Vampiers Strikes Back, part 2

[Bantha]

Hello dear reader.

First some information from the author

 

Spoiler

This page and its content is all about the journey with a team dedicated to the sport BloodBowl. It is written by Bantha and all contents are fiction and based upon books or movies which I take no credit for, and there is nothing for me but pure joy and hope to share some fun with you also. All related content for anything alive is just pure luck on unluck, depending on the feelings. 

If you are unfamiliar with the term Bloodbowl I sincerely would direct you to some books from the Warhammer series by Matt Forebeck. 

Else all in here is also made on behalf of the OrcaColaChampionship site and admin team and all work put in to keep this alive. Thanks to all players and admins for keeping this up. 

Br Bantha

 

So we are starting up a new session of this and that, where we will report pure fiction stories and tactics for the released Vampire team.
The Theme starts based upon the Star wars saga episode 5, and this is the Return of the Vampires! To the Bloodbowl stadiums all over OCC (as we only play here).

 

I also played the Old Vampires in BB2, the old GUI, and it was fun. In this BB3 edition there are quite a lot of changes to the team and how to handle them, as there are quite a new challenges and possibilities with the new setup.

So, how did I start? I added it here to remember for my own sake and let's see if this was a good way to start a team or not. 

We would like to have many Vamps, right, else it’s all Thralls who honestly is one of the worst players available in BB, meaning we need more Vamps but how many?

 

I went with 4, which means I also added 4 Rerolls as I think an ordinary team needs 3 without block and surehands etc, we need Rerolls to manage, and then we add Bloodlust and gaze so I feel 4 is good. 

I also added 8 Thralls, meaning 12 players and no Apo, felt good. Others picked 5 Vamps. My previous experience is it might be better to add more when the starting vamps has some skills at least. But we are all different which is beautiful and the vamps are different compared to the old setup so it might work. 

 

Starting with 4 RR, means I can after Apo save all for Vamps, as I do not think I will need more RR’s. Some vamps have Throwing skills meaning we should be able to pick Leader adding a RR, but when it comes to skills I would like to build vamps without Leader. I will get into skill and skill selections later. 

 

I do not feel I need to dive into the Vampires different types, but I still would like to say some words.

I usually think differently from others, so with that I start from the back and go forward. 

Thralls, the needed part to get the wagon rolling, like Oil for the Bike/Car or moister/lotion for the dry hand or simply living blood vessel for a dry throat in the heat of the bowling activities.

I think I will always use the first skill, always random, it is not worth the extra 10k to get what you want, unless you really feel you need some, and yet you must be knowing they are soon lost anyhow. The endurance of Thralls are lower than you expect.  

 

V-Runner: new and Str 3, av 7 or you need 8 to bypass it, is same for thralls. And when you gaze etc you are quite often looking for a fist in the following turn, so tricky. Move 8 however is awesome! So, how to use them, well I have my thoughts

V-Thrower: This is the shit, in my old team I had a thrower always and now one skill less to pick, really good for my game style. Let's see. This is the Normal old Vamp but now with Passing skill. 

V-Blizer: An interesting piece and starting with juggernaut which is good as you will Blitz alot. Else this is also like the old normal vamp, str 4 etc. 

Vargheist: Totally new piece to the team, a Big guy without Gaze but with bloodlust in the form as Blitzer meaning 2+ only IF block or Blitz, at 150k start a but if a Meeh.

My Starting team Vamp wise was 2 Thrower 1 runner, 1 Blitzer. 

 

In my starting 2 games I have so far failed all Regen, so trouble trouble. As I have had more Vamps in the Injury box than Thralls. Last game I also got one minus str on the only experienced V-thrower. sigh. But I could afford an Apo at least. 

 

So, no skills but on thralls, which was a random Frenzy. 

Next game is vs another Vamp team, driven by @Tribble. Will be fun, and challenging. 

3 Vamps vs 4 vamps, same amount of thralls. 

So it is Blitzer, Thrower, Runner. Vs 2 thrower and 2 runners. 

I’ll get a Hired thrall so TV diff is only 40k.

 

TBC, thanks for reading.

[Bantha]

I will not report all games but this time I will

Spoiler

It was a dark day, the smell of the crowd was bad as always.

Darth Vader went forth and back and he looked angry, muttering about things he was displeased with. It was done with such a low voice, no one could decipher the breathings. 

The thralls avoided him, you could see the circle of respect for an angry vampire.

 

 He looked disappointed and the referee who just came to the stadium. Feeling the trampled grass with his hand. It was a mixture of dirty brown and lumps of flesh from the earlier Undead game that just took place. Skin and shoulders lay as left overs when the bashing chaos team molested the poor zombies in the los. 

