After both teams have set up, the coach of the kicking team places the ball in any square in the opponent’s half of the pitch, including the opponent’s End Zone if he likes. The ball will then scatter in a random direction. Using the Scatter template, roll the eight-sided dice once for the direction of scatter, and then roll a D6 to see how many squares the ball will go.
Important note: The kick-off is the only time that you roll a D6 to see how many squares the ball moves when it scatters. This is because kicks are very inaccurate. When rolling scatter for a missed pass, or when the ball bounces, the ball only moves one square per Scatter roll.
A kick-off must land in the opponent’s half of the pitch. Assuming the ball lands in the receiving team’s half of the pitch, then it will either land in an empty square or a square occupied by a player. If the ball lands in an empty square it will bounce one more square. If the ball lands on a square occupied by a player, the player must try to catch the ball. If the ball scatters or bounces off the pitch or into the kicking team’s half, the receiving coach is awarded a ‘touchback’ and must give the ball to any player in his team. Once the kick-off has been taken you are ready to proceed to the first turn of the game.
All kinds of things can happen during a Blitz Bowl match: a team may make an inspired play, or raucous fans might throw a large heavy object (e.g., a rock!) at one of the opposing team’s players, or even invade the pitch!
The Kick-Off table is used to recreate these unforeseen but fairly common events. After both teams have set up, follow this sequence in the order below:
- Place the ball on the pitch
- Scatter ball to determine where the ball is about to land
- Roll on the Kick-Off table
- Resolve the Kick-Off table result
- Bounce, catch, or touchback the ball
Selecting a Random Player
Many of the results on the Kick-Off table require that a coach ‘select a random player’. In order to help you do this, roll a D20 (or roll d-whatever number of players if in roll20) and reroll any number that doesn’t correspond to the team roster.
Team Re-Rolls and the Kick-off Table
You may not re-roll the result on the Kick-Off table with a team re-roll. In addition, subsequent rolls from Kick-Off events such as the D3 roll for Brilliant Coaching or D6 for Riot may not be re-rolled. A team re-roll may not be used for any catch roll when the ball lands: however, players may use the Catch or Pro skill to try to re-roll the catch roll.
Table: Kick-Off
| 2D6 | Result |
|---|---|
| 2 | Get the Ref: The fans exact gruesome revenge on the referee for some of the dubious decisions he has made, either during this match or in the past. His replacement is so intimidated that he can be more easily persuaded to look the other way. Each team receives 1 additional Bribe to use during this game. A Bribe allows you to attempt to ignore one call by the referee for a player who has committed a foul to be sent off, or a player armed with a secret weapon to be banned from the match. Roll a D6: on a roll of 2-6, the bribe is effective (preventing a turnover if the player was ejected for fouling), but on a roll of 1 the bribe is wasted and the call still stands! Each bribe may be used once per match. |
| 3 | Riot: The trash talk between two opposing players explodes and rapidly degenerates, involving the rest of the players. If the receiving team’s turn marker is on turn 7 for the half, both teams move their turn marker back one space as the referee resets the clock back to before the fight started. If the receiving team has not yet taken a turn this half the referee lets the clock run on during the fight and both teams’ turn markers are moved forward one space. Otherwise roll a D6. On a 1-3, both teams’ turn markers are moved forward one space. On a 4-6, both team’s turn markers are moved back one space. |
| 4 | Perfect Defense: The kicking team’s coach may reorganize his players – in other words he can set them up again into another legal defense. The receiving team must remain in the set-up chosen by their coach. |
| 5 | High Kick: The ball is kicked very high, allowing a player on the receiving team time to move into the perfect position to catch it. Any one player on the receiving team who is not in an opposing player’s tackle zone may be moved into the square where the ball will land no matter what their MA may be, as long as the square is unoccupied. |
| 6 | Cheering Fans: Each coach rolls a D3 and adds their team’s FAME and the number of cheerleaders on their team to the score. The team with the highest score is inspired by their fans' cheering and gets an extra re-roll this half. If both teams have the same score, then both teams get a re-roll. |
| 7 | Changing Weather: Make a new roll on the Weather table. Apply the new Weather roll. If the new Weather roll was a ‘Nice’ result, then a gentle gust of wind makes the ball scatter one extra square in a random direction before landing. |
