Blood Bowl: Third Season Edition Rulebook

Table of Contents

Game Essentials
- NUFFLE'S SACRED TURF!
  - THE BLOOD BOWL PITCH
  - DUGOUTS
- SPORTING PARAPHERNALIA!
Rules and Regulations
The Game of Blood Bowl
Drafting a Blood Bowl Team
- TEAM ROSTERS
  - TEAM DRAFT LISTS
- TEAM DRAFT LIST
Skills & Traits
League Play
Matched Play
- DRAFTING A MATCHED PLAY TEAM!
Exhibition Play
- DRAFTING AN EXHIBITION PLAY TEAM!
  - HISTORICAL GAMES
  - GETTING CREATIVE
Inducements
- PURCHASING INDUCEMENTS!

Game Essentials

There are a number of items that you will need to play a game of Blood Bowl. From the likes of Pitches and Dugouts on which to actually play, to items such as templates, dice and tokens that you will make constant use of as you execute plays and attempt to score those all-important Touchdowns!

In this section, we will take you through everything you will need to play a game of Blood Bowl, explain what they are all used for and tell you anything else you need to know about them.

NUFFLE'S SACRED TURF!

Blood Bowl pitches can be found all across the Old World; from the sweltering jungle forests of Lustria where ancient stadia are built into the great temple-cities hidden in the trees, to the frozen wastes of Norsca where pitches are carved into great ice floes and lined with huge wooden structures, and everywhere and everything in-between. Some pitches are more subtle affairs, featuring crudely drawn gridirons marked out with chalk or jumpers and surrounded with meagre bleachers, whilst others are grand stadia that can hold tens of thousands of supporters at a time to witness sporting glory.

Regardless of the stadia in question, every pitch (from temporary playing fields to the splendour of the Emperor Luitpold I Memorial stadium (home of the Blood Bowl itself)) will be laid out to the same regulation size as set out in the sacred Tome of Nuffle, and enforced by members of the Referees and Allied Rulekeepers Guild (RARG).

THE BLOOD BOWL PITCH

A Blood Bowl Pitch is split into a number of sections, each of which will need explaining before you get started, as some of them will dictate where you can set up your players later on. Each of these are numbered on the diagram below to show you exactly where they are.

END ZONES: The areas at the short edges of the pitch where players are trying to get the ball to score a Touchdown.
WIDE ZONES: These are the areas on either side of the pitch that run the length of the pitch from End Zone to End Zone. They are four squares wide.
SIDELINES: These run the length of the pitch from End Zone to End Zone and denote the edge of the pitch.
CENTRE FIELD: This is the area in the middle of the pitch between the two Wide Zones that runs from End Zone to End Zone.
LINE OF SCRIMMAGE: The pitch is split into two halves down the centre line between the two longer board edges. This is called the Line of Scrimmage.
TRAPDOORS: Each half has a single Trapdoor within one of its Wide Zones.

DUGOUTS

At the side of the pitch, each team will have their own Dugout. This is where they will place any players that are not currently playing the game (out of choice or not!) as well as track important in-game information such as what Turn it is, how many Team Re-rolls the team has left and, perhaps most importantly, how many Touchdowns the team has scored. The Dugout has a number of different sections, each of which are explained here:

RESERVES BOX: This is where any fit and healthy players are placed, ready for the next Drive.
KNOCKED-OUT BOX: This is where any Knocked-out players are placed in order to try to recover later in the game.
CASUALTY BOX: Where those players that can take no further part in the game are placed, either because of a crippling injury, or sometimes even worse...
TURN TRACKER: This is where a team places their Turn Marker. These are important for keeping track of what Turn it is, and how many Turns a team has left until the end of the half.
TEAM RE-ROLL TRACKER: This is where a team places their Team Re-roll Marker, which is used for tracking how many Team Re-rolls a team currently has remaining for the half.
SCORE TRACKER: A rather important feature! Whenever a team scores a Touchdown, they will record it here.

SPORTING PARAPHERNALIA!

Blood Bowl teams rarely travel light; there are all manner of things required when a team travels to play. The team itself will require the likes of kit, boots, helmets and half-time snacks, whilst the Coach will need all their playbooks - and that's before you take into account the pom-poms and ribbons of the cheerleading squad, the bandages, saws and tools of the apothecaries, and so on. To put it bluntly, there is a lot of stuff that needs to be hauled from stadium to stadium!

On the tabletop, games of Blood Bowl also have a number of key items required to play - though thankfully not to the same ridiculous extent as a professional Blood Bowl team! In this section we will run through all the various bits that Coaches will need when they play a game of Blood Bowl.

THE FOOTBALL

The football is arguably the most important thing on the pitch; after all, it's what both teams need in order to score! When not in possession of a player, the ball is placed on the ground wholly within one square. Whilst a player is in possession of the ball, it will be placed on their base to show that they have hold of it.

The ball is an essential part of any game, and is most commonly represented by a model just like your players. Every Blood Bowl team will come with at least one Blood Bowl ball that can be used in your games.

MARKERS

Blood Bowl uses a number of Markers that help Coaches track important information during the course of the game. These will be placed on the relevant tracker on your team's Dugout so that the information is clear to all Coaches.

TURN MARKER

You will need a Turn Marker to keep track of what Turn it is. The first thing you do at the start of each of your Turns is move your Turn Marker up one space on your Turn Tracker. If your opponent forgets to do this, politely remind them to do so.

TEAM RE-ROLL MARKER

You will also need a Team Re-roll Marker to keep track of how many Team Re-rolls you have remaining. You may either use a single Team Re-roll Marker and move it down one space whenever you use a Team Re-roll, or you can use multiple and simply remove one each time you use a Team Re-roll instead, whichever you prefer.

SCORE MARKER

A Score Marker is used to track the number of Touchdowns your team has scored - a rather important thing to keep note of! Each time you score a Touchdown, move your Score Marker up one space.

TEMPLATES

Blood Bowl also uses three unique templates that help with different aspects of the game. These are the Random Direction Template, the Throw-in Template and the Range Ruler.

RANDOM DIRECTION TEMPLATE

This template is used whenever something is required to Scatter or Deviate, as described on page 34. It is placed next to the pitch so that both Coaches can easily see it and so that it corresponds to the grid on the pitch. Whenever something requires the Random Direction Template, such as when Scattering or Deviating, roll a D8 and move the object to the square corresponding to the roll as shown in the diagram below:

THROW-IN TEMPLATE

Sometimes you will be asked to determine the direction of something using the Throw-in Template. Usually this will be a Throw-in, but there are some other obscure instances where you may also use the Throw-in Template as well (such as when using the Ball & Chain Trait).

When using the Throw-in Template, place the Blood Bowl logo over the square the object is moving from and position the template so it is facing the desired direction as determined by the rule in question. Then roll a D6 to see which way the object will move.

RANGE RULER

The Range Ruler is used primarily during a Pass Action or a Throw Team-mate Action to determine the range of a Pass, or to see if any opposition players are able to attempt to Intercept the ball. The number of stitches on the ball in each section of the Range Ruler determines the type of Pass a player will attempt to throw the ball that far, as described on page 70.

BLOOD BOWL DICE

Blood Bowl uses a variety of different dice to determine the outcome of various actions. The likes of blocking, passing, dodging and so forth are all worked out using various different types of dice. Being the patron of Blood Bowl, Nuffle takes a keen interest in dice and it is often said that if a Coach or player has particularly poor dice rolls then they have likely angered Nuffle in some way - or more likely Nuffle has decided to mess with them!

Below are the different types of dice you will come across in a game of Blood Bowl.

Blood Bowl primarily uses ordinary six-sided dice, marked 1 to 6. These are referred to as a D6, and if the rules ask you to roll a D6, it is one of these dice you will need to roll.

Sometimes you may be asked to roll a D3; to do this, roll a D6 and half the value shown on the dice, rounding any fractions up. Other times you may be asked to roll 2D6, which is a multiple dice roll and requires two D6s to be rolled and added together, to give a result between 2 and 12.

BLOCK DICE

These six-sided dice are unique to Blood Bowl and feature a number of icons on them. These are used when a player performs a Block Action, as described on page 60, and can result in the player knocking down their opponent or even end up being knocked over themselves!

This is an eight-sided dice, marked 1 to 8. This is mainly used in conjunction with the Random Direction Template, but you also may find it used in other instances as well. Regardless, when the rules ask you to roll a D8, this is the dice you will roll.

D16

Finally, this is a sixteen-sided dice, marked 1 to 16. This is probably the least common dice that will be rolled during the game, however, when the rules ask you to roll a D16, this is the dice you will roll.

BLOOD BOWL TOKENS

Below are the different types of tokens you will come across in a game of Blood Bowl, all of which are included in the Blood Bowl Third Season boxed game. Whilst these are provided unpainted, we recommend painting them in the colours listed below. Not only will this help differentiate them from each other, but it will also make it really clear to everyone exactly what effect that token represents by looking at the colour of the token.

PRONE TOKEN - YELLOW

This denotes that the player is Prone (see page 39), and is used instead of laying models down on their back (as they used to be in previous editions). The other side of this token is a Stunned token.

STUNNED TOKEN - RED

This denotes that the player is Stunned (see page 39), and is used instead of laying models down on their front (as they used to be in previous editions). This is found on the reverse of the Prone token, meaning that when a player reverts from being Stunned to Prone, you can simply flip the token over as well.

DISTRACTED TOKEN - BLUE

Many effects in Blood Bowl will confer the Distracted condition onto a player (see page 39). Using this token is a great way of making sure coaches are aware of which players are Distracted and therefore don't have a Tackle Zone, and cannot use Active Skills or Traits.

BLITZ TOKEN - GOLD

Only a single player can declare a Blitz Action each turn (see page 64), and so placing this token next to a player who has performed a Blitz Action is a good way of making sure coaches don't forget and try to declare a second one in the same turn by accident.

DODGY SNACK TOKEN - GREEN

When the Dodgy Snack result is rolled on the Kick-off Event Table (see page 48), it's a good idea to mark the affected players with these tokens so both coaches remember who is suffering the effects!

EYE GOUGE TOKEN - PURPLE

The Eye Gouge Skill (see page 128) means that affected players cannot provide Offensive or Defensive Assists when other players are performing a Block Action. To ensure this isn't overlooked, these tokens will help coaches remember who is affected.

ROOTED TOKEN - BROWN

In the unfortunate event that a Treeman becomes Rooted (see page 137) - or fortunate if you are on the opposing team - place a Rooted token next to them to make sure that they remain in place until the condition ends.

CHOMPED TOKEN - WHITE

Players affected by the Chomped condition (see page 131) cannot move until the player chomping them relinquishes them - either willingly or by force! Placing a Chomped token next to affected players serves as an important reminder.

BALL TOKEN

The ball token has two sides, one showing that the ball is loose and the other showing that a player has possession of the ball. The 'in possession' side is also indented allowing a player on a 32mm base to fit inside making it really easy to see where the ball is at a moment's glance!

There is even a hole for a Blood Bowl ball with a peg to be slotted in for that extra level of detail.

THROWN PLAYER TOKEN

When a player is being thrown by a team-mate (see page 76) it is a good idea to have a marker showing where the player will currently land. This also helps when Scattering the player so that you don't have to move the thrown player until the final destination is determined. The reverse of this token is the Bomb token.

BOMB TOKEN

When a player uses the Bombardier Trait (see page 125) they will need to choose a square to throw the bomb at and then Scatter it as per the Trait's description. To make it easy to see where the bomb is being thrown, use this token to mark its current position on the pitch. The reverse of this token is the Thrown Player token.

Rules and Regulations

Blood Bowl itself is an exciting game of ancient traditions that is governed by a series of rules and laws that have been around for aeons. At least, that's what the officials tell people. In truth, Blood Bowl as we know it today was transcribed from the ancient manuscripts of the Tome of Nuffle by an ageing, near-sighted Dwarf who, upon completing his first rushed draft, spent the next decades translating the book properly. This weighty task saw the aforementioned Dwarf, Roze-El, become known as the sacred commissioner and the father of modern Blood Bowl - to the Dwarfs, anyway! Of course, with the Tome of Nuffle being almost impossible to transcribe in places and almost entirely illegible in others, Roze-El was forced to rely on the most important and time-honoured tradition among scribes, historians and rulekeepers of simply filling in the blanks with whatever he felt like!

Since the time of Roze-El, there have been numerous other individuals who have had their say in the development of the game of Blood Bowl. This has resulted in the game of Blood Bowl that we know and love today probably not bearing more than a passing resemblance to how Nuffle originally intended. Fortunately, Nuffle doesn't seem to be concerned with this, so long as his sacred game is still being played all across the known world!

Here, we are going to take you through all the rules you need to play a game of Blood Bowl and begin your journey on Nuffle's sacred turf!

THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE!

Blood Bowl is a game filled with so many unique and exciting teams and players that there will be situations that arise that seem to not be fully covered in this rulebook. For example, you may not be able to find the exact rule or page you need to work out a rule in the middle of the game, or there may be a disagreement about the interpretation of a specific rule that you cannot come to a logical conclusion on.

When these situations arise it is important to remember that everyone playing is here to have fun and enjoy a good game of Blood Bowl, rather than have an argument. As a result, it is always important to treat each other with respect and try to come to an amicable solution to any rules disputes you may have; after all, we are here to play a game.

Because wasting time arguing is no fun for either player - and would eat into the time you could be using to play an awesome game of Blood Bowl - it is often best to interpret the rules in a way that suits both players equally at that time. The game is designed to be played in good faith between players who respect each other, and players should treat each other as such. You'll find that if you keep the spirit of kindness and fair play in mind, you can resolve almost any instance of disagreement without issue.

If, however, you find that you and your opponent cannot come to an agreement upon the application of the rules, or another situation, simply roll a D6 to determine whose interpretation of the rules will be used for the duration of the game. On a 1-3, use one player's interpretation, and on a 4+ use the other player's. Then you can put the disagreement behind you and return to the much more important matter of competing for glory on the gridiron. Once the game is over, you can continue the discussion and arrive at a consensus for future games.

CODE OF CONDUCT!

As the old adage goes: "It's not the winning or losing that counts, but the way you play the game!" Blood Bowl is designed with this in mind and is intended to be played in a fun, generous manner; a one where fair play, good humour and showing respect for one another is paramount. As such, we have provided a series of important principles that we expect all Blood Bowl coaches to uphold at all times. After all, the most important thing is that everyone involved has a thoroughly enjoyable time during the course of the game - that way, every bone-crunching tackle, spectacular weaving run and pinpoint pass means that little bit more!

CARDINAL RULES

Always be polite and respectful to your opponent.
Always tell the truth and never cheat.

IMPORTANT PRINCIPLES

Make a respectful gesture to your opponent before the game begins, such as wishing them good luck, offering a handshake, etc.
Avoid using language that your opponent or those around you may find offensive.
Arrive on time for your game with all of the things you need to play.
Offer your opponent the chance to examine your team roster before the game begins.
If your opponent has any questions or queries about your roster, you should answer them truthfully and make sure your opponent understands the answer.
Ensure that your opponent is aware of any Inducements, or other special rules your team has, and that they know what they do.
When counting out the number of squares a player is moving, do so carefully and accurately. You should also allow your opponent the opportunity to check any moves before you move any models if they wish.
When rolling dice, make sure they are clearly visible to all players and allow your opponent to examine the rolls before picking up the dice.
Always ask your opponent's permission before picking up their models.
Remind your opponent about any rules they may have forgotten to use, or they have used incorrectly, especially when doing so is to your opponent's benefit rather than your own.
Never deliberately manipulate the amount of time a game takes in order to gain an advantage, either by playing overly quickly or by wasting time.
Try not to distract an opponent when they are trying to concentrate and always ensure you respect their personal space.
Never complain about your own bad luck or your opponent's good luck.
Always be humble in victory and graceful in defeat.
Never fix the outcome of a game for any reason.

GENERAL PRINCIPLES!

Before we go any further, it is worth going through some commonly seen principles and phrases that you will see throughout this rulebook. Many of these will govern certain aspects of a game of Blood Bowl and so will need explaining before you get started.

COACH AND PLAYERS

Whilst in other games the models on the tabletop represent the likes of warriors and are played by 'players', Blood Bowl represents a sporting fixture rather than a battle between two opposing forces. To keep within the theme of such a sporting event, and to avoid any confusion when playing, it is important to clarify what is meant when you see terms such as 'player' or 'Coach'.

The 'Coach' is you: the person physically rolling the dice, moving the models and making the decisions.

The models on the pitch are referred to as 'players' as they are the ones playing the game. Additionally, players that are playing on the same team are referred to as 'team-mates' and any opposing players are referred to as 'opposition players'.

RANDOMLY SELECTING A PLAYER

Sometimes the rules will call for you to randomly select a player on either yours or your opponent's team. When this is the case, simply roll a D16 and compare the number to the players on the relevant team draft list. The corresponding player will be the one that is selected. If there is no corresponding player, simply roll again until a player has been selected.

ROLLING DICE

The dice you roll will determine the outcome of your player's actions; whether they successfully pass the ball, tackle an opposition player, dodge past an opposition line, or all manner of other situations during the course of a game. The majority of actions will use ordinary six-sided dice (D6) or Block dice, though sometimes you will need to roll the likes of an eight-sided dice (D8) or sixteen-sided dice (D16).

'COCKED' DICE

Sometimes you will roll a dice and it won't land completely flat or, worse yet, it will roll off the table. In these situations, the dice should simply be rolled again to give a result that is completely flat. The likes of a dice tray are ideal for ensuring that dice roll flat. Coaches should also discuss what counts as a 'cocked' dice before the game starts.

SINGLE DICE ROLLS

Often, the rules will require you to roll a single dice, in which case it will say 'roll a D6', 'roll a D8' or 'roll a D16'. Sometimes you will be asked to 'roll a D3'; to do this, roll a D6 and half the value shown on the dice, rounding any fractions up.

MULTIPLE DICE ROLLS

Sometimes the rules will ask a Coach to roll '2D6'. This is a multiple dice roll and requires two D6s to be rolled and added together, to give a result between 2 and 12.

DICE POOLS

You may be required to roll multiple dice at once and select a single result from those rolled. For example, a Coach may need to roll two or three Block dice and pick a result. This is called a 'pool' of dice.

TARGET NUMBER ROLLS

Often when making a dice roll, the rules will require you to roll a certain number followed by a +. This is a target number roll and shows the minimum score on the dice needed to succeed in that particular situation. For example, if a rule required you to roll a 3+, then any roll of a 3, 4, 5 or 6 would be successful.

MODIFYING DICE ROLLS

Often rules will apply modifiers to the score on a dice, particularly when making a target number roll. When this is the case, roll the dice as normal and apply any modifiers to the score on the dice. For example, if a dice rolled a 4 and had a -1 modifier, then it would count as a 3, or if a dice rolled a 3 and had a +1 modifier, then it would count as a 4, and so on.

It is important to note that the score on a D6 can never be modified to below 1 or to above 6, regardless of modifiers.

It is important to note that the score on a D6 can never be modified to above 6, regardless of modifiers.

NATURAL ROLLS

A natural roll is the actual number rolled on the dice regardless of any modifiers. Some rules will state that a natural X is needed to succeed in a specific situation or to trigger a special rule.

Additionally, should a player roll a natural 1 for any action or test, then that will always be a failure regardless of modifiers. Conversely, should a player roll a natural 6 for any action or test, then that will always be a success even if the modifiers would make it seem impossible.

ROLLING OFF

Sometimes the rules will call for Coaches to roll off against one another. In this situation, both Coaches will roll a single D6 (re-rolling any ties), with the Coach that rolled highest winning the roll-off.

RE-ROLLS

In Blood Bowl there are occasions that will allow a Coach to re-roll one or more of their dice - which is often a good thing as even the best laid plans will undoubtedly go wrong over the course of the game! However, there are a few rules that govern how re-rolls work:

The result of the second roll must always be taken even if it is worse than the first - you can never re-roll a re-roll.
If a rule allows you to re-roll multiple dice, then you must re-roll all of them together. You cannot re-roll some, wait to see the result, and then decide if you wish to re-roll the others.
A dice may never be re-rolled more than once, regardless of how many rules or sources would provide a re-roll. The only exception is if the dice is cocked.
A Coach may not use a re-roll to force an opposing Coach to re-roll their dice.
If a re-roll allows you to re-roll one dice within a dice pool, then a Coach may not use another re-roll from another source in order to re-roll the rest of the dice in the dice pool.

Re-rolls will usually come from one of two sources:

SKILL RE-ROLLS

Some players will have Skills or Traits that allow them to re-roll dice in a specific situation. These will be outlined in the Skill's or Trait's description and will state which dice can be re-rolled and in what circumstances.

TEAM RE-ROLLS

Blood Bowl teams will often have a number of Team Re-rolls at their disposal during the game, depending on how many they purchased for their roster. A team will always start the game with its full amount of Team Re-rolls and any used during the first half of a game will be replenished at half-time. This means that a team will always start each half of a game with its full complement of Team Re-rolls. Unused Team Re-rolls do not carry over to the next half or to the next fixture in League Play.

There are some rules that govern how Team Re-rolls work:

Team Re-rolls can only be used when the team is active.
When a Team Re-roll is used to re-roll a dice pool, all the dice in the pool must be re-rolled.
A Team Re-roll cannot be used to re-roll any of the following types of roll: Scatter, Armour, Injury, Casualty, Throw-in, Bribe, Argue the Call or if the Crowd Takes Action.
Team Re-rolls can never be used to re-roll an opposing Coach's dice.
A Coach may use as many Team Re-rolls as they want during their turn, though they may still never re-roll a re-roll. Be careful though; once they're gone, they're gone!

HALVES, ROUNDS AND TURNS

There are a number of terms that denote an amount of time over the course of a game. Here we clarify what each of these means:

GAME - The full course of the game you are playing. This consists of two halves.
HALF - There are two halves in a game, each consisting of eight rounds.
ROUND - A round consists of two turns, one for each Coach. Round 1 will consist of Coach A's turn 1 and Coach B's turn 1.
TURN - A turn is when a Coach gets the chance to activate each of their players on the pitch. A Coach has eight turns per half, one per round.

DEVIATE AND SCATTER

Sometimes the rules will call for something to 'Deviate' or 'Scatter' due to an effect. This will usually be the ball, but not always - Blood Bowl is a strange game after all!

DEVIATE

When something Deviates, roll a D6 and a D8. The object will move a number of squares equal to the roll on the D6 in the direction determined by the D8 and the Random Direction Template. When something Deviates, the rules will explain what happens after the object is moved to its new square.

Here the ball is Deviating and a D6 and a D8 are rolled. The ball will then move 3 squares (as determined by the D6) in direction 7 (as determined by the D8).

SCATTER

When the rules call for something to Scatter, it will also have a number in brackets afterwards, e.g., Scatter (3). When something Scatters, roll a D8 a number of times equal to the number in brackets, one at a time. After each roll, move the object to the corresponding square as determined by the Random Direction Template before making the next roll (if any). After the object has been Scattered the correct number of times, it will be placed in the final square and any effects that occur will take place (such as a player attempting to Catch a Scattered ball, for example).

Here, the ball is required to Scatter (3) from its current location. The first D8 roll is a 3, the second D8 rolls an 8, and the third D8 rolls a 5 meaning the ball will Scatter as shown below before ending in the final square.

BOUNCING BALLS

Blood Bowl balls are odd-shaped items at the best of times and prone to bouncing in random directions when they hit the pitch. When the ball hits the pitch, it will Bounce. When the rules tell you to Bounce the ball, it will Scatter (1) from its current location and come to a rest in the new square.

KEYWORDS

Each type of player has a number of keywords associated with them found in their profile. These denote a number of things such as the player's race, position, and other important information.

Some rules will contain words or phrases in bold; these will show which players are affected by a particular rule. For example, a player may have a Skill that affects 'all Blitzer players', in which case any player with the Blitzer keyword would be affected.

If a rule lists more than one keyword, then a player must have all the associated keywords to be affected. For example, if a rule affects 'all Human Blitzer players', then a player must have both the Human and the Blitzer keywords to be affected.

THE TURNOVER

One of the most important mechanics in Blood Bowl is the Turnover. Over the course of a turn there are a number of unfortunate events that can occur to cut a team's turn short.

A Turnover will be caused if:

A player on the active team Falls Over during their own activation.
A player on the active team is Knocked Down during their own team's turn.
A player on the active team that is carrying the ball is Placed Prone or forced to move off the pitch for any reason.
A player on the active team attempts to pick up the ball from the ground and fails.
A player on the active team attempts a Pass Action and Fumbles the ball.
A player on the active team attempts to Catch the ball following a Pass Action or a Hand-off Action and fails, resulting in it coming to a rest on the ground - if the ball Bounces from the player that failed to Catch the ball directly into a square containing a player from the active team who successfully Catches the ball, no Turnover is caused.
A player on the active team attempts a Pass Action and no player on the active team successfully Catches the ball, resulting in the ball hitting the ground and Bouncing or coming to a rest on the ground.
A player on the inactive team ends up in possession of the ball following an attempted Pass Action or by successfully Intercepting the ball. A player on the inactive team ends up in possession of the ball following an attempted Pass Action or Hand-off Action, or by successfully Intercepting the ball.
A player on the active team that is in possession of the ball is thrown by a team-mate and fails to land safely, lands in the crowd, or is eaten.
A player on the active team is Sent-off for committing a Foul Action.
If a Touchdown is scored.

This list is not exhaustive and there may be other rules that confer a Turnover. When this is the case, it will be clearly stated.

Should a Turnover be caused, any rolls that need to be made as a result of the Turnover occurring are immediately made.

When a Turnover occurs, the current player's activation ends and that Coach's turn immediately ends.

TAKE-BACKS AND CHANGING ONE'S MIND

Often during the course of a game, a Coach will find that they may second guess themselves or immediately change their mind about an action that they have already said they will do. Blood Bowl is a game designed to be played in a generous spirit and, as such, you should always be tolerant of your opponent when these situations arise - especially as it will also likely happen to you at some point as well!

However, once any dice have been rolled for any reason then the decision must be stuck to - you can't go back and change anything after the dice have been rolled.

PLAYER PROFILES AND CHARACTERISTIC TESTS!

Blood Bowl players are of noble stock; stoically playing Nuffle's great game with large amounts of skill, grace, power and agility that the common folk can only dream of - at least, that's what they want you to believe! Regardless, the truth is that they still take to the pitch in search of fame and glory for their team and to entertain the scores of fans who pay their hard earned gold to see them play. Even the most debilitating injury won't keep a good Blood Bowl player down for long, and in some cases even death is nothing more than a minor inconvenience!

PLAYER PROFILE

Each player has a series of Characteristics, Skills and Traits that collectively make up a player's profile. This collection of letters, numbers and words may seem confusing at first, but we are going to take you through what it all means - that way you'll be able to understand them all in no time!

1. PLAYER'S NAME

Simply put, this is the name of the player type and is used to determine which profile is being talked about.

2. KEYWORDS

These are the keywords the player has. Here we can see that this profile has the Human and Blitzer keywords.

3. QTY - QUANTITY

This denotes how many of this player type can be taken in a team. For example, if a player type has a Quantity of 0-2, then no more than two of that player type can be taken in a team.

4. COST

This is how many gold pieces it will cost to hire this player to your Team Roster. This is also known as the player's Hiring Fee.

5. MA - MOVE ALLOWANCE

This is the number of squares the player can move during a Move Action. Move Actions are covered fully on page 54.

