League Commissioners, have you ever felt left out while your friends are playing Blood Bowl and you have to sit around and watch them play? Are you fed up with answering their rules questions? Is the only fun you get writing the league magazine? Well if the answer is yes to any of these then here is your answer: Referees!

Yes, the friendly Ref. Humble in appearance but with power far beyond a mere mortal. The power to change a match or to be smashed into a pulp. Whatever, Referees are going to make you, the League Commissioners, lives much more fun and exciting. Aren’t we good to you?

Referees have been around since the Blood Bowl game first began and they have had to change every time Blood Bowl has changed. But two things have remained toe same throughout. Referees still either get their heads smashed in by the players or the referee smashes the players’ heads in. After all, Blood Bowl was built on good old-fashioned violence.

During the last few years, a strange development has been taking place amongst referees. Some Refs are becoming rather popular. These so-called Star Refs travel the Old World turning up for Blood Bowl matches and are more often than not picked for the match by the tournament organizers because they bring in the crowds for one reason or another. Some Star Refs are so inexplicably bad at refereeing that players can get away with almost any unspeakable acts of, well, they are unspeakable. Others are just dead ‘ard and the crowds just love to watch Referees giving as good as they get back to the players.

Because it is the League Commissioner’s job to play the Referee, you get the job of choosing them too. If you have created a Referee of your own using the following rules then you could have him refereeing your match or you can choose one of the 8 Star Refs, which are included at the end of this article. The players can’t argue with you – they agreed to you being the League Commissioner, so it’s tough. But please don’t let all this power go to your head. Try and choose a Referee for the match that will make the game more fun and challenging (i.e.: don’t take the Minotaur every match).

Firstly choose which race you want your referee to be. The Referee has the same profile as the basic Lineman type of their race and follows any special rules and skills for that race or position. Referees begin with no skills and experience but gain these as they progress in the refereeing trade in the same manner as players do.

You must use a suitable referee miniature, which should be painted in black and white stripes. There are a few of the referee miniatures from Blood Bowl second edition still available from Mail Order that I suggest you use.

The Referee’s aim in life is to remain within 9 squares of the football every turn so that he can keep up with the action and make decisions as and when they are required. The Referee’s turn takes place after both other players’ turns (i.e.: after the second player’s turn 1, but before the first player’s turn 2). The Referee’s turn slot in here every turn of the game until the end of the match or until the ref is injured.

If there is a Get the Ref result on the kick off table then the Ref has been injured and may not referee this match. A replacement Referee is found at the last minute that must be a normal ref and as such you should play a normal match.

After both teams have been set up, but before the kick off, the League Commissioner may place the Ref in any empty square on the pitch. When you place the Ref remember that there is a point to staying within 9 squares of the football but you may choose not to if you wish.

The League Commissioner takes the Referee’s turn and he ahs the choice of one of the following four actions:

1. Move his MA (a ref may not Go For It or Blitz).
2. Make a Block against an adjacent player.
3. Make a Foul against an adjacent prone player (if he rolls a double the crowd throw rotten eggs at him and he must leave the field as if he had been sent off).
4. Stay still and watch the field like a Hawk.

A Ref who stays still and watches the field like a Hawk will spot any Foul made on the pitch and will send off the fouling player on a D6 roll of 4 or more. If the player making the Foul rolls a double then he is sent off anyway.

Referees do not exert a Tackle Zone so players do not need to make a dodge roll when standing adjacent to the Referee. Referees may ignore Tackle Zones when moving because nobody will trip up the Ref by accident. Referees may never touch the football and if the ball should land in a square occupied by a Referee then it will scatter one square away from him. You see, Referees always get in the way in every sport.

After the Referee has had his turn, count the number of squares that the Ref is away from the football. If the referee is within 9 squares or less then the Ref is doing a good job of keeping up with the action and making sure that the game is flowing. Note down how many turns the Referee is within 9 squares of the ball at the end of his turn on a piece of paper. This will be required at the end of the game when Star Player Points are awarded. A Star Ref is as good as they are going to get and will not receive any Star Player Points, but should still attempt to remain within 9 squares of the ball to keep up with the action, at least if he wants to keep his job.

Players may Block or Blitz the referee during their turn and risk the wrath of the Ref. If a Referee is blocked but does not get injured (i.e.: off the pitch) then as soon as he is standing on his feet again he will try to send off the perpetrator who blocked or fouled him. The player is sent off on a D6 roll of 4 or more. Other players who assist the Block/Foul will get a warning.

