DREADBALL

DREADBALL

September 28, 2012

Judwan painting ideas

So the Judwan race I think pulls heavily from two Sci fi races...

as they may be my Season 2 team...I'll just post some random thoughts.


















The first Sci Fi race that makes me think of them is the Protoss from the Starcraft PC games.

















The Second is the Kimino race from Star Wars (the cloners)












Looks like I will end up with the Judwan as my 2nd team.  I'll do them up like the Kimino's.  All white, black eyes, light grey / light blue armor.  This will go well with my plans for an all white marble / porcelain piitch made from hextile.

Fitting team to go with my Orx and Goblins.  A team of Strikers to go with my team that doesn't have any.

Thats all for now.





Full Gameplay Video

They posted the Full 15 minute gameplay video...pretty sweet.  Orx Guards look really tough.




September 27, 2012

Dreadball Videos from Beasts of War

Lookie what I found...

Sweet gaming site called Beasts of War have quite a few Dreadball videos

Season 1, Meet the Teams


Season 2, 5 more teams!

Season 3, Ultimate, Xtreme Dreadball hints...


If you want to check out the Beast of War site...here is the link...
http://www.beastsofwar.com/

Tid bits for the League...

Hey Guys...

  Couple of odds and ends.

1) Looks like the kickstarter will hit the $500k mark.  That will unlock a Megahex sized mini. There is one being made for each of the starting 4 teams.  Each Striker package will get to choose one of those minis to be added to their package (sometime in June I'm guessing).  With the cheerleader package we will end up with two of them.  How to divy them out is the question.  They will only be used in "Ultimate Dreadball" games on a new Mega gameboard...where 4 teams can play at once.  Open to suggestions on how to divvy these out...put them in the Draft pool, at the cost of 2 rounds worth of picks?  Award them to the top two League finishers of our first season?  Random?



2) EDIT-Called "The Nameless"-  Based off the "John Doe" MVP.  Will be unlocked if they hit $515,000.  Will add 2 to each Striker set (4 for us) and add them to the Buy one Get one free 2 teams for $25 deal.








3) Coaches:  Rumor has it the Coach is used to gain extra "Coaching Dice".  The "Call the play" by putting the coach on the game track saying how many points you will score.  If you do score that amount, you get another coaching die.  So there is a use for any duplicate MVP mini you end up with that doesn't quite fit the team.





4) Cheerleaders:  Cheerleaders work in a similar way as coaches.  You place the Cheerleaders along the scoring track before the game starts.  If the game score lands on one of the spaces with your cheerleader that gets you a Fan check.  The Fancheck generates fan points which convert into coaching dice (4 points = 1 die I think).  So cheerleaders could be useful as well.







Lots of other ideas running through my head...but those can wait.










September 26, 2012

The Sons of an Orky - Dreadball Team

Think I figured out the theme of my Season 1 team.  (told yah I wouldn't mind if I got stuck with the Orks)

Team Name: The Sons of an Orky

Team Colors: Black with minimal Metal and White

Stadium:  Charming Field 

"Acquired" from The Charming Princes Corporation team...after the Princes were killed to a man in a match with the Sons



Roster  (* indicated founding 8)

  1. Clay (Guard) *
  2. Opie (Guard) *
  3. Tig (Guard) *
  4. Piney (Guard)
  5. Big Otto (Guard)
  6. Filthy Phil (Guard)
  7. Jax (Jack) *
  8. Big Otto (Jack) *
  9. Bobby Elvis (Jack) *
  10. Kozig (Jack) *
  11. Juice (Jack) *
  12. Chibbs (Jack)
  13. Miles? (Jack) - leave empty for MVP?
  14. Happy (Jack)
Course when "Ultimate Dreadball" comes the Sons multi-hex mini will be called Gemma.  (Have yet to pick it which one it will be though)

September 25, 2012

Pitch in progress...

Working on one game pitch.

Using the same material I cover my gaming tables with.  Has a lighter green side on the back so I can get some two tone looks going.

test images...yeah I got some more pieces to cut up...wanted to see how it looked before I started gluing anything down.






The Draft Pool...

Ok, some point after we get the initial shipment we will have a "Draft" of the remaining minis.

With the two striker sets we will each have a set of  20 MVP players.  The MVP's are unique and play for the highest bidder.  Every "week" the MVP's are put into a pool and then a random number of them are available.  Some refuse to play for certain teams, where others are true merc and will pay for anyone.  They have said it is better to have fewer MVP's so I figure we roll 2d4 or maybe a d6 to see how many are available each week.  Then once the number is set...randomly choose that number from the 20 available and let the bidding commence.  All that to say, we will take one "set" of the 20 MVP's and put them with the boards and counters for community / League use.

But what to do with the other set?  Many of the MVP's could pass as regular players on your teams.  Each team also could have a "Coach"...and Cheerleaders.  So there are plenty of uses for those minis.  We will put them all into a draft pool (Along with the 32 Season 2 and 3 players we are getting).

We will do a random draw for the draft, and flip flop at the end ao 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1...etc
We will do the draft even though many of the minis are not going to come in until June 2013.  That way we can pass out the ones we do have.  We have enough minis for a 7 round draft...wow! (This is on top of your full teams of 14 players and a prone marker for your team)

There are also 16 Season 2 team minis and 16 Season 3 team minis that we will be getting (4 of each for the 8 different teams).  Anyone who kicked in cash for a season 2 or 3 team can give up their first four rounds of the draft and take those 4 team minis without fear of them being swiped.  Or they can take part in the draft and risk them getting drafted away.  Also there are prone markers for each of the season 2 teams in the set.
Who ever ends up with the most season 2 of that race gets the prone marker...coin flip for ties.