6. ST - STRENGTH

This is how physically strong the player is. The higher the value, the stronger the player is. Strength is used during a Block Action, which is detailed on page 60.

7. AG - AGILITY

This is how agile the player is, and is represented by a target number (e.g., 3+). If the player is ever required to make an Agility Test, then they will need to roll a D6 and compare the value to their Agility Characteristic to see if the test is passed or failed.

8. PA - PASSING ABILITY

This is how good the player is at throwing the ball and is represented by a target number (e.g., 3+). If the player is ever required to make a Passing Ability Test, then they will need to roll a D6 and compare the value to their Passing Ability Characteristic to see if the test is passed.

9. AV - ARMOUR VALUE

Armour Value represents how tough the player is, and is represented by a target number (e.g., 9+). This may be down to the protective gear the player wears, or their natural resilience to taking a hit - or a little bit of both!

Sometimes the rules will call for an Armour Roll to be made against a player. In these instances, the opposing Coach will roll 2D6 and compare the value to the player's Armour Value. If the Armour Roll is failed, then nothing further happens: the player's armour has saved them this time. If the Armour Roll is successful, then the player's armour is 'broken' and they will risk injury. Injuries are explained on page 66.

Characteristics have a maximum and minimum value, and they can never be improved or reduced past the values shown below. Additionally, no Characteristic can ever be improved more than twice.

Characteristic	MA	ST	AG	PA	AV
Maximum	9	8	1+	1+	11+
Minimum	1	1	6+	6+	3+

10. SKILLS & TRAITS

Skills and Traits represent the various abilities a player has at their disposal during the course of a game.

Skills are abilities taught to the player through hard work and practice, such as knowing when to make that pinpoint pass, or dodge an incoming tackle. Players may gain new Skills throughout the course of a league.

Traits are those innate things that simply cannot be taught and are inherent to the individual that bears them. Traits can be either positive, or in some instances negative, though they cannot usually be gained by other players over the course of a league.

11. PRIMARY & SECONDARY

Over the course of a league, players may have the opportunity to gain new Skills to add to their repertoire. These sections show which type of Skills suit the player's strengths and are therefore easier to learn (Primary) and which will take that added time and effort to be taught (Secondary).

Don't worry about these for now though as gaining new Skills will be covered later on page 97.

PLAYER STATUS!

During a game of Blood Bowl, the status of a particular player is important. Whether the player is standing and ready to get stuck in, standing but distracted by the world around them, simply prone on the floor and able to get back up, or currently face-down in the turf and seeing stars are all important distinctions to make during the course of a game.

There are four main statuses that a player may find themselves in: Standing, Distracted, Prone or Stunned, each of which are described here.

STANDING PLAYERS

Players that are up on their feet are referred to as Standing. A player that is Standing will have a greater freedom of movement than players on the ground, and will be able to hinder opposition players during their opponent's turn.

TACKLE ZONES

When a player is Standing, they will have an amount of control over the area directly around them called their Tackle Zone. A player's Tackle Zone is the eight squares directly surrounding them as shown in the diagram below.

A Standing player that loses their Tackle Zone for whatever reason is said to be Distracted (see page 39).

MARKED AND BEING MARKED

Players will use their Tackle Zone to interfere with opposition players. If a player has any opposition players in their Tackle Zone, regardless of the status of the opposition player, then they are said to be Marking that player. Conversely, if a player is within the Tackle Zone of an opposing player, then they are said to be Marked by that player. This will usually mean that a player that is Marking an opposing Standing player will also be Marked by that player as well.

Standing players will automatically be Marking all opposition players within their Tackle Zone, and can be Marked by multiple opposition players at once. Players will never be Marking team-mates.

OPEN PLAYERS

A Standing player that is not being Marked by an opposition is referred to as an Open player. Open players are able to perform Actions easier without direct interference from opposition players.

DISTRACTED

During the course of a game, there may be situations where a Standing player becomes Distracted. This could be due to the Skill or Trait of the player or an opposition player, a special rule, or all manner of other in-game effects. A player that is Distracted does not have a Tackle Zone and should have a Distracted token placed next to it as a reminder for both Coaches.

Whilst a player is Distracted, they cannot use Active Skills or Traits, cannot attempt to Intercept a Pass Action, and cannot attempt to Catch the ball.

If a player becomes Distracted during their activation, then their activation immediately ends. When a player becomes Distracted, they will remain Distracted until they are next activated (unless otherwise specified).

PRONE AND STUNNED PLAYERS

Players that are not Standing will either be Prone or Stunned. Usually, this will occur as the result of the player tripping over when attempting to move, or if they are bashed to the ground by a particularly vicious opposition tackle. Additionally, any player that is Prone or Stunned will automatically lose its Tackle Zone whilst it remains Prone or Stunned.

PRONE

When a player is Prone, place a Prone Token beside them to show they are Prone. Whilst a player is Prone, they can do nothing until they stand up as described on page 54.

STUNNED

When a player is Stunned, place a Stunned Token beside them to show they are Stunned. A Stunned player cannot be activated during their team's turn. At the end of each team's turn, any players on their team that started that turn Stunned will automatically roll over and become Prone instead - flip their Stunned Token over to become a Prone Token. This means that any player that became Stunned during the course of their team's turn will not roll over as they did not start their team's turn as Stunned - they must wait until the end of their team's next turn to roll over.

Designer's Note - Lying Down Models: In previous versions of the game we used to lie our players down on the pitch to denote being Prone or Stunned. Face-up players were Prone, and face-down players were Stunned. However, in Season 3, this has changed to using tokens. This means that regardless of how large and/or dynamic a model is, it is easy to tell where a miniature is and if they are Prone and Stunned. It also prevents damage to miniatures that Coaches had spent a lot of time and love painting.

You may find that some veterans still lay their players down during a game out of habit. This is fine if they wish to do so, so long as they make it clear which square each player is in and what their status is.

BECOMING PRONE OR STUNNED

There are a number of ways that a player can become Prone or Stunned over the course of a game, though this will usually be due to being punched down by an opposition player or by falling over as they try to duck and weave through the opposition lines. There are three ways that a player can find themselves on the ground: Placed Prone, Falls Over or Knocked Down, each of which is described here.

PLACED PRONE

When a player is Placed Prone they aren't at risk of being caused harm - sometimes it's the choice of the player who is Placed Prone. When a player is Placed Prone, put a Prone Token next to them.

If a player is Placed Prone during their own activation then their activation immediately ends. If a player with the ball is Placed Prone then the ball will Bounce from the player's square; this will cause a Turnover if it was during the player's activation. When a player is Placed Prone, do not make an Armour Roll against them.

FALLS OVER

Sometimes a player may Fall Over as they try to manoeuvre around the pitch. When a player Falls Over, it is self-inflicted.

If a player on the active team Falls Over then a Turnover is caused. When a player Falls Over, place a Prone Token next to them and then make an Armour Roll for the player. If the player's armour is broken then they will risk an injury as described on page 66. If the player was holding the ball, it will Bounce from the square they are in.

KNOCKED DOWN

Blood Bowl is a violent game, and players will often find themselves Knocked Down as a result of being blocked by an opponent, attempting to block an opponent who is bigger, tougher or luckier than they are, or by any number of other in-game effects such as spells, projectiles, or random events.

If a player is Knocked Down during their team's turn, then a Turnover is caused. When a player is Knocked Down, place a Prone Marker next to them and then make an Armour Roll for the player. If the player's armour is broken then they will risk an injury as described on page 66. If the player was holding the ball, it will Bounce from the square they are in.

The Game of Blood Bowl

Now that we have explained all of the important principles, it's time to put them to use in explaining how to actually play a game of Blood Bowl - after all, we're here to inflict bone-crunching tackles and score amazing touchdowns!

Traditionally, a game of Blood Bowl is played between two sides and begins with one team kicking the ball to the other. The receiving team is the offence and are trying to get the ball into the opposition End Zone in order to score a Touchdown. They will usually do this through a series of daring plays, darting runs, precision passes and crunching tackles as they attempt to protect their ball carrier as they make a dash to score. The kicking team, or the defence, are trying to stop the offence from scoring, whilst simultaneously trying to regain possession of the ball so that they may attempt to score a Touchdown themselves.

Once a Touchdown has been scored, the teams will line up once more, with the team that scored becoming the kicking team. This process repeats itself until the final whistle blows (or one team is too beaten up to carry on), at which point the team that has scored the most Touchdowns is declared the winner and will celebrate in the most raucous fashion they know how to!

In this section we are going to take you through each step of a game of Blood Bowl from setting up at the start of the game, through the various Actions a player can take, such as Move or Block Actions, to how to reset at the end of a Drive.

A GAME OF TWO HALVES!

Like many sports, Blood Bowl is split into two halves of roughly equal length either side of half-time. Each half consists of eight rounds, with each round consisting of two turns - one for each Coach. This means that over the course of the game there will be two halves, 16 rounds and 32 turns - 16 for each coach.

Often, you will see rules referring to a Drive. A Drive is a period of time in the game between one team kicking off and either team scoring or the end of a half. This means there is no set time for the length of a Drive; some may last the entire half, whilst others may only last a single round or even turn!

SETTING UP THE GAME

Setting up a game of Blood Bowl is easy. Simply place the pitch on the playing surface in between the two Coaches and give each Coach a dugout in which to place any markers they may need during the game. Then, place the Random Direction Template in a place that both Coaches can easily see and that corresponds to the grid on the pitch: this will not be moved during the course of the game.

Once this is done, both Coaches should put their players on the pitch and explain all the details of their team to their opponent. You are now ready to play Blood Bowl!

YOUR FIRST FEW GAMES

For your first couple of games whilst you are learning, there are a few steps you don't need to worry about that you can just skip - Fan Factor, Weather and the Kick-off Event. These are all important parts of the game, though you can skip them whilst you get to grips with the basics.

Instead, assume that both teams have an equal Fan Factor, the weather is always Perfect Conditions and just ignore the Kick-off Event completely.

PRE-GAME SEQUENCE

With the game set up, the first thing that is required is to run through the Pre-game Sequence. There are five simple steps to the Pre-game Sequence, however, some of these are only relevant to League Play, which we will cover fully later on page 94, so you don't need to worry about these right now.

The Pre-game Sequence is as follows:

THE FANS: Coaches determine how many of their team's fans have come to raucously cheer on their favourite team.
THE WEATHER: Blood Bowl is played come rain or shine, and coaches will need to determine what the weather is like when the game kicks off.
TAKE ON JOURNEYMEN: This step is only used in League Play, and so will be covered fully on page 94.
INDUCEMENTS: This step is only used in League Play, and so will be covered fully on page 94
DETERMINE KICKING TEAM: Coaches will roll off to determine who is the kicking team (defence) and who is the receiving team (offence).

THE FANS

Blood Bowl is incredibly popular in the Old World, and for any given game, scores of fans will flock to the various stadia to witness the grand spectacle. Some of these will be dedicated fans who have travelled far and wide to watch their favourite team play, whilst others are simply fair-weather fans who just go to watch whichever two teams happen to be playing in their local area and then pick one to cheer for on the day.

FAN FACTOR

The combination of Dedicated Fans and Fair-weather Fans that are cheering for a team make up the team's Fan Factor for the game.

To work out your Fan Factor, you must first see how many Fair-weather Fans are cheering for your team by rolling a D3. Next, add the number of Fair-weather Fans to your Dedicated Fans Characteristic as found on your Team Roster (more on these later).

The total number is your Fan Factor and represents the number of thousands of fans that are in attendance and cheering for your team. You can record your Fan Factor on your Team Record Sheet if you wish.

For example: The Brionne Barons are determining their Fan Factor for a game. Their Coach rolls a D3 for their Fair-weather Fans and scores a 2. This is added to the team's Dedicated Fans Characteristic of 4, giving a total Fan Factor of 6.

THE WEATHER

Blood Bowl is played in all types of weather. Those that take to the gridiron are tough, hardy individuals who won't let a little rain stop them from pummelling their opposition into the damp turf! This doesn't mean that the weather won't have an impact on the game - far from it! The course of many games has been drastically altered by strong winds, blinding sun, sudden snowstorms, or all manner of other unconventional weather conditions!

To determine what the weather is like at the start of the game, each Coach rolls a D6 and adds the two rolls together. Consult the Weather Table below to see what impact the weather has.

WEATHER TABLE

2D6	Weather Condition
2	Sweltering Heat: At the end of each Drive whilst this weather condition is in effect, one Coach rolls a D3 and each Coach randomly selects that many of their players that were on the pitch when the Drive ended. The selected players are placed in the Reserves Box and cannot be set up on the pitch for the next Drive.
3	Very Sunny: Whenever a player makes a Passing Ability Test, apply a -1 modifier to the roll.
4‑10	Perfect Conditions: There is no additional effect.
11	Pouring Rain: Whenever a player attempts to pick up or Catch the ball, or Intercept a Pass Action, they suffer a -1 modifier to the roll.
12	Blizzard: Whenever a player attempts to Rush, apply an additional -1 modifier to the roll. Additionally, when a player makes a Pass Action, they may only attempt to make a Quick Pass or a Short Pass.

DETERMINE KICKING TEAM

The final thing to do before starting a game is to determine which team is kicking (the defence) and which team is receiving the ball (the offence). In a real game of Blood Bowl, this is done with a simple coin toss, which many fans, players and even the officials, see as a cue to start the violence!

On the tabletop, this is represented through a simple roll-off (see page 33). The Coach who rolls highest decides which team is kicking and which team is receiving. Once this has been decided, you are ready to play a game of Blood Bowl!

START OF A DRIVE!

Once it has been decided who is kicking and who is receiving, it is time to start the first Drive of the game. Whenever a Drive starts, either at the start of a half or after one team has scored, Coaches will need to follow the Start of Drive Sequence below:

START OF DRIVE SEQUENCE

At the start of any Drive, Coaches run through the following steps in this order:

SET-UP: Starting with the kicking team, Coaches will set up their players on the pitch ready for the Drive.
THE KICK-OFF: The kicking team will kick the ball to the receiving team.
THE KICK-OFF EVENT: As the ball is in the air, the Kick-off Event will happen.

SET-UP

When setting up their players, each team must select 11 players to take part in the Drive. If a team has less than 11 players, which is likely during the course of a game when players begin to get knocked-out or suffer casualties, then they must set up as many as they can. Any players not chosen to set up for the Drive are placed in the Reserves Box.

The kicking team must set up first followed by the receiving team. Players must be set up as follows:

Players must be deployed in their own half, and not beyond the Line of Scrimmage into their opponent's half.
At least three players from each team must be deployed in the Centre Field, directly adjacent to the Line of Scrimmage.
No more than two players from each team may be deployed within each Wide Zone.

Should a team only be able to field three or fewer players, then they must be deployed in the Centre Field directly adjacent to the Line of Scrimmage.

TOO MANY PLAYERS

Sometimes, a situation may arise where one team has too many players on the pitch. This is usually down to an honest mistake by the team's Coach. If you notice this before the next Drive has started, simply correct the mistake and continue with the game. However, if the mistake is not noticed until the first Turn of the Drive has begun, then any extra players on the pitch will be immediately removed from the pitch and placed in the Reserves Box. The players that are removed cannot have the ball, cannot be a Star Player and are chosen by the opposition Coach.

THE KICK-OFF

Once both teams have set up, it is time for the kicking team to Kick-off.

NOMINATE KICKING PLAYER

The first thing that the kicking team must do is to nominate a kicking player. This can be any player on the kicking team that is on the pitch but not directly adjacent to the Line of Scrimmage (unless there is no other option) or in a Wide Zone. Most of the time nominating a kicking player doesn't really matter, however, some Skills, Traits or special rules may interact with the kicking player so it is good to get into the habit of nominating one whenever you Kick-off.

PLACE THE KICK

The Coach of the kicking team places the ball in any square in the opponent's half. This is the target square where the kicker is aiming to kick the ball.

THE KICK DEVIATES

It is not uncommon for a kick to go horribly off course; in fact, it is probably far more likely than an accurate kick! After the ball has been placed, the ball will Deviate from the target square; this is the square the ball will land in. At this point the ball is still high up in the air and cannot be caught until after the Kick-off Event has been resolved.

THE KICK-OFF EVENT

When the ball is punted into the air, it is a signal that the game has begun and anything can happen. In fact, many Blood Bowl fans take this to mean that they can immediately start causing a ruckus, which only encourages those on the pitch.

Immediately after the kick has Deviated, the Coach of the kicking team must roll 2D6 and consult the Kick-off Event Table below to see what manner of mayhem the kick-off has resulted in.

KICK-OFF EVENT TABLE

2D6	Kick-off Event
2	Get the Ref: Each team immediately receives one free Bribe Inducement. This Bribe must be used by the end of the game or it is lost.
3	TIME-OUT!: If the kicking team's Turn Marker is on turn 6, 7 or 8 for the half, move both teams' Turn Marker back one space. Otherwise, move both teams' Turn Marker forwards one space.
4	Solid Defence: The Coach of the kicking team selects up to D3+3 Open players on their team. The selected players are then removed from the pitch and can be set up again following all the usual restrictions for setting up the team.
5	High Kick: One Open player on the receiving team may immediately be placed in the square the ball is going to land in.
6	Cheering Fans: Both Coaches roll a D6 and add the number of Cheerleaders on their Team Roster. The first Block Action performed during the Coach with the highest roll's next Turn receives an additional Offensive Assist. If both Coaches roll the same, both will receive this benefit during their next Turn.
7	Brilliant Coaching: Both Coaches roll a D6 and add the number of Assistant Coaches on their Team Roster. The Coach with the highest total, or both Coaches in the result of a tie, immediately gains a free Team Re-roll for the Drive ahead. If this free Team Re-roll has not been used by the end of the Drive, it is lost.
8	Changing Weather: Immediately make a new roll on the Weather Table. If the new result is Perfect Conditions, the ball will Scatter (3) in the air before it lands.
9	Quick Snap!: The Coach of the receiving team selects up to D3+3 Open players on their team. The selected players may immediately move one square in any direction, even if this takes them into the opposition's half.
10	Charge!: The Coach of the kicking team selects up to D3+3 Open players on their team. The selected players may then be activated one at a time, exactly as if it was their team's Turn, and perform a free Move Action. One of the selected players may instead perform a free Blitz Action, one may perform a free Throw Team-mate Action, and one may perform a free Kick Team-mate Action. If a selected player Falls Over or is Knocked Down during their activation, no further selected players can be activated and the Charge ends.
11	Dodgy Snack: Both Coaches roll a D6. The Coach that rolled the lowest, or both Coaches in the result of a tie, randomly selects one of their players on the pitch and rolls a D6. On a 2+, the player's pre-drive snack has not gone down well and for the duration of the Drive the player reduces their MA and AV by 1. On a 1, the player's pre-drive snack has violently disagreed with them; place the player in the Reserves box as they spend the rest of the Drive locked in the lavatory!

WHAT GOES UP...

Once the Kick-off Event has been fully resolved, the ball will land in the square that it is in. If there isn't a player in the square then the ball will immediately Bounce from that square.

If there is a player in that square, they may immediately try to Catch the ball by making an Agility Test. If the test is passed, they will immediately gain possession of the ball. If the test is failed, then the ball will immediately Bounce from that square.

TOUCHBACKS

The ball must land safely in the opposition half for it to be a legal kick-off. If the ball ends up exiting the pitch or crosses the Line of Scrimmage into the kicking team's half, regardless if this was down to a Deviation, Bounce, or another effect, then it will result in a Touchback.

When a Touchback occurs, after the Kick-off Event has been fully resolved, the Coach of the receiving team may give the ball to any of their Standing players on the pitch. If there are no Standing players for them to give it to, they may place it on any unoccupied square in their half instead.

A TEAM'S TURN!

A real game of Blood Bowl is a manic affair with referees and officials constantly trying to keep track of all the chaos that is taking place on the pitch and attempting to exert a modicum of control over the players. On the tabletop, the game is divided into a series of Rounds and Turns to help Coaches keep track of what is going on and to make sure everyone knows exactly what is happening. During each Round, each Coach will get a Turn where they can activate their players and perform actions with them, bringing a sense of order and control to the otherwise chaotic game that is Blood Bowl!

ROUNDS

Each half of a game of Blood Bowl is divided into eight Rounds. In each Round both Coaches will get one Turn. Often you will hear Coaches refer to these as "Coach A's Turn 1". What this means is that it is Coach A's Turn in the first Round of the half. This will mean that each team will get eight Turns in each half.

During each Round, the team that received the ball at the start of the half will have the first Turn, followed by the team that kicked the ball. This continues until each team has played their eight Turns for the half.

At the start of the second half, the team that received the ball at the start of the first half will become the kicking team at the start of the second half.

If a Drive ends with a Touchdown, then the team that scored the Touchdown will kick the ball to the opposition before the next Turn begins.

For example: The Bretonnian team received the ball at the start of the first half, meaning that they had the first Turn in each Round. They score during their Turn 5 ending their Turn, and the Drive, with a Touchdown. The teams then set up again and the Bretonnian team will kick to the Tomb Kings team. Play then resumes with the Tomb Kings Turn 5.

TURNS

During each Coach's Turn they will get a chance to activate each of their players in turn until they have all activated or a Turnover is caused. During a team's Turn they are referred to as the active team and the opposition is referred to as the opposition or inactive team.

The first thing in each Turn that a team should do is to move their Turn Marker up one space. This is important so each Coach knows exactly what Turn it is. If your opponent forgets, simply remind them to do so in a polite and friendly manner.

PLAYER ACTIVATIONS

During your Turn, you may activate each of your players once, with the exception of players who began the Turn Stunned. Ideally, you will be able to activate each player in turn with no issues; however, it won't be uncommon for the Turn to end with a Turnover and some players may not have been activated, so take care in the order in which you activate your players!

When you activate a player, you must declare what kind of Action they are going to make. During their activation the player will be referred to as the active player. You may not change your declared Action half way through a player's activation. However, you are not obliged to complete the declared Action if you do not wish to, though the player will still count as having declared that Action even if they do not complete it. This is important as some Actions can only be declared once each Turn.

If a player declares an action that can only be declared once each Turn, and is unable to perform the action as a result of the effect of a specific Skill or Trait (such as a Trait that requires them to roll a dice and on certain rolls the player's activation will immediately end), they will still count as having declared the action and therefore no other player may declare the same action that Turn.

What follows is the list of actions that a player may declare when activated, along with a brief description of what they do. They will be described in more detail throughout this section.

MOVE ACTION

Probably the most basic Action of them all, a Move Action allows a player to move around the board up to its Move Allowance. There is no limit to the number of players that can declare a Move Action each Turn. Move Actions are covered on page 54.

SECURE THE BALL ACTION

A player may attempt to recover a loose ball safely. A player that declares a Secure the Ball Action may first make a free Move Action, however, this Move Action must end on the square containing a ball and the ball cannot be within 2 squares of any Standing opposition players (who are not Distracted). If this is not possible, a player cannot declare this Action. Only a single Secure the Ball Action can be declared each Turn. Players with the Big Guy keyword cannot declare this Action. Secure the Ball Actions are covered on page 59.

BLOCK ACTION

When a player makes a Block Action, they are targeting an opposition player with an attack. A Block Action allows a Standing player to perform a Block against one Standing opposition player in an attempt to push them back, knock them down, or even cause an injury. There is no limit to the number of players that can declare a Block Action each Turn. Block Actions are covered on page 60.

BLITZ ACTION

Simply put, a Blitz Action combines a Move Action with a Block Action so any rules that interact with either of these Actions will also interact with them when they are used as part of a Blitz Action. Only a single Blitz Action can be declared each Turn. Blitz Actions are covered on page 64.

PASS ACTION

The player may attempt to throw the ball to another player or part of the pitch. A player that declares a Pass Action may also make a free Move Action before making the pass, but may not continue moving after the pass has been made. Only a single Pass Action can be declared each Turn. Pass Actions are covered on page 70.

HAND-OFF ACTION

A player may attempt to hand-off the ball to another Standing player on their team. A player that declares a Hand-off Action may also make a free Move Action before making the hand-off, but may not continue moving after the hand-off has been made. Only a single Hand-off Action can be declared each Turn. Hand-off Actions are covered on page 74.

THROW TEAM-MATE ACTION

Some larger players have the ability to throw certain team-mates through the air, either to get the ball carrier up the field or to launch a 'willing' ally at the opposition. A player that declares a Throw Team-mate Action may also make a free Move Action before throwing their team-mate, but may not continue moving after the pass has been made. A player may only declare a Throw Team-mate Action if they have the Throw Team-mate Trait, and may only throw a team-mate that has the Right Stuff Trait. Only a single Throw Team-mate Action can be declared each Turn. Throw Team-mate Actions are covered on page 76.

FOUL ACTION

It's not all good, clean fun in Blood Bowl; some players are prone to sticking the boot in when the ref isn't looking! A player that declares a Foul Action may also make a free Move Action before making the foul, but may not continue moving after the foul has been made. Only a single Foul Action can be declared each Turn. Foul Actions are covered on page 69.

SPECIAL ACTION

There are many Skills and Traits that will provide a player with the option to declare a Special Action. Some Special Actions will also allow a player to make a free Move Action as part of the Special Action. Each Special Action will allow the player to perform a more unique action on the pitch, such as using a contraption of some sort, transfixing an opposition player where they stand, or even using a hidden blade to stab out at an opponent!

These are all referred to as Special Actions and will be fully outlined in the Skill or Trait that allows them to be used. The full list of Skills and Traits and their descriptions can be found on pages 123-138.

FOREGO ACTIVATION

Sometimes you may not wish to activate a player on your team, in which case they can declare they will forego their activation. In these instances, the player will not be activated, and so will not be subjected to any rules that take place at the start of or during their activation, with the exception of seeing if the Crowd Takes Action if the Player is deemed to be Stalling (see page 80). However, once a player has declared they will forego their activation, they cannot later be activated in the same turn.

DECLARE VS PERFORM

Some rules will come into play when a player 'declares' a specific action, whilst others will come into play when a player 'performs' a specific action. There is an important distinction between declare and perform:

An action is declared at the start of a player's activation, and so rules that come into play when an action is declared will take effect at this time - so long as the declared action matches the action in the relevant rule.

An action is performed when it actually happens, such as when you roll dice for a Block Action, move one or more squares as part of a Move Action, and so on. Rules that come into play when an action is performed will take place when that specified action is resolved during the player's activation.

This distinction is important for actions that combine multiple actions into one, such as a Blitz Action (a Move Action plus a Block Action) or a Pass Action (a Move Action plus a Pass Action).

For example:

During a Blitz Action:

A rule that comes into play when a player declares a Block Action would not come into effect as no Block Action has been declared - the declared Action was a Blitz Action.
A rule that comes into play when a player performs a Block Action would come into effect, triggering when the Block Action is performed as part of the Blitz Action.

For example:

During a Pass Action:

If a rule comes into play when a player declares a Pass Action, it will come into effect as soon as the Pass Action is declared.
If a rule comes into play when a player performs a Pass Action, then it would not come into play as soon as the player declared the Pass Action. Instead, it will come into play after the player had made their Move Action, before the Pass Action is performed.

REPLACING ACTIONS

Some Special Actions allow a player to replace the Block Action made as part of a Blitz Action with the Special Action. When this happens, this will still count as a team's one Blitz Action of the Turn. Additionally, it is worth noting that even though the Special Action is replacing a Block Action, it is not one itself and so any rules, Skills or Traits that affect a Block Action will have no effect.

