Bloodbowl Let's Play

[Crovius]

So, if you don't know what Bloodbowl is, its a tabletop game set in the Warhammer Fantasy universe. They made it for PC a while back and recently game out with it for PS3 and the 360. It's a decent game. The point of this Let's Play will involve you guys making the decision on what race I play, then the players I hire. You get to have a player named after you and you'll determine how they play. You can have me play them aggressively, cautiously, focus them on defense or offense. When they level up you get to pick what skills they gain. Once they can pick new equipment you tell em what to upgrade first.

I'm playing this game regardless, just gauging to see if there is interest in you all participating. Players on my team that are named after one of you guys will get more attention and money given to them. We'll go through the decisions one at a time. If anyone wants to have the rules explained I will gladly go through what I know.

The first decision would be Classic or Blitz mode, needless to say I'll be playing Blitz so I can customize more.

Will I play this Turn Based or Real Time?

What race should I play?

List of races

Spoiler: show

Humans- Versatile and adaptable, Humans are the average, all-around race, decent at playing the game.
Dwarves- Tough, Dwarves don't have as high move as the other races but can certainly throw down. They're pretty tough too.
Orcs- More suited to the violent side of the game, Orcs are great at defense and what they lack in skill they make up for in beating up their opponents.
Skaven- Very fast and agile, most Skaven would be knocked senseless by other races, but they can cross the field quickly.
Goblins- Small stature and weak individually, they can still dodge and duck past enemies, and have Trolls to defend them
Lizardmen- A strange combination fo Strength and Agility, though they're a bit more expensive per player.
Chaos- Very strong, Chaos don't really play for touchdowns, preferring to just run over anyone infront fo them and win by injuring theother team.
Wood Elves- Agile and preffering lighter armor, they are very good at throwing and catching, but can get easilyl knocked down without the right skills.
Dark Elves- Backstabbers to the extreme, they are decent at taking down enemy players and are respectable players. Not too much armor though.

[Crovius]

Here's some rules so you all know how the game works.


The "Blood" in Blood Bowl is represented by the violent actions available to players. Game play is based on a hybrid of American Football, Rugby, and ultra-violent fictional sports events such as Rollerball. Players may attempt to injure or maim the opposition in order to make scoring easier by reducing the number of enemy players on the field.

The player races are drawn from the ranks of fantasy races and have characteristics that reflect the abilities of those races. Elves tend to be agile and good at scoring, while Dwarfs and Orcs are more suited to a grinding, physical style of play. Players are also divided up into positions suited to their role on the field, including Throwers, Catchers, and Linemen.

In league play, players gain additional skills and abilities based on their accumulation of experience points. Players face potential injury or even death on the field throughout their careers. Teams improve by the purchase of off-field staff such as cheerleaders, assistant coaches, and apothecaries.

Teams consist of eleven to sixteen players, of which eleven are allowed on the pitch at any one time. Each player is represented by an appropriate miniature and has statistics and skills that dictate his or her effect on play. There are four player statistics:

MA (Move Allowance) indicates how fast the player is.
ST (Strength) indicates the player's basic fighting ability.
AG (Agility) indicates how well the player handles the ball and evades opposing players.
AV (Armor Value) indicates how difficult it is to injure the player.
In addition, players may have special skills that affect any number of circumstances in play. Some of the more commonly used skills are Block (for fighting), Dodge (for dodging out of an opponents tackle zone), Sure Hands (for picking up the ball), Pass (for throwing the ball), and Catch (for catching the ball). These skills are not necessary to perform their corresponding actions, but will give the player an advantage.