| 8 | Brilliant Coaching: Each coach rolls a D3 and adds their FAME and the number of assistant coaches on their team to the score. The team with the highest total gets an extra team re-roll this half thanks to the brilliant instruction provided by the coaching staff. In case of a tie, both teams get an extra team re-roll. |
| 9 | Quick Snap!: The offence start their drive a fraction before the defence is ready, catching the kick-ing team flat-footed. All of the players on the receiving team are allowed to move one square. This is a free move and may be made into any adjacent empty square, ignoring tackle zones. It may be used to enter the opposing half of the pitch. |
| 10 | Blitz!: The defense start their drive a fraction before the offence is ready, catching the receiving team flat-footed. The kicking team receives a free ‘bonus’ turn: however, players that are in an en-emy tackle zone at the beginning of this free turn may not perform an Action. The kicking team may use team re-rolls during a Blitz. If any player suffers a turnover then the bonus turn ends immediate-ly. |
| 11 | Throw a Rock: An enraged fan hurls a large rock at one of the players on the opposing team. Each coach rolls a D6 and adds their FAME to the roll. The fans of the team that rolls higher are the ones that threw the rock. In the case of a tie a rock is thrown at each team! Decide randomly which player in the other team was hit (only players on the pitch are eligible) and roll for the effects of the injury straight away. No Armor roll is required. |
| 12 | Pitch Invasion: Both coaches roll a D6 for each opposing player on the pitch and add their FAME to the roll. If a roll is 6 or more after modification then the player is Stunned (players with the Ball & Chain skill are KO'd). A roll of 1 before adding FAME will always have no effect. |
WEATHER
Blitz Bowl players are a pretty hardy bunch, so it comes as no surprise that games have been played in all types of weather conditions. From the ice floes of the farthest north to the steamy jungles, arenas open their doors on match days, and the combatants go about their business heedless of the climate. At the start of the game each coach should roll a D6. Add the results together and refer to the Weather table to find out what the weather is like for the day.
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Table: Weather
| 2D6 | Result |
|---|---|
| 2 | Sweltering Heat: It’s so hot and humid that some players collapse from heat exhaustion. Roll a D6 for each player on the pitch at the end of a drive. On a roll of 1 the player collapses and may not be set up for the next kick-off. |
| 3 | Very Sunny: A glorious day, but the blinding sunshine causes a -1 modifier on all passing rolls. |
| 4-10 | Nice: Perfect Blitz Bowl weather. |
| 11 | Pouring Rain: It’s raining, making the ball slippery and difficult to hold. A -1 modifier applies to all catch, intercept, or pick-up rolls. |
| 12 | Blizzard: It’s cold and snowing! The ice on the pitch means that any player attempting to move an extra square (GFI) will slip and be Knocked Down on a roll of 1-2, while the snow means that only quick or short passes can be attempted. |
BOUNCING BALLS
If the ball is dropped or not caught, or the ball bounces to a square with a Prone or Stunned player, or a player is pushed to or lands in the ball’s square, or the square where a thrown ball lands is unoccupied (or is occupied by a Prone or Stunned player) then it will bounce. This is a technical term for the thing jumping about all over the place while the players stumble about trying to grab it! To find out where the ball bounces to, roll for scatter one more time. If the ball bounces into an occupied square, then the player in the square must attempt to catch it, as described above. If the player fails to catch the ball, then it will bounce again until it is either caught or bounces into an empty square or off the pitch.
THROW-INS
When a ball scatters or bounces off the pitch it is immediately thrown back in by the eager spectators! Use a d8 to work out where the ball goes, using the last square the ball crossed before going off as a starting point to throw-in the ball 2d6 squares. If the ball is thrown into a square occupied by a standing player, that player must attempt to catch the ball as described earlier. If the ball lands in an empty square or a square occupied by a Prone or Stunned player, then it will bounce. If a throw-in results in the ball going off the pitch again, it will be thrown in again, centered on the last square it was in before it left the pitch. Throw-ins cannot be intercepted.
TURNOVERS
If a ball thrown by a player isn’t caught by a player from the moving team, this causes a turnover and the moving team’s turn ends. The turnover does not take place until the ball finally comes to rest. This means that if the ball misses the target but is still caught by a player from the moving team, then a turnover does not take place. The ball could even scatter or bounce out of bounds, be thrown back into an empty square, and as long as it was caught by a player from the moving team then the turnover would be avoided!