ACTIVATED PLAYERS

Over the course of a Turn, it can be difficult to track which players have activated and which have not.

To help with this, at the start of each of your Turns, you should make sure that each of your players that can be activated are facing the opposition End Zone. Then, after a player has been activated, turn them to face your End Zone. That way, it is easy for both Coaches to see which players have activated and which have yet to do so.

MOVE ACTIONS!

When a player performs a Move Action, they can move around the pitch a number of squares equal to their Move Allowance. Players may move in any direction, including diagonally, into any adjacent unoccupied square. An unoccupied square is any square that does not contain another player (even if it contains the ball), whilst an occupied square is any square that does contain another player, regardless of whether they are Standing, Prone or Stunned. Players may not move through an occupied square.

Players are never obliged to use their full Move Allowance, and may move zero squares if they wish. Players can never voluntarily move off the pitch.

Here, the Bretonnian Knight Catcher is making a Move Action. As they have an MA of 7, they can move up to 7 squares in any direction. In this example, the Bretonnian Knight Catcher doesn't need to make any rolls to Dodge as they are not moving out of an opposition player's Tackle Zone at any point.

STANDING UP

Players that begin their activation Prone must declare an Action that includes a Move Action in order to first stand up. When a player stands up it will cost them 3 squares of their Move Allowance to do so, and they must stand up before attempting to do anything else.

If a player with a Move Allowance Characteristic of 2 or less (regardless of any modifiers) wishes to stand up, they must roll a D6. On a 4+, the player may stand up using their full Move Allowance to do so. On a 1-3, the player remains Prone and their activation immediately ends.

If a Prone player is not activated during a Turn, then they will remain Prone until they are activated in a later Turn.

DODGING

When the active player wishes to move out of a square in which they are being Marked, they will need to Dodge. A player must make a Dodge Roll each time they wish to leave a square in which they are Marked.

When a player wishes to Dodge, move the player into the square they wish to move into. Next, make an Agility Test for the model that is attempting to Dodge, applying a -1 modifier for each opposition player that is Marking the square they are moving into. If the Agility Test is passed, they will stay on their feet and may continue their movement, even Dodging again if they wish. If the test is failed, the player immediately Falls Over.

If there are no opposition players Marking the square a player is attempting to Dodge into, then there are no modifiers to the Agility Test.

Some Skills or Traits may apply additional modifiers to a player attempting to Dodge.

For example: This Bretonnian Knight Catcher wishes to Dodge away from this Skeleton Lineman. As the square the Bretonnian Knight Catcher wishes to move into isn't Marked by any opposition players, there are no modifiers to its Agility Test. The Bretonnian Knight Catcher has an AG of 3+ and rolls a 5, succeeding in the test and successfully Dodges away.

For example: This Bretonnian Knight Catcher wishes to Dodge away from this Skeleton Lineman. As the square the Bretonnian Knight Catcher wishes to move into is Marked by the Tomb Guardian, there is a -1 modifier to its Agility Test. The Bretonnian Knight Catcher has an AG of 3+ and rolls a 3, which fails due to the -1 modifier for Dodging into a square Marked by the Tomb Guardian. The Bretonnian Knight Catcher is moved into the square they attempted to Dodge into and then Falls Over.

JUMPING OVER PLAYERS

When performing a Move Action, a player may attempt to Jump over players that are Prone or Stunned and into an unoccupied square beyond. A player that attempts to Jump over another player in this manner may attempt to Jump into an unoccupied square that is adjacent to the Prone or Stunned player they are attempting to Jump over, but is not already adjacent to the jumping player. The diagrams below show a Bretonnian Knight Catcher attempting to Jump over a Skeleton Lineman from two different angles. The orange squares are eligible squares to Jump into, whilst the blue ones are not.

When a player attempts to Jump over another player in this manner, it will use its Move Allowance as normal. As the player is moving 2 squares when jumping, it will also cost 2 squares of Move Allowance when jumping over. If a player does not have the required Move Allowance left to complete the Jump, they must attempt to Rush as normal or not Jump at all. If the jumping player has to Rush multiple times to complete the Jump, then they will need to roll for each Rush attempt before rolling to Jump. If a Rush attempt to Jump over a player fails, the rushing player will Fall Over in the square they are in rather than the square they are attempting to Jump into.

When a player attempts to Jump over another player in this manner, they must make an Agility Test before moving over the downed player. The jumping player will suffer a negative modifier equal to the number of opposition players Marking the square they are currently in, or the number of opposition players Marking the square they are jumping into, whichever is higher.

If the Agility Test is passed, place the jumping player Standing in the target square; they may continue their activation as normal. If the test is failed, place the jumping player in the target square where they will Fall Over and their activation immediately ends. If a natural 1 is rolled for the Agility Test, the player will instead Fall Over in the square they are in and their activation immediately ends. Some Skills or Traits may apply additional modifiers to a player attempting to Jump over other players.

For example: This Bretonnian Knight Catcher wishes to Jump over this Prone Skeleton Lineman. As there are no opposition players Marking the Bretonnian Knight Catcher, or the square they are attempting to Jump into, there are no modifiers to the Agility Test. The Bretonnian Knight Catcher has an AG of 3+ and rolls a 4, successfully Jumping over the Skeleton Lineman.

For example: This Bretonnian Knight Catcher wishes to Jump over this Prone Skeleton Lineman, though will need to Rush once in order to do so. The Bretonnian Knight Catcher rolls a 5 for their Rush attempt, which succeeds, and then rolls their Agility Test, scoring a 3 and successfully jumps over the Skeleton Lineman.

For example: This Bretonnian Knight Catcher wishes to Jump over this Prone Skeleton Lineman. There are currently two opposition players Marking the Bretonnian Knight Catcher, and one opposition player Marking the square they are attempting to Jump into. As a result, the Bretonnian Knight Catcher will suffer a -2 modifier to the Agility Test, as there are more opposition players Marking the square they are attempting to Jump out of; they will not suffer any modifiers from the opposition players Marking the square they are jumping into in this instance. The Bretonnian Knight Catcher has an AG of 3+ and rolls a 6, which succeeds even with the -2 modifier!

PICKING UP THE BALL

Whenever a player voluntarily moves into a square containing the ball during their activation, they must immediately make an Agility Test to attempt to pick it up. If the test is passed, the player immediately gains possession of the ball and may continue their activation. If the test is failed, the player fails to pick up the ball and a Turnover is caused - the ball will then Bounce from the player's square. Apply a -1 modifier to this roll for each opposition player that is Marking the player attempting to pick up the ball.

The roll to pick up the ball is always done after any rolls required to move into the square containing the ball, such as any rolls to Rush, Dodge or Jump over another player, but before any other rolls that may occur.

If a player is ever involuntarily moved into a square containing the ball, such as being pushed, or outside their activation then they may not attempt to pick up the ball and it will Bounce; however, no Turnover will be caused.

RUSHING

Whenever a player performs an Action that includes a Move Action, they may attempt to push themselves and move that little bit further than they normally could; this is called Rushing. When a player attempts to Rush, the extra squares of Move Allowance they gain may be used to do anything that they could normally do with their Move Allowance just as if it was normal movement.

When a player wishes to Rush, move the player into the square they wish to Rush into and then roll a D6. On a 2+ the player successfully manages to Rush into the square and may continue their activation. On a 1, the player trips and Falls Over in the square they were attempting to Rush into and their activation immediately ends.

Players may attempt to Rush a maximum of two times during their activation. If, when a player attempts to Rush, there would be multiple rolls for moving into the square, such as having to Dodge, then the roll for attempt to Rush will always come first.

Here, the Bretonnian Squire has already used their Move Allowance of 6, but wishes to try to Rush so they can Mark the Tomb Kings Blitzer. They Rush one square and roll a 5, which is a success. They then decide to try to Rush again to move adjacent to the Tomb Kings Blitzer; however, a 1 is rolled and the Bretonnian Squire Falls Over in the square they were trying to Rush into.

SECURE THE BALL ACTIONS!

Sometimes, a cautious approach is best - especially when it comes to recovering the ball! Should a player find that the ball has come to a rest on the ground, and there are no opponents nearby, they may decide to safely pick it up rather than attempt to do so at speed and risk letting it slip through their fingers and cause a turnover.

PERFORMING A SECURE THE BALL ACTION

A player may only declare a Secure the Ball Action if the ball is loose on the ground and is not within 2 squares of any Standing opposition players that are not Distracted. A player that declares a Secure the Ball Action may first make a free Move Action, however, this Move Action must finish on a square containing a ball otherwise a Turnover is caused.

When performing a Secure the Ball Action, the player must attempt to pick up the ball. A player attempting to pick up a ball as part of a Secure the Ball Action does not make an Agility Test; instead they roll a D6 and on a 2+ they will automatically pick up the ball and their activation immediately ends. On a 1, the player fails to pick up the ball and a Turnover is caused - the ball will then Bounce from the player's square.

For example: The Bretonnian Knight Catcher wants to declare a Secure the Ball Action. As there are no Standing opposition players within 2 squares of the ball, they can Move into the square containing the ball and attempt to pick it up on a 2+. Their activation then ends.

This time, the Bretonnian Knight Catcher wants to declare a Secure the Ball Action; however, there is an opposing Skeleton Lineman within 2 squares of the ball. As a result, the Bretonnian Knight Catcher cannot declare a Secure the Ball Action at this time.

BLOCK ACTIONS!

Blood Bowl is a violent game, one where bone-crunching tackles and excessive use of force are actively encouraged by both the fans and the officials! So long as weapons are not used, almost anything goes in regards to players blocking each other, and a whirlwind of fists pummelling a player into submission is just as acceptable as a well-timed tackle to floor an opposition - it's all the same to the fans. This has resulted in many innovative ways to take down an opponent and is all part of the game's charm. After all, the fans want to be entertained, and what's more thrilling than a full-contact blood sport where aggression is the first thing on every player's mind!

When a player declares a Block Action, they must nominate one Standing opposition player they are Marking to be the target of the Block Action. They will then perform the Block Action on the target player.

PERFORMING A BLOCK ACTION

Once a player has declared the target of their Block Action, the next thing to do is to work out how many Block Dice they will roll for the Block Action. This is done by comparing the Strength Characteristic of the player performing the Block Action with the Strength Characteristic of the target player. If one player is stronger than the other, then they are more likely to knock them down!

To do this, both players take their Strength Characteristic and apply any modifiers that affect it, such as any Skills or Traits that modify a player's ST or any Offensive or Defensive Assists.

If, after any modifiers have been applied, both players have the same Strength Characteristic, a single Block Dice is rolled.
If, after any modifiers have been applied, one player has a higher Strength Characteristic than the other, then two Block Dice are rolled and the Coach of the player with the higher Strength Characteristic chooses the result.
If, after any modifiers have been applied, one player has a Strength Characteristic that is over double than that of the other, then three Block Dice are rolled and the Coach of the player with the higher Strength Characteristic chooses the result.

ASSISTING A BLOCK ACTION

The most common way of modifying a player's Strength Characteristic during a Block Action is through Assists. This is when the team-mates of the player performing the Block Action, or the team-mates of the target of the Block Action, help out their ally in the ensuing clash. This will often result in multiple players ganging up on another player in order to increase the odds of knocking them to the turf.

There are two types of Assist: Offensive and Defensive.

OFFENSIVE ASSISTS

An Offensive Assist is when another player on the active team is able to Assist the player performing the Block Action. For each Offensive Assist the player performing the Block Action receives they gain a +1 modifier to their Strength Characteristic for the duration of the Block Action. For a player to be able to provide an Offensive Assist, they must be Marking the target of the Block Action and must not be Marked by any other opposition player.

For example: This Tomb Kings Blitzer has declared a Block Action against the Bretonnian Squire. The Skeleton Lineman can provide an Offensive Assist as they are Marking the Bretonnian Squire and are not Marked by any other opposition players, granting a +1 modifier to the Tomb Kings player's Strength. The Tomb Guardian cannot provide an Offensive Assist as although they are Marking the Bretonnian Squire, they are also Marked by the Grail Knight, and so cannot Assist.

DEFENSIVE ASSISTS

A Defensive Assist is when another player on the inactive team is able to Assist the target of the Block Action. For each Defensive Assist the target of the Block Action receives, they gain a +1 modifier to their Strength Characteristic for the duration of the Block Action. For a player to be able to provide an Defensive Assist, they must be Marking the player performing the Block Action and must not be Marked by any other opposition player.

For example: The Tomb Kings Blitzer has declared a Block Action against the Bretonnian Squire. The Grail Knight may not provide a Defensive Assist as, although they are Marking the Tomb Kings Blitzer, they are also being Marked by the Skeleton Lineman. However, the Bretonnian Knight Thrower may provide a Defensive Assist as they are also Marking the Tomb Kings Blitzer and are not Marked by any other opposition players, granting a +1 modifier to the Bretonnian Squire's ST.

For example: Here, the Tomb Kings Blitzer has declared a Block Action against the Bretonnian Squire. Neither the Skeleton Lineman or the Grail Knight may provide Assists as, although they are each Marking the relevant players, they are also both Marking each other. The Bretonnian Knight Thrower may also not provide a Defensive Assist as they are currently being Marked by the Tomb Guardian. However, the Tomb Kings Thrower may provide an Offensive Assist as they are Marking the Bretonnian Squire and are not Marked by any other player, granting a +1 modifier to the Tomb Kings Blitzer and giving them the advantage in the Block Action.

BLOCK DICE

When a player performs a Block Action, they will use a number of special Block Dice to determine the outcome. The number of which will depend on the Strength characteristics of the player performing the Block Action and the target player as described previously.

Block Dice are six-sided dice that feature five different icons instead of the usual numbers 1-6. Each of these icons represents a different outcome from the Block Action, from the player successfully flooring their opponent, to the target managing to hit back in retaliation! These icons and what they do are described below:

PLAYER DOWN

The player performing the Block Action is immediately Knocked Down by the target player as if the target player had performed a Block Action.

BOTH DOWN

Both players find themselves hitting the deck after an almighty collision. Both the player that performed the Block Action and the target player are Knocked Down by each other in the squares they are in as if they had both performed a Block Action.

PUSH BACK

The player gives their opponent a mighty shove, forcing them backwards. The target player is Pushed Back one square by the player performing the Block Action as described as follows. The player that performed the Block Action may choose to Follow-up, in which case they move into the square vacated by the Pushed player.

STUMBLE

The target does their best to avoid being clobbered by their attacker. If the target player has the Dodge Skill, then this result becomes Push Back as described above. Otherwise, this result becomes POW as described below.

POW

The target is knocked flying and ends up hitting the dirt with great force. Apply the Push Back result to the player as described above. Additionally, after the Push Back result has been applied, the target player is immediately Knocked Down by the player performing the Block Action in the square they are now in.

SELECT AND APPLY RESULT

When a Block Action is made, it is always the Coach of the player performing the Block Action that rolls the Block Dice. However, the Coach that decides which result is applied depends on the Strength characteristics of both players as described earlier. If only a single Block Dice is rolled then that result must be chosen. If multiple Block Dice are rolled, it is always the Coach of the stronger player that chooses the result.

PUSHED PLAYERS

When a player is Pushed Back, usually as a result of the Push Back or POW results from a Block Action, they will be Pushed Back one square away from the player that performed the Block Action so that they are in an adjacent square that is not adjacent to the player that performed the Block Action. The squares that a player can be Pushed into will depend on the direction of the Push, as shown in the diagrams below:

The square the Pushed Back player is moved into is chosen by the Coach of the player performing the Block Action, though they must choose an unoccupied square if there is one. If a player is Pushed Back onto the ball, it will automatically Bounce though no Turnover is caused.

Sometimes there will be no unoccupied squares to move the Pushed Back player into, either because there are other players occupying those squares, or because a player is at the edge of the pitch. These situations will result in either a Chain Push or a player being Pushed into the Crowd.

CHAIN PUSHES

If there is no unoccupied square for the Pushed Back player to be moved into then they will be Pushed Back into a square containing another player, which will cause a Chain Push. The player that was originally Pushed Back will be Pushed as normal, and the player occupying the square the originally Pushed player has been Pushed Back into will be themselves Pushed Back as if they had been Pushed Back by the player who is now occupying their square. When a Chain Push occurs, the Coach of the player performing the original Block Action will choose the direction of all Pushes within the Chain Push. A player can still be Chain Pushed even if they are Prone or Stunned. Below are two diagrams showing examples of a Chain Push:

PUSHED INTO THE CROWD

If a player is adjacent to a Sideline or within an End Zone when they are Pushed Back, and there are no unoccupied squares for them to be Pushed Back into, then they will be Pushed into the Crowd. A player that is Pushed into the Crowd will risk Injury by the Crowd, which is described on page 68.

If a player that is holding the ball is Pushed into the Crowd, then the ball will be Thrown-in exactly as described on page 73. Additionally, if a player on the active team is Pushed into the Crowd then a Turnover is caused.

FOLLOW-UP

When a player decides to Follow-up as the result of Pushing an opposition player during a Block Action, regardless of which result was chosen that allowed them to Push Back the player, they will immediately move into the square that has been vacated by the Pushed player. This is a free move and doesn't cost any Move Allowance. There is also no need for the player to Rush or Dodge, and any Skills or Traits that would normally apply to a player leaving another player's Tackle Zone do not apply if the player leaves due to a Follow-up.

The decision to Follow-up must be made before any other dice are rolled, such as the Armour Roll if the Pushed player was also Knocked Down.

BLITZ ACTIONS!

Sometimes you need a little more power behind a tackle, or the focus of your ire is further away than arm's reach. This is where a Blitz comes in, allowing a player to get a good run-up to achieve their desired effect - putting their opponent on the floor!

Simply put, a Blitz Action combines both a Move Action and a Block Action; however, only a single player may perform a Blitz Action each Turn. When a player declares a Blitz Action, they must also declare which opposition player is the intended target of the Block Action part of the Blitz Action. Players may not declare an opposition player as the intended target of the Block Action if they cannot reach the player at all with their Move Action (including any extra squares gained by attempting to Rush).

When a player declares a Blitz Action, they may make a Move Action following all the normal rules for a Move Action as described on page 54. Additionally, if at any point during this Move Action they are adjacent to the opposition player they declared as their intended target, then they may perform a Block Action against them following all the normal rules for a Block Action, however, this Block Action will cost the player that declared the Blitz Action a point of Move Allowance.

After the player has performed the Block Action, they can continue their Move Action using any remaining Move Allowance they have left, following all the normal rules for a Move Action.

If a player has used all of their Move Allowance before making the Block Action against their intended target then they may attempt to Rush as normal to gain the extra point of Move Allowance required to perform the Block Action.

Players are never required to perform the Block Action against their intended target if they decide not to, though they will still count as having used their team's one Blitz Action for the Turn.

For example: The Skeleton Lineman has declared a Blitz Action against the Bretonnian Squire and uses all of their Move Allowance of 5 to end next to their intended target. As a result, the Skeleton Lineman must Rush in order to perform the Block Action part of the Blitz Action. The Skeleton Lineman rolls a 4 and succeeds, so the Block Action can go ahead.

ARMOUR AND INJURIES!

Nuffle's sacred game is a violent one at the best of times; the word blood is in the title for a reason! This often means that players will find themselves hurting from all manner of tackles, collisions, and other inexplicable situations. The odds of getting injured from tripping over a stray rock are often just as likely as being bitten by a Zombie or gored by a Minotaur, and even death is an ever-present threat!

Many Blood Bowl players sport an impressive number of scrapes and scars, each one telling a story of past exploits on the gridiron - even if many such tales are somewhat exaggerated.

RISKING INJURY

Whenever an Armour Roll is made for a player, they risk the chance of an Injury. As described on page 37, if a player's armour is not broken then they will be fine and suffer no further effect. However, if the player's armour is broken then an Injury Roll must be made for them.

INJURY ROLLS

Whenever an Injury Roll must be made for a player, the Coach of the opposing team rolls 2D6 and consults the Injury Table below:

INJURY TABLE

2D6	Result
2‑7	Stunned: The player is immediately Stunned.
8‑9	Knocked-out: The player is immediately Knocked-out. Remove them from the pitch and place them in the Knocked-out box of their dugout.
10‑12	Casualty: The player suffers a Casualty. Remove them from the pitch and place them in the Casualty box of their dugout. The Coach of the opposing team then makes a Casualty Roll against them.

STUNTY PLAYERS

If an Injury Roll is made for a player with the Stunty Trait, then use the Stunty Injury Table below instead of the standard one. After all, being small and fragile means you are far more likely to get broken!

STUNTY INJURY TABLE

2D6	Result
2‑6	Stunned: The player is immediately Stunned.
7‑8	Knocked-out: The player is immediately Knocked-out. Remove them from the pitch and place them in the Knocked-out box of their dugout.
9	Badly Hurt: The player suffers a Casualty. Remove them from the pitch and place them in the Casualty box of their dugout. In League Play, no Casualty Roll is made for them, instead they automatically suffer the Badly Hurt result on the Casualty Table.
10‑12	Casualty: The player suffers a Casualty. Remove them from the pitch and place them in the Casualty box of their dugout. The Coach of the opposing team then makes a Casualty Roll against them.

CASUALTY ROLLS

Whenever a player suffers a Casualty, the opposing Coach makes a Casualty Roll against them by rolling a D16 and consulting the Casualty Table below. In all instances the player will miss the rest of the current game, but may also suffer some other long term effects.

During Exhibition Play and Matched Play, this will have little to no effect on the game and can often be skipped entirely to speed things up. However, if your opponent has an Apothecary or a Special Rule associated with a specific result on the Casualty Table (usually the Dead result) then you should make sure to roll just in case.

CASUALTY TABLE

D16	Result
1‑8	Badly Hurt: The player suffers no long term effects.
9‑10	Seriously Hurt: The player must miss their next game.
11‑12	Serious Injury: The player suffers a Niggling Injury and must miss their next game.
13‑14	Lasting Injury: The player suffers a Characteristic reduction and must miss their next game.
15‑16	Dead: The player is dead!

MISS NEXT GAME

In League Play, when a player is forced to miss their team's next game they will not be eligible for the team's next match. Make a note of this on your team roster.

NIGGLING INJURY

Make a note on your team roster that the player has suffered a Niggling Injury. When making a Casualty Roll for a player with a Niggling Injury, apply a +1 modifier to the roll for each Niggling Injury the player has.

CHARACTERISTIC REDUCTION

The player has one of their Characteristics reduced by 1 so that it is worse. To determine which Characteristic has been reduced, roll a D6 and consult the Lasting Injury Table below:

D6	Lasting Injury	Characteristic Reduction
1‑2	Head Injury	-1 AV
3	Smashed Knee	-1 MV
4	Broken Arm	-1 PA
5	Dislocated Hip	-1 AG
6	Broken Shoulder	-1 ST

In the case of Move Allowance and Strength, simply reduce the value by 1.

Characteristics that are represented as a target number are affected slightly differently. For Passing Ability and Agility, increase the number in front of the + symbol by 1, making the respective test harder to succeed. For Armour Value, reduce the number in front of the + by 1, making it easier for an opposing Coach to succeed in an Armour Roll against the affected player.

If a Characteristic reduction is rolled that cannot be applied, such as if the Characteristic is already as bad as it can be, then do not apply the Characteristic reduction and treat the result as Miss Next Game instead - Nuffle clearly thinks that the player has suffered enough already!

DEAD

The player is dead. Remove them from your team roster.

GETTING EVEN

Revenge is commonplace in the world of Blood Bowl; those players that end up getting injured are likely to hold a grudge against the player or team that forced them to have to watch from the sidelines. Of course, this resentment builds up over time and often becomes a burning hatred, with the player waiting for their chance to get their own back!

In League Play, whenever a player suffers a Casualty that results in either a Seriously Hurt, Serious Injury or Lasting Injury, and they are forced to miss their next game, roll a D6. On a 4+, this player gains the Hatred (X) Trait where X is one Keyword that the player who caused the Casualty has as chosen by the injured player's Coach. This may not be any of the following Keywords: Big Guy, Blitzer, Blocker, Catcher, Lineman, Runner, Special, Thrower.

A player may gain multiple versions of the Hatred (X) Trait during the course of a league.

INJURY BY THE CROWD

When a player is Pushed into the Crowd or lands in the crowd by any other means, there is no telling how they will be treated by those they land amongst - Blood Bowl fans are a vicious bunch at the best of times! As a result, they will risk Injury by the Crowd.

When a player risks Injury by the Crowd, immediately make an Injury Roll for them as described on page 66. If the player would be Stunned, place them in their team's Reserve Box instead. Otherwise, follow the result as shown on the relevant Injury Table.

APOTHECARIES

If a team has an Apothecary, then they can use them once per game in order to attempt to Patch-up a player on their team that has either been Knocked-out or suffered a Casualty.

If an Apothecary is used to Patch-up a Knocked-out player then the player is not removed from the pitch and placed in the Knocked-out Box of their Dugout as normal. Instead, the player will become Stunned in the square they are in. If the player was Knocked-out as a result of an Injury by the Crowd, they are placed in the Reserves Box of their Dugout instead.

If an Apothecary is used to Patch-up a player that has suffered a Casualty, then it works slightly differently. After a Casualty Roll is made for the player that has suffered a Casualty, their Coach may declare they are using their Apothecary. The opposing Coach makes a second Casualty Roll for the player, and the player's controlling Coach may select either of the two results to apply. If a Badly Hurt result is selected, then the player is successfully Patched-up and placed into their Reserves Box instead of the Casualty Box.

FOUL ACTIONS!

It may come as a surprise to some people, but fouling is actually very much against the rules of Blood Bowl - not that it stops anyone of course! Numerous players over the years have risked the wrath of the referees all for the chance to put the boot into a particularly irritating opposition player in order to give their team a leg-up. In fact, many teams and players have made it their mission to perfect the art of fouling, and some have used this to propel their career forwards at the expense of those they leave writhing on the gridiron!

Nowadays, fouling is not just a common occurrence but also an expected one amongst fans and pundits. So much so that the Referees and Ruleskeepers Guild (RARG) have actually provided guidelines to advise their members of the best ways to turn a blind eye to such devious antics on the pitch!

PERFORMING A FOUL ACTION

As mentioned earlier, a single player on the active team may declare a Foul Action each Turn. When a player declares a Foul Action they are first allowed to make a Move Action, though they cannot continue to move after the Foul Action has been committed. The player must finish their Move Action adjacent to a Prone or Stunned opposition player in order to perform the Foul Action.

To perform the Foul Action, the player makes an Armour Roll (see page 37) for the target of the Foul Action. Offensive and Defensive Assists will also apply to a Foul Action in the same manner as a Block Action. When making the Armour Roll, the player making the Foul Action may apply a +1 modifier for each Offensive Assist, and apply a -1 modifier for each Defensive Assist.

For example: The Tomb Kings Blitzer has declared a Foul Action and has finished their Move Action adjacent to the Bretonnian Squire. They make an Armour Roll for the Bretonnian Squire, applying a +1 modifier for the Skeleton Lineman who is providing an Offensive Assist. As the Tomb Guardian is being Marked by the Grail Knight, they cannot provide an Offensive Assist.

BEING SENT-OFF

Regardless of the outcome, if during a Foul Action a natural double is rolled for either the Armour Roll or Injury Roll, then the player performing the Foul Action is Sent-off after the Foul Action has been completed. The Sent-off player is immediately removed from the pitch and will play no further part in the game. When a player on the active team is Sent-off, a Turnover is caused.

