Official Blood Bowl FAQ


These questions and answers were printed in White Dwarf No. 182. Everything is reprinted in its original form, unless stated otherwise. Jervis Johnson is the writer of the article. I hope GW doesn't have anything against this FAQ :-) This information isn't useful without Blood Bowl anyway. (note- this was compiled by Patrik Påfvelsson and not me)
Q: Can I use a team reroll to reroll the result when I'm rolling on the Kick-Off table? Or when I roll to see if a K.O.ed player recovers consciousness?

A: No to both questions. Team rerolls may only be used during your own team turn and at no other time.

Q: Do prone players have a tackle zone?

A: No they don't. This isn't specifically stated in the rules although it is noted on the introductory playsheet.

Q: Does a player with the Frenzy skill have to go for it and move extra squares if he fails to knock an opponent over when he throws a block.

A: No, but the frenzied player may attempt to move extra squares and carry on attacking if his coach wants him to.

Q: Nobbla Blackwart is armed with a chainsaw and has the frenzy skill. Does this mean that he can continue to make attacks with the chainsaw if the first attack fails to take the victim out?

A: No, the Frenzy skill only applies when Nobbla makes a block.

Q: What happens if a player with Frenzy skill blocks an opponent with Stand Firm skill and gets a push back result? Does the frenzied player carry on making blocks even though he wasn't able to push his opponent back?

A: Yes.

Q: Are all modifiers to armour and injury rolls added together? For example, if a player with Mighty Blow and Dirty Tackle fouls another player does he +4 to the armour roll (+1 Mighty Blow, +2 Dirty Tackle and +1 for the foul)?

A: Ooops! The rules for skills are missing an important note which states that only one skill may be used to modify a dice roll, although any number of other, non-skill related modifiers can also be used. In the example above, the Coach should either have his player us ehis Mighty Blow skill to modify the dice roll, or his Dirty Tackle skill to modify the dice roll, but not both (and I know which I'd use!). The +1 bonus for making a foul would still apply whichever skill was used. Note that it is only dice roll modifiers which may not be combined - a player with Strong Arm (which reduces the range of the pass) and Accurate (which gives a +1 to the pass modifier) would be allowed to use both skills on the same pass, for example.

Note: I assume Jervis Johnsson means Dirty Player when he speaks of Dirty Tackle. Dirty Tackle was a skill in 2nd ed.

Q: Can a player use Mighty Blow or similar skills to modify armour and/or injury rolls if:

i) A player dodges out of his tackle zone and falls over?

ii) A player is pushed off the field by the player with Mighty Blow and beaten up by the crowd?

iii) An opposing player blocks the player with Mighty Blow and falls over himself?

A: i) No, ii)No, iii)Yes.

Q: Does the diving tackle skill allow a player with the skill to make a block against every opponent that enters his tackle zone, or may it only be used once per opposing team turn?

A: The skill may only be used once per opposing team turn.

Q: May a player who has been hypnotised assist a block?

A: Yes, but note that because they have lost their tackle zone, they do not stop any opposing players lending an assist as well.

Q: Does a player with Horns and Frenzy skill recieve the +1 strength modifier when he follows up and makes an extra block?

A: The player counts +1 strength for the extra blocks, but only if they occur as part of a blitz action.

Q: Are the conditions for making a foul the same as for a block?

A: No. You can assist a foul even if you are in an opposing player's tackle zone.

Q: Does a K.O.ed player get a chance to recover from his injury before every kick-off?

A: Yes.

Q: The 'Sorry' and 'Sorry Sir' special play cards can result in a team's Head Coach (i.e. me!) getting killed. Is this correct? And if it is, what effects does it have?

A: Yes, these cards can be used against Head Coaches. If the Head Coach is injured or killed then he may not argue the call for the rest of the match (and Undead Necromancer's may not use their 'Raise The Dead' spell either). If a Head Coach is killed then he is replaced for free in time for the next match. Undead teams that lose their Necromancer Head Coach can carry on playing, but none of the players in the team are allowed to Regenerate as this function is performed by the Head Coach rather than the players themselves. The Necromancer will be repaced for the next match in the same way as a normal Head Coach.

Q: If a player holding the ball is pushed off the field and becomes a casualty, does the player who pushed him get 2 star player points? And does the ball get thrown back in by the fans as normal?

A: Yes to both questions.

Q: After the ball has scattered D6 squares at the kick-off and lands in an empty square in the recieving team's half, what happens if the ball bounces off the field? Is it thrown in or is it a touchback?

A: The recieving team gets a touchback.

Q: When a player dodges away from one of your players and fails the dodge roll and then suffers an injury, does the player he was dodging away from earn 2 star player points for inflicting a casualty?

A: No.

Q: Do niggling injuries last for a whole season? Or are they cancelled out once a 2-6 is rolled on a D6 in the pre-match sequence?

A: Niggling injuries are permanent and are never ever lost! A player that has picked up several niggling injuries has to roll for each and every one of them before each and every match that he plays!

Q: If a standing player is pushed into a square containing the ball does he get a chance to pick it up or does it scatter one square.

A: It scatters one square.

Q: If a player thrown by a team mate lands in the same square as another player, do either (or both) of the players need to make an armour roll followed by an injury roll after they are knocked over?

A: Yes. Unless the rules state otherwise, a player that is knocked over for any reason must make an armour roll to avoid injury.

Q: The Landing Modifiers on the example of Throwing a Team-Mate are different to those printed in the rules. Which is correct?

A: The Landing Modifiers printed in the rules are the correct ones (i.e. +1 for an accurate pass, -1 per tackle zone on the square where the player lands).

Q: A number of Dwarf players have the Tackle skill, but it's not described in the Blood Bowl Handbook. How does the skill work?

A: Ooops! I'm afraid I managed to miss the Tackle skill out of the handbook, although it is in Death Zone. If a player has the Tackle skill then opposing players who are in his tackle zone are not allowed to use their Dodge skill if they attempt to dodge out of the player's tackle zone, nor may they use their Dodge skill if the player throws a block at them.

Suggested rules modifications


This has been shortened, but the rules are all (2) there!
  • Jervis recommends leagues with more than eight teams to play quarter-finals before semi-finals in their tournament to avoid sneaky tricks during play-off.

  • The Regeneration skill in league play should be changed to regenerate on a roll of 4+ instead of 2+. This only applies in league play, in one-off games the rules are good as they are.

Last modified Mar 20 '96 by Patrik Påfvelsson, d2patrik@dtek.chalmers.se
(Last editted Nov 15 '02 by tketchum@oregon.uoregon.edu)