Blood Bowl Stars

Superstars.

Pass rushers. Quarterbacks. Shutdown corners. Workhorse running backs. Receivers that are just bigger, stronger, faster than anyone else.  These are the playmakers and game-changers that every NFL team wants to have...and never have enough of.  Players who carry your team to the playoffs...and who can derail your season if injury or suspension keeps them from the field.

Our most recent Blood Bowl games have been great; I really need to emphasize this. We've played humans versus wood elves, orcs versus wood elves, Amazons versus orcs, Amazons versus wood elves...lots of different player types competing against a variety of opponents. And all without roster construction. That (to me) is the most amazing part: we simply say 'play with your sixteen players.'  We don't worry about the player costs. We give everyone two team re-rolls per half. No stars...just roll with what you want (subject to the normal limitations of the team type).

The elves are quite good with their excellent agility and speed. But they're not dominant. And part of the reason they were able to eke out wins against tougher teams (like my orks) is that my son had the luck of the devil when it came to rolling injuries...just boxcars after boxcars. And sometimes that happens in games (it's Blood Bowl, after all); luck doesn't always run in your favor. Each team has its strength, and learning to play to those strengths...and neutralizing your opponent's strengths...is part of the coaching process.

But adding superstars to the game is the next step of our game's evolution.

In a "salary cap" league (like the NFL), it is the hard top on payroll that prevents the wealthiest teams/owners from filling their roster with ringers from top to bottom. But every team has the money to pay some players extra money. Sometimes those players play up to their contract; sometimes they don't. If they don't, they might be cut or traded. However, sometimes it's the coach that gets fired, not the player...and the new coaching staff comes in with the aim of rehabilitating these under-performing stars or 'using them in the right way.' You see it all the time.

But even with all the money in the world, superstars don't just grow on trees. Sometimes you want a blazing pass rusher or a road-grading offensive guard...and there ain't one available. Teams that have stars are reluctant to trade them away...it's hard to improve by getting rid of good players. Not that it doesn't happen, but there is only so much (star) talent available. 

Here are our (soon to be play-tested) rules:

• Each team may hire six star players.
• The maximum number of stars at any particular position is equal to 50% of allowable number for the team. So, for example, a human team can have no more than ONE star thrower, no more than TWO star catchers, no more than TWO star blitzers, and up to SIX star linemen. 
• Not all stars are created equally: each star is assigned a number from one to six. This is the number of improvements the star possesses.
• The first improvement is chosen by the coach; all other improvements are determined randomly.
• Big Guy Stars have only half as many improvements (rounded down) for their star rating as a normal star player. For example: an ogre whose assigned number is "four," gains TWO improvements, one of which is chosen by the coach and one of which is determined randomly.
• Stars have the same chance of injury as any other player; star players who have been injured/killed cannot be replaced until the offseason.

With regard to injuries, I should probably provide our updated casualty table. After the final whistle sounds and the game ends, for each casualty roll D68 (d6 + d8) on the following table:

11-18 Good to Go!:  the player will be ready to play by next game.

21-38 Dinged Up:  the player must miss the next game.

41-48 "Legit" Injury:  the player must miss one or more games; roll 1d6 at the beginning of a game, if the roll is less than the number of games missed, the player is ready to suit up and take the field.

51-52 Lost a Step:  as "Legit" Injury but MA permanently reduced by 1.

53-54 Nagging Issue:  as "Legit" Injury but AV permanently reduced by 1.

55  Bad Back:  as "Legit" Injury but AG permanently reduced by 1.

56  Gone Soft: as "Legit" Injury but ST permanently reduced by 1.

57-58 Severe Concussion: as "Legit" Injury but player acquires the Bonehead trait. If the player already has the Bonehead trait, they acquire the Really Stupid trait.

61+ Dead! Rest in peace.

All right, that's enough Blood Bowl for now.  Yes, yes the Adventure Site Contest reviews continue...but there's playoff football going on, baby! Did you really think I could neglect the BB talk?