Secret Weapons

Ball&Chain Blunderbuss Bomb Chainsaw DeathRoller Poisoned Dagger Pogo-Stick

 Ball & Chain* Penalty roll: 7+
Fanatics carry a huge ball and chain, a weapon so large that it would be impossible for them to pick up under normal circumstances. The Fanatic's strength, however, is boosted by a strange and extremely potent form of fungus beer, enabling the Goblin to swing the heavy ball round and round. The Goblin is carried onto the field by the rest of the team, and held firmly in place until the kick-off whistle is blown. Free at last, the deranged Goblin starts to whirl round crazily, swinging the ball and chain in a dizzy circle of death. Anything that gets in the way is smashed to the ground. Despite the eager shouting of his team-mates, the Fanatic has little idea of where he is going, and will happily plough through players from his own side if they get in the way!

Fanatics do not have a tackle zone and are only allowed to take Move actions. They must be the first model of their team to take an action. If the coach moves another player first then his opponent can make an illegal procedure call just as if the player had forgotten to move the turn counter.

Fanatics are never allowed to pick up or catch the ball, and can't be used to assist other players in a block. The Fanatic can move up to four squares per turn, but unfortunately the coach has very little control over which four squares he will move to! To see where he moves, place the Throw-in template over his head facing up or down the pitch, or facing toward either sideline. Note that you use the Throw-in template rather than the Scatter template. This gives you some control over the direction the Fanatic moves in, but not a lot! Roll a dice and move the Fanatic into the square indicated by the dice roll. Repeat this procedure for all four squares of the Fanatic's move. You may change the facing of the Throw-in template after each square of movement and, as no opposing player would be dumb enough to try to tackle the Fanatic, he never has to make a dodge roll to leave a square.

Now for the fun bit. If the dice roll indicates that the Fanatic will enter a square occupied by a player of either team, then he must throw a block against that player. The Fanatic's Strength counts as being '6' for the block, but no player may assist either side due to the swirling ball and chain. If the victim is forced back then the Fanatic must occupy the square the opposing player was in (unless the opponent had the Stand Firm skill, in which case the Fanatic's move ends). If a Fanatic is knocked over when he throws a block, he is automatically injured as the chain wraps itself round his neck. Roll for injury as normal, but count 'Stunned' results as KO'd instead.

The Fanatic can keep on moving after he has made a block, if he has any squares of movement left, and is allowed to throw more blocks, in fact he must block the occupant of any further occupied squares he moves into. Sometimes a Fanatic will be forced to move into a square that contains a prone player. In this case simply 'force back' the prone player, representing them desperately rolling away from the Fanatic!

After you have finished the Fanatic's move, you must roll a dice to see if he has become exhausted. On a roll of 2-6 the Fanatic may remain in play. On a roll of 1 the Fanatic collapses in a heap and must be placed in the Dead and Injured players box. Roll the dice again to see what has happened to him: 1-3 = Cardiac arrest: The Fanatic dies from over-exertion; 4-6 = Knackered: The Fanatic is worn out, but will recover in time for the next match.

The only player in an opposing team that can attempt to block a Fanatic is another Fanatic. Should this ever happen both players are automatically knocked over.

* Human/Norse teams have an equivalent players (Flagellant/Berzerker respectively) which use the same rules


 Blunderbuss* Penalty roll: 10+
In battle the Chaos Dwarfs field entire regiments of troops armed with the dread Chaos Dwarf blunderbuss. This weapon uses a gunpowder charge to fire iron spikes at the enemy, although it can also fire hot coals, lead shot, pieces of scrap metal and even stones if need be. Chaos Dwarfs hadn't been playing Blood Bowl for very long before one enterprising player, depressed by his team's appalling inability to pass the ball, came up with the idea of using a blunderbuss to fire the football down the field.

The idea proved to be remarkably successful. The football could be squeezed into the end of the blunderbuss where it formed an airtight seal, and then at the appropriate moment the blunderbuss could be fired, hurling the football down the field. The Chaos Dwarf pointed the weapon in the air and pulled the trigger, firing the ball in a high arc which could not be intercepted. With luck the ball would plummet down in the general vicinity of a Chaos Dwarf player, although as often as not the ball landed well wide of the mark. Either way the Chaos Dwarfs were happy, because at least the ball was deep in the opposing half of the field!

