Spike! Journal 17
GNOME GARDEN LEAGUES 'NO PLACE LIKE GNOME!'
As it turns out, Gnomes have actually been playing Blood Bowl for a lot longer than most races have given them credit for – albeit their own unique brand of the game that focuses mainly on their more magical talents. Illusions and trickery are actively encouraged in the Gnome Garden Leagues, making the games played within the cloaked Gnomish lands a spectacular sight (if very unorthodox – Ed) for any fan that isn’t a stickler for the rules – after all, there’s no business like Gnome business!
The Fey Forest Cup
This is a variation on a standard Blood Bowl league season, as described in the Blood Bowl rulebook. How the league itself is organised, the number of teams, how many divisions there are, how many rounds are played, and so forth, should all be decided upon by the league commissioner based upon how many coaches wish to take part, and what is best for everyone participating. The Fey Forest Cup differs from a normal season, however, in a couple of key aspects.
Open to All
The Fey Forest Cup is open to all comers. Coaches participating may use any team they wish and will have the usual budget of 1,000,000 gold pieces to spend to recruit their team for the season ahead.
Illusionary Balls
Gnomes enjoy nothing more than playing tricks on their opponents, especially during a game of Blood Bowl. They are particularly fond of using illusions to confound the opposition; there is supposedly nothing more satisfying than watching an opposition player run in for a touchdown, only to have the ball they are holding go "poof" and disappear in a puff of magical smoke!
All games played as part of the Fey Forest Cup use the following special rule:
Whenever a team kicks-off, after placing the kick, the coach of the kicking team will make two Deviation rolls instead of one, placing a ball in each square they deviate to. Note that the balls are still in the air until after the Kick-Off Event as usual, and will bounce when they land as normal. If a ball lands in the same square as the other ball, immediately bounce the ball that just landed. A player may never carry two balls at the same time. If a player carrying one ball enters the same square as the other ball, or has the other ball land on them, the other ball will automatically bounce from them. This will not cause a turnover as the player has not attempted to pick up or catch the second ball.
Whenever a player attempts to pick up, pass, catch or hand-off the ball, or attempts to score, they must first roll a D6. On a 1, the ball is an illusion and disappears in a puff of smoke! The player's activation immediately ends but no turnover is caused. If a ball disappears in this manner, the other ball is still valid (as the real one) and this rule no longer applies – at least until the next drive anyway!
Inducements
All Inducements should be allowed in the Fey Forest Cup; in fact, they should be actively encouraged! In addition, if the league commissioner wishes, the following new Inducement may be added:
0-1 Healing Spites
(50,000 Gold Pieces)
Available to Any Team: Not all Spites are full of, well, spite. Some of them are actually friendly creatures who will help wake up players if an opponent has taken roughhousing too far, or they have tripped over a stray root and gone tumbling into the turf!
A team that has hired Healing Spites may re-roll any rolls of a 1 when rolling to recover KO'd players at the end of each drive.
Many Glorious Prizes!
Teams that manage to secure victory in the Fey Forest Cup receive a modest sum of gold (and gemstones!) for their efforts. The top placed teams of the Fey Forest Cup are rewarded as follows:
Glittering Prizes: As usual, the teams that finish 1st, 2nd, and 3rd receive gold pieces as described in the Blood Bowl rulebook.
The Fey Forest Cup: In addition to their cash prize, the winner will receive the Fey Forest Cup. This delightful-looking trophy is imbued with strange mystical power that brings good fortune to whoever holds it. The team that holds the Fey Forest Cup gains the following ability:
Whenever your team uses a Team Re-Roll, roll a D6. On a 6, the Team Re-Roll is free and you do not reduce the number of Team Re-Rolls your team has available.
