Blood Bowl

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Blood Bowl

Blood Bowl is a tabletop game of fantasy football published by Games Workshop.

Game

To win the game, each team must get the ball down the length of the field and into the opposing team’s End Zone, scoring a touchdown. The team that scores the most touchdowns wins the game. [3a]

  • Ball: Nuffle's original scripture require the ball to be made from the inflated bladder of a pig but later balls were made from finest pigskin, warpstone chunks or even specially-bred ball squigs. [3a]
  • Pitch: It must be 100 paces long and 60 paces wide, with the End Zones an additional five paces, in honour of the sacred Gridiron, but pitches therefore vary depending on the race. [3a] A recent rule states that pitches can not be built over old graveyards after thousands of undead fans arose from the ptich during a game between the Athelorn Avengers and the Erengrad Undertakers. [6a]

History

Ancient tablets in Lustria tell of the introduction of the god Nuffle to the world by the Old Ones and their servants the Slann. Thousands of years later, mighty heroes played the game in Nehekhara and when they died they were laid to rest in grand mausoleums to join their kings and sponsors in eternity. [4a]

Modern Blood Bowl in the Old World began during a battle between Dwarfs and Orcs, when they stumbled across an ancient arena and found the rules for an ancient religious rite dedicated to the god Nuffle. One of the Dwarfs translated the ancient tome and the two armies used the rules to settle their conflict and Blood Bowl was born! Whilst the first players were dispersing to spread the news about the game, those remaining found a strange green surface that was the floor of the arena. The Dwarf translator took the name of Roze-El and became the first League Commissioner of the NAF as teams were created across the known world. The Cabalvision networks began to broadcast games, and within a few years, no one cared about going to war any more – just winning at Blood Bowl! [1] [4a]

Roze-El took the position of Sacred Commissioner of the Church of Nuffle's Amorical Football which quickly became commonly known as the NAF. In his new role, Roze-El sought to translate all the rules of the game and spread the word of his new deity and by the time of his death at the age of 196 in 2375 IC, there were already 16 Sects or Teams competing with each other across a season of play which culminated in a annual championship game or Blood Bowl. [4a]

Djimm Thorp, trusted assistant to Roze-El succeeded to the role of Sacred Commissioner, although there was no time for an investiture ceremony and he was only officially recognised as Commissioner in 2378 IC. Although the craze for the game was spreading across the world, issues with interpretations of the rules were causing increasing problems between the various teams. This came to a head in 2399 when a bitter dispute between the Dwarf Giants and the Reikland Reavers nearly led to was between the Empire and the Dwarfs! [4a]

Under severe pressure, Djimm set up a formal rules committee to create a NAF approved set of rules with the final draft being approved in 2409 IC. Although a good starting point, the rules would continue to evolve and variants of the game such as Blitz Bowl, Dungeonbowl, Street Bowl and Sevens would appear. The creation of the Referees and Allied Ruleskeepers Guild RARG by Djimm in 2414 IC further improved the professional game introducing such measures as a universal price list for bribing officials. [4a]

After the retirement of Djimm in 2429 IC, Jorge Hellhound was appointed as Commissioner and quickly proved to have a brilliant commercial mind, balancing his greed with his desire to realise a noble dream of perfecting the great game. He contacted the Colleges of Magic, asking them to find a way to transmit an image of the game across the continent and the resulting CAMRA and Cabalvision made it possible for vast numbers of people to view the game through crystal balls and magic mirrors. [4a]

Ahead of the 2460/61 IC season, Jorge split the forty teams into two conferences each of four divisions of five teams each. Each element could be sponsored by a interested party and the final championship games being paid for by the highest bidder - the money began to pour in. [4a]

The 2461 IC Blood Bowl Championship game was sponsored Bloodweiser and was broadcast to hundreds of private homes and many exclusive hostelries. For the princely sum of 714 gold pieces, the final was broadcast on Channel 7 with the Darkside Cowboys becoming the first team to lift the new trophy. [4a]

After 48 years in the position, Jorge died in 2477 IC and was replaced by Nikk Threehorn, a young priest of Nuffle. A hard worker, able assistant with a vast knowledge of the game and the inner workings of the NAF, he seemed perfect for the role. Sadly, he proved both selfish and greedy, hugely increasing the fees for broadcasting matches for the Cabalvision channels who in turn passed on the exponentially rising costs to stadium and team owners who in turn passed it on to concession stands and merchandising. Player fees and salaries also began to rise at this time - where once the average player would have earned a few hundred gold a year, they now took home more than 30,000! [4a]

