Per Passing Completion		1 SPP
Per Casualty		2 SPP's
Per Blocked Kick		2 SPP's
Per Interception		2 SPP's
Per Field Goal		2 SPP's
Per Touchdown		3 SPP's
Per MVP Award		5 SPP's

A player earns Star Player Points for performing the following actions:

Completions (COMP): A player who makes an accurate pass that is caught by a team-mate earns 1 Star Player Point.
Casualty (CAS): A player who kills, seriously injures, or badly hurts an opposing player as the result of a Block earns 2 Star Player Points.
Blocked Kick (BK): A player who successfully blocks a kick earns 2 Star Player Points.
Interception (INT): A player who successfully intercepts the ball earns 2 Star Player Points.
Field Goal (FG): A player who scores a field goal earns 2 Star Player Points.
Touchdown (TD): A player who scores a touchdown earns 3 Star Player Points.
Most Valuable Player (MVP): At the end of the match, one player from each team will receive a Most Valuable Player award. This award earns the player 5 Star Player Points.

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MVP Awards

The Most Valuable Player award is awarded randomly to one player from each team, just so long as the player was on the field or in the Dugout during the match. These awards are chosen by the match commentators, and neither coach has any control over which two players are chosen. Use the random player counts provided with Blood Bowl to determine which players get the award. Note that each team receives an MVP award, not just the winning squad.

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Star Player Rolls

As players earn more Star Player Points, they go up in levels of experience and are entitled to make Star Player Rolls (SPR's). All players start out as Rookies with no Star Player Points. Once a player has earned 6 SPP's, he becomes 'Experienced' and is entitled to his first SPR. The table below lists the number of SPP's required to reach each different level.

Star Player Progression Table

SPP's	Title	SPR's
0-5	Rookie	None
6-10	Experienced	One
11-25	Veteran	Two
26-50	Star Player	Three
51-100	Star Player	Four
101-150	Star Player	Five
151-250	Star Player	Six
251+	Star Player	Seven

Big Guys have a hard time picking up the fundamentals of the game, so they get skills at a slower pace. A Big Guy accumulates skills at half the rate of a normal player, as shown on the chart below.

Big Guy Star Player Progression Table

SPP's	Title	SPR's
0-10	Rookie	None
11-20	Experienced	One
21-50	Veteran	Two
51-100	Star Player	Three
101-200	Star Player	Four
201-300	Star Player	Five
301-500	Star Player	Six
501+	Star Player	Seven

Big Guys also have special rules governing their advancement, as detailed below.

A player who makes a Star Player Roll rolls 2d6 and consults the table below.

Star Player Roll Table

2d6		Result
2-9		New Skill
10		MA+1
11		AG+1
12		ST+1

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New Skills

On a Star Player Roll of 2-9, the player is allowed to take a new skill. The skills a player may select are limited, depending on the race of the player and the position that he plays. Skills themselves are split into seven categories: General Skills, Agility Skills, Strength Skills, Passing Skills, Kicking Skills, Big Guy Skills, and Physical Abilities. The skill rules in the Team section list the category to which each skill belongs, and a summary is included on the Death Zone reference card.

The Player Skill List is also printed on the Death Zone reference card. This shows which skills are available to each different type of player. For example, Human Catchers can take General Skills and Agility Skills, Human Thrower can take General Skills and Passing Skills, and so on. Within these restrictions, the coach of the player is allowed to freely choose any skill from the Skills section. Record the player's new skill on the team roster.

A player who rolls doubles (a pair of 1's, a pair of 2's, etc.) may take a trait instead of a skill. See the section Rolling Doubles for more information.

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Characteristic Increases

A Star Player Roll of 10-12 will increase one of the player's characteristics. Record the new value on the team roster. However, no characteristic may ever be increased by more than 2 points over its starting value. Any additional increases are lost, and the Star Player Roll is wasted.

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Rolling Doubles

Traits are listed in bold on the Death Zone reference card. In order to acquire a trait, a player must have normal access to the category to which the skilll belongs, and the Star Player Roll must be a double (i.e., 1-1 or 2-2, etc.) If this condition is met, the coach may ignore the result rolled on the Star Player Roll Table (even if it was a characteristic increase) and instead may take a trait from one of the player's proscribed skill categories. For example, a Human Blitzer may use a doubles roll to select the Stand Firm trait, but a Human Lineman may not acquire Stand Firm on a roll of doubles, because he does not have normal access to the Strength Skills category.