There are also two Coach Renton minis.  They will do no use as part of the League/ community batch of minis to use...so they both go into the draft.  (coaches can be quite useful).

There are also Two Ultimate Dreadball MultiHex minis which will be added to the pool.  Turns out these Multi-Hex minis will play for ANY team.  Though they are only used in the Season 2 Ultimate Games.  $12 mini of limited use, but they look cool.  Still they only take 1 draftpick.  We will do an email poll to see which 2 mega minis we select to add to the pool.  There are 4 choices, and we only get 2.


Here is the draft pool now....(With what I think they could pass for as regular team players)

  1. Lucky Logan MVP (Human Jack / Striker / Coach) 
  2. Slippery Joe MVP  (Goblin Jack / Coach)
  3. Reek Rolat MVP  (Rat Guard / Coach)
  4. The Enforcer MVP  (Human Guard / Coach) 
  5. Female corporation player 
  6. Female corporation player 
  7. Female corporation player 
  8. Female corporation player 
  9. Judwan player 
  10. Judwan player 
  11. Judwan player 
  12. Judwan player
  13. Z'zor Player
  14. Z'zor Player
  15. Z'zor Player
  16. Z'zor Player
  17. Robot player
  18. Robot player
  19. Robot player
  20. Robot player
  21. Asterian player (Space Elves)
  22. Asterian player (Space Elves)
  23. Asterian player (Space Elves)
  24. Asterian player (Space Elves)
  25. Nameless Player (Seafood)
  26. Nameless Player (Seafood)
  27. Nameless Player (Seafood)
  28. Nameless Player (Seafood)
  29. Zee Player (Monkeys)
  30. Zee Player (Monkeys)
  31. Zee Player (Monkeys)
  32. Zee Player (Monkeys)
  33. Teratons Player (Teleporting Dinos)
  34. Teratons Player (Teleporting Dinos)
  35. Teratons Player (Teleporting Dinos)
  36. Teratons Player (Teleporting Dinos)
  37. Wyn Greth'zki MVP  (Robot?)
  38. DBR-7 Prototype, Robot Season 2 MVP
  39. Ludwig (Z’zor) MVP - Season 2 MVP  (Z'zor Striker)
  40. Wildcard MVP  (Female Striker)
  41. Anne-Marie Helder – Female Human Season 2 MVP
  42. Mellisandra - Asterian MVP  (Asterian Jack / Stiker)
  43. Nightshade Season 2 MVP  (Asterian Striker / Jack)
  44. Mee-kel Judwan, Superstar Sportsman – Season 2 MVP  (Judwan Striker / Coach)  
  45. Gorim Ironstone MVP  (Dwarf Jack / Stiker) 
  46. Yurik “Painmaster” Yurikson, Forge Father Guard Season 2 MVP  
  47. Number 88 MVP  (Human Striker / Jack)
  48. Buzzcut MVP  (Just a really big guy Ogre? Guard)
  49. Coach Renton (Coach / Human Striker) 
  50. Coach Renton (Coach / Huamn Striker)
  51. John Doe MVP  (???  Coach / Cheerleader)
  52. Rico Van Dien MVP (Human Jack/Striker)
  53. Rilla MVP (Zee ???)
  54. Blaine MVP ("Predator", for Xtreme Dreadball, season 4)
  55. Alpha Simian (3 hex megamini) for Ultimate Dreadball
  56. MEGA 3 HEX for Ultimate Dreadball

September 24, 2012

Pulling the trigger on the kickstarter

Pulling the trigger on the Kickstarter tonight.

They are down to 65 sets of Striker packages...was over 200 on Friday and they are going fast.

Will be fronting the $290 for the Cheerleader (striker x2 set)...with two open teams for folks to jump in and get.

I'll also get drop the $50 on the Buy one get one free for the 4 season 2 teams.

Should those go untaken after folks see how fun the game looks...I'll paint them up and Ebay them.

Got a good start on an alternate gameboard.  Cut up about 225 hexes from the extra green tabletop fabric I had.  Will glue them down and make up a pretty sweet board this week.  Still working out the pattern as they are two tones of green, and swapping every other one on a hexmap doesn't quite work like it does with squares.  Will lay out the hexes and see what it looks like before I glue them down.

September 22, 2012

Player Stats for first 4 teams...

From the Devs webblog...

So that you can see the detail and so that you have the info if you fancy proxying some models and running through a Rush or two, I thought I’d list the stats for the initial 4 teams.

Trontek 29ers
The archetypical human team as they were when they were just rookies. Forms the datum for other teams.
Start with 2 Guards, 3 Jacks and 3 Strikers.
  • Move: 5
  • Strength: 4+
  • Speed: 4+
  • Skill: 4+
  • Abilities: None

Greenmoon Smackers
Naughty ex-pirates.
Start with 3 Orx Guards…
  • Move: 5
  • Strength: 3+
  • Speed: 4+
  • Skill: 5+
  • Abilities: None
… and 5 Goblin Jacks.
  • Move: 5
  • Strength: 5+
  • Speed: 3+
  • Skill: 4+
  • Abilities: None

Skittersneak Stealers
Experimental hybrids, cunning prosthetics or scheming aliens?
Start with 2 Guards and 6 Strikers.
  • Move: 6
  • Strength: 4+
  • Speed: 3+
  • Skill: 5+
  • Abilities: None

Midgard Delvers
Probably own the concession stands too.
Start with 3 Guards, 3 Jacks and 2 Strikers.
  • Move: 4
  • Strength: 3+
  • Speed: 5+
  • Skill: 4+
  • Abilities: Guards have Steady (cannot be knocked down as a result of a Slam).

