Welcome to the Fantasy World of Blood Ball! v1.0 September 1992 Introduction Take orcs, skaven, slann, or elves and create a sports team. Armor them with spiked helmets, shoulder plates, and armbands. Place them on a concrete field and give them a single, innocent ball. Tell them that whoever can get the ball to the opposite end of the field three times will be given the opportunity to eat their opponents. Also tell them that they may do anything to achieve this goal. Killing is encouraged, and thoroughly enjoyed by the fans as well as the players. Once they know all this, have someone say "GO!" Snotling toss and player placement At the beginning of the game, the largest referee will twirl a snotling into the air. If he survives the fall, the home team receives the ball first. If he dies, the away team will be so honored. After a team has been declared the winner of the snotling toss, they will be requested to place their players on the field first. The first eleven available players will be the starters. The black bar at the bottem of the screen will display the name, race, position and statistics of the player to be placed on the field. Place these players on the right or left side of the field, as directed by the command bar. They must be placed beyond the first wide line from the skull marker. When all eleven starters have been placed, the opposing team will similarly place his players on the opposite side of the field. Once both teams have been placed, the winner of the toss will be asked to select the initial ball carrier. By clicking on any player with the mouse button, a 'stat card' will be displayed with all the necessary info on that player. Clicking inside the card will display other pages of information. Such as special skills, and individual in-game statistics. Clicking outside of the card will abort this player and allow you to select a different player. Upon deciding which player should start the game with the ball, press the mouse button inside the black command bar. When this is completed the game will begin. MOVEMENT Each player has two movement scores. The first is MA (Movement Allowance). A player may move the number of squares indicated, only restricted by the border of the field and occupied squares. The second is SP (Sprint) A player may sprint as long as he does not try to sprint into a TACKLE ZONE. A Tackle Zone is any square adjacent to an opposing player. There are two ways to move. Either click on the square you wish the player to move to, or use the numeric keypad as a directional parsor. (For Example: The 8 key will move the player one square up, the 9 will move diagonal up and right.) Players must move one square at a time. This is imperitive as tackle zones must be avoided when attempting to sprint. Movement ends when both MA and SP are zero. The player's turn may also be aborted by pressing '5' twice, or double-clicking on the player with the mouse. By pushing 'u' or the -Undo- option on the command bar, the player's MA & SP will be restored, and he will be replaced at the position where his turn began. By pushing the Space bar or clicking the -Skip- option on the command bar, the player's turn will be skipped. After all other standing players have been moved, aborted, or skipped, you will be prompted to move the player originally skipped. BLOCKING In the middle of a move, or at the end of the move, a player may attempt to block an opponent. Press 'b' on the keyboard or the click the -Block- option on the command bar. The program will prompt you with, "Who do you wish to block?" Either click on an opponent adjacent to your player, or use the numeric keypad to select your victim. At this time, pressing '5' or clicking on your own player will abort the block and return you to the movement option. Once a victim has been selected, a number will be printed in the command bar. This is the number necessary for a fully successful block. It is calculated by comparing the blocker's and the victim's ST (strength) The computer will roll two 6-sided dice. If the number is the same or higher than the necessary number, the victim will be knocked down. If it rolls one less, both the blocker and the victim will be knocked down. If it rolls a bit less, nothing will happen. (Stand off) And, if bad luck strikes, and it rolls a very low number, the victim will remain standing, and the blocker will be knocked down. Once again, you may abort before you attempt a block of this type. Pressing '5' or 'n' on the keyboard or clicking the -No- option on the command bar will abort. Upon selecting -Yes- or any other key on the keyboard, the program will prompt you with the needed number and an arrow. This cannot be aborted. Press any key or the mouse button, and the computer will roll the dice. If any players are knocked over, they will be given an armor check. See the section on ARMOR CHECKS for more information. TACKLING If another player has the ball and you wish to tackle him, follow the same procedures as outlined in the BLOCK section. There is