Team idea came from a small bit of throwaway text in the Darkside Cowboys biog in the last printed blood bowl rules.


Of Troglodytes...
The troglodytes are a diminutive race of reptilian creatures which dwell within the volcanic caves of mountain ranges across Naggaroth. An average troglodyte stands at about 4’ 6” tall. They are scaly, yet clammy, creatures who vary in hue from a rich red, to sickly green to a drab grey tone. Troglodytes are a very male dominated society with females making up only 1/10 of the population. They are lean and yet reasonably strong for their size and can be outright ferocious when cornered. It is believed that they share a common ancestry with the skinks found the in southern half of the continent.
Troglodytes form together into clans and tribal allegiances and loyalties are sacred. Each Troglodyte clan makes its home within the cave systems near one of the active volcanoes. Indeed, without this source of heat, no reptile could live under the frozen wastes of Naggaroth for long. To the troglodytes, the volcano is their heat, their light and their god (for each volcano is worshiped as a divinity). Clan war is a frequent event between tribes for these resources as well as to raid scarce females and take the spawning pools of the eye-less leaping fish which makes up major part of the troglodyte diet (with a lot of the rest being troglodyte!). However, the times of greatest upheaval occur when a god ‘dies’ and a volcano becomes dormant. The tribes that surround the volcano must now capture a new home die in the process, or face freezing to death.

Of Blood Bowl...
How troglodytes came to play blood bowl is a mystery to all but the troglodytes themselves. In fact so popular is the sport with them that it has become a major cultural and religious factor within their lives and is a right of passage all males must go through. Now, the petty tribal squabbles and arguments over breeding partners can be solved in a (slightly less) bloody manner than the long wars of old. To find the truth of how these creatures came to play the great sport, we must go back a long, long time to a blood bowl pitch in the old world...

Of Dark Elves...
It is a well know fact that during the early years of the Darkside Cowboys they would use trussed up troglodytes instead of balls to save money in importing expensive foreign ones. Strangely, this did not endear the troglodytes to the sport. It was only later in the Cowboys history that this cultural revolution began. As is necessary, all blood bowl teams must take 30 match balls to all games they play. Arriving in Altdorf to play a match, the Cowboys had duly brought 30 troglodytes (tied up in team colours no-less) and some spare string. Bizarrely, the officials in Altdorf disagreed and made the Cowboys release the troglodytes and buy some proper balls. The newly freed troglodytes were bewildered by their new found freedom and dazzled by the spectacle that surrounded them. After years of living in inky-black caves, the noises, sights and smells of the blood bowl field were mesmerising to them. It was then that the troglodytes saw blood bowl for the first time (at least and survived / from the ground). After the match, the freed troglodytes immediately set off home. After a series of long, exciting, hilarious, death-defying and cinematic adventures some of the troglodytes found their way home and told their tales. Troglodyte blood bowl was born.


The Players
The average troglodyte player has very little to recommend himself. They are fairly week and they break easily. Their ball handling abilities are modest. However, they can have a fair turn of speed for their size and are capable of quite excessive violence if suitably provoked. The majority of troglodyte players are younger males seeking glory, breeding privileges or are training to undertake the volcano quest.

Troglodyte 6 2 3 6 Dodge, Stunty, Thrall 40k A

METAGAME NOTES: The basic lineman is relatively weak compared to some stunties. Although they are priced the same as a goblin, they have a reduced Av and as such are a more flimsy team. However, the higher cost is to limit the number of positional / big guys on the team and provide a better overall team balance.
Uniqueness: Not really, couldn’t find a suitable skill to represent anything unique so have left this more to the positional. Use of side-step would cap potential skills and side-step alone would make them too flimsy (or cause a price reduction).



Volcano Warriors
Once they reach maturity, particularly brave or foolhardy troglodyte warriors sometimes undertake what is known as the volcano quest. The warrior sets off on his own towards the core of the volcano where he will not emerge for 60 days. As the heat from the volcano is greatest near its centre many massive and bizarre creatures dwell in these labyrinthine caves and tunnels, sustained by the warmth. The most deadly of these are the Hydra and the Cave Beast. Few of those who venture forth on these quests ever return, but those that do are hailed as mighty heroes and rewarded with their choice of breeding ground and mates. However, these troglodytes are changed by their experiences. They become exceptionally violent and aggressive, throwing themselves at their foes in a savage fury and are truly terrifying in battle. On the blood bowl field they are raging berserkers, hurling themselves at foes and yelling their fearsome war cries.

Volcano Warrior 5 2 3 7 Dodge, Stunty, Frenzy 60k S, A


METAGAME NOTES: The Volcano Warrior is a fairly obvious ‘slayer-esque’ spin off but adds an interesting dimension to the team when combined with the Cave Beast. This gives a lot of frenzy to the team (similar to a norse team in LRB) but neither of these players has access to general skills making the team very unpredictable. I have kept dodge but decreased armour and removed general access compared to a Gnome Daredevil to keep them at a similar level of ability and price (but no Right Stuff obviously as the team has no TTM).
Uniqueness: Possible high number of frenzy on a stunty team. Lack of general skills combined with frenzy (no frenzy + block except on double)

Changes Made: Removed Dauntless and dropped the price by 10k


Sump Leapers
Food (and meat especially) is a rare commodity in the underground world of the troglodytes. Much of their nutrition comes from the florescent algae that lines their caves. Another source of nutrition is the eye-less leaping fish. These bizarre looking creatures breed in volcanically heated pools that can be found in some of the larger cave formations. Clearly they are the ancestors of fish who swam into the caves during periods of flooding and became trapped when the water receded. Since then, they have changed immensely becoming bloated and loosing their eyes (which were useless in the blackness). They survive by eating each other and the myriad of insects which constantly buzz above their pools and this is how they acquired their name by throwing themselves into the air and grabbing mouthfuls of these airborne meals. Sump leapers are particularly agile troglodytes who hunt these pools. Wary of going in the water for fear of being eaten themselves, they have developed a tactic for catching these fish. They find a particularly narrow channel in the pools and position themselves to one side and then wait. As soon as a fish breaks the water they leap through the air and catch the fish before landing on the other back. Unfortunately, this activity does require a lot of energy leaving them somewhat scrawnier than their companions who only have to eat the fish rather than catch them. On the blood bowl field they employ the same tactics and make resonably capable receivers, leaping acrobatically through the air and diving dramatically (and that’s just when you hit them!).