September 21, 2012

Teams Starting Lineups

Did a little research...here is what I discovered so far.

There are four types of player, but only three types that can be on a starting team...

  • Guards (Blockers and tough guys)
  • Strikers (Those that Score)
  • Jacks (Jack of all trades...can do almost everything.)
  • Keepers (Actually are Guard upgrades..can not start with a Keeper)

Each team starting out will have 8 players.
Each race has a predetermined selection of player types that they will start with.

Season 1 Teams
Corporation: 2 Guards, 3 Jacks, 3 Strikers (Human men)
Forge Fathers: 3 Guards, 3 Jacks, 2 Strikers  (Dwarves)
Orxs:  3 Guards, 5 Jacks, 0 Strikers  (Orcs and Goblins)
Veer-myn:  2 Guards, 6 Strikers   (Ratmen)


Season 2 Teams
Female Corporation: ? Possibly same as the men. (Human Females)
Robots: 8 Jacks (though they can transform mid game...details to come)
Z'Zor: ? Guards, ? Jacks, ? Strikers (Insects, All three models have been made)
Judwan: 8 Strikers...no other options. (Protoss / Star Wars cloner looking dudes)



Season 3 Teams
Asterians: ? Guards, ? Jacks, ? Strikers (Space elves)
Nameless: ? Guards (2 types), 0 Jacks, ? Strikers (Seafood Cthulhu)
Zees: 8 Jacks  (Chimp Clones, Planet of the Apes)
Teratons: ? Guards, ? Jacks, ? Strikers  (Teleporting Dinosaurs)


Dreadball FAQ

DreadBall FAQ

How long does a game of DreadBall take?
During playtesting, most games ended up between 45 and 75 minutes, with the occasional bloodbath going on a bit longer!The game works on a "differential scoring" system - it starts at 0, and moves towards the scoring team whenever a Strike happens. So, for instance, if the score is one point in my favour, and you score three, the the score will be two points in your favour. Get it? After 14 turns, if the score is 0, Sudden Death starts, and things get interesting. The gates slam shut (so no Reserves can enter play), and the first team to score a point - or the last team standing - is declared the winner!


How do cards come into play?
The cards are multi-use - they each contain four different pieces of information:

- They've got an in-game effect
- They've got a list of numbers that's used for random player selection
- They generate a random number for Ref movement
- They've got a "Cheer" rating, used in Fan Checks.

In-game effects are the main part of each card. These are Actions or Events. Actions cards can be used to supplement your five action tokens for a turn, letting your team do that little bit more, or pull off a complex play even when the dice don't behave themselves. Event cards are generally remains-in-play effects, lasting until another Event is played or drawn. They change the game in small ways - maybe the ball bounces more randomly, maybe one of the players was partying too much last night, or maybe the Ref is feeling particularly short-sighted.

You can spend an action in-game to buy a card and keep it in your hand, ready to be played later, meaning you can lose an action in the short term to gain something useful in the long term. Most teams also start with a number of cards in-hand.

Sometimes, cards are drawn randomly - for example, when the Ref has to move, when a random player needs to be selected, or when a Fan Check is made due to a player scoring a high number of points or landing a real bone-crunching hit. When this happens, and the random card is an Event, it comes into play immediately - this can cause sudden, subtle changes in the flow of the game at key moments.


How is the ball moved around the arena?
The ball is carried by players, but it can be lost fairly easily, so it's best to keep a ball carrier away from enemy players. The ball can be thrown, but the throw distance isn't massive, so tactical movement is encouraged. The game features a core "facing" mechanic (i.e. the way your models are facing matters!), and this comes into play with passing - it's a heck of a lot easier to pass to a player who's looking in the right direction...

Of course, if the ball's dropped, it starts rolling around the pitch. The direction of travel is randomly determined with a dice roll - the hex system is very handy for this - and loose balls travel a number of hexes equal to a dice roll. This can take it quite a long way, and if it hits a wall, it bounces off.


How likely is it that a player will be killed during a game?
Deaths happen in almost every game; however, with the advanced medical technology held by the DGB (The DreadBall Governing Body, a.k.a "Digby"), it's not as much of an inconvenience as you might expect! If a player is killed in the arena, the team's coach has the option of paying a fairly hefty medical bill to have him revived, or recycling his vitals through approved DonorVend sites, making a bit of money back in the process.


How does player advancement work?
Players gain experience during games by doing the sort of thing the fans love - scoring lots of points, really hurting enemy players, or just being generally useful. When players level up, they can gain a random skill or stat advance from a list depending on their player type. Players advance fairly quickly at the start of a season, but this levels out as they become more grizzled.


How do the teams differ from each other?
Sticking to the four Season One teams, here's a brief summary:

The Corporation team is the most generic all-rounder, although it does fare slightly better when going for passing / Striking plays that it tries brute force - especially when playing against the heavier teams! The starting composition is three Strikers, two Guards and three Jacks. The best tactics I've seen involving Corporation teams feature lots of free actions, chaining up passes between Strikers to move the ball past the defence and into a position to make a three or four point Strike.

