(Because the best way to make sure I don't abandon a Let's Play thread is obviously to start MORE let's play threads)
Ladies and Gentlemen-in-transition-to-become-Ladies, I give you:
LIST OF UPDATES
Preseason
- Humans vs Halflings (Kodex Friendly)
- Team name announcement
- Sign ups open announcement
- First match (Dark Elf vs Lizardmen)
- Starting lineup and Second Match (Dark Elf vs Ogres)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A lot of text is going to follow. Read the parts you care about, skip the ones you don't.
FUMBBL.com (pronounced "Fumble") is the oldest and greatest Blood Bowl league on the internet. The web site allows you to create teams in accordance with the latest version of the Living Rule Book and play them against other players using the sites Java Client. It's not as flashy as the Cyanide (A pox upon them!) client, but the site has several advantages that make it vastly superior. It is free. The FUMBBL players on average are a LOT better than the people who play Cyanides client. FUMBBL actually implements all of the LRB races and rules. The client doesn't get a hissy fit when it encounters my firewall. The site automatically stores replays and stats of all matches. It is possible (and mandatory) to resume a game after one of the players gets disconnected. It's easy for people to spectate games from other coaches. The list goes on.
The site also has very strict rules on behavior and etiquette, that are enforced by the site staff with religious fervor. Once you start a match, you must finish it. If you're a lowly scrub who thinks he can fake a disconnection because his favourite player died, expect to have your team locked until you finish the match. And if you don't, expect the team to be deleted or your account to be banned. They also have a stance on profanity and controversy that even RPGWatch would think over the top.
If you are willing to receive an assreaming for your first 50 games or so; can live with the sites policy on names and language and don't require a (shitty) single player AI, FUMBBL is superior in every way to the Cyanide alternative.
All glory to Nuffle! His will be done!
Ladies and Gentlemen-in-transition-to-become-Ladies, I give you:
LIST OF UPDATES
Preseason
- Humans vs Halflings (Kodex Friendly)
- Team name announcement
- Sign ups open announcement
- First match (Dark Elf vs Lizardmen)
- Starting lineup and Second Match (Dark Elf vs Ogres)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A lot of text is going to follow. Read the parts you care about, skip the ones you don't.
I'm going to chew through players a lot slower than xenonauts. Since we haven't even decided what team and what league I'll be playing in just yet, I'm not accepting sign-ups at the present time. Anyone going along the lines of "Sign me up coach!" or "I want to play as [position name x]!" until I announce sign ups are open will automatically be banned from participating on the team. Forever. Fairly warned be ye.
Sign ups are now open! See this post for details!
Also, your votes in the poll above are going to be counted as null and void if you don't pay attention to what's written in the "How this Let's Play is going to work".
Sign ups are now open! See this post for details!
Also, your votes in the poll above are going to be counted as null and void if you don't pay attention to what's written in the "How this Let's Play is going to work".
Blood bowl is the greatest board game ever devised. First edition was released in 1987, when Games Workshop was still cool. It is what happened one night when Saint Jervis Johnson got really drunk and asked himself what would happen if the various races from the fantasy universe of Warhammer decided to play a no-holds-barred version of American Football. It is a glorious, turn-based love note to unsportsmanlike behaviour and zany strategies. A blood sport praising the glory of Nuffle (How the dwarves thought "NFL" was supposed to be pronounced). The rules are currently in their supposedly final and 6th incarnation.
Blood Bowl is a 2-player game, where each player (or Coach) controls a team of up to 16 miniatures (Blood Bowl players). Up to 11 players can be on the board at any one time. The game lasts for a number of turns. Usually 16, but some dice rolls can add or remove a turn or two from the game. Every time a touchdown is scored as well as at halftime (after 8 turns), the teams set up anew on the board. The ball is then put into play, a random kickoff event is generated with a dice roll, and the players take turns to give their team instructions. On a players turn, he activates his players sequentially and gives them one of several actions. You are allowed an unlimited number of "Move" and "Block" actons, as well as a single "Blitz", "Pass", "Handoff" and "Foul". Dice are rolled when attempting to sprint as part of an action; moving out of a tackle zone (squares adjacent to opposing players); attempting to pick up, pass or receive the ball; blocking (IE: Pummeling) an opposing player or kicking a prone opponent in the nuts (IE: fouling). If you fail a dice roll, your turn immediately ends, so it is entirely possible that not all of your players get an action every turn.