A coach may also use a doubles roll to select any skill he might like for his player, even if the player normally has no access to that skill's category! The only exception to this are the Big Guy Skills, which only Big Guys can take. So a Human Lineman who rolls doubles can take the Mighty Blow skill, even though he does not have normal access to the Strength Skills category. Just remember: he still can't take a trait on a roll of doubles - unless it's a General trait, of course!

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Big Guys & Big Guy Skills

Big Guys do not progress in the same fashion as normal players. This is represented in their expanded Star Player Roll Table chart, but this difference also extends to the skills they can use. All Big Guys have access to the General, Strength, and Big Guy skill category, and can select normal skills from these categories on a normal Star Player Roll of 2-9. They can also get a stat increase on a roll of 10-12.

However, a Big Guy may not use a doubles roll to select any skill from any category, and may not choose any trait he is normally allowed, either. Instead, a Big Guy who rolls doubles may choose to do one of the following:

Add +1 to his ST.
Add +1 to his AV.
Choose a General or Strength trait.
Remove any one Big Guy trait.

The Big Guy may also ignore the doubles roll entirely and choose any General, Strength, or Big Guy skill normally. In addition, Rat Ogres and Minotaurs may take a Physical Ability on a doubles roll, as detailed below.

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Physical Abilities

Physical Abilities are rather different than normal skills, in that players are usually born with them. This means that in most cases, players may never acquire Physical Abilities, even if the Star Player Roll was a double. The only exceptions to this rule are Chaos and Skaven players (as well as Rat Ogres and Minotaurs, as explained above). These players may develop strange mutations later in life. For Chaos players, these mutations are a 'gift' from the gods they worship, while Skaven players can mutate as a result of consuming the magical substance known as warpstone. Such players are allowed to take a Physical Ability as a new trait, but only if the Star Player Roll was a double, as with other traits.

Mutations are highly visible by their very nature, and because of this, they must be represented on the model when possible. In other words, the coach of a mutated player will have to convert the player's model to show the mutation! If the model does not actually show the mutation, then the player may not use it. For example, the model of a player with Two Heads and Extra Arms must actually have two heads and extra arms, or the abilities can't be used.

Converting models isn't as difficult as it sounds. If you fancy having a go, then the 'Eavy Metal Modeling Guide by Mike McVey - available from all good Games Workshop stockists - will tell you just about everything you need to know.

IMPORTANT: Use care with these rules. For example, there is no way to 'show' a mutation like Regeneration or Thick Skull. However, you must be sure to inform your opponent that the player has the Physical Ability!

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Peaking

Sadly, not all Blood Bowl players are created equal. A select few have the tools necessary to become real stars, but many players don't. Some of them lack the physical skills necessary to blossom, while others simply can't seem to get their tiny brains wrapped around the finer points of the game! Unfortunately for coaches, it's almost impossible to predict which players will turn into bonafide stars, and which will only ever achieve journeyman status.

To represent this, roll 2d6 for each player after he has earned a Star Player Roll and chosen his new skill or trait. Add a -1 modifier for each skill roll the player has made (so an Experienced player making his first skill roll adds -1 to the roll, a newly minted Star Player making his third skill roll adds -3, etc.). On a roll of 2 before or after modification, the player has peaked. A peaked player must roll immediately on the Aging Table, and they will begin to slide into obscurity as they gradually lose their ability to play the game effectively.

Make a note on the team roster that the player has peaked. Note that a player who is already peaked does not have to make a Peak Roll if he gains a new skill.

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Aging

Even the most illustrious of Blood Bowl careers wind down at some point. Aches and pains once glossed over become major head-aches and long-term problems, and time itself can deliver a hit more powerful than any block from an Orc Blitzer! Players who have hit their limits simply find the going tougher as they get older, and begin to deteriorate over time.

To represent this, peaked players will begin to show the effects of aging. Aging players occasionally need extra time to recover from the rigors of a Blood Bowl match, and may suffer from injuries that a growing player would ignore. (Hey, no one said it was easy!)

When a player first peaks, and at the end of every match a peaked player plays, roll a d6. On a roll of 2 or more, the player has made it through the game without incident, and may play the next game as normal. On a roll of 1, however, the player has suffered some type of injury, and must roll on the Aging Table below.