Marauders, on the other hand, are just plain brutal! Orx are the hardest hitters in the game. They've got a statline that's all about dishing out violence, and as Guards they get bonuses to dice tests for Slams and Armour Checks. Goblins, on the other hand, are fairly good at dodging, and average at picking up the ball, but not great at hitting opposing players! It's a team of two halves (staring line up is 3 Orc Guards and 5 Goblin Jacks) and you need to play it as such. Success generally means taking opposing Strikers (and other threatening players) out of play as early and as frequently as possible, giving the Goblins a chance to score Strikes where they can.

Forgefathers might seem a bit like a short, bearded Corporation team at first - they're the only other team (so far!) to have all three playing positions. However, the way they use them is quite different! Forgefather teams aren't very fast, but they make up for that by being characteristically fierce and uncompromising! Their Jacks can hit almost as hard as an Orc, and their Guards are terrifying brutes who simply refuse to be knocked down. The presence of Strikers on the team makes a passing play viable, which some playtesters were surprised (and delighted!) by. Starting line-up is three Guards, two Strikers and three Jacks. The team adapts well to different tactics, but is particularly good at making its way up the arena, bowling enemy players aside, and letting a Striker make a high-scoring Strike.

Veermyn are, in my mind, the oddball team. They're the one that's got amazing potential, but is most challenging for a new player to use. They've also got the strangest line-up. See, Veermyn don't make natural DreadBall players - so they have to compensate! As a result, every player who isn't massive enough to be a Guard is trained as a Striker. This, when added to their natural speed and agility, makes the team a frightening prospect in the hands of a skilled coach, even if their lack of immediate flexibility makes them a challenge straight off the bat. They can dash around defenders like they're not there, they can Sprint from one end of the arena to the other in the space of a turn, and it's near impossible to knock them down and make sure they stay down. Unfortunately, their achilles heel is their low level of ball skill - you can't guarantee they'll always pick it up, let alone be able to score! The starting lineup is 2 Guards and 6 Strikers. Tactically, it's best to aim for multiple low-point Strikes - you're after quality, not quantity! Also, use spare Strikers to help your Guards when it comes to Slamming enemy players - as you've only got two players who can dish out damage, you want to make sure they've got the best chance possible of doing something!

Each race has its own profile, meaning they all feel different, with their own strengths and weaknesses. Each player is ranked in Movement (how far they can move, funnily enough!), Strength (how good they are at hitting people), Speed (reflexes, agility, etc.), Skill (with the ball), and Armour (i.e. how much of it they're wearing!). Armour is dependent on player class rather than race, with Strikers getting the least protection and Guards getting the most.


Why don't Veer-myn teams have Jacks? Is there a plan to release them later?
As it stands, as far as I'm aware, there's no plan to release Veermyn Jacks - it's a characteristic of the team that they don't get them, and something that makes them stand out. In fact, the option of having Jacks would massively overpower the team, as it would greatly add to their flexibility. Similarly, don't expect to see any Orx who aren't guards, or Goblins who aren't Jacks - with one notable, moustache-twirling exception - for the same reason.

That said, there's nothing saying that future releases and expansions won't address these things. I'm just talking about the game as it currently stands!


How do the various player positions act in the arena?
Strikers and Guards are opposite ends of the DreadBall spectrum. Strikers get bonus dice for tests involving handling the ball and being agile, but they have weak armour and don't have the ability to make attack actions (or reactions). They also get the bonus ability that whenever they take a Throw action, they get a free Run action (normally, a Throw action lets you make a one-hex move before throwing).

Guards are just the opposite - they have bonus dice on armour checks and Slams (your main offensive action), and they get a free Run action as part of a Slam (again, a Slam normally involves only one hex of movement). However, as Guard armour doesn't feature a DreadBall Glove (the attachment that lets players handle the ball without getting their arm ripped off!), they don't have the ability to pick up or handle the ball in any way.

Jacks - short for "Jack of all trades" - are the middle ground. They have access to all actions (including Throws, so yes, they can score too!) but they don't get any particular bonuses. Ask any Jack, and he'll tell you that he's the most useful person in the arena, and also the most underrated! Jacks are cherished for their flexibility and the fact that they can step up to any task - with a bit of luck, there's nothing they can't do!

There's also a secret fourth player position - the Keeper! Starting teams don't get Keepers, as it's an experienced-based upgrade for a Guard. Keepers get even heavier armour (a Keeper's armour stat is 3+ rather than 4+, and he still gets a bonus dice as he's a Guard) and a DreadBall glove - meaning he has a limited ability to handle the ball! He can't make a normal Throw action, but he can Punt it by placing it anywhere in the arena and scattering it twice. This means Keepers make great defensive players - they can batter incoming ball carriers, grab the ball, then fling it up the pitch. Okay, a Punt ends your rush (because you lost the ball), but it's better than having it sitting right next to one of your Strike zones!


How many skills are there to choose from?
There are 14 skills (called abilities in DB) in the initial set. This might not sound like a lot, but remember that each of the 3 player roles can already do different things, so the abilities build on three varying starting points. In addition, because each player type starts from a different place and does something different in play, the extra abilities vary in utility from role to role (and race to race).

Some abilities are limited by player role. In DreadBall nothing is limited by race, always by role. So, if a human Striker can do something then a Veer-myn can try his paw at the same thing. Of course, as they have different racial stats then their chances of success will probably be different too. Having said that, not all races have access to all roles, so in that way there is a racial limitation. I haven't checked to see whether that means that a specific ability is unavailable to a given team.

