I decided that whilst the Special Play cards gave a fair representation of the lengths an average coach would go to in order to win a game, there would always be someone out there despairing enough to go that little bit further. The rules given below allow a head coach to visit special locations before and after a match in order to gain sponsorship, by potions, bribe match officials and do many other things.

A coach may visit one of the special locations detailed below before the game, during the Hire Freebooters segment of the Pre-Match sequence.

There are eight Colleges of Magic, each one devoted to teaching a particular type of Battle Magic, based on one of the divisions of the Winds of Magic. The eight Colleges are Amber, Amethyst, Bright, Celestial, Gold Grey, Jade and Light, and the attitude and style of each College differs greatly. The appearances of the Colleges themselves go a large way towards identifying the nature of their owners. The buildings of the Celestial College are the tallest in Altdorf and intricate glass domes from which the wizards can ovserve the skies top their many-fingered towers. The Bright College is a marvel of architecture, its towers rise like pillars of flame high above the townscape of Altdorf. Although its towers are not so high as those of the Celestial College, they are perhaps more impressive, topped by great beacons that burn all day and night, causing an eerie scarlet glow over the College. Each College has offices in all of the Empire’s major cities, set up to recruit apprentice wizards and trade magical trinkets to those wealthy enough to afford them. A team’s coach may visit one of the Colleges before a match if he so wishes, and whilst there can purchase up to D6 of the following potions to use in any subsequent match. Each potion costs 2D6 x 1,000 gold crowns, and may be used only once.

Potion of Strength: You may give this potion to a player at the beginning of any drive. That player has +1 ST for the rest of the drive.

Potion of Agility: You may give this potion to a player at the beginning of any drive. That player has +1 AG for the rest of the drive.

Potion of Speed: You may give this potion to a player at the beginning of any drive. That player has +1 MA for the rest of the drive.

Potion of Resilience: You may give this potion to a player at the beginning of any drive. That player has +1 AV for the rest of the drive.

Potion of Power: You may give this potion to a player at the beginning of any drive. That player gains the use of one Strength skill of your choice for the rest of the drive.

Potion of Prowess: You may give this potion to a player at the beginning of any drive. That player gains the use of one Agility skill of your choice for the rest of the drive.

Potion of Dispelling: You may use this potion when your opponent declares his wizard is casting a spell. If you roll a 5+ on 1D6 the spell has no effect and the wizard’s powers are exhausted for the remainder of the game. You may only use one Potion of Dispelling against each spell.

You may use potions on any player except Star Players, Big Guys and Undead, who are either too set in their ways or too stupid to gain any benefit. A player may only benefit from the effects of one potion at a time, and any extra potions he takes are wasted.

Every time a potion runs out, roll a D6. On a 6 the player has taken well to the potion and retains its benefits for the rest of the game.

Bloodweiser are probably the largest and most powerful company in the Old World, their most famous product being, of course, Bloodweiser beer itself. The company is one of Blood Bowl’s biggest backers, and every year they sponsor the Blood Bowl Championship itself, the highlight of any season. The Bloodweiser Corporation in marketing mad, and seem unable to resist plastering their name across every stadium, player and cheerleader that approaches them. Bloodweiser have many plush offices across the Old World, but their headquarters in Nuln is more than likely the most over the top building outside of Ulthuan. A set of one hundred polished marble steps lead up to a sixty-foot high revolving glass door, set between tow overpowering marble pillars. Inside the palace-like erection is no less nauseating, red carpets lining the floors with avenues of golden statues of former directors along every corridor. A head coach may play a visit to the Bloodweiser Corporation in an attempt to relieve the company of some of its hard-earned profits.

Match Day Sponsors: If you visit Bloodweiser before the match you may try to convince the company to become match day sponsors, having their products mentioned several times by the announcer for a not insubstantial fee, most of which unfortunately goes to the stadium owner. Roll a D6, on a 4+ Bloodweiser agrees to become match sponsors. Both you and your opponent may add +1 to the dice roll when it comes to working out your winnings at the end of the match. Note that Bloodweiser will already be sponsoring all of the games that take place during the Blood Bowl itself, and so you cannot gain match sponsorship for such games.

Player Sponsorship: You may attempt to procure a sponsorship deal for one of your players, claiming association with such a talent will surely attract media attention. Roll a D6, on a 5+ Bloodweiser agrees with the deal. Until the sponsorship deal runs out the team gains an extra D6 x 1,000 gold crowns when collecting their winnings and the player in question receives 1 bonus SPP per game. The deal lasts until the sponsored player fails to score any SPPs (other than the bonus one), after which Bloodweiser will pull out. Only one player per team may have a deal with Bloodweiser.

