Blood Bowl revealed (more) at Warhammer Fest

[Darkson (Simon)]

http://www.belloflostsouls.net/2016/05/ ... hting.html

And with there being a BB tournament at Warhammer World next weekend expect more pics and info to come.

[Darkson (Simon)]

From the details that have come out:

Rules are staying the same as now, but there will be optional rules added, such as variant balls (squig!), and there will be optional rules to add a more narrative feel to seasons, rather than just being all about winning.

Pitch is the same in number of squares, but is bigger. Each square is 32mm (up from approx 29mm) so adds about 7-8cm to the length of the board, meaning it won't fit our tables. However, GW are aware this is a problem for many people/clubs, hence not changing the rules.
Range ruler has been scaled up to fit new pitch.
Pitch is quad-folded and double-sided - orc pitch on one side, human on the other. Pitches for other races might follow.

Looks like Pact and Underworld will be in the rule book. Slann probably not, but might be added later, but they not outlawing them.

And if it sells well, they're looking at irregular supplements that will concentrate on different types of play, such as in the Chaos Wastes (looks like someone read our ARBBL Goes Chaos rules ).

[Darkson (Simon)]

Warhammerfest Roundup on the NAF website.

At GW’s Warhammer Fest this weekend, Andy Hoare and James Hewitt were in attendance. Andy is Head of the Specialist Games Division, and James is heading up the development of Blood Bowl. Many people have posted the results of their conversations on social media. Hopefully this is the best summary of various sources, and will be updated as more information is released. We won’t reproduce pictures, but have linked to them at the bottom.

1. BB will be released at the latest Q1 2017, though more likely to be 2016.
2. The box set will contain orc and human teams (12 player, starter teams) and the core rules, 2 double sided dugouts and one double sided pitch giving both orc and human themes, 2 sets of dice one blue and one green (3x Block, 2x D6, 1x D8 and 1x D16, the designs are which are still being finalised), 4 Star player cards (Griff, Zug, Varag & Morg), team tokens to use for turn, reroll, score etc, throw, scatter and throw in templates and the first part of an eventually complete set of Special Play cards.
3. The core rules will be the CRP. There will be no changes. This has been confirmed a great many times.
4. League rules will be part of a Death Zone supplement, released on the same day as the box set. The DZ supplement will contain full rosters for 7 teams. This will include 4 more plastic teams: Nurgle, Dwarf, Skaven, and Elf Union (Pro Elf). The others remain a secret for now. It will also contain rules and complete backgrounds for 20 Star Players, a couple of whom are new additions.
5. League rules are the same as the CRP, so once again the game remains the game we know and love. However, additional content has been added. Some of this was written by Jervis a few years ago, some is new. The intention is to add more narrative and more fun to leagues, adding new ways to play. This will very much be the theme going forward; to add to league play with variations and options whilst sticking with the core game we know and love.
6. There are more supplements planned and more content to come. Supplements will bring in more rosters we recognise from the CRP complete with new models, along with new and old star players, all in resin, until all 21 teams are available, and more.
7. Special Play cards will be released in due course, along with Star Player cards, again to give a complete deck.
8. The rate at which new supplements is released depends upon sales and being able to fit them into the release schedule alongside AoS and 40k releases.
9. There is no reason to expect new teams to follow Cyanide’s past releases. The team have their own plans influenced by their love of the game and the setting.
10. Plastic teams will be added to with resin releases to fill out positionals, Big Guys, etc..
11. Star Players will be released in Resin.
12. Some plastic teams will receive resin conversion kits which will enable players to build famous teams should they wish. These teams may be supported by additional rules in later league supplements.
13. The pitch will have 32 mm squares, rather than the current 29mm, but the square count will be the same. The total length will be about 8cm longer than currently. The box will contain a larger range ruler to match the larger squares, made in hard plastic rather than the classic flexible one. The board in the box will be hard cardboard, double sided with 2 different pitches, and folding into 6.
14. The miniatures are slightly larger than in previous editions, but we must remember that the previous edition was released in 1994. To give an idea of scale, the humans are about 30mm to the eye level, the same scale as current 40k Guardsmen. Orcs are the same size as current orcs for other ranges, and Black orcs are big, bad ST4 models.
15. Bases for the new figures are 32mm, which is a style choice. There is nothing preventing the use of 25mm bases or any size you choose. Size of miniatures is also a style choice.
16. The miniatures’ bases will have holes in that the ball can be attached to. There are a lot of balls in the starter set, and balls have their own optional rules based on who they belong to (biting orc squig ball?).
17. The setting remains the same. What does that mean? Well, Blood Bowl has always been set in an alternative Warhammer World where football has replaced war. It’s a grim, darkly humorous pastiche of the Warhammer setting and that isn’t changing. More importantly it is being expanded upon by a team of people who have known and loved the Warhammer World for many years. As an example Eldril Sidewinder has had his original background restored, he is a Sea Elf Wardancer turned to football, and his Hypnotic Gaze is a racial ability to mesmerize others that Wood and Sea Elf Wardancers possessed in WFB 3rd edition.
18. There will be new pitches, possibly even in neoprene (mouse mat material). The plan is to release racial pitches to tie in with all the teams. Also, there is a hidden Easter Egg present on all pitches which in due course might give a hint to potential new DungeonBowl league rules still in the planning stages.
19. The Specialist Brands Studio plans to support the community through supporting gaming and events, be they in stores or elsewhere. Plans are being laid to offer sideline staff as exclusive miniatures at events or for a set period of time, something Forge World already does with its Event Exclusive miniatures.
20. No information yet on price points, although the starter set has been kept deliberately light to ensure the price point is much lower than some other recent releases.

Pics on Bell of Lost Souls: http://www.belloflostsouls.net/2016/05/ ... hting.html

Pics and discussion on Recalcitrant Daze: http://recalcitrantdaze.blogspot.co.uk/ ... l.html?m=1

Blood Bowl Community on Facebook, lots of pics and discussion: https://www.facebook.com/groups/154786034573932/

[Darkson (Simon)]

Gotta give them credit for trying to keep the older players on board, and now they've dne this:



Now, who do I know who's going...

[Darkson (Simon)]

[Darkson (Simon)]

3 of the Star Players above are in the CRP, the other 3 aren't, but all 6 have rules in the pack.

The 3 not are:

Rasta Tailspike - Skaven Catcher - 110k
8/3/3/7 Loner, Catch, Extra Arms
Plays for: Skaven

Frank N. Stein - Undead Blocker - 160k
4/5/1/9 Loner, Break Tackle, Mighty Blow, Regeneration, Stand Firm, Thick Skull
Plays for: Human, Necromantic, Undead

Bilerot Vomitflesh - CHaos Lineman - 140k
4/5/2/9 Loner, Dirty Player, Disturbing Presence, Foul Appearance
Plays for: Chaos, Nurgle

All 3 are undercosted, and should be (using the formula they used for the Stars in the CRP) 120k, 210k and 180k respectively.
Not sure what the NAF's take will be, or even if the stars will be legal (they've been presented by the Events team, not the Blood Bowl team) but I'd probably allow Rasta and disallow Frank and Bilerot (as listed above) at the ARBBL.

[Edit] Just had it pointed out that Edril has had a change (Block and Pass added, Pass Block removed) and haven't checked the other two, so I think it's more likely this is just something the Events team knocked together, and has nothing to do with the official BB release.