The available abilities are called:

A Safe Pair of Hands
Backflip
Can't Feel a Thing
Does This Hurt?
Gotcha
Grizzled
Jump
Keeper
Lucky
Mind Like Water
Really Lucky
Roll
Running Interference
Steady


Are there coaching staff upgrades and team re-rolls?
Coaching staff upgrades are slated for Season 2. The equivalent to Team Re-rolls in DB is Coaching Dice, which have a broadly similar effect. However, in DB you can earn them during the match as well as spending those you start with.


Does failing a roll end your Rush, or will a team always get to complete its five actions if they don't drop the ball?
Rushes don't end when you fail unless you drop the ball, so you can go in, fluff something completely and then still carry on, as long as you didn't drop the ball. Of course, you can end your own turn voluntarily if you choose and you could have so few models left standing that you ran out of people to act with before you ran out of actions, but these are both very rare events and are included mainly for completeness. In most Rushes a Coach will get to use all of his team actions.


Are there injuries that stick with a player in a league format?
No, we don't have injuries. Although it can be characterful, it is something that many people don't like in BB (though others think it's great). DreadBall was intended to be slightly more streamlined than BB and this was one of the details I deliberately left out - no point in replicating something that people moan about, is there? Of course, you can get dead, which does affect you quite severely in future games.


What does the Ref model do?
There are various fouls in the game, and your opponent has to call them. However, just because the Coach has spotted them doesn't mean the ref has.

There are actually two referees in the arena - one is a floating "Eye in the Sky" that hovers over the pitch and can potentially see anything. This is not a model. The Referee you get a model for is the on-pitch ref. She moves about the pitch, controlled by both players in turn.

When a foul is called by a Coach, you roll to see whether the perpetrator has been spotted by the ref(s) and if so how long they are sent off for. You always roll one dice for the "Eye", but you only roll a dice for the on-pitch referee if she is close enough to the perp when he makes the foul.

So, moving the ref is tactical. You can use them to get in your opponent's way by blocking a hex, to get out of the way of your own players as they commit fouls, or move them up to try and spot likely fouls by your opponent. Moving a ref is a free action in addition to your Team Actions.

How many players can a team have in play?
It's 6 on the pitch at any time; starting teams (eight players) then get two in reserve. Of course, unscrupulous players can sneak more than six on... but if the opposing coach spots it, there's a good chance a random player will be sent off!


How many players can you have on your roster, and are there limitations on positions?
The composition is quite flexible. Teams start out as a fixed 8 model squad. The limit is a total of 14 players. This limit can be made up of any combination of roles with the single proviso that you cannot have more than double the number that you started with of a give role. So, a human team starts with:

2x Guard (max = 4)
3x Jack (max = 6)
3x Striker (max = 6)

The most it can have of each is double, but because this is more than 14 in total you have some flexibility. Also, Free Agents and MVPs don't count towards this total of a player type, but do fill slots of the 14, so if you have left a slot or two for them then you've got more variety to your composition.


How does tackling work?
Tackling is represented in two ways. Firstly, Guards and Jacks Slam opponents to try to knock them over (as an action), which is represented by an opposed test (your opponent can dodge, or "Slamback" if they're not a Striker and the slam didn't come from behind). Secondly, all players have a "threat zone" - the three hexes in their front arc - and enemy players have a negative modifier when taking actions if they're standing in one of those hexes. Also, if they try to move away, there's a chance they'll get tackled and fall over.


Are all players worth the same amount, and can you create your own teams?
Players have different values - a human Jack doesn't cost the same as a human Guard, and a human Guard doesn't cost the same as an Orc one. Each starting team has a set number of players, and as Jake said, the maximum you can have of each position is twice the starting number. (Yes, a Veermyn team can have twelve Strikers. The horror...) Incidentally, did you know that as well as leagues and basic, out-of-the-box games, there are rules for Exhibitions? You both pick a budget, create teams from scratch (buying experience and MVPs), and have a one-off riot! It's a fun way to get some extra character involved, and to try out some of the more advanced rules, without having a full-blown league.


How does the game play single-game vs. a campaign/season? Would it play well as a series of multiple games between two people?
 in order to make the game fun at all levels, it was designed to work as a aone off game without the cards. This means that the core is solid and fun (as it has to be) and that the cards and the league system build on that. I've played loads of one-off games, often several against a single opponent in an evening. We had fun!

Leagues are different rather than better or worse. I think that's true of other games with similar systems. I enjoy the added story elements they bring, but they are more effort all round.


Can you intercept a ball that's thrown by an enemy player?
Interceptions were considered in the very early stages of the game, but ultimately discarded as they never, ever happened due to the nature of the game. If a player was in your way, it was really easy to take a step to the left or right and throw. This, coupled with the fact that it wasn't entirely easy to explain when a player counted as "in the way", consigned interceptions to the cutting room floor. I think I can safely say no one's missed them!


How do fans work, and is there a home field advantage?
Fans are represented by the game cards. Whenever a player does something cool - a high score, a big KO, etc - you draw a card and check its Cheer rating (Generally between 0 and 2). If there's at least one Cheer, you store it under your Fans card; once you get three Cheers under your card, you trade them in for a bonus Coaching Die. (These are dice that you get a certain number of at the start of the game, depending on your team, and which you can add to important dice rolls to make sure you succeed.

There's no advantage for home fans, but certain cards do indeed have events that represent the crowd singling out a certain player!


Is it only Strikers that can Strike?
Nope – Jacks can also make Strikes, they're just not as good at it. Guards can't handle the ball at all, unless they take the Keeper upgrade.


