BLOOD BOWL SUNDAY WEEK 2!

HellaJeff

WELCOME TO
BLOOD BOWL!!!

What is Blood Bowl?
Blood Bowl is Warhammer Fantasy smashing with American Football in the most gruesome and fun way possible.

How do you play Blood Bowl?
Blood Bowl is played with two fierce teams pitted against each other on football field. Players take turns trying to crash through their opponents defense and carry the ball to the endzone more times than your opponent. But it wouldn't be Blood Bowl with out a few broken bones would it? Not every team goes for the touchdowns, if you can manage to garrote, maim, or kill the enemy team you win!

Where can you buy Blood Bowl?
Steam and Amazon are your best bets for the PC version, which is what this thread is about. Legendary Edition, which I highly recommend, is on sale all the time on Steam! Get to pounding your enemies guts today!

Now that you have bought your rights to coach, it's time take the ball out of wherever you foul creatures put it and score some touchdowns!

The Se++ Winter League Has Begun!!
The password

Spoiler:

wang++

The format is standard, everyone makes a brand new team to get decimated
18 Teamslots
Single Round Robin
1 Division (with 18 you can have one or three, I thought three to be too few)
Try to play at least on match a week using this thread or PMs to schedule your matches
Winner's team will receive the famous DUNGEONBOWL TROPHY

Go spill some blood on the pitch!

What if I didn't make it in time for the Winter League? You are in luck! We have a casual open league too!
SE++ Casuals
pass:

Spoiler:

wang

LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

Current Registrar:
Caulk Bite 6
Lawinator
Uriel
Huntera
Stew_Stick
Draeven
Moridin889
Pony
Lostwords
Corporate Logo
Fishman
Firmskater
Bizazedo
Goose!
W2
Freakish Light

HellaJeff

What dishonorable creatures play BLOOD BOWL?

Humans!

Spoiler:

The humans are attributed to trying to bring the honesty back to Blood Bowl with fair play and good fundamentals. The humans are pretty good at everything, they have a variety of players to choose from when building your roster so you can make a well rounded defense offense or anywhere in between. They don't have much to brag about over other races but with so many decent options they can avoid being predictable

Orcs WAAAGH!!

Spoiler:

Orcs play very similar to humans being pretty well rounded for most types of Blood Bowl play. However the Orcs have more dakka on their shoulders giving them higher toughness to live longer but also slowing them down more than the Humans. The Orcs can also have their big guys throw their smaller goblin team mates for crazy antics to score touchdowns or recover fumbles.

Dwarves!

Spoiler:

The Dwarves play one of the best running games in all the league. You can't knock a good Dwarf down for good, their tough skin and thick armor are great resistances to the more violent teams. Most Dwarves are great at opening holes in another teams line and running the ball but don't try to reach to far with those stubby arms, as most races will reach right over them at swoop the ball out of the air.

Lizard Men!

Spoiler:

These scaly bunch represent an extreme in speed and power. Using their two main forces the Saurus will break apart and smash the enemy to the ground. They make up the bulk of muscle on the Lizard Men teams. The Saurus aren't to great at running past the enemy and that is where the skinks come in. As the tiny lizards they are, they run with enormous speed and dexterity, but be wary, it doesn't take much to break a skink's bones.

Wood Elves!

Spoiler:

All that time living in trees has made these elves nimble, light, and accurate throwers. The Wood Elves prize the passing game and would almost always rather throw the ball halfway down the field then come into contact with an enemy. To that extant the Wood Elves have no trouble dodging or weaving through the opponents lin to get the prime opportunity to catch that long pass.

Dark Elves!

Spoiler:

Just as pretentious and twice as deadly as their Wood Elf cousins are the Dark Elves. The Dark Elves are pretty good passers, pretty good catchers, and they have a little more toughness to do it but are no means made of steel. Dark Elves have one other tool that Wood Elves do not, they have no qualm with putting down their opponent with a blade and not a tackle.

Skaven!