The goal of the game is to have a player carrying the ball standing in the opposing teams endzone, which scores you a touchdown. At the end of the game, the team with the most touchdowns wins.
The teams in Blood Bowl all come from one of several races. Your race determines how expensive it will be for you to buy a reroll of the dice. (Weaker races have cheaper rerolls). It also determines what Star Players you may be able to hire. But most importantly of all, it determines what players you can recruit.
Every race has a roster of various positions their players can fill. The position determines the players cost, their starting abilities and what skills they can learn as they level up. Some teams (like orks) are best suited for a strong defensive style, relying on their black ork blockers and high armor values to slowly grind their way down the pitch. Others (like skaven), rely on speed and cheap players to score quickly and replace fragile players that get injured during the match. Most teams strike a balance between the two extremes.
Players that do well earn star player points, which gives them access to new skills at certain tresholds. Players that get tripped, punched, shoved off the pitch (yay crowd surfing!), kicked in the nuts, hit by a rock thrown by angry fans and the like risk accumulating permanent (and possibly crippling) injuries and even death. Blood bowl is a tactical game, but luck still plays a huge factor. On average, players will have 50-100 dice rolls each throughout a match. Praising (or cursing) Nuffle, the Almighty God of Die Rolls is mandatory.
Blood Bowl is a 2-player game, where each player (or Coach) controls a team of up to 16 miniatures (Blood Bowl players). Up to 11 players can be on the board at any one time. The game lasts for a number of turns. Usually 16, but some dice rolls can add or remove a turn or two from the game. Every time a touchdown is scored as well as at halftime (after 8 turns), the teams set up anew on the board. The ball is then put into play, a random kickoff event is generated with a dice roll, and the players take turns to give their team instructions. On a players turn, he activates his players sequentially and gives them one of several actions. You are allowed an unlimited number of "Move" and "Block" actons, as well as a single "Blitz", "Pass", "Handoff" and "Foul". Dice are rolled when attempting to sprint as part of an action; moving out of a tackle zone (squares adjacent to opposing players); attempting to pick up, pass or receive the ball; blocking (IE: Pummeling) an opposing player or kicking a prone opponent in the nuts (IE: fouling). If you fail a dice roll, your turn immediately ends, so it is entirely possible that not all of your players get an action every turn.
The goal of the game is to have a player carrying the ball standing in the opposing teams endzone, which scores you a touchdown. At the end of the game, the team with the most touchdowns wins.
The teams in Blood Bowl all come from one of several races. Your race determines how expensive it will be for you to buy a reroll of the dice. (Weaker races have cheaper rerolls). It also determines what Star Players you may be able to hire. But most importantly of all, it determines what players you can recruit.
Every race has a roster of various positions their players can fill. The position determines the players cost, their starting abilities and what skills they can learn as they level up. Some teams (like orks) are best suited for a strong defensive style, relying on their black ork blockers and high armor values to slowly grind their way down the pitch. Others (like skaven), rely on speed and cheap players to score quickly and replace fragile players that get injured during the match. Most teams strike a balance between the two extremes.
Players that do well earn star player points, which gives them access to new skills at certain tresholds. Players that get tripped, punched, shoved off the pitch (yay crowd surfing!), kicked in the nuts, hit by a rock thrown by angry fans and the like risk accumulating permanent (and possibly crippling) injuries and even death. Blood bowl is a tactical game, but luck still plays a huge factor. On average, players will have 50-100 dice rolls each throughout a match. Praising (or cursing) Nuffle, the Almighty God of Die Rolls is mandatory.
FUMBBL.com (pronounced "Fumble") is the oldest and greatest Blood Bowl league on the internet. The web site allows you to create teams in accordance with the latest version of the Living Rule Book and play them against other players using the sites Java Client. It's not as flashy as the Cyanide (A pox upon them!) client, but the site has several advantages that make it vastly superior. It is free. The FUMBBL players on average are a LOT better than the people who play Cyanides client. FUMBBL actually implements all of the LRB races and rules. The client doesn't get a hissy fit when it encounters my firewall. The site automatically stores replays and stats of all matches. It is possible (and mandatory) to resume a game after one of the players gets disconnected. It's easy for people to spectate games from other coaches. The list goes on.