Can you win by wiping out the opposition?
It is technically possible, though I've never seen it done. The Landslide victory rule which means that one side wins automatically if they get a 7 point lead has tended to stop games before the wipeouts happen. In DreadBall it is quite hard to retain possession of the ball, so people tend to try and score Strikes as soon as they can. Holding onto the ball in order to pummel the opposition is asking for them to take it off you.


The four teams that are available are all named. Is it possible to design your own teams?
The best way of thinking of the teams we've listed is as the archetypes for their races. So if you want to do a Corporation team, use the Trontek 29ers stats. This isn't their stats at the height of their fame and power, it's their stats when they started out as a rookie team and were much like every other rookie team of their type. Same goes for the others.


Can a player stand in the strike hex to block opposing players from scoring? Especially a big hulking guard/keeper?
This came up a few times in playtesting and we tried it both ways round. In the end we decided that you could not block a Strike Hex.

On most pitches the Strike Target is actually a hologram which appears just as someone enters the Strike Zone carrying the ball (ie become eligible to score). As the target is a holographic projection, measuring whether a throw has been aStrike or not is done by computer tracking of the ball's trajectory. This means that standing on the Strike hex won't make any difference as the computer will simply calculate the Strike whether it hits the player or not.


How easy is it to win in two turns with a seven-point Landslide victory?
Very hard. It has probably been done, but I haven't seen it myself.


Do adjacent opponents give negative modifiers to checks when throwing the ball, etc.?
Depending on facing, possibly. In general, standing in the Threat Hexes of an opposing player gives you a -1 dice penalty per player to a max of -2. That's when the action is not in opposition to that specific player. So, if I Slam you we roll an opposed roll, so I ignore your Threat hex. But if I Throw the ball when I am standing in your Threat Hex then it's at -1 dice.


Can the same MVP be hired by more than one team?
I won't go into too much detail here, as Jake's done a couple of blog posts on it, but there's a clever bit of jiggery-pokery in the extended rules where each MVP can only be hired by one team. The same mechanic increases the cost of popular MVPs throughout the season, while dropping the cost of less popular ones - meaning a season has its own model economy!


What ends your Rush?
The only ways your rush can end are when you lose the ball (or fail to pick it up) when you run out of actions, or when you run out of players who can take actions. As such, it's fairly rare for your turn to end when you haven't got possession of the ball!

Even a successful Strike brings your rush to an end, as you've (intentionally) lost the ball - one of the mistakes new players make is going for a Strike with the first action of a rush! Unless something particularly oddball happens, attempting a Strike is going to end your rush, one way or another.


What happens if you miss a Strike?
If you miss the shot then you have lost the ball - it will scatter and your Rush will be over, as stated above.


Does the Rush ending whenever you lose the ball affect the game's fluidity?
Once you get your head around it (usually by the end of your first game, going by playtests) it doesn't disrupt the flow of the game at all - in fact, it makes for some really tense moments! You've got the perfect strategy planned, all your actions lined up for the turn, and all you need to do is pick up the ball or it's all over... Surely rolling at least one 4+ on three dice can't be that hard, right...?


What's in the rulebook?
The rulebook is split into 4 sections. The first bit covers background, intro, example Rush and listing all the components and what the different bits mean, etc. Then there is the rules section, which is about 25 pages long. After that there is a section on league play, running leagues, experience for players, and so on. Finally there is a reference section with the team and MVP stats in.

There are no advanced or optional rules other than playing leagues, which is a style of play and a time commitment rather than a variant.


How many Strikes are scored on average in a game?
Most games probably see an average of a Strike every 2 Rushes, and it is perfectly possible to score in a single Rush.


Are the cards language-dependent?
About half of the cards are fairly language-dependent, I'm afraid - the other half are easier, as they're mainly "Free action for a Striker" type cards. The first half, though, tend to have a title, a short narrative explanation, and an in-game rules effect; if you've played games like Last Night on Earth, Arkham Horror, or that sort of thing you'll know what I mean.

However, the good news is that the game will be translated into at least three other languages.


Is there a limit on the number of MVPs a team can hire? Could you theoretically play an all MVP team?
Technically, there's no limit - you can hire as many as you can afford! Also I love the idea of two all-star teams; there's no reason why this wouldn't work.


Is there an equalising mechanic so that new teams can play experienced ones?
 Each team has a value, which increases as players gain experience or are added to the roster. Before playing a game, you work out the difference between the two teams, and the team with the lower value gets a stash of megacredits (the in-game currency) to bid for MVPs, or to trade in for one or more rolls on the Free Agent table. These can be players from any of the core teams - for example, if you're particularly lucky, your Veer-myn team could end up with an Orc Guard to pad out the ranks! This might seem a bit crazy at first, but the idea is that it gives underpowered teams the chance to pull out something special when they'd otherwise be almost certainly flattened.


Which hexes in the Strike Zones can you try to score from?
You can make an attempt from anywhere in the strike zone. The bonus hex (the one furthest from the strike hex) gives you an extra point but is harder to achieve (you suffer -1 dice, on top of the normal -1 for attempting a Strike.)


What are the upper and lower limits for stats?
Currently, a game value can never be increased to better than 3+ with character advancement, and there are no 6+ values, but that's not to say such things won't happen in the expansions!


