Bolgot Ripper 'Throwing Teamate' skill

Hello there sports fans. Today we have been watching Bolgot Ripper on the practice field. A sight to behold. We have been examining the Throw Team-Mate aspect of his game and it is ..... complex. Lets review how it works.

Bolgot is a troll with the Throw Team-Mate ability. He can only throw players with the Right Stuff skill. In the case of the Orcland Raiders this is a goblin.

First things first - Bolgot has the Really Stupid skill and as such must pass a test at the beginning of his turn to do anything at all. The roll is a D6 and on a 1-3 (50% chance) he stands there looking gormless!! There is a modifier however, if one or more friendly players are adjacent he gets a +2 modifier (improves to 83.33%). So note to self - make sure he is in a crowd.

Now is comes to Throwing Team-Mate. Bolgrot must move adjacent to the player he is going to Throw (the goblin). The throw is resolved the same as a Pass. Long Pass and Long Bomb are not allowed. However that is still a potential 6 spaces forward, see picture above.

For the Throw Team-Mate skill all passes are considers Inaccurate and as such will scatter 3 times upon landing and Fumble is not a turnover.

It should be noted that Bolgrot also has the Always Hungry skill. This means that there is a test roll after movement. If its a one then Bolgrot eats the goblin and the goblin is dead!! There is a 16.66% chance that this will happen!! (No giggling please - its not funny, if your the goblin)

The Pass

The question here is simple - is it a Fumble or is it an Inaccurate pass? A fumble is resolved as a Pass roll of 1 before or after modification. Bolgrot rolls a D6 to Pass with the following modifiers, +1 for a Quick Pass, 0 for a Short Pass and -1 for using the Throw Team-Mate ability. So for a Short Pass the lightly success rate is 66.66% improving to 83.33% for a Quick Pass.

Note this is further modified by -1 for every tackle zone that Bolgrot finds himself in. So you don't want to be surrounded when attempting this skill.

The Landing

The graceful landing by our goblin is based on an AG roll. The goblin has an AG of 3 and as such requires a 4+ to be successful (50% chance of success). Success results in a completed Inaccurate Pass and as such will scatter 3 times. I think it will be important to keep him away from the touchline.

Note there is a -1 modifier for each tackle zone on the final landing point, so no throwing into crowds. 

If successful the goblin can go on to take his own actions later in the turn. (if he has not already done so) With an MA of 6 there is big potential to get a score on the board.

Summary

So the question is "Are you feeling lucky punk?"

Being optimistic: -

1. There is an 83% chance that Bolgrot will do something in the turn.

2. There is an 83% chance that Bolgrot won't eat the goblin

3. There is a 67% chance that Bolgrot will complete a Short Pass

4. There is a 50% chance that the goblin will land on his feet

And there is always the Team Reroll to take into account.

Being pessimistic: -

1. Bolgrot is Really Stupid!

2. Bolgrot is Always Hungry!

3. What about tackle zones?

4. At best the pass is Inaccurate and the goblin could end up anywhere .

But having said all that won't you just love to see it work out!!!

Orc Thrower Tactics

There there are 9 days to go until the first Orcland Raider series and coach Bullcher has some decisions to make regarding the team composition.

General Orc Tactics

Orc teams are built for punishment and running the ball. This means gathering the ball, protecting the ball carrier, creating holes in the opposition line, bursting through and finally scoring. Orcs do have access to Throwers but do not have any Catchers (unless we look to a goblin or two). What then is the the roll of the Thrower in an orc lineup and how many should be included in the final team?

Basic Orc Thrower Tactics

Orc teams are allowed 0-2 Throwers whose stats are MA5, ST3, AG3, AV8 and they come with Sure Hands and Pass as their starting skills. They cost 70,000 gp.

First thing to say is that Throwers are good at picking up the ball because they have Sure Hands which gives them a reroll if they fail on the first attempt. The pick up action is based on the Throwers AG of 3. This means that the Thrower needs a 4+ to pick up the ball which is modified by +1 for attempting the pick up resulting in a 3+ outcome. So the base success rate is 66.667% which is increased to 88.889% because of the reroll. (Percentages are courtesy of Samba Action Calculator - an Application well worth a look if you into that kind of thing.) Thats 22% better than other Orcs.

In terms of carrying the ball Sure Hands negates the skill Strip Ball which is a positive. The Thrower is generally slow though with an MA5. In Orc terms that is only one less than a Blitzer who is the fastest moving orc with an MA6. So not a huge draw back and the ball carrier should be in some kind of protective cage and the Black Orcs only have an MA4.

Also, lets face it, if the Thrower is carrying the ball then this frees up a Blitzer (the other likely ball carrier) to do his thing.

