College Wizards - everybody loves 'em. They come in eight delicious flavours, plus two more if you're doing it the old fashioned way. I miss the Grim Reapers... but that's beside the point. In any case, they're dead boring in Blood Bowl with their three entertaining but oh-so-repetitive spells. So here are some Wizards for each of the races, plus some bonus extra spells they can cast.
Though the colleges of magic lease their wizards out to Blood Bowl teams, most non-human races have a plentiful supply of their own spellcasters, all obviously superior to a member of any other race. Therefore, any team may include a college Wizard for the standard hire fee of 150,000 gold pieces, but now teams other than Dwarfs, Halflings and Undead may have special wizards. Note that under these rules, Dwarf and Halfling teams can include a Wizard instead of an Alchemist or Master Chef, but not both at once. An Undead team may employ a Necromancer’s Apprentice or Wizard (but not both) in addition to their Head Coach Necromancer. Other teams may either include a college Wizard or a specialised spellcaster for their race, not both.
A Dwarf team which does not include a Wizard may attempt to dispel a spell cast by an opposing spellcaster using their natural magical resistance. Roll a dice if your opponent attempts to use his spellcaster to cast a spell. On a 6 the spell does not work and the spellcaster can cast no further spells this game. This ability does not provide any protection against Special Play cards in any guise.
Undead only
Many Necromancers, although selfishly hungry for power, take on a skilled apprentice, often planning to sacrifice them at some later date. Of course, the apprentice has plans of his own, but he will never be quite as powerful as he thinks he is...
An Undead team may employ a single Necromancer’s Apprentice for the cost of 150,000 gold pieces. The apprentice will assist the Necromancer is patching together the team and you may therefore add 1 to any Regeneration rolls the undead members of your team make.
If your Necromancer is ever killed for any reason, the Apprentice takes control of the team immediately. Delete the Apprentice from your roster, but you may continue to make Regeneration rolls (without the +1) for the rest of the match.
Chaos Warriors only
If your team is dedicated to the god Khorne, you may not include a Wizard or Chaos Sorcerer in your team.
A Chaos Sorcerer can be hired for 150,000 gold pieces. If you have a Chaos Sorcerer in your team, you are allowed to choose lesser daemon players for your team, based on whichever power your team is dedicated to.
The Chaos Sorcerer may also cast a spell during the match in the same way as a Wizard. All Chaos Sorcerers know the Fireball spell. In addition, the Chaos Sorcerer knows one additional spell based on the power which he follows. A Slaanesh sorcerer knows the Control spell, a Nurgle sorcerer knows the Rot spell, and a Tzeentch sorcerer knows the Warp spell.
Beastmen only
The Shaman of a beastman warband is the band’s link to the spirit world. He walks in the warp, communing with daemons and scrying the future. Shamans are sacred to all beastmen, even those of other tribes, and no beastman will ever harm a Shaman. They are born with the gift of magic and can be powerful spellcasters.
A beastman team may hire a Beastman Shaman for 150,000 gold pieces. The Shaman may cast a spell during the match in the same way as a Wizard. Beastman shamans know the Fireball spell. In addition, the foreseeing of the shaman allows you to take extra Team Re-roll counters at the start of the game (though not at half time, because he’ll probably be meditating or something). Roll a D3 and take that many counters. You may keep any of these counters that have not been used by half time, but you do not gain any more or replace those you have used.
Skaven only
The devilish machinations of the Clan Skryre do as much for the crucible of Skaven politics as do the most secretive plots of the Eshin. Their Warlock Engineers spend their time piecing together arcane devices and items to assist the Skaven in their conquest of the known world. Of course, they are also perfectly happy to help the Clan Rigens win games of Blood Bowl, for a small fee.
A Skaven team may hire a Warlock for 150,000 gold pieces. The Warlock may cast a single spell during the course of the game in the same way as a standard Wizard. All Warlocks know the Crack’s Call and Vermintide spells. In addition, the Warlock is an adept at the use of the corrupting substance Warpstone and may attempt to mutate members of your team using it. You may use warpstone whenever one of your team is about to roll on the Star Player Rolls Table. Instead of rolling on that, roll a dice on the Warpstone Table, below. The result replaces the skill or statistic advance that would normally be gained.