Aging Table

2d6		Result
2		Serious Concussion: The player has taken one too many hits to the head, and acquires the Really Stupid trait.
3		Concussion: The player has taken one too many hits to the head, and acquires the Bonehead trait.
4		Bad Back: The player is having a harder time getting up from a hit these days, and must follow the same rules used by Treemen when standing up at the start of an action.
5		Brittle: The player is getting more injury prone as he gets older. Add +1 to all injury rolls made against this player.
6-8		I'm Getting Too Old For This! The player is having a hard time keeping up with all these 'young 'uns,' and he must miss the next game to catch his breath.
9		AV-1
10		MA-1
11		AG-1
12		ST-1

Mark any permanent effects on your team sheet. If the player must miss the next game, write an 'M' in the injuries box on the team roster, and rub it out at the end of the next match. As with serious injuries, no characteristic may be reduced by more than 2 points.

NOTE: Aging is a natural phenomenon for which no cure exists, and the effects may not be removed by any means. Apothecaries may not heal any injuries suffered as a result of an aging roll.

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Team Ratings

Each team that takes part in a league must be given a Team Rating. This number is based on the Spike! Magazine Team Rating System, and is a very good indicator of the team's ability and effectiveness on the Blood Bowl field. Two teams with equal ratings would expect to have a very close match, while one team with a rating considerably higher than that of its opponent would probably win the match easily.

To calculate a team's Spike! Magazine TR, first work out the total value of the team in gold pieces. Remember to include any money in the treasury in this total! For every 10,000 gold pieces that the team is worth, it receives 1 TR point. This may sound like a difficult sum to work out, but it is actually quite simple. Just take the total value of the team and knock off the last four zeros. For example, a starting team with a value of 1,000,000 gold pieces has a Team Rating of 100.

Next, work out the combined total of all the Star Player Points belonging to the players on the team. Divide this number by 5, rounding any fractions down, and add the result to the total worked out above. For example, suppose the players on a particular team had a total of 63 Star Player Points. 63 divided by 5 is 12.6, rounded down to 12, so 12 points would be added to the Team Rating. Once a coach has worked out his Team Rating, he should record it on the team roster in the space provided.

NOTE: When working out the Team Rating, include the value of each player and Team Re-roll, regardless of what you actually paid for them. Use the Star Player Points and value in gold pieces for all of the players on the team, even if some of them have to miss the next match due to injury.

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Match Records

On the back of each Death Zone team roster is a Match Record Chart, which a coach can use to keep a record of the matches played by his team. The coach should record the name of the opposition, the score, and the number of casualties inflicted by each team, as well as the gate, match winnings, and some brief notes about the game.

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Playing League Matches

League matches have their own sequence of play. This sequence involves pre-match and post-match actions sandwiched around the actual game itself. You must follow the sequence strictly for each league match you play, including any tournament matches.

Pre-Match Sequence
1. Hire Freebooters
2. Roll on Weather Table
3. Work out the Gate
4. Work out Handicap
5. Take Special Play Cards
6. Roll for Niggling Injuries
The Match
1. Receiving Team Turn
2. Kicking Team Turn
3. Etc.
Post-Match Sequence
1. Work out each team's winnings
2. Roll for aging players
3. Allocate MVP's and make Star Player Rolls
4. Roll on the Fan Factor Table
5. Hire new players and coaching staff
6. Work out new Team Rating

Each of these steps is explained in more detail below.

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Pre-Match Sequence of Play

The pre-match sequence must be used before every league match that is played. The sequence is split into seven separate steps, each of which is described below.

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Tournament Semi-final		+1 per die
Tournament Final		+2 per die

For example: Two teams with a combined Fan Factor of 6 are playing a match. Six dice are rolled between the two coaches, and the results come up 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, which add up to 21. The result is multiplied by 1,000 to find the gate for the match, which means that 21,000 screaming fans have turned up to watch the game.

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4. Handicaps

All teams have a Team Rating, which represents how good they are - the higher it is, the better! Teams that play against opponents who have a much higher Team Rating will probably lose. However, there is a chance that they will be inspired to perform even better than normal, and they may learn a lot against such a superior team. These two factors are reflected in the following rules, which allow lower-rated teams to take extra Special Play Cards when they play against superior teams. To determine if a team gets any bonuses, subtract the rating of the lower team from that of the higher team and refer to the Handicap Table below.

Handicap Table

Difference in Team Ratings		Bonus Cards
0-10		0
11-20		1
21-30		2
31-50		3
51-75		4
76-100		5
101+		6

For example: The Moot Mighties (TR 134) are playing the Erengrad Undertakers (TR 147). The Moot Mighties have the lower Team Rating, so they are entitled to a possible bonus from the Handicap Table. The difference between the two teams' ratings is 13 points, so the Moot Mighties receive an extra Special Play Card this match.