Spoiler:

A bunch of dirty dirty rats! While they may be bigger than your typical rat, on the field they are just as fragile. A Skaven runner can't take more than a gentle tap before getting on the gurney. But who needs to get up when you are already in the endzone? Skaven are fast, blindingly fast. A good Skaven can make it down the field without any opposition as long as he has a good opening.

Chaos!

Spoiler:

Ball? What ball? The Chaos rarely worry about such silly antics such as touch downs. Instead their focus is on pain, and a lot of it. A Chaos team won't just ruin your star player's career, they will end your whole team. While on the slow side the Chaos don't mind waiting for a big meat sack to come their way just so they can pummel and and watch it fail to rise ever again.

Goblins!

Spoiler:

A whole field of these pesky little guys wouldn't seem like a risk on the field but they aren't alone. Nearly every Goblin carries some sort of wacky tool with the hope of
using it to bring down their foes or get the ball down the field. However these weapons are highly illegal and being caught using one is an immediate suspension. Goblins use their love of money to buy off many a referee to keep these weapons in play as long as possible.

Pony's Awesome Guide to Blood Bowl skills

Spoiler:

PONY'S GUIDE TO SKILL PRIORITIES

So, in Blood Bowl league play, your dudes level up. They acquire Star Player Points (SPPs) which are like XP in most RPGs. They acquire these in a variety of ways (Casualties, Touchdowns, Completions, etc.) The optimum way to get SPPs is a guide in and of itself, so I'm going into this assuming you know how SPPs work and how best to get them for your mans.

Now, the fact is, your guys are only going to get so many level-ups in the course of their career. For some, that average might only be 1-2 upgrades during the course of a regular-length league, although players of importance (like your TD-scoring guys) might be raking in the SPPs and gain 3 or 4 levels before you know it.

This means you have an extremely narrow window of opportunity with which to upgrade your guys and you basically can fuck yourself if you don't do it correctly.

So here's a guide on how to do that proper-like

Firstly, I'm going to go over some "positions", since that effects who you should skill and how.

Generically, players in Blood Bowl can be divided into five "roles":

Defender - Linemen, blockers, high-Strength hitty guys who don't move very quickly, often have less than stellar agility, and largely act as a meat-wall to stop guys from getting up in your shit. Examples: Saurus, Black Orcs, linemen for most teams.

Striker - As opposed to the slower-moving, line-holding Defenders, Strikers are more mobile and often pursue and maul ball-carriers. They tend to come equipped with essential skills like Block, and are often the more expensive players on your team. In a pinch, Strikers can make effective ball-carriers, and are the "all-rounders" on your team. Examples: Wood Elf War Dancers, Blitzers of all kinds.

Carrier - Carriers run the ball. They're usually the fastest, most agile players on your team, and they spend most of their time running the field either with the ball or after the ball. They're usually not very strong or hitty. Examples: Gutter Runners, Skinks, Catchers of all kinds.

Passer - Passers pick up and throw the ball. That's their primary function, and their skills are oriented around that. Not every team has 'em. Examples: Throwers of various sorts.

Big Guy - Big Guys are a type of Defender (or possibly even Striker) that most teams have. They have high strength, usually low to average agility, and some kind of disability or downside that makes them not entirely predictable. Not every team has Big Guys (Dark Elves, for example, do not) Example: Ogres, Trolls, Treemen

Not every team has every roll. Some teams don't have Big Guys. Lizardmen, being Skinks and Saurus, are entirely Carriers and Defenders. The Ogre team is composed entirely of Big Guys, and the Vampires (who suck ass, don't play Vampires they are the worst team holy shit) are this weird mixture of Big Guys and totally useless piece of shit thralls.