ARGUE THE CALL

When a player is Sent-off for any reason, their Coach may attempt to Argue the Call - roll a D6 and refer to the table below:

D6	Result
1	"You're outta here!": The player is still Sent-off and their controlling Coach may not attempt to Argue the Call for the remainder of the game.
2‑5	"I don't care!": The player is still Sent-off.
6	"Well, when you put it like that...": The player is placed back in the square they were in and is not Sent-off, though a Turnover is still caused.

Continuing with our example, the Tomb Kings Blitzer makes an Armour Roll for the Bretonnian Squire they are fouling, rolling a 6 and a 3, which breaks their armour. They then make an Injury Roll and roll a double 2, causing the Tomb Kings Blitzer to be Sent-off and the Bretonnian Squire to be Stunned. The Tomb Kings Coach attempts to Argue the Call and rolls a 1, meaning that the Tomb Kings Blitzer is still Sent-off and the Coach cannot Argue the Call for the remainder of the game!

PASS ACTIONS!

The quickest way to move the ball around the pitch is by passing it to another player. Dedicated throwers make it their mission to collect the ball before launching it towards an unmarked team-mate in the hope that they will catch it and run it in for a touchdown. Not only do such plays take a great amount of precision and skill, but they also look outstanding when pulled off. Though some prefer to simply run the ball down the length of the gridiron, there is no doubt that it is the passing game that gets the fans on their feet in awe; there are few things as satisfying as watching the ball sail through the air before landing safely in the outstretched arms of a team-mate who is darting towards the End Zone to score!

PERFORMING A PASS ACTION

During each Turn, a single player on the active team may declare a Pass Action in order to attempt to throw the ball around the pitch. When a player declares a Pass Action they are first allowed to make a Move Action, though they cannot continue to move after the Pass Action has been attempted. A player does not have to be in possession of the ball to declare a Pass Action, and may attempt to pick up the ball as part of their Move Action. Coaches are free to measure any distances with the Range Ruler at any time.

When a player performs a Pass Action, they follow the following steps in order:

Declare Target Square
Measure Range
Test for Accuracy
Interceptions
Resolve Pass Action

The target square will fall into one of four sections on the Range Ruler (see page 26) as explained below:

I: Quick Pass
II: Short Pass
III: Long Pass
IIII: Long Bomb

DECLARE TARGET SQUARE

The Coach declares which square is the target of the Pass Action. The declared square must be wholly underneath the maximum range of the Range Ruler. If a square is only partially underneath the Range Ruler, then it cannot be the target square. Though it is likely that the target square will contain a team-mate ready to attempt to catch the ball, this doesn't always have to be the case.

MEASURE RANGE

After the target square has been declared, you will need to measure the range to it and determine what kind of pass will be required - either a Quick Pass, Short Pass, Long Pass or Long Bomb.

To measure the range, place the circle at the end of the Range Ruler over the centre of the square occupied by the player performing the Pass Action. The other end of the Range Ruler is positioned so that it covers the target square with the line running through the centre of the Range Ruler passing directly through the centre of the target square.

The target square will fall into one of four sections on the Range Ruler (see page 26) as explained below:

I: Quick Pass
II: Short Pass
III: Long Pass
IIII: Long Bomb

This Bretonnian Thrower wishes to pass the ball to the Bretonnian Knight Catcher using a Pass Action. Using the Range Ruler we can determine that it would be a Short Pass.

If the target square sits partially within two sections (i.e., the line between two sections intersects the target square) then it is always considered to be in the further away of the two sections from the player performing the Pass Action.

If it is not clear exactly which type of pass is required, then you can use the Passing Range Chart opposite to make sure you get it right.

TEST FOR ACCURACY

The player performing the Pass Action must now make a Passing Ability Test to see if the Pass Action is successful. To do this, they roll a D6 and apply the following modifiers:

If the player is attempting a Quick Pass, there is no modifier.
If the player is attempting a Short Pass, apply a -1 modifier.
If the player is attempting a Long Pass, apply a -2 modifier.
If the player is attempting a Long Bomb, apply a -3 modifier.
Apply a -1 modifier for each opposition player Marking the player performing the Pass Action. Depending on the result, the pass will either be an Accurate Pass, an Inaccurate Pass or a Fumbled Pass.

ACCURATE PASS

If the Passing Ability Test is successful, or the roll is a natural 6, then the pass is an Accurate Pass. The ball will land in the target square.

INACCURATE PASS

If the Passing Ability Test is failed, then the pass is an Inaccurate Pass. The ball will Scatter (3) from the target square before landing. Should the ball leave the pitch as a result of this Scatter, a Throw-in will be required.

FUMBLED PASS

If the Passing Ability Test is a 1 after modifiers, or the roll is a natural 1, then it will be a Fumbled Pass. The ball is dropped and will Bounce from the throwing player's square and a Turnover will be caused.

INTERCEPTIONS

After determining which square the ball is destined to land in, there may be a chance that an opposition player will be able to Intercept the pass.

To determine if a player can attempt to Intercept the pass, place the circle at the end of the Range Ruler over the centre of the square occupied by the player performing the Pass Action. The other end of the Range Ruler is positioned so that it covers the square in which the ball will land (which may not be the original target square!) with the line running through the centre of the Range Ruler passing through the centre of the square. If the Range Ruler overlaps any squares containing a Standing opposition player, then their Coach may choose one of them to attempt to Intercept the pass. Players that have lost their Tackle Zone may not attempt to Intercept a pass.

When a player attempts to Intercept a pass, they make an Agility Test with the following modifiers:

If the player is attempting to Intercept an Accurate Pass, apply a -3 modifier.
If the player is attempting to Intercept an Inaccurate Pass, apply a -2 modifier.
Apply an additional -1 modifier for each opposition player Marking the player attempting to Intercept the pass.

If the Agility Test is failed, then the Pass Action continues as normal. However, if the Agility Test is successful, or a natural 6 is rolled, then the player successfully Intercepts the ball. The player immediately gains possession of the ball and a Turnover is caused.

RESOLVE PASS ACTION

If the Pass Action did not result in a Fumbled Pass and was not Intercepted, then it needs to be resolved. The ball will land in the square determined by the result of the Pass Action as described previously. If the ball lands in an occupied square, then the player must attempt to Catch the ball as described on page 72. If the ball lands in an unoccupied square, then it will Bounce from that square.

If no player on the active team catches the ball after a Pass Action, and the ball comes to a rest on the ground or in possession of an opposition player, then a Turnover is caused.

CATCHING THE BALL

There are many times the rules will call for a player to attempt to Catch a ball, and a player that is able to Catch the ball must attempt to do so if required - even if their Coach doesn't want them to!

When a player is required to Catch a ball, they must make an Agility Test and apply the following modifiers:

If the player is attempting to Catch a ball that has Bounced, apply a -1 modifier.
If the player is attempting to Catch a ball that has been Thrown-in (see opposite), apply a -1 modifier.
Apply a -1 modifier for each opposition player that is Marking the player attempting to Catch the ball.

If the Agility Test is passed, or a natural 6 is rolled, the player successfully Catches the ball and immediately gains possession of it. If the Agility Test is failed, or a natural 1 is rolled, the player fails to Catch the ball and it will Bounce from the square they are in. If this Bounce lands on another player, that player must then also attempt to Catch the ball as described above.

If a Prone or Stunned player, or a player that is Distracted, is required to Catch a ball, they will automatically fail the Agility Test and the ball will Bounce.

For example: The Bretonnian Knight Thrower is attempting a Pass Action to the Bretonnian Knight Catcher. After using the Range Ruler, it is determined that this is a Short Pass. The Bretonnian Knight Thrower makes a Passing Ability Test, applying a -1 modifier for making a Short Pass, and rolls a 5 - an Accurate Pass! However, the Tomb Kings Blitzer is underneath the Range Ruler for the Pass Action and so now gets to attempt to Intercept. Fortunately, the Tomb Kings Blitzer rolls a 2 for their Agility Test and fails to Intercept. The Bretonnian Knight Catcher must now attempt to Catch the ball by making an Agility Test, for which they roll a 4 and successfully manages to Catch the ball.

For example: This Bretonnian Knight Thrower is attempting a Pass Action to the Bretonnian Squire. After using the Range Ruler, it is determined that this is a Long Pass. The Bretonnian Knight Thrower makes a Passing Ability Test, applying a -2 modifier for making a Long Pass, and rolls a 6 - another Accurate Pass! As the Tomb Kings Blitzer is not underneath the Range Ruler for the Pass Action, they do not get to attempt to Intercept. The Bretonnian Squire must now attempt to Catch the ball by making an Agility Test; however, they roll a 1 and fail to Catch the ball, causing it to Bounce from their square and causing a Turnover.

THROW-INS

Should the ball leave the pitch at any time, the crowd will throw it back into play from the point it left the pitch - this is called a Throw-in.

To resolve a Throw-in, position the Throw-in Template with the Blood Bowl logo over the last square the ball occupied before it left the pitch as shown below.

Next, roll a D6 to determine the direction the crowd will throw the ball as determined by the Throw-in Template. The ball will then travel 2D6 squares in the direction of the Throw-in before landing, counting the square underneath the Blood Bowl logo of the Throw-in Template as the first square. If the ball lands in an occupied square then the player must attempt to Catch the ball as described on the previous page.

If a Throw-in is required as the result of a Pass Action, then if after the Throw-in is resolved the ball comes to a rest on the ground or in possession of an opposition player, a Turnover is caused.

Should the ball leave the pitch again following a Throw-in, simply repeat the process again.

CORNER THROW-INS

Should the ball leave the pitch from a corner square, position the Random Direction Template as shown in the diagram below and roll a D3 to determine the direction of the Throw-in.

HAND-OFF ACTIONS!

Long, looping passes aren't the only method of moving the ball around the pitch. Some players prefer a more give-and-go approach to handling the ball, quickly handing off the ball to a nearby team-mate who can make a dash for the End Zone.

Though they are significantly less flashy than launching the ball high into the air in the hopes of a team-mate getting on the end of the pass, hand-offs are far more reliable and there is much less that can go wrong!

PERFORMING A HAND-OFF

During each Turn, a single player on the active team may declare a Hand-off Action in order to attempt to give the ball to another player. When a player declares a Hand-off Action they are first allowed to make a Move Action, though they cannot continue to move after the Hand-off Action has been attempted. A player does not have to be in possession of the ball to declare a Hand-off Action, and may attempt to pick up the ball as part of their Move Action.

To perform a Hand-off action, the player that declared the Hand-off must finish their Move Action adjacent to a Standing team-mate who has not lost their Tackle Zone. The team-mate must then attempt to Catch the ball as described on page 72.

THROW TEAM-MATE ACTIONS!

One tactic that is always a hit with the fans is the sight of one larger player launching one of their more vertically-challenged team-mates downfield - after all, the idea of seeing a wailing Halfling or screeching Goblin sail through the air before landing with a satisfying splat is a rather entertaining thought!

There are two main reasons that the bigger guys in Blood Bowl will throw a team-mate during the course of a game. The first, and far more sensible reason, is to launch a friendly player in possession of the ball downfield and over the heads of the defence in order for them to - hopefully - land and run in a touchdown.

The second reason is one fuelled more by aggression when a player has had enough of an opponent running rings around them and decides to launch a 'willing' ally at them to teach them a lesson. This has proved to be a particularly effective tactic for dealing with troublesome opponents, but can end up leaving a trail of injured team-mates in its wake!

PERFORMING A THROW TEAM-MATE ACTION

During each Turn, a single player on the active team may declare a Throw Team-mate Action in order to attempt to launch a team-mate across the pitch. A player may only declare this Action if they have the Throw Team-mate Trait. When a player declares a Throw Team-mate Action they are first allowed to make a Move Action, though they cannot continue to move after the Throw Team-mate Action has been attempted.

When a player performs a Throw Team-mate Action they may pick up an adjacent team-mate with the Right Stuff Trait to be thrown, and then follow these steps in order:

Declare Target Square
Measure Range
Test for Accuracy
Landing

DECLARE TARGET SQUARE

The Coach declares which square is the target of the Throw Team-mate Action. The declared square must be wholly underneath the first two sections of the Range Ruler. If a square is only partially underneath the first two sections of the Range Ruler, then it cannot be chosen to be the target square.

MEASURE RANGE

After the target square has been declared, you will need to measure the range to it and determine what kind of throw will be required - either a Quick Throw or a Short Throw.

To measure the range, place the circle at the end of the Range Ruler over the centre of the square occupied by the player performing the Throw Team-mate Action. The other end of the Range Ruler is positioned so that it covers the target square with the line running through the centre of the Range Ruler passing directly through the centre of the target square.

The target square will fall into one of two sections on the Range Ruler as explained below:

I: Quick Throw
II: Short Throw

This Treeman wishes to throw the Gnome Lineman using a Throw Team-mate Action. Using the Range Ruler we can determine that it would be a Short Throw.

If it is not clear exactly which type of throw is required, then you can use the Throw Team-mate Range Chart opposite to make sure you get it right.

TEST FOR ACCURACY

The player performing the Throw Team-mate Action must now make a Passing Ability Test to see if the Throw Team-mate Action is successful. To do this, they roll a D6 and apply the following modifiers:

If the player is attempting a Quick Throw, there is no modifier.
If the player is attempting a Short Throw, apply a -1 modifier.
Apply a -1 modifier for each opposition player Marking the player performing the Throw Team-mate Action.

Depending on the result, the throw will either be a Superb Throw, a Subpar Throw or a Fumbled Throw.

Should a thrown player leave the pitch as a result of a throw, they will risk Injury by the Crowd and a Turnover will be caused. If that player was also holding the ball, then a Throw-in will be required.

SUPERB THROW

If the Passing Ability Test is successful, or the roll is a natural 6, then the throw is a Superb Throw. The thrown player will Scatter (3) from the target square before landing.

SUBPAR THROW

If the Passing Ability Test is failed, then the throw is a Subpar Throw. The thrown player will Scatter (3) from the target square before landing, though they will find it harder to do so.

FUMBLED THROW

If the Passing Ability Test is a 1 after modifiers, or the roll is a natural 1, then it will be a Fumbled Throw. The thrown player is dropped and will Bounce from the throwing player's square and must attempt to land.

LANDING

If, after the final square the thrown player will land in has been determined, they will land in an unoccupied square then they must attempt to land on their feet. To attempt to land, the thrown player must make an Agility Test and apply the following modifiers:

If the throw was a Subpar Throw, apply a -1 modifier.
If the throw was a Fumbled Throw, apply a -1 modifier.
Apply a -1 modifier for each opposition player Marking the square the thrown player will land in.

If the Agility Test is passed, or a natural 6 is rolled, then the thrown player successfully lands on their feet. If they have not yet been activated that Turn then they can still be activated.

If the Agility Test is failed, or a natural 1 is rolled, then the thrown player will Fall Over; however, this will only cause a Turnover if the thrown player was holding the ball, otherwise no Turnover is caused.

Players that were Prone, Stunned or Distracted when they were thrown will automatically fail the Agility Test to land.

For example: The Treeman is attempting a Throw Team-mate Action and has picked up their Gnome team-mate. After using the Range Ruler it is determined that this is a Short Throw. The Treeman makes a Passing Ability Test, applying a -1 modifier for making a Short Throw, and rolls a 5 - a Superb Throw! The Gnome will now Scatter (3) from their target square, rolling a 5, a 3 and a 2. They must now attempt to land safely by making an Agility Test. The Gnome rolls a 3, which is a success as there are no modifiers in this instance. The Gnome lands on their feet, and can activate later in the Turn if they have not already done so.

LANDING IN AN OCCUPIED SQUARE

If, after the final square the thrown player will land in has been determined they will land in an occupied square they will crash land. When a thrown player crash lands, the player in the occupied square is automatically Knocked Down even if they are already Prone or Stunned. The thrown player will then Bounce from the occupied square and will Fall Over; however, this will only cause a Turnover if the thrown player was holding the ball, otherwise no Turnover is caused.

If after the Bounce the thrown player lands in another occupied square, repeat the above process.

For example: After Scattering as part of a Throw Team-mate Action, this Gnome has landed in the same square as the Tomb Kings Lineman. The Tomb Kings Lineman is immediately Knocked Down and the Gnome will Bounce from their square, rolling a 6. The Gnome is then placed in the corresponding square and then Falls Over. If this square was also occupied, this process would then need to be repeated.

TOUCHDOWN!

The simple fact is that games of Blood Bowl are won by scoring touchdowns - although that appears to be news to some players! If one team scores more touchdowns than their opponents, then they will be declared the winner. Even the most violent and bloodthirsty teams will look to score the odd touchdown here and there, once their opponents have been suitably dealt with, of course. This premise is so simple that even the densest Orc can mostly grasp the concept, and plays a big part in why the game of Blood Bowl is an ever-popular pastime in the Old World!

SCORING A TOUCHDOWN

A Touchdown can be scored by any player. Touchdowns will usually be scored during a player's activation, but can also be scored by players that are not the active player, and can even be scored during the opposing team's Turn.

To score a Touchdown, a player must be in possession of the ball and must be Standing in a square in the opposition team's End Zone. This can be done by a player holding the ball moving into the opposition End Zone during a Move Action, a player holding the ball being Pushed or Chain Pushed into the opposition End Zone, a player picking up the ball in the opposition End Zone, or a player Catching the ball whilst within the opposition End Zone.

However, should a player with the ball be Placed Prone, Fall Over, or be Knocked Down as they move into the opposition End Zone, then no Touchdown will be scored in this instance - the player must be Standing in order to score the Touchdown.

As soon as a Touchdown is scored, play stops as a Turnover occurs - however, this is very much a Turnover you can be pleased by! Scoring a Touchdown also marks the end of a Drive and Coaches will need to progress to the End of Drive Sequence following a Touchdown.

Remember to record your score by moving your Score Marker along the Score Tracker of your team's Dugout - it's important to remember how many Touchdowns you have scored during a game!

SCORING DURING YOUR OPPONENT'S TURN

In some cases, you may find that a player is able to score a Touchdown during their opponent's Turn. For example, a player holding the ball may be Pushed Back into the opposition End Zone and not be Knocked Down in the process, resulting in them Standing in the End Zone and scoring a Touchdown during their opponent's Turn.

Should this unusual situation happen and one of your players scores a Touchdown during an opposition Turn, your opponent's Turn immediately ends. However, the team that scored will skip their next Turn entirely - they spend the entire Turn celebrating the fact that they scored during their opponent's Turn! As a result, play will resume with the team that conceded as would usually happen during the End of Drive Sequence.

STALLING

Sometimes, a Coach may wish to run the clock down and score later on in the half than they could, effectively opting not to score when they easily could. Other times, a team may get so caught up in bashing the opposition into the ground that they completely forget to score! This is referred to as Stalling and is a valid tactic used by many teams; however, it's not one that is overly popular with the fans who have come to watch the game, and there is always a risk that the fans will get involved should a team try to Stall for too long.

Should a player be in possession of the ball when they are activated, can score a Touchdown without having to roll any dice, yet finishes their activation without having scored a Touchdown then they are said to be Stalling.

If a player needs to roll any dice in order to score, such as having to Dodge, Rush, perform a Block Action, roll for a Trait such as Bloodlust (X+) or Bone Head, roll a D6 when they are activated, or any other dice they may be required to roll, then they are not said to be Stalling.

If a player who could score a Touchdown without rolling any dice, and therefore would be deemed to be Stalling, declares a Pass Action or a Hand-off Action and finishes their Action no longer in possession of the ball, then this is not deemed to be Stalling.

If a player is Stalling at the end of their activation, there is a chance that the Crowd Takes Action and they may decide to pelt the player with food, drinks containers, rocks, or whatever else they manage to find lying around to show their displeasure.

To determine if the Crowd Takes Action when a player is Stalling, roll a D6 at the end of the Stalling player's activation. If the score on the D6 is equal to or greater than the team's current Turn number, then the Stalling player is hit by some form of projectile thrown by the crowd and is immediately Knocked Down. This will cause a Turnover. This roll must still be taken if a Player Forgoes their Activation.

If a team's Turn ends before they can activate a player holding the ball who could score without having to roll a dice, then this will not count as Stalling as the player hasn't had the chance to activate.

THE END OF A DRIVE!

When a Touchdown is scored or there are no more Turns left in the half, the current Drive will end. This will give both teams the chance to talk tactics, make any substitutions, try to recover any Knocked-out players, and prepare for the next Drive should there be one. Unless it is the end of the game (i.e., the end of the second half), then play will resume with another Drive. At the end of each Drive, both Coaches will need to run through the steps of the End of Drive Sequence in order.

END OF DRIVE SEQUENCE

The End of Drive Sequence has four stages that must be followed in order. If the game hasn't finished and there is going to be another Drive then, after completing the End of Drive Sequence, Coaches will proceed to Restart the Game as explained opposite.

Deal with Secret Weapons
End of Drive Effects
Recover Knocked-out Players
The Drive Ends

DEAL WITH SECRET WEAPONS

If a Coach fielded any players with the Secret Weapon Trait during the current Drive, then they will immediately be Sent-off as if they had committed a Foul Action, even if they were not on the pitch at the end of the Drive. Players Sent-off in this way may still Argue the Call as usual for being Sent-off as part of a Foul Action.

END OF DRIVE EFFECTS

Any special rules or effects that trigger at the end of a Drive (such as any weather effects) will happen now. If there are multiple effects that happen during this stage, then resolve any effects as a result of the Weather Table first before resolving any others. If there are still multiple effects that happen during this stage, randomly determine which one happens first.

RECOVER KNOCKED-OUT PLAYERS

If either Coach has any Knocked-out players in the Knocked-out Box of their Dugout, they may attempt to recover them for the next Drive. Roll a D6 for each Knocked-out player. On a 4+ the player recovers and is moved to the Reserves Box of their team's Dugout. On a 1-3, the player cannot be roused and is still Knocked-out for the time being.

THE DRIVE ENDS

The Drive comes to an end. Any effects that last until the end of a Drive will expire now. If there is going to be another Drive, Coaches will progress to Restarting the Game (below). If not, then Coaches will progress to Ending the Game (opposite).

RESTARTING THE GAME

If there are still Turns to be played and the game hasn't come to an end, then another Drive will be played. Coaches will set up again as per the Start of Drive Sequence as described previously on page 47. If the Drive ended with a Touchdown, then the team that scored will become the kicking team (defence) and the other team will become the receiving team (offence).

If the Drive ended because of half-time, then the next half will begin with the team that began the game as the receiving team becoming the kicking team for this Drive.

ENDING THE GAME

If there are no more Turns to be played, then the final whistle is blown and the game comes to an end. During League Play, this is where teams will move on to the Post-game Sequence where players will advance, winnings will be earnt, and so on. We will cover all that later on page 95.

WINNING THE GAME

When the game ends, the team that has scored the most Touchdowns is the winner! If both teams have scored the same number of Touchdowns, then the game is a draw.

Sometimes it may be important to have an actual winner of the game, such as in the Knockout Round of a League, or perhaps a friendly way to determine bragging rights between two coaches. In these instances a period of Extra Time, and potentially Penalties, may be played.

EXTRA TIME

In instances where it is vital to have a definitive winner, then should a game end in a draw, a period of Extra Time will be played. This is ideal for the likes of semi-finals, grand finals and other such games where one team needs to progress.

If Extra Time is required, then an extra eight-Turn period will be played - Coaches will roll off to determine which team is kicking during Extra Time. Teams will set up again as per the Start of Drive Sequence on page 47; however, Team Re-rolls will not be replenished like they would be at half-time. Any Team Re-rolls not spent at the end of the game may carry over into Extra Time.

Extra Time is played exactly like a normal half. If at the end of Extra Time one team has scored more Touchdowns than their opponent, then they are the winner. Otherwise, if the result is still a draw, Penalties will be required.

PENALTIES

If there is still no clear winner at the end of Extra Time, then a Penalty Shoot-out will be needed to determine a winner, representing the teams taking part in a field goal shoot-out - which, interestingly, is the only time that field goals are used in modern Blood Bowl.

To resolve a Penalty Shoot-out, both Coaches will roll off against each other five times. This is done by both Coaches rolling a D6 (re-rolling any ties, though no other re-rolls from any source can be used), with the Coach that wins the most roll-offs winning the Penalty Shoot-out and, with it, the game!

Drafting a Blood Bowl Team

Now that you know how to play a game, it's time to explain how to put together your own Team Roster. There are numerous different types of Blood Bowl teams from Humans to Dwarfs, Elves to Orcs, and even the Undead amongst many others. In this section we will take you through the process of drafting your team and provide you with a Team Draft List that you can photocopy for your own personal use.

TEAM ROSTERS

There are a number of different Team Rosters that you can choose from, which can be found on pages 160-188. Each of these will have a number of important bits of information; from which players can be taken in that team, the profiles of those players including their Hiring Fee, the cost of Team Re-rolls, any Special Rules the team has, what Leagues the team can play for, and more.

TEAM DRAFT LISTS

When you are drafting your team, you will need to complete a Team Draft List as you do so. This contains space to record each of your hired players, their name, position, Hiring Fee and player profile. There is also space for recording their Star Player Points (SPP), which are used for the player's advancement - don't worry about this for now, we'll cover player advancement later on page 96. The Current Value of a player is equal to their Hiring Fee plus any Value Increase they have had as a result of player advancement.

There is also space for information such as if the player is needing to miss their next game (MNG) or if they have any Niggling Injuries (NI). These are only used for League Play, which we will cover later.

Finally, there are spaces for other important information such as any Sideline Staff that have been hired, any Dedicated Fans the team has, the number and cost of a team's Team Re-rolls, the amount of gold pieces left in the Treasury and whether the team has an Apothecary.

GAME RECORD SHEET

On the other side of the Team Draft List is a Game Record Sheet. This is ideal for keeping track of the games your team has played and the outcomes of those matches. You can record the likes of the score, number of Casualties caused, what Inducements you hired (if any), your Team Value (TV) following the game, your winnings and whether the game was part of a League or was a Friendly, amongst other things.

TEAM DRAFT LIST

TEAM DRAFT BUDGET

The Team Draft Budget is the amount of gold pieces your team has to spend when building your team. When starting a team during League Play, you will usually have a Team Draft Budget of 1,000,000 gold pieces - this is the most common value for a rookie team. During Exhibition Play or Matched Play (and even in League Play there are some odd situations) you may have a higher Team Draft Budget to spend on your team.

You can spend your gold pieces on players, Sideline Staff and Team Re-rolls. In Exhibition Play and Matched Play, you may also be able to spend gold pieces on Inducements.

HIRING PLAYERS

The most important part of any Blood Bowl team is its players - without them, you won't be able to play a game of Blood Bowl! Each Team Roster will have a list of different players available to them, and their Hiring Fee will be listed in their profile along with the maximum number of each player type that can be taken.

When you have selected the players you wish to hire for your team, you will want to write them down on your Team Draft List along with their Hiring Fee.

NUMBER OF PLAYERS

The most important thing to note about drafting a Blood Bowl team is the minimum and maximum number of players that are required on your Team Draft List.

A team must have at least 11 players on their Team Draft List when it is first drafted. In League Play these players must all be from the chosen Team Roster. However, in Exhibition Play and Matched Play this could include any Star Players the team wishes to hire.

A team may never have more than 16 players on their Team Draft List.

In League Play you may find your team in a situation where they have less than 11 players on their Team Draft List either due to players being injured or worse, dying. This is allowed, though not ideal, and will be covered later on page 94.

