Spellcaster article

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GalakStarscraper
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Spellcaster article

Post by GalakStarscraper »

YEAH!!! ..... I submitted it 7 months ago, and after the 3 magazine At Sea article I was afraid it would never see print. But the On-Pitch Spellcaster rules are going to get into BB Mag #8 .... hurray!

Patience, grasshopper, much patience is required.

Hope you all like it ... its probably about 7 pages long ... but that was as short as I could get it (unless Andy deleted out several sections (I hope not)).

Anyway ... those in the MBBL2, WBBL, WBBJ-L, CSBBL, or PDHBBL will recognize the rules as they are the ones that these leagues use. A few other leagues these are mostly familar also ... I know CyberHare's league uses them also with a couple of changes. Last I knew, even JohnnyP's league used them.

Anyway ... thanks Andy ... and I hope from the TBB crowd that it doesn't get included in the BB Mag only prints junk anymore bucket ... :D

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Re: Spellcaster article

Post by Tim »

GalakStarscraper wrote:Anyway ... thanks Andy ... and I hope from the TBB crowd that it doesn't get included in the BB Mag only prints junk anymore bucket ... :D
Well OK, junk and things that are available on the web for at least 3 years :zzz:

Just kidding ... i'm looking forward. :wink:

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GalakStarscraper
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Re: Spellcaster article

Post by GalakStarscraper »

Tim wrote:Well OK, junk and things that are available on the web for at least 3 years :zzz:
I understand that piece of the argument. To many folks of TBB, the spellcaster is not new. But as we've asserted ... there are a lot of folks who do not visit the web for Blood Bowl and having the tested rules in print is kinda cool for a long term documentation thing.

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Post by MistWraith »

That and some league commissioners like to see things in actual print befor they will consider them for inclusion. Some people just do not trust anything they are told comes from the internet.

Personally, I can not wait for BBM8. New elves, and on pitch spellcasters! :D

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Post by GalakStarscraper »

MistWraith wrote:That and some league commissioners like to see things in actual print befor they will consider them for inclusion. Some people just do not trust anything they are told comes from the internet.
Something I didn't consider ... yeah, I have talked to a lot of league coaches that won't consider anything from the Net until its printed by GW in a Mag of some type.

Okay ... I feel better know about submitting 3 year playtested and revised Internet rules ... :P to Tim ... :lol:

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Post by McDeth »

Dice rolls involved with casting a spell may NOT be re-rolled


Galak, i know this is in general chat, and i know it says "Dice Rolls", but can you use pro to re-roll a failed spell cast. I'm assuming no, but i'm not 100% certain as i haven't use the spellcasters

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Re: Spellcaster article

Post by Rufio of Montrose »

[quote="GalakStarscraper"]YEAH!!! ..... I submitted it 7 months ago, and after the 3 magazine At Sea article I was afraid it would never see print. But the On-Pitch Spellcaster rules are going to get into BB Mag #8 .... hurray!

Excuse me but I am new to this, what are the On-Pitch Spellcaster rules, If you could enlight please me since I very rearly recieve the BBMag.

Patience, grasshopper, much patience is required.
(this refernce is acient :))

Thanks
Rufio of Montrose

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Post by Skummy »

McDeth wrote:Galak, i know this is in general chat, and i know it says "Dice Rolls", but can you use pro to re-roll a failed spell cast. I'm assuming no, but i'm not 100% certain as i haven't use the spellcasters
Well, it's not a skill, so I assume Pro and Leader wouldn't work on them.

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Re: Spellcaster article

Post by Rufio of Montrose »

Sorry for my misplaced r & n, etc. My pc is downloading several things and my key board is going wacko

Excuse me but I am new to this, what are the On-Pitch Spellcaster rules, If you could enlight please me since I very rearly recieve the BBMag.

Patience, grasshopper, much patience is required.
(this refernce is acient :))

Thanks
Rufio of Montrose[/quote]

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Post by Skummy »

Rufio: Galak's website http://www.midgardbb.com/Variants/Spellcasters.html is probably the best place to look.