With that said, here's the priority of skills you should acquire, and in what order. If your dude already has these skills (For example, all Norse players have Block) skip 'em and move to the next on the list.

so, let's do this:

Defender Skills
The thing with Defenders is they act primarily as a cockblock. They exist to knock guys down, not be knocked down, and stop opposing players from crossing your line into your side of the field. So their skills reflect those choices. Resist temptation to make your Defenders into "all-rounders". That's what your Strikers are for (unless your team doesn't have Strikers)

Skills you should take for Defenders and in what order:
1. Block - TAKE BLOCK IMMEDIATELY FOR ALL DEFENDERS EVER NO OPTION. If your Defenders start with Block (Dwarves and Norse do, for example) then you can skip this and move on to the next one. Block is absolutely essential for Defenders, Strikers, and Big Guys, and even on Carriers and Passers it's good to have. It is, hands-down, one of the most important skills in the game.
2. Guard - If your Defender has regular, non-doubles access to Strength skills (some do, some don't), take Guard as soon as you have Block covered. Guard is an incredibly powerful skill that can turn a middle or low-strength team into a swarm of destruction. If your dude doesn't have access to Guard, skip this one, but take it if you roll some doubles later.
3. Tackle - Tackle is the Rock to Dodge's Scissors. It negates Dodge, meaning that those agile Elf types and shit with Dodge not only don't get their re-roll if they fail to dodge out of your TZ, it also turns Defender Stumbles (the whack mark with the ! in it) into a regular hit, taking a guy down who would otherwise be pushed back.
4. Mighty Blow - Like Guard, Mighty Blow requires Strength access on the regular, or on doubles otherwise. Mighty Blow is an amazing skill and will make you fucking maul low-armor teams like Elves or Norse. Mighty Blow takes guys off the field, which is great for the game period, and it can help ensure more Casualties, raking in more SPP for your dudes. Some people prioritize Mighty Blow early, to get more SPP over time, but this is stupid. It's a third or forth priority skill at best after Block, Guard, and Tackle.
5. Stand Firm - Also requires Strength access, but if you have it Stand Firm turns your Defender into an un-moving wall of steel. By this point, you should have Block, Tackle, and Guard, which means you knock dudes down and provide reliable assists to your team-mates, making it so your enemy can't fuck with your line.
6. Fend - Fend is only useful if you don't have Stand Firm, ie you don't have Strength access and couldn't take it. Fend is good, but not as good as Stand Firm, and can bugger up an opponent's ability to linecrush you.

Ability Score Increases: With Defenders, ALWAYS choose the above 5 or 6 skills FIRST before taking Ability Score Increases as an upgrade, UNLESS it's Strength. Always take +1 Strength if you can, even if you don't have Block first, because +1 Strength is the best possible upgrade for Defenders.

I gotta get some eats, so I'll continue this post later with Strikers, Carriers, Passers, and Big Guys, and I'll conclude with a section of "Mastery Traps", ie Skills that SUCK HORRIBLY AND ARE A WASTE OF A LEVEL-UP AND SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU

but seriously vampires are terrible

Alright so next up

Striker Skills
Strikers have a lot of the same skill priorities as Defenders, with a few differences around their mobility and intention to take down Carriers

So here's some Striker skill priorities:

1. Block - Most Strikers are Blitzers or something similar, and almost always start with Block. If for some reason they don't have Block, get it, but chances are you can just skip this.
2. Tackle - Strikers are primarily designed for takedowns and stopping ball carriers. Tackle helps greatly with that, negating Dodge (which most Carriers have)
3. Shadowing - Shadowing makes your Striker VERY hard to get away from, especially when combined with Tackle to negate Dodge.
4. Dodge - If you have Agility 3+ and access to Agility skills, grab Dodge at this point. Dodge is a great skill for agile Strikers to have and makes them incredibly difficult to take down when combined with Block
5. Grab - If you have access to Strength skills, take Grab. It negates Side Step (which an annoying number of Carriers tend to have) and means when you are hitting a Carrier in your backfield from behind you aren't accidentally pushing him further towards your end-zone. If you can't take Grab, take Frenzy.
6. Mighty Blow - If you have Strength skills, at this point take Mighty Blow. If you don't, take Dauntless, because chances are your Striker is Strength 3 or lower if you don't have Str skills by default.