PLAYER POSITIONS

In each player's profile they will have a number of keywords, one of which will always be their position. Though these don't have any specific rules as such, there will be instances where certain traits interact with certain player positions, so it is important to know what each of these is. This will also help give you an idea of what each player's role is on the pitch. In some rare situations, a player may have more than one of these positions listed on their profile.

LINEMAN: The backbone of any team. All teams will have at least one player with the Lineman position, which they will be allowed to take 0-16 of.

THROWER: The Thrower will often act as the team's captain, calling the plays on the pitch and directing the flow of the game. They will also be responsible for delivering those precision passes to their team-mates.

CATCHER: It is the job of the Catcher to get on the end of a pass and Catch the ball before running it into the End Zone to score a Touchdown.

RUNNER: Some teams prefer to employ a Runner rather than Throwers or Catchers, relying on speed rather than risking passing the ball over the opposition.

BLITZER: Often used on offence, a Blitzer is tasked with breaking through the opposition line and creating holes for their team-mates to run through.

BLOCKER: Tough, defensive players, a Blocker will often be found anchoring the lines and using their physicality to smash the opposition into the turf.

BIG GUY: Many teams will employ a Big Guy; a larger than life player that is used as a battering ram to crush opposition defensive lines. The likes of Trolls, Ogres and Minotaurs would fall into this category.

SPECIAL: Not every player will fit into one of the above categories, and those unique individuals are referred to as Special players. Whether they enjoy the use of secret weapons, or have a particular gift in another area of the game, they are all classed the same.

PURCHASING TEAM RE-ROLLS

Any team may purchase Team Re-rolls, the cost of which may vary and will be outlined in each team's specific Team Roster. Teams may purchase a maximum of 8 Team Re-rolls, though they may never have more than 8 Team Re-rolls on their Team Draft Roster.

In League Play, if a team wishes to purchase a Team Re-roll during the course of a league rather than at the start, then it will cost double the usual amount of gold pieces in order to do so, though it will still count as its usual value when it comes to working out a team's Current Team Value (CTV) (see opposite).

HIRING SIDELINE STAFF

Many Sideline Staff can be vital for helping out their team, offering assistance in a number of specialised ways. Teams may purchase Sideline Staff from the following list when drafting their team.

ASSISTANT COACHES

A team may hire up to a maximum of 6 Assistant Coaches. Each Assistant Coach costs 10,000 gold pieces to hire. During the course of a league, additional Assistant Coaches may be hired for the same cost. A team may never have more than 6 Assistant Coaches on its Team Draft Roster.

Assistant Coaches benefit a team during the Brilliant Coaching result on the Kick-off Event Table, as described on page 48.

CHEERLEADERS

A team may hire up to a maximum of 6 Cheerleaders. Each Cheerleader costs 10,000 gold pieces to hire. During the course of a league, additional Cheerleaders may be hired for the same cost. A team may never have more than 6 Cheerleaders on its Team Draft Roster.

Cheerleaders will benefit their team during the Cheering Fans result on the Kick-off Event Table, as described on page 48.

APOTHECARY

Most teams may hire an Apothecary who can attempt to patch up an injured player during the game. Whether or not a team can or cannot hire an Apothecary will be listed in its Team Roster.

A team can only ever have a single Apothecary on its Team Draft Roster. An Apothecary costs a team 50,000 gold pieces to hire.

The effect of an Apothecary is described on page 68.

OTHER INFORMATION

There are a few other things that need to be recorded on a team's Team Draft List, including the number of Dedicated Fans the team has, their Treasury and their Team Value, each of which are explained here.

DEDICATED FANS

Every team will be followed by a number of fanatical supporters that will support them through thick and thin, and will travel all across the known world to watch their beloved team. These fans have many reasons for supporting their favourite team: usually this will be because they are from the same city or region as their team and so it makes natural sense to support their local club. Some fans will support a team because their parents do, whilst others have less logical reasons, such as their team was top of their division when they started watching Blood Bowl, or they simply find the colours of their team's kit rather fetching!

When you draft a team, it will automatically have a Dedicated Fans Characteristic of 1 (representing 1,000 Dedicated Fans). When drafting your team, you may improve the Dedicated Fans Characteristic of your team up to a maximum of 3 (though this may increase further as a league progresses), at the cost of 5,000 gold pieces per Dedicated Fan improvement. For example, a team could improve its Dedicated Fans Characteristic from 1 to 3 at the cost of 10,000 gold pieces.

In League Play, your Dedicated Fans Characteristic can change after each game depending on the result, though it can never rise above 7 or fall below 1.

TREASURY

After you have drafted your team, any gold pieces left over are recorded in your team's Treasury. In Exhibition Play and Matched Play games, this has no effect and so in those game types it's always best to spend all of your gold pieces if possible.

In League Play, this is where you record the amount of gold pieces your team amasses during the course of the league. Winnings are added to your Treasury and should you decide to purchase more players, Team Re-rolls or Sideline Staff, you will do so from your Treasury. We will cover this fully in the League Play section later on page 94.

TEAM VALUE

The final thing to do when drafting your team is to work out its Team Value and Current Team Value.

A team's Team Value (TV) is worked out by adding up the Current Value of all the players on the team, plus the cost of any Sideline Staff and Team Re-rolls the team has. Dedicated Fans and gold pieces in a team's Treasury are not included when working out a team's Team Value.

A team's Current Team Value (CTV) is only used in League Play, and is equal to the team's Team Value minus the Current Value of any players that are unable to play in the next game, such as those that suffered a Miss Next Game result on the Casualty Table.

Skills & Traits

SKILLS!

Generally speaking, Skills are those abilities a player is able to learn through practice, hard work and sometimes even natural talent. They are the result of hours of the player's dedication on the pitch and the player listening to their coach's tutelage and wisdom - which, given that this is Blood Bowl, doesn't happen as often as it should!

All players will have access to a number of Skill categories as outlined in their profile. Some of these will be listed under Primary, which are the Skills that come more naturally to the player in question, whilst others are listed under Secondary and are those that will take a greater investment of SPP for that player. Not every player will have access to every Skill category.

How players gain new Skills in League play is explained on page 97.

For example: A Tomb Kings Blitzer has G and S listed under Primary, and A and D under Secondary. This means they have access to General and Strength Skills as Primary, and Agility and Devious Skills as Secondary.

Skills are denoted by a symbol showing which category they belong to - either Agility, Devious, General, Mutation, Passing or Strength. These symbols are shown below:

AGILITY SKILL

DEVIOUS SKILL

GENERAL SKILL

MUTATION SKILL

PASSING SKILL

STRENGTH SKILL

Additionally, an Elite Skill will be denoted by the symbol.

SKILL USE

It is important to know when a player is able to use their Skills during the course of a game. Each Skill will be defined as either Active or Passive.

An Active Skill can be used by a player at any time, so long as they are Standing and are not Distracted. If an Active Skill can be used by a player that is Prone, Stunned or Distracted, then it will be stated in that Skill's description. If an Active Skill allows a player to declare a Special Action, then they may still declare the Special Action whilst Prone, so long as the Special Action allows them to first make a free Move Action to use the Special Action.

A Passive Skill is one that is always in effect, regardless of the status of the player or if they are Distracted.

Players do not have to use a Skill if they do not wish to; their use is optional. However, if a Skill is marked with an asterisk (*) then the player must always use the Skill when applicable.

If a Skill modifies a dice roll, then this modifier can be applied after the dice is rolled. Any bonuses and modifiers applied from Skills and Traits can be combined.

Unless the Skill states otherwise, multiple players can use the same Skill during the same Turn and a player can use the same Skill multiple times during their team's Turn.

SKILL TABLE

Below is the full list of the different Skills and the categories they are in. When randomly selecting a Skill for a player, first choose one of the eligible Skill categories for that player and then roll two D6s, one after the other. The first dice will determine which half of the table you are rolling in, and the second roll will determine which Skill is selected.

1st D6	2nd D6	Agility	Devious	General	Mutation	Passing	Strength
1‑3	1	Catch	Dirty Player	Block	Big Hand	Accurate	Arm Bar
1‑3	2	Diving Catch	Eye Gouge	Dauntless	Claws	Cannoneer	Brawler
1‑3	3	Diving Tackle	Fumblerooski	Fend	Disturbing Presence*	Cloud Burster	Break Tackle
1‑3	4	Dodge	Lethal Flight	Frenzy*	Extra Arms	Dump-off	Bullseye
1‑3	5	Defensive	Lone Fouler	Kick	Foul Appearance*	Give and Go	Grab
1‑3	6	Hit and Run	Pile Driver	Pro	Horns	Hail Mary Pass	Guard
4‑6	1	Jump Up	Put the Boot In	Steady Footing	Iron Hard Skin	Leader	Juggernaut
4‑6	2	Leap	Quick Foul	Strip Ball	Monstrous Mouth	Nerves of Steel	Mighty Blow
4‑6	3	Safe Pair of Hands	Saboteur	Sure Hands	Prehensile Tail	On the Ball	Multiple Block
4‑6	4	Sidestep	Shadowing	Tackle	Tentacles	Pass	Stand Firm
4‑6	5	Sprint	Sneaky Git	Taunt	Two Heads	Punt	Strong Arm
4‑6	6	Sure Feet	Violent Innovator	Wrestle	Very Long Legs	Safe Pass	Thick Skull

For example: Dan is taking a random Primary Skill on one of his Halfling Hopefuls, and has chosen the Agility Category. His first roll is a 4 and his second roll is a 2. For his second roll, he first rolls a 3 and then rolls a 5. Looking at the Skill Table, we can see that the Halfling Hopeful has the choice of the Leap Skill or the Defensive Skill as its random skill.

TRAITS!

Generally speaking, Traits are those abilities that can't be learnt or taught, but unique aspects of the wonderful menagerie of players that take to the Blood Bowl pitch. It is important to know when a player is able to use their Traits during the course of a game. Much like for Skills, each Trait will be defined as either Active or Passive.

An Active Trait can be used by a player at any time, so long as they are Standing and are not Distracted. If an Active Trait can be used by a player that is Prone, Stunned or Distracted, then it will be stated in that Trait's description. If an Active Trait allows a player to declare a Special Action, then they may still declare the Special Action whilst Prone, so long as the Special Action allows them to first make a free Move Action to use the Special Action.

A Passive Trait is one that is always in effect, regardless of the status of the player or if they are Distracted.

Players do not have to use a Trait if they do not wish to; their use is optional. However, if a Trait is marked with an asterisk (*), then the player must always use the Trait when applicable.

If a Trait modifies a dice roll, then this modifier can be applied after the dice is rolled. Any bonuses and modifiers applied from Skills and Traits can be combined.

Unless the Trait states otherwise, multiple players can use the same Trait during the same Turn and a player can use the same Trait multiple times during their team's Turn.

Traits are denoted by the symbol.

LIST OF SKILLS AND TRAITS!

Here you will find the description for each of the Skills and Traits currently in the game.

AGILITY

CATCH (ACTIVE)

This player may re-roll any failed Agility Test when attempting to Catch the ball.

DIVING CATCH (ACTIVE)

This player may attempt to Catch the ball if it lands in a square in their Tackle Zone as a result of a Pass, Throw-in or Kick-off. They may not use this Skill to attempt to Catch the ball if it lands in a square in their Tackle Zone as a result of a Bounce.

Additionally, this player may apply a +1 modifier to their Agility Test when attempting to Catch the ball as part of a Pass Action if they are in the target square.

DIVING TACKLE (ACTIVE)

When an opposition player attempts to leave this player's Tackle Zone as a result of a Dodge, Leap or Jump, and an Agility test has been rolled and any modifiers and re-rolls have been applied, this player may use this Skill. Immediately apply a -2 modifier to the opposition player's Agility Test and place this player Prone in the square the opposition player vacated.

If a player tries to leave the Tackle Zone of multiple players with this Skill at the same time, only one of those players may use this Skill.

DODGE (ACTIVE)

Once per Turn, this player may re-roll a single Agility Test when attempting to Dodge. Additionally, this Skill will impact the Stumble result when an opposition player performs a Block Action against this player, as described on page 62.

DEFENSIVE (ACTIVE)

During your opponent's Turns, opposition players Marked by this player cannot use the Guard or Put the Boot In Skills.

HIT AND RUN (ACTIVE)

When a player with this Skill performs a Block Action or a Stab Special Action, after fully resolving the Action, they may immediately move one free square ignoring Tackle Zones, so long as they are still Standing. The player must ensure that after this free move they are not Marked by or Marking any opposition players.

A player with this Skill cannot also have the Frenzy Skill.

JUMP UP (ACTIVE)

This Skill can be used whilst a player is Prone. A Prone player with this Skill can stand up for free without having to spend 3 squares of movement to do so.

Additionally, a Prone player with this Skill can declare a Block Action whilst Prone. If they do, they must make an Agility Test, applying a +1 modifier to the result. If the Agility Test is passed, they may immediately stand up and perform the Block Action. If the Agility Test is failed, then the player remains Prone and their activation immediately ends.

LEAP (ACTIVE)

During their Move Action, a player with this Skill can attempt to Leap over a single adjacent square regardless of what is in the square. Leaping works the same way as Jumping, as described on page 56, with the exception that the Leaping player may reduce the negative modifiers they would receive by Leaping by 1, to a minimum of -1.

A player with this Skill cannot also have the Pogo Trait.

SAFE PAIR OF HANDS (ACTIVE)

If this player would be Knocked Down, Fall Over or be Placed Prone whilst in possession of the ball then, before they become Prone, they may place the ball in any adjacent unoccupied square to the square they will become Prone in instead of Bouncing the ball as normal.

SIDESTEP (ACTIVE)

Whenever this player is Pushed Back for any reason, then instead of the opposing Coach choosing where this player is Pushed Back to, this player's Coach may choose any adjacent unoccupied square for this player to be Pushed Back into instead. If there are no adjacent unoccupied squares, then this Skill cannot be used.

SPRINT (ACTIVE)

When this player performs a Move Action they may attempt to Rush one additional time than they would normally be allowed to.

SURE FEET (ACTIVE)

Once per Turn, this player may re-roll a single D6 when attempting to Rush.

DEVIOUS

DIRTY PLAYER (ACTIVE)

When this player performs a Foul Action, they may apply a +1 modifier to either the Armour Roll or Injury Roll. This modifier may be applied after the roll has been made.

EYE GOUGE (ACTIVE)

When an opposition player is Pushed Back by this player, the opposition player cannot provide Offensive or Defensive Assists until after they are next activated.

FUMBLEROOSKI (ACTIVE)

When this player performs a Move Action whilst they are in possession of the ball, they may choose to place the ball on the ground in any square they move out of during their Move Action. This will not cause a Turnover.

LETHAL FLIGHT (ACTIVE)

When this player is thrown as part of a Throw Team-mate Action, if they land in a square that contains an opposition player, including if they Bounce into a square containing an opposition player, and the opposition player is Knocked Down, then they may apply a +1 modifier to either the Armour Roll or Injury Roll. This modifier may be applied after the roll has been made. If an opposition player suffers a Casualty as a result of being Knocked Down by the thrown player with this Skill, then this player will count as having caused that Casualty and will receive Star Player Points as appropriate.

A player without the Right Stuff Trait cannot have this Skill.

LONE FOULER (ACTIVE)

When this player performs a Foul Action, if there are no players providing an Offensive or Defensive Assist, then this player may re-roll a failed Armour Roll.

PILE DRIVER (ACTIVE)

When an opposition player is Knocked Down by this player during a Block Action, this player may perform a free Foul Action against the opposition player so long as they are still Standing and are still Marking the opposition player. This player is then Placed Prone and their activation immediately ends.

PUT THE BOOT IN (ACTIVE)

This player can provide Offensive Assists when a team-mate performs a Foul Action regardless of how many opposition players are Marking this player.

QUICK FOUL (ACTIVE)

This player's activation does not end after performing a Foul Action, and they may continue with their Move Action with any movement they have remaining.

SABOTEUR (ACTIVE)

When this player is Knocked Down as a result of an opposition player's Block Action, before the Armour Roll is made, they may roll a D6. On a 1‑3, nothing happens and the Armour Roll is made as normal. On a 4+, this player's sabotaged weapon goes off and the opposition player is also Knocked Down, though this will not cause a Turnover unless the opposition player was holding the ball. If this player's sabotaged weapon goes off, then they are automatically Knocked Out and the Armour Roll is not made for them.

A player without the Secret Weapon Trait cannot have this Skill.

SHADOWING (ACTIVE)

Each time an opposing player attempts to Dodge out of a square within this player's Tackle Zone, this player may use this Skill.

When this player uses this Skill, roll a D6. On a 1‑3, nothing happens. On a 4+, this player is immediately placed into the square that the opposition player vacated. This player may only use this Skill a number of times per Turn equal to their MA.

If a player tries to leave the Tackle Zone of multiple players with this Skill at the same time, only one of those players may use this Skill.

SNEAKY GIT (ACTIVE)

This player is not Sent-off when performing a Foul Action if a natural double is rolled for the Armour Roll, so long as the target player's Armour is not broken. If the target player's Armour is broken, this player will still be sent off as normal.

VIOLENT INNOVATOR (ACTIVE)

If an opposition player suffers a Casualty as a result of a Special Action this player performed, this player will earn Star Player Points for causing a Casualty as appropriate.

A player can only have this Skill if they have a Trait that allows them to perform a Special Action.

GENERAL

BLOCK (ACTIVE)

A player with this Skill may choose not to be Knocked Down when a Both Down result is applied during a Block Action that they are part of.

DAUNTLESS (ACTIVE)

When a player with this Skill performs a Block Action against an opposition player with a higher Strength Characteristic (before any modifiers are applied to either player), this player may roll a D6 and add their own Strength Characteristic. If the result is higher than the opposition player's unmodified Strength Characteristic, then this player increases their unmodified Strength Characteristic to match the opposition player for the duration of the Block Action. Modifiers are then applied as normal.

If this player also has a Skill that allows them to perform multiple Block Actions, such as the Frenzy Skill, then they must make a separate roll for each Block Action.

FEND (ACTIVE)

When a player with this Skill is Pushed Back as a result of a Block Action performed against them, then the opposition player may not Follow-up.

This Skill cannot be used against a player with the Ball & Chain Trait or against a player with the Juggernaut Skill that is performing a Blitz Action.

FRENZY* (ACTIVE)

Every time this player performs a Block Action, if the target is Pushed Back, then this player must Follow-up if able. Additionally, if after the target is Pushed Back they are still Standing, then this player must perform a second Block Action targeting the same opposition player and must again Follow-up if the target is Pushed Back.

If this player is performing a Blitz Action, performing a second Block Action will also cost the player a square of movement. If this player has no movement left, then they must Rush. If this player cannot Rush then they cannot perform the second Block Action.

A player with this Skill cannot have the Grab, Hit & Run or Multiple Block Skills.

KICK (ACTIVE)

If this player is nominated as the kicking player, then when kicking Deviates this player's Coach may choose for it to only Deviate D3 squares rather than the usual D6.

PRO (ACTIVE)

During this player's activation, they may attempt to re-roll a single dice. This can be a dice roll on its own, as part of a multiple dice roll or as a dice pool. To use this Skill, the player must roll a D6: on a 3+ the dice may be re-rolled, on a 1-2 the dice may not be re-rolled.

The Skill cannot be used to re-roll a dice made as part of an Armour Roll, Injury Roll, Casualty roll, a roll made outside of the player's activation, or any dice roll not made on the player's behalf (such as Argue the Call or if the Crowd Takes Action).

Once a player has attempted to use this Skill, they cannot use a re-roll from any other source to re-roll the dice.

STEADY FOOTING (ACTIVE)

Whenever this player would be Knocked Down or Fall Over, roll a D6. On a 6, this player does not get Knocked Down or Fall Over. If this happens during their activation, they may continue their activation as normal and no Turnover will be caused.

STRIP BALL (ACTIVE)

When this player performs a Block Action against an opposition player holding the ball, if an opposition player is Pushed Back then they will drop the ball in the square they are Pushed Back into, at which point it will Bounce from that square. This Bounce will happen before the opposition player becomes Prone (if applicable) but after this player chooses to Follow-up.

SURE HANDS (ACTIVE)

This player may re-roll the D6 when attempting to pick up the ball, though not when making a Secure the Ball Action. Additionally, the Strip Ball Skill cannot be used against this player.

TACKLE (ACTIVE)

When an opposition player attempts to Dodge away from a square in this player's Tackle Zone, they cannot use the Dodge Skill.

Additionally, when this player performs a Block Action against an opposition player, the opposition player does not count as having the Dodge Skill if a Stumble result is selected.

TAUNT (ACTIVE)

When a player with this Skill is Pushed Back as a result of a Block Action performed against them, this player's Coach may choose to make the opposition player Follow-up.

This Skill cannot be used against an opposition player with the Take Root Trait that has become Rooted.

WRESTLE (ACTIVE)

When this player performs a Block Action, or is the target of a Block Action, if the Both Down result is applied, this player may choose to use this Skill. If they do, both players in the Block Action are Placed Prone, regardless of any other Skills they may possess.

MUTATION

BIG HAND (ACTIVE)

This player ignores all negative modifiers when attempting to pick up the ball.

CLAWS (PASSIVE)

Whenever an Armour Roll is made for an opposition player that has been Knocked Down by this player during a Block Action, even if this player is also Knocked Down, then any roll of a natural 8+ on the Armour Roll will break the opposition player's armour regardless of their actual Armour Value.

DISTURBING PRESENCE* (PASSIVE)

Any opposition player that performs a Pass Action, Throw Team-mate Action or a Throw Bomb Special Action, or attempts to Intercept or Catch the ball, applies a -1 modifier to their Passing Ability Test or Agility Test for each player on your team with this Skill within 3 squares of them.

EXTRA ARMS (ACTIVE)

This player applies a +1 modifier to the Agility Test whenever they attempt to Catch, Pick Up or Intercept the ball.

FOUL APPEARANCE* (PASSIVE)

Whenever an opposition player attempts to perform a Block Action against this player, or a Special Action that targets this player directly, they must roll a D6 before any other dice are rolled. On a 2+, the Block Action continues as normal. On a 1, the Block Action is immediately cancelled and the opposition player's activation immediately ends.

HORNS (ACTIVE)

Whenever this player declares a Blitz Action, then they apply a +1 modifier to their Strength Characteristic for any Block Actions performed during that Blitz Action.

IRON HARD SKIN (PASSIVE)

Opposition players cannot apply any modifiers when making an Armour Roll against this player. Additionally, the Claws Skill cannot be used against this player.

MONSTROUS MOUTH (ACTIVE)

When this player is activated, they may declare a Chomp Special Action; there is no limit to the number of players that can declare this Special Action each Turn. When this player declares a Chomp Special Action, they may select one Standing opposition player they are Marking and roll a D6. On a 1-2 nothing happens. On a 3+, the opposition player is considered to be Chomped. Whilst Chomped, the opposition player cannot leave the square they are in whilst this player remains Marking them. This condition ends immediately if this player is no longer Marking the opposition player for any reason.

This player may use the Chomp Special Action to replace the Block Action made as part of a Blitz Action if they wish.

Additionally, the Strip Ball Skill cannot be used against this player.

PREHENSILE TAIL (ACTIVE)

When an opposition player attempts to Dodge, Jump or Leap away from a square in this player's Tackle Zone, they apply an additional -1 modifier to the Agility Test.

If a player tries to leave the Tackle Zone of multiple players with this Skill at the same time, only one of those players may use this Skill.

TENTACLES (ACTIVE)

When an opposition player attempts to Dodge, Jump or Leap away from a square in this player's Tackle Zone, this player may use this Skill. When a player uses this Skill they roll a D6 and add their Strength characteristic to the roll; they then subtract the Strength Characteristic of the opposition player from the result. If the result is 6 or higher, or the roll is a natural 6, then the opposition player does not leave the square they attempted to leave and their activation comes to an end. If the result is 5 or lower, or the roll is a natural 1, this Skill has no effect.

If a player tries to leave the Tackle Zone of multiple players with this Skill at the same time, only one of those players may use this Skill.

TWO HEADS (ACTIVE)

This player may apply a +1 modifier to the Agility Test whenever they attempt to Dodge.

VERY LONG LEGS (ACTIVE)

This player may apply a +1 modifier to the Agility Test whenever they attempt to Leap or Jump, and may apply a +2 modifier to the Agility Test whenever they attempt to Intercept the ball.

Additionally, this player ignores the Cloud Burster Skill.

PASSING

ACCURATE (ACTIVE)

When this player performs a Pass Action which is a Quick Pass or a Short Pass, this player may apply a +1 modifier to the Passing Ability Test.

CANNONEER (ACTIVE)

When this player performs a Pass Action which is a Long Pass or a Long Bomb, this player may apply a +1 modifier to the Passing Ability Test.

CLOUD BURSTER (ACTIVE)

When this player performs a Pass Action, opposition players may not attempt to Intercept the ball.

DUMP-OFF (ACTIVE)

Whenever an opposition player attempts to perform a Block Action against this player, or a Special Action that targets this player directly, this player may use this Skill. When they do, this player may immediately perform a Quick Pass before the Action targeting them is resolved. This Quick Pass cannot cause a Turnover, but otherwise follows all the normal rules for making a Quick Pass. Once the Quick Pass has been resolved, this Action targeting this player continues.

GIVE AND GO (ACTIVE)

If this player performs a Pass Action that is a Quick Pass, or performs a Hand-off Action, then, so long as a Turnover isn't caused, their activation does not end once the Pass or Hand-off is resolved. Instead, they may continue with their Move Action using any movement they have remaining.

HAIL MARY PASS (ACTIVE)

When this player performs a Pass Action or a Throw Bomb Special Action, they may declare any square on the pitch as the target square rather than using the Range Ruler. Make a Passing Ability Test as normal treating the throw as a Long Bomb, and treating any result of an Accurate Pass as an Inaccurate Pass. A Hail Mary Pass cannot be Intercepted.

LEADER (PASSIVE)

A team that has one or more players with this Skill on the pitch at the start of a half may gain a single extra Team Re-roll - this is called a Leader Re-roll. A team can only use a Leader Re-roll if they have a player with the Leader Skill on the pitch, and if all players with this Skill are removed from play, either as a Casualty or by being Sent-off, before the Leader Re-roll is used then it is lost.

A Leader Re-roll follows all of the usual rules for standard Team Re-rolls, with the exception that it cannot be lost as a result of a Halfling Master Chef.

NERVES OF STEEL (ACTIVE)

This player may ignore any modifiers for being Marked when making an Agility Test to Catch the ball, or when making a Passing Ability Test to Pass the ball.

ON THE BALL (ACTIVE)

When an opposition player performs a Pass Action, after the target square has been declared but before the Passing Ability Test is rolled, this player may move up to 3 squares, following all the usual rules for a Move Action, with the exception that they cannot Rush. Should this player Fall Over during this move, then their move immediately ends and the Pass Action resumes. If multiple players have this Skill, then they may all use it during the same Pass Action, though they must do so one at a time, and if one of them Falls Over before the others have had the chance to move, then they may not do so.

Additionally, during the Start of Drive Sequence, after the Kick Deviates but before the Kick-off Event is rolled, a single Open player on the receiving team with this Skill may move up to 3 squares, following all the usual rules for a Move Action, with the exception that they cannot Rush. A player may not use this Skill if a Touchback is caused and may not move into the opposition half. Should this player Fall Over whilst using this Skill, their movement immediately ends and the Kick-off Event is rolled.

