you, Bob! Well, good evening, and boy, are
you folks in for a great night of top-class sporting
entertainment! First of all, though, for those of you at
home who are unfamiliar with the rules, here's how the
game is played.”
“As you know, Blood Bowl is an epic conflict between
two teams of heavily-armed and quite insane warriors.
Players pass, throw or run with the ball, attempting to get
it to the other end of the field, the End Zone. Of course,
the other team must try and stop them, and recover the
ball for their side. If a team gets the ball over the line into
the opponent’s End Zone it's called a touchdown; the
team that scores the most touchdowns by the end of the
match wins the game, and are declared Blood Bowl
Champions! How do they do it? It's like this...”
COMPONENTS
The Blood Bowl box contains the following components
(Note: as this handbook is available separately and as a free PDF the component section is only relevant if you have purchased
the boxed game).
1 Handbook Counters:
1 Painting Guide 16 Re-roll counters
2 Reference sheets 2 Score counters
1 Team roster pad 2 Turn counters
16 Randomiser Re-roll counters
counters
1 Blood Bowl field
1 Kick-Off coin
2 Dugouts
TURN
4 Star Player cards
2 Team cards
★ The Coaches: Don’t look in the box for these, ★ Throw-in Template: In Blood Bowl the ball is thrown
because there aren’t any – you and your opponent are back on to the field by the enthusiastic crowd if it ever
the coaches! To avoid confusion with the teams’ players goes out of bounds. The Throw-in template is used to
(the plastic playing pieces), we will refer to you and the determine where the ball ends up when it is thrown back
other real-life players as the teams’ coaches. All in. To use the Throw-in template, position the square
references to players are to the Blood Bowl pieces. marked with the football over the last square the ball
crossed before going off, with the centre arrow (the one
★ Playing Field: This is the field on which the game of marked 3-4) pointing towards the opposite sideline. Roll
Blood Bowl takes place. It’s currently big and green (a one six-sided dice. The result will show the direction the
bit like an Orc) but don’t worry – it’ll soon be flowing red! ball travels in. Then simply roll two dice to see how many
It is divided into squares to regulate movement and squares the ball will travel in that direction, counting from
combat; each square can hold only one Blood Bowl the square marked with the ball.
player at a time.
The areas at either end of the field are called the End
Zones. If a team gets the ball into their opponent’s End
Zone they score a touchdown. These are good things to
score, as the team with the most touchdowns wins the
match and can then dance around a lot!
In the centre of the field is the half-way line, and running
along the sides of the field are the lines which show the
boundaries of the wide zones. The rows of squares on
either side of the half-way line and between the two wide
zones (14 squares in all) are known as the line of
scrimmage. The different areas of the field are shown on
the diagram below.
WIDE ZONE
LINE
OF SCRIMMAGE
★ Playing Pieces: The plastic playing pieces Black Orc Blockers are very strong and wear extra
represent the 12 players from each team’s squad, of armour to protect themselves in the powerful head-to-
whom eleven may be on the field at any one time. They head blocks that are their speciality. However, they are
should be carefully removed from the sprue, and then not all that fast, and against an agile opponent with
slotted into the plastic slotta-bases. There are four room to dodge they almost always come off second
different types of player in Blood Bowl: Blitzers, best. Black Orcs are a special sort of player unique to
Catchers, Throwers and Linemen. Different races’ the Orc team.
teams contain different combinations of players. An
Orc team, for example, has no Catchers.
To get you started, the Blood Bowl box
contains one Orc team and one Human team.
THE ORC TEAM
The Orc team is made up of 2 Blitzers, 2 Black
Orcs, 2 Throwers and 6 Linemen, while the
Human team has 2 Blitzers, 2 Catchers, 2
Throwers and 6 Linemen.
★ Team Card: There are two team cards, one for the ★ Star Player Cards: Like the pad of team rosters, the
Orc team and one for the Human team. The team card four Star Player cards are only used with the optional
lists the team’s fan factor and team re-rolls, and shows rules for Creating Your Own Team. You won’t need them
the characteristics and skills of each of the different for your first couple of games, so put them to one side
types of player in the team: for the time being.
Movement Allowance (abbreviated to MA): This ★ The Football: Possibly the most important
shows the number of squares the player may move in component in the game! There are four plastic footballs
a turn. included with the game, but only one is used at a time.
Strength (ST): A player's Strength represents The ball can be ‘held’ by a player by simply putting it on
how physically powerful he is, and is used to block their base.
opponents.
Agility (AG): The higher a player's agility, the more
likely they are to be able to avoid tackles attempted by
other players, accurately throw the football, and catch a
football that is thrown to them.
Armour Value (AV): This shows the amount of
armour the player is wearing. The higher the number,
the more armour the player has on. Catchers, for
example, wear little or no armour.
Skills: In addition to their characteristics, a player ★ Block Dice & Six-sided Dice: Blood Bowl uses
may have one or more skills, which represent special special Block dice and normal six-sided dice numbered
talents or abilities. For example, all Throwers have the 1 through 6. The special Block dice are used when a
Pass skill to show their extraordinary ability at throwing player attempts to knock another player over (this is
the ball. called ‘blocking’ another player). The six-sided dice are
Rules Summary: On each team card there is also a used for a greater number of purposes, and are usually
short summary of the rules to save you from constantly referred to in the rules as a D6. If the rules say “roll a
flicking through the Handbook. The summary lists all of dice” or “roll a D6”, this simply means roll one six-sided
the vital information you need to know about the players, dice. If the rules say “roll 2D6”, it means roll two dice and
such as the number of squares they can move, the dice add their scores together.
rolls they need to dodge out of a square or pass the ball,
and so on.
End Zone
SLOW MOTION REPLAY
WIDE ZONE LINE OF SCRIMMAGE WIDE ZONE
Move: The player may move a number of squares A coach that suffers a turnover must end his turn
equal to their MA. Players that have been knocked immediately – even if part way through a player’s action.
over may stand up at a cost of 3 squares from their The only exception to this is that armour rolls & injury must
movement. still be made for players that have been knocked over.
★ BLOOD BOWL
MOVEMENT
A player may move a number of squares equal to his
Movement Allowance. Players may move in any
direction or combination of directions, including
diagonally, as long as they do not enter a square that
holds another player (from either team). Players do not
have to use up all of their Movement Allowance in their
turn; they don’t need to move at all if their coach does
not want them to.
AGILITY TABLE
Player’s AG 1 2 3 4 5 6+
TACKLE ZONES
D6 Roll Required 6+ 5+ 4+ 3+ 2+ 1+
A standing player exerts a tackle zone on each of the
eight adjacent squares, as shown in the diagram below. Dodging Modifiers
A player who has been knocked over does not exert any
Making a Dodge roll .................................... +1
tackle zones
Per opposing tackle zone on the square
that the player is dodging to ........................ -1
BLOCKS
Instead of moving, a player may throw a block at an BLITZ MOVES
opposing player who is in an adjacent square. You may
Once per team turn a player on the moving team is
only make a block against a standing player – you may not
allowed to make a special Blitz move. A blitz allows the
block a player who has already been knocked over. A block
player to move and make a block. The block may be
is a very rough tackle, designed to really stop an opponent
made at any point during the move, but costs one
in his tracks! To see if a block works you will need to use
square of movement for the player to make. The player
the special Block dice included with the game.
may carry on moving after the effects of the block have
been worked out if he has any squares of movement left.
STRENGTH
The number of dice that is rolled depends on the
strengths of the two players involved. Obviously, if one
player is stronger than the other they are more likely to
knock down their opponent when they make a block. To
represent this the number of Block dice that is rolled
varies depending on the relative strengths of the
players. However, no matter how many dice are rolled,
only one of them is ever used to decide the result of the
block. The stronger player chooses which of the dice is
used.
EXAMPLE OF
BLOCKING:
Jacob von Altdorf The shaded squares in the diagrams above show the
squares a player can be pushed back into.
Skurf
Limbrender Follow Up Moves: A player who has made a block is
allowed to make a special follow up move and occupy a
square vacated by a player that they have pushed back.
PLAYERS’ STRENGTHS ROLL: This move is free, and the player can ignore enemy
Both players equal strength One block dice tackle zones when he makes the move (ie, he does not
One player stronger Two block dice* have to dodge to enter the square). Players that are
One player more than blitzing are allowed to make follow up moves, and the
twice as strong Three block dice* move does not cost them any of their movement (as they
*The coach of the stronger player picks which block dice is used. paid a square in order to make the block, they have
effectively already paid for the move).
BLOOD BOWL ★
INJURY TABLE
Left: Player on his side, lying face up. Right: Standing player. 2D6 Result
CASUALTY TABLE
1-3 Badly Hurt – Take the player off the field and
place them in the Dugout in the Dead & Injured
Players box. The player must miss the rest of
the game.
THROWING
First of all, the coach must declare where the player is
trying to throw the ball to. The player can throw the If the final modified score equals or beats the required
football to another player in his own team (or another roll, the pass is accurate and lands in the target square.
player in the opposing team if he really wants to), or If the dice roll is less than the required total, then the
simply to an empty square, though obviously the first of pass is not accurate and will scatter. Roll for scatter
these options will be the most useful – and may keep three times, one after the other, to see where the ball
him from being attacked by his own team members! The ends up. Note that each of the scatter rolls is made
ball may only be passed once per turn. separately, so it is possible for the ball to end up back in
Next the coach must measure the range using the the target square (though it will be harder to catch). The
range ruler. It is perfectly acceptable to pre-measure ball can only be caught in the final square where it ends
the range to several players before you declare who up – if it scatters through a player's square, then the
you will throw the ball to. player is not allowed to try and catch the ball.
used.
