tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4143435314932633148.post96975253988807375..comments2024-03-28T15:54:00.960-07:00Comments on B/X BLACKRAZOR: Ok, ok...Just A LITTLE Blood BowlJBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03263662621289630246noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4143435314932633148.post-56841917782166959902014-08-28T12:11:15.890-07:002014-08-28T12:11:15.890-07:00"an American sport interpreted by a British d..."an American sport interpreted by a British design company"<br /><br />While I am a quite a bit younger than Jervis Johnson, I do remember the 1980s 'American Football' craze in the UK, which ended with us getting the London Monarchs well after the buzz had died down.<br /><br />Every kid had NFL pajamas - mine were Miami Dolphins, my brother's were 49ers - and posters of Joe Montana, Dan Marino, or 'the Fridge'. I think people in the UK loved the celebrity, glamour, and 'sports entertainment' razzmatazz of the NFL. All the teams had cool names, logos, etc. British football teams had badges and names that had largely remained unchanged since they were actual football 'clubs' - the end of the 19th century. And remember, after 1985, English football teams were banned from European football so the domestic sporting scene was lacking that kind of excitement. Then our football teams got admitted back into European competitions, we got the Premier League, and the all consuming Champions League came along. <br /><br />In short, I think a lot of UK 'fans' of the NFL enjoyed the ephemera without really understanding the content. And it wouldn't surprise me if BB was shaped by this.Andy Bartletthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06683770320671028815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4143435314932633148.post-78923493742057171832014-08-28T07:24:01.622-07:002014-08-28T07:24:01.622-07:00@ Andy:
Oh, I agree with all your points. Even th...@ Andy:<br /><br />Oh, I agree with all your points. Even the stat line for Griff Oberwald from 2nd ed. BB showed him to be under 200# and only a skosh over 6' ...an athletic, normal human rather than the incredible freakazoids that are suiting up in the NFL these days.<br /><br />I guess the thing is...well, even if we're talking a "medieval-esque" setting, I'd think that after decades of play (just referring to the "fluff" of the game) even if the sports science wasn't great, they'd still be drafting/training guys better than your average peasant or knave. They'd still be selecting certain types for certain roles...putting the "beef" up front, for example.<br /><br />Part of it may be that something got lost in the translation (an American sport interpreted by a British design company). When I hear the word "lineman" I think of a very large individual, for example. But the treatment of the "lineman" in Blood Bowl is more like, um, "a guy off the line," i.e. a normal everyday Joe, as opposed to someone whose purpose is to be a moving wall. In 2nd edition, they had human "blockers" (in addition to "line men") who were the equivalent of the beefy, NFL lineman, but they got rid of those in 3rd & later editions. And the ability to DEVELOP a beefy guy using the current rules is very tough...although that doesn't really matter because (as you stated) the game more resembles rugby football than American football, and so the need for "beef" has been cut-down dramatically.<br /><br />And my complaint, as usual, is that I wish the game more resembled the American sport. Goes with the fluff about Nuffle and all that jazz.<br />: )JBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03263662621289630246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4143435314932633148.post-37641442118310897972014-08-28T05:40:34.388-07:002014-08-28T05:40:34.388-07:00Ah, but in Blood Bowl play is continuous, like Rug...Ah, but in Blood Bowl play is continuous, like Rugby Union. That's why I like the fact that the turn ends on an error - it models (in an abstract fashion) the ability of one team to pounce on the errors of the other. While the board game might be resolved in turns, the play it models is continuous, with 'resets' only on a score or at halftime. So, actually, there are far fewer breaks in play. Couple those aerobic demands with BB being set in world that probably doesn't have great sports science (but admittedly, better sports magic), we might expect the human player physiques to be more like pre-professionalism RU - 80-odd kg backs and 90-100 kg forwards, with only rare players being exceptionally big.<br /><br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHbPtRv4cXw<br />Andy Bartletthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06683770320671028815noreply@blogger.com