Blood Bowl – 5th Edition vs. LRB, or cha-cha-cha-CHANGES

Got my main rulebook open, and I have the pdf of the old LRB on my laptop as I type.  It’s time to see what 5th edition has changed, rules wise.  Here’s a running tally as I find them:

• Handoff and Foul are not in the actions in the Basic Rules; they are instead in the Advanced section, later in the book.  This explains why they’re not on the quick start guide cards.  They are mentioned, though. (it wasn’t an oversight)
• Under causes for a turnover, the four minute time limit is GONE!  No more hourglasses or stopwatches!  This assists new players.  I bet it will make a comeback in an advanced book later. EDIT: It is in the Advanced section of the rules.
• Minor change: several of the rules use the genderless “they” or “themselves” to refer to players, when identical wording in the old book is “him” or “himself.”  I think this is for teams with female players, such as Amazons, who will hopefully be included in a later rules set (if only for the die-hard Amazon players!)
• Rules for team building do not include Skill Types for normal and doubles.  This is corrected in the Death Zone supplement.
• Human Catchers reduced from 70,000gp to 60,000gp.
• Assistant Coaches, Cheerleaders, and Apothecaries/Necromancers are no longer listed during team creation.
• Each player gets Special Play cards, randomly decided (1:1 card, 2-5:2 cards, and 6:3 cards).  A Magic Item deck is mentioned, but not present in the box set (expansions ahoy!)
• Because a D16 is added to the box set, you don’t need to draw chits from a mug!  Not that you needed to in the past, but you had to buy your own D16…
• Obviously, Cheerleaders and Assistant Coaches are not mentioned in the Cheering Fans and Brilliant Coaching results on the Kickoff Table.
• The Skills section is MUCH shorter.  Skills for teams that are not out yet have been omitted. (for example, Prehensile Tail is not listed as Lizardmen or other tail-having races have not been re-released) EDIT: most missing skills are in Death Zone.
• League rules are omitted, as they are in Death Zone.  On that note…

The following is a list of things from the League supplement, Death Zone:

• Skaven Gutter Runners now have the Weeping Dagger skill, which lets them hurt people better.
• Nurgle Warriors are renamed Bloaters in the Nurgle Teams, but are identical.
• Beasts of Nurgle are renamed Rotspawn, identical as well.
• “Elf Teams” are renamed Elven Union Teams.
• Wood Elf Treemen now have a new Extraordinary Skill: TIMMM-BER!  Knocked down models with this skill receive a +1 to the roll to stand up, if MA is less than 3.  A roll of 1 always fails.  Assisting models can’t be in enemy tackle zones (just like assisting a Block or Foul).  This extra skill does not alter the Treeman’s cost! EDIT: This rule has been invalidated by errata, see the bottom of the post.
• MVP is now LESS RANDOM!  This is an incredible advance on the old rules.  Now, select 3 players from your team and roll a D3 to decide which is MVP!  No more handing out MVP to dead players, or giving MVP to a useless player who already has too many SPP or can’t benefit from another skill.
• Under Inducements, Petty Cash as a concept is gone (which is good, because it was always confusing!) Instead, the coach with the higher team value can purchase Inducements with their gold, then the opposing coach gets gold = team value difference and can spend it.
  • Without the Petty Cash rule, a lower team could spend any amount in their treasury on inducements without penalty.  In the old Blood Bowl, Petty Cash added to your Team Value, and so lower valued teams could only spend their Inducement money and no more, unless they transferred to Petty Cash an amount GREATER THAN the Inducements, because Petty Cash added to their Team Value, and thus Inducements would be reduced by the amount of Petty Cash, making it useless.
  • In additon, higher value teams can now spend away, not giving their opponent any additional Inducement money!  This can mean that a rich team could go into each match with a bunch of expensive inducements.
• Bloodweiser Babes are now Bloodweiser Kegs.
• Halfling Master Chefs are gone…
• Igor is gone…
• Wizards are reduced to 100,000gp from 150,000gp.
• Special Play cards are changed, so that instead of drawing randomly, you draw X, keep X-1, and X increases as the value of the higher team increases.  You can also purchase Special Play cards, which increase the value of X for you by one (not your opponent!)
• EXPENSIVE MISTAKES are a new addition to the post-game sequence!  Now, if your treasury exceeds 100,000gp, your players tend to do stupid and/or expensive things.  The larger your treasury, the stupider they act, as the money goes to their heads!  You roll on a table and lose no GP if you avert the crisis, but if there is an incident, you lose some GP, sometimes most of it!  Hoarding GP is no longer a good idea!  Too bad for teams that have expensive “big” players that don’t buy them during Team Creation… Saving up for them is risky!
• Skills are all back, but skills listed below are in the LRB but not in this supplement:
  • Animosity
  • Ball & Chain
  • Bloodlust
  • Bombardier
  • Chainsaw
  • Diving Tackle
  • Fan Favourite
  • Multiple Block
  • Piling On (note: this IS in the book, but is listed as optional, as it’s been reported as OP)
  • Stakes
  • Titchy
• In addition, these skills are in Death Zone but not the LRB:
  • Monstrous Mouth (similar to Sure Hands)
  • Timmm-ber! (described above)
  • Weeping Dagger (if this model causes an injury of 11-38: Badly Hurt, roll a D6.  On a 4+, that injured player also suffers a Miss Next Game)
• COACH MODELS HAVE AN IN-GAME EFFECT!  When a player is sent off, roll a D6.  On a 6, the call is reversed!  On a 1, your coach is sent off, and you cannot argue again for the game, plus you get a -1 to Brilliant Coaching rolls!
• Assistant Coaches, Cheerleaders, and Apothecaries are back.