Jim: That’s right, Bob. Grishnak’s Agility of 3 means that he
must roll a 4 or more to be on target. No modifiers apply to
the dice roll because Grishnak is not in any tackle zones,
and the modifier for a Short Pass is +0. Grishnak’s arm
goes back, and he throws a 6. Look at that ball go, bam!,
right on target!! Now all Axe-Biter has to do is catch it...
Ball
Bob: You said it, Jim. It’s an accurate pass so Urgash gets
a +1 to his dice roll, but there’s Griff Oberwald next to him,
so his chances of catching suffers a -1 modifier, which Urgash Axebiter
means that Urgash needs a 4+ to catch the ball. The crowd
goes quiet as the dice are rolled. A 3 – he’s dropped it, and
the ball bounces away one square. Griff Oberwald
Jim: And if I can just butt in here, Jim, that missed pass
counts as a turnover, which ends the Orcland Raiders’
turn...
AGILITY 1 2 3 4 5 6+ AGILITY 1 2 3 4 5 6+
PASSING ROLL 6+ 5+ 4+ 3+ 2+ 1+ CATCHING ROLL 6+ 5+ 4+ 3+ 2+ 1+
PASSING MODIFIERS CATCHING MODIFIERS
Throwing a Quick Pass +1 Catching an accurate pass +1
Throwing a Short Pass +0 Catching a scattered pass,
Throwing a Long Pass -1 bouncing ball or throw-in +0
Throwing a Long Bomb -2 Per enemy tackle zone
Per enemy tackle zone on the player catching the ball -1
on the player throwing the ball -1
BLOOD BOWL ★
AGILITY TABLE
Player’s AG 1 2 3 4 5 6+
D6 Roll Required 6+ 5+ 4+ 3+ 2+ 1+
Passing Modifiers
Throwing a Quick Pass ............................... +1
Throwing a Short Pass ................................ +0
Throwing a Long Pass ................................ -1
Throwing a Long Bomb ............................... -2
Per opposing tackle zone on the player ...... -1
AGILITY TABLE
Player’s AG 1 2 3 4 5 6+
D6 Roll Required 6+ 5+ 4+ 3+ 2+ 1+ THROW-INS
Catching Modifiers
When a ball scatters off the field it is immediately thrown
back in by the eager spectators! Use the Throw-in
Catching an accurate pass .......................... +1
template to work out where the ball goes, using the last
Catching a missed pass,
square the ball crossed before going off as a starting
bouncing ball or throw-in ............................. +0
point. (See the Components section at the beginning of
Per opposing tackle zone on the player ...... -1
the Handbook for a description of how the Throw-in
template is used.) If the ball is thrown into a square
occupied by a standing player, that player must attempt
to catch the ball as described above. If the ball lands in
an empty square or a square occupied by a prone
player, then it will bounce. If a throw-in results in the ball
going off the field again, it will be thrown-in again,
centred on the last square it was in before it left the field.
BOUNCING BALLS
If the football is not caught, or the square where it lands TURNOVERS
is unoccupied (or is occupied by a prone player) then it If the ball isn’t caught by a player from the moving
will bounce. This is a technical term for the the thing team, a turnover takes place and the moving team’s
jumping about all over the place while the players turn ends. The turnover does not take place until the
stumble about trying to grab it! To find out where the ball ball finally comes to rest. This means that if the ball
bounces to, roll for scatter one more time. If the ball misses the target but is still caught by a player from
bounces into an occupied square, then the player in the the moving team, then a turnover does not take place.
square must attempt to catch it, as described above. If The ball could even scatter out of bounds, be thrown
the player fails to catch the ball, then it will bounce again back in to an empty square, and as long as it was
until it is either caught or bounces into an empty square caught by a player from the moving team then the
or off the field. turnover would be avoided!
★ BLOOD BOWL
RE-ROLLS
Re-rolls are very important in Blood Bowl, as you will Block: The Block skill affects the results rolled
quickly discover. There are two types of re-roll: team with the Block dice, as explained in the
re-rolls and player re-rolls. In either case, a re-roll Blocking rules, above.
allows you to re-roll all the dice that produced any
Catch: A player that has the Catch skill is
one result. So, for example, a re-roll could be used
allowed to re-roll the dice if he fails to
to re-roll a dodge, in which case the single dice
catch the ball. If you are using the Extra
rolled would be thrown again, or a three dice block,
Rules, then the Catch skill also allows the
in which case all three dice would be rolled again,
player to re-roll the dice if he drops a
and so on.
hand-off or fails to make an interception.
VERY IMPORTANT: No matter how many re-rolls you
Dodge: A player with the Dodge skill is allowed to
have, or what type they are, you may never re-roll a
re-roll the dice if he fails to dodge out of
single dice roll more than once.
an opposing player’s tackle zone.
However, the player may only re-roll one
failed Dodge roll per team turn. So, if the
TEAM RE-ROLLS player kept on moving and failed a
Team re-rolls represent how well trained a team is. A second Dodge roll, he could not use the
coach may use a team re-roll to re-roll a dice roll for skill again. Secondly, the Dodge skill
an action carried out by a player in their own team affects the results rolled with the Block
during their own team turn. Team re-rolls may never dice (see the rules for Blocks, above).
be used to re-roll armour rolls or injury rolls. The Pass: A player with the Pass skill is allowed to
result of the new roll must be accepted in place of re-roll the dice if he misses a pass.
the first, even if it is worse. A coach may not use
more than one re-roll counter per team turn, and Sure Hands: A player with the Sure Hands skill is
may not use a re-roll counter to force the opposing allowed to re-roll the dice if he fails to
coach to re-roll a dice roll. pick up the ball. In addition, if you are
using the Extra Rules, an opposing
Each coach must keep track of the number of re-rolls player who has the Strip Ball skill may
they have left on the track provided on their Dugout. not use it against a player who has Sure
Every time a coach uses up a team re-roll he must Hands.
remove a counter from the track. When there are no
markers left the coach may not use any more team re- Many players have skills such as catch, pass, dodge etc.
rolls that half. At half time the two teams get a chance to Unless stated otherwise in the skill description you never
rest and recuperate, and so their team re-rolls are have to use a skill just because the player’s got it, and
restored to their starting level. you can choose to use a skill that affects a dice roll after
rolling the dice. For example, you could say you were
going to use the block skill either before or after making
PLAYER RE-ROLLS a block dice roll.
Some players have skills that allow them to re-roll the Some skills are also used in the opponent’s team turn. In
dice under certain circumstances. For example, a this case you may choose to use the skill after an
thrower has the Pass skill which allows him to re-roll the opposing player carries out an action or moves a
dice if he misses a pass. A coach may use any number square. If both coaches want to use a skill to effect the
of player re-rolls in the same turn, and a single player same action or move, then the coach whose team turn
may use a skill any number of times in the same match. is taking place must use his skill first.
However, as noted above, a single dice roll may not be Note that you can’t ‘go back’ in time and use a skill to
re-rolled more than once. effect an earlier action. For example, if a player was
blitzing, you couldn’t have him throw a block, move a
couple of squares, and then say “actually, I think I’ll use
SKILLS my pro skill to reroll that block” – the skill must be used
Many players are described as having one or more directly before or after the thing it will effect or not at all.
skills. These are special abilities that modify the
player’s performance. Some skills allow dice re-rolls
as described above, while others allow a player to
carry out a special action. A full description of each
skill is given below, and reproduced on the back of the
quick reference sheet. The reference sheet also
includes a host of additional skills that are only used
with the Extra Rules later in this rulebook. You'll need
to refer to the sheet quite a lot during your first few
games – but don't worry, the effects of the skills will
quickly become very familiar.
BLOOD BOWL ★
EXTRA RULES
All of the following extra rules are optional. This and you’ll find that using them provides an even
means that both coaches must agree which extra more exciting and interesting game without slowing
rules (if any) they are going to use before the match down the mayhem and destruction much at all! Give
starts. However, they are all highly recommended ’em a try!
COACHING STAFF
A team’s coaching staff provide vital back-up to the
team’s players. Coaching staff are never allowed on the
field, they must stay on the sidelines during the match.
Any team may include the following coaching staff on
their roster, as long as each is represented by an
appropriately painted Citadel Miniature. With the
exception of cheerleaders, an ‘appropriate’ Citadel
Miniature is any model of the same race (or one of the
BUYING PLAYERS races) of the team that they belong to. This means that
if, for example, you have a Orc Warhammer Fantasy
In order to create your team you have a treasury of
Battle army you could use the army general's model as
1,000,000 gold pieces. This represents the cash you
the head coach of your Orc Blood Bowl team.
have managed to raise from sponsors or by other, more
underhand, means to hire the players for your team.
The first step in actually creating the team is to study the Head Coach (AKA ‘The Manager’ or ‘Da boss’)
team lists at the end of the document and decide which This model represents you, and so does not cost any
you want to use. All of the players in your team must be gold to hire for the team! During a match your main job
from the same team list. So, for example, a High Elf is to yell and shout at the players in your team in order
team may not include Human players because these to inspire them and, more importantly, to yell and shout
players come from a different team list. at the referee if he makes a call against your team.
BLOOD BOWL ★
STAR PLAYERS
In addition to the normal players shown on the team
lists, you are allowed to buy special Star Players for your
team. Star Players are the heroes of the Blood Bowl
arena, the most resourceful and talented players in a
team. Each Star Player has his own set of special skills
and each is an individual, standing out from the rest of
the regular team. Larger teams like to include at least
one or two of these valuable players: famous teams
such as the Reikland Reavers or the Gouged Eye may
have several Star Players in the team, ensuring their
continued success and domination of their league.
