The Blood Bowl Grand Tournament

Originally Posted 18/06/07 22:30pm

Well, that weekend went better than I thought it would.
Ignoring the typical Games Workshop screw-ups (and it wouldn't be the GW BB GT without a screw-up or two!), I probably had one of my better weekends at Warhammer World.

1. Game 1 vs Brenden - well, lost that one, so less said the better!
   
2. Game 2 vs Hoomin Error and his goblins - broke the score counter!
   A 7-0 win!
   
3. Game 3 vs indigo and Dwarfs - not normally a good match-up for Skaven (especially mine), so I was please with a hard fought draw, and could have won it.
   
4. Game 4 vs a hungover Valen and more dwarfs. Now I was in trouble, I thought, especially when Valen said someone was going to get a "Fooking" after his poor day 1, but a few early injuries against the dwarfs, and the game was mine. in fact, probably the biggest disappointment of the weekend gamewise, as I should have beaten him by more than 1-0.
   
5. Game 5, about table 10 or so, and I break the score marker again, against (pro) Elfs. Poor guy couldn't catch a break, and my Skaven just ran it in for fun.
   
6. So, onto the final game, and I'm facing Jordell, who went 3-0 day one, then got bumped down the tables for being late. High Elfs vs Skaven could have been another high score game, but edge it 2-1.
   
   

So, a 4-1-1 weekend, top 10 final placing - can't complain at that.

But....

Bloody GW screwed me out of the most TD award. They only credited me with a 2-0 win in game 2, and I lost the most TD's by 2 or 3, so it should have been mine.

Gits! And now they won't answer my emails.

*Sigh*

PBeM Blood Bowl

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Originally Posted: 23/12/06

Play-by-Email Blood Bowl. It's a godsend, right? For those of us that can't get a regular face-to-face game, or just to play against people we'll never meet, or meet anytime soon.

Yep, that's what I keep telling myself.
Just at the minute, I'm finding it hard to stomach.

Why?

Simple reason - I'm in the middle of a seriously bad dice-rolling streak, in every game I play. Anything that needs a 3+ is destined to fail, and the only time I can roll 6's are when it's bad news. In a tabletop game, it's bad enough, but at least it's over and forgotten relatively soon, but in PBeM, you can be suffering from the same bad luck in a game for days, weeks or even months.

So, let's break it down:

The Good
PBeM has let me play a lot more games of Blood Bowl than I'd ever be able to play Tabletop, especially as the gaming club I belong to plays BB irregularly, and likes to keep things fresh by swapping games systems every 2-3 months.
PBeM has also helped me make friends, both here in the UK, and overseas. I've played games of Blood Bowl against guys that I'm unlikely to meet face-to-face, some of who I'd class as close mates. And I've played guys that I've deliberately sought out at tournaments because I've got to know them over email.

Finally, it's let me experience rule-sets for Blood Bowl that I'd never get the chance to experience over the tabletop, either because of time issues, or because they're not "fair", but nevertheless fun (thinking Pub League rules here).

The Bad
Touched on that above, but the speed of the games can make it a drag, especially if you're playing someone on the other side of the world that is never at a PC on or near the times you're online. Add in when you feel the tool is against you (we all get the games where the dice roll bad, but at least tabletop it's over in a couple of hours) and opening your emails can become something you don't look forward to.
Then there's the times when you have a game interrupted by "real life". You spend 2-3 weeks playing a game, get near the end, and your (or your opponents) PC dies/ISP screws ups/email inbox gets corrupted, and you're left hanging (or you leave your opponent hanging) while the problem gets sorted.

The Ugly
Ugly - well, not exactly the right word for it, but hey, it's a cliché. Painted figures. The game is about having fun, and playing a game using painted figs. Now, I don't paint (or at least very rarely), but I like to face a well painted team as much as the next guy (which is why I often borrow teams for tournaments, but that's a different rant). PBeM can be a pain in this regard, as you can select from a range of pictures of painted figures, and attach them to the HTML roster you use in the game. Seems straightforward, but there are a couple of problems.

• Some teams have better painted figures than others, and/or a wider range of painted figures (gets a bit boring facing the same 4 dwarfs time and again). This is especially relevant when you play i one of the big house-ruled leagues,where many teams don't even have painted figs (please note: This is not a complaint aimed at Tom Anders!)
  