Note: Death Zone is a proper softcover book with a strong cardstock cover; much more sturdy than the main rulebook, which is a double-stapled booklet! (/print nerd)

…and that’s it!  I might try the App next.  Who knows?

EDIT: It seems there are three errata documents already!  You can find them here, at the bottom of the page. Here’s an analysis of these documents.

-Blood Bowl Main Rulebook FAQ

Most of these FAQs are straight from the LRB, some of which are even identically worded.  One notable exception is the first one: a player who is sent off for a foul, who then has their coach roll a 6 and reverse that call, still causes a turnover.

-Teams of Legend Supplemental Document

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

HOLY CRAP!  ALMOST ALL PREVIOUS TEAMS, PLUS A COUPLE NEW ONES ARE CONTAINED HEREIN!  The Konquata Monitors are now legal and ready to play!  Here’s a list of new stuff, including teams:

• New Chaos Renegades team: A team of up to 12 human linemen who can get the Mutation skills on a NORMAL ADVANCE ROLL.  IN addition, the team can have 0-1 of EACH the following: Goblin, Skaven, Dark Elf, Troll, Ogre, Minotaur.  Bring a Troll, Minotaur, and Ogre for three big guys on the front line, throw in a Goblin for Right Stuff plays.
  • QUICK THOUGHT: If a Chaos Renegades team has an Ogre (Throw Team-mate), a Troll (Throw Team-mate) and a Goblin (Right Stuff), can the Ogre move up in one turn, and then on the next turn, the Troll throw the Goblin, have the Goblin land next to the Ogre, and have the Ogre throw the Goblin for a double throw?  Such a play would be risky, but could potentially see a goblin go all the way across the field in one turn!
• New Underworld Denizens team: Skaven with Goblins instead of Gutter Runners, and a Troll instead of a Rat Ogre.
• Amazons have some name changes for their positions, but are otherwise the same.
• Chaos Dwarfs also name changes but nothing else.
• Skills, such as Animosity, Bombardier, etc. that apply to these teams are listed here, if they are not in the main rulebook.
• Chaos Teams are now called Chaos Chosen teams, and have a few name changes.
• Halflings are back, and underneath them the Halfling Master Chef is back!  Oddly, the Halfling’s Treemen have the Timmm-ber! skill, while it is purged from Wood Elf Treemen in the Death Zone FAQ (see below).  An oversight?  Perhaps the FAQ needs an FAQ?
• Khemri are now Khemri Tomb Kings, and have name changes.
  • In addition, Igor is back as an inducement, and can work for teams with undead players!
• Lizardmen have very minor name changes.
• Norse Werewolves are now called Ulfwerenar.
• Necromantic teams are now Necromantic Horror teams, and have minor name changes.
  • Both Necromantic Horror and Shambling Undead (see below) gain a Necromancer instead of a coach, that can give your team free zombies!  This is not new though.
• Undead teams are now Shambling Undead teams, minor name changes.
• Ogre Teams now have “runts” instead of Snotlings, so you can use Snotlings, Knoblars, or anything else thematic.  This makes the Ogre team canon with Ogre Kingdoms from Fantasy.
• Vampire teams have minor name changes.