In his or her turn, a coach may have each player take one of the following actions:

Move - Move the player through empty squares (opposing players may try to trip the moving player if he or she moves close to them).
Block - Fight an adjacent opposing player who is standing.
In addition, the following four actions may be taken by one player per team turn:

Blitz - Move and then Block an adjacent opposing player who is standing (or Block and then Move).
Foul - Move and then foul an adjacent opposing player who is prone (or just foul an adjacent player who is prone).
Pass - Move and then throw the ball (or just throw the ball).
Hand-Off - Move and then give the ball to an adjacent player (or just give the ball to an adjacent player).
Some skills also allow for special player actions.

If a player action fails, the team turn ends immediately (with some minor exceptions). This defining game mechanic is called the turnover rule. The turnover rule makes every action tense for the coaches, and together with the four-minute rule (a team turn must be completed within four minutes) it can make the game very fast-paced. Some rules such as the eleven player limit may be broken as long as the opposing coach does not notice; other rules are strictly off limits. (For example: Failing to move the re-roll counter in order to get a free re-roll)

[Crovius]

*By the way, every person can pick two races.

Also if you want to be a star player on the team simply let me know what kind of position you'd prefer (blockers are by far the most common, there are also blitzers, runners, quarterbacks, and 'secret weapons'). I'll take note and when the team is made give you the stats of the available positions. First come, first serve as I can only recruit 1 secret weapon and 2 of most others, Blockers are the only ones I can purchase an entire roster of. This way I can make special note of when a player's character pulls off some awesome stuff, like KOing an enemy in a single rush, pulling off a perfect throw, scoring touch downs, or being injured. I'll randomly pick player 'sponsered' members of the team for extra training before matches and so on. And they'll get preferrential treatment to upgrading equipment.

[Ehbobo]

I'll be a QB.

[Crovius]

Roster goes here:
Ehbobo as Pogoer
Daemon as Troll
Sinrus as Goblin
BLAND as Looney

Once I give people a chance to vote on the races I'll make the whole roster of positions taken up. If there isn't a specific 'QB' player availalbe or w/e then I'll list all the players I'm given the option of hiring and let you pick from them.

Check the tvtropes wiki, it has some good explanations of the game (like the Lizardmen are either fragile speedsters or lumbering giants) and a few insights into common tropes found in the game.

[Daemonwelsh]

ill be a blocker...
unless we play something like gob or elves in which case runner for me.

[Sinrus]

Hmmm... I'll be a blitzer, I think.

[Crovius]

So it's looking like Lizardmen at the moment, but we have till Thursday!

You are allowed to change your mind about your choices any time before Thursday night. I intend to start building the team that night.

A more detailed description of all teams will be posted here this evening.As I said, if the detailed description appeals to you then feel free to change your choices. I'm leaving simple versions (a handful fo words) below:

Humans- Humans have blitzers, linemen, catchers, throwers, and half-giants. Well rounded group. Kinda plain. But no major weaknesses.
Dwarves- Dwarves have blockers, blitzers, runners, troll slayers, and a guy on a steamroller(can't carry ball, can only play one half). Most dwarves have the Block ability so that when the "both Attacker and defender KOed" option is rolled, the Block skill stops that.
Orcs- Include normal Greenskins, Blackskin bruizers, Goblin sprinters, big bosses, and blitzers. Pretty tough headed and good at knocking around opponents
Skaven- Most are speedy runners, with shady assassins, a hulking brute, and some other crafty characters. Speed is important. Capable of mutations.
Goblins- Most are little runts, but also has the chainsaw wielder, pogostick rider, spiked ball and chain swinger (all three only useable for one half), and trolls, which can throw runty goblins, even if they're carrying the ball.
Lizardmen- Come in two flavors. The tiny, agile sprinters and the large brutes. Sprinters can dodge around defenders. The big guys just hit things and get in the way.
Chaos- Inlude goatmen, a single minotaur brute, or a quartet of chaos soldiers. The goatmen and minotaur have horns that make their charges dangerous. Chaos like just beating people up. Can be mutated. Only Chaos and Skaven have mutations available to them.
Wood Elves- Fragile, little armor, but agile. Include linemen, throwers, catchers, wardancers who can flip over the opponent, and maybe a single ent to smash things. Good at longpasses.
Dark Elves- Evil sob's, with shadowing assassins, blitzers, linemen, throwers, and a hot chick in tight leather who likes to give an opponent a heel drop tot he face.