Star Players will only play for certain teams – Griff
Oberwald will only play for Human teams, for example,
You may only buy a Star Player for your team if it is one
of the ones he will play for. Of course you will also need
enough gold pieces in the treasury to pay the exorbitant
fee required to get the Star Player to join your team! Star
Players can only be freebooted in league (Halflings and
Goblins must pay double the usual price as Star Players
don’t like to play with them! The notable exceptions to
this are Treemen for Halflings and Trolls for Goblins.)
There are four Star Player cards included in the box,
Grimwold Grimbreath, Captain of the Dwarf Giants more Star Players can be found on page 55.
Each card contains an illustration of the player and the
following information:
In order to represent this, every time the referee sends
off one or more of your players, or issues an illegal
procedure call against you, or bans the use of a secret ✩ THRUD THE BARBARIAN
FREEBOOTER
✩
weapon, you may argue the call with him. Roll a D6. On
a roll of 1 he expels you from the game, so you may not MOVEMENT
argue any more calls for the rest of the match. On a roll
of 2-5 he ignores you and his call stands. On a roll of 6
he accepts your argument and reverses his decision.
6
STRENGTH
Assistant Coaches
Assistant coaches include offensive and defensive co- 6
ordinators, special team coaches, personal trainers for
Star Players and numerous others. As a team becomes AGILITY
more successful the number of assistant coaches on its
roster just seems to grow and grow. The more assistant 2
coaches you have on your team, the more likely you are
to win the ‘Brilliant Coaching’ result on the Kick-Off ARMOUR
Table. SKILLS TRAITS
THE WEATHER
Blood Bowl players are a pretty hardy bunch, so it
comes as no surprise that games have been played in
all types of weather conditions. From the ice floes of the
farthest north to the steamy jungles of Lustria, arenas
open their doors on match days, and the combatants go
about their business heedless of the climate.
At the start of the game, one coach should roll 2D6 and
refer to the Weather Table to find out what the weather
is like for the day.
WEATHER TABLE
2D6 Result
Bob: The crowd holds its breath as Griff leaps for the
ball. He has an Agility of 4, which gives him a basic
Agility roll of 3 or more. However, a player making an
interception attempt suffers a -2 modifier, which
means that Griff will need a score of 5 or 6 to catch
the ball. The dice is rolled and comes up with a 6!
Griff picks off the ball – it’s an interception!! And just
listen to those Reavers fans, Jim, are they going Ball
wild!
Griff Oberwald
AGILITY 1 2 3 4 5 6+
INTERCEPTION ROLL 6+ 5+ 4+ 3+ 2+ 1+
INTERCEPTION MODIFIERS
Attempting an interception -2
Per enemy tackle zone on Urgash Axebiter
the player intercepting the ball -1
★ BLOOD BOWL
KICK-OFF TABLE
2D6 Result 2D6 Result
2 Riot: The game is held up by a riot. Roll a dice, 8 Quick Snap! The offence start their drive a
and each team moves their Turn counter this fraction before the defence are ready, catching
many spaces along the Turn track. If this takes the kicking team flat-footed. All of the players on
the number of turns to 8 or more for both teams, the receiving team are allowed to move one
then the half ends. square. This is a free move and may be made
into any adjacent empty square, ignoring tackle
3 Get the Ref! Each coach rolls two dice and adds zones. It may be used to enter the opposing half
their team’s fan factor to the score; the high of the field.
scorer’s fans decide the referee has been
bought and exact vengeance! His replacement 9 Brilliant Coaching: Each coach rolls a dice and
is so intimidated that for the rest of the half he adds the number of assistant coaches in their
will not award penalties against the team whose team to the score. Re-roll any ties. The side
fans got his predecessor, even if he spots them with the highest score gets an extra re-roll this
making a foul. If the score is tied, both teams’ half thanks to the brilliant training provided by
fans get the ref and the replacement will not the coaching staff.
award penalties against either team!
10 Blitz! The kicking team gets a bonus team turn
4 Perfect Defence: The kicking team’s coach may and may move before the receiving team. The
reorganise his players – in other words he can bonus turn does not count against the kicking
set them up again. The receiving team must team’s turn limit for the half, so their coach does
remain in the set-up chosen by their coach. not have to move the turn marker along a
space, and he cannot be called for illegal
5 Cheering Fans: Each coach rolls a dice and procedure.
adds their team’s fan factor and their number of
cheerleaders to the score. Re-roll any ties. The 11 Throw a Rock: Each coach rolls two dice and
side with the highest score is inspired by their adds their team’s fan factor to the score; the
fans cheering and gets an extra re-roll this half. high scorer’s fans are the ones that threw the
rock. A tie means that both teams are affected.
6 Bad Kick: The ball scatters a number of squares Decide randomly which player in the other team
equal to the roll of two dice on the kick-off, was hit (only players on the field are eligible)
instead of only one dice. and roll for the effects of the injury straight
away. No Armour roll is required.
7 Changing Weather: Make a new roll on the
Weather Table (see page 19). 12 Field Invasion: Each coach rolls two dice and
adds their side’s fan factor to the score. A tie
means that both teams are affected. High score
wins, injuring a number of randomly selected
players on the losing team equal to the roll of
one dice. Roll for the effects of the injuries
straight away. No Armour roll is required.
BLOOD BOWL ★
ASSISTING A BLOCK
After a block has been declared the attacker and the
defender have the option of adding extra players to give
an ‘assist’. This allows two or more attackers to gang up
on a single defender, or for one or more defenders to
aid a companion against a block. Each of these extra
players adds +1 to the Strength of the player that they
are assisting.
Assisting a block does not count as an action, and a
player can assist any number of blocks per turn. A player
is allowed to make an assist after he has moved or
taken an action.
The attacking coach must declare if any of his players
will give an assist first, then the defending coach may
add defensive assists with players from his team. In
order to make an assist, the player:
THROWING TEAM-MATES
Some Big Guys are allowed to throw small players on As long as the thrown player lands in an empty square,
their team instead of the ball. In order to do this the then the next step is to make a roll to see if he manages
monster must have the Throw Team-Mate skill, and the to land on his feet (see Landing, below). If the thrown
other player must have the Right Stuff skill. The monster player ends up out of bounds then they are beaten up by
must take a Pass action, and may move before he the crowd just as if they had been pushed out of bounds.
throws the other player. After his move the two players If they land on top of another player, then both they and
must be in adjacent squares, and both must be standing. the other player are knocked over, and the player that
A monster may throw a team-mate who is holding the they hit is pushed back one square.
ball.
The throw is treated like a normal pass, except that the Landing
range is treated as being one band higher (a Quick Pass Look up the player's Agility on the Agility Table to
counts as a Short Pass, for example), which means that find the score required to successfully land upright.
it is impossible to throw a team-mate out to Long Bomb Roll a dice, and add or subtract any of the modifiers
range. In addition, the team-mate must be thrown to an that apply to the dice roll. A roll of 1 before
empty square, and may not be intercepted by an modification always fails and a roll of 6 before
opposing player – not even another large monster! modification always succeeds.
Apart from the changes noted above you must roll to see If the final modified score equals or beats the
if the throw was accurate just as if the monster were required roll, then the player lands on their feet and
throwing the football. If the monster has the Pass skill may take an action if they have not done so already.
then he is allowed to re-roll the dice if he misses on his If the dice roll is less than the required total, then
first attempt. If the throw is accurate the thrown player they fall over on landing and the opposing coach may
lands in the target square. If the throw misses, then roll make an Armour roll to see if they are injured. A failed
three times for scatter to see where the thrown player roll does not count as a turnover unless the player
ends up as normal. If the throw is fumbled then the was holding the ball.
player being thrown falls over in their starting square.
little Goblin pal and lobs him into the End Zone! Morg’th is
C
AGILITY 1 2 3 4 5 6+
PASSING ROLL 6+ 5+ 4+ 3+ 2+ 1+
PASSING MODIFIERS AGILITY 1 2 3 4 5 6+
Throwing a Quick Pass 0 LANDING ROLL 6+ 5+ 4+ 3+ 2+ 1+
Throwing a Short Pass -1 LANDING MODIFIERS
Throwing a Long Pass -2 Attempting to land after an accurate throw +1
Throwing a Long Bomb Not allowed Per enemy tackle zone on the square
Per enemy tackle zone the player is thrown to -1
on the player throwing the ball -1
BLOOD BOWL ★
D6 Roll Required 6+ 5+ 4+ 3+ 2+ 1+ Roll a dice for the player after they have moved each
extra square. On a roll of 1 the player trips up and falls
Landing Modifiers prone in the square that they moved to. On any other roll
Pass was accurate ...................................... +1 the player makes the move without mishap. If the player
Per opposing tackle zone on the square falls over then his team suffers a turnover and their team
where the player lands ................................ -1 turn ends immediately.
A player that is taking a Blitz move may ‘go for it’ in order to
make a block. Roll a dice for the player after declaring that
they will make the block. On a roll of 1 the player falls prone
as described above. On any other roll the player makes the
block without mishap. If the player falls over then his team
suffers a turnover and their team turn ends immediately.
BIG GUYS
‘Big Guys’ is the name given to a group of players who are, players apply to Big Guys also, except where specifically
well, big! The Old World is home to a number of prodigiously modified in the Big Guy rules that follow. The
tall and strong races, and this being the case it wasn’t long characteristics, skills and traits of Big Guy players are
before an enterprising coach named Arnie Grumann included on the Big Guy player lists below. Note that you
decided that one of these creatures was just what his team can still use the Big Guy star players in games if you
needed to win the championships. He managed to convince wish. However they must be used as freebooters for one
Ogre mercenary Norg I’Mgung to play for his team, and game only, just like any other star player.
although Arnie’s team never won a championship, the
popularity of Norg with the fans and the terror he inspired in
opposing players meant that soon Big Guys were playing on
a regular basis in teams all over the Old World.