PASS (ACTIVE)

This player may re-roll any failed Passing Ability Test when performing a Pass Action.

PUNT (ACTIVE)

This player may declare a Punt Special Action; only a single player may declare a Punt Special Action each Turn. When a player declares a Punt Special Action they are first allowed to make a Move Action, though they cannot continue to move after the Punt Special Action has been resolved.

If after their Move Action this player is in possession of the ball, they can Punt it downfield. Position the Throw-in Template over this player so it faces one of the two End Zones or either Sideline. Roll a D6 to determine the direction the ball is kicked, and then a second D6 to determine how many squares in that direction the ball will travel. If this player has the Kick Skill, they may re-roll either or both of these dice - though they must decide whether to re-roll the direction or not before rolling for the distance.

If the ball lands in a square containing a player, then they must attempt to Catch the ball, otherwise it will Bounce.

When performing a Punt Special Action, no Turnover is caused if the ball comes to rest on the ground; however, if after the Punt Special Action is resolved the ball is in possession of an opposition player, or in the crowd, a Turnover is caused.

SAFE PASS (ACTIVE)

If this player rolls a natural 1 when making a Passing Ability Test, then it will not result in a Fumbled Pass. Instead, the player retains possession of the ball and their activation immediately ends. No Turnover is caused.

STRENGTH

ARM BAR (ACTIVE)

If an opposing player Falls Over as a result of attempting to Dodge, Leap or Jump away from a square in this player's Tackle Zone, this player may use this Skill. If they do, they may apply a +1 modifier to either the Armour Roll or Injury Roll. This modifier may be applied after the roll has been made. If this results in the opposing player becoming Casualty as a result of the Dodge, Leap or Jump away from the player with this Skill, then this player will count as having caused that Casualty and will receive Star Player Points as appropriate.

If a player tries to leave the Tackle Zone of multiple players with this Skill at the same time, only one of those players may use this Skill.

BRAWLER (ACTIVE)

When this player declares a Block Action, they may re-roll a single Both Down result.

BREAK TACKLE (ACTIVE)

Once per Turn, when this player attempts to Dodge, they may apply a +1 modifier to the Agility Test if they have a Strength characteristic of 3 or lower, a +2 modifier to the Agility Test if they have a Strength Characteristic of 4, or a +3 modifier to the Agility Test if they have a Strength Characteristic of 5 or higher.

BULLSEYE (ACTIVE)

When this player performs a Throw Team-mate Action, if the result of the throw is a Superb Throw then the thrown player will not Scatter before landing and will instead land in the target square.

A player without the Throw Team-mate Trait cannot have this Skill.

GRAB (ACTIVE)

When this player declares a Block Action, if the opposition player is Pushed Back, then this player's Coach may choose any unoccupied square adjacent to the target for them to be Pushed Back into. If there are no adjacent unoccupied squares, then this Skill cannot be used.

Additionally, when this player performs a Block Action, opposition players cannot use the Sidestep Skill.

A player with this Skill cannot have the Frenzy Skill.

GUARD (ACTIVE)

This player can provide Offensive and Defensive Assists when a player performs a Block Action regardless of how many opposition players are Marking this player.

JUGGERNAUT (ACTIVE)

When this player declares a Blitz Action, they may treat any result of Both Down as Pushed Back during any Block Actions they perform during the Blitz Action.

Additionally, when this player performs a Block Action as part of a Blitz Action, opposition players cannot use the Fend, Stand Firm or Wrestle Skills.

MIGHTY BLOW (ACTIVE)

Whenever this player Knocks Down an opposition player during a Block Action, even if this player is also Knocked Down, they may apply a +1 modifier to either the Armour Roll or Injury Roll. This modifier may be applied after the roll has been made.

MULTIPLE BLOCK (ACTIVE)

When this player declares a Block Action, they may perform two Block Actions each targeting a different opposition player they are Marking. If they do, then this player will reduce their Strength Characteristic by 2 for the duration of the Block Actions. These Block Actions happen simultaneously, though you may wish to roll them separately for clarity. This means that if both Block Actions are resolved in full, even if one of them results in a Turnover. This player cannot Follow-up during either of these Block Actions.

A player with this Skill cannot also have the Frenzy Skill.

STAND FIRM (ACTIVE)

When this player would be Pushed Back during a Block Action, including during a Chain Push, they can choose to not be Pushed Back and instead remain in their current square. Using this Skill will not prevent a player with the Frenzy Skill from performing a second Block Action, so long as this player is still Standing.

STRONG ARM (ACTIVE)

When this player performs a Throw Team-mate Action, this player may apply a +1 modifier to the Passing Ability Test.

A player without the Throw Team-mate Trait cannot have this Skill.

THICK SKULL (PASSIVE)

When an Injury Roll is made for this player, they will only be Knocked-out on the roll of a 9; a roll of an 8 will be treated as a Stunned result. If this player also has the Stunty Trait, then they will only be Knocked-out on the roll of an 8; a roll of a 7 will be treated as a Stunned result.

TRAITS

ALWAYS HUNGRY* (ACTIVE)

Whenever this player performs a Throw Team-mate Action, before making the Passing Ability Test, they must roll a D6. On a 2+, they may continue with the Throw Team-mate Action as normal. On a 1, the player will attempt to eat their team-mate - they must roll a further D6.

On a 2+, the team-mate will squirm free and the Throw Team-mate Action will automatically result in a Fumbled Throw. On a 1, the player will eat their team-mate - immediately remove them from your Team Draft List. No Apothecary can be used to save them, and no Regeneration rolls can be attempted. If the team-mate was in possession of the ball, it will bounce from the square they occupied. A Turnover is then caused.

ANIMAL SAVAGERY* (PASSIVE)

Whenever this player is activated, after declaring their action they must roll a D6. They may apply a +2 modifier to the roll if they have declared a Block Action or a Blitz Action. On a 4+, the player may perform the declared action as normal.

On a 1‑3, this player lashes out at one of their team-mates. Choose one Standing team-mate adjacent to this player; the chosen player is immediately Knocked Down. This will not cause a Turnover unless the player was holding the ball. If this player has either the Claws or Mighty Blow Skill, then they must use them when making the Armour Roll for the Knocked Down player.

If this player rolls a 1‑3 and there are no Standing team-mates adjacent to them, then they are Distracted.

ANIMOSITY (X)* (ACTIVE)

Whenever this player attempts to perform a Pass Action or a Hand-off Action to a team-mate with the same Keyword as the one shown in brackets, roll a D6. On a 1, the player refuses to perform the action and their activation immediately ends.

Some players may have the Animosity (all) Trait, in which case they will apply this rule to all of their team-mates, regardless of the Keywords they have.

BALL & CHAIN* (ACTIVE)

When this player is activated, the only action they can declare is a Ball & Chain Special Action; there is no limit to the number of players that can declare this Special Action each Turn.

When a player performs a Ball & Chain Special Action, position the Throw-in Template over this player so it faces one of the two End Zones or either Sideline. Then roll a D6 and move this player into the square as indicated by the Throw-in Template.

A player that moves in this manner does not have to make an Agility Test to Dodge away from another player's Tackle Zone; they will automatically pass. Opposition players cannot use the Shadowing or Tentacles Skills against a player performing a Ball & Chain Action. A player performing a Ball & Chain Action cannot be prevented from moving by the Chomped condition.

If this move takes this player off the pitch, they will risk Injury by the Crowd.
If this move takes this player into a square containing a Standing player (from either team) they will automatically perform a Block Action against that player; this Block Action will ignore the Foul Appearance Skill. If this player is a team-mate, then this player's Coach will choose which result to apply after the Block Dice have been rolled.
If this move takes this player into a square containing a Prone or Stunned player, that player is Pushed Back and an Armour Roll is made against them.
If this move takes this player into a square containing the ball, it will immediately Bounce. This will not cause a Turnover.

A player performing a Ball & Chain Special Action can move a number of squares up to their MA. They may Rush as normal, though if they roll a 1, they will move into the square as normal first, including performing any Block Actions, Pushing Back any players or causing the ball to Bounce, before Falling Over in the square they have moved into.

If this player is Knocked Down, Falls Over or Placed Prone for any reason, immediately make an Injury Roll for them treating any result of Stunned as Knocked-out instead.

A player with this Trait cannot have any of the following Skills: Diving Tackle, Eye Gouge, Frenzy, Grab, Hit & Run, Leap, Multiple Block, On the Ball, Shadowing, Steady Footing.

For example: The Fanatic has the Ball & Chain Trait and has declared a Ball & Chain Special Action. They place the Throw-in Template facing the opposition Coach's End Zone and roll a D6, rolling a 1 and moving into the space as shown. They then wish to move again and point the Throw-in Template towards the Sideline on the top of the pitch on the diagram, this time rolling a 3 and moving as shown. As this moves the Fanatic into a square containing an Opposition player, they will immediately perform a Block Action against them - resulting in a POW! in this instance. For the Fanatic's final point of MA, they place the Throw-in Template facing the Opposition Coach's End Zone once more, and this time roll a 5. This results in the Fanatic moving into the square of a Prone Opposition player, and so they immediately Push Back the player and make an Armour Roll for them. If the Fanatic wishes to try to continue moving, they must attempt to Rush.

BLOODLUST (X+)* (PASSIVE)

Whenever this player is activated, after declaring their action, they must roll a D6, adding 1 to the roll if they declared a Block Action or a Blitz Action. If they roll equal to or higher than the number shown in brackets, they may activate as normal.

If the player rolls lower than the number shown in brackets, or rolls a natural 1, they may continue their activation as normal though they may change their declared action to a Move Action if they wish. If the player declared an Action that can only be performed once per Turn (such as a Blitz Action), this will still count as the one Blitz action for the Turn. At the end of their activation, this player may bite an adjacent Thrall Lineman team-mate regardless of the status of the Thrall Lineman.

If they do, immediately make an Injury Roll for the Thrall Lineman, treating any Casualty result as Badly Hurt; this will not cause a Turnover unless the Thrall Lineman was holding the ball. If this player does not bite a Thrall Lineman for any reason, then a Turnover is caused, this player becomes Distracted, and will immediately drop the ball if they were holding it. If this player was in the opposing End Zone, no Touchdown is scored. If a player who failed this roll wants to perform a Pass Action, Hand-off Action, or score, then they must bite a Thrall Lineman before they perform the Action or score.

BOMBARDIER (ACTIVE)

When this player is activated, they can declare a Throw Bomb Special Action; only one player can declare this Special Action each Turn.

When a player performs a Throw Bomb Special Action, they throw a bomb in the same manner as when a player performs a Pass Action, following all the usual rules for a Pass Action. Though this is not a Pass Action itself, any Skills or Traits that come into play when a player performs a Pass Action will also apply to a Throw Bomb Special Action, with the exception of the On the Ball Skill. A player that declared a Throw Bomb Special Action may not perform a Move Action before throwing the bomb.

If at any point a bomb comes to rest on the ground then it will immediately explode in that square. Should a bomb be fumbled by the thrower, or dropped when a player attempts to Catch it, then it will not Bounce and will instead explode in that player's square. When a bomb explodes, any player in the square it exploded in is hit by the explosion. Additionally, roll a D6 for each player adjacent to the square in which the bomb exploded. On a 4+, they are hit by the explosion.

Any Standing player that is hit by the explosion is immediately Knocked Down. Additionally, make an Armour Roll for any Prone or Stunned players hit by the explosion.

If a player successfully Catches or Intercepts a thrown bomb, the player that caught the bomb must immediately throw it again, following all the same rules for making a Throw Bomb Special Action as described above.

Here, this Bomma has declared a Throw Bomb Special Action, and has declared the square containing the Bretonnian Squire as the target square a Short Pass. The Bomma makes the Passing Ability Test, rolling a 5 and resulting in an Accurate Pass. As there are no opposition players underneath the Range Ruler, there is no attempt to Intercept the bomb and the bomb lands in the Bretonnian Squire's square and they must try to Catch it.

The Bretonnian Squire rolls a 4 to Catch the bomb, which is a success. Because the Squire has caught the bomb, they must now immediately throw the bomb again. Unfortunately, the Squire rolls a 1 and fumbles the bomb, causing it to blow up in their square.

BONE HEAD* (PASSIVE)

Whenever this player is activated, after declaring their Action they must roll a D6. On a 2+, the player may perform the declared Action as normal. On a 1, the player becomes Distracted.

BREATHE FIRE (ACTIVE)

When this player is activated, they can declare a Breathe Fire Special Action; there is no limit to the number of players that can declare a Special Action each Turn.

When a player makes a Breathe Fire Special Action, they may choose one Standing opposition player they are Marking and roll a D6, applying a -1 modifier if the target has an ST of 5 or higher. On a 1, this player is immediately Knocked Down. On a 2-3, nothing happens. On a 4+, the opposition player is immediately Placed Prone. If the roll is a natural 6, the opposition player is Knocked Down instead. After the Breathe Fire Special Action has been resolved, this player's activation immediately ends.

This player may use the Breathe Fire Special Action to replace the Block Action made as part of a Blitz Action if they wish, though their activation will still end as soon as they have performed the Breathe Fire Special Action.

CHAINSAW* (ACTIVE)

When this player is activated, they can declare a Chainsaw Attack Special Action; there is no limit to the number of players that can declare this Special Action each Turn.

When a player performs a Chainsaw Attack Special Action, roll a D6. On a 2+, this player immediately makes an Armour Roll against one opposition player they are Marking, applying a +3 modifier to the Armour Roll.

On a 1, the Chainsaw will Kick-back and this player is Knocked Down instead.

If this player is Knocked Down or Falls Over for any reason, regardless of how it occurred, then a +3 modifier is applied when the opposition Coach makes an Armour Roll for this player. This +3 modifier must always be applied.

Should they wish, this player may also use their chainsaw when performing a Foul Action, in which case they may apply a +3 modifier when making the Armour Roll for the opposition player. They will still need to roll for Kick-back as normal.

This player may use the Chainsaw Attack Special Action to replace the Block Action made as part of a Blitz Action if they wish, though their activation will still end as soon as they have performed the Chainsaw Attack Special Action.

DECAY* (PASSIVE)

Apply a +1 modifier to any Casualty Roll made against this player.

DRUNKARD* (PASSIVE)

This player applies a -1 modifier to test whenever they attempt to Rush.

HATRED (X)* (PASSIVE)

Whenever this player performs a Block Action against a player with the same keyword as that shown in brackets, this player may re-roll a single Player Down result.

HYPNOTIC GAZE (ACTIVE)

When this player is activated, they can declare a Hypnotic Gaze Special Action; there is no limit to the number of players that can declare this Special Action each Turn. When a player declares a Hypnotic Gaze Special Action they are first allowed to make a Move Action, though they cannot continue to move after the Hypnotic Gaze Special Action has been attempted.

When a player performs a Hypnotic Gaze Special Action, they select a Standing opposition player adjacent to them and roll a D6. On a 1-2, nothing happens and this player's activation immediately ends. On a 3+, the selected opposition player becomes Distracted and this player's activation immediately ends.

INSIGNIFICANT* (PASSIVE)

When creating a Team Draft List, you may not include more players with this Trait than players without this Trait.

KICK TEAM-MATE (PASSIVE)

When this player is activated, they can declare a Kick Team-mate Special Action; only one player can declare this Special Action each Turn.

A Kick Team-mate Special Action works exactly the same as a Throw Team-mate Action, with the following exceptions:

Performing a Kick Team-mate Special Action does not count as a team's Throw Team-mate Action for the Turn, and so a team can perform both a Kick Team-mate Special Action and a Throw Team-mate Action in the same Turn if they wish.

However, if a Kick Team-mate Special Action results in a Fumbled Throw, immediately make an Injury Roll for the team-mate being kicked, treating any result of Stunned as Knocked Out. If the kicked player was holding the ball, it will Bounce from the square they were in.

Any Skills or Traits that come into play when a player performs a Throw Team-mate Action will also apply to a Kick Team-mate Special Action.

This player will also gain Star Player Points in the same manner as a Throw Team-mate Action.

LONER (X+)* (PASSIVE)

Whenever this player wishes to use a Team Re-roll, they must roll a D6. If they roll equal to or higher than the number shown in brackets, then they may use the Team Re-roll as normal.

If they roll lower than the number shown in brackets, then they may not re-roll the dice and the Team Re-roll is lost just as if it had been used.

MY BALL* (PASSIVE)

A player with this Trait may not willingly give up the ball when in possession of it, and so may not declare Pass Actions, Hand-off Actions, or use any other Skill or Trait that would allow them to relinquish possession of the ball. The only way they can lose possession of the ball is by being Knocked Down, Placed Prone, Falling Over or by the effect of a Skill, Trait, or special rule of an opposing model.

NO BALL* (PASSIVE)

A player with this Trait may never have possession of the ball. If this player would be required to attempt to Catch or Pick-up the Ball, they will automatically fail to do so as if they had rolled a natural 1.

A player with this Trait may not attempt to Intercept a Pass.

PICK-ME-UP (ACTIVE)

At the end of each of the opposition's Turns, roll a D6 for each Prone team-mate within 3 squares of one or more Standing players with this Trait. On a 5+, the Prone player may immediately stand up. Should a player with this Trait stand up as a result of a team-mate using this Trait, they may not also use this Trait during the same Turn.

PLAGUE RIDDEN (PASSIVE)

Once per game, when a player with this Trait causes a Casualty against an opposition player as a result of a Block Action, and that player suffers a Dead result on their Casualty Roll and is not saved by an Apothecary, you may immediately add one new Lineman player from your team's Team Roster to your Reserves Box. This may cause your team to have more than 16 players for the remainder of the game.

During the Post-game Sequence, this player may be hired in the same manner as any Journeyman players.

This Trait cannot be used against Big Guy players, or any player with the Decay, Regeneration or Stunty Traits.

POGO (ACTIVE)

During their movement, a player with this Trait can attempt to Pogo over a single adjacent square regardless of what is in the square. Pogoing works the same way as Jumping, as described on page 56, with the exception that the Pogoing player may ignore all negative modifiers they would receive by Jumping.

A player with this Trait cannot also have the Leap Skill.

PROJECTILE VOMIT (ACTIVE)

When this player is activated, they can declare a Projectile Vomit Special Action; there is no limit to the number of players that can declare this Special Action each Turn.

When this player performs a Projectile Vomit Special Action, select a Standing opposition player adjacent to this player and roll a D6. On a 2+, this player hits the opposition player with a gout of acidic bile. Make an Armour Roll for the targeted player. This Armour Roll cannot be modified in any way. If the player's armour is broken, make an Injury Roll for them, otherwise nothing happens.

On a 1, this player covers themselves in acidic bile; make an Armour Roll for this player. This Armour Roll cannot be modified in any way. If this player's armour is broken, make an Injury Roll for them, otherwise nothing happens.

This player may use the Projectile Vomit Special Action to replace the Block Action made as part of a Blitz Action if they wish, though their activation will still end as soon as they have performed the Projectile Vomit Special Action.

REALLY STUPID* (PASSIVE)

Whenever this player is activated, after declaring their Action, they must roll a D6. They may apply a +2 modifier to the roll if they have any Standing team-mates who are not Distracted, and do not have the Really Stupid Trait, adjacent to them. On a 4+, the player may perform the declared Action as normal. On a 1‑3, this player becomes Distracted.

REGENERATION (PASSIVE)

Whenever this player suffers a Casualty, before making the Casualty Roll for them, roll a D6.

On a 1‑3, this player suffers the Casualty; make the Casualty Roll as normal. On a 4+, this player regenerates and ignores the Casualty (though any Star Player Points earned for causing the Casualty are still earned) and is instead placed in their team's Reserves Box.

RIGHT STUFF* (PASSIVE)

This player can be thrown by a team-mate with the Throw Team-mate Trait, even if this player is Prone.

SECRET WEAPON* (PASSIVE)

At the end of a Drive in which this player took part, even if they are not on the pitch at the end of the Drive, they are Sent-off for committing a Foul.

STAB (ACTIVE)

When this player is activated, they can declare a Stab Special Action; there is no limit to the number of players that can declare this Special Action each Turn.

When this player performs a Stab Special Action, select a Standing opposition player adjacent to this player and make an Armour Roll for the selected player. This Armour Roll cannot be modified in any way. If the player's Armour is broken, make an Injury Roll for them, otherwise nothing happens.

This player may use the Stab Special Action to replace the Block Action made as part of a Blitz Action if they wish, though their activation will still end as soon as they have performed the Stab Special Action.

STUNTY* (PASSIVE)

When this player attempts to Dodge, they do not suffer any negative modifiers to their Agility Test for being Marked by opposition players.

Additionally, this player applies a -1 modifier to the Agility Test when attempting to Intercept the ball.

A player with this Trait is more prone to injury and so if an Injury Roll is made for them, roll on the Stunty Injury Table instead.

SWOOP (ACTIVE)

When this player is thrown by a Throw Team-mate Action, they may choose not to Scatter before landing as normal. If they do, position the Throw-in Template over this player so it faces one of the two End Zones or either Sideline. Roll a D6 to determine the direction this player will travel, and then a second die to determine how many squares in that direction this player will travel.

Additionally, if they choose not to Scatter as normal, this player may re-roll the Agility Test when attempting to land.

TAKE ROOT* (PASSIVE)

Whenever this player is activated, after declaring their Action, if they are Standing they must roll a D6. On a 2+, the player may perform the declared Action as normal.

On a 1, the player becomes Rooted. Whilst Rooted, a player cannot perform Move Actions, may not Follow-up after performing a Block Action, cannot be Pushed Back, and may not leave their current square for any reason, with the exception of being Knocked Out or suffering a Casualty.

A Rooted player will immediately stop being Rooted at the end of a Drive, or if they are ever Knocked Down or Placed Prone.

THROW TEAM-MATE (ACTIVE)

This player may declare the Throw Team-mate Action as described on page 76.

TIMMM-BER! (PASSIVE)

If this player has an MA of 2 or less and attempts to stand up, apply a +1 modifier to the roll for standing up for each Open Standing team-mate adjacent to this player. A roll of a natural 1 will still fail as normal.

TITCHY* (PASSIVE)

A player with this Trait may apply a +1 modifier to the Agility Test when attempting to Dodge.

However, when an opposition player attempts to Dodge into a square within this player's Tackle Zone, this player will not apply a -1 modifier to the opposition player's Agility Test for Marking the opposition player.

TRICKSTER (ACTIVE)

Whenever an opposition player attempts to perform a Block Action against this player, or a Special Action that targets this player directly (with the exception of a Block Action caused by the Ball & Chain Special Action), this player may use this Trait.

Before determining how many dice are rolled, this player may be removed from the pitch and placed in any other unoccupied square adjacent to the player performing the Action. The Action then takes place as normal. If the player using this Trait is holding the ball and places themselves in the opposition End Zone, the Action will still be fully resolved before any touchdown is resolved.

If this player uses this Trait to be placed on the ball, they may attempt to pick it up before any dice are rolled.

UNCHANNELLED FURY* (PASSIVE)

Whenever this player is activated, after declaring their Action, they must roll a D6. They may apply a +2 modifier to the roll if they have declared a Block Action or a Blitz Action. On a 4+, the player may perform the declared Action as normal.

On a 1‑3, this player rages incoherently but nothing really happens. Their activation immediately ends.

UNSTEADY* (PASSIVE)

This player may not declare Secure the Ball Actions.

League Play

Arguably the most common way of playing Blood Bowl is as part of a league. This is where a team will grow and improve from game to game, and even a rookie team can eventually reach the heady heights of superstardom with enough games under their belt.

Coaches will see their teams adapt and evolve over the course of a league season. Coaches are able to buy new players for their rosters, and watch their players blossom into truly skilled stars that are the envy of other coaches throughout the league. However, there is just as much chance of a team having to deal with less than ideal situations as the season progresses. Players are likely to pick up injuries in their games, some of which may lead to them having to miss games, reduce characteristics, or even see them get killed on the gridiron!

Regardless, one thing's for certain. By the time the end of a league reaches its conclusion, and the play-offs are within reach for the lucky teams left standing, the grizzled, battle-hardened teams will look very different from those fresh-faced rookies that kicked the season off many games ago!

LEAGUE PLAY RULES!

League Play is a system of linking your games of Blood Bowl together and watching your teams grow and develop over the course of multiple games. As a result, there are a number of additional steps that are required at the start of the game, and the end of each game, in order to represent the multitude of situations that can arise during the course of a league. Coaches will also need to track the likes of Star Player Points and Casualties during the game; both of which are explained later in this section.

In this section, we are going to take you through all of these differences so that you have all the additional information on how to play through your league games, including the additional Pre-game Sequence steps and the Post-game Sequence steps. We will also explain how you can run your own Leagues.

PRE-GAME SEQUENCE

Earlier we mentioned two steps in the Pre-game Sequence that were only used during League Play - Take on Journeymen and Inducements. Here we will explain what both of these steps mean and what to do when you encounter them.

TAKE ON JOURNEYMEN

If during this step of the Pre-game Sequence your team is unable to field 11 players for whatever reason (such as players having to miss the next game or being Dead), they will make use of Journeymen - temporary players that will step in for a game in order to help out the team.

Journeymen are always a player from the team's Team Roster with the Lineman position that have a QTY of 0-16, and are a normal player of that type with the exception that they gain the Loner (4+) Trait. If a team has multiple Lineman positions in their Team Roster, you may choose which type they will be. If a team has a Lineman position without a QTY of 0-16, then they may not choose that player type as a Journeyman.

Journeymen may temporarily take the number of players on a team above 16 including injured players, but may not take the number of players able to play the game over 11.

Journeymen will still count towards a team's Current Team Value for a game, so a team shouldn't calculate their CTV until after Journeymen have been included.

For example: Jay is preparing his Skaven team to play his next league game; however, a number of his players have been forced to miss the game due to an injury, leaving him with only nine players on his team that can play the game. As a result, Jay gains two Journeymen to bring his player count up to 11, both of which will be from the Lineman position - in this case two Skaven Clanrats. The two Journeymen hired in this way will both still count towards the Current Team Value of Jay's team.

INDUCEMENTS

Before any League Fixture, teams are allowed to spend gold pieces from their Treasury or Petty Cash in order to buy Inducements to help their team out. These are then recorded on a team's Game Record Sheet. The process works as follows:

If one team has a lower CTV (see page 91) (including the value of any Journeymen) then it will be given Petty Cash to spend on Inducements. To work out how much Petty Cash a team will receive, follow the steps below in order:

First, the team with the higher CTV gets the opportunity to spend any gold pieces from their Treasury to purchase any Inducements.
After this has been resolved, the team with the lower CTV gets an amount of Petty Cash equal to the difference in CTV between the two teams, plus an amount equal to the amount of gold the other team spent from its Treasury.
The team with the lower CTV can then spend this Petty Cash on Inducements, though any not spent is lost. They may also spend up to a maximum of 50,000 gold pieces from their Treasury to top up their Petty Cash.
If both teams have the same CTV, neither team can spend gold from their Treasury - the teams are even!

For example: Jay is playing Dan in a League Fixture. The CTV of Jay's team is 1,240,000 whilst the CTV of Dan's team is 1,160,000. As Jay has the higher CTV, he gets to spend gold pieces from his Treasury first, and decides to purchase a Blitzer's Best Keg for 50,000 gold pieces. Dan will then gain Petty Cash of 80,000 (the difference between the two teams' CTVs) plus 50,000 (the amount that Jay spent), and decides to add 10,000 from his Treasury, for a total of 140,000 gold pieces.