Probably the main thing to be said about the Thrower is that he gives the threat of a Pass. The Pass skill allows a reroll if the first attempt fails. With an AG3 the Thrower will need 4+ to successfully Throw and this is modified by +1 for Throwing a Quick Pass. The base success rate is as above i.e. 66.667% increased to 88.889% with the reroll. For this reason the Pass is more likely to be be a Quick / Short Pass because there is an automatic +1 Catch modifier for an accurate pass. As the Orcs don't have Catchers they do not benefit from the Catch skill which gives a free reroll. However there is always the Team Reroll to consider. This could be given to the potential catcher, probably only once a game, but the possibility for a successful Long Bomb suddenly looms large.

With the Thrower on the field the Pass threat is always there and as such the opposition will have to consider some kind of zone coverage depending on how the play develops.

The down side is the Thrower AV8, one less than everyone else making it more likely that he will sustain an Injury if Knocked Down. (2 dice greater than 8 instead of two dice greater than 9)

I think the case is made for least one Thrower in the side. The question is whether to include two from the start or to trust in the great gods Gork & Mork until later in the season. Throwers cost 70,000 gp this is 20,000 gp more than a Lineman and 10,000 less than a Black Orc or Blitzer so lets look at the rest of the options before making a final decision.

Breaking News!!

Yes sports fans its all excitement down here at the Orcland Raiders HQ. The opening series of the new season has been announced and the Orcland Raiders will be hosting a team of Dark Elves on Saturday the 21th December. A real date for the diary that one.

Today the team was out on the main field and I must say that the grounds men have done a great job. Bolgrot Ripper is really settling in well. Already buddying up with the Black Orcs I see. You just know they are going to do some serious damage in the season ahead.

But whats this I notice? A few new faces. Ah Yes - we have a new Orc Linesman folks and he is taking the number one jersey. If I'm not mistaken thats Dergu Bear Licker. He must be a recent transfer from the Gouged Eye.

And lining up beside him in the number three jersey is a new Orc Thrower. We had heard rumours that Boghat Dragon Shooter was on his way and it looks like that can be confirmed.

I see that Boghat has maintained the yellow stripe on his helmet. That has been a tradition of his since his college days. There were some rumours last year that that stripe had travelled to his spine. Lets hope coach Bullcher knows what he doing.

Wow - what a play. Bolgot Ripper has just launched one of his team mates downfield. Soaring through the air - what a sight. Hold the press..... can it be ..... Oh My God ...... it is .....

Folks its another star player - Scrappa Sorehead and in the full Orcland Raiders colours. Oh my, oh my - what a season we have in prospect!!

Could that be a smile on Varag Goul Chewers face. I see he working with the Blitzers today. He must be relishing the opportunities that this new Orcland Raiders lineup will afford coach Bullcher. Bring on Series 1 and those Dark Elves. Lets see what this team is made of.

Official Team Photo

Well its official folks. Mr Bolgrot Ripper has passed the medical and donned the colours of the Orcland Raiders. Here he is leading out the team for practice. Starting to get a good feeling for the season ahead!

Bolgrot Ripper in da house

Star player Mr Bolgrot Ripper arrived this morning to a huge crowd of approving orcs. Well me anyway.

Obviously he had been in the wars and was in need of a period of recuperation. The Apothecaries got straight to work on an injured shoulder. They drilled into the damaged joint and added a pin which will make him positively bionic!!

Now all he needs is to climb into the team colours and he will be good to go.

He will need a goblin or two to throw around so I guess its back to ebay. This team is coming together nicely!

How Appropriate

Was looking back through some stuff on the computer to see if I had anything useful for the upcoming Blood Bowl and Voila….

This is an excel spreadsheet that I found online, back in the day, to help keep track of your team. Very handy. I hope it still applies.

I give you the Ratarsed Revellers!! Now with Christmas coming up you just know that tickles the funny bone!!

Blood Bowl 'Orcland Raiders'

In the build up to Christmas I have been working on my Orcs to get them ready for a bit of Blood Bowl. I present the work in progress that is the Orcland Raiders. (shown here on the old style playing board) There is still a bit of work to do to pick out some details and I am short a few models but its all coming together.

So far I have three Black Orcs. Team selection allows a maximum of four so I will need another model to give me full latitude.

I also have three Blitzers and again you are allowed to take four so another model needed.

I have two throwers. (In fact I also have a metal model that I could paint up as well which has a slightly different pose.)

And there are six Linemen.

The team also has a Star Player in the form of Varag ghoul Chewer. I could just play him as a Blitzer in the beginning if needed.

The orcs have a number of other Star Players which I will be looking into and a popular, if unpredictable, option appears to be the inclusion of a Troll called 'Ripper' and a couple of goblins. There is a lot to get my head around but I am looking forward to the challenge.

I have downloaded the latest Blood Bowl competition rules and need to play test them to remember exactly how the whole thing works. Bring on the Christmas Gaming!