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Post by Rufio of Montrose »

Skummy wrote:Rufio: Galak's website http://www.midgardbb.com/Variants/Spellcasters.html is probably the best place to look.
Thanks
Rufio of Montrose

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GalakStarscraper
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Post by GalakStarscraper »

McDeth wrote:Dice rolls involved with casting a spell may NOT be re-rolled

Galak, i know this is in general chat, and i know it says "Dice Rolls", but can you use pro to re-roll a failed spell cast. I'm assuming no, but i'm not 100% certain as i haven't use the spellcasters
Skummy had it right ... its not considered a skill roll, so Pro, Leader, Team and Trophy rerolls don't work. Its actually a pretty important part of balancing out the spellcaster we've found in our testing in the MBBL2. Spells like the Chaos Warp Bolt are just too good if they can be rerolled; however if it cannot be rerolled its a good balanced risk.

And we also felt it matched the text about wizards ... not too many references in stories of wizards being able to fix a misspoke incantation.

The other 2 reasons I love the rule, its an expensive player that comes with a built in I break easy factor. So if you don't like the team's wizard ... break his neck. The other reason I like the rule, the wizards add flavor, but rarely have I felt that the game was decided by a spellcaster. So they add flavor without abuse.

These rules are definitely not for some folks. But really it one of the best house rules I've ever played with in my time with BB. The rules have changed a LOT since the non-defunct MLF league created them as testing and more testing and more testing brought the rules into balance.

There are few large scale house rule changes I support for the game. The ones the MBBL2 now use are the ones easiest to understand and balanced ... but of all the rules the MBBL2 has used ... these rules have seen the most testing and I think are the most balanced.

Galak

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Post by Snarlton Heston »

Mist is correct! He said, "That and some league commissioners like to see things in actual print befor they will consider them for inclusion."

This is true for the league in which Skummy and I coach! The unofficial rules sound good, but until they are announced as official, they are not played in our league. There is only a certain number of hours in a week (unless you are Toby :wink: ) to devote to playing this great game of luck. :wink: In other words, unofficial games mean squat!

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Post by Dark Lord (retired) »

I've never used them but I tried to get them passed into law in my league 3 times! The players did, in fact, think they were just some goofiness off the web. I think to some the idea sounds silly because they are so used to the sideline wizard fluff but to others, like me, who think that the little pansies should get in there and fight, the rules just make sense.

As a house rule these are as good as they come, IMO.

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Post by GalakStarscraper »

Dark Lord wrote:As a house rule these are as good as they come, IMO.
Thanks DL ... much appreciated.

Its weird, the rules are now such a blend of ideas I wasn't sure who to give credit to in the article. Gauiss wrote the original base, but when I started the MBBL2, I had a great deal of discussion on the old BBowl Mailing List about balancing Gauiss's rules. This included removing spells that could be cast during other player's turns or cast from off-pitch. Than there was the matter of powering down certain spells but powering up other to bring the whole thing into balance. Several keys members of the Bbowl list helped retool the rules before the MBBL2 started playtesting them seriously 2 years ago. Since then some spells were completely scrapped and rewritten and other rules were improved. The rules in the article are some of the most throughly testing house rules I've ever seen, and a lot of folks had a hand at some point in their revision to the state they are now.

And I found out yesterday that my Snotling Spellcaster (AV 4 ... yikes!) is 5th in line for the Most Valuable Spellcaster award for the MBBL2's 3rd season ... if I could just figure out how to get the other 4 killed off before the end of season awards ... I'll be a happy camper. A 5/1/3/4 Snotling that costs 70k is a fragile expensive investment ... but darn he's fun. The Snotling starting spell is Strength in Numbers .... all squares around one player are considered occupied by your players for one turn for purposes of blocking assists and fouls. On a successful cast, this means a wide open star player opponent can get hit by a Snotling with a ST 8 hit (7 assists) and another Snotling can run in for a +8 AV foul. I've gotten this to work once in 3 games, but its fun to pretend the Snotling is Bloodthirster even for one turn.

Galak

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