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5. Special Play Cards

Most Blood Bowl teams have a well-deserved reputation for, erm, bending the rules of the game in their favor. In fact, there appears to be only one team that follows all of the rules, all of the time - the much-maligned Bright Crusaders - and most commentators are pretty sure that even they will wise up soon and learn to play dirty!

You can now include this important aspect of the game with the Special Play Cards. There are 108 Special Play Cards in the game, sub-divided into four different decks: 36 Dirty Tricks, 36 Random Events, 18 Magic Items, and 18 Pre-Match Preparations.

At the start of a game, the four decks should be shuffled and placed beside the game board. Each coach rolls a die to see how many Special Play Cards he may take this match.

Special Play
Cards Table

d6		Cards
1-5		One
6		Two

In addition, a coach may be allowed to take bonus Special Play Cards as a result of the Handicap Table.

It is up to each coach to decide which deck or combination of decks he would like to use. The only restriction is that a coach may never take more than one Magic Item card, as magic items are rare and difficult to find. For example, if a coach was allowed to take three cards, he could take all three from the Dirty Trick deck, or one each from the Dirty Trick, Magic Item, and Pre-Match Preparation decks, or any other desired combination of the decks. However, the coach must take the cards at random from the tops of the shuffled decks - coaches are not allowed to pick exactly which cards they get!

A coach keeps his Special Play Cards secret from his opponent until he wants to use a card. Each card includes a full description of when it can be used and what effect it has on the game. A Special Play card may be used once per game, after which it must be discarded. You do not get Special Play Cards back at half-time in the same way you get back Team Re-rolls. Any cards that are not used during the match are lost, and may not be kept for the next game.

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6. Niggling Injuries

In league play, it is possible for players to pick up nasty 'niggling injuries' as a result of a roll on the Serious Injury Table. If any player on a team has suffered a niggling injury, then his coach must roll now to see if the player has to miss this game.

Roll a d6 for each niggling injury a player has suffered. If any of the dice result in a roll of 1, then the player must miss this match. The player only ever misses one game, no matter how many 1's were rolled. If all of the dice come up with scores of 2 or more, then the player may take part in the match as normal.

An Apothecary can allow a player missing the match due to niggling injury to take part in the game. For more information, see the Coaching Staff section in the Team rules.

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Post-Match Sequence of Play

You must go through the following six steps after each and every league match that you play.

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1. Treasury Phase

At the end of a match, each team receives a fee for playing the game. This fee is paid by the owner of the stadium where the match was played. The amount received depends on the money that is left after all expenses have been paid. Teams with a higher Team Rating tend to receive less gold because they have to pay more money to the players on their team, and because they tend to pile up miscellaneous expenses.

In order to work out match winnings, each coach rolls a d6 and then cross-references his Team Rating with the gate for the match on the Match Winnings Table below.

Match Winnings Table

	Team Rating
The Gate	0-99	100-125	126-150	151-175	176-200	201-225	226-250	251-275	276-300	301+
0-20,000	+1	+0	-1	-2	-3	-4	-5	-6	-7	-8
20,001-40,000	+2	+1	+0	-1	-2	-3	-4	-5	-6	-7
40,001-60,000	+3	+2	+1	+0	-1	-2	-3	-4	-5	-6
60,001-80,000	+4	+3	+2	+1	+0	-1	-2	-3	-4	-5
80,001-100,000	+5	+4	+3	+2	+1	+0	-1	-2	-3	-4
100,001-120,000	+6	+5	+4	+3	+2	+1	+0	-1	-2	-3
120,001-140,000	+7	+6	+5	+4	+3	+2	+1	+0	-1	-2
140,001-160,000	+8	+7	+6	+5	+4	+3	+2	+1	+0	-1
160,001+	+9	+8	+7	+6	+5	+4	+3	+2	+1	+0

Apply the modifier to the die roll. The modifed die roll is multiplied by 10,000 to see how many gold pieces are added to the team's Treasury. If the modified die roll was 5, for example, then the coach would be allowed to add 50,000 gold pieces to his Treasury.

On occasion, the modified die roll may come up negative. This is because a team may not receive enough gate money to pay its players, coaching staff, etc. A team that generates a negative cash flow from the game must use its Treasury and any money generated by Special Play Cards in an attempt to pay the players. If the result is still negative, the coach must roll 2d6 on the Negative Winnings Table below.