-Death Zone Season 1 FAQ

Minor changes to skills, including the purging of any use of the Timmm-ber! skill from Wood Elves’ Treemen.

…and that’s all folks!

Blood Bowl 5th Edition Unboxing

It’s Black Friday, and I went to local games store AFK Games in Holt, MI, to pick up a copy of the new Blood Bowl box set, and Death Zone: Season 1, the supplemental book!  I’ve never opened a new box set on fourstrands, so it’s time for my first unboxing!

In a future post, I plan to read the new rulebook, line by line, and compare it to the old Blood Bowl Living Rulebook.  I’ll outline the biggest changes I see.  But first, let’s take a look at that box!

I really like the art.  You get that it’s a football game, but also much more violent than ordinary football.  The goblin looks a bit goofy though.

Let’s flip the box!

A basic explanation of the game.  One thing that I looked for in the store and found conspicuously missing was a listing of the models contained in the box set.  I’ll list those when I look at the models themselves.

Now, to open this precious oyster to find the pearls of… something related to football… ok bad metaphor…

Jam packed full!  Already I can see Human miniatures in blue, Ork in green, and templates in gray.  There’s also some dice.  First, let’s get those miniatures out and get up close and personal!

Here are the humans.  Poses for these guys are a bit odd.  The linemen on the left side sort of have their arms out.  It’s half “COME AT ME, BRO!” and half “I believe I can flyyyyyyy…”  I’m also not a fan of the dancing catcher, who is doing a saucy pirouette with the ball.  The Blitzers are also oddly posed.  I’m digging the thrower though.  Good pose for making a long pass.  What I’m a bit disappointed in is the lack of variety in the minis.  The above sprues are identical so you get 2 of each pose.

Speaking of which, here’s the list of Human minis:

• 2 Throwers (identical)
• 2 Catchers (identical)
• 2 Blitzers (identical)
• 6 Linemen (3 different poses)

Now, for the Orcs!

The Orcs are in more pieces, so it’s harder to see their poses, but they are much more violently posed.  Many are winding up for a good punch, while others are actively charging.  The Thrower is a bit awkward and has a weird look on his face.  One of the linemen has that silly pose that the Human linemen have, but he’s squatting a bit more so he looks WAY sturdier, as if preparing for a charge.  All in all, these are the superior minis, with the same identical sprue problem.  Another problem that arises from this: how do you differentiate your players BEFORE you paint them?  If you go back and look at the back of the box, you’ll see that the game can be played unpainted.  If both your throwers look identical, things could get confusing…

Here’s the model count:

• 2 Black Orc Blockers (identical)
• 2 Blitzers (identical)
• 6 Linemen (3 poses)
• 2 Throwers (identical)

Next: we replace the old clear acetate templates for some plastic ones that kick ass!

Better in every way than the old acetate ones.  The pass template even breaks down into two parts for storage!  Fantastic!

Woo.  Bases.  Glamorous.  Moving on.

Here’s the box with the above items taken out.  To protect the board and cards, a dividing paper was placed between them.

On the other side was an ad.  I suppose we’d better get used to this.  Instead of the last page of the rulebook or assembly instructions, full sheet ads like this are being placed in all new GW boxes.  Oh well, at least you can toss it.

…wait, what’s that?