The site also has very strict rules on behavior and etiquette, that are enforced by the site staff with religious fervor. Once you start a match, you must finish it. If you're a lowly scrub who thinks he can fake a disconnection because his favourite player died, expect to have your team locked until you finish the match. And if you don't, expect the team to be deleted or your account to be banned. They also have a stance on profanity and controversy that even RPGWatch would think over the top.
If you are willing to receive an assreaming for your first 50 games or so; can live with the sites policy on names and language and don't require a (shitty) single player AI, FUMBBL is superior in every way to the Cyanide alternative.
I have about 60 games in 2nd edition; 500 in 4th edition; 10 in 5th edition and 0 in 6th edition under my belt. I used to be 'very good' at Blood Bowl, but burned out during the 4th-5th ed transition due to popamolification of the rules. (And nerfs to dirty player). I haven't played for years, so I'm likely to be very rusty. Once I get a few dozen games under my belt, I should be able to hold my own. I'll probably also completely fail at key junctures because I mix up the LRB4 rules (which I'm familiar with) with the changes in LRB6 (that I only perused casually).
I'm going to make a team on FUMBBL. They're going to play a bunch of matches, all of which will be against other coaches who are most likely way better than me. I will post post-match commentary for every match and screenshot updates of highlighted plays. I will also provide links to the statistics screen for the match. It is possible to use the FUMBBL JAVA client to watch the full replay of all matches for those who are inclined to do so.
If the team gets completely wrecked, it is entirely possible I will retire it and start a new one, or declare the Let's play to be completed. I've rebuilt teams reduced to 5 players and no cash before. But it is a long and tedious process. And long and tedious is the best way to make me abandon a Let's Play.
At some point I'll probably get tired of the team. when that happens, I'll either start a new team or declare the Let's Play for completed. There's no way I'm going to be good enough to compete in a FUMBBL tournament for the foreseeable future, so there's no endgame to reach.
If a Kodex Koach wants, we can also have one-shot (or multi-shot) updates where we play a game on FUMBBL and I post the results here. If an utter newbie wants a friendly practice match where I give tips and strategies, that's entirely possible too. Send me a message and we can work out the details.
FUMBBL coaches are a very mixed lot. But I expect cherry picking still to be rampant in ranked and black box to be overcrowded with dwarves and orcs as usual. FUMBBL also has very strict rules on profanity and offensive language. And they are ten times as adamant in enforcing them as RPGWatch and Bioware Social combined. for this reason, I cannot name players in ways that could be considered even slightly offensive by the most butthurt of l1brül. I once had a team in a private league deleted by the site staff because it was called "Scions of Retardoland". I kid you not. Sorry shiteatingnippledick. If I named a player after you, they'd delete the entire team.
I'm going to make a team on FUMBBL. They're going to play a bunch of matches, all of which will be against other coaches who are most likely way better than me. I will post post-match commentary for every match and screenshot updates of highlighted plays. I will also provide links to the statistics screen for the match. It is possible to use the FUMBBL JAVA client to watch the full replay of all matches for those who are inclined to do so.
If the team gets completely wrecked, it is entirely possible I will retire it and start a new one, or declare the Let's play to be completed. I've rebuilt teams reduced to 5 players and no cash before. But it is a long and tedious process. And long and tedious is the best way to make me abandon a Let's Play.
At some point I'll probably get tired of the team. when that happens, I'll either start a new team or declare the Let's Play for completed. There's no way I'm going to be good enough to compete in a FUMBBL tournament for the foreseeable future, so there's no endgame to reach.
If a Kodex Koach wants, we can also have one-shot (or multi-shot) updates where we play a game on FUMBBL and I post the results here. If an utter newbie wants a friendly practice match where I give tips and strategies, that's entirely possible too. Send me a message and we can work out the details.