With ability scores, always take +1 Str if you can. Take +1 Agi if you have Tackle and Dodge, but not before. +1 MA should only be taken if you have Tackle, Dodge, and Shadowing.

Carrier Skills
Carriers are often the weakest, strength and armor wise, guys on your team. They're also generally the fastest and most agile, and they're going to be scoring the lion's share of your TD's if you play em right.
Carriers are a little trickier to Skill than some other roles, because it depends on what other kinds of players you have on your team, but hopefully this will be a good guide

1. Dodge - Dodge is absolutely essential for a Carrier, since you'll be Dodging a lot. Most Carriers come equipped with Dodge, so if yours does, skip this step.
2. Fend - Fend is an infuriating skill for your opponent when he is chasing your carrier down his back-field.
3. Nerves of Steel - Only worth taking if you have a Passer on your team and intend to actually throw the ball to Carrier at some point. If you don't, skip this skill (and Catch). If you do have a passing game on your team, for the love of god take this on your Carrier.
4. Catch - Catch, again, is only valid if you have a Passer on the same team. Many Carriers (like most designated Catchers) have Catch itself, in which case you can skip this skill and move along.
5. Block - The best skill in the game is of lesser priority on a Carrier because, if you're playing him right, he shouldn't be getting hit at all. But, it's always good to have.
6. Sure Feet - Going for it can be risky. Sure Feet mitigates that risk, especially when you take...
7. Sprint - With Sprint and Sure Feet, "Going for it" becomes three whole squares of consistently reliable extra movement. Who doesn't want that on their ball-runner?

Agi upgrades should ALWAYS be taken if they are an option, even over other skills. Same with MA. Str is a much, much lower priority for Carriers, especially if your Str is less than 3 in the first place. Might as well not bother. On a Str 3 default Carrier, +1 Str is good to take, because good fucking luck taking a Str 4 Carrier down.

Passer Skills
Passers are very straightforward, as they have very specific an limited utility. When you have greater than 11 players on your roster total, you shouldn't even be fielding these guys on drives when you're not receiving, since they won't be very useful.

1. Sure Hands - A Passer is worthless if you can't pick up the ball. So much so that most Passers have this already. If you have Agi 4+, you can skip this skill.
2. Accurate - ALWAYS take Accurate ASAP after Sure Hands. It's literally a constant +1 to the one thing Passers are supposed to do, it's like a limited +1 Agi in the only field that matters.
3. Pass - Natch. So natch most Passers already have it to start, so this is usually skippable. Also skippable if you have Agi 4+ and Accurate, since it's overkill.
4. Strong Arm - Only if you have access to Str skills, either by default or due to doubles. Strong Arm reduces your range by a whole category. Stacked with Accurate it is incredible. For Agi 4+ it's overkill, and chances are you'll not have access to Str skills anyway.
5. Leader - It's a FREE REROLL. Rerolls are fucking game-changers in Blood Bowl, and having a free Reroll on your dude is amazing. Note that only one player on the team can grant you a Leader Reroll per half, so this skill is only worth giving to 1 Passer if you have more than one for some reason. If you already have Leader on your other Passer, skip this.
6. Kick-Off Return - A FANTASTIC skill and one that will come up a lot quicker than you might think on this priority since many Passers (Human Throwers, for example) already start with 1 or 2 of the skills on this list and another is Str-dependent.
7. Nerves of Steel - Not as great on a Passer as it is on a Carrier, at this point it's still a handy skill to have to be able to get the ball the fuck out of dodge, and enables your Passer to be played on drives when you kick the ball, since if you get him in the back field and take the ball from the opposing Carrier you can get it to your own Carrier quickly.

Big Guys
Big Guys are weird. In the edition of Blood Bowl this game is based on, they only take up one square (in previous editions they took up 2x2 squares) but their skills and rules didn't change much, and that's sorta weird.
Big Guys always have a downside skill, like Bone Head, Wild Animal, or Really Stupid. They also have Loner, making it really difficult to effectively use re-rolls with them.
They're basically Defenders with a few extra considerations to reflect their unique nature.