The Cabalvision Networks were forced to produce more and more chat shows and dramas to try and entice viewers whilst the game of Blood Bowl became ever more violent to keep drawing in ticket sales and viewers. In 2468 IC, every game in one month ended in 0-0 draws as the players were too busy chopping each other up with chainsaws to score touchdowns! Some teams and players began to decry the degradation of the sport - especially Jeremiah Kool who, protected by the Witch King’s Black Guard of Naggarond could criticise as much as he liked. [4a]

He warned Nikk that Blood Bowl was there to worship Nuffle, not to gather gold but the Commissioner scoffed at his warnings. Many veteran players had taken a step back from the game but with the era of the chainsaw fading they began to return setting up smaller leagues and tournaments. [4a]

In 2488 IC whilst the Reikland Reavers were playing the Darkside Cowboys in the Blood Bowl final, the Cowboys’ cheerleaders ran off with Nikk Threehorn, the Commissioner at the time, and all the money in the league’s treasury. [1] In the aftermath, ABC - the largest Cabalvision Network withheld payment and it was only the first to do so. On the 3rd of Brauzeit in 2488, the NAF shut down completely with the remaining priests huddled behind the locked doors of their temple. [4a]

Chaos ensued as hundreds of teams, including the top 40 found their main reasons to exist had gone, support staff found themselves unemployed and the entire economies of nations were threatened. Rioting and looting began to plague the largest cities of the Old World and their rulers began to question the treaties that had been signed during the last century or so. [4a]

NBC announced that they were replacing the lost coverage that had died with the NAF with that of the Elven Kingdoms league following the signing of a contract between Channel 7, Orcidas and a minor league. However, a number of the once mighty teams were lost, a few folding whilst some merged with others such as the Naggarond Nightmares and the Naggaroth Nightwings. A few teams even prospered including the Champions of Death whose Coach, Tomolandry pushed his dead players to enter many competitions. [4a]

Most notable of those that benefited from the new world was the Darkside Cowboys whose academy and training programme was able to produce second string squads to play in various tournaments as the first team focussed on the Elven Kingdoms league. A few noted that all the cheerleaders who had supposedly run off with Nikk returned home to retire in great comfort and vast sums of money were invested into Blood Bowl from Naggaroth...... [4a]

In 2490, the Cabalvision Newtorks and major sponsors began to work with the owners of the larger stadia to hold a series of grand tournaments through the season: The All Comers Chaos Cup, the Spike! Magazine Trophy Open, the Dungeonbowl Invitational and most importantly the Blood Bowl Classic itself. The RARG took control of the rules and regulation, the networks and sponsors handled the promotion and the calendar was suddenly full of leagues and tournaments, punctuated by the four majors. Blood Bowl was back with a vengeance. [4a]

Leagues

Originally the top forty Blood Bowl teams from the Old and New Worlds were split into two conferences, the AFC and the NFC then further split into divisions - Central, Eastern, Northern and Western [2c] - of five teams each. Teams would compete from early autumn through to late spring, with the best teams moving to the play-offs - the quarter finals, semi-finals and then to the Blood Bowl final itself. [2b]

Teams

Blood Bowl teams are made up of at least eleven player plus the Head Coach, assistant cocahes and of course Cheerleaders [5a]with accompaning hangers-on, retainers, showmen, loyal fans and dedicated supporters. [5b]

Tournaments

Quotes

What's got eleven heads, twenty-two legs, two wings and would like to stomp you into the ground? Do you give in? That's no protection, they'd do it anyway! This is where fantasy comes down to earth - with a bang! This is Blood Bowl!