Therefore, Big Guys are now included in the game as
‘normal’ players. All of the rules that apply to other
WIZARDS
Wizards, just like everybody else in the Old World, are insist that only teams that had bought a special licence
keen sports fans and many are fanatically loyal in from the Colleges of Magic were allowed to have
support of their chosen team. It is not surprising then magical assistance. What’s more, they limited this
that soon after the game was born Wizards started assistance to no more than one spell per match, and
‘helping out’ the team they supported with carefully even this had to be chosen from a very limited
selected spells. Soon games were awash with magic selection and cast by an officially appointed Colleges
as rival Wizards battled to give their team the edge. of Magic team Wizard. Although unpopular at first,
Who could forget the infamous 2472 Quagmire Wizards and fans alike soon realised that what they
Incident when rampant spellcasting caused the Bright really wanted to see was a football match not a
Crusaders’ entire stadium to sink into the earth? In the spellcasting contest, and soon the new rules were
end the Colleges of Magic were forced to step in and universally accepted.
★ BLOOD BOWL
Hiring Wizards
Until recently, Wizards could be hired as a permanent While a player is a toad they have the special ‘toad’
member of a team’s coaching staff. However, the characteristics printed below. A toad may never pick up
Colleges of Magic soon became worried by this dreadful the ball, and if they enter the square that the ball is in it
drain on their resources, and now coaches may only will immediately scatter one square. Any injuries the
hire a Wizard for a single match at a cost of 50,000 gps. player suffers while he is a toad do apply when the
If you are playing with the league rules, Wizards are player reverts to normal.
hired at the same time as Freebooters, and will only play
for one game. You may only hire one Wizard per match. Title MA ST AG AV Skills
Designers Note: We represent Wizards in our games Toad 3 1 4 4 Dodge, Leap, Stunty
with one of the Wizard models from the range of Citadel
Miniatures for Warhammer. This isn’t strictly necessary, Lightning Bolt Spell
but looks a lot better than representing a wizard with a
bottle top or tiddlywink! Take the Wizard model or whatever you’re using to
represent him and place it anywhere next to the game
Casting Spells board. The Wizard may not be placed on the board
itself, but the edge of his base can be touching the
Once per game, the Wizard is allowed to cast a spell.
edge of the board. The Lightning Bolt has a range two
The Wizard may cast one of the three spells detailed on
squares wide and five squares in length that shoots
the following pages. In addition to the above restrictions,
out from the side of board where the wizard is placed.
Wizards may only cast spells at the start of their own
team’s turn, after the turn marker has been moved but
before any players perform an action.
The effect of this extra stimulation is represented by The spell may only be cast on players of roughly human
allowing Halfling teams that include a Master Chef to size (ie, not on large monsters like Ogres or Trolls, or
take a number of extra Team Re-roll counters at the start small players like Halflings or Goblins). The new player
of each half. Roll a dice and halve the score, rounding has standard Zombie characteristics no matter what his
down (ie, 1 = 0; 2-3 = 1; 4-5 = 2; 6 = 3). The result is the skills or abilities in life, and may only be added to the
number of extra counters the team gets for the half. In Undead team if it has fewer than 16 players at the time.
addition, the fabulous cooking smells emanating from If the Undead player has a spare Zombie model
the Halfling team’s Dugout can prove very distracting for available then the new player may be placed in the
the players in the opposing team. To represent this, the Reserves box of the Undead team’s Dugout and used
opposing coach must reduce the number of Team Re- immediately – much to the consternation of his former
APOTHECARIES
An Apothecary is a healer wise in the ways of medicine and the Apothecary becomes a permanent member of the team,
the healing arts who looks after the injured players in a and does not have to be re-hired at the start of each match.
Blood Bowl team – and so has a strenuous and full-time job!
It costs 50,000 gps to hire an Apothecary for your team,
Apothecaries are not Wizards as such, and so each team
and he must be represented by an appropriate, painted,
may have one in addition to a Wizard. In addition, once hired
Citadel Miniature. Almost any of the Citadel Wizard
models for Warhammer will make suitable Apothecary
models, and Orc teams are very well catered for by the
Painboy models in the Warhammer 40,000 range. A
team may not have more than one Apothecary.
Once per match, the team Apothecary may perform one
of the following actions:
SECRET WEAPONS
Some Star Players are armed with special pieces of
equipment that are called ‘secret weapons’. Although
the Blood Bowl rules specifically ban the use of any
weapons, the game has a long history of teams trying to
get weapons of some sort onto the field. Dwarf and
Goblin teams, in particular, have a well-earned
reputation for using secret weapons and fiendish
Instead, the player remains in play until after a
inventions to give their team a slight advantage. None
touchdown is scored or a half ends, and then the
the less, the use of secret weapons is simply not legal,
opposing coach is allowed to make a penalty roll to see
and referees have a nasty habit of sending off players
if the referee kicks the player out of the game.
that use them. More often than not, however, referees
turn a blind eye to the use of secret weapons this is In order to make a penalty roll the opposing coach
often helped by a bribe from the offending team. After should roll 2D6. If the score equals or beats the secret
all, they are very popular with the fans, and more than weapon’s penalty roll (listed below), then the referee
one referee has been torn limb from limb by angry sends the player off for the rest of the match. Place the
supporters after banning a Star Player and his popular player in the Dead and Injured Players box in the
secret weapon from a game... Dugout to show that he is not allowed to appear again
for the rest of the game.
If a Star Player has a secret weapon this will be noted in
the ‘Special’ notes box on the player’s Star Player card. If the dice roll is less than the weapon’s penalty roll then the
For example, the Goblin Star Player Scrappa Sorehead referee does not take any action this time, and the player may
has the pogo stick secret weapon and Nobbla Blackwart carry on playing in the match (although another penalty roll
has a highly illegal chainsaw! The only way to get secret will have to be made if the player is used again).
weapons is by hiring a Star Player who is armed with one
Note that you must make a penalty roll for a secret
– you cannot buy a secret weapon for other players on
weapon if the player carrying it has been on the field,
your team.
even if he doesn’t actually use the weapon. In addition, if
A player using a secret weapon will not be sent off by the a Star Player armed with a secret weapon is used then
referee while the match is in progress (unless he decides he must take his secret weapon with him – you can’t say
to foul a player that has been knocked down, in which that he has decided to leave the weapon in the Dugout
case the normal rules for fouling prone players apply). in order to avoid the penalty roll.
place the Throw-in template over his head facing up or BOMB Penalty roll: 8+
down the pitch, or facing toward either sideline. Note
A favourite weapon of many of the more psychopathic
that you use the Throw-in template rather than the
Blood Bowl players is that old standby: a bomb! Players
Scatter template. This gives you some control over the
who use this type of secret weapon are known as
direction the Fanatic moves in, but not a lot! Roll a dice
Bombardiers. They usually carry a large sack of bombs,
and move the Fanatic into the square indicated by the
which they sneak onto the field when the referee isn’t
dice roll. Repeat this procedure for all four squares of the
looking. The bombs used by Blood Bowl players tend to
Fanatic’s move. You may change the facing of the
be rather primitive affairs, made from a round metal case
Throw-in template after each square of movement and,
filled with gunpowder, with a fuse poking out of the top.
as no opposing player would be dumb enough to try to
tackle the Fanatic, he never has to make a dodge roll to When the Bombardier decides to throw the bomb, he
leave a square. lights the fuse, waits for a couple of seconds to make
sure it is fizzing along nicely, and then lobs it towards an
Now for the fun bit. If the dice roll indicates that the
opposing player. Or at least, that’s the plan. More often
Fanatic will enter a square occupied by a player of either
than not something goes dreadfully wrong. Either the
team, then he must throw a block against that player.
fuse is too short and the bomb goes off in the
The Fanatic’s Strength counts as being ‘6’ for the block, Bombardier’s hands, or the bomb is caught by an
but no player may assist either side due to the swirling opposing player and lobbed back, or the Bombardier’s
ball and chain. If the victim is forced back then the throw goes wild and the bomb lands next to a player
Fanatic must occupy the square the opposing player from his own team! As you can see, Bombardiers are
was in (unless the opponent had the Stand Firm skill, in almost as dangerous to their own team as to their
which case the Fanatic’s move ends). If a Fanatic is opponents!
knocked over when he throws a block, he is
A coach may choose to have a Bombardier throw a bomb
automatically injured as the chain wraps itself round his
instead of taking any other action. The Bombardier is not
neck. Roll for injury as normal, but count ‘Stunned’
allowed to move when he throws a bomb, because he
results as KO’d instead.
needs to stand still in order to light the fuse. Roll a dice to
The Fanatic can keep on moving after he has made see if he gets the fuse alight without mishap. On a roll of
a block, if he has any squares of movement left, ‘1’ the bomb explodes prematurely in the Bombardier’s
and is allowed to throw more blocks, in fact he must square, with the results described below. On a roll of 2 to
block the occupant of any further occupied squares 6 he gets the fuse alight and may throw the bomb. If a
he moves into. Sometimes a Fanatic will be forced player holding a lit bomb falls over for any reason
to move into a square that contains a prone player. (because of the use of a Special Play card or a Wizard’s
In this case simply ‘force back’ the prone player, spell, for example), then the bomb will scatter one square
representing them desperately rolling away from and then explode as described below.
the Fanatic!
