The Crush

The Crush

In the very earliest days of the sport, new Blood Bowl players were recruited from anyone who wanted to play. This was fine, but often left teams with throwers that couldn’t even hold the ball, let alone throw it. Eventually, though, a system grew up where promising players had to go through a special vetting procedure in order to join a team. The process of selection which decides which players go where quickly became known as The Crush. It’s a very complicated procedure, but basically all the available players are put in a large room, with representatives of all the major Blood Bowl teams outside. On the word ‘Go!’, all of the players rush through a small door to get to the team of their choice before their quota of new players is filled. The Crush takes place two weeks after the Blood Bowl final, and always attracts high viewing figures because of the exciting scramble for the door! But that’s not all that happens when the Crush takes place, not by a long chalk! Far more importantly for most teams, the two weeks before the Crush takes place have come to be accepted as the period when old players hang up their spiky jock-straps for the last time and retire, and when Star Players who have become upset with their treatment in their present team will look for new and more lucrative contracts elsewhere. All of these factors combine to make the two weeks of theCrush a fascinating period for all true Blood Bowl fans. Not only is there a chance to see the potential new stars of the game for the first time, there are also all of the award ceremonies and testimonial dinners held for retiring players, not to mention the press coverage of the often angry and sometimes violent departure of ‘prima-donna’ star players from one team to join another. By the end of the two weeks it is not unknown for the head coach to be the only recognizable face left on a team, all of the other players having either retired, left to join a new team, or been replaced with a new and highly promising rookie player.

The Crush should be held in the two week period after your Blood Bowl final. It’s up to the League Commisioner to make sure that all of the coaches in the league roll to see if any of the players in their team retire or leave, and then to get all of the Coaches together so that the Crush itself can be held. Each coach must roll a D6 for each of the players on his team who has 26 or more Star Player Points. If the D6 roll is 4-6 the player is perfectly happy and will remain with the team. On a roll of 1-3 the player has decided he either wants to retire or leave the team. Roll the D6 again. If the D6 roll is less than or equal to the number of niggling injuries the player has suffered, then he has decided he wants to retire. If the D6 is greater than the number of niggling injuries the player has suffered, then he is thinking of leaving the team.

A player who decides to retire can’t be stopped from doing so, although he may be kept on as an Assistant Coach for free. A player who has decided to leave can be persuaded to stay by being paid a retainer. Roll a D6 x 10K. The result is the number of gold pieces that must be paid out immediately from the team treasury in order to keep the player on the team. Players that leave a team may not be kept on as Assistant Coaches. If a player retires or leaves the team, then their details should be crossed off the team roster. However, if the player is leaving (not retiring), then his details should first be transferred to a blank Star Player card as there is a chance that he may be bought up by another team.

Fortunately for the Blood Bowl coach who finds that most of his players have retired or left the team, finding replacements at the Crush is extremely easy. Because of this any player that retires or leaves the team may be replaced completely for free with a new player of exactly the same type, but without any Star Player points, extra skills or characteristic increases. For example, if your Star Blitzer decides to retire, he will be replaced with a free ‘rookie’ Blitzer from your team list. Note: If a Vampire Lord retires or leaves the team during the Crush, a new Vampire Lord with rookie stats will appear. This is the only time that a Vampire team can gain a new Vampire Lord).

Star Players that were purchased for the team from Star Player Cards may also decide to leave or retire. Roll for them in exactly the same way as a player with 26 or more Star Player Points as described above. Obviously, if a Star Player decides to leave then you don’t have to fill out a blank card for them, as they will have their own already. Star Players are not replaced for free unless they are of the same race as the team that they play for. For example, if Griff Oberwald retired from a Human team, then he could be replaced by a rookie Human Blitzer. If Morg ‘N’ Thorg was playing for the same team and also decided to retire, then he could not be replaced as he is not a human player.

The Crush itself is split into two parts. In the first part the Coaches who have chosen to attend the Crush are allowed to try and sign up any players that have left their team and are looking for more lucrative offers of work elsewhere. In the second part of the Crush the Coaches get a chance to bid for exceptional Rookie players. In order for the Crush to work properly it really needs all of the coaches in the league to be present. The League Commissioner should set a time and a place for the event, and make sure that all of the coaches in the league knows when and where it is happening in advance. If any coaches fail to turn up, it is their own fault.

Once all the Coaches in the league have been gathered together the Crush can take place using the following rules:

1) The League Commissioner should take all of the Star Player cards for players that have left their teams, and give them a shuffle.

2) The League Commissioner takes the top card from the deck and places it face-up where all the coaches can see it. He then rolls a D6 and places it on the card. The D6 roll times 10K is the minimum bid for the player.

3) The Coaches are allowed to bid for the player. A coach may bid any amount, up to the total amount of gold they have in their treasury, as long as their bid is greater or equal to the minimum bid and is higher than the last bid. The Coach that bids the most gets the player and must deduct the amount he bid for him from his treasury immediately. If no one bids for the player, then the card is discarded. Note that a coach is allowed to bid for a player that can’t play for his team if he wants to do so, either to run up the price or stop an opposing coach from getting the player. However, if you end up buying a player that can’t play for your team then the cash you spent is wasted and you must discard the Star Player at the end of the Crush.

4) The next card in the deck is turned face-up, a minimum bid is set, and the player may be bid for. This carries on until all the players that left their teams have been bid for.

5) And finally we get to the fun bit, the Crush itself. Although the majority of the players signed at the Crush are fairly ordinary, each year there are a small handful of exceptional players whose raw natural ability makes them stand out. To see what talent is available, the League Commissioner should take all of the Star Player cards from Blood Bowl and Death Zone and shuffle them all together. He then turns over the top card on the deck, which represents the first player through the doors. Set a minimum bid and bid for the player as described above. Then turn over the next card and bid for that player, and so on. This carries on until the D6 roll to establish the minimum bid is a ‘1'. A roll of 1 means that this is the last exceptional player that will come through the door. The player the 1 was rolled for is bid for as normal, and the Crush is over.

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