Sump Leaper 6 1 3 6 Stunty, Diving Catch, Leap 60k A

METAGAME NOTES: Again, another example of player synergy. As Diving Catch is commonly regarded as a weak skill I wanted to see if it were possible to make a player type based around it. This obviously combines well with the flinger’s Hail Mary Pass. Leap on an AG3 player also adds an element of risk but for a high payoff and gives the team some unexpected tricks. However, classic leaping cage busting cannot really be achieved with St1 so some more original tactics will be required. Dodge was removed to limit cost and effectiveness (and to encourage use of leap).
Uniqueness: Diving Catch, Leap on AG3

Changes Made: Added 10k to the price and removed Catch to allow full skill progression and reduce reliability



Flingers
Originally, flingers formed part of the tribal warrior caste. They go to battle carrying satchel-like bags full of rocks. They would deploy behind their own warriors and hurl these rocks in great numbers at the foe. Flingers excel at casting these rocks in a high arc over the heads of their own warriors landing them in the middle of the enemy with gravity causing the rocks to plummet on the foe causing great damage. Since blood bowl has replaced tribal wars in all but the direst events (e.g. volcano dormancy) the slingers needed to find a new profession. Luckily, the answer lay in blood bowl itself. On the field they employ their old skills to launch the bull in a high arc over the opponents’ head where (hopefully) the receivers will be lying in wait. Due to their great strength they also make rather more successful ordinary passers than most of the diminutive races.


Flinger 5 2 3 6 Stunty, Hail Mary Pass 70k P/A

METAGAME NOTES: See above. Dodge was removed to limit cost and effectiveness and to make 1st skill selection a more difficult decision.
Uniqueness: ‘Passing’ player on a stunty team, access to passing skills, Hail Mary Pass. Just realised forest gobos have a passer too but sticking to the idea (have since found out this idea was dropped)

Changes Made: Strong arm removed and +20k price



Cave Beasts
In the deepest parts of the volcanoes live the Cave Beasts. They are massive reptilian predators which clearly share some ancestry with the Salamander (though they lack the latter’s venom and spinney ridge). They are incredibly territorial and irrationally aggressive creatures and, once grown, are impossible to tame. In the past, some volcano warriors have bested these monsters in combat. This is accompanied by a great feast as the beast is eaten by the troglodyte clan. Previously, any eggs found were eaten or destroyed. However, in recent years, a number of troglodytes have tried to rear these beasts from infancy and to a lesser or greater extent they have been successful. The beasts obey some basic commands and can be vaguely controlled. More often than not though the beast’s natural aggression kicks in and it savages the nearest thing in sight (and usually a troglodyte for preference!). On the blood bowl field, Cave Beasts are not really used as left to run wild. The massive creature will bight, rend and tear at the foe (or its own team) all the while lashing its massive tail.


Cave Beast 5 5 2 9 Big Guy, Off for a Bite, No Hands, Frenzy, Mighty Blow, Thick Skull, Prehensile Tail

METAGAME NOTES: Thought it would be interesting to create a Big Guy with the OFAB rule. While his abilities are quite impressive, this is to offset the incredibly difficult nature of his nega-trait. His statistics and price are comparable to a kroxigor but with +1Ag, No Hands and a worse nega-trait.
Uniqueness: OFAB big guy, No Hands big guy, See Volcano Warriors (mass frenzy)


Shamans
When Troglodytes go to war (or blood bowl) they take their shamans with them who specialise in a strange form of magic that is vaguely reminiscent of sylvan elf wards or dwarven runes. Using a combination of the luminescent algae and a collection of fungi gathered from their caves, they make pots of eerily glowing ooze. This is painted onto warriors before battle in great glowing runic patterns and swirls. These concoctions have a variety of effects depending on the fungi used. They may heal grievous wounds, speed the warrior’s metabolism, give him great strength or drive him into a berserk and destructive fury. Regardless, they can be a potent addition to any team.

Apothecary = Yes 50k
Wizard = Yes 50k Uses rules for dwarven runesmith

METAGAME NOTES: Thought a different sort of wizard would be nice (and didn’t want to steal another team’s trick) so thought it would be cool to use the runesmith for a different application. Possibility of adding even more frenzy to the team or benefitting particular players based on their speciality (+Str Cave Beasts / Volcano Warriors. +1Ag Flingers / Sump Leapers).
Uniqueness: Stat modification, stunty wizard






Team Summary

(0-16) Troglodyte 6 2 3 6 Dodge, Stunty, 40k A

(0-2)Volcano Warrior 6 2 3 7 Dodge, Stunty, Frenzy 60k S, A

(0-4)Sump Leaper 6 1 3 6 Stunty, Diving Catch, Leap 60k A

(0-2) Flinger 5 2 3 6 Stunty, Hail Mary Pass 70k PA

(0-2) Cave Beast 5 5 2 9 Big Guy, Off for a Bite, No Hands, Frenzy, Thick Skull, Prehensile Tail 130k S

Re – Rolls: 60k
Apothecary: 50K
Runesmith: 50k



Developed by JJ47 (2009)