Negative Winnings Table

2d6		Result
2-7		No effect. The players and coaches grumble a lot about the lack of funds, but nothing comes of it.
8-9		Loss of focus. The players are very unhappy about their finances, and they lose focus on the game itself as a result. You must remove one Team Re-roll from your roster permanently.
10		Dammit, Jim, I'm a doctor, not a charity case! The team Apothecary has had enough of this unprofessional treatment, and quits the team in disgust. If you have an Apothecary, cross him off the team roster.
11		Walkout! Half the Cheerleaders and Assistant Coaches on your team leave, rounding down. Cross them off the team roster.
12		Fired! Due to general ineptness, you've been canned! Cross the Head Coach off the roster, and replace him for free with a new one.

These effects are cumulative, so a coach who rolls an 11 must lose one Team Re-roll, his Apothecary, and half his Cheerleaders and Assistant Coaches. Note that any items lost in this fashion may be replaced as usual in subsequent games. (You'll just have to wait a while, seeing as how your Treasury is empty!)

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2. Aging

Peaked players who have played in the most recent match may have picked up an extra tweak or two along the way. Roll a die for each such player on your team. On a roll of 1, the player must roll on the Aging Table in the Aging section.

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3. Star Player Rolls

In league matches, it is possible for players to earn Star Player Points. These SPP's may give the players new Star Player Rolls at the end of the match. Each coach uses this phase to update the Star Player Points his players have earned and to make any Star Player Rolls the players have coming. You may assign the game MVP awards during this phase as well.

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4. Fan Factor

A team's Fan Factor may not be voluntarily changed once the league has started. Instead, each coach must roll after every match to see if his team's Fan Factor changes. While new teams might find it easy to expand their fan base, older teams will find it more difficult to pick up 'bandwagon fans' - and these so-called fans tend to jump off the bandwagon mighty quick when something goes wrong!

Roll a die and add or subtract any modifiers from the Fan Factor Table below.

Fan Factor Table

d6		Result
1 or less		Fan Factor goes down 1 point.
2-5		Fan Factor stays the same.
6 or more		Fan Factor goes up 1 point.

Modifiers
Won the match		+1
Lost the match		-1
Team scored 6+ points		+1
Team inflicted 2+ Casualties		+1
Every full 10 pts of Fan Factor		-1
Tournament Semi-final		+1
Tournament Final		+2

Any change to the team's Fan Factor must be recorded on the team roster.

NOTE: There is no limit to how high a team's Fan Factor may go, but it can never be reduced to less than 1.

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5. Purchases

Coaches may buy new players for their teams during this phase. These players may be bought as replacement players for older players killed or seriously injured in the match, or as new players added to the team. Coaches may also hire new coaching staff (Apothecary, Assistant Coaches, and Cheerleaders) during this phase.

If a coach hires a new player for a team that already has a full roster, then one of the old players will have to be retired to make room for him. Simply delete the retired player from the roster and fill the resulting space with the new player's details. Each retired player may be added for free to the team as an Assistant Coach. Note that a coach may retire any player - he doesn't have to hire an immediate replacement.

A coach is also allowed to purchase additional Team Re-roll counters for his team. However, new Team Re-roll counters cost DOUBLE the amount shown on the team list, so a Skaven team must pay 120,000 gold pieces for a new Team Re-roll, a Human team must pay 100,000 gold pieces for a new Team Re-roll, etc.

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6. Update Team Rosters

This phase is used to make sure that both teams' rosters are up to date and filled in correctly. Each coach should recalculate his team's total value in gold pieces, total Star Player Points, and new Team Rating. Coaches can also record any notes or points of special interest on the team roster at this time.

NOTE: Although most Blood Bowl coaches will stoop to using almost any underhanded tactic in order to win a game, falsifying a team roster is such a heinous crime that no right-thinking coach should even consider doing such a thing! Enough said, we hope...

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Tournaments

For a short period following the collapse of the NAF, there were no tournaments or competitions at all. Teams simply played one-off games for whatever prize money the could get. It was not long, however, before the Cabalvision networks and major Blood Bowl sponsors got together and started arranging tournaments with large prizes for the teams that managed to battle through to the final. Four tournaments quickly established themselves as the most important and eagerly anticipated Blood Bowl events of the year, and were soon gaining notoriety as the 'Major Tournaments,' or simply 'The Majors.' These tournaments were the Chaos Cup, the Dungeonbowl, the Spike! Magazine Trophy tournament, and, of course, the Blood Bowl itself.