Entire scalps, elbows it was a dirty game. The regen did not work at all. 

 

He took a deep breath trying to taste the sentence in the air. What was that, some fresh blooming rose came from nowhere. Vador scanned the seats and there it was. Some of the sections were decorated with flowers of all kinds. But roses had the most intense flavor in the air. He stayed long looking at the area as trying to pierce through to see who was this done for. 

 

Vader finally put on his small glasses, pressed them firmly on his nose. A smile came suddenly, his claw handed nails he dragged through his hair. He then joined the team’s last preparations.

 

The game was a mirror game, Vamps on both sides.
From not being allowed suddenly, there were plenty of vampire teams.
From the unbidden taverns or lost castles in the nearby areas, from the dark foggy marshes and from bad lightened backyards in the capitals, they all emerged once again to feast and die in the Bloodbowl arenas. 

 

The previous games have not been challenging Zero Regen so far, no it was not easy anymore. 

Reasons unknown, the small shimmer of luck or less unluck maybe you can say, landed on the themed team from some fictional adventure of events far far away. 

 

Game started and our dear Tribble decided to “well, lets receive”. I think it started there, with fist pickup.. “1”... and then there were Lots of “1” to come. 

The first half was struggling with positioning for both teams. Some were knocked out, some stayed. Somehow the Dark forces had better success handling the ball and could do the "parsec run" and who else but Vader settled 1-0.

After it was handed over from a thall, but so far that worked. 2 TD in total means a skill as a reward IF he makes it. 

 

Second half, some were still missing due to the feeling of the pain from the last half. It was more severe from Team Tribbles point of view. 

Running with the ball vs Vamps are the true challenge. I saw vampires in every corner and of course it’s hard when you have less than your opponent. So I tried my best to settle some screen, due to some GUI problems the gaze did not work and the dodge failed of course the seconds after. 

Slowly we could maneuver up, our runner got the ball, in Vamp wise fashion, she was knocked down. She got the ball again, and again knocked down. This time the ball was dropped out and the eager fans threw it in. The Sith could however regain it and rushed in to settle 2-0 without a second thought if it were better to stall. Well, the old Vamp nerve always tells me to SCORE! Unless killers are lurking around, in this case it was not. 

So, few turns left of the game and more evil 1s came up and again GUI failed, after lust the ordinary action was lost. Strangely my actions worked and handover worked. Two GFI worked bloodlust worked and, 3-0. 

 

That ended the game in an unfair manner but at least one Vamp team secured a win this week. 

 

Best of luck dear Tribble!

 

 

Team wise I need to replace one Vamp, gather one extra to start with. 

Will take some time and then see how the rest manages. 

We have an apo at least so, lets see how much help that provides. 

 

Two skills after last game, easy picking for me as it is both the first skills on any Vamp in this team. 

Blitzer goes with Block, Runner with Dodge. 

Not sure of the future, if I should stay with str3 vamp and get one extra, and then replace the wounded one. 

I think that will be better actually. 

Well well, thanks for reading.

[Bantha]

As I was sitting there, pondering the last game. 

Staring at the wall, all up in my thoughts. 

I guess if someone came in, it would have looked odd.

Me sipping on the drink, which could be tea, whiskey or similar beverage.

But my eyes were fixed looking at that wall without any window or any painting. 

Just a cheap wall in the room, and on decorations at all. The wooden part did not need any painting job, a dry oakish wall did the main in the chair stare at. 

 

It failed already in turn one, as I shewed on some nuts.
That first gaze went fine, yes it did. 

I went through it in my head. The gaze did work.

And I was told once that gaze settled, the victim loses all skills. 

Yes, that was what they told me. 

Then my frenzy thrall would try several things in one go.

That was the aim, I nodded to myself. 

 

But noo, that ugly face of the wraith, it still was as ugly as before the gaze. 

So, he was frozen in his movement, I rerolled, as I was very curious, but another 1 came up. 

My vamp was surfed instead, yes, it went bad. 

 

I took a sip of the now cold tea, then the bribe came. Of course, that always happens when the opponent has a DP and I do not…. of course. 

 

I did manage to score, took all rr it did. Then I was pretty much in deep trouble. 

Defence went dead, foul and blocks did all the work. 

I abandoned the thought. 1-1 for first half, well well. 

 

Second half was also bad. 

Gaining total control, my work did not work at all. 

It’s was a one sided game, not much to do. 

One dead thrall later I also saw new strange patterns gazing more of those Wraith’s. 

I once had to roll the ugly check on my activation, and later it was not rolled until I actually gazed. It was odd indeed. 