The list of Inducements, how many of each Inducement can be purchased, and which teams can purchase them, can be found on page 142.

POST-GAME SEQUENCE

Once the final whistle has been blown in a League Fixture and the crowds have dispersed back to their favourite pubs, both Coaches will need to run through the Post-game Sequence in order to work out how much cash their team has earnt, what has happened to their team, and allow them to prepare for their next League Fixture.

The Post-game Sequence has a number of steps, which should be completed in order:

Record Outcome and Collect Winnings
Update Dedicated Fans
Player Advancement
Hiring, Firing and Temporarily Retiring
Expensive Mistakes
Prepare for Next Fixture

RECORD OUTCOME AND COLLECT WINNINGS

Each Coach will need to record the outcome of the game on their Game Record Sheet, and will need to note down the following information:

The result, either Win, Loss or Draw
How many Touchdowns each team scored
How many Casualties each team caused, counting only those that earned Star Player Points (see page 96)
How many League Points were earned (see page 103)

Next, Coaches will need to work out how many gold pieces their team gained as Winnings. To work out a team's Winnings you will need to start by working out the Fan Attendance, which is worked out by adding the Fan Factors of both teams together.

Divide the Fan Attendance of the game by two and add the number of Touchdowns your team scored. Add an additional 1 if no Player on your team was deemed to be Stalling during the match. Then multiply the result by 10,000 to work out how many gold pieces your team receives as Winnings.

For example: Jay is working out his Winnings after his game with Dan. Jay's Fan Factor was 4 whilst Dan's Fan Factor was 3, giving a Fan Attendance of 7. Jay then divides this by two, to give 3.5, and then adds the number of Touchdowns he scored in the game, in this case 2, plus an additional 1 for not Stalling during the game, to give a total of 6.5. Jay then multiplies this by 10,000 to give a final Winnings of 65,000 gold pieces.

Winnings are immediately added to a team's Treasury and can be spent later on in the Post-game Sequence.

UPDATE DEDICATED FANS

The best way to increase a team's following is to keep winning. Fans love to see their team doing well, and going on a long winning streak and racking up the victories can bring scores of fans flocking to the stadiums and sales stands to support the team and buy the latest merchandise. An increase in popularity will also help a team financially.

After every League Fixture, you will need to see if your team gains more fans, or if they lost some due to poor performances.

If your team won, roll a D6. If the result is equal to or higher than your team's Dedicated Fans Characteristic, increase your team's Dedicated Fans Characteristic by 1. This can never go above 7.

If your team lost, roll a D6. If the result is lower than your team's Dedicated Fans Characteristic, reduce your team's Dedicated Fans Characteristic by 1. This can never go below 1.

If your team drew, your team's Dedicated Fans Characteristic remains the same.

PLAYER ADVANCEMENT

During the course of a league, the players on your team will gain experience from their efforts on the pitch. This will allow each to improve, adapt to new plays, and will allow them to gain new skills, adapt to new plays, and potentially even improve their own attributes. In-game, this is done by accumulating Star Player Points, which can be gained by accomplishing certain feats within the game. These Star Player Points can then be spent in order to give a player a new Skill, or even improve one of their Characteristics. Over the course of a league, you will see your players develop and potentially even hit legendary status as they forge their own legacies on the gridiron!

RECORDING STAR PLAYER POINTS

On your Team Draft List there is a section to keep track of the number of Star Player Points (SPP) that each player has saved up. At the end of each game you should add any SPP that a player has earned to their tally in this section, so it's important to keep track of every time a player does something that generates SPP during a game.

It's also important to note that Star Players do not generate SPP at all during the course of a game. Journeymen, however, do generate SPP, which will be important to consider when you get the option to hire them later on in the Post-game Sequence.

EARNING STAR PLAYER POINTS

Whether it's for scoring a Touchdown, causing a Casualty on an opposition player, or for being chosen as the Most Valuable Player of the match, there are a number of ways that players can generate SPP during a game. What follows are all the standard ways of generating SPP; however, there may also be some other more niche situations that will generate SPP in certain circumstances. Where that is the case, it will be stated in the associated rule.

COMPLETION

When a player makes a Pass Action that results in an Accurate Pass, and is successfully caught by a team-mate without the ball hitting the ground and Bouncing, this is called a Completion. A player who makes a Completion gains 1 SPP.

THROW TEAM-MATE

When a player makes a Throw Team-mate Action that results in a Superb Throw, and the thrown team-mate successfully lands on their feet, the player who made the Throw Team-mate Action gains 1 SPP.

Additionally, if a player is thrown by a team-mate and successfully lands safely, they will also gain 1 SPP for landing safely, regardless of the type of throw.

INTERCEPTION

Should a player successfully Intercept a Pass Action made by an opposition player, the player that made the Interception will gain 2 SPP.

CASUALTY

If a player is Knocked Down as a result of a Block Action and suffers a Casualty, regardless of which player performed the Block Action, then the player that knocked them down is said to have caused a Casualty. A player that causes a Casualty will gain 2 SPP.

A player will still gain the 2 SPP even if both players were Knocked Down and suffer a Casualty, and will still gain the 2 SPP even if the Casualty is recovered by any means - such as an Apothecary or the Regeneration Trait. Casualties caused by other methods, such as Special Actions or by Injury by the Crowd do not generate SPP.

TOUCHDOWN

When a player scores a Touchdown, they are awarded 3 SPP. If your team is awarded Touchdowns as a result of an opposing team Conceding, then you may allocate the SPP for any Touchdowns scored to players of your choice on your team.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

At the end of each game you will need to determine who your Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the game was. To do this, each Coach nominates six players on their team that played during the match and assigns them a number between 1 and 6. They then roll a D6 to determine which of them is given the MVP award. The player that is given the MVP award generates 4 SPP.

SPENDING STAR PLAYER POINTS

After all SPP have been assigned following a game, players are then able to spend them in order to gain an advancement - either on new Skills or to improve their Characteristics. The number of SPP that it will cost a player to gain an advancement will depend on the number of advancements the player already has, and the type of advancement they wish to purchase. Players do not have to spend their SPP as soon as they are able to; they are free to save them up should they wish. However, should a player accumulate enough SPP to improve a Characteristic (as shown by the Advancement Table on page 97) then they must take an advancement; though this does not have to be a Characteristic improvement if they don't want it to be.

ADVANCEMENT TABLE

	Randomly Select a Primary Skill	Choose a Primary Skill	Choose a Secondary Skill	Characteristic Improvement
Experienced (first advancement)	3 SPP	6 SPP	10 SPP	14 SPP
Veteran (second advancement)	4 SPP	8 SPP	12 SPP	16 SPP
Emerging Star (third advancement)	6 SPP	12 SPP	16 SPP	20 SPP
Star (fourth advancement)	8 SPP	16 SPP	20 SPP	24 SPP
Superstar (fifth advancement)	10 SPP	20 SPP	24 SPP	28 SPP
Legend (sixth advancement)	15 SPP	30 SPP	34 SPP	38 SPP

NEW SKILLS

Each player's profile will have a section listed as Primary and one as Secondary. These are the Skill categories they can take Skills from as per the Advancement Table above, with a player's Primary Skills being easier to learn and costing less SPP, whilst a player's Secondary Skills are harder to learn and will cost more SPP. Not every player can take Skills from every category, and many will not have access to some categories at all. On a player's profile the categories they can take Skills from will be presented as a series of letters as follows:

A - Agility Skills
D - Devious Skills
G - General Skills
M - Mutation Skills
P - Passing Skills
S - Strength Skills

Choosing a Skill is simple. Select the Skill category the player would like to take a Skill from, and decide if they are generating one randomly (for less SPP as shown in the Advancements Table) or if they are choosing one. Then deduct the required amount of SPP from those accumulated on the player's profile.

Additionally, some Skills will be listed as Elite Skills. If a player gains an Elite Skill, increase their value by an additional 10,000 gold pieces.

If the player is choosing a Skill, simply select the desired Skill from the category and add it to the player's profile on your Team Draft List.

If the player is randomly choosing a Skill, select the category they wish to roll from and roll two D6, one after the other, and consult the Skill Table on page 121. The first roll will determine which part of the Skill Table you are rolling on, and the second roll will determine the Skill your player receives. Do this twice, and then choose which of the two randomly rolled Skills you wish your player to receive. If you roll the same Skill both times, you must choose that one (if able). Record the newly gained Skill on your player's profile.

Players may not select a Skill that they already have or one they are unable to use due to their other Skills. Should a player randomly roll a Skill they already have, or one they cannot use, simply roll again to determine a new Skill for that player.

CHARACTERISTIC IMPROVEMENTS

If a player elects to spend their SPP on improving a Characteristic, then they deduct the required amount of SPP from their profile, roll a D8 and consult the Characteristic Improvement Table below.

CHARACTERISTIC IMPROVEMENT TABLE

D8	Characteristic Improvement
1	Improve the player's AV by 1.
2	Improve the player's AV or PA by 1.
3‑4	Improve the player's AV, MA or PA by 1.
5	Improve the player's MA or PA by 1.
6	Improve the player's AG or MA by 1.
7	Improve the player's AG or ST by 1.
8	Improve a Characteristic of your choice by 1.

Should a player not wish to take the Characteristic Improvement they have rolled, they can choose to select a Primary or Secondary Skill instead; however, the SPP spent for making a Characteristic Improvement roll is still spent. Remember that a Characteristic can never be improved more than twice or above its maximum value as shown on page 37.

When improving a player's MA or ST, simply increase the number by 1. When improving a player's AG or PA, reduce the number in front of the + sign by 1. When improving a player's AV, increase the number in front of the + sign by 1.

For example: A player with an ST of 3 that improved its ST would improve their ST to 4. A player with an AG of 4+ that improved its AG would improve their AG to 3+. A player with an AV of 8+ that improved its AV would improve their AV to 9+.

VALUE INCREASE

When a player gains new Skills or improves one of its Characteristics, their value will also increase. This will mean that a player's Current Value on their Team Draft List will increase, the value of which will depend on what advancement they have taken. The Value Increase Table below shows how many gold pieces each type of advancement will add onto a player's Current Value. Any increase in a player's value should be recorded in the Current Value section of the player's profile on their Team Draft List.

VALUE INCREASE TABLE

Advancement Type	Value Increase
Primary Skill	+20,000 gold pieces
Secondary Skill	+40,000 gold pieces
+1 AV	+10,000 gold pieces
+1 MA	+20,000 gold pieces
+1 PA	+20,000 gold pieces
+1 AG	+30,000 gold pieces
+1 ST	+60,000 gold pieces

HIRING, FIRING AND TEMPORARILY RETIRING

Blood Bowl is a dangerous sport filled with violence and untold opportunities for a player to become injured, or worse! Fortunately though, there are always plenty of willing rookies looking for their big break and ready to sign up for a team at a fraction of the cost! In this step of the Post-game Sequence, Coaches will need to deal with any Dead or injured players and will also be able to hire new players to their team. They may also hire and fire any Sideline Staff they wish to.

To do so, follow the steps below in order:

Remove any Dead players from your Team Draft List.
Hire any new players to your Team Draft List using gold pieces from your team's Treasury and add them to your Team Draft List.
Fire any players on your Team Draft List that you want to; remove any fired players from your Team Draft List. Players may not be fired if it would take the number of players eligible for the next game below 11.
Hire and fire any Sideline Staff as you see fit. Coaches may also purchase additional Team Re-rolls at double their normal cost, though they may not remove them from their Team Draft List.
Hire any Journeymen that played for your team during the game. To hire a Journeyman, they will cost their Hiring Fee, plus any Value Increase they gained from advancements, in gold pieces. A hired Journeyman will lose the Loner (X+) Trait and will retain any SPP gained during the game. From then on they will simply become another player. Any Journeymen not hired are permanently lost.

TEMPORARILY RETIRING

Should a player suffer a Lasting Injury result on the Casualty Table, their Coach may decide to give them the rest of the season off in order to recover, in which case the player will be considered to be Temporarily Retiring (TR) - make a note of this on your Team Draft List. Taking some time off may benefit the Temporarily Retiring player later on, should the Coach decide to re-draft their team for a future season.

A player that is Temporarily Retiring plays no further part in the season, though is not deleted from the Team Draft List. They will still count towards the maximum number of 16 players allowed on the Team Draft List. The Current Value of a Temporarily Retiring player is not included when working out a team's Current Team Value.

EXPENSIVE MISTAKES

After every game of Blood Bowl, a team will receive an amount of gold for their efforts. These winnings will be added to a team's Treasury, and some teams can end up amassing quite a fortune should the Coach decide not to spend it on team improvements. Of course, as any good Blood Bowl Coach knows, it isn't sensible to leave that much gold lying around in one's Treasury - anything could happen to it! Countless are the teams that have seen huge sums of cash disappear due to some form of scandal, misfortune, or devious former employee. Whether it is a greedy assistant Coach handing in their notice by pinching what they believe they are owed, a group of reporters that need paying off to keep a scandalous story hush-hush, the players betting it all on underground squig fighting, or the Head Coach having to pay damages to a tavern keeper after their team got a tad too rowdy following their latest win, there are no end to the ways that gold can go missing - and always at the least convenient moment!

Following each League Fixture, if a team has at least 100,000 gold pieces in its Treasury at this step of the Post-game Sequence they must roll a D6 and consult the column on the Expensive Mistake Table below that corresponds to the amount of gold pieces in their Treasury to find out what happens. The descriptions of each result can also be found below to find out what happens to their gold.

EXPENSIVE MISTAKE TABLE

D6	100,000‑195,000 Gold Pieces	200,000‑295,000 Gold Pieces	300,000‑395,000 Gold Pieces	400,000‑495,000 Gold Pieces	500,000‑595,000 Gold Pieces	600,000+ Gold Pieces
1	Minor Incident	Minor Incident	Major Incident	Major Incident	Catastrophe	Catastrophe
2	Crisis Averted	Minor Incident	Minor Incident	Major Incident	Major Incident	Catastrophe
3	Crisis Averted	Crisis Averted	Minor Incident	Minor Incident	Major Incident	Major Incident
4	Crisis Averted	Crisis Averted	Crisis Averted	Minor Incident	Minor Incident	Major Incident
5	Crisis Averted	Crisis Averted	Crisis Averted	Crisis Averted	Minor Incident	Minor Incident
6	Crisis Averted	Crisis Averted	Crisis Averted	Crisis Averted	Crisis Averted	Minor Incident

CRISIS AVERTED

Thanks to some careful management, and no small amount of luck, the team manages to behave itself and no cash is lost.

MINOR INCIDENT

The team causes an amount of mischief and is forced to pay some fees to help things blow over. You immediately lose D3 × 10,000 gold pieces from your Treasury.

MAJOR INCIDENT

You're not quite sure what the team has got up to, but it's going to be expensive to sort out! You immediately half the amount of gold pieces in your Treasury, rounding down to the nearest 5,000 gold pieces.

CATASTROPHE

It's all gone wrong! The Treasury has been emptied except for the 2D6 × 10,000 gold pieces you had safely stashed away just in case of such an incident.

PREPARE FOR NEXT FIXTURE

The final step of the Post-game Sequence is to prepare for the next League Fixture. To do this you simply need to make sure that your Team Value (TV) and Current Team Value (CTV) are up to date. Remember to include any new players, Sideline Staff or Team Re-rolls that you have purchased during the Post-game Sequence, as well as any players that have had a Value Increase as this will all impact your team's TV and CTV.

It's also important to remember that any players that are set to miss the next game will not add to your team's CTV, though any players that missed the previous game will now have recovered and so will once again add their cost to the team's CTV.

CONCEDING

It's rare for a Blood Bowl team to concede a game. Most players are far too proud to simply give in, plus they know that if they do then their fans will be livid and likely to take it out on them - and even the toughest players dare not face the wrath of an angry mob of fans!

However, sometimes a Coach may decide to put discretion before valour and say that enough is enough and just hope that their decision is taken with good grace by both fans and players alike!

A Coach may decide to Concede a match at the start of any of their Turns. Should a team Concede, then the following will happen:

Their opposition will automatically earn a 2-0 win, unless they have already scored more Touchdowns in which case they will count as winning X-0, where X is the number of Touchdowns they have currently scored.
They may not award an MVP to any of their players; instead, their opposition may award a second MVP to one of their players.
They do not generate any Winnings and their opponent gets Winnings equal to the entire Fan Attendance plus the number of Touchdowns they scored × 10,000 gold pieces.
Any Star Player Points the team earned during the game are lost.
The team's Dedicated Fans Characteristic is reduced by D3, to a minimum of 1.

Additionally, should a team Concede then they must roll a D6 for each of their players with three or more advancements. On a 4+, the player remains with the team. However, on a 1-3, the player immediately quits the team in disgust - remove them from the team's Team Draft List.

CONCEDING WITHOUT PENALTY

Sometimes a team may be just too beat up to realistically carry on, which even the most die-hard fans agree is fair. Should a team be unable to set up three or more players on the Line of Scrimmage during any Start of Drive Sequence, then they may opt to Concede Without Penalty. If a team does Concede Without Penalty, then their opponent will automatically earn a 2-0 win, unless they have already scored more Touchdowns in which case they will count as winning X-0, where X is the number of Touchdowns they have currently scored.

However, the team will not suffer any of the other penalties listed in the rules for Conceding - their team has already suffered enough!

RUNNING A LEAGUE!

When running a league, the first thing you will require is a League Commissioner. This is someone who takes responsibility for the running of the league itself; keeping track of all the games and results, organising the divisions and fixtures, settling any disputes, and generally making sure everything runs smoothly. Often the League Commissioner will also be playing as part of the league, though this isn't always the case.

GETTING STARTED

When running a league, you will need at least four teams though there is no limit on how many teams your league can have - though the more teams, the more work for the League Commissioner! At the start of a league, each Coach will need to submit their Team Draft List to the League Commissioner to check and approve before the league starts.

SEASONS

The duration of a league is known as a Season, and is split into the Regular Season and the Play-offs. A league may have only a single Season, or may run for multiple Seasons, in which case the League Commissioner may decide that Coaches can Re-draft their teams during the Off-season Break. We'll cover this on page 106.

DIVISIONS

Once the League Commissioner knows how many teams will be participating in the Season, they need to decide how many Divisions there will be. Each Division should have as close to an equal number of teams as possible, though each Division should contain at least four teams. The more teams in a Division, the longer the Season will last as each team needs to play each other team in their Division once.

Teams can be split into Divisions in whatever way the League Commissioner decides, though drawing team names out of a helmet (or other suitable receptacle) is most traditional. The League Commissioner should also let all Coaches know at this stage how many teams from each Division will qualify for the Play-offs and how they do so, that way each Coach knows exactly where they stand from the very start.

Once the Divisions have been determined, the Season can officially begin!

REGULAR SEASON

During the Regular Season, each team will play a League Fixture against each other team in their Division. The League Commissioner should provide a schedule of rounds or gameweeks that determines the order that teams will play their League Fixture against each other. This should be made available to all Coaches so that they can organise their games.

LEAGUE FIXTURES

It is recommended that the League Commissioner sets a time limit for each round; this will prevent the Season stalling because two Coaches can't get their personal schedules to line up. A good rule of thumb is to assume that each team can play a game every two weeks, though the League Commissioner may decide to make this time limit longer or shorter at their own discretion.

Any League Fixtures that have not been played by the end of the time limit will count as a loss for both Coaches, with neither team awarding an MVP or gaining any Winnings, unless one Coach decides to Concede to the other due to real-life commitments. In this case, the team that Conceded counts as Conceding Without Penalty, though the other team will make two MVP awards and will gain D6 × 10,000 gold pieces in Winnings.

After each League Fixture, both teams must go through the Post-game Sequence as normal.

FRIENDLIES

Some Coaches may wish to play Friendly games against other Coaches to gain practice or just get in some more Blood Bowl. This is perfectly acceptable, though there are a few things to note in regards to Friendly games.

A Friendly game will award no Star Player Points of any kind, no League Points and will generate no Winnings. Additionally, any player that suffers a Casualty will automatically count as having rolled Badly Hurt on the Casualty Table. Finally, any players that were scheduled to miss a team's next game will still count as missing the team's next game.

Essentially, Friendly games have no impact on a league and cannot be used in order for a Coach to recover their team or gain an advantage within their Division.

LEAGUE SCORING

During the Regular Season, each League Fixture will award a number of League Points based on the result of the game. Teams will gain League Points as follows:

WIN: 3 League Points DRAW: 1 League Point LOSS: 0 League Points

Additionally, the League Commissioner may wish to award additional League Points for teams achieving additional requirements. These additional League Points can either be added straight onto a team's total, or may be used as a tiebreaker when teams are tied on the number of League Points.

SCORE 3 OR MORE TOUCHDOWNS: 1 League Point CONCEDE 0 TOUCHDOWNS: 1 League Point CAUSE 3 OR MORE CASUALTIES: 1 League Point

Note that only Casualties caused that generate SPP count towards scoring additional League Points.

Each Coach should keep a record of their League Points on their Game Record Sheet and pass the information to the League Commissioner who will keep track of it all.

QUALIFYING FOR THE PLAY-OFFS

Before the Season begins, the League Commissioner should make it clear how many teams will qualify for the Play-offs. It is best if this is a number that is divisible by 4 so that there can be a clear and easy knockout stage for the Play-offs - we'd recommend either 4, 8 or 16 teams qualify, depending on the size of your league.

The qualifying teams should be the best performing teams in terms of League Points taken equally from all Divisions. For example, if there are four Divisions and eight teams qualify, then it would be the top two teams from each Division. If there are three Divisions and eight teams qualify, then the top two teams from each Division, plus the two best third-placed teams, will qualify.

It is also important for the League Commissioner to outline from the start what tiebreakers will be used to separate teams that are on equal League Points, and in what order. The likes of Touchdown Difference, Touchdowns Scored and Casualties Caused are the traditional tiebreakers, but League Commissioners are free to have whichever ones they choose so long as it is clear to all Coaches.

PLAY-OFFS

Once all League Fixtures have been played, and qualification has been sorted out, it is time for the Play-offs to begin. The League Commissioner organises the qualifying teams into their match-ups, making sure no team is drawn against another team from the same Division.

It is up to the League Commissioner to decide how they want to determine these match-ups. Some like to do this completely randomly, whilst others like to make sure that Division winners are kept separate for as long as possible by pairing them against the lower-ranked teams for the first Play-off round.

Whatever your League Commissioner's preference, the schedule should be made clear to all Coaches from the start so that they can all see who they are playing and their path to the final - should they be so lucky!

Play-off games are all knockout rounds. As a result, the winning team will continue on to the next round whilst the losing team will be eliminated from the competition. Because of this, it is important to always have a winner in each round and so every Play-off game will be played using the Extra Time and Penalties (if required) rules as listed on page 83.

After the semi-finals have been played, the two winning teams will move on to the final whilst the two losing teams will play in the third-place Play-off to determine which of them finishes third.

GLITTERING PRIZES

After the final games have been played, and the League Commissioner has presented any awards that were on offer during the course of the league, prizes of gold pieces are awarded to the teams that came in 1st, 2nd and 3rd place as follows:

3RD PLACE: 30,000 gold pieces

2ND PLACE: 60,000 gold pieces

1ST PLACE: 100,000 gold pieces and the League Trophy

These Winnings are awarded after the final Post-game Sequence and so are not taken into account for the Expensive Mistakes step. This way, these Winnings can't be lost as soon as they have been won!

The League Trophy is held by the winning team until the end of the next Season, at which point it will pass to the new winners. The team that holds the League Trophy adds an additional Team Re-roll to their Team Draft List whilst they hold it. No gold pieces need to be spent for this Team Re-roll, though it will still count towards a team's Team Value as usual.

OFF-SEASON AND RE-DRAFTING

At the end of each Season, after the Play-offs have concluded, comes the Off-season Break. Whilst many Coaches prefer to start each Season with a brand new team, others like to develop their favourite team over many Seasons and watch them grow and develop and forge their own stories within the league. For those Coaches, the Off-season Break allows them to Re-draft their team in preparation for the next Season.

During the Off-season Break, any Coach that wishes to Re-draft their team for the next Season should get together with their League Commissioner and run through the following steps of the Re-drafting process:

Rest & Relaxation
Raise Funds
Re-draft Team

REST & RELAXATION

The Off-season Break provides those players that suffered injuries the time to rest their aching bones, get properly looked over by an apothecary and get prepared for the next season. Sometimes, a bit of a break can do the world of good!

Any players that were missing their next game will recover before the start of the next Season. Additionally, for any players that have any Niggling Injuries, roll a D6 for each of them, applying a +1 modifier to the result if the team has an Apothecary on their Team Draft List. On a 1-3, the player has not yet fully healed and the Niggling Injury remains. On a 4+, the rest has worked wonders and the Niggling Injury is removed.

Any players that have the Hatred (X) Trait may find their rage subside during the off-season. Each player that has the Hatred (X) Trait must roll a D6 for each type of Hatred (X) they have gained. On a 4+, they lose that type of Hatred (X). Do not roll for any types of Hatred (X) that are inherent to a model's profile such as a Troll Slayer's Hatred (Troll).

Finally, any players that had Temporarily Retired may find themselves back to being fighting fit. Roll a D6 for each Temporarily Retiring player, applying a +1 modifier to the result if the team has an Apothecary on their Team Draft List. On a 1-3, the player has not yet fully healed and the player's Characteristic reduction remains. On a 4+, the intense physical therapy has done its job and the Characteristic reduction is removed. If a Temporarily Retiring player has multiple Characteristic reductions, roll separately for each of them.

Any Temporarily Retiring players that are not re-hired during the Re-draft Team step will automatically retire; remove them from your Team Draft List.

RAISE FUNDS

When Re-drafting a team, the Coach gets a budget of 1,000,000 gold pieces. This represents the money brought in by the league, sponsors, fans and generous patrons of the team. This is then added to whatever is left of the team's Treasury. A team that is Re-drafting also receives a bonus of +20,000 gold pieces for each League Fixture they played in the previous Season, a bonus of +20,000 gold pieces for each League Fixture they won in the previous Season, and a bonus of +10,000 gold pieces for each League Fixture they drew in the previous Season. The final total is the team's Re-draft Budget.

It is recommended that there is a Re-draft Budget cap of 1,300,000 gold pieces for Re-drafting teams, and that any amount over that value is lost. That way, no team starts the next Season with too much of an advantage over another.

RE-DRAFT TEAM

Once a team has worked out their Re-draft Budget, they may begin to Re-draft their team. Some key figures from the previous Season may find their contracts renewed, whilst others may find themselves cut from the team, allowing themselves to slink off into the backwater leagues or become sports pundits on one of the many Blood Bowl chat shows.

To Re-draft a team, you will need to use a new Team Draft List and create a brand new version of your team using the same rules as when you first drafted your team, as found on page 84.

When Re-drafting a team, you may carry over any number of Assistant Coaches, Cheerleaders, Apothecaries or Team Re-rolls from your previous Team Draft List at their standard cost, or they may be let go.

Additionally, you may re-hire any players from your previous Team Draft List by paying their Current Value in gold pieces, plus an additional fee of 20,000 gold pieces as an agent's fee for each previous season the player has taken part in. This agent's fee doesn't affect the player's Current Value. When re-hiring a player, copy their entire profile over to your new Team Draft List, including any Niggling Injuries, unspent SPP and Characteristic reductions.

