Offseason Mechanics: Free Agency and the Waiver Wire

[mattgslater]

Our league works like this. Every team plays in one of three divisions: Advanced, Basic, or Challenger. Every coach gets as many Challenger teams as they like, up to one team per race; these teams can play up to 12 games, or up to 16 games if the team has earned no more than 60 Victory Points (the equivalent of a 6-0-6 record). Each coach also gets one Basic team per season, which plays up to 20 games in a 5-month season. This team can be promoted from the Challenger division, so it's possible to build Challenger teams with the aim to make Basic teams out of them. These teams could get in 32 games or more before the tournament. The best Basic teams become Advanced teams, and get to play a more liberal, looser schedule with no limit on games. Eventually, we'll hold a Grand Championship for Advanced teams.

So here's my idea. Do you see it leading to problems?

At the end of each season, each Basic and Challenger team is subject to Free Agency. The coaches all assemble, and each one rolls 1d6 for each player on his roster. Each player whose roll is a 1 is a free agent. The coach must pay the player's total value, or the player is lost from the team and goes to the Waiver Wire. Then each coach selects one of his Basic or Challenger teams to be his Basic team for the next season, and all the players on the rest of the teams also go to the Waiver Wire, along with all players cut from the roster (and players who suffer season-ending injuries if we use those mechanics).

Then, coaches may hire players from the Waiver Wire. Each coach submits a blind bid to hire a player at value. After the blind bids are placed, all are revealed. If two coaches bid for the same player, they must compete in a bidding war; if neither coach offers more money, no money is spent and neither team gets the player. If one or more other coaches bid on a player you did not bid on, you may immediately submit a bid. You may bid on players you cannot hire, to keep others from taking them, but see below.

If you hire a player from the Waiver Wire, and that player comes from your Basic team's team race (not just a position available to your race; an Undead Ghoul is not a Necromantic Ghoul), you must hire that player at full value. If the player did not come from your Basic team's team race, your Basic team must pay that player's improvement value (not base cost), and only one of your new Challenger teams may hire the player; that team must still pay the player's full value.

[Darkson]

Have you (and your league mates of course) ever thought of making a role-playing version of Blood Bowl, as that sounds to be the sort of thing you're after!

I still prefer LRB4 to 5/6/CRP, but I'd rather play in a vanilla CRP league than have to deal with all this exra faff.