Roll |
Result |
1 |
The player turns into a hideous chaos spawn and must be deleted from your roster. The Warlock quietly disposes of the carcass. |
2, 3 |
The player suffers no effect, adverse or otherwise, from the warpstone. Roll on the Star Player Rolls Table as normal. |
4 |
The Skaven grows mutated muscles, powered by the energy of the warp. +1 ST (as on the Star Player Rolls Table). |
5, 6 |
The Skaven becomes twisted and mutated by the chaotic power. Choose any Physical Ability for the player. |
High Elves only
High Elves are the original practitioners of magic. It was they who taught the upstart Colleges all their magical skills, and they remain the most powerful spellcasters on the planet. Naturally, they frown upon the idea of their favourite teams having to rely on magical support from humans, so occasionally a mage will get up from his dusty books in the Tower of Hoeth on Ulthuan, and go out into the world and join a Blood Bowl team for a while.
A High Elf team may employ a mage for the cost of 150,000 gold pieces. A High Elf Mage may cast a single spell during the match in the same way as a Wizard. High Elf Mages know the Fireball, Banish and Drain Magic spells.
Wood Elves only
Though they are also Elves, the mages of the woods bear little resemblance to their noble High Elf cousins. Their magic is deeply rooted in nature, and they are experts in all forms of flora and fauna. A wood elf mage is at his most useful with the power of nature around him, such as on a grass pitch. Dwarf stone pitches are less amenable but a good mage can find life everywhere.
A Wood Elf team may hire a mage for the cost of 150,000 gold pieces. The mage may cast one spell during the match in the same way as a Wizard. The mage knows the Wrath of Nature, Tangle Vines and Flock of Doom spells.
Orcs only
Some Orcs are born different. They feel uncomfortable around other orcs, especially during the inevitable fights, and are prone to expelling large quantities of primitive magic in random forms. Most of these mutants learn to control their powers, however, and can go on to become powerful spellcasters. Drawing their power from the violent impulses generated by other orcs (known as waaaaagh energy) they can cast impressively destructive spells, especially with the amount of violent impulses produced in your average Blood Bowl match.
An orc team may hire a Waaa Shaman for 150,000 gold pieces. The shaman may cast a spell during the match in the same way as a Wizard. The shaman knows the Ere We Go, Lightning Bolt and Da Krunch spells.
Dark Elves only
When the northern elves embraced the powers of Chaos they lost none of their magical ability, but they warped and twisted it to focus on the other end of the magical spectrum, and have now become masters of Dark Magic. Their evil incantations have caused the slow, lingering deaths of many souls, and are great for livening up a dreary match.
A Dark Elf team may employ a sorcerer for the cost of 150,000 gold pieces. The sorcerer may cast a spell during the course of the match in the same way as a Wizard. All Sorcerers know the Lightning Bolt, Malediction and Dark Strength spells.
Chaos Dwarfs only
The mighty sorcerers of Hashut who live in the ziggurat of Zharr-Naggrund consider themselves the greatest spellcasters known. Their powerful fire magic has reduced many battlefield opponents to ashes. In a Blood Bowl stadium, however, they have to be more sparing with the lava, especially after the infamous St Helens game, where a newly-emerging volcano brought down the stands, the stadium and most of the surrounding town.
A Chaos Dwarf team may hire a sorcerer for the cost of 150,000 gold pieces. Chaos Dwarf sorcerers may cast a single spell during the match in the same way as a Wizard. They know the Fireball, Ash Cloud and Eruption spells.
Goblins only
Goblin shamans get their power from the same source as the more powerful Orc shamans, but they are much more fragile than their larger cousins, and prone to exploding messily. They are, however, masters of the sneaky and underhand, and will quite happily supplement their meagre magical abilities with sleight of hand and dirty tricks.
A Goblin team may employ a Gobbo Shaman for the cost of 150,000 gold pieces. A gobbo shaman may cast a spell during the match in the same way as a Wizard but when he tries to do so you must roll a dice - on the roll of a 1 the goblin cannot contain the energy and his head explodes. The spell is not cast, but you may rustle up a replacement shaman for free for the next match. A gobbo shaman knows the Zap! and Da Krunch spells. In addition, you may draw an additional Dirty Trick Special Play card at the start of the match, which you may use even if the shaman suffers a head explosion.
Control: Choose a player on the opposing team who is on the pitch. Roll a dice: on the roll of a 5 or 6 you may control that player for the rest of the half or until a touchdown is scored, whichever is sooner. Take actions with the player during your own team turn.
Rot: Choose a player on the opposing team who is on the pitch or in the dug-out. Part of the player’s armour starts to rot away and minor afflictions start to plague them. That model has its AV reduced by 1 until the end of the game.
Warp: You may cast this spell on the ball, a player on the pitch or in the dug-out, the pitch, the stadium or the crowd. Roll once on the appropriate Chaos table to find out what happens.