The bomb is thrown using the rules for throwing the
football. The bomb may be intercepted or caught, in
which case the player catching it must throw it again
immediately. This is a special bonus action which takes
place out of the normal sequence of play.
For the second (and any subsequent) throws a dice roll
must be made to see if the bomb goes off in the (new)
thrower’s square. For any throws after the first the bomb
goes off in the thrower’s square on a roll of 1, 2 or 3.
If the bomb lands in a square with a player who decides
not to catch it, or if it lands in an empty square, then it
will bounce and scatter one square in the same way as
a dropped or missed pass. After it has bounced one
square the bomb will explode, even if it ends up on a
square that is occupied by a player.
When the bomb finally does explode – either because a
dice roll is failed or because the bomb has hit the ground
After you have finished the Fanatic’s move, you must and bounced – it knocks over any player in the same
roll a dice to see if he has become exhausted. On a square, and knocks over players in adjacent squares on
roll of 2-6 the Fanatic may remain in play. On a roll of a roll of 4+. Make Armour and Injury rolls for any players
1 the Fanatic collapses in a heap and must be placed knocked over by the blast as normal.
in the Dead and Injured players box. Roll the dice
again to see what has happened to him: 1-3 = Cardiac
arrest: The Fanatic dies from over-exertion; 4-6 = ★ ★ ★ Did you know...
Knackered: The Fanatic is worn out, but will recover in Due to runaway use of secret weapons, the Chaos Dwarf
Black Death team has yet to finish a season with any
time for the next match.
surviving fans. The Black Death players don’t seem to care,
The only player in an opposing team that can attempt to though, as they proudly hold the all-time record for Most
Spectator Casualties!
block a Fanatic is another Fanatic. Should this ever
happen both players are automatically knocked over.
★ BLOOD BOWL
Pass (Passing Skill) should be moved to the Reserves box in the Dugout. Note that
A player with the Pass skill is allowed to re-roll the dice if he opposing players earn Star Player points as normal for inflicting
misses a pass. a badly hurt, serious injury, or dead result on a player with this
skill, even if the result doesn’t affect the player in the normal way.
PASSING STRENGTH
Accurate (S) Pass (S) Break Tackle (S) Multiple Block (S)
Dump-Off (S) Safe Throw (S) Guard (S) Piling On (S)
Hail Mary Pass (S) Strong Arm (T) Mighty Blow (S) Stand Firm (T)
INJURIES etc. Then put the numbers together to get a score from
Blood Bowl is a rough and dangerous sport, and players 11 to 66. For example, if you rolled a ‘2’ on the the tens
are often injured or killed while playing the game. Many dice and a ‘3’ on the units dice, then you would get a
Blood Bowl players sport scars from old injuries, while score of 23.
some have lost eyes, ears, noses and even whole limbs! Having made the dice roll, look up the result on the
Although most injuries can be recovered from given a bit Serious Injury Table. The table lists exactly what has
of time, some are so serious that they can permanently happened to the player, and describes any special
affect a player. In one-off games this is not important – effects the injury may have. The majority of the results
all you need to know is that the player is off the field for simply cause the player to miss the next match, though
the rest of the game! – but in a league it is vital to know some have more long-lasting effects. The coach of the
exactly what type of injury a player has suffered. This is player that suffered the injury should make a note of the
where the Serious Injury Table comes in... effect of the serious injury on his team roster.
If a player suffers a serious injury, then the opposing
coach is allowed to make a roll on the Serious Injury
Table. Note that you only roll for ‘serious’ injuries (ie, a
STAR PLAYER POINTS
roll of 4-5 on the Casualty Table); ‘badly hurt’ results only Players are able to earn Star Player points (SPP’s) in
take the player out for the rest of the game and will not league matches. Star Player points are earned for
have any long term effect. scoring touchdowns, making complete passes, making
interceptions, killing or injuring opposing players, and for
The dice scores on the Serious Injury Table run from 11 earning ‘Most Valuable Player’ awards. Once a player
through to 66. Assuming that you don’t have a 66 sided has earned enough Star Player points he becomes
dice (not many people do), you need to roll two normal entitled to a ‘Star Player roll’, and will gain an extra skill
dice. Roll one as tens, so a score of 2=20, 4=40 etc. or increased characteristic. Players who survive long
Next roll a dice for the units, so a score of 3=3, 5=5, enough may even progress to become Star Players,
with special abilities and skills that they have picked up
over the course of their long career on the Blood Bowl
field. This is a very cost effective way to add Star Players
★ SERIOUS INJURY TABLE ★ to your team, although it does take time.
D66 Result Effect A team may have any number of Star Players generated
in this way, in addition to the Star Players that can be
11-13 Concussion Miss next game hired for the team ‘ready-made’ as Star Player cards!
14-16 Broken Ribs Miss next game The team roster includes boxes so coaches can keep track
21-23 Groin Strain Miss next game of the number of Star Player points their players earn
24-26 Gouged Eye Miss next game during a match. Each time a player does something that
earns him any Star Player points his coach should put a
31-33 Broken Jaw Miss next game
tick in the appropriate box on the roster. At the end of the
34-36 Fractured Arm Miss next game match count up the number of new ticks for each player,
41-43 Fractured Leg Niggling Injury and upgrade their total score of Star Player points
44-46 Smashed Hand Niggling Injury accordingly.
51-52 Damaged Back Niggling Injury Star Player points are earned for performing the
following actions:
53-54 Smashed Knee Niggling Injury
55-56 Pinched Nerve Niggling Injury Completions (COMP): A player who makes an
61 Smashed Hip -1 MA accurate pass that is caught by another player earns 1
62 Smashed Ankle -1 MA Star Player point. An accurate pass is called a
‘completion’ or complete pass. Note that the ball must
63 Smashed Collar Bone -1 ST be caught by a player from the same team, otherwise
64 Broken Neck -1 AG it is not complete!
65 Serious Concussion -1 AV Touchdowns (TD): A player who scores a
66 Fractured Skull -1 AV touchdown earns 3 Star Player points.
Interceptions (INT): If a player successfully makes
Miss Next Game: Write an ‘M’ in the injuries box on the team an Interception then they earn 2 Star Player points.
roster, and rub it out at the end of the next match.
Casualties (CAS): If a player kills, seriously injures,
Niggling Injury: Miss next game as above. In addition, write or badly hurts an opposing player then they earn 2 Star
an ‘N’ in the injuries box on the team roster. Before each
match you must roll one dice per Niggling Injury the player
Player points. The points are only earned if the player
has suffered. On a roll of ‘1’ the player must miss the match. blocks an opponent or is blocked by an opponent himself.
Casualties inflicted in any other way do not count for Star
-1 MA, ST, AG, AV: Miss next game as above. In addition,
record the characteristic change on the team roster. Player points. Killing, injuring or badly hurting a player is
However, no characteristic may be reduced by more than 2 generally referred to as inflicting a ‘casualty’. For example
points, any injuries that could reduce it further are ignored. “He inflicted five casualties in a single match!”, or “That
takes him to 17 casualties this season...”
BLOOD BOWL ★
Most Valuable Player (MVP): One player from Roll Table. To make the Star Player roll, roll two dice,
each team will be awarded a Most Valuable Player award add the scores together, and look up the result on the
at the end of the match. The awards are chosen by the Star Player Roll Table.
match commentators, and neither coach has any control
over which two players are chosen. Note that both teams
get a Most Valuable Player award, not just the winners. ★ STAR PLAYER ROLL TABLE ★
The Most Valuable Player award is awarded randomly to one
2D6 Result
player from each team, just so long as they took part in the
match. Use the random player counters provided with Blood 2–9 New skill.
Bowl to determine which player gets the award. A Most 10 Increase the player’s MA by 1 point.
Valuable Player award earns the player 5 Star Player points.
11 Increase the player’s AG by 1 point.
12 Increase the player’s ST by 1 point.
New Skills
On a Star Player roll of 2-9 the player is allowed to take
a new skill (traits may only be taken on a double as
decribed below). The skills that may be selected for a
STAR PLAYERS & STAR PLAYER POINTS player are limited depending on the race of the player
The Star Players who come on Star Player cards or from and the position that they play. The skills are split into
the Offical Star Player list on page 55 cannot earn any five categories: General Skills, Agility Skills, Strength
more Star Player points. They are considered to have skills, Passing Skills and Physical Abilities. The
peaked and cannot get any better. category which each skill belongs to is noted in the
Skills rules that start on page 33.
Printed on the back page of this rulebook is the
★ STAR PLAYER POINTS TABLE ★ Player Skill List. This shows which skills are available
Per Passing Completion .............................. 1 SPP to each different type of player. For example, Human
Catchers can take General Skills and Agility Skills,
Per Casualty ................................................ 2 SPP’s
Human Throwers can take General Skills and
Per Interception ........................................... 2 SPP’s Passing Skills, and so on. Within these restrictions
Per Touchdown ............................................ 3 SPP’s the coach of the player is allowed to freely choose
Per Most Valuable Player award ................. 5 SPP’s any skill from the Skills section of this rulebook.
Remember to record the player’s new skill on the
team roster.
SPP’s Title Star Player Rolls Ageing
0–5 Rookie None None
Characteristic Increases
6–15 Experienced One 3+
A Star Player roll of 10-12 will increase one of the
16–30 Veteran Two 4+ player’s characteristics – simply record the new value
31–50 Emerging Star Three 5+ on the team roster. However, no characteristic may ever
51–75 Star Player Four 6+ be increased by more than 2 points over its starting
76–125 Super-Star Five 7+ value. Any additional increases are lost and the Star
126–125 Mega-Star Six 8+
Player roll is wasted.