And I’m still not sure how the side step skill is affected or not by the gaze. I wonder… 

Well, the game was lost, 1-2 in a comfortable manner. I need more vamps for sure. 

 

So I decided to wait with the replacement of my thrower. He got a skill for the passing effort and well, dodge it is. 

Brought in the next blitzer as I do not like to run with 3 str 3 vamps. I simply do not like it. 

The gaze is then messed up asking for trouble. More than usually so to speak. 

Then blitzer it is. 

Running the team now with 2 blitzers, less reliable but as reliable as old time. 

Two throwers one with str3 and dodge.. and then one runner also now with dodge. 

I like the speed of course. But I do not like the poor armour and poor strength. Bad combo. 

 

5 vamps, lets see, Orc’s next. Orc’s with skills, really odd to face such a team this early.

 

Lets see, so much to do, lets see how this game turns out.

[Bantha]

I finished the meal. which had more or less no flavor at all. But the chef here was no master chef, and it did not come up again. So I have had worse. I put some cash on the wooden desk beside the beer tap nodding towards the barkeeper, and went with heavy steps up to my room. Third floor, door five I repeated to myself just to mumble on something. 

Clearing my thoughts. It was repeating the last games over and over. What have I done lately to receive this.. this… games of total trash. 

I mean nothing worked. While my opponent just dances on like leafs in the wind. 

 

I shaked my head, swung open my door, went in and sat down in front of my bed.

What on earth can I possibly do?

 

“Please in the name of anyone, what have I done wrong? I’m so sorry if I did something wrong, or if I should have done things I did not do? I’m pleading for forgiveness, please. 

Guide me whoever is listening, show me mercy. I have endured games before, but this is one after another. I will not give up, I will continue until I’m thrown out in the ditch by unknown force. Please bear with me!”

 

Viccy smiled. “I have never heard that before,” she told herself.

Looking down at the coach kneeling beside the bed praying to some gods. 

“He said he does not believe and well well, here we are. some bad games and now this.“

 

“But his faith is with him”

A voice unexpectedly sounded from behind. Viccy was startled and that is a very rare thing.
She spun around knives out in a flash. 

“You!” Viccy whispered in a harsh tone.
A fluttering laughter came from the person who managed to sneak up on Viccy. 

Viccy replaced the knives back to the pockets with a sigh. 

“Just in for a snack in this town or, what else brings you here?”

 

“Nice to see you too, daughter.”

She moved forward, stepping without a sound, small tiny steps. Silently they both looked at the coach, he was mumbling now. Still keeping his hands in a tight grip, like praying.
Calmly she cuddled Viccy’s hair, gently.
“You know I envy him in a way.” the woman said.

“Really” Viccy asked honestly with a surprised expression on her face.

“Humans are powerful in the short time they spend on this earth. Devotions to what they are doing should not be neglected.”

She gazed at the coach, slowly she turned to Viccy.

“He is totally committed and that is of value.his heartbeat is steady, beating for this cause. For the team, for my team as no one else would.”

“What about my commitment mother?” Viccy asked with big eyes. 

“It’s different, this is just a brief time for you. Soon all this will change, and if you play your card right, you are still here with me.”

She nodded towards the begging man.

“He will then not be here, but the deeds will remain forever if we are.”

 

“Keep him safe, I would not want anything bad to happen to him unless his faith is brought down on him by himself.” 

She raised her finger, and with her claw-like nail she tapped on Viccy’s breast where her heart was beating.

“Promise me this Viccy!” her tone was sincere and she meant every word.

“Of course dear mother, I do all that is in my power!” she knelt before the most powerful individual she has even known. 

“But why mother, is he staying in this rat’s nest?” 

“Can we not afford something better?”

 

“It’s just a part of the deeds he needs to do, to keep his focus on the games. Not spoiling his first season with the team, we always start small, and climb up. He will do the same, no worries.” She lay her hands on Viccy’s shoulders.

“Please raise, you have always done a great job. You will manage this one also”

Mother nodded with a genuine smile, lips closed. 

 

Then she jumped off the roof, floating away with the wind. Viccy realised there was some fog coming in from nowhere, the distant shadow of the mother melted together in the thin fog and suddenly she was gone. 

 

Her words meant a lot, because for Viccy, this human, this Coach has started to mean a lot for her as well. 

She looked down at her pale hands almost glowing in the moonlight. They looked hollow and weak. She closed them, slowly she followed the blood veins as they moved when she closed her hands. I know one more person that has a similar movement. 

He is 0 negative as blood type, the very best. Is this why mother is so interested of you, dear Bantha?

She looked at him once more through the small window, lets join him for a drink. Best way to protect him right. With a happy smile, she left the roof and went to door number five. 

knock knock.