There’s an app?  I have not gotten it (look for a future post) but hopefully it can level up your roster, even sharing it with a tournament coordinator so there’s no cheating!

Next, the item I have been waiting for: THE MAIN RULEBOOK!

Cover art isn’t the most awe-inspiring.  Someone must have rolled a 12 on the weather table, and this shot was taken just before the Blizzard rolled in, as it’s very foggy.  Also, the Orc looks surprised to see the Human running at him.  “Hey, man, take it easy!”

Inside, we start with some classic art.

Bob and Jim!  It wouldn’t be a Blood Bowl rulebook without these knuckleheads.  To further the wackiness of the Blood Bowl setting, the book is festooned with comical asides, such as this one:

As for the rules themselves, once again, that’s a later post.  As for now, I have a powerful need for some dice!

Both players get a full set of dice including three new block dice that look fantastic!  You also get two D6s with the 6 replaced with the Blood Bowl logo, a D8 for scattering, and… could it be?  YES!

A D16!

*one change of pants later*

Ah, much better.  Good, now I don’t have to roll a D20 and re-roll all 17+ when rolling for MVP.

Enough of the small objects, let’s get onto the pitch!

The pitch is big!  Bigger than the old Blood Bowl pitches!  Now large based minis won’t have so much trouble fitting on those tiny squares.  You’ll need a bit more table space though…

The pitch has a few details that make it more than just a field.  Here’s a hatch to the dungeons below!

…and a poor Goblin who didn’t make his landing roll when thrown…

Even better, unlike the old pitch, the flip side is a completely different pitch!

Orcs tend to play on a rougher field, with bare bedrock in some places.

Next: some cards!  They’re bigger than I’d expect.  The bonus of such big cards is the text is easily readable.

Among these cards are reference cards for the Human and Orc teams, and the Star Players both teams can employ.

In addition there are two Special Play decks, much simplified from the optional Special Plays in the LRB.

Next there’s… another ad?  Oh, well at least this one is super worth it if you want to play the Blood Bowl videogame on Steam.  It includes a code for 50% off Blood Bowl II, and another code for unique DLC for that game.  My codes are edited out (sorry!).

Next… OOOOOOOOOH!

BAGGIES!  They perfectly fit the dice and oversized cards.  Excellent addition!  They are thicker and stronger than your bog-standard sandwich bags.  Great idea!

There’s a double sided easy-reference guide.  It’s great but… WHERE ARE HANDOFF AND FOUL?  (check rules) OH, they’re there!  This guide is only for beginners…

Up next, a sheet of the oft-unused waterslide transfers, but these are very high quality!  Both Orcs and Humans get Black and White versions of the transfers, so it works with any color scheme you choose, except perhaps camouflage.

Next, another must-have, the dugouts!  Each dugout has a Human side and an Orc side.  I really like that the K.O.d box has an 8-9 and the Injury box has a 10-12, to remind you of where you go when injured!  The art is also very fun.  There’s a scoreboard up top, rooms, and then the familiar turn counters and re-roll markers.

…and that’s it for the box set!  It looks like they had a lot of spectacular ideas, such as the baggies, reversible boards, dice for BOTH players, and fantastic templates.  It’s a bit lacking in the variety of minis, and the quality of poses, as well as some of the art being bland.

…but wait, we’re not done!  I also purchased Death Zone: Season 1!  The main rulebook only has rules for making an Orc or Human team.  DZ:S1 has Dwarfs, Skaven, Nurgle, Elf Unions, High Elves, Wood Elves, and Dark Elves, bringing the total of teams to 9!  They’re missing my precious Lizardmen though…

There are also rules for leagues, conspicuously absent from the main rulebook!

Minor nitpick, if this book was released at the same time as the box set, are they “new” rules?   Wouldn’t they be concurrent?  I guess all of them are NEW, but most of them are like old rules… *grumble grumble*

Next: a definitive breakdown of the rules, as compared to the old LRB!  We’ll see what’s new, what’s old, what’s great, and what’s questionable!  After that, I’ll try to see how the App is!