DREADBALL LOCKER ROOM: Introducing Player Stats
20th Feb 2018
Rob Burman
“… and we’re back. Thanks again folks for tuning in to the DreadBall Locker Room – your number one resource for everything DreadBall. I’m your host Elmer and…”
*sound of door slamming, running feet, clinking glasses and panting*
“Don’t start without me Elmer. Sorry I’m late buddy, The Guntax Mega Blast Cocktail Happy Hour was just about to finish.”
“Thanks for popping in Dobbs. Today we’re introducing the players of DreadBall and looking at how they stack up on the pitch. Hope one of those cocktails is for me…”
*disgusting slurping noises, glasses being smashed, loud belch*
“Oh, sorry Elmer. Running up the stairs worked up a real thirst.”
“Ok folks, it’s on with the show.”
For today’s DreadBall Locker Room, we’re going to look in closer detail at the player stats and some of the variations between Strikers, Jacks and Guards. First up, here are the stats for the Ninth Moon Tree Sharks. We’ll refer back to this throughout today’s Locker Room.
MOVE
As you might expect, this is how many hexes your player can move during an action. The Ninth Moon Tree Sharks are a fast-moving team, so they have a high movement stat. A player can also sprint – which is double this stat – however, they must count any changes in direction as a point of movement.
STRENGTH
This stat is used when Jacks or Guards are Slamming (tackling) an opponent. Slamming is an opposed roll in which the offensive player typically rolls between three and five dice. They’re aiming to match or beat their Strength stat. For the Ninth Moon Tree Sharks that means the player is aiming for 4+. The defending player can choose to either Slam back or Dodge (which we’ll come to in a moment).
AGILITY
This is a new stat for second edition. As you might have guessed from the named, Agility is how agile a player is. This comes into effect when a player wants to Dodge a Slam, Evade from the Threat Hex of an opponent or leap back up when they’ve been knocked to the ground. Previously all these were tied to a player’s speed stat, which meant you had very slow teams that were also penalized for their lack of agility. In second edition it gives us the opportunity to create teams that are quite slow, but are still quite agile. Or a fast player that’s also a bit clumsy, like the Nameless Striker. A good example are the Matsudan, a group of sumo wrestling space lizards, who are slow at moving around the pitch but are still pretty agile, with a stat of 4+.
SPEED
With the introduction of Agility, the Speed stat is now mainly used for Dashing. But what is Dashing? Well, sometimes your players need to move just a little bit further. So at the end of their movement, they can choose to Dash and move an extra hex or two… or three! Dashing is a three dice Speed Test that requires one, two or three successes, depending upon how far you’re Dashing. It’s worth noting that another change in Second Edition sees Jacks, rather than Strikers, receive a bonus die for Dashing.
SKILL
This is the stat that’s important for your Strikers and Jacks, as it’s used for picking up the ball, throwing and catching. The Ninth Moon Tree Sharks are a pretty average team when it comes to Skill but others, like the Matsudan have a 3+ Skill, while the Veer-myn have a 5+ stat… so you’ve got to make those Strike attempts as easy as possible.
ARMOUR
When your player is Slammed and the attacking player scores more successes, the difference is potential damage to your player. This means you’re going to have to make an Armour check to reduce the damage. This is a three dice test (four if you’re a guard) and each success reduces the wounds. If you still end up taking damage, your player is moved to the Sin Bin for one, two or three Rushes (turns). If the player suffers four or more wounds, then they’re seriously injured and are removed from the game.
COST
This is more useful in league play as you create your own squad of players. This is how much it costs to recruit a player into your squad. In a league you’ll normally have a set amount to spend on your team and you’re able to mix and match the options available. There are also other costs, such as coaching staff, DreadBall Cards and Coaching Dice, which we’ll cover in a future Locker Room.
RECOMMENDED TEAM
If you’re just playing an exhibition match or want a typical starting point for your league team, the Recommended Team tells you what player types to use in your squad.
ABILITIES
Finally, any special abilities for your players are listed here. The Ninth Moon Tree Sharks don’t have any abilities, so it’s blank.