[Daemonwelsh]

note... if we get goblin, I want to be a troll.

[Crovius]

http://www.bloodbowl-game.com

Check it out. Has anything you need to know.

[BLANDCorporatio]

I see.

So between Munchkin race Lizardmen and everybody's favourite the fscking Wood-elves I'll pick--

Goblins!

Come on, they seem the most fun to play. I wanna be that dude with the chainsaw or pogostick.

[Crovius]

They last for only half a game, but yeah, they're secret weapons. And remember, you get 2 votes.

Been playing with multiple races.

Chaos are crazy, main strategy with them is blitz the hell out of the other team and mutate a lot. And kill as many players as you can. Or run the ball. They're not the best at passing and catching, though they can surprise you with teh right skills.

Dwarves are amazing blockers, half the time they can keep from being knocked down thanks to the Both KOed not affecting most of them. They are played with more strategy in mind. And knocking in an enemy's head to lower their numbers is a great strategy.

Wood Elves are fast, fragile, and can throw deep. Against a strongarm group like chaos, expect a couple linemen to get knocked out. Their only big guy is a tree, though it is a pretty nasty monster compared to the low strength catchers and throwers.

Lizardmen ARE munchkins, holy cow. The skinks have Move of 8, can dodge through whole crowds of enemies if they can avoid rolling 1s. The bigger guys can't handle a ball worth anything (AGI 1) but can bully around enemies and have decent Movement, being the big guys.

Goblins... not surprisingly, are kinda comedic when played, pulling off things like using a pogostick to leap over enemies and throwing the goblin holding the ball to give him some extra distance. The trolls are tough, but goblins get injured, a lot.

And haven't tried the other races yet.

[Sinrus]

Yeah, I changed one of my votes from Chaos to Goblin. They sound great.

[Daemonwelsh]

Tomorrow we see, goblins? or Lizards...

or something else completely random.

[Crovius]

Goblins and both elf types are currently in a 3-way tie.

If you have not been added to my roster further up on the page and want a position please post what type, so whena race is chosen I have a decent idea of who you could play.

[wolfminmitar]

hello my name is Jeb i think goblins and chaos are pretty cool. it would be really awesome if we got chaos.

[Crovius]

Remember guys, tonight is the last chance to change your vote! Goblins are in first place with Chaos and Dark Elf right behind.

Remember, chaos can grow mutations... like claws, a tail, a second head, tentacles, and more! Or just make sure to spec certain Beastmen to fill in the roles of Kicker, thrower, and catcher (otherwise they're best at just running the ball).

Goblins can... well they have secret weaposn adn the trolls cna throw the goblins, but otherwise their squishy as heck. (I've wiped out most of a goblin team by the end of one game, they were crippled the rest fo the season cause they couldn't afford replacements).

Dark Elves are cool, and evil bastards. Haven't played as them yet, but playing against them, they're tough to beat because they're got decent brawling skills and are great for both short passes and interception.

[Crovius]

hello my name is Jeb i think goblins and chaos are pretty cool. it would be really awesome if we got chaos.

Also, Jeb, what kind of position woudl you want your 'player' to be in?

[Daemonwelsh]

kinda seems to me like chaos is the newb race, with dwarves being moderate, and goblins being the very hard setting.

or Legendary.... with all skulls on.

my kinda game

[Crovius]

No no no, Goblisn are the N00bs who found a bunch of cheat codes to even the playing field.

Chaos is actualyl Hard Mode because touchdown are important. And they have a VERY hard time pulling that off with only 3 types of players.

Humans are the only "normal" setting. Maybe Orcs too. All other races require a certain "type" of play.