Succeeding the Necromancers Broadcasting Circle and the Crystal Ball Service, the Association of Broadcasting Conjurers are the current holders of the Cabalvision franchise, obtained for a record twelve million gold crowns! Having acquired the services of the now legendary commentary team Jim and Bob, the Conjurers seem set to continue the tradition of fine Blood Bowl coverage. Recently, however, they have begun to cover some of the less popular teams in an effort to gain what they call ‘total coverage’. The Conjurers central office is situated in Middenheim, city of the White Wolf. Middenheim stands alone atop an ancient core, a sheer-sided, iron hard pinnacle of rock that rises out of the surrounding forests at the heart of the Empire. The city was built high to protect it and to enable its inhabitants to gaze out far over the treetops, but it provides the Conjurers with the perfect site to broadcast form, projecting mental images across the Old World without the obstruction of the mountainous terrain. The Association’s buildings consist of a series of hastily constructed wooded extensions added to a renovated temple; all looking rather ramshackle form the outside. That impression changes as soon as one enters the main doorway, for the temple’s dull stone walls are lifted by a multitude of exquisite stained glass windows of all sizes, each depicting the triumph of Sigmar over one of his many enemies. A coach may visit the Association of Broadcasting Conjurers in order to secure coverage of his team, either in their next match or as a special feature.

Match Coverage: If you visit the Association before a match you may attempt to persuade them to cover the game on Cabalvision. Roll 4D6 x 10, and if the result is less than your team rating you agree to a deal. If your match is being shown on Cabalvision, then both you and your opponent receive an additional 2D6 x 1,000 gold crowns on top of any other winnings you would normally receive.

Blood Bowl Focus: The most popular show on Cabalvision, Blood Bowl Focus covers the week’s main action and highlights the smaller events that interest the fans. A coach can try to have their team featured on the next show, perhaps an interview with one of the team’s best players, or an item on the head coach’s training methods. The Association will pay a small recognition fee to any team they feature. Roll 4D6 x 10. If the result is more than your team rating, the Conjurers agree to a short item. Small teams will find this especially useful, as the fans often warm to the underdogs, probably because they are more likely to be beaten to a pulp! If you can roll over your current Fan Factor on a D6, you may immediately add +1 to it. Note that a roll of 6 does not always succeed, so teams with a Fan Factor of 6 or more cannot benefit from this coverage. In addition, a player will often try harder in training if he knows he is to appear on Cabal, so one player of your choice will receive D3 bonus SPPs if you can first roll 5 or more on a D6.

The BBBC are the sole suppliers of balls to the stadiums which host Blood Bowl matches, and they are always busy, for the game’s rules state that twenty-five balls must be provided for each and every match. From their modestly understated offices in Rock Rapids – near Middenheim – the BBBC supply balls to stadiums throughout the Old World and beyond. As well as producing the standard pig’s bladder ball, BBBC have also started to produce less orthodox items such as the now infamous floating ball.

Floating Balls: A coach may purchase up to D3 floating balls to use during his next match. Each ball costs 5,000 gold crowns, and must be used in the next match or else deflate and become useless. As with all sneaky tricks, this is a Goblin idea – a normal ball filled with lighter-than-air marsh gas. The Goblins just love to see the expression on the other team’s faces when their game-winning pass floats off into the great blue yonder. You may only attempt to use one floating ball per kickoff.

When thrown, the ball counts as one band lower (i.e. Long Pass = Short Pass) but it is -1 to catch at the other end. Whenever the ball is passed, or if it is on the ground at the end of a turn, roll a D6. If the result is a 1 (1 or 2 if it was a Long Bomb) the ball simply floats away and the game has to restart with a new, normal ball. Floating balls scatter twice as far as normal.

Explosive Balls: A coach may purchase 1 explosive ball to use during his next match. Each ball costs 5,000 gold crowns, and must be used in the next match or else the clockwork devices will go rusty. Once included to promote a passing game in some areas, the ideas has caught on and has proved popular with the deranged lunatics known as fans, some even place side bets on when it will explode and who will be hurt! Explosive balls may only be used when your team is kicking off. Since the opposition will not have agreed to use the ball, you must attempt to smuggle the ball onto the field, avoiding the referee’s vigilant gaze, which will only succeed on a D6 roll of 5+. A failed attempt results in the referee confiscating the explosive ball and the kick off proceeding with a normal ball. You may not attempt to use nay other type of special ball after a failed attempt to smuggle on an explosive ball.

At the end of each turn, roll a D6 if a 1 is rolled the shaking triggers the explosives. Anyone holding it is automatically injured (roll as normal) and anyone in an adjacent square is knocked over as normal (roll for armor as normal).

NOTE: Credit where credit is due, this is basically just an adapted version of Adam Morgan’s article "A Load of Balls!" from Journal #15, I hope he doesn’t mind me including them.