A Chaos Dwarf who is holding the ball and armed with a blunderbuss may use it to fire the ball down the field. The Chaos Dwarf is not allowed to do anything else when he fires the ball, because he needs the time to stuff the ball into the muzzle of the blunderbuss. The normal rules for passing the ball are not used when it is fired from a blunderbuss. Instead, nominate a square anywhere on the field, and then roll a dice to see where the ball comes down. On a roll of 1-3 it scatters in exactly the same way as a kick-off (i.e., it scatters the number of squares equal to the roll of a dice in a random direction). On a roll of 4-6 the ball is bang on target and may be caught by a player in the target square in the same way as an accurate pass.

After the blunderbuss has been used it may not be fired again until after a touchdown is scored or a half ends. This is to allow time for the weapon's user to reload it with a fresh charge of gunpowder!

* Standard Dwarf teams have an equivalent weapon know as the Bazooka which use the same rules


 Bomb Penalty roll: 8+
A favorite weapon of many of the more psycopathic Blood Bowl players is that old standby: a bomb! Players who use this type of secret weapon are known as Bombadiers. they usually carry a large sack of bombs, which they sneak onto the field when the referee isn't looking. The bombs used by Blood Bowl players tend to be rather primative affairs, made from a round metal case filled with gunpowder, with a fuse poking out of the top.

When the Bombadier decides to throw the bomb, he lights the fuse, waits a couple of seconds to make sure it is fizzing along nicely, then lobs it towards an opposing player. Or at least, that's the plan. More often than not something goes dreadfully wrong. Either the fuse is too short and the bomb goes off in the Bombadiers hands, or the bomb is caught by an opposing player and lobbed back, or the Bombadier's throw goes wild and the bomb lands next to a player from his own team! As you can see, Bombadiers are almost as dangerous to their own team as their opponents!

A coach may choose to have a Bombardier throw a bomb instead of taking any other action. The Bombardier is not allowed to move when he throws a bomb, because he needs to stand still in order to light the fuse. Roll a dice to see if he gets the fuse alight without mishap. On a roll of '1' the bomb explodes prematurely in the Bombardier's square, with the results described below. On a roll of 2 to 6 he gets the fuse alight and may throw the bomb. If a player holding a lit bomb falls over for any reason (because of the use of a Special Play card or a Wizard's spell, for example), then the bomb will scatter one square and then explode as described below.

The bomb is thrown using the rules for throwing the football. The bomb may be intercepted or caught, in which case the player catching it must throw it again immediately. This is a special bonus action which takes place out of the normal sequence of play. For the second (and any subsequent) throws a dice roll must be made to see if the bomb goes off in the (new) thrower's square. For any throws after the first the bomb goes off in the thrower's square on a roll of 1, 2 or 3.

If the bomb lands in a square with a player who decides not to catch it, or if it lands in an empty square, then it will bounce and scatter one square in the same way as a dropped or missed pass. After it has bounced one square the bomb will explode, even if it ends up on a square that is occupied by a player. When the bomb finally does explode - either because a dice roll is failed or because the bomb has hit the ground and bounced - it knocks over any player in the same square, and knocks over players in adjacent squares on a roll of 4+. Make Armor and Injury rolls for any players knocked over by the blast as normal.

Note: Bombadier does not get SPPs for injuring players on his own team.


 Chainsaw Penalty roll: 8+
No one remembers when chainsaws were first seen on the Blood Bowl field. Some say that Man-Mangler McStone, the Dwarf engineer famous for his blood-chilling (and blood-spilling) inventions was the weapon's originator. Others insist that he was simply the first victim of the weapon, brought on by an opposing team to stop the mad engineer before he did too much damage. Probably the most likely explanation is that McStone was both the weapon's originator and its first victim, coming to a sad end when he tripped up and sat on his own invention (very messy). Whatever the truth of the matter, it's clear that the ever popular chainsaw is here to stay.

A player can't enter the field with a running chainsaw (it's very difficult to sneak it past the ref!), so he must get the thing started before he is allowed to use it. Turning the chainsaw on counts as an action, and the player may do nothing else that turn. To see if the player gets the chainsaw running, the player must roll a 4+ on one die . No modifiers apply to this die roll. If the roll succeeds the player has managed to turn the chainsaw on, and is allowed to attack with it in any succeeding turn. If the player fails to start up the chainsaw he is not allowed to attack with it, though he can try to start it up again in a future turn. Failing to start a chainsaw does NOT count as a turnover, and does not end the moving team's turn. The chainsaw must be restarted if it is used again after a touchdown has been scored or a half ended.