176+ Legend Seven 9+
Rolling Doubles
Normally a player is only allowed to choose a skill from
STAR PLAYER ROLLS the categories listed on the Player Skill List. However, if
As players earn more Star Player points they go up in the Star Player roll was a double (ie 1, 1 or 2, 2 etc), then
levels of experience and are entitled to make Star Player the coach may ignore the result rolled on the Star Player
rolls. All players start out as Rookies with no Star Player Roll Table (even if it was a characteristic increase) and
Points. Once a player has earned 6 points he becomes instead may take any skill they like for the player. The
‘Experienced’ and is entitled to his first Star Player roll. restrictions for the player’s race and the position he
Each time that the player goes up another level he is plays are ignored in this case, so a Human Catcher
entitled to another Star Player roll. The Star Player could take a Strength skill, for example. Only Chaos and
Points Table lists the number of Star Player points that Skaven players may take a physical ability.
are required to reach each different level.
At the end of the match work out how many Star Player Gaining Traits
points each of the players in your team has earned, and To represent the difficulty of gaining a new trait, a player
look up their scores on the Star Player Points Table. If may only gain one if a double is rolled for them when
the player has earned enough points to go up a level, making a star player roll. If this happens then instead of
then immediately make a roll for them on the Star Player gaining any skill, the player’s coach may choose to give
★ BLOOD BOWL
them a single trait. However, the trait must belong to a Once a coach has worked out his team rating, he
category that the player can choose from. For example, should record it on the team roster in the space
if a double were rolled for a Human Catcher then he provided. Note that all starting teams have a team
could be given any skill, or a General or Agility trait. rating of 100 points.
AGEING TREASURY
As players grow older and gain experience, they learn Each coach begins the league with a treasury of
new skills but may lose some of the vigour and 1,000,000 gps with which to buy his team. When
toughness of their youth. To represent this, after you creating a league team the coach can choose to save
make a Star Player roll for a player, you must make a some of the money instead of spending it all when he
second 2D6 roll to see if they age. Roll the dice and add sets up the team, so that he has some spare cash to fall
them together, and then refer to the chart on page 40. If back on if necessary. A coach must keep track of how
you equal or beat the score shown on the Ageing column much money his team has in its treasury by recording
then the player avoids the effect of ageing and nothing the amount on his team roster.
happens. If you roll under the required score then the
player has aged and another roll must be made on the
Ageing Results table. Apply the result of the Ageing MATCH RECORDS
Results roll to the player’s entry on the team roster
On the back of the Death Zone team roster there is a
immediately. Ageing is a natural process, so results from
Match Record Chart for recording information about
the ageing table cannot be removed by an Apothecary or
the games that the team has played. Keep a record of
Regeneration, or by anything else for that matter!
the matches played by the team here. The coach
should record the name of the opposition, the score
and number of casualties inflicted by each team, as
★ AGEING RESULTS TABLE ★ well as the gate and match winnings, and any brief
2D6 Result notes about the game.
TEAM RATINGS
All teams that take part in a league must be given a team
rating. This is based on the Spike! Magazine Team
Rating System™, and is a very good indicator of the
team’s ability and effectiveness on the Blood Bowl field.
Two teams with equal team ratings would expect to have
a very close match, while if one team has a team rating
considerably higher than their opponent’s, they should
win the match easily.
To calculate a team’s Spike! Magazine team rating, first
work out the total value of the team in gold pieces.
Remember to include any money in the treasury in the
total. For every 10,000 gold pieces that the team is
worth, it receives 1 team rating point. This may sound
like a difficult sum to work out, but it is actually quite
easy. Just take the total value of the team and knock off
the last four zeros. For example, a starting team with a
value of 1,000,000 gold pieces has a team rating of
100 points.
Next work out the combined total of all the Star Player
points belonging to the players in your team. Divide this
number by 5, rounding any fractions down, and add the
result to the total worked out above. For example, if the
players in a team had a total of 60 Star Player points
then 60÷5 =12, so 12 points would be added to the team
rating. Note that the Star Player points for all of the
players in the team are used, even if some of them have
to miss the next match due to injury.
BLOOD BOWL ★
12 EXTRA TRAINING: Your team has worked long and hard all week for this opponent. You may take an extra Team Re-roll to use for this match only.
13 INTENSIVE TRAINING: One player is really psyched for this week’s match, and has been working very hard preparing for it. Pick a player on your team. He may
take one extra skill to use for this match only, just as if he had rolled a New Skill result on the Star Player Table.
14 INSPIRATION: Watching the opposing team in their previous match has taught one of your players a thing or two. Pick a player on your team and give him an
extra MVP. If the additional SPPs are enough to give him a new skill then generate it immediately.
15 I AM THE GREATEST! Two randomly selected players on the opposing team refuse to be on the pitch at the same time for this match only. Only one may be set
up on the field at the start of each drive.
16 UNDER SCRUTINY: The opposing team may not Foul or use players equipped with Secret Weapons for this match.
21 BAD PRESS: Libellous stories you have spread cut the opposing team’s Fan Factor in half (rounding up) for this match only.
22 BAD HABITS: The opposing team loses one re-roll for this match only.
23 BIASED REFEREE: The opposing team count as being under the eyes of the referee for the whole match (i.e. all fouls will be spotted on a 4+)
24 RUNNING LATE: Agents in your employ manage to delay D6 randomly selected players on the opposing team for this inconvenient match. The players must miss
the first drive.
25 GREASED SHOES: Pick a player on the opposing team. You’ve paid someone to grease the bottom of their shoes and their agility is reduced to 1 until a touch
down is scored or the half ends.
26 ILLEGAL DRUGS: Declare this special play immediately (now!). You may choose one player in your team to have either +1 ST OR +1 AG for this match only.
31 MORLEY’S REVENGE: The opposing team’s drinks have been spiked with a powerful laxative. D3 randomly selected opposing players have drunk the spiked
drink, and must roll a D6 before every kick-off. On a roll of 1-3 they are otherwise engaged and may not take part in this drive. On a roll of 4-6 they may be set up normally.
32 BRIBE THE ANNOUNCERS: You receive your MVP award before the game starts. If this takes a player up a level, he may roll for his new skill immediately. Note
that you don’t get a second MVP at the end of the match.
33 SMELLING SALTS: You make all rolls to move a player from the Knocked Out box to the Reserves box on a roll of 2 or better for this match.
34 SPONSORSHIP DEAL: Your team is sponsored by Bloodwieser and receives an extra 10,000 gps after the match – but only if you say ‘Make Mine A Blood’ loudly
at the start of every drive!
35 PALMED COIN: You automatically win the coin toss to start the game
36 SCUTT’S SCROLL OF WEATHER MAGIC: You have tricked a gullible wizard into parting with a useful scroll. You may pick the weather when the game starts.
41 TEAM ANTHEM: Add +1 to your Fan Factor for this game only.
42 GRUDGE MATCH: You may take any number of Foul actions per turn for this match. However you may not foul the same player more than once per team turn.
43 DOOM & GLOOM: The opposing team is feeling uninspired. For the first half, their Team Re-rolls are cut in half, rounded down.
44 IT WASN”T ME! One randomly selected player on the opposing team has been getting a little rowdy in anticipation of today’s ‘cakewalk,’ and he’s been arrested!
He must miss the match.
45 THAT BOY’S GOT TALENT In your last match you spotted a talented fan in the stands, and he agrees to play for your team. Add one player at any position to
your roster for this match only. The player leaves the roster when the match ends. Note that you may add a 17th player to a match in this fashion.
46 NEWS FEATURE: The big cabelvision networks produce a special news feature about your team of plucky underdogs and their chances in the upcoming match.
The extra revenue this generates will allow you to roll 2d6 at the end of the game for your match winnings.
51 BRIBE THE REF: You may set up 12 players on the field once during the match.
52 IN THE BAG! The Opposing team is feeling cocky about their chances of winning this match. They can only field the 11 worst players on their team, based on
SPP's. This restriction stops for the rest of the match as soon as your team takes the lead.
53 MICKEY FINN: Pick one member of the opposing team’s coaching staff other than the head coach. You have spiked his punch, and he is unavailable this match.
54 STILETTO: A player of your choice in your team counts as having razor sharp claws for this match only.
55 DUH, WHERE AM I?: One randomly selected player on the opposing team has been out all night on a bender, and isn’t really ready for the game. The Bonehead
rule that applies to Ogres applies to the player for this match only.
56 ASSASSIN: Your team has hired an assassin to take out one of the other team’s top guns. Pick a player on the opposing team and make an injury roll for him. The
opposing coach may use his Apothecary or Regenerate trait on the player, but an Apothecary used in such a fashion is not available for this match.
61 BRIBE THE REF: You have taken up a collection to ‘convince’ the ref that your players are a nice, clean bunch of fellows! You may ignore the first penalty called
against your team.
62 KNUCKLEDUSTERS: A player of your choice in your team counts as having mighty blow for this match only.
63 VIRUS: A mysterious illness breaks out among the opposing team, knocking out the unhealthiest members of the bunch. Any opposing player with a niggling injury
is too sick to show up for this match.
64 THAT BABE’S GOT TALENT! Your team visits the local tavern the night before the game. One of the exotic dancers displays her, umm, ‘talents,’ and your players
leave her a generous tip. She and a few friends decide to hang out with your team for the day. D6 Cheerleaders join your team for this match only.
65 IRON MAN: One randomly selected player on your team is determined to play hard for the whole game, no matter what the cost – in fact, he refuses to get injured!
If an opposing player beats his armour roll, he is only Stunned.