NO Tackle option, the program will automatically determine whether or not a player should be blocked or tackled. The only difference between block and tackle is that the AG (agilities) of the blocker and the victim are compared. Gang Tackles are not possible. GANG BLOCKING If two or more players are adjacent to a single victim, the group may attempt to gang up on him. For this, all the strengths of the attackers are added together before being compared to the victim's. Select 'g' or click -Gangup- on the command bar. The first option will be given to select the chosen victim. This is done the same as the block option. Once the victim has been chosen, the program will ask for all assisting players for the gangup. Assuming that a player has not already blocked this turn, you may select who will gang up by clicking on the player with the mouse, or using the numeric keypad as if it were centered on the VICTIM, not the initial blocker. You may continue to select as many gangup players as there are adjacent to the victim. Once all players have been selected. Press the space bar, or click inside the command bar. All the above can be aborted at any time by pressing the '5' key or clicking on the initial blocker. Just as in standard blocking, the necessary number will be given, followed by an arrow. Press any key or click the mouse button to see the results. It is possible for ALL players to be knocked down. In that case, the program will armor check all players until complete. STRIPPING Stripping the ball is an option if the player you wish to use to tackle the ball carrier does not have a high AG (agility). You may attempt the strip the ball from the player by comparing strengths instead. Stripping the ball is done similarly to blocking, the only difference being that a player cannot be knocked down while attempting to strip. FOULING If yer dirty enough, you can try to hit a player while he's down. Either click on the -Foul- option, or press the 'f' key on the keyboard. Just as in block, you will be prompted with, "Who do you wish to foul?" Select the victim as you would if you were blocking. The command bar will then tell you who's strength is highest. It is very difficult to successfully foul a down player if his strength is higher then the fouler. A successful foul will result in an extra turn of recovery/standing up, or a possible serious injury. END OF TEAM TURN If a team has possession of the ball at the end of its turn, a final option will be given to allow the ball carrier to throw it, or hand it off. Throwing Select 't' on the keyboard, or click the throw option on the command bar. The program will prompt you to select a receiver. There will be a slight pause, and then the screen will scroll with the mouse. As you move the mouse, the command bar will give an indication of the distance you are trying to throw the ball. The longer the throw, the more difficult. You may not throw the ball to an adjacent player or yourself. Clicking there will abort the throw and return you to the End of Turn menu. Click on the player you wish to throw it to. The program will compare the thrower's TS (Throwing Skill) and the receiver's CL (Catching Level) The higher these numbers, the more likely the pass will be successful. Press any key or the mouse button to throw the ball. The ball will move across the screen and into or out of the arms of the receiver. Handing Off At the prompt "Who do you wish to hand off to?" Select an adjacent team member with the mouse or the numeric keypad. A final request will ask you if you are sure you wish to hand it to this player. Abort by pressing '5' or 'no' on the command line. No roll is necessary. Hand offs are automatic. BEING KNOCKED DOWN If a player is knocked down, he will be appear 'face-down' on the field. (His head will be in the lower right corner of his square) At the beginning of either TEAM TURN, all players that are 'face-down' will be placed 'face-up' (The player's head will be in the upper right corner of his square) Then, at the beginning of the next Team turn, all players that are 'face-up' will be stood up and may resume normal movement. OTHER FUN STUFF Armor Checks If a player is knocked down, he must immediately be given an armor check. The computer will roll two six-sided dice. If the result is less than his armor value, he will remain on the field. If the result is greater than his armor value, then he will be apt to injury. The type of injury will be determined randomly upon failing an armor check. The player can be STUNNED, which means he will be unavailable to play until after the next touchdown is scored. If the player is KNOCKED OUT, he may or may not recover after the next touchdown is scored. If the player is INJURED, he will be out for the rest of the game, and if he is KILLED, well, you know... Substitutions If a player does wind up being taken from the field in some way, reserve players may be brought in (assuming you have any left!) At the beginning of the team turn, the computer will count all the players