Orcidas are another major organization with a vested interest in Blood Bowl, being the current sponsors of the sport’s ‘second major’, the Chaos Cup. The more intelligent members of a small and very unsuccessful Orc team, the Hooded Toof, set up Orcidas about eighty years ago. Believing the reason they lost every game to be the fact the opposition was always better dressed, the Orcs set out to bring about their domination of Blood Bowl by designing themselves some swanky new kits. Although the team never improved, other Orcs were so impressed by the Toof’s flamboyant clothing that they agreed to pay extortionate prices for the replica garments. The Toof’s head coach, Wakdig Biggob, realized he was in the wrong business, and disbanded the team to begin full time production. Soon demand of Orcidas products became so high Wakdig was forced to hire fifty local Goblins to meet the orders coming in not just from Orc teams, but other traces and even fans desperate to emulate their heroes. Orcidas has continued to grow, and is now the largest employer of Goblins outside of Zharr-Naggrund. Wakdig still denies any bias against the fairer races, even though after last year’s Chaos Cup, the losers (the Orcland Raiders) received more prize money than the winners (the Dwarf Giants). Although Orcidas’ main offices are situated at the center of the Badlands, every settlement of any importance has at least one retailer of Orcidas goods, which a head coach may visit if he wishes.

Orcidas Clothing: A coach may buy any one player in his team a complete Orcidas kit for 20,000 gold crowns. Only one player per team may have an Orcidas kit, and whoever has it gains the Flash skill as described below.

A player with this skill is so impressed with his own abilities that he believes he can never fail. Amazingly this outrageous overconfidence actually makes the player a little better. Once per team turn the player may add +1 to any normal D6 roll, so not Armor, Injury, Blocks, etc. A player must declare he is using this bonus before he makes the dice roll. However, should the player ever fail in an action in which he has used the skill, his confidence will be shattered and therefore cannot use the Flash skill for the rest of the game. Remember that a roll of 1 always fails regardless of how many modifiers apply.

Those hard-faced, zebra stripped officials with the funny trousers and the piercing whistles are the NAF’s representatives on the field of play. As such, they have a very important job to perform. It’s a pity then that the good name of Blood Bowl referees has gown down so much in the public’s estimation. Many pretend they are rat gutters or sewer sweepers rather than admit their real profession. Bribery is an uncontrollable problem; many officials have worked out the attractions of taking a hefty cut of the game’s gate takings in return for not seeing certain rules infringements. Bribery is now so common that the RARG have set official union rates for bribing a referee, and under an agreement signed last season, clubs are not allowed to offer less than the going rate. The night before any match a referee will often stay in the RARG’s local offices where guild official can keep a close eye on them. More often than not however, this practice merely allows corrupt coaches the luxury of not having to find him first! A head coach may visit the match referee at the Guild before a game in order to try and persuade him to see things in your favor. You may bribe a referee in as may ways you like, but if he reports you to the NAF then you lose the benefits of all the bribes you have made, not just the one you are reported for. As you can see multiple bribes are a risky and costly business.

Wide Zones: You can try to bribe the referee into allowing you to set up three players in the wide zone at the kickoff. Doing this costs 2D6 x 1,000 gold crowns, after paying you should roll a D6. On a roll of 2 or more the referee accepts the bribe, but on a roll of 1 the referee is insulted by the amount you offer him, takes the money and reports you to the NAF! If the referee accepts the bribe then roll a D6 before each kickoff, and a 4 or more the referee turns a blind eye and you can set up 3 players in each wide zone for that kick off only.

Twelve Players: You can try to bribe the referee into allowing you to set up 12 players on the pitch at the kickoff. Doing this costs 2D6 x 1,000 gold crowns, after paying, you should roll a D6. On a roll of 2 or more the referee accepts the bribe, but on a roll of 1 the referee is insulted by the amount you offer him, takes the money and reports you to the NAF! If the referee accepts the bribe then roll a D6 before each kickoff. On a 5 or more the referee turns a blind eye and you can set up 12 players on the pitch for that kickoff only.

Illegal Procedures: You can try to bribe the referee into not giving an illegal procedure if you forget to move your turn marker along. Doing this costs 2D6 x 1,000 gold crowns after paying you should roll a D6. On a roll of 2 or more the referee accepts the bribe, but on a roll of 1 the referee is insulted by the amount you offer him, takes the money and reports you to the NAF! If the referee accepts the bribe then roll a D6 each time you are called for an illegal procedure. On a 4 or more the referee overlooks the infringement and you may move the marker along and continue as normal. If you roll less than 4 you must either surrender a reroll or suffer a turnover as normal.