1. Guard - Big Guys don't have General skills by default, otherwise they'd take my beloved BLOCK ASAP. If for some reason, you roll doubles EVER in leveling up a Big Guy, take Block immediately. Assuming not, though, take Guard.
2. Stand Firm - Stand Firm is awesome for Big Guys. It turns them into a fucking WALL and combined with Guard makes an anchor for your defensive line.
3. Break Tackle - Break Tackle makes your Big Guy more mobile than normal, since usually they have shit Agi and can't dodge. But with 5+ Str Break Tackle makes them a hell of a mobile attack unit. If you roll doubles and have already taken Block, take Tackle here instead.
4. Multiple Block - Only take this skill if your Str is 6+. Most Big Guys start at 5, so Multiple Block isn't as useful, but if you have 6+ it makes your Big Guy a defensive line phenom. If your Str is 5, skip this.
5. Grab - Big Guys are Defenders at core, and Grab will keep you able to reposition your enemy's line to linecrush him.

With ability scores, more Str is always better, but always take Guard first since it's a key skill for Big Guys. A bonus to MA or Agi can be nice, but only if you already have at least up to the first 3 skills.

THE SHIT LIST

The skills are "Mastery Traps". They might look good at a glance, but as someone with two decades of experience with this game that has seen few total revisions between the editions, let me tell you these skills are fucking worthless and not worth wasting an oh-so-precious level-up on.

General
Kick - Garbage. Kicks RARELY go out of bounds anymore, and even when they do, a touchback is not the worst thing in the world.
Pass Block - You will have this come precisely NEVER, I guarantee you.
Pro - A free Reroll for that player sounds nice, but the fact that you have to make a roll to activate the skill itself means even MORE relying on the dice. Relying on the dice is BAD because the dice HATE YOU.
Strip Ball - Why worry about this shit when you could take skills to knock the ball-carrier the fuck down?
Wrestle - Fucking worthless. Take Block you dipshit.

Agility
Diving Catch/Diving Tackle - TWENTY YEARS of playing this game you know how many times I have seen people use these fucking stupid skills? NEVER. NOT ONCE EVER. They're useless, edge-case skills.

Passing
Dump-Off - Why base your skill upgrades on your guy fucking up and getting knocked down? How about taking skills that help that not happen instead!
Hail Mary Pass - You will never fucking use this thing ever if you skill your fucking guys properly.
Safe Throw - Not worth it, just don't fuck up your throws in the first place.

Strength
Piling On - SPECIAL: Piling On is USUALLY a shit-tier skill, not worth taking. It's ESPECIALLY not worth it on Big Guys, who are going to have to make crap-skill rolls like Really Stupid to even STAND UP. Plus, like Wrestle, why the fuck would you take a skill that willfully knocks your guys down, even if it doesn't cause a turn-over? Nonsense.
Now, with Piling On there's one edge-case where it's not shit: When you have a guy who, due to Str and Mutation access, has both Claws and Mighty Blow. You tack Piling On onto that and you will take out 1 opposing player per hit, I almost guarantee it, taking him right off the pitch with at LEAST a knock-out. If you choose to go this route, make sure to try to get Jump Up ASAP, since it negates the lost movement/need to Blitz from standing up your guy.

hope this helps you guys not lose

Caulk Bite 6

!signup

Moriveth

!signup

TheLawinator

Never played blood bowl before, but I am hella down for this.

!signup

HellaJeff

TheLawinator wrote:

Never played blood bowl before, but I am hella down for this.

!signup

It is incredibly fun and after one game it is really easy to pick up

TheLawinator

Teach me, Jeff-sama.

Caulk Bite 6

Step one: have the game
Step two: play a learning match with someone who isn't a selfish dink
Step three: fun!