What does the “Sucker Punch” foul do?
A Sucker Punch is any Slam action during which you start in front of your target, then move behind him before making the attack. This has the in-game effect that your enemy can only choose to dodge rather than slamming you back, meaning that this is a great tactic for taking down enemy Guards. (...or most Forgefather players!) Of course, due to the fact that this is fairly easy to exploit and hardly fair play, it's counted as a foul!


How can the ball end up in a hex with a player?
This can happen in one of two ways:

First, players don't reset after a Strike. This means that there's a fair chance of a player standing in the centre of the arena and being in a position to have the ball land at his feet! Second, the ball could travel six hexes then rebound off the far wall, flying into either end of the arena where it could come into contact with any player.

Of course, in most cases the ball will scatter away, but if the player's a Striker - or wants to use a Coaching dice, as I rather cheekily did in a game yesterday! - they've got a chance of making a catch. (And if they manage to do really well on that catch roll, they could get a free action, which they could use to score in the enemy player's turn, if they're feeling really jammy!)


If you want to free up space in the arena to move in a player from the Subs' Bench, can you move a player out of the arena?
Yes – you move the player off through the gate to the subs' bench area.


If you Slam a ball carrier, do they lose it if they get pushed back, or only if they get knocked down?
They only lose the ball on a double, i.e. when you knock them down. Those gloves are pretty good at holding onto a ball when the wearer's getting shoved about a bit!


If the ball is launched into the arena at the start of the visiting team's turn, and the home team's Striker is in a position to catch it, what happens if he manages to do so?
As the visiting team haven't lost the ball (in fact, they never had it, or even attempted to pick it up!), their rush doesn't end. They get to act as normal, and I imagine their first port of call will be Slamming seven shades of nasty out of that Striker. However, if the Striker got lucky and rolled some sixes, he might have doubled the catch roll - which grants him a free Run or Throw action, which he immediately gets, even though it's not his turn!


Can you stand on your opponent's gate hex and block their reserves from coming on from the Subs' Bench?
Yes – this is a foul, though, called Stalling. If your player is caught doing it there's a fair chance he'll be sent off... and the Ref check is made every time any player on your team takes an action, not just when that player does.

September 20, 2012

Glossary of Dreadball Terms

Pulled from the game developers page...might be helpful to get into the jargon

Action: A Rush comprises a number of Actions. Each Action allows a single Player to perform a discrete task such as Slam an opponent or Throw the ball.  

Coach: the real world human playing the board game.  

Doubling: when the total number of successes in a roll is equal to twice the Target Number or more. Often triggers an additional effect.  

Free Action: an Action that does not cost a Team Action Token or a Special Move Card. usually earned by Doubling a Target Number.

 Guard: a type of Player. Guards are heavily armoured are are the most survivable. Their job is to make a hole in the opponent’s line and to protect their own Strikers. They cannot pick up the ball.

Jack: a type of Player. Jacks can try their hands at anything.  

Player: one of the imaginary individuals that make up a DreadBall team, represented by a model in the game. Players come in 3 types: Strikers, Jacks and Guards.  

Rush: a turn. Within a Rush a Coach is able to make a number of Actions. The game lasts for 14 Rushes, 7 for each Coach.  

Skill: a Stat. How good at throwing, catching and general ball handling skills a Player is.  

Slam: A type of Action in which a Player tries to knock an opponent down.  

Special Move Card: a type of DreadBall card. Each one defines a specific type of Action(s) that a specific type of Player(s) can perform by spending the card instead of a Team Action Token.  

Speed: a Stat. How agile and dodgy a Player is.  

Stat: short for statistic. This is one of the game values that defines a Player. There are 3 main stats: Strength, Speed and Skill.  

Strength: a Stat. How strong and fighty a Player is.

 Strike: the name for scoring in DreadBall. Used similarly to the term in bowling.  

Strike Hex: one of the target hexes that you must hit in order to score.  

Strike Zone: the area of the pitch in which you must be standing in order to make a legal Strike. In higher tech arenas the Strike Hex is often a holographic target and will only appear when a Player is in a position to legally score.  

Striker: a type of Player. Strikers are lightly armoured and are the best at handling the ball. Their job is to make Strikes. They cannot Slam opponents.  

Success: a result on a single dice that equals or exceeds the Stat against which the roll is being made.  

Target Number: the number of Successes required in a dice roll to perform the Action.

 Team Action Token: one of the 5 tokens that a Coach gets each Rush to activate his Players with.

Threat Hex: the three hexes immediately in front and adjacent to a Player. Opposing Players standing in a Threat Hex are penalised for some dice rolls.  

Throw: a type of Action in which a Player attempts to launch the ball either to a teammate, at a Strike Hex in order to score a Strike, or at an opponent in order to injure them.

Extra Boards and Card Packs...

Well...they answered two of my questions...

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1744629938/dreadball-the-futuristic-sports-game/posts/312742

I was wondering if they would be selling extra Card packs...turns out they will be.  Much cheaper than buying a whole other set just for a deck of cards.


I spent part of my lunch break in the Home Depot tile section looking for Hex Tile to make another field with.  Turns out they didn't have any.  Plenty online...Figured about $30 to get a white porcelain field...plus quite a bit of time.  Then they release this...

 
Homefield advantage for $25...what a bargain.  I'll probably still make the tile field...with season 3 or 4 and the Ultimate Dreadball.