When a Referee is stunned then place him face down as normal. A Referee that is prone may not send any players off, so all the players can cheat and Foul as much as they like while the Ref is down. You can still only make one Foul each turn; it’s just that on the roll of a double a player will not be sent off. If a Referee is injured or removed form the pitch then a normal ref will come on in his place. Carry on the game as per the rules for a normal match.

A Referee who is knocked out during the first half will not return to the game until the start of the second half and a Referee knocked out during the second half will not recover until after the game is finished. A Ref who is Badly Hurt, Injured, or Dead is out of the game as normal. If a Star Ref dies then they cannot be chosen to Ref another match again, unless them Undead get hold of him anyway!

At the end of the match, count how many turns the Ref has stayed within 9 squares of the ball. If the Ref has only managed to be within 9 squares of the ball for 4 turns or less (or 25% of the game in the special case of a Riot) then he is sacked and may never Referee in this League again. This means the League Commissioner may not choose this Referee ever again. Note players that you can try and keep the Ref away from the ball in an attempt to get him sacked.

If the Ref has been within 9 squares for 12 turns out of the 16 (or 75%) then the Referee receives a Refereeing Award, which is worth 10 Star Player Points. The Referee gains 5 Star Player Points for Casualties that he has caused as stated in the Death Zone rulebook.

When a Referee has enough Star Player Points he may make a roll on the Star Player Table in exactly the same way as a player. Characteristic increases are added to the Ref’s stat-line as normal. If the Ref is going to gain a new Skill then you may choose a Skill from the list on the next page. The racial restrictions are noted down with them and the rule for rolling doubles and choosing skills not usually available to them apply. Note that the skills on the list are the only ones of any use to a Referee so any other skills may not be chosen for a Referee.

Blitz: The Referee may Blitz the closest player each turn (Randomly decide if two are equidistant).

Mole Eyes: Ref must stay within 7 squares of the ball instead of 9.

Eagle Eyes: Ref may be within 11 squares instead of 9.

Strict Ref: You may not argue the call with a Strict Ref.

Super Pro: Gains a Referee reroll once each half.

Escapist: May evade a ‘Get the Ref’ roll on a D6 roll of 4+.

Personal Apothecary: Works in the same way as any Apothecary but for the Ref only.

Fast Runner: May ‘Go For It’ as described in the Blood Bowl rulebook.

Terrible Ref: Will only send a player off on the D6 roll of 4+.

Assistant Ref: The Assistant Ref will send off any players that Block or Foul the Ref (or any other players for that matter) while he is prone or injured.

Biased Ref: This Ref will side with whichever team is winning at the time. The team that is losing cannot argue the call.

Loves Dirty Tricks: Add +1 to all penalty rolls when this Ref is on the pitch.

Hates Dirty Tricks: Subtract -1 to all penalty rolls when this Ref is on the pitch.

Hates Gang Ups: When a player makes an Assist roll a D6. If this is equal or less than the number of models making Assists on this Block then a randomly chosen player making the Assist is sent off.

Lawquoter: Whenever this Ref sends off a player he quotes a load of rules to them and misses a bit of the game action. During the next turn nobody will be sent off, even if the Referee has got an Assistant Ref.

GENERAL SKILLS: Not Halflings or Goblins, but all other Refs.

Block, Dauntless, Dirty Player, Frenzy.

STRENGTH SKILLS: Dwarves and Chaos Dwarves only.

Mighty Blow, Multiple Block, Piling On, Stand Firm.

AGILITY SKILLS: Halflings, Goblins and Elves only.

Leap, Jump Up, Sidestep.

Sprint/Sure Feet: May only use these skills if the Ref has Fast Runner as well.

PHYSICAL SKILLS: Skaven and Chaos only.

Claw, Foul Appearance, Razor Sharp Claws or Fangs, Spikes, Thick Skull, Regenerate.

Horns: May only use this skill if the Ref has Blitz as well.

Very Long Legs: Will not add +1 to interception rolls because a Ref may not intercept.

Two Heads: Ignore the usual rules for having Two Heads. For a Ref this means they always count as though they were watching the field like a hawk because they can look in two directions at once.

Special: Whistle – Penalty 10+

During his turn a Ref with a whistle may stand still and blow it. The Ref may make no other action this turn as he blows with all his might. The closest player will be deafened by the noise and cannot move or Block next turn. A Ref with a whistle must make a penalty roll to avoid losing his pea and running off to find another one.

Special: Chainsaw – Penalty 8+

A Ref with a Chainsaw must make a penalty roll as normal although this does not mean that they are sent off. Instead the Chainsaw has been clogged up with players’ limbs and the Ref has gone to clean them off.