These are the rules of the league as of Season IV. Check with the current commissioner if in any doubt. The rules are open to change at any time by the commissioner.
The league uses the rules in the Competition Rules Pack unless stated otherwise. All matches are decided by A.I. simulation. Team owners make roster moves, match preparations, and direct the development and advancement of their players before the A.I. pits the teams against each other each week.
See the relevant pages for details on changes to Inducements and Gameplan Points. Note that for Season IV, Tastier's new inducements will be in effect.
Competition Schedule[]
Teams will be split into three divisions, and compete against each other every week over a period of several weeks. Scoring will be as follows:
Win: 3 points out-of-division, 4 points in-division
Loss: 0 points
Draw: 1 point
At the end of the regular season, the top three points leaders in each division will be qualified for the playoffs. In addition, the two teams with the highest point totals NOT in the automatic qualifying spots for their group will be qualified as playoff Wild Cards.
Teams will then compete in head-to-head knockout matches to progress to the GITP Fantasy Blood Bowl Final. The winner of this game is then crowned the champion!
The length of season, number of playoff slots, and whether or not there are BYE weeks will depend on how many teams are signed up.
Gambling[]
Good news! Goblin Gambling has volunteered to send snotlings to the cup in order to take bets from owners on the outcome of group stage and playoff matches!
Owners will be able to use their available funds to place bets (limit 50,000 per bet) any time before 11pm PST on tuesdays. Payouts will be variable depending on the matchup, with odds released when inducement totals are sent out. Once a bet it is in, it cannot be taken back, so don't get carried away while getting your Pete Rose on!
Update schedule[]
All deadlines are 11pm, PST.
Wednesday/Thursday: All matches take place.
Friday: Highlights, scores, and league leaders posted in main GITP Fantasy Blood Bowl thread. SPP totals, winnings, and casualties applied to teams.
Sunday: Deadline to spend SPP's and cash.
Monday: Team values recalculated. Inducement money for upcoming matches applied to teams.
Tuesday: All teams updated and ready for upcoming matches. Inducements for upcoming matches must be posted by this time. Any funds moved from reserves to petty cash for inducements must be noted by this time. All wagers in.
If you do not have your roster updated by this time, your team will go into the next match as-is. This means any players who gained experience in the last match will not keep that experience, and if they missed your last game due to injury, will also miss this game! The A.I. will not choose pre-match inducements if you do not, and any inducement money will be wasted.
Valid rosters, and Journeymen[]
All teams must begin the season with at least 11 players signed, and a Team Value no greater than 1,000,000 (plus money remaining in the treasury from the previous season, for returning teams). Returning teams retain their Fan Factor rating, and do not have to pay for this, though it is counted towards team value as normal once the season begins.
You may not begin the season by relying upon journeymen, but may use them later in the season if your team has suffered losses.
If somebody has chosen a race that you want, feel free to make your team anyways. Multiple teams of the same race are SUPER, and also likely to have free agents kicking around.
If a team cannot field 11 regular players for its next match, journeymen will be supplied to make up the shortfall. The value of any journeymen is added to TV before inducements are calculated.
If an owner wishes to field a Star Player or Mercenary for the next match, the Star or Mercenary may take the place of a journeyman, and the team will receive full credit on the value for any missing players.
If a team wishes to take advantage of this the owner should notify the commissioner before the deadline for calculating inducements for the relevant week. After this point the team will receive journeymen with corresponding TV implications.
Injuries[]
If a player suffers a permanent injury in a match, they will not miss the following game. The only injuries that cause a player to miss the following game are "Miss Next Game" results.
Journalism Discount[]
If a team owner writes a piece for the Matches and Results thread, they may buy inducements at a 25% discount for or gain an extra gameplan point for that week. This includes:
- Match previews
- Sports journalism
- Record-keeping
- Fiction
- Anything else at the discretion of the commissioner
One-off "bonus weeks" may be held throughout the season at the commissioner's discretion, where teams receive a bonus or discount for writing a season report.
Alternative Team Rosters[]
Some teams are available for hire in addition to those listed in the Competition Rules Pack above. These teams are Underworld, Khorne Daemons and Chaos Pact.
Returning Teams[]
Some teams do not disband at the end of a season and wish to continue playing for the following season. Returning teams have a starting treasury of 1,000,000 gold pieces as normal, in addition to any money left over in their treasury from the end of the previous season.
Returning teams may re-hire as many of their players from the previous season as they can afford at their current value. Any player who possesses a bonus skill from a season award does not add that skill's cost to their re-signing fee, but does apply it towards calculating Team Value during the season proper. Any players from last season not re-signed will be cut.
Returning teams keep their fans from the last season, but do not have to pay for the fan factor out of treasury. The fan factor counts towards team value as nomal.
If a returning team holds a cup or prize that gives them a team value bonus, they do not have to pay for the cup out of treasury funds. The value of the cup bonus will count towards team value as normal.
Free Agency[]
Players who are not re-signed by their previous team enter free agency. The league commissioner will declare free agency open when he is satisfied with the number of teams signed up for the league and specify how long the period will last.
Teams of the same race (or capable of fielding that race, for instance a halfling team fielding a treeman), can bid on a free agent's services. Free agents will not be signed for less than their current player value (ignoring award bonuses). At the end of the free agency period, the highest bidder gets the player. Any players not signed during this period will be absent until next season's off-season, having been forced to play for a minor league team in order to pay the bills.
Free agents may be signed from either active or defunct teams. Dead players and Hall of Fame inductees may not be signed.