The Majors are held at roughly three-month intervals over the course of a year. The Chaos Cup is held in the spring, the Blood Bowl tournament is held in the summer, and then the Spike! Magazine tournament is held in the autumn. The Dungeonbowl is held during the dark winter months, when most teams appreciate playing in nice warm underground stadiums rather than out in the freezing cold. There are exceptions, of course: most Norse teams actual prefer sub-zero conditions, while the Ice Lords, a team of Frost Giants, can't take part in the Dungeonbowl tournament at all. Not only are they too large to fit in most dungeons, but they'd literally melt in the warm underground stadium!

Each tournament is held at a different location. The Blood Bowl is held at the huge Imperial Stadium in Altdorf, and the Spike! Magazine tournament in the seaside resort town of Magritta in Estalia. The Dungeonbowl is held in the underground Dwarf stadium at Barak-Varr (the upkeep for which is paid, at huge expense and much to the Dwarfs' delight, by the Colleges of Magic).

The location of the Chaos Cup tournament changes from year to year, and it is unusual for anyone to know where it will be held until a week or two before the event starts. Not surprisingly, this can make it very difficult for teams to attend the Chaos Cup, because if they are not in the right general vicinity when the tournament is announced, it might be impossible to get there in time to take part!

The Majors are open to all teams, no matter how lowly their status. The first three weeks of a tournament are an anarchic and confusing affair called the play-offs. During the play-offs, the teams taking part in the tournament must arrange matches themselves, because there is no regular schedule as such. A team can play any number of matches in this period, against any opponent, although they can't play the same opponent more than once. Teams score points for winning matches, and at the end of the play-off period, the four teams with the most points go through to the semi-finals. The winners of the semi-final matches go through to the grand final for the tournament trophy and (more importantly) a big cash prize!

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Running a Tournament

The League Commissioner is responsible for setting up and running any tournaments that are played in his league. It is up to him to decide when and how the tournaments are held, although we recommend that the Major Tournaments are played at roughly three-month intervals during the appropriate season each year. It is generally a good idea for a League Commissioner to delegate the organizing of a tournament to a deputy chosen from the coaches of the teams taking part in the league. This leaves the Commissioner free to concentrate on the running the league as a whole without becoming overwhelmed with work trying to sort out everything himself.

Each tournament is played over a five-week period split into three phases: the play-offs, the semi-finals, and the grand final. The play-offs take place over the first three weeks. No fixture list is used. Instead, it is up to coaches to organize their matches themselves. A team may play any number of matches in the play-offs, but it cannot play the same opponent more than once. At the end of the three-week play-off period, each coach is allowed to put forward his three best results to see if his team makes it through to the semi-finals. A coach is allowed to put forward less than three results if he wants, but this will reduce his chances of qualifying for the semi-finals. The semi-final victors meet in the grand final for the right to be declared tournament champions!

NOTE: Coaches who are running more than one team in the league may not enter more than one of them in a tournament. This ensures that a single coach does not end up with more than one team in the semi-finals!

Each team scores 15 points for every game that they win, 5 points for every game that they lose, plus the number of touchdowns that they scored, minus the number of touchdowns that were scored against them. The four teams with the most points go through to the semi-finals. Any ties are resolved by comparing Team Ratings. In such a case, the team(s) with the highest Team Ratings go through.

The four teams that make it through to the semi-finals are matched into two pairs by random draw. They must play their matches in Week Four of the tournament period. The two winners of the semi-final match then go through to the big final, which is played in Week Five. The two runners-up may play a match to decide 3rd and 4th position if they wish.

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Challenges

It is possible for coaches to exclude powerful teams from the semi-finals by refusing to play any games against them during the play-offs. To stop this underhanded and quite despicable practice, any coach is allowed to issue a written challenge to an opposing coach to play a match. A coach may make a maximum of one written challenge per week of the play-offs. The challenge is given to the tournament organizer, who passes it on to the challenged coach and gets his response.

A challenged coach must make one of the following three responses within a day of receiving the challenge:

Accept: A challenged coach may agree to play the match, and the two teams play the match as normal.
Refuse: A challenged coach may refuse to play the match. This counts as a 9-0 win for the challenger. No Star Player Points, cash, or Fan Factors are gained or lost for the match.
Find a substitute: A challenged coach may ask any other willing coach to take his place and play the match instead. The substitute coach must be taking part in the tournament, and his team must not have played against the challenger so far. If he agrees to substitute himself for the challenged coach, then the challenging coach must Accept or Refuse to play against the substitute coach, as detailed above.