on the field. If less than 11 are counted, you will be prompted with, "Do you wish to add any players?" Pressing 'y' or selecting -Yes- on the command bar will bring up a roster list of your team. An abbreviation of their name, race, position, and status will be given. Select a player that is listed as RESERVE. A football card will appear with the stats of this player. Click on the card to review his game statistics, skills, and values. If you choose to add this player, click on the command bar. If you would like to choose another player, click outside of the card, on the field. Finally, upon selecting a player, you will be prompted to place the player on a beveled square. The view will move to the four beveled squares. Place your player on one of these by clicking on the desired square. He will be available to move when the action begins. Up to four players may be added at once. Any more than that, and you'll have to wait until next turn. Touchdowns Touchdowns are scored when a player reaches the opposite end zone with the ball. It may be handed to him across the line, thrown to him, or he may run it in. A point will be awarded to the scoring team. When a team scores three points, the game is over. Let the feast begin! Skills Some lucky players have specialized skills. These are listed on the second page of the football card. They are as follows: 1. Block - The player will have a bonus 1 block ability and resistance to blocks. 2. Catch - If a player misses a pass, and he has a catch skill, it will be re-rolled. "It's incomplete.....but caught out of the air" 3. Dirty Tackle - When tackling a player, the dirty tackle skill will affect armor checks. They will be more likey to fail, and more prone to harmful injuries. 4. Distract - When throwing the opponent throws the ball, the distract skill will subtract 1 from his throwing base if the distracting player is adjacent. 5. Jump Up - Instead of falling face down when being knocked over, a player with 'jump up' will be placed face up. 6. Mighty Blow - This works the same as Dirty Tackle, but Mighty Blow effects all blocks. Including Gangups. 7. Nerves of Steel - Counter-acts the distract skill, and makes throwers and catchers immune to adjacent players. 8. Strip Ball - Adds a bonus to stripping the ball. 9. Sure Hands - Counter-acts the strip ball, and gives a bonus to holding on during a strip attempt. 10. Tackle - The player will have a bonus 1 tackle ability and resistance to tackle attempts on them. 11. Thick Skull - Changes STUNNED results to the RESERVE box ("Player shakes off the injury"), and KNOCKED OUT RESULTS to the STUNNED box. 12. Toughness - Less likely to fail an armor check or be injured. 13. Throw - If a thrower throws a bad pass, it will be re-rolled. Stats In-game, individual statistics are kept for each player. (This is found on the third page of the card.) Blk/Ast Number of successful blocks/Number of gangblock assists Tac/Str Number of successful tackles/Number of strips Inj/Kil Number of successful Injuries inflicted/Number of kills Pa/C/S Number of Passes/Complete/Squares in the air Cat/Sqr Number of Catches/Squares in the air Ru/Sqr Number of Rushes/Squares gained TD Number of Touchdowns Scored Any time a player gains possession of the ball, the Ru is increased by one. Even if he catches it... the Sqr after Ru is the number of positive squares gained while in possession of the ball. OTHER JUNK At the option of a player's move, you may press 'i' or click -Info- on the command bar. A window will appear with the RESERVE, STUNNED, KO, INJURY, and DEAD boxes. Players' numbers will appear in the appropriate boxes. Clicking on the names of the teams above the row of boxes will bring up the roster screen. Similarly, at the movement option, you may press 'c' or click -Card- on the command bar. This will display the Bloodball card of the current, selected player. Click outside of the card to resume, inside to cycle through the 3 pages of info. Also, by pressing the mouse button on a player that is not adjacent to the current player, the player's stat card will be displayed on the screen. By clicking and holding the right mouse button, you may move the view of the field with the mouse. You may freeze the screen at any location by pressing both buttons simultaneously. (For smoother use, release the right button first, while still holding the left.) Click the right button to unfreeze. Thanks. If you'd like to contribute to the future of Blood Ball, write me a letter and send me dough at: Kevin Sheller 390 Allen Dr Wadsworth, Ohio 44281 216-336-4418 Or, if you have internet access, write me at: kevins@file02.ecgf.uakron.edu I'd like around $10 for the hardware and software I used to write the game, but hey, anything will make me happy. If you do send me the dough, you'll be sent more teams, more races, and a simple team editor/creator program. And if you make me feel real good, you just might see me add lotsa neat stuff to the program for the future. I'm gettin' burned out. I need some support.