~ .[2a]

Gallery

Website

Sources

Blood Bowl
Teams Albion Wanderers - Arctic Cragspiders - Asgard Ravens - Athelorn Avengers - Badland Bruisers - Black Death - Black Mountain Blades - Bloodskull Brutes - Bloodsoaked Bruisers - Bogarton Bogeymen - Bögenhafen Barons - Bright Crusaders - Bruendar Grimjacks - Champions of Death - Chaos All Stars - Chaos Swords - Crimson Cadavers - Crimson Spikes - Crud Creek Nosepickers - Da Deff Skwad - Darkside Cowboys - Darkthunder Cheetahs - Deadbeats - Deadrock Dodgers - Dekka's Decomposing Decimators - Diseased Destroyers - Doom Lords - Dragon Crag Dirtbags - Drakfang Thirsters - Dwarf Giants - Elfheim Eagles - Evil Gits - Feathered Jaguars - Fire Mountain Gut Busters - Flesh Hounds - Galadrieth Gladiators - Gouged Eye - Great River Wardens - Greenfield Grasshuggers - Grudgebearers - Gwaka'moli Crater Gators - Haidhausen Rockets - Hochstadt Hellfires - Holy Crusaders - Ironcrag Decimators - Kara Temple Harpies - Khorne's Killers - Laurelorn Paladins - Lowdown Rats - Ludwig's Leg - Lustrian Queens - Middenheim Marauders - Mongrel Horde - Mordredd's Appoclypse - Naggaroth Nightmares - Norsca Rampagers - Nurgle's Rotters - Oldheim Ogres - Orcland Raiders - Patraxi Pythons - Pumpkin Patch Petrifiers - Reikland Reavers - Scarcrag Snivellers - Skavenblight Scramblers - Skull-tribe Slaughterers - Skywatch Sentinels - SSSchHtt V'gghUYth - Subterranean Slimeballs - Talabecland Eagles - Talon Tearaways - Thunder Valley Greenskins - Underworld Creepers - Warhammerers - Warpfire Wanderers - Wolfenburg Crypt-stealers - Werewolfenheim Wanderers - Wüppertal Wotans - Zharr-Naggrund Ziggurats
Characters Alyssa Avalos - Asperon Thorn - Barik Farblast - Bellow Thunderslam - Bilerot Vomitflesh - Black Gobbo - Bilakk'n Dekka - Boa Kon'ssstriktr - Bob Bifford - Bomber Dribblesnot - Borak - Borg 'n' Thorg - Breet Braingulper - Bryce Cambuel - Bulla Shardhorn - Cindy Piewhistle - Deeproot Strongbranch - Dorjak Sureclaw - Dribl - Drull - Eldril Sidewinder - Erik Kantona - Estelle la Veneaux - Flint Churnblade - Frank 'n' Stein - Frostspite Kane - Fungus - Galandril Silverwater - Galmen Goreblade - Glart Smashrip - Gloriel Summerbloom - Glotl Stop - Gobbler Grimlich - Gorflem Rot-Breath - Grak'Ng'Grak Gorthag - Grashnak Blackhoof - Gretchen Wächter - Griff Oberwald - Grim Ironjaw - Grimwald Grimbreath - Grograt Crunchskull - Guffle Pusmaw - Hackspit Quillchewer - Hakflem Skuttlespike - Headsplitter - Helmut Wulf - Horkon Heartripper - Hthark - Hubris Rakarth - Hugo von Irongrad - Hurk Verminsmasher - Ivan Deathshroud - Ivar Eriksson - Jim Johnson - Jordell Freshbreeze - Karina von Riesz - Karla von Kill - Kiroth Krakeneye - Kolath Head-Ripper - Kreek Rustgouger - Lewdgrip Whiparm - Luarn Proudbrow - Lucian Swift - Luthor von Drakenborg - Max Spleenripper - Mighty Zug - Mindy Piewhistle - Moranion - Morg 'N' Thorg - Nikk Threehorn - Nobbla Blackwart - Papa Skullbones - Puggy Baconbreath - Ragoslav Gravetide - Ramtep III - Ripper Bolgrot‎‎ - Rodney Roachbait - Roxanna Darknail - Roze-El - Rumbelow Sheepskin - Scrappa Sorehead - Scyla Anfingrimm - Shish Four-Arms - Skitter Stab-Stab - Skrag the Unclean - Skrorg Snowpelt - Skrull Halfheight - Smeggy Marshjuice - Snarky Knee-biter - Spiky Norman - Tarsh Surehands - Thorsson Stoutmead - Thrud - Tolly Glocklinger - Tomolandry - Ugroth Bolgrot - Valen Swift - Varag Ghoul-Chewer - Wilhelm Chaney - Willow Rosebark - Withergrasp Doubledrool - Zolcath
Sponsors Bugman's - Crok-A-Bile - Lightningade - McMurty's Burger Emporium - Orcidas
Images - Miniatures - Player Stat Cards - Quotes