66 BUZZING! One of your players has gone heavy on the coffee in anticipation of today’s game. For this match only he gains the Jump Up trait and the Frenzy trait,
but will automatically fail any attempt to pick up or catch the ball.
BLOOD BOWL ★
6. Niggling Injuries rating get less gold because they have to pay out more
In a league it is possible for players to pick up nasty money to the players in their team and for other expenses.
‘niggling injuries’ that can cause them to miss a match In order to work out their winnings each coach rolls a dice,
(see the Injury rules, above). If any of the players in a and then cross references their team rating with the gate
team has suffered a niggling injury then their coach must for the match on the Match Winnings Table (see below) to
roll now to see if the player has to miss this game. see if there is any modifier to the dice roll. The modified
Roll one dice for each niggling injury: if any of the dice dice roll is multiplied by 10,000 to see how many gold
roll a ‘1’ then the player must miss this match. The pieces are added to the team’s treasury. If the modified
player only ever misses the one game, no matter how dice roll was 5, for example, the coach would be allowed
many 1’s were rolled. If all of the dice come up with to add 50,000 gold pieces to his treasury.
scores of 2 or more then the player may take part in The table includes negative modifiers that will reduce
the match as normal. the dice roll. Treat modified scores of less than 0 as 0
(i.e. the team gets no money at all, but doesn’t have to
pay out any money from the treasury).
POST MATCH SEQUENCE
You must go through the following five steps after each 2. Star Player Rolls
and every league match that you play. In league matches it is possible for players to earn Star
Player points which may give them Star Player rolls at
the end of the match, as explained on page 40. This
1. Treasury Phase phase is used by each coach to update the Star Player
At the end of a match each team receives a fee for playing points the players in their team have earned, work out
the game from the owner of the stadium where the match ageing and to make any Star Player rolls for the players
was played. The amount received represents the money that in their team.
is left after all expenses have been paid. Teams with a higher
TOURNAMENTS
For a short period following the collapse of the NAF RUNNING A TOURNAMENT
there were no tournaments or competitions at all.
The League Commissioner has the responsibility of
Teams simply played ‘one-off’ games for whatever
setting up and running the tournaments that are played
prize money they could get. It was not long, however,
in his league. It is up to him to decide when and how the
before the Cabalvision networks and major Blood Bowl
tournaments are held, although we recommend that the
sponsors got together and started arranging
Major Tournaments are played at roughly three monthly
tournaments with large prizes for the teams that
intervals during the appropriate season each year. It is
managed to battle their way through to the final. Four
generally a good idea for a League Commissioner to
tournaments quickly established themselves as the
delegate the organising of a tournament to a deputy
most important and eagerly anticipated Blood Bowl
chosen from the coaches of the teams taking part in the
events of the year, and were soon being referred to as
league. This leaves the Commissioner free to
the ‘Major Tournaments’ or simply the ‘Majors’. These
concentrate on the running of the league as a whole,
tournaments were the Chaos Cup, the Dungeonbowl,
without becoming overwhelmed with work trying to sort
the Spike! Magazine Trophy tournament, and, of
out everything himself!
course, the Blood Bowl itself.
Each tournament is played over a five-week period and
The Majors are held at roughly three-monthly intervals
is split into three phases: the play-offs, the semi-finals
over the year. The Chaos Cup is held in the spring, the
and the grand final. The play-offs take place over the first
Blood Bowl tournament is held in the summer, and then
three weeks. No fixture list is used, instead it is up to
the Spike! Magazine tournament is held in the autumn.
coaches to organise the matches themselves. A team
The Dungeonbowl is held during the dark winter months,
may play any number of matches in the play-offs, but is
when most teams appreciate playing in nice warm
not allowed to play the same opponent more than once.
underground stadiums rather than out in the freezing
At the end of the three-week play-off period each coach
cold. There are exceptions of course – most Norse
is allowed to put forward his three best results to see if
teams actually prefer sub-zero conditions, while the Ice
his team makes it through to the semi-finals. A coach is
Lord team of Frost Giants can’t take part in the
allowed to put forward less than three results if he wants,
Dungeonbowl tournament at all because they would
but this will reduce his chances of getting through.
melt in the warm underground stadium!
By the way, note that coaches who are running more
Each tournament is held at a different location. The
than one team in the league may not enter more than
Blood Bowl is held at the huge Emperor stadium at
one in a tournament. This is to make sure that a single
Altdorf, and the Spike! Magazine tournament in the
coach does not end up with two (or more!) of his teams
seaside resort town of Magritta in Estalia. The
in the semi-finals...
Dungeonbowl is held in the Dwarf underground
stadium at Barak-Varr (the upkeep for which is paid, at
huge expense and much to the Dwarfs’ delight, by the
Colleges of Magic).
The location of the Chaos Cup tournament changes
from year to year, and it is rare for anyone to know
where it will be held until a week or two before the event
starts! Not surprisingly this can make it very difficult for
teams to attend the Chaos Cup, because if they are not
in the right general vicinity when the tournament is
announced then it may be impossible for them to get
there in time to take part!
The Major Tournaments are open to all teams, no
matter how lowly their status. The first three weeks of
a tournament are an anarchic and confusing affair
called the play-offs. During the play-offs it is up to the
teams taking part in the tournament to arrange
matches for themselves, because there is no regular
schedule as such.
A team can play any number of matches in this period,
against any opponent (although they can’t play the same
opponent more than once). Teams score points for
winning matches, and at the end of the play-off period
the four teams with the most points go through to the
semi-finals. The winners of the semi-final matches go
through to the grand final for the tournament trophy and
(more importantly) a big money cash prize!
★ BLOOD BOWL
Each team scores 15 points for every game that they THE GLITTERING PRIZES
win, 5 points for every game they lose, plus the number
Although the glory of winning a major tournament trophy
of touchdowns that they scored in all three games, and
is considered by many teams reason enough to take
minus the number of touchdowns that were scored
part, most teams are motivated as much (if not more) by
against them. The four teams with the most points go
the chance of winning the big cash prize that the
through to the semi-finals. Any ties are resolved by
sponsors of the tournament offer the winners. There are
comparing team ratings, with the team(s) with the
also often additional ‘fringe’ benefits for the winners of a
highest team rating going through.
major tournament, such as lucrative sponsorship deals
The four teams that make it through to the semi-finals or special prizes.
are matched into two pairs by random draw and must
play their matches in week four of the tournament
period. The two winners of the semi-final match then go
through to the big final which is played in week five. The
two runners-up may play a match to decide 3rd and 4th
position if they wish.
Challenges
It is possible for coaches to exclude powerful teams from
the semi-finals by refusing to play any games against
them during the play-offs. To stop this underhand and
quite despicable practice, any coach is allowed to issue
a written challenge to an opposing coach to play a
match. A coach may make a maximum of one written
challenge per week of the play-offs. The challenge is
given to the tournament organiser, who passes it on to The cash prizes and any special benefits are described
the challenged coach and gets his response. A below, but in addition to these the winner of a Major
challenged coach must make one of the following three Tournament always receives a special trophy. Images
responses within a day of receiving the challenge: of the trophies are at our website, www.bloodbowl.com
these can be printed and used as the trophies.
Alternatively the Subbuteo range and many others do
great little trophies. Trophies also provide a benefit to
the team in any games that they play as long as they
have them. Each trophy a team has won entitles it to a
special ‘Trophy Re-roll’ once per match. This re-roll is
taken in exactly the same way as a Team Re-roll,
except that it may only be used once per match (rather
than once per half).
THE SPIKE! MAGAZINE TROPHY 150,000 gps, while the runners-up get a prize of 100,000
This award, which gps. In addition, the winning team receives the services
takes the form of a of a Wizard from the College that supported them, who
mithril spike mounted will serve with the team until the next years
on a delightful plinth, is Dungeonbowl. The Wizard will even serve on Dwarf,
awarded to the team that Halfling and Undead teams, even though they are not
wins the Spike! Magazine normally allowed to have a Wizard (see the Special
tournament. In addition to Wizards rules).
the trophy itself the winner
of the tournament receives THE CHAOS CUP
a cash prize of 200,000 As you will see if you
gps, while the runner-up have a look at the
gets 100,000 gps. In trophy, the Chaos
addition, because the Cup is not exactly the
holder of the Spike! trophy most desirable of
receives extensive and (usually) objects to win. The
positive coverage in Spike! magazine, the team’s fan status it carries,
factor is increased by a number of points equal to the roll however, is second
of a dice. This increase is permanent, even after they only to the Blood
have had to hand the trophy back in the following year. Bowl. Originally
If the tournament organiser likes he may also choose to known as the
hand out the award for the Spike! Magazine Player of Whiteskull Challenge
the Year after the final has been played. This award Cup, it was played for
goes to the player in the league who has the most Star by eight top teams
Player points, and it increases his team’s fan factor by 1 from the AFC while
point permanently. Note that the player does not have to the conference winners were away competing in the
be in one of the teams that took part in the final, or even Blood Bowl. With the collapse of the NAF in ’88 the
the tournament, in order to receive the reward. Chaos Cup became the first trophy to be given away in
the new style ‘Open’ tournaments.
THE DUNGEONBOWL The winner of the Chaos Cup tournament receives the
Chaos Cup trophy and a share of the 350,000 gps prize
Dungeonbowl is played, as
money. Exactly how much money the winning team
its name suggests, in a
receives is decided randomly, and may result in the
dungeon. Originally the two
runners-up getting more prize money than the winners!
teams started at opposite
To see how much money the winners get, roll a dice and
ends of a small underground
refer to the table below. Winning the Chaos Cup has
complex, the idea being to
another, more extraordinary benefit. The Chaos Gods
get to the opponent’s
take a special interest in the fate of the team that holds
starting position with the ball
the Chaos Cup, with the effect that the team seems to be
and score a touchdown, but
exceptionally lucky while they hold the trophy. To
eventually the game evolved
represent this good fortune the team is allowed to roll
so that it is played on a
once on the Hadicap table in every game that they play
normal sized and shaped
for as long as they have the trophy. This roll is in addition
field – which just happens to
to any other rolls.
be located in a dungeon!