FUMBBL coaches are a very mixed lot. But I expect cherry picking still to be rampant in ranked and black box to be overcrowded with dwarves and orcs as usual. FUMBBL also has very strict rules on profanity and offensive language. And they are ten times as adamant in enforcing them as RPGWatch and Bioware Social combined. for this reason, I cannot name players in ways that could be considered even slightly offensive by the most butthurt of l1brül. I once had a team in a private league deleted by the site staff because it was called "Scions of Retardoland". I kid you not. Sorry shiteatingnippledick. If I named a player after you, they'd delete the entire team.
We can play either Ranked or Blackbox. There are advantages and disadvantages to either option.
- Ranked is going to be full of cherrypickers. That is, coaches looking for easy matches against teams they can crush. It's going to be next to impossible for a bashy team to find opponents in this league. But on the flip side, since we can choose what opponents we're playing against, I can squeeze in a game or two against other Codexians. If you want us to play in ranked, write a reply to this thread praising Tzeentch as the foremost power of chaos.
- Blackbox will match us against a random team in the blackbox draw. We're guaranteed to get a "fair" match, in that the team will have a similar GP value of players and options to ours. On the other hand, black box is gamed by a lot of the super-experienced coaches, playing hyper-optimized cheese teams that no sane coach would ever agree to play against in Ranked. Our team is quit likely to be crushed within 3-4 games in this league. Especially if we pick a squishy one like Skaven or Elves. The rape probably won't be tasteful either and could lead to an anticlimactic end for the team. If you want us to play black box, write a reply to this thread professing your love for an unhealthy snack food.
- If you don't care what league we're playing in but still want your vote for race to count, write a snide remark to this thread, predicting the let's play will be abandoned by page 3. When the poll closes, votes from people who haven't replied in accordance with one of the 3 listed options will be disregarded.
Once voting is over, I will open sign-ups. I will devise a "fair" selection method for players. It won't be first-come, first-serve. I'll try to make the selection method appropriate to whatever race we're playing.
- Ranked is going to be full of cherrypickers. That is, coaches looking for easy matches against teams they can crush. It's going to be next to impossible for a bashy team to find opponents in this league. But on the flip side, since we can choose what opponents we're playing against, I can squeeze in a game or two against other Codexians. If you want us to play in ranked, write a reply to this thread praising Tzeentch as the foremost power of chaos.
- Blackbox will match us against a random team in the blackbox draw. We're guaranteed to get a "fair" match, in that the team will have a similar GP value of players and options to ours. On the other hand, black box is gamed by a lot of the super-experienced coaches, playing hyper-optimized cheese teams that no sane coach would ever agree to play against in Ranked. Our team is quit likely to be crushed within 3-4 games in this league. Especially if we pick a squishy one like Skaven or Elves. The rape probably won't be tasteful either and could lead to an anticlimactic end for the team. If you want us to play black box, write a reply to this thread professing your love for an unhealthy snack food.
- If you don't care what league we're playing in but still want your vote for race to count, write a snide remark to this thread, predicting the let's play will be abandoned by page 3. When the poll closes, votes from people who haven't replied in accordance with one of the 3 listed options will be disregarded.
Once voting is over, I will open sign-ups. I will devise a "fair" selection method for players. It won't be first-come, first-serve. I'll try to make the selection method appropriate to whatever race we're playing.
Is this thread going to be abandoned by page 3?
It is quite likely.
Why does the poll only list about half the available races? I want (Halflings/Dwarves/Goblins/Ogres/Whatever) you faggot!
I picked the races I believe I can provide entertaining games with in the long run. Goblins may be hilarious for a game or two, but you burn out quickly playing them. Trust me. I tried.
Hey! This looks like an awesome oppertunity to set up a Kodex league!
We tried that once. It fizzled. I may be willing to give it another shot at some point. But I'm coming back to the game after a several-year hiatus. Let's see if my old love for the game is rekindled before I commit to the kind of work it takes to organize a league.
Why are you forcing us to follow all kinds of idiotic rules to vote/get signed up?
Because it amuses me to do so. Unlike Xenonauts, Blood Bowl players tend to stick around for a while. I'd rather give the coveted few slots on the team to people who are willing to make an effort. Active participation makes the Let's Play more fun for me and you.
Why did Games Workshop ever remove the Chaos Seesaw and hidden trampoline traps from the game and nerf Dirty Player?