Current Contents of Striker Kickstarter




(Multiply this by 2)

Striker
A copy of DreadBall (2 additional Orx and 2 additional humans added. Ref added)
Special edition Acrylic Counters (these are a kickstarter exclusive)
2 sprues of hex bases (48 bases)

Midgard Delvers team
Skittersneak Stealers team
6 additional Veer-myn players
6 additional Forge Father players
4 additional human players
4 additional Orx players
2 Season 2 female corporation players
2 Season 2 Judwan players
2 Season 2 Z'zor Players
2 Season 2 Robot players
1 prone FF model
1 prone veer-myn model
1 Marauder prone model
1 Corporation prone model
1 Female Corporation prone model
1 Robot prone model
1 Judwan prone model
1 Z'zor prone model
2 Season 3 Asterian players
2 Season 3 Nameless players
2 Season 3 Zees players

Lucky Logan MVP
Slippery Joe MVP
Gorim Ironstone MVP
Reek Rolat MVP
Wildcard MVP
John Doe MVP
Number 88 MVP
The Enforcer MVP
Buzzcut MVP
Kickstarter exclusive* Wyn Greth'zki MVP
Mee-kel Judwan, Superstar Sportsman – Season 2 MVP
Z’zor MVP - Season 2 MVP
Kickstarter exclusive* Nightshade Season 2 MVP
Anne-Marie Helder – Female Human Season 2 MVP
DBR-7 Prototype, Robot Season 2 MVP
Yurik “Painmaster” Yurikson, Forge Father Guard Season 2 MVP
Mellisandra - Asterian Season 2 MVP
Rico Van Dien Season 2 MVP
Riller, Zee Season 3 MVP
Kickstarter exclusive* Coach Renton
Multi-hex player of your choice

2 Teraton players
Blaine Seaon 4 MVP
A signed print of the cover art
A digital copy of the rules
A digital copy of the DreadBall Season 2 rules
A digital copy of the Season 3 rules

A digital “Creating DreadBall” book
Your name listed as a supporter in the DreadBall Fanzone
Free ticket to a future DreadBall event (will now be signed by Ronnie)
DreadBall Trophy (this is a kickstarter exclusive)
Decal sheet
CURRENTLY 100+ MODELS

Current Kickstarter Status...

Ok...We are shooting for the "Cheerleader" kickstarter.  That way we would have 8 teams, 2 boards and all the MVP's we would need for a heck of a league...and hopefully help out with what seems to be a pretty neat game.

The Season 2 stuff not coming out until June so here is how we can get folks to buy into the base Kickstarter and add on the Season 2 stuff if they wish.

The Earlybird Cheerleader Kickstarter set we landed ($280) got us 8 teams of 14 players.
There are 16 MVP players (Mercs) that come with the kickstarter (8 initially, 8 more in June with season #2), and we will be getting two sets of them.  The is also one "Coach" mini in each set, we will put both of them in the draft pool.  We will keep one MVP set with the "League" and paint them up as they should be.  The 2nd set of the 16 duplicate MVP's and 2 coaches will be put into the "Draft Pool" 

The Draft pool will consist of the Duplicate MVP's and the 20 Team minis.  Many of the Duplicate MVP's could be painted as regular players. 

We will need 8 Core purchasers for $35.00 each.  Each of those folks will get One of the Core teams (14 players) and will take part of the Draft pool for the Extra minis.
With the draft you could start building up your second team (Robots / Amazon / Protoss / Insects / Space Elves).  

SEASON 2 ADD ON STUFF STARTS HERE...
Then we get to the Add Teams for the Season #2 stuff that arrives in June 2013. (totally optional...4 teams for $50)
We have Season 2 Team slots available for $12.50 each.  These will get the player 8 minis from the Season two teams (Robots, Amazons, Insects, Protoss, and Space Elves)

They could pick up their extra players from the Draft pool above, or buy/trade the team minis / spare MVP's from the players that did draft them.

Then in Season #2 there are the "Keeper/Goalie" Minis for the first 4 core teams (Orc, Human Rat and Dwarf)  $15 gets all 4.
So $3.75 more you secure one of these....(Though if you drafted a Duplicate MVP...I'm sure they could pass for a "Keeper")

So here is the initial team buy in chart...

Base Set…
Striker x2 (Cheerleader) $280
Human $35.00 Lee
Human $35.00 Fab
Orx $35.00 Gregg
Orx $35.00 Rob 
Veer-Myn $35.00 Josh
Veer-Myn $35.00 Jeff 
Forge Fathers $35.00 Dereck
Forge Fathers $35.00 Chris 

* by name, means they person does not care which team they end up with.

SEASON 2 Add ons…


Must get all 8 slots above filled first.


Buy 1 Get 1 Season 2 

Team
$25 for 2 teams               (8 player teams)
Robot $12.50 Jeff 
Female $12.50 *
Judwan $12.50 *
Zzor $12.50 *
Asterians $12.50 Rob *
Nameless $12.50 *


Keepers Pack $15 Rob














Season 2 Keeper Pack  $8
Amazon Keeper$4                   Fab 
Insect Keeper$4                   Rob
Robots and Protoss do not get keepers...No word on the space elves either.

MDF Playing Field     $25                 Rob

2 Extra Decks of Cards   $16            Rob

Season 1 Rulebook      Dereck
Season 2 Rulebook      Dereck & Rob

Kickstarter....Group buy

Hey Folks...

Figured that making a Dreadball Blog would be the best way of sharing information.

I'll make a list of helpful links of to the right [DONE]. (Where I get all my information from)

I'll also post updates to the Kickstarter Group purchase plan here on the blog as well. [DONE]

I'll get a Google docs page going as well to share the info. (DONE)

Can't wait...this game looks like it could be quite a bit of fun.