Hidden Forest Weather Table
| 2D6 | Result |
|---|---|
| 2 | Powerful Gale: The winds have picked up and are battering the trees with reckless abandon, causing branches to fall and making the passing game all but impossible! Players may not attempt Pass actions. Additionally, any player that ends their activation in a Wide Zone must roll a D6. On a 1, a falling branch hits them and they are immediately Knocked Down. This will not cause a turnover unless the player was carrying the ball. |
| 3 | Spring Showers: While the rain isn't heavy, and is more of a light drizzle, when combined with the leaves on the forest floor it makes it rather hard for players to keep their footing if they are moving too quickly! Players attempting to Rush suffer a -1 penalty to the roll. |
| 4‑10 | All Is Calm: The air is still, the weather is nice, and the birds are chirping in the trees; it's a perfect day for some Blood Bowl! |
| 11 | Bright Sunlight: It's a beautiful day, though the sun is filtering through the tree branches and making it hard to see properly for anyone caught in its warmth. Any players that attempt a Pass action must apply an additional -1 modifier to the Passing Ability test. |
| 12 | Summer Scorcher: It's really rather hot for the time of year, and some of the players simply can't cope with the heat and may decide to have a quick rest. Whenever a player attempts to stand up, they must first roll a D6. On a 1, the player is taking a quick breather, may not stand up, and their activation immediately ends. |
Gnomish Trickery Kick-off Table
| 2D6 | Result |
|---|---|
| 2 | That's Not the Ball…: Gnomes are cheeky blighters, and one such individual has made a sleeping badger look like the ball – and it hasn't taken too kindly to being roughly awoken by an unsuspecting player! Both coaches roll a D6. The coach that rolls the lowest randomly selects one of their players from among those on the pitch. In the case of a tie, both coaches randomly select a player. The selected players are immediately Knocked Down. |
| 3 | Fey Interference: Some of the more mischievous Spites are getting bored, and have decided to make things more interesting by flittering around some players to distract them! Both coaches roll a D6. The coach that rolls the lowest randomly selects one of their players from among those on the pitch. In the case of a tie, both coaches randomly select a player. The selected players cannot be activated during their team's next team turn. |
| 4 | Terrible Kick: The player has been distracted by something during the kick-off; at least that is what they are claiming after that awful kick! The ball deviates from its current position before landing. |
| 5 | Solid Defence: Apply the Solid Defence result as normal. |
| 6 | Cheering Fans: Apply the Cheering Fans result as normal. |
| 7 | Brilliant Coaching: Apply the Brilliant Coaching result as normal. |
| 8 | Changing Weather: Make a new roll on the Hidden Forest Weather table and apply that result. If the result is 'All Is Calm' as a result of the roll, the ball will scatter before landing. |
| 9 | Quick Snap: Apply the Quick Snap result as normal. |
| 10 | The Old Switcheroo: With a snap of their fingers, one of the watching Gnomes causes chaos as multiple players suddenly trade places with each other! Each coach randomly selects two of their players on the pitch. The two selected players immediately swap places with each other. |
| 11 | A Cunning Plan: The kicking team seems to be taking a leaf out of the Gnomes' book and putting to full a fast one on their opponents, ganging up on them and driving them into the dirt! The coach of the kicking team may select one Open player on their team and immediately set them up again, following all the usual rules for setting up, so that they are Marking an opposition player. Then a different player on the kicking team, that is Marking the same opposition player that the first player was set up, may immediately perform a Block action targeting that opposition player. |
| 12 | Mass Illusion: It suddenly looks like there are at least twice as many players on the pitch, though some of them don't seem particularly real. Not that the players have noticed, and many are violently swinging away at them in the hope of hitting, well, anything really! Until the end of both coaches' next team turn, players from both teams may not provide either offensive or defensive assists. |
Mystical Forest Blood Bowl Pitch
Gnome teams play deep within their mysterious forests in clearings between the trees. These aren't just your regular run-of-the-mill forests though; magic hangs in the air and all manner of creatures, both fey and mundane, come out of hiding to watch their Gnomish allies play Blood Bowl!
Using the Mystical Forest Pitch in Your Blood Bowl Games
If both coaches agree, the following rules can be used to represent these forest conditions. The Gnomish Portals special rule applies to both sides of the pitch:
Forest Floor: At the start of the game, the sun is setting and the forest creatures are preparing to bed down for the night, though this often means they have to dart across the pitch to do so and may well get underfoot of an unsuspecting player! Whenever a player attempts to Rush, apply a -1 modifier to the roll.
At the end of the first half, flip the board over to the Healing Glow side as the sun sets and the forest becomes aglow with magic!
Healing Glow: Whenever a player is KO'd or suffers a Casualty, roll a D6; this is done before rolling on the Casualty table, if applicable. On the roll of a 6, the player is placed in the Reserves box instead of being KO'd or suffering a Casualty. Players with the Stunty trait may apply a +1 modifier to this roll.
Gnomish Portals: Both sides of the Mystical Forest pitch have Gnomish Portals, replacing the trapdoors that would usually be present; these are in the same squares the trapdoors would usually be in. As a result, these do not function as trapdoors and any rules that affect trapdoors will not apply. Instead, whenever a model moves or is pushed onto a Gnomish Portal, roll a D6. On a 1, the player is immediately teleported into the Reserves box of its team's dugout. If they were holding the ball they will drop it and it will bounce from the Gnomish Portal square; this will cause a Turnover if the player that dropped the ball was from the active team. On a 2-4, nothing happens. On a 5+, the player is immediately removed from the pitch and placed on the other Gnomish Portal square as long as it is unoccupied. If the other Gnomish Portal is occupied, treat the roll as a 2-4 instead.
Gnome Balls
Oversized Acorn Ball
Whenever a player in possession of an Oversized Acorn ball is activated, they must roll a D6. On a 1, the player is hounded by the various woodland creatures looking for a snack, making it somewhat harder to move; the player reduces their MA by 2 for the duration of their activation.
Gnomish Idol Ball
Whenever a player in possession of a Gnomish Idol ball would Fall Over or be Knocked Down, roll a D6. On a 6, the player somehow keeps their footing and does not Fall Over or get Knocked Down. If this happened as part of a Block action, no Armour roll is made as the player stays on their feet.