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The Glittering Prizes

Although many teams consider the glory of winning a Major Tournament trophy reason enough to take part, most teams are motivated as much (if not more) by the chance of winning the big cash prize offered to the winners by the sponsors. Winners of a Major Tournament also often receive additional fringe benefits, such as lucrative sponsorship deals or special prizes.

The cash prizes and special benefits are described in more detail below, but in addition to these, the winner of a Major Tournament always receives a special trophy to keep in pride of place on his mantlepiece until the tournament is held again next year. In addition to looking good, trophies also provide a benefit to the team in any games that they play as long as they hold the trophy. Each trophy a team has won entitles it to a special 'Trophy Re-roll' once per match. This re-roll is taken in exactly the same way as an Extra Training card. This means it may be used only once per match, but the team may use a Team Re-roll in the same team turn!

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The Spike! Magazine Trophy

Set in the form of a mithril spike mounted on a delightful plinth, this trophy is awarded to the team that wins the Spike! Magazine tournament. In addition to the trophy itself, the winner of the tournament receives a cash prize of 200,000 gold pieces, while the runner-up gets 100,000 gold pieces. The winning team also receives extensive and (usually) positive coverage in Spike! Magazine. Roll a d6 and add the result to the team's Fan Factor. This increase is permanent, even after the team hands the trophy back in the following year.

After the tournament final has been played, the tournament organizer may, at his discretion, choose to hand out the award for the Spike! Magazine Player of the Year. This award goes to the player in the league with the most Star Player Points, and it increases his team's Fan Factor by 1 point permanently.

NOTE: The Spike! Magazine Player of the Year does not have to play for one of the teams that took part in the final - or even the tournament! - in order to receive the award.

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The Dungeonbowl

Dungeonbowl is played, as its name suggests, in a dungeon. Originally, the two teams started at opposite ends of a small underground complex, the idea being to get to the opponent's starting position with the ball and score a touchdown. However, the game eventually evolved so that it is played on a field with a normal size and shape - it just happens to be located in a dungeon!

The Dungeonbowl League is sponsored by the ten Colleges of Magic, and each College also supports one of the teams taking part in the tournament. Originally put forward as a one-off event to settle the issue of which College was the most powerful, the Dungeonbowl has now been going for over 30 years, and shows no sign of ending in the forseeable future! The current holders of the cup are the Vynheim Valkyries, who were supported by the Amber College in the last Dungeonbowl. Of course, the other Colleges say that this was a fluke, and are carefully studying the form and tactics of the best teams in preparation for the next Dungeonbowl. It doesn't look as if the problem will be solved in the near future - or at all, come to think of it!

In addition to the magnificent Dungeonbowl trophy, the tournament winners are awarded a cash prize of 150,000 gold pieces, while the runners-up get a prize of 100,000 gold pieces. The winning team also receives a special contract with the College that supported them. This contract allows them to hire a Wizard for half-price (25,000 gold pieces) before a game, and lasts until the start of the next Dungeonbowl tournament in the next season. This contract is valid even for Dwarf, Halfling, Undead, and Khemri teams, even though they are not normally allowed to have a Wizard.

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The Chaos Cup

As you will see if you have a look at the trophy, the Chaos Cup is not exactly the most desirable of objects to win; however, the status it carries is second only to the Blood Bowl. Originally known as the Whiteskull Challenge Cup, it was up for grabs among the top eight teams in the AFC while the conference winners were off competing in the Blood Bowl. With the collapse of the NAF in '88, the Chaos Cup became the first trophy awarded in the new 'Open' tournaments.

The winner of the Chaos Cup tournament receives the Chaos Cup trophy and a share of the 350,000 gold pieces offered up as prize money. Exactly how much money the winning team receives is decided randomly, and may result in the runners-up getting more prize money than the winners!

To determine how much money the winners get, roll a d6 and consult the following table.

Chaos Cup Winnings Table

	Prize Money
d6	Winners	Runners-up
1-2	100,000 gps	250,000 gps
3-4	200,000 gps	150,000 gps
5-6	300,000 gps	50,000 gps

Modifers
Winners are a Chaos or Chaos Dwarf team		+1
Winners are a Dwarf, High Elf, or Wood Elf team		-1

The Chaos Cup grants the winner another, more extraordinary benefit. The Chaos Gods take a special interest in the fate of the team that holds the Chaos Cup. As a result, the team seems to be exceptionally lucky while they hold the trophy. To represent this good fortune, the team is allowed to draw one extra Random Event in every game they play while they have the trophy.