For example: Jay wishes to re-hire his Gutter Runner, Skweek, for another Season. Skweek's Current Value is 145,000 gold pieces as he has gained three Primary Skills, and he has played one previous Season. It will cost Jay 145,000 gold pieces plus 20,000 gold pieces (the agent's fee for one previous Season) for a total of 165,000 gold pieces if he wishes to re-hire his star Gutter Runner.

STARTING A NEW SEASON

After the dust has settled from the Play-offs, the awards have been handed out and any Re-drafting has taken place, the obvious question for most Coaches is "When is the next one starting?". This is entirely up to the League Commissioner, or whoever is taking up the mantle if the previous person is stepping down or fancies a break. Starting a new Season is simple, and follows the same process as before. This is a good time for any Coaches who want to drop out or take a break to do so, and also the perfect time for any new Coaches to sign up and join in the fun of playing some Blood Bowl!

Just as before, the League Commissioner finds out who is playing, divides them into Divisions, and collects a Team Draft List from all Coaches. The League Commissioner then sorts out the schedule for the new Regular Season, and then it's time to kick start a new Season!

Matched Play

Leagues aren't the only way to play Blood Bowl and some Coaches may not live close enough to a gaming group, or simply not be able to commit to playing through a full league. Many Coaches enjoy attending the likes of tournaments and gaming weekends, or simply enjoy playing pick-up games in their local gaming store. This is called Matched Play, and is the perfect way to play one-off games whilst still allowing Coaches the challenge of building rosters for their favourite teams and deciding what Skills and Inducements best fit their style of play.

In this section we are going to explain how to build a roster for Matched Play. Though some of the aspects of Blood Bowl may seem like they are only designed for League Play, such as gaining Skills and Inducements, that's not the case - they simply work a little differently in Matched Play, which we will explain here.

DRAFTING A MATCHED PLAY TEAM!

For the most part, this is exactly the same as drafting a team for League Play. You will still need to fill out a Team Draft List in the same way as described on page 86 using one of the usual Team Rosters. However, there are some important differences that you need to be aware of when drafting a Matched Play team.

TEAM DRAFT BUDGET

For Matched Play, the Team Draft Budget that Coaches will have to draft their team will be different from the usual 1,000,000 gold pieces that is standard for League Play. Instead, Coaches will usually have a larger amount of cash to spend on their team, allowing them to build their team in a different way to how they would when starting a league.

There is no set amount of gold pieces for Matched Play games, and many tournaments will have different Team Draft Budgets. However, the most common values are 1,100,000, 1,150,000 or 1,200,000 gold pieces. This doesn't mean that you can't go higher (or lower) for your own Matched Play games should you wish.

The other important thing to note in regards to Team Draft Budgets in Matched Play is that all the gold pieces a team has must be spent when drafting your team. Any gold pieces not spent are lost, so it is always worth spending any leftover cash on the likes of Assistant Coaches, Cheerleaders, Dedicated Fans or whatever else you can manage to afford.

A Team Draft List for Matched Play will need to have any Sideline Staff and Inducements purchased on it. This is especially important for tournaments so that all Coaches know exactly what each team has.

Teams drafted for Matched Play start with a Dedicated Fans Characteristic of 0, though they may still purchase additional Dedicated Fans as normal.

INDUCEMENTS IN MATCHED PLAY

As all gold pieces must be spent in Matched Play, Inducements work slightly differently in this format. Instead of players working out the difference in their Current Team Value (CTV) and then awarding Petty Cash as they would do in League Play, in Matched Play Coaches are simply allowed to buy Inducements for their Team Draft List.

Coaches may spend as much or as little on Inducements as they wish, so long as they have a minimum of 11 players (including Star Players) on their Team Draft List.

Some tournaments may decide to omit certain Inducements, or even create their own that are unique to their event, so it is always important to check to see what Inducements are eligible.

TEAM TIERS

In Matched Play, each of the Team Rosters is placed in one of four Tiers based on how good the team performs; Tier 1 contains the best performing teams, whilst Tier 4 contains the more challenging teams. Simply put, the better the Tier a team is in, the better they generally are. However, as a result, and as a way to balance things out between the two teams, the better a team's Tier, the less Skill Points they will receive in order to purchase Skills and Star Players to help them on the pitch. Skill Points are explained on page 112.

The Tiers each team is in is constantly being assessed so that we can ensure the game is as balanced and up to date as possible. You will find the most up-to-date Tier List as part of the Blood Bowl Designers' Commentary on warhammer-community.com.

STAR PLAYER POINTS

As your Team Draft List is already set when playing a Matched Play game and any Skills are already decided, players do not generate Star Player Points during the course of the game. This means that during Matched Play, players cannot gain player advancements of any kind.

CASUALTIES

As Matched Play games are usually played as one-off games or as part of a tournament, Casualties work slightly differently than they do in League Play.

In League Play, your players will suffer injuries, Characteristic reductions and the like, helping to tell the story of the team as they progress through the Season. However, in Matched Play this is not the case, and a team is always considered to start each game with its full complement of healthy players.

What this means is that at the end of each game, a Matched Play team will make a full recovery from its previous game in time for the next one. This ensures that in a tournament or event, if a team gets horribly mangled in their first game, they are not left unable to compete for the rest of the event and it allows Coaches to get some good games in without panicking about having to replace players, or worrying that their favourite player is going to get their head smashed in - beyond the normal boundaries of a Blood Bowl match, of course!

ACQUIRING ADDITIONAL PLAYERS

If a team acquires additional players during the course of a game, such as those earned through the Plague Ridden Trait or the Masters of Undeath special rule, then those additional players will only be available until the end of the game in which they were earned, and will not be added to your Team Draft List at the end of the game.

SKILL POINTS

As mentioned on the previous page, in a Matched Play game, teams are given a number of Skill Points which they can use to spend on additional Skills or Star Players for their team. The amount of Skills Points a team receives will depend on the team's Tier, as listed below.

Tier of Team	Number of Skill Points
Tier 1	6
Tier 2	8
Tier 3	9
Tier 4	10

PURCHASING SKILLS

Purchasing a Primary Skill for a player will cost 1 Skill Point. There is no limit to the number of Primary Skills a team can purchase, so long as they have Skill Points remaining.

Purchasing a Secondary Skill for a player will cost 2 Skill Points. Teams are limited to the number of Secondary Skills they can purchase depending on their Tier.

TIER 1 TEAM: Maximum of 1 Secondary Skill
TIER 2 TEAM: Maximum of 2 Secondary Skills
TIER 3 TEAM: Maximum of 3 Secondary Skills
TIER 4 TEAM: Maximum of 4 Secondary Skills

Each player can only be given a single additional Skill, though there is no limit to the number of times a particular Skill can be chosen, with the exception of Elite Skills which can only be taken a maximum of four times in a Matched Play roster. Additionally, Star Players cannot be given additional Skills under any circumstances.

It's important to note that, unlike in League Play, Skills purchased for players in Matched Play do not add to a player's Current Value and as a result, the team's Team Value will not increase.

STAR PLAYERS

Skill Points must also be spent if a team wishes to take a Star Player on their Team Draft List as an Inducement. If a team wishes to take a Star Player, then they must still pay the Star Player's associated cost in gold pieces, and also spend 2 Skill Points to have them on their team. Tier 1 teams may only have 1 Star Player on their team, whilst Tier 2, Tier 3 and Tier 4 teams may have up to 2 Star Players if they wish.

Star Players that must be hired as a pair only count as a single Star Player choice, and therefore only cost 2 Skill Points for the pair, but will still take up two spaces on a team's Team Roster.

Some Star Players have such an impact on the game that they are classed as Mega-stars. Mega-stars cost 4 Skill Points rather than the usual 2 Skill Points.

Mega-stars like to be the star of the show, and don't like to have to share the limelight with anyone else who is considered to be their equal. A team may only ever have a single Mega-star on their Team Draft List.

Which Star Players are considered as Mega-stars is constantly being assessed to provide the most up-to-date and accurate representation of their impact on the game. You can find the most recent list of Mega-stars as part of the most recent Blood Bowl Designers' Commentary on warhammer-community.com.

Below is a table summarising the breakdown of what Skill Points can be spent on, and an example of how you could choose to spend them.

Note that teams may still only have a maximum of two Star Players, including Mega-stars.

	Primary Skill (1 Skill Point)	Secondary Skill (2 Skill Points)	Star Player (2 Skill Points)	Mega-star (4 Skill Points)
Tier 1	No Limit	Maximum 1	Maximum 1	Maximum 1
Tier 2	No Limit	Maximum 2	Maximum 2	Maximum 1
Tier 3	No Limit	Maximum 3	Maximum 2	Maximum 1
Tier 4	No Limit	Maximum 4	Maximum 2	Maximum 1

Skill Points example: Jay is taking a Wood Elf Team to a tournament. As this is a Tier 1 team, Jay has 6 Skill Points to spend. He decides to give one of his Wardancers Strip Ball as a Primary Skill for 1 Skill Point, and another Wardancer Sidestep as a Primary Skill for 1 Skill Point. He then gives his Loren Forest Treeman Grab for 1 Skill Point, and one of his Wood Elf Throwers Leader for 1 Skill Point. Jay then spends his last 2 Skill Points to have Akhorne the Squirrel as a Star Player.

Exhibition Play

Not everyone has the time to commit to a full blown league, and may also not find the appeal in the likes of tournaments and gaming weekends. For those Coaches, there is Exhibition Play, which allows them the freedom to explore Blood Bowl in a way that best suits them.

The flexible nature of Exhibition Play is perfect for Coaches who want to try something a little different from the norm. Perhaps they want to increase the number of Star Players allowed on each team, or perhaps play a game using only one type of player from a team's roster! What about using alternative Weather and Kick-off Event Tables, or even creating your own to fit a particular narrative. You could even explore the idea of creating your own mixed teams by combining multiple Team Rosters to form your own, unique teams - Exhibition Play allows you to let your imagination loose and create your own game play experience.

DRAFTING AN EXHIBITION PLAY TEAM!

Drafting an Exhibition Play team works in the same way as drafting a team for Matched Play as described on page 110, ensuring that both Coaches have an equally balanced Team Draft List to the same amount of gold pieces. Of course, in Exhibition Play you are free to tweak certain elements of this however you wish in order to fit your desired narrative.

We would recommend that both teams are still built to the same cost, and that both Coaches are fully aware of and agree to whatever changes are being made to the process when drafting their teams.

HISTORICAL GAMES

Many Blood Bowl publications provide historical rosters depicting some of the most famous teams in Nuffle's sacred game at the height of their power. Being such dominant teams they will often have large Current Team Values to represent the huge amount of Skills their players have gained over their storied careers. Exhibition Play is the perfect place to recreate classic matches from the history of the great game, or to pit these teams against each other to see who would come out on top in a real Blood Bowl match!

GETTING CREATIVE

Exhibition Play is the perfect place for Coaches to get creative, providing the opportunity to customise elements of the game to give your games that personal twist that is unique to you. In Exhibition Play, Coaches are free to tweak whatever elements of the game they wish in order to fit the narrative they are trying to tell, so long as both Coaches agree of course!

This could simply be done by altering the way Team Draft Lists are presented, perhaps by gifting both teams some Inducements for free or lifting any restrictions surrounding Star Players. You could also create your own rules for specific pitches; perhaps one team plays at home in their particular stadium with its own rules, and then the next time you play the other team plays at their stadium with a different set of rules.

You could even go as far as to create your own Inducements, or even use players from previous Team Draft Lists as custom Star Players, allowing you to bring your favourite plays from your leagues into a single one-off game.

The opportunities for creativity in Exhibition Play are limitless for Coaches of all skill levels and gaming styles. If you have ever wanted to try a specific type of Blood Bowl match, then this is the style of play for you!

Inducements

There is always plenty of cash floating around Blood Bowl games, and a savvy team can manage to find almost anything they need or services they require as kick-off approaches - for the right price of course! Where this money comes from is of no concern to those receiving it. Often it will come from the team themselves, but it could also be donated by concerned parties or benefactors that wish to give their team a helping hand, bookies who want to tip the balance in favour of themselves, or even the league itself, that wishes to ensure the game in question is a close and exciting encounter between two equally equipped teams.

Whether this is a healthy supply of Bugman's Ale to keep their players refreshed, additional sideline staff that will lend their services for a one-off fee, an unscrupulous official who is willing to turn a blind eye to some dodgy tactics in exchange for a sneaky backhander, or even a legendary Star Player who is willing to join a team's roster if the Coach is able to fork out the desired sum of gold pieces, Inducements come in all shapes and sizes!

INDUCEMENTS IN LEAGUE PLAY

As described on page 94, Inducements in League Play are purchased using Petty Cash, a team's Treasury, or sometimes a mixture of both. Working out what Inducements a team can take is done during the Pre-game Sequence.

INDUCEMENTS IN MATCHED PLAY AND EXHIBITION PLAY

As described on page 110 and page 116, Inducements in Matched Play and Exhibition Play are purchased out of a team's Team Draft Budget.

PURCHASING INDUCEMENTS!

Over the next few pages we are going to list the common Inducements that are available in Blood Bowl. Other Blood Bowl publications may also include additional Inducements, and you should check with your League Commissioner, Tournament Organiser, or regular opponent if you are planning on using any such additional Inducements to see what they are permitting.

Each Inducement will have a cost, which is the amount of gold pieces required to purchase that Inducement, and will state the number of them that can be taken (e.g., 0-2). They will also state which teams they can be taken by. Sometimes, this will require a team to have a particular special rule if they wish to purchase the Inducement. Team special rules are explained later on page 154.

Some Inducements may also be cheaper for certain teams, or teams with specific special rules.

COMMON INDUCEMENTS

Below is a list of the common Inducements and their associated costs for easy reference. They will each be explained over the next few pages.

0-3 Prayers to Nuffle - 10,000 gold pieces
0-5 Part-time Assistant Coaches - 20,000 gold pieces
0-5 Temp Agency Cheerleaders - 5,000 gold pieces
0-1 Team Mascot - 25,000 gold pieces
0-1 Weather Mage - 25,000 gold pieces
0-2 Blitzer's Best Kegs - 50,000 gold pieces
0-3 Bribes (0-6 for teams with the Bribery and Corruption special rule) - 100,000 gold pieces (50,000 gold pieces for teams with the Bribery and Corruption special rule)
0-8 Extra Team Training - 100,000 gold pieces
0-1 Mortuary Assistant - 100,000 gold pieces (teams with the Masters of Undeath special rule only)
0-1 Plague Doctor - 100,000 gold pieces (teams with the Favoured of Nurgle special rule only)
0-1 Riotous Rookies - 150,000 gold pieces (teams with the Low Cost Linemen special rule only)
0-2 Wandering Apothecary - 100,000 gold pieces (not available to teams that cannot hire an Apothecary)
0-1 Halfling Master Chef - 300,000 gold pieces (100,000 gold pieces for Halfling teams)
0-1 Biased Referee - price varies
0-1 Infamous Coaching Staff - price varies
0-3 Mercenary Players - price varies
0-2 Star Players - price varies
0-1 Wizard - price varies

0-3 PRAYERS TO NUFFLE

10,000 GOLD PIECES, AVAILABLE TO ANY TEAM

For each Prayer to Nuffle a team purchases, roll a D16 (re-rolling any results a team has already rolled) and consult the Prayers to Nuffle Table opposite to see the effect that Nuffle has bestowed upon the team. Prayers to Nuffle last until the end of the game. If a Prayer to Nuffle requires players to be selected, then Star Players may never be selected under any circumstances.

D16	Result
1	Treacherous Trapdoor: Each time a player from either team enters a square containing a Trapdoor for any reason, roll a D6. On a 1, the Trapdoor falls open and the player falls through it. Make an Injury Roll for the player exactly as if they had been Pushed into the Crowd. If the player was holding the ball, it will Bounce from the Trapdoor square.
2	Friends with the Ref: Whenever you Argue the Call, treat any roll of a 5 or 6 as "Well, when you put it like that..."
3	Stiletto: Randomly select one player on your team that is playing this game. The selected player gains the Stab Trait for the duration of the game.
4	Iron Man: Select one player on your team that is playing this game. The selected player improves their AV by 1 (to a maximum of 11+) for the duration of the game.
5	Knuckle Dusters: Select one player on your team that is playing this game. The selected player gains the Mighty Blow Skill for the duration of the game.
6	Bad Habits: Randomly select D3 opposition players that are playing this game. The selected players gain the Loner (2+) Trait for the duration of the game.
7	Greasy Cleats: Randomly select one opposition player that is playing this game. The selected player reduces their MA by 1 (to a minimum of 1) for the duration of the game.
8	Blessing of Nuffle: Randomly select one player on your team that is playing this game. The selected player gains the Pro Skill for the duration of the game.
9	Moles Under the Pitch: Opposition players apply a -1 modifier to the roll when attempting to Rush.
10	Perfect Passing: Any player on your team that makes a Completion will earn 2 SPP rather than the usual 1.
11	Dazzling Catching: Any player on your team that successfully Catches the ball as a result of a Pass Action will earn 1 SPP.
12	Fan Interaction: If an opposition player suffers a Casualty as a result of being Pushed into the Crowd, the player that pushed them into the crowd will earn 2 SPP.
13	Fouling Frenzy: Any player on your team that causes a Casualty as a result of a Foul Action will earn 2 SPP.
14	Throw a Rock: Once per game, at the start of any of your Turns before any players are activated, you may randomly select one opposition player on the pitch and roll a D6. On a 4+, an angry fan throws a rock and the selected player is immediately Knocked Down.

0-5 PART-TIME ASSISTANT COACHES

20,000 GOLD PIECES, AVAILABLE TO ANY TEAM

For the duration of the game, increase your number of Assistant Coaches by 1 for each Part-time Assistant Coach purchased.

0-5 TEMP AGENCY CHEERLEADERS

5,000 GOLD PIECES, AVAILABLE TO ANY TEAM

For the duration of the game, increase your number of Cheerleaders by 1 for each Temp Agency Cheerleader purchased.

0-1 TEAM MASCOT

25,000 GOLD PIECES, AVAILABLE TO ANY TEAM

A team with a Team Mascot gains an additional Team Re-roll for each half. However, whenever the team wishes to use this Team Re-roll, they must first roll a D6. On a 4+, the Team Re-roll may be used as normal. On a 1-3, the Team Re-roll is lost for this half. Another Team Re-roll can be used instead.

Additionally, a team with a Team Mascot can re-roll any rolls of a natural 1 when rolling the D6 for the Cheering Fans result on the Kick-off Event Table.

0-1 WEATHER MAGE

25,000 GOLD PIECES, AVAILABLE TO ANY TEAM

Once per game, at the start of any of your Turns, you may immediately make a roll on the Weather Table, applying a modifier of up to +2 or -2 to the roll. The resulting weather conditions are applied immediately and will last until the next time a Changing Weather result is rolled on the Kick-off Event Table.

0-2 BLITZER'S BEST KEGS

50,000 GOLD PIECES, AVAILABLE TO ANY TEAM

For the duration of the game, for each Blitzer's Best Keg purchased, apply a +1 modifier to the roll whenever you are rolling to recover a Knocked-out player.

0-3 BRIBES (0-6 FOR TEAMS WITH THE BRIBERY AND CORRUPTION SPECIAL RULE)

100,000 GOLD PIECES (50,000 GOLD PIECES FOR TEAMS WITH THE BRIBERY AND CORRUPTION SPECIAL RULE), AVAILABLE TO ANY TEAM

When a player is Sent-off, after any attempt to Argue the Call has been made, you may use a Bribe so long as you are still able. When a Bribe is used, roll a D6. On a 2+, the player is not Sent-off (and no Turnover is caused). On a natural 1, the referee pockets the Bribe but sends the player off anyway - the player is still Sent-off and the Bribe is lost.

0-8 EXTRA TEAM TRAINING

100,000 GOLD PIECES, AVAILABLE TO ANY TEAM

Each Extra Team Training grants an additional Team Re-roll for the duration of the game.

0-1 MORTUARY ASSISTANT

100,000 GOLD PIECES, AVAILABLE TO ANY TEAM WITH THE MASTERS OF UNDEATH SPECIAL RULE

Once per game, a team that has purchased a Mortuary Assistant can use them to re-roll a failed Regeneration Roll for one of their players.

0-1 PLAGUE DOCTOR

100,000 GOLD PIECES, AVAILABLE TO ANY TEAM WITH THE FAVOURED OF NURGLE SPECIAL RULE

Once per game, a team that has purchased a Plague Doctor can use them to re-roll a failed Regeneration Roll for one of their players. Alternatively, a team that has purchased a Plague Doctor can use them in the same manner as an Apothecary.

0-1 RIOTOUS ROOKIES

150,000 GOLD PIECES, AVAILABLE TO ANY TEAM WITH THE LOW COST LINEMEN SPECIAL RULE

After adding any Journeymen needed to bring the player count up to 11, a team that has purchased Riotous Rookies gains an additional 2D3+1 Journeymen for the game. These additional Journeymen may temporarily take the number of players on your Team Draft List above 16. These additional Journeymen are treated the same as regular Journeymen in every way and, unless they are hired after the game, will leave the team at the end of the game.

0-2 WANDERING APOTHECARY

100,000 GOLD PIECES, AVAILABLE TO ANY TEAM THAT CAN HIRE AN APOTHECARY

A team that has purchased a Wandering Apothecary can use them, once per game, in the same manner as a regular Apothecary.

0-1 HALFLING MASTER CHEF

300,000 GOLD PIECES (100,000 GOLD PIECES FOR HALFLING TEAMS), AVAILABLE TO ANY TEAM

At the start of each half, before the Kick-off takes place, a team that has purchased a Halfling Master Chef may roll three D6s. For each roll of a 4+, the team gains an additional Team Re-roll for the half and the opposition loses a Team Re-roll for the half. Team Re-rolls granted by Skills, Traits or other special rules cannot be lost in this way.

0-1 BIASED REFEREE

PRICE VARIES

Biased Referees vary in cost, with some costing more than others. Here we provide the rules and cost for a Dodgy League Rep, though other named Biased Referees may be available in other Blood Bowl publications. Other Biased Referees will have their own entry, which will list their cost, teams that can hire them, and special rules.

It is possible for both teams to hire the same named Biased Referee.

BIASED REFEREE: DODGY LEAGUE REP

120,000 GOLD PIECES (80,000 GOLD PIECES FOR TEAMS WITH THE BRIBERY AND CORRUPTION SPECIAL RULE), AVAILABLE TO ANY TEAM

A team that has hired a Dodgy League Rep gains the following benefits:

CLOSE SCRUTINY

Immediately after an opposition player performs a Foul Action, roll a D6. On a 1-4, nothing happens. On a 5+, the opposition player is immediately Sent-off.

"I DIDN'T SEE A THING!"

When you attempt to Argue the Call, apply a +1 modifier to the roll. A roll of a natural 1 will still count as "You're Outta Here!" as normal.

0-1 INFAMOUS COACHING STAFF

PRICE VARIES

Infamous Coaching Staff vary in how they operate, with some costing more than others. Here we provide the rules and cost for Josef Bugman, though other named Infamous Coaching Staff may be available in other Blood Bowl publications. Other Infamous Coaching Staff will have their own entry, which will list their cost, teams that can hire them, and special rules. It is possible for both teams to hire the same named Infamous Coaching Staff.

INFAMOUS COACHING STAFF: JOSEF BUGMAN

100,000 GOLD PIECES, AVAILABLE TO ANY TEAM

A team that has hired Josef Bugman gains the following benefits. Additionally, they cannot hire Josef Bugman as a Star Player.

BUGMAN'S XXXX

For the duration of the game, apply a +1 modifier to the roll whenever you are rolling to recover a Knocked-out player.

DWARVEN WISDOM

Once per game, after teams have been set up but before Kick-off, a team that has hired Josef Bugman can remove D3 of their players from the pitch and set them up again following all of the usual restrictions.

0-3 MERCENARY PLAYERS

PRICE VARIES, AVAILABLE TO ANY TEAM

Any team can hire Mercenary Players. These are players from your team's Team Roster, though they will cost an additional 30,000 gold pieces to induce. For example, a Mercenary Human Lineman would cost 80,000 gold pieces - 50,000 for their initial cost, plus 30,000 for being a Mercenary.

Mercenary Players will still count as one of the type of player they are, so you can't use Mercenary Players to increase the number of specific player types you can have on a team. However, players that are missing their next game do not count towards the total number of a player type on their team and so will not prevent a Mercenary Player of their player type.

Mercenary Players automatically gain the Loner (4+) Trait in addition to their usual Skills and Traits. Mercenary Players may be given a single Primary Skill at a cost of 50,000 gold pieces. Unlike Journeymen, Mercenary Players cannot be hired during the Post-game Sequence.

0-2 STAR PLAYERS

PRICE VARIES, AVAILABLE TO VARIOUS TEAMS

A team may hire up to a maximum of two Star Players for a game. This cannot be used to take the number of players on a team above 16; however, players that are missing the next game do not count when working out the number of players a team has available.

Star Players that must be hired as a pair only count as a single Star Player choice, but will still take up two individual spaces on a team's Team Roster.

It is possible for both teams to hire the same Star Player, in which case both teams can field the Star Player - one of them is simply just a very talented imposter!

Star Players cannot earn Star Player Points, be awarded the MVP, can never gain Player Advancements and any Casualty Rolls made against them will automatically be waived at the end of the game - Star Players are wealthy enough to pay for the very best medical treatment and resurrection spells!

The list of available Star Players can be found on pages 193-196. Each Star Player profile will explain which teams can hire them and how many gold pieces they will cost to hire. Additional Star Players can be found in the Star Players PDF which can be found at warhammer-community.com.

0-1 WIZARD

PRICE VARIES, AVAILABLE TO ANY TEAM

Wizards vary in cost, with some costing more than others. Here we provide the rules and cost for a Sports-Wizard, though other named Wizards may be available in other Blood Bowl publications. Other Wizards will have their own entry, which will list their cost, teams that can hire them, and special rules. It is possible for both teams to hire the same named Wizard.

WIZARD: SPORTS-WIZARD

150,000 GOLD PIECES, AVAILABLE TO ANY TEAM

Once per game, a Sports-Wizard can cast one of the following two spells:

FIREBALL

At the end of any Turn, before the next Turn begins, you may select any square on the pitch. Roll a D6 for any player that is in or adjacent to the selected square. On a 1-3, they avoid the fireball and nothing happens. On a 4+, the player has been hit by the fireball.

Any Standing player that is hit by the fireball is immediately Knocked Down and a +1 modifier is applied to the Armour Roll. Any Prone or Stunned player that is hit by a fireball will immediately have an Armour Roll made against them, applying a +1 modifier to the Armour Roll. These modifiers must always be applied.

ZAP!

At the end of any Turn, before the next Turn begins, you may select any player on the pitch and roll a D6. If the roll on the D6 is less than the selected player's ST, or the roll is a natural 1, then nothing happens. If the roll on the D6 is equal to or higher than the selected player's ST, or the roll is a natural 6, then the player is turned into a Frog. If they were holding the ball then it will Bounce from their square.

A Frog has the following profile:

Frog (Frog, Special)	MA	ST	AG	PA	AV	Skills & Traits
	5	1	2+	-	5+	Dodge, Leap, No Ball, Stunty, Titchy, Very Long Legs

If a Frog suffers a Casualty, do not make a Casualty Roll for them. Instead, they will automatically suffer the Badly Hurt result. An Apothecary cannot be used on a Frog. At the end of the current Drive, the player turned into a Frog will return to normal with no ill effects and be put in the Reserves Box ready for the next Drive.