Deathroller what?!?
Oh yeah, you've read it just fine!As it seems these amazing Blood Bowl dwarf "machines of destruction" have finally cleared the pitch!! By Grimnir... we know how devastating one of those thing can be, let alone a pitch full of them!
In true dwarfish fashion (machines, brute force, violence, you know the drill), they can now compete on their own, for the title of the fastest on the track.
But Ill let our friend Neil - author of this great idea - put it in his own words...
Neil got to work and made sure he had plenty of Deathrollers to fill the pitch!
Barak hit the floor
hard, his hand twitched twice and then stopped as he lost consciousness. ‘Nae
one calls ma baby slow’ growled Beardy Fokke and, having wiped the blood
off it, carefully replaced the monkey wrench in the Deathroller repair kit
before turning to face the surviving Cabal Vision reporters ‘Any further
questions?’
Deathroller Racing is a spin off from the 2512 Karak
Eight Peaks Blood Bowl Season. After a rapidly escalating dispute between
rival Deathroller drivers over which machine was the best threatened to descend
in to civil war, King Lorin Greybeard declared the only right and proper forum
to settle the matter was on the Blood Bowl Pitch. A short time and a few
modifications to the pitch later and Deathroller Racing was born.
The races generally consist of between four and eight
Deathrollers who race around the outside of the Blood Bowl Pitch in a no-holds
barred effort to be either the first to complete two laps or the last
Deathroller not wrecked.
The Deathrollers can ram each other, foul each other
and generally cause mayhem; all whilst ostensibly attempting to prove their
Deathroller is the fastest. In an effort to shed weight they have removed
some armour which in turn allows them to ‘Open the Throttle Wide’ in essence
allowing them to ‘GFI’ as often as they want but with an increased risk of
failure each time as the machine heats up.
Each turn the Deathroller player effectively carries
out a Blitz! by being able to move and also block once. If they choose
not to block they may foul a prone Deathroller instead. When blocking the
Deathrollers smash in to each other with such force they often cause the
blocked Deathroller to collide in turn with either another competitor or one of
the walls that surrounds both the outside and the middle of the pitch. This can
lead to quite a chain reaction although pilots may choose to attempt to ‘Stand
Firm’ but in Deathroller Racing success is almost never a given.
During play testing so far we have had a lot of fun
due to the chain pushing/ blocking rules and the temptation to make just one
more GFI. The multiple GFI’s mean that a single breakaway Deathroller is
unable to just take it easy once out front. A particular peril of being
in the lead is the likelihood of being blocked from behind as, due to the rear
of the Deathroller being more vulnerable than the roller, any blocking
Deathroller that blocks from behind gains a Block die.
Another danger for
the leader is the pack ganging up on him by creating a ‘chain push
train’. This is done by using the blocks carefully, pushing the other
Deathrollers closer to the opposition before they move themselves. This,
however, carries a risk for the pack too, with the very first wreck in play
testing coming as a result of a block looking for a push and coming up with
skull and defender down!
Rerolls are limited to three per player with two being
available from the beginning and the third being awarded as the Deathroller
crosses the line for the start of its second lap. This means a player has
two options; either be lucky or take risks as they can be used up very
quickly. This has been done deliberately as Deathroller Racing is a risky
business! In our play testing so far we’ve generally seen most people
choose to trust their armour on the odd failed GFI early on in the race rather
than use their Rerolls up.
In general we have found the game takes about an hour
and a half to play with six players using the basic rules. The rules come
with tokens that can be printed out allowing you to try the game without the
need to invest in any models. I’d recommend sticking them to some stiff
card before play though. The optional driver rules haven’t yet been play tested
and we have a few further ideas to introduce variety but the ‘simple’ version
has already proven a lot of fun!
Regards,
Neil
And here are Neil's Deathrollers bios just to get you inspired...
(please click on them to see them bigger)
How about that?
Please check the links below for the rules (and some tokens/markers) provided by Neil!
Cheers!
A.
EDIT:
"Deathroller Race 2000" Rules - http://www.scribd.com/doc/104505026/DR-Racing-Rules-Ver-2
"DRR Markers" - http://www.scribd.com/doc/104505037/DRR-Markers
What’s more, the “enchanted balls” optional rule takes the already coveted ball token and adds an extra incentive. The ball carrier gains all the normal benefits of possession, plus a bonus effect! Gain extra Star Power, a few more all-important Fans, or even interrupt your opponent with a well-placed skill; in Sudden Death, you’ll want to hold onto the ball with everything you’ve got.