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The Blood Bowl

The most desirable trophy of them all is the Bloodweiser Blood Bowl Championship Winners' Trophy, commonly known as the Blood Bowl. Originally, it was awarded to the winner of the final match between the NFC and AFC champions, but it is now awarded to the winner of the Blood Bowl Open tournament. Before 2461, the Blood Bowl championship games were fairly friendly competitive affairs, played purely to award the status of Best Team In The World to the winners. With the arrival of big business in the shape of the Bloodweiser Corporation, however, the competition made a major stride in popularity. The prize money and Bloodweiser sponsorship deal that go to the winners is said to be worth over a million gold pieces over the course of the following year! There is also the Blood Bowl trophy, formally known as the Buddy Grafstein Trophy, named after the Bloodweiser chairman who first presented it. It is made from solid Dwarf gold, and as such it is extremely valuable. In fact, this value has caused the original trophy to be stolen many times, and the current copy is the fourth such trophy to be made!

The winners of the Blood Bowl get the trophy itself and 350,000 gold pieces, plus a sponsorship deal from Bloodweiser that adds 20,000 gold pieces to the prize money for each match that the team plays while it holds the trophy. The runners-up receive a consolation prize of 150,000 gold pieces. For the players, however, the most important prize is the Blood Bowl Player's Medal awarded to each player (from both teams) that participates in the final. Receiving a Blood Bowl Player's Medal is a great confidence booster, so every single player that takes part in the Blood Bowl final is treated as if he has been awarded an MVP award. This award is worth 5 Star Player Points, just like a regular MVP award. In addition, MVP awards are handed out after the match as normal.

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Other Tournaments

The four Majors are not the only Blood Bowl competitions that are held over the course of the year. Many other tournaments also take place, ranging in size from small local events involving only a handful of teams all the way through to large events that rival even the Majors themselves in terms of importance! Any League Commissioner who feels like organizing extra tournaments based on these less important events should feel free to do so. It is a good idea to keep the number of tournaments fairly low, lest the commissioner (not to mention the coaches!) quickly become overwhelmed with the number of tournaments running throughout the year. Similarly, the prizes for minor tournaments should be kept on the low side, and the total prize money (for both winner and runner-up) should never exceed 150,000 gold pieces.

NOTE: Trophy Re-rolls are allowed only for Major Tournament trophies. Minor tournaments may not award these types of re-rolls.

The Far Albion tournament is an example of a typical minor tournament. This tournament is one of the more important minor tournaments. It is held on the distant island of Albion, northwest of the Old World across the Sea of Claws. Because it is so far away, only one or two Old World teams normally make it to the island to compete against the local Blood Bowl squads. The Far Albion Tournament Cup (or 'FA Cup,' as it is known) used to be a stunning trophy, studded with diamonds and encrusted with emeralds. Sadly, it was stolen in 2145 and replaced with what was supposed to be a temporary tin replica. The original FA Cup never re-appeared, however, and the battered old tin replacement now has great sentimental value, especially for the local Albion teams. Prizes for the tournament consist of the trophy and a 120,000 gold piece prize split 80,000 gold pieces to the winner and 40,000 gold pieces to the loser.

At the other end of the scale is the Goblin Tribal Leeg. This tournament is normally held at about the same time as the Spike! Magazine tournament, as most Goblin teams can't afford to travel to faraway Estalia from their tribal lairs in the Darklands - and in any case, Goblin players hate playing in the bright, sunny conditions under which the Spike! tournament is normally held!

The Tribal Leeg tournament doesn't have a trophy...or even any prize money, for that matter! After all, it is all but impossible for a bunch of Goblins to arrange for a trophy and two different teams to be in the same place at the same time, and any prize money would invariably be stolen before the final took place! This means that the winner of the Goblin Tribal Leeg gets only the undying support of a huge horde of Goblin fans who follow the team around the Old World watching it play. Whether being followed around the Old World by a huge army of Goblin fans is actually a prize worth winning is open to debate, but it certainly increases the gate money that the team receives every time it plays a match!

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Cheers! If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to e-mail me at chz@buffalo.edu. And above all - ENJOY!