The Dungeonbowl League
is sponsored by the ten
Colleges of Magic, and each
College also supports one of the teams taking part in the ★ CHAOS CUP WINNINGS TABLE ★
tournament. Even though the idea was originally put
forward to settle the matter of which College was the Prize Money
most powerful, and was to be a one-off event, Dice Roll Winners Runners-Up
Dungeonbowl has now been going for over 20 years and
shows no sign of ending in the forseeable future. The 1-2 100,000 gps 250,000 gps
current holders of the cup are the Vynheim Valkyries, 3-4 200,000 gps 150,000 gps
who were supported by the Amber College in the last 5-6 300,000 gps 50,000 gps
Dungeonbowl. Of course, the other Colleges say that
this was a fluke, and are carefully studying the form of
the best teams in preparation for the next Dungeonbowl. Winners are a Chaos
It doesn’t look as if the problem is going to be solved in or Chaos Dwarf team ............................... +1
the near future – or at all, come to that. Winners are a Dwarf,
As well as receiving the magnificent Dungeonbowl High Elf or Wood Elf team ........................ -1
trophy, the winners are awarded a cash prize of
★ BLOOD BOWL
THE BLOOD BOWL tournaments should be kept on the low side, and the
The most sought total prize money (for both winner and runner-up)
after trophy is the should never exceed 150,000 gps. Note that Trophy
Bloodweiser Re-rolls are only allowed for Major Tournament
Blood Bowl trophies.
Championship Two examples of typical minor tournaments are the Far
Winners’ Trophy, Albion tournament and the Goblin Tribal Leeg. The Far
commonly known Albion tournament is one of the more important minor
as the Blood Bowl. tournaments. It is held on the distant island of Albion,
Originally it was northwest of the Old World across the Sea of Claws,
awarded to the which means that normally only one or two Old World
winner of the final teams make it to the island to compete against the local
match between Blood Bowl teams. The Far Albion tournament cup (or
the NFC and AFC FA Cup as it is known) used to be a stunning trophy,
Conference studded with diamonds and crusted with emeralds.
champions, but Sadly it was stolen in 2145 and had to be replaced with
now it is awarded what was meant to be a temporary tin replica. The
to the winner of original FA Cup never re-appeared, however, and now
the Blood Bowl Open tournament. Before 2461, the the battered old tin replacement has great sentimental
Blood Bowl championship games were fairly friendly – value, especially for the local Albion teams. Prizes for
but competitive – affairs, played purely to award the the tournament consists of the trophy, and a 120,000
status of Best Team in the World to the winners. With the gps prize split 80,000 gps to the winner and 40,000 gps
arrival of big business in the shape of the Bloodweiser to the loser.
Corporation, however, the competition made a major
stride in popularity. The prize money and Bloodweiser At the other end of the scale is the Goblin Tribal Leeg.
sponsorship deal that goes to the winners is said to be This tournament is normally held at round about the
worth over a million crowns over the course of the same time as Spike! Magazine tournament, as most
following year. There is also the Blood Bowl trophy itself, Goblin teams can’t afford to travel to far-off Estalia from
otherwise known as the Buddy Grafstein trophy after the their tribal lairs in the Darklands, and in any case Goblin
Bloodweiser chairman who first presented it. It’s made players hate playing in the bright, sunny conditions
from solid Dwarf gold, and as such is extremely under which the Spike! tournament is normally held.
valuable. This value has caused the original trophy to be The Tribal Leeg tournament doesn’t have a trophy or
stolen many times, and in fact the current one is the any prize money since it is all but impossible for a bunch
fourth trophy to be made! of Goblins to arrange for a trophy and two different
The winners of the Blood Bowl get the trophy itself and teams to be in the same place at the same time, and any
350,000 gps, plus a sponsorship deal from Bloodweiser prize money is invariably stolen before the final takes
which adds 20,000 gps to the prize money for each place! This means that all the winner of the Goblin Tribal
match that the team plays as long as it holds the trophy. Leeg really gets is the undying support of a huge horde
The runners-up receive a consolation prize of 150,000 of Goblin fans, who follow the team around the Old
gps. For the players, however, the most important prize World watching it play. Whether being followed around
is the Blood Bowl player’s medal awarded to each player the Old World by a huge army of Goblin fans is actually
(from both teams) that participates in the final. Receiving a good thing is open to debate, but it certainly increases
a Blood Bowl player’s medal is a great confidence the gate money that the team receives every time that it
booster, so every single player that takes part in the plays a match!
Blood Bowl final counts as have been awarded an Most
Valuable Player award and gains 5 Star Player points, in
addition to the Most Valuable Player awards that are
★ ★ ★ Did you know...
normally handed out for playing in the match. That bribery is now
so prevalent amongst
referees that rules
OTHER TOURNAMENTS have grown up
concerning where,
The four Major Tournaments are not the only Blood when and how one
Bowl competitions that are held over the course of the can accept a bribe.
year. Many other tournaments take place, ranging in It’s got so bad that
size from small local events involving only a handful of the referees’ guild is
considering
teams, through to really quite large events that rival the appointing a second
Major Tournaments in importance. Any League bunch of referees to
Commissioner who feels like organising extra govern the conduct of
tournaments based on these less important events the first lot.
should feel free to do so. It is a good idea to keep the
number of extra tournaments fairly low, otherwise the
commissioner (not to mention the coaches) will quickly
become overwhelmed with the number of tournaments
that they have to play. Similarly, the prizes for minor
BLOOD BOWL ★
AMAZON TEAMS
Long ago, driven by a desire for adventure the Valkyries of the Norse
settlement in Lustria sailed away from their men-folk and founded a
colony deep within the estuary of the river Amaxon. Now these ferocious
warriors have taken to the Blood Bowl pitch – and Nuffle save those who
dare play against them!
CHAOS TEAMS
Chaos teams are not noted for the subtlety or originality of their game play.
A simple drive up the centre of the field, maiming and injuring as many
opposing players as possible, is about the limit of their game plan. They
rarely, if ever, worry about such minor considerations like picking up the
ball and scoring touchdowns – not while there are any players left alive in
the opposing team, anyway.
DWARF TEAMS
Dwarfs seem to be ideal Blood Bowl players, being short, tough, well
armoured, and having this stuborn knack of refusing to die! Most successful
Dwarf teams work to the principle that if they can take out all other team’s
potential scorers, and wear down the rest, then there won’t be anybody left to
stop them scoringthe winning touchdowns!
GOBLIN TEAMS
A Goblin team’s game plan owes much more to hope than potential. Goblins
can make quite good catchers because they are small and agile, but the art of
throwing is sadly lost to them, while the chances of their blocking anything
larger than a Halfling are remote to say the least. Still, this never seems to
bother Goblin players, and occasionally the use of a particularly devious secret
weapon will even allow a Goblin team to win a match.
HALFLING TEAMS
The technical deficiency of Halfling teams is legendary. They’re too short to throw
or catch, they run at half pace, and the whole team can spend all afternoon trying
to block an Ogre without any chance of success. Most Halfling Coaches try to
make up for quality with quantity. After all, if you can get half a dozen players in
the opposing team’s End Zone and, by some miracle, manage to end up with the
ball, then there is a small chance that one or two of them won’t be jelly by the time
you throw the thing…
HUMAN TEAMS
Although Human teams do not have the individual strengths or outstanding
abilities available to other races, they do not suffer from any outstanding
weakness either. This makes Human teams extremely flexible, equally at
home running the ball, passing it, or ignoring it and pounding the opposition
into the turf instead!
LIZARDMEN TEAMS
The Mage-Priests foretold the game of Blood Bowl thousands of years before
it was discovered by the Dwarf Roze-El. So it is no surprise that the
Lizardmen play Blood Bowl. Providing an odd blend of dexterity and strength,
the Lustrian team can almost last the distance against a power team such as
Chaos, while remaining able to pull off the running plays of the Skaven.
Qty Title Cost MA ST AG AV Skills& Traits
0-12 Skinks 60,000 8 2 3 7 Dodge, Stunty
0-6 Saurus 80,000 6 4 1 9
Re-roll counter: 60,000 gold pieces each
NORSE TEAMS
Norse teams have a well deserved reputation for ferocity both on and off the
playing field. The Norse that takes up Blood Bowl is a truly unedifying
specimen, interested only in beer, women and song off the playing field, and
beer, women and bloody carnage while on it!
ORC TEAMS
Orcs have been playing Blood Bowl since the games was invented, and
Orc teams such as the Gouged Eye and Severed Heads are amongst the
best in the league. Orc teams are tough and hard-hitting, grinding down
the opposition’s line to create gaps for their excellent Orc Blitzers to
exploit.
SKAVEN TEAMS
They may not be all that strong, they certainly aren’t tough, but boy oh boy
are Skaven fast! Many an opponent has been left in the starting blocks as
fast-moving Skaven players scamper through a gap in the line and run in for
a lightning fast touchdown.
UNDEAD TEAMS
In the old world the dead do not rest easy. Vampires lurk in haunted
castles, Necromancers seek to escape death by searching for forbidden
knowledge, the Liche-Lords rule over legions of corpses, and on the Blood
Bowl field players who died long ago return to the scenes of their former
glory and play Blood Bowl once again…