Moriveth

I would play some right now if I wasn't rendering a video

perhaps tomorrow afternoon I'll practice some

Caulk Bite 6

Basically just don't make your first game be with some anon online.

freakish light

I'm interested in this. I actually bought the game for full price waaaay back when it came out in like '09, but it seemed a lot harder to get into and more broken. I picked up the legendary edition, so hopefully this time I'll get into it

Fishman

I think I'd like to !signup although I may just end up defaulting half my matches owing to ridiculous other commitments and timezones and other shit. But still, I'd like to throw down with some of you, if only to learn if I can maintain my boardgame winning percentage.

Spoiler:

0-3

TheLawinator

I have two teams now!

The Great Maw Greasebags - Ogres
A Bump in the Night - Necromantic

Caulk Bite 6

There's a chance I might be able to get my housemate interested in this as well. He already likes bloodbowl, just isn't yet a PA forums member.

HellaJeff

Fishman wrote:

I think I'd like to !signup although I may just end up defaulting half my matches owing to ridiculous other commitments and timezones and other shit. But still, I'd like to throw down with some of you, if only to learn if I can maintain my boardgame winning percentage.

Spoiler:

0-3

You should definitely play, I think we are going to give everyone about a week to play each game so you have some leeway while you celebrate whatever holiday fishpeople celebrate during the winter

Mr Fuzzbutt

I bought this during a Steam sale but never got around to actually learning to play it properly.

FirmSkater

I haven't played it yet - Caulk was awesome enough to gift it to me though and I'm thinking tomorrow afternoon i will give it a go. I am totally down for this league thing

!signup

Hullis

Gotta buy this soon, ugh

HellaJeff

Mr Fuzzbutt wrote:

I bought this during a Steam sale but never got around to actually learning to play it properly.

You are not alone! Now is a great time to learn with everyone learning the game at the same time

TheLawinator

How many ogres should I have on my ogre team?

HellaJeff

Here I confess to ignorance. I am not actually good at blood bowl I just love it.

Goose!

I think there's enough interest in this that I will do it. Of course, I think I have to buy the game first, but

!signup

W2

I'm terrible at Blood Bowl, but I'd love to play.


!signup

Caulk Bite 6

TheLawinator wrote:

How many ogres should I have on my ogre team?

As many as it allows you to have.

Caulk Bite 6

May want to go with, say, six though. If that's the max, then hey ho, there ya go.

FirmSkater

Alright I did the tutorial.

It was pretty confusing and they were explaining stuff before it was even happening so I was scratching my head trying to see what happened while i wasn't paying attention a few times.

Then I played a game and did awwwwwful against the computer.

I will try again tomorrow

Caulk Bite 6

Yeah, turns out that when I told you try the tutorial, I had never used it myself and had figured it to be somehow decent.

HellaJeff

FirmSkater wrote:

Alright I did the tutorial.

It was pretty confusing and they were explaining stuff before it was even happening so I was scratching my head trying to see what happened while i wasn't paying attention a few times.

Then I played a game and did awwwwwful against the computer.

I will try again tomorrow

The computer is pretty tough but more games really is the best learning tool

Dead Legend

i am interested in this

at least, to play blood bowl with you guys

at best i wouldn't have time until december 13th though

so around then i will hit y'all up for some exhibition matches?

Uriel

!signup

Huntera

Did not see this!

!signup

Stew_Stick

!signup

Add me on Steam if you haven't already! My ID is Stewstick.

Tonkka

Oh god I want to do this but unsure if my computer will run it...

Checking...

HellaJeff

I hope you can Tonkka, I'd love to watch you WAAGH all over my pointspread

Uriel

I just looked at my Orc team's record.

One tie and three wins.

Technically undefeated.

Jasconius

This looks like a game I would love. But too much other stuff to play

HellaJeff

So does December 7th (Monday) work for everyone?

Uriel

My last match against Caulk Bite was just me getting stupid lucky and scoring three TDs.

I managed to dodge a orc blitzer through like 4 threatened squares.

Huntera

Wait, is it Monday or Wednesday? Because the 7th is a wednesday

HellaJeff

Wednesday, my badd

Uriel

I am up to start on Wednesday.

What kinda of schedule are we looking at for playing matches?

Also what kind o teams will everyone be playing?