• Opponents that can't save your roster correctly. If, when they set up the game, they don't save your roster in the correct manner ("Save...", "Webpage, HTML only") it corrupts the links to the pics you use, and you get the default blank pic for your players. Certain League Commissioners have made it a rule that if your opponents fails to use your roster correctly, you are perfectly entitled to ask for the game to be restarted and the roster used correctly. I haven't done this yet, but I have been very close.

So, adding up all the points, PBeM has, for me, been great, and has added a lot to my Blood Bowl experience. I know it doesn't suit everybody, in the same way that FUMBBL doesn't suit everyone, but I, on the whole, have enjoyed it.

I just wish that when I'm in a bad luck-funk, I could make the games go faster.

Merry Christmas

Darkson - LRB5 Tourney loser

Orignally Posted: 17/10/2006

Guess I should have guessed!

Weekend just gone was the Spiky Open in Reading. I wasn't looking for another Tournament win, but I was definitely expecting a (semi) decent placing, and to finish top of the 6 Vampires & Merchants attending, 4 attending their first BB tournament.

Should have known better.

Decided to take (Pro) Elfs, as they'd done respectively well when I took them to Pearlies last year.

I got shat on from a great height!

Couldn't roll blocks, couldn't roll AV breaks, when I did break armour I couldn't injure anyone, and to top it all, the things Elfs are meant to do, like dodging into the open? Not a hope.

Ended up in the Dungeonbowl, the Spiky's "final" for the bottom 4 after 5 games. Thankfully, I won that, so I came out with a tiny shred of self-respect left, but not much.

Wonder which way the next tourney will go?

Darkson - LRB5 tourney winner

Originally Posted: 10/09/2006 21:41pm

Who'd have guessed that Nuffle had such a sick mind?

Late last month I attended the Albion Coast Cup in Southampton - the first LRB5 tourney in the UK. Okay, there were only 10 participants, but those that turned up were no muppets - Sputnik, Geggster, Venomous Breath, Woody, Grumbledook and Lycos can hardly be called slouches. I went for the laugh, as per usual, with nothing more than the normal pipe-dreams of winning a trophy.

Of course, I go and win the thing, beating Woody, Geggster and Lycos on the way. That's right - Darkson, the anti-PBBL posterboy won a LRB5/PBBL tourney.

So, in case anyone tells you differently, Nuffle still sucks, but he's definitely got a perverse sense of humour.

The Vault Rules

Originally Posted: 27/03/2006 11:28pm

Well, this is probably as good a point as any to start.

To be clear and to the point, I don't like the Vault/PBBL rules for Blood Bowl.

Notice that's "like" - not "think they don't work". For what they're designed to do, they look like they'll work perfectly. Unfortunately, in my opinion, it's completely the wrong direction for Blood Bowl to take.

I find the whole notion of inducements to be nonsensical, and it punishes team building (though not kills it like others will claim). Another huge turnoff for me is it's reliance on Star Players. I detest Star Player, indeed, I detest all "Special Characters" in all GW games, and we very rarely use them in our local club, except for if a storyline dictates it. The idea that Burton Albion could play Manchester United, and borrow a couple of premiership players, and hire Ronaldinho and Ronaldo for the game sits very badly for me.

Now, I agree it "solves" the problem that some Open leagues have, but firstly, are they that common (never played in one except online), and secondly, is "Open" the right way to play anyway? If it's not, then why base the rules on it?

The other major turn-off for me is the loss of traits. Now some people argue that was just the removal of a sticking plaster from the 3rd edition days, but in my opinion, it was one of the better rules mechanics from the LRB era. I LIKE the idea that some skills are impossible for some players to get. I really disagree with the current nerfing of the skills we have under the PBBL rules, just because the skills are (with some exceptions) open to all.

Having said that, there are some good rules in the PBBL set. TV to replace TR is a great idea, and works well under LRB 4.0 rules. Journeymen for teams under 11 is another good idea, which with a bit of tweaking, I'll incorporate into our house-rules. And the idea of players costs changing as they gain skills/Stats works very well, and again, we've used it under LRB 4.- with no problems. I might use the Cards for our next season, though I think we're more likely to stick with the 3-tiered table we currently use. The changes to some rosters (Norse in particular) I like the look of, though I'm going to wait for more feedback before I decide if we're going to use them.

On the other hand, some rules I don't like: Inducements, loss of traits (see above), the Ogre team (spit!), Secret Weapons (I want them on-roster, but not in this form) and the whole dumbing down of the game (but that's a rant for another time).


So overall:

Are there good rules in the PBBL? - Yes, and some will be "lifted" and inserted into our LRB 4.0 league.

Is the PBBL a good rule-set? - Overall, no.