Fouls: You can try to bribe the referee into overlooking some of the fouls your players commit. Doing this costs 1D6 x 1,000 gold crowns after paying you should roll a D6. On a roll of 2 or more the referee accepts the bribe, but on a roll of 1 the referee is insulted by the amount you offer him, takes the money and reports you to the NAF! If the referee accepts the bribe then you will successfully argue the call against a sending off due to fouling or the use of secret weapons on a roll of 5 or 6, rather than just 6. Note the referee will still expel you from the game on a roll of 1 as normal.

Heralded by some as the greatest work of literature the Old World has ever seen, Spike! Magazine is recognized by most as a fairly reasonable volume detailing the current events in Blood Bowl. Spike! has a huge following, as it appeals to all Blood Bowl fans from the refined High Elves to the most bloodthirsty of Orcs with its coverage of Blood Bowl events both large and small. The opinions represented in Spike! have massive influence on the fans, and positive coverage can have a major effect on a team’s fan base. Spike! Magazine is the sponsor of the Spike! Magazine Trophy – I’m clever, me! – one of the season’s major tournaments. Each year, during the event, Spike! readers vote for the player and team of the year, an accolade though of second to a player’s medal from the Blood Bowl final. Spike! has its head office in Altdorf, the geographical and spiritual heart of Old World Blood Bowl, opposite the Altdorf Oldbowl, the finest stadium in the Warhammer world. The Spike! building is a massive structure in the shape of a square, three stories high with a large, leafy courtyard in the center. In the center of the courtyard is the Spike! Tower, a narrow column built of sandstone, over seventy years ago during a period in which Spike! reporters had been banned form the Oldbowl for giving Blind Willy Muller, the Reikland Reavers coach, bad press. The tower has a commanding view of the Oldbowl’s astrogranite pitch. Reporters would watch the game from the top and have their report finished before all the fans had left the stadium. Now the tower is one of the most beautiful sights in the capital city, the afternoon sun gloriously reflected off the sandstone surface. A head coach may pay Spike! a visit if he so wishes.

‘Spot the Chainsaw’ Competition: Now almost an institution, Spike’s regular ‘Spot the Chainsaw’ competition, asks readers to mark the position they believe the chainsaw to be, in a picture from a match recreated on paper by wizards. Sounds easy? Well not really, since the offending item has been magically omitted form the picture. The first correct entry to reach Spike! receives a VIP ticket to he game of their choice, and the rather dubious reward of going out on to the pitch to give the referee the match ball. Making your way past twenty-two armored psychopaths desperate to try and rend each other limb form limb, is probably one of the most unnerving of experiences, and most of the lucky ‘winners’ leave the field fairly quickly! A head coach may try to persuade Spike! To feature his team in this competition, succeeding on a D6 roll of 4+. The extra interest the team will gain because of this means you may roll an extra 2D6 when calculating the gate in your next match.

One to Watch: Every issue Spike! Magazine includes a ‘One to Watch’ segment, detailing a young player they feel is destined to make it big in Blood Bowl. With a little enticement, it is possible you can have one of your own young talents featured in this spot. This costs 10,000 gold crowns, after payment of which you should roll a D6. On a 5 or more Spike! agrees to feature one Experienced player (i.e. one with between 6-10 SPPs) of your choice. That player is so inspired by the article that he immediately receives D6-1 bonus SPPs, roll on the Star Player Roll Table if so necessary.

Not so much an organized body as a group of like-minded thugs, the Guild has very little formal structure, its only real use being to make banditry more predictable, as ‘independent ventures’ – as the Guild refers to the operations of non-members – don’t tend to last that long. In an attempt at becoming more respectable, the Guild recently began offering the services of its members to those who desired employees more discrete than mercenaries. The Guild has no official leader, let alone central office. Rather, each city has a branch that more or less runs itself, most likely from some disreputable tavern in a less than savory area of the city. A head coach may visit the Guild in order to hire some thugs to ‘rough up’ his next opponents.

Disrupt Training: You may try to hire some Guild members to disrupt your opponents training schedule during the days before the match. The Guild will agree to this on a 4+ at a price of D3 x 5,000 gold crowns. The bandits will use all sorts of tricks to make sure your opponents are under prepared, from attacking the players to puncturing all of their balls! Your opponents must play against you with 1 less team reroll than usual. If your opponent doesn’t have any rerolls at all, they you may play the match with one extra reroll.

Kidnap: You may try to hire some Guild members to kidnap one of your opponent’s players, which they will agree with on a 5+, at a price of D3 x 5,000 gold crowns. Being notoriously unreliable, the bandits will attempt to kidnap one randomly selected player from your opponent’s team. Roll 2D6, and if this beats the number of Star Player Rolls the player has taken, then the kidnapping is successful and that player must miss the whole match. If you roll equal to or less than the number of Star Player Rolls, then the kidnapping is unsuccessful and your opponent may use the player as normal. Kidnapped players will be released at the end of the match.