Crack’s Call: The Warlock strikes the ground and a small rupture opens in the earth. Choose any player on the pitch. Roll a dice. If the dice is higher than the player’s AG, then he or she falls down the crack and can only get back out at the end of the half or if a touchdown is scored. If the player was carrying the ball, it will scatter from his square (not leave play).
Vermintide: The Warlock summons a heaving horde of rats, then unleashes them on an unsuspecting victim. Choose a player on the opposing team who is within 4 squares of the sideline. That player is quickly overwhelmed and knocked over by the rats - make an armour roll as normal. The rats quickly disperse afterwards.
Banish: The mage summons a blast of high magic to sweep away the abominations of the undead and daemons from his presence. When this spell is cast, roll a dice for each Undead player (including vampires but not ghouls) and each Lesser Daemon. On the roll of a 6 the player is temporarily disrupted by the weakened form of the spell and must be placed in the KO box of their team’s dug-out. This effect includes any such players in the team’s dug-out already.
Wrath of Nature: The mage summons the forces of nature to animate the grass of the pitch. In practice, there will only be a grass pitch if the stadium is independently owned or owned by wood elves or halflings. If you are the home team, or your opponents are halflings or other wood elves, or if the game is not being played under home or away conditions, you may cast this spell. Ignore this above stuff if you for some reason know what the pitch is made of. The grass animates and grabs at the opposing team. Roll a dice for each player from the opposing team on the pitch who is standing up. On the roll of a 6 the player falls over - make an armour roll as normal. In addition, if the ball is on the ground or ends up there as a result of the carrier being knocked over by the spell, you may immediately move it up to 3 squares in any direction. Players may attempt to pick it up along this path.
Ere We Go: The shaman summons the power of the waaaaaagh. Cast this spell at the very start of any of your turns. This turn, you cannot suffer a turnover for any reason other than declaring the end of your turn. Not failed dice rolls, not Special Play cards, not getting sent off. Nothing.
Da Krunch: The shaman summons the mighty foot of Gork to squish the opposing team into splutchy pancakes. Unfortunately, the orc god is not the most accurate of entities and has a habit of standing on the wrong player, or even in the crowd. Choose any square on the pitch, but then scatter the spell 3 times. The square that the spell finally hits is where the foot lands. Any player in that square is knocked over and automatically injured - do not make an Armour roll, but roll straight on the Injury table. If the foot lands off the pitch, several fans will get crushed but this has no game effect.
Eruption: The sorcerer opens a volcano on the pitch. After numerous serious accidents, the rules now limit the size of these eruptions to what most players would describe as ‘scary’ and the Chaos Dwarf sorcerers would describe as ‘minuscule’. Choose a square on the pitch, and then roll for scatter once. The final square is where the tiny lava patch rises. Any player standing in the square is immediately injured - roll on the Injury table, but if you get a ‘Stun’ result they are placed in the Reserves box rather than face down on the pitch. Players in all adjacent squares to the eruption will be knocked over on the roll of a 4, 5 or 6 on one dice, Make Armour rolls for these players as normal, and count Stuns as normal. After the spell, the volcano closes up again, with no lasting effects. If the ball was in the square with the volcano, either carried or on the floor, then it is burnt to a crisp and play ends. Restart play with the team that kicked off last kicking off again.
Ash Cloud: The sorcerer covers the pitch with a cloud of choking ash. Although the players can hold their breath until the cloud clears, it makes the ball impossible to pass. For the duration of the turn in which you cast this spell, the ball may not be thrown but it can be handed-off.
Drain Magic: After this spell has been cast, no more magic may be used during the match (this includes other spells, Magic Item special play cards and any other spellcasting, but does not have any effect on daemons or undead, or the Magic Helmet card). You may interrupt your opponent’s use of something which will be affected by this spell, in which case his use does not work and is wasted.
Flock of Doom: The mage calls down a large flock of birds, who bombard the helpless victim, stabbing with their beaks. Choose a player on the opposing team who is on the pitch. That player is not knocked over, but make an Armour roll for them and if necessary an Injury roll.
Malediction: The sorcerer causes small cuts to open up all over the victim’s body, slowly draining their life away. Choose any player on the opposing team who is on the pitch. Roll a dice - on the score of a 4, 5 or 6 he is immediately rushed off for medical attention - roll on the Injury table but on the result of a Stun place him in the Reserves box instead of face-down on the pitch. On the score of a 1, 2 or 3 he weathers the injuries until he can receive proper treatment - the spell has no effect.
Dark Strength: The sorcerer calls down the power of chaos to infuse one of the members of his team. Choose one of your players who is on the pitch. That player gets +1 ST until the end of the half or a touchdown is scored, whichever comes sooner.