Because they're evil, vile people who hate fun.
Why do you have such a tremendous hard-on for dark elves? Are you secretly an emo faggot who posts shitty poetry to deviantart?
Not since I turned 14. Dark Elves as a team have several qualities that make them fun to play on FUMBBL. They are elves, and thus they have an easy time to find opponents. (Many FUMBBL coaches flat-out refuse matches against Orks, Dwarves, Necro and other teams that have a high chance of injuring their precious pixels). Of all the elves, they are the bashiest, and this most likely to injure the precious pixels of the aforementioned coaches. They have the "best" linemen in the game, making every player on the team a potential key player. They play a pleasing mix of bashing, running and passing. I've played every race, but DE are the ones I've consistently had the most fun with. Your mileage may vary.
Do you think you're God's gift to Blood Bowl?
Good heavens no! I used to play this game almost every day back in 2005-2006, but my skills have detoriated from disuse and half my strategies became obsolete with the advent of LRB5. Pretty much every Blood Bowl player on the Codex could likely wipe the floor with me in my present state.
Where did you find all those awesome pictures for this Let's Play?
Most of them are from the old 1st, 2nd and 3rd edition GW material. They're available on the Old Skool Blood Bowl Picture site
Why aren't you playing on your real account, you cowardly smurf?
Because I forgot the password for it and the E-mail I used to register it is on a domain that no longer exists.
You're a faggot and a retard. I hate you.
I hate you too.
You didn't answer my question!
That's because you haven't asked it yet. If there's anything missing from the FAQ, let me know and I'll augment it.
It is quite likely.
Why does the poll only list about half the available races? I want (Halflings/Dwarves/Goblins/Ogres/Whatever) you faggot!
I picked the races I believe I can provide entertaining games with in the long run. Goblins may be hilarious for a game or two, but you burn out quickly playing them. Trust me. I tried.
Hey! This looks like an awesome oppertunity to set up a Kodex league!
We tried that once. It fizzled. I may be willing to give it another shot at some point. But I'm coming back to the game after a several-year hiatus. Let's see if my old love for the game is rekindled before I commit to the kind of work it takes to organize a league.
Why are you forcing us to follow all kinds of idiotic rules to vote/get signed up?
Because it amuses me to do so. Unlike Xenonauts, Blood Bowl players tend to stick around for a while. I'd rather give the coveted few slots on the team to people who are willing to make an effort. Active participation makes the Let's Play more fun for me and you.
Why did Games Workshop ever remove the Chaos Seesaw and hidden trampoline traps from the game and nerf Dirty Player?
Because they're evil, vile people who hate fun.
Why do you have such a tremendous hard-on for dark elves? Are you secretly an emo faggot who posts shitty poetry to deviantart?
Not since I turned 14. Dark Elves as a team have several qualities that make them fun to play on FUMBBL. They are elves, and thus they have an easy time to find opponents. (Many FUMBBL coaches flat-out refuse matches against Orks, Dwarves, Necro and other teams that have a high chance of injuring their precious pixels). Of all the elves, they are the bashiest, and this most likely to injure the precious pixels of the aforementioned coaches. They have the "best" linemen in the game, making every player on the team a potential key player. They play a pleasing mix of bashing, running and passing. I've played every race, but DE are the ones I've consistently had the most fun with. Your mileage may vary.
Do you think you're God's gift to Blood Bowl?
Good heavens no! I used to play this game almost every day back in 2005-2006, but my skills have detoriated from disuse and half my strategies became obsolete with the advent of LRB5. Pretty much every Blood Bowl player on the Codex could likely wipe the floor with me in my present state.
Where did you find all those awesome pictures for this Let's Play?
Most of them are from the old 1st, 2nd and 3rd edition GW material. They're available on the Old Skool Blood Bowl Picture site
Why aren't you playing on your real account, you cowardly smurf?
Because I forgot the password for it and the E-mail I used to register it is on a domain that no longer exists.
You're a faggot and a retard. I hate you.
I hate you too.
You didn't answer my question!
That's because you haven't asked it yet. If there's anything missing from the FAQ, let me know and I'll augment it.
All glory to Nuffle! His will be done!
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