A player armed with a running chainsaw may never catch or carry the ball, and must drop the ball if he has it. He can move normally, however, and attack with the chainsaw instead of making a block. A running chainsaw is a dangerous thing to carry around, and so if a player holding a chainsaw falls over for any reason, the opposing coach is allowed to add +3 to his Armor roll to see if the player was injured. A player armed with a chainsaw is allowed to use it to attack other players instead of making a normal block. When the chainsaw is used to make an attack, do not roll the Block dice. Instead simply make an Armor roll for the victim adding +3 to the score. If the roll beats the victim's armor value then they are injured - roll on the Injury Table. If the roll fails to beat the victim's armor value then the attack has no effect. A player armed with a chainsaw may take part in a foul on a prone player, and adds +3 to the dice roll instead of the normal +1.


 Poisoned Dagger Penalty roll: 10+
It is a rare Blood Bowl player that can resist the temptation to sneak a weapon on to the field in order to help out against those really tough opponents. More often than not the weapon chosen is a dagger which is both easy to hide and can often be used without the referee spotting it. Some particularly evil players will even take to covering the dagger with a fast-acting poison so that they can really spoil their victim's day.

A player armed with a poisoned dagger may use it to attack another player instead of throwing a block at them. Make an Armor roll for the victim. If the score is less than or equal to the victim's armor value then the attack has no effect. If the score beats the victim's armor value then they have been stabbed by the dagger and an Injury roll must be made. Treat a 'stunned' result on the Injury Table as a KO'd result, because of the effect of the poison. Once the dagger has been used to successfully stab a victim (i.e., they failed their Armor roll), then the poison is wiped off and the dagger causes injuries as normal until after a touchdown is scored or the half ends.


 Pogo Stick Penalty roll: 10+
Goblins have a well-deserved reputation for their inventive cruelty and their legendary ability to come up with diabolical (and often self-destructive) sneak plays. Goblins are the only Blood Bowl players insane enough to take to the field on a pogo stick, the fiendish creation of former Lowdown Rats coach Pogo Doomspider. Pogo, alas, was killed trying to improve his device with the addition of rocket propulsion...

Any Goblin equipped with a pogo stick is allowed to attempt to move up to four extra squares when he 'goes for it' rather than the normal two. In addition, the Goblin may use the pogo stick to leap over occupied squares in exactly the same way as if he had the Leap skill.


 Dwarf Death-RollerPenalty roll: 7+
One of the most spectacular, if not the most efficient, secret weapons fielded by any Blood Bowl team is the Dwarf Death-Roller. It was first used by the Dwarf Warhammerers back in '64 and has been a regular part of many Dwarf teams' arsenals ever since. The Death-Roller's continuing popularity is no doubt due to the fact that it's so easily improvised from the rollers found at the more sophisticated and well-kept grass-laid stadiums. Referees have done their best to keep Death-Rollers off the playing field, and quite a few have ended up as flat as a pancake as a result! Because of this most referees wait until after a touchdown has been scored before they try to throw the Death-Roller out of the game. Getting in the way as the machine first roars onto the field is just too dangerous!

On the whole a Death-Roller is treated just like a normal player, albeit a very strong one, using the characteristics and skills printed on the Death-Roller Star Player card. However, to reflect the machine's unique properties, the following special rules apply. The Death-Roller is far too solid and sturdy to be tackled, so it can ignore enemy tackle zones when it moves and never has to dodge in order to leave one. Death-Rollers may attempt to move extra squares, but if they 'fall over' it is assumed that the boiler has blown up (see below for the effects). A Death-Roller is at its most deadly when it is used against prone players who cannot move out of the way. To represent this, if a Death-Roller is used to foul a player lying on the field, then 6 is added to the Armor roll to see if the prone player is injured.

Death-Rollers that are knocked over by a block, or by the use of a Wizard's spell or a Special Play card, or whose boiler blows moving extra squares, or that suffer an injury in any way, are wrecked for the rest of the game. Remove the model from the field and place it in the Dead and Injured player's box in the Dugout to show this. The Death-Roller may not be used again that match, though it will be repaired in time for the next game.