Deathball - Core Rules v1.5

Introduction
Hello, and welcome to Deathball!

Deathball is a single-page ruleset played with Warhammer
40,000 and Warhammer Fantasy miniatures that was
designed to be fast to learn and simple to play.
Inspired by blood bowl and other sports games the system
pits you and your friends in a fast paced competition of
violently hilarious ball play.
You can find various supplements to this ruleset and other
one page rules at onepagerules.wordpress.com. You can
find more awesome art at rosscarlisle.tumblr.com.
If you'd like to get news & updates you can follow us at
facebook.com/onepagerules, reddit.com/r/onepagerules or
twitter.com/OnePageAnon.
If you wish to get involved in the games development or
have any questions you can head over to our forums at
onepagerules.proboards.com, or write me an e-mail at
[email protected].
Thank you for playing and happy wargaming,
One Page Anon (Rules) and Ross Carlisle (Cover)
Index
1.
2.
3.
Cover
Introduction & Index
Rules
Deathball Core Rules v1.5

by OnePageAnon (http://onepagerules.wordpress.com/)
General Principles
The Most Important Rule: Whenever a rule is
Taking the Ball
If at any point of a players movement it comes into

unclear or does not seem quite right, use common
contact with the ball whilst it is not controlled by
sense and personal preference.
another player, then he may try to take it. Roll one
Coaches & Players: For the purpose of clarity the die and check the players Skill:
players playing the game are referred to as coaches,
Skill 1: player takes the ball on 4+

whereas the models that are being used in the

game are referred to as players.

Control Zones: Each player has a 1 control zone If the player manages to take the ball it is in control
around himself which is used for various things.
of the player and stays with him as he moves. If the
Before we begin...
roll is unsuccessful however, then the ball scatters
D6 in a random direction (use scatter die).
Preparation: The game is played on a flat 2x3
Tackling
surface. Place a goal marker (use a pole or tree) on
the opposing short sides of the field at the centre of If a player moves into base contact with a player
table edge. Then draw a line in the middle of the
that has the ball, he may try to tackle him to take
table (from one long side to the other) and place
the ball for himself. The tackling player rolls one die
the ball marker at the centre of that line. The
and compares his Skill value to that of the defender:
borders of the playing field is impassable and may
Defender is 2 points higher: 6+ to tackle

not be moved through by any player or the ball.
Defender is 1 point higher: 5+ to tackle

Setup: The game is played between two coaches
Defender is equal: 4+ to tackle

with teams of 5 players each (select any 5 players
Defender is 1 point lower: 3+ to tackle

from the player types section). The coaches roll-off
Defender is 2 points lower: 2+ to tackle

and the winner places all of his players on one side If the player manages to tackle, then the ball comes
of the field, at least 3 away from the ball. Then the under his control. Else the ball remains in control of
other coach sets up his team the same way on the
the defending player.
opposite side of the field.
Shooting the Ball
Objective: The first team to score 3 goals wins.
If a player is in control of the ball, he may try and
Playing the Game
shoot it at a target or point anywhere on the table.
The game is played in turns, where during each turn Roll one die and adds the players Skill value to the
the coaches activate their players. Once a coach has result, and then subtract any of the following
finished activating all of his players once or has
modifiers from the result:
failed an activation play passes to the other coach.
-1 for every full 6 the ball has to travel

The coach that won deployment goes first.
-1 for every enemy control zone the ball

Activation
has to travel through
If the player manages to have a final result of 6 or
Each player may be activated only once per turn.
When activating a player you may roll 1, 2 or 3 dice more, then the ball lands on target. Else the ball is
scattered D6 from the middle point between the
trying to score 4+. For each succseeful die the
player may use one action, however if two or more shooting player and its target.
Receiving the Ball: If the ball lands in one players
dice fail on this activation then play passes to the
control zone, then the player may try and take the
other coach after any remaining actions instead.
ball like he would if he had moved into it. If the ball
Players may use the following actions:
lands in the control zone of two or more opposing
Action
Notes
players, then one player from each team may try
Move
Move up to 6.
and take it, which is resolved like tackling (with the
Tackle
Take the ball from an opponent.
active coachs team counting as tackling).
Attack
Attack one opponent within reach.
Goals
Shoot
Shoot the ball at a target or point.
Get Up
Recover from being stunned.
If a player shoots the ball targeting the goal and the
ball lands on target, then the players team scores
Moving
one goal and a new ball is scattered D6 from the
centre of the playing field. All players that had been
Players may move and turn in any direction, and
knocked out are then placed within 6 of their own
they may move into the control zone of opposing
goal, outside of enemy control zones.
players without any penalty. If a player moves out
Terrain
of an opposing players control zone he receives an
attack by that player on the spot . Note that if a
Terrain may be placed when preparing the playing
player moves out of several overlapping control
field, and there are no restrictions as to the amount
zones all players may attack.
of terrain you may place on the field, however
Attacking
terrain must be placed on both sides of the field as
to create a mirror image of it.
Players that are in base contact with an opponent
may attack it. The attacking player rolls one die and Obstacles (barrels, rocks, trees, etc.): Obstacles
have a 1 control zone just like players and count as
compares his Brawl value to that of the defender:
opponents in the way when shooting.
Defender is 2 points higher: 6+ to hit

Difficult Terrain (mud, water, vegetation, etc.):
Defender is 1 point higher: 5+ to hit

Players moving through difficult terrain halve their
Defender is equal: 4+ to hit

movement. When shooting through difficult terrain
Defender is 1 point lower: 3+ to hit

it counts as an opponent in the way.
Defender is 2 points lower: 2+ to hit

If the player manages to hit, then roll one die on the Dangerous Terrain (mines, acid pools, spikes, etc.):
Players moving through dangerous terrain roll one
following wound table:
die. On a 1 they must immediately roll on the
Result
Effect
wound table. When passing or shooting through
1
Knocked Out (remove the model)
difficult terrain roll one die. On a 1 the ball is
2-3
Stunned (place the model on its side)
destroyed and a new one is scattered D6 from the
4-6
Pushed (attacker moves model 3)
centre of the table.
Stunned: A player that has been stunned counts as
having Brawl 1, loses the ball and has no control
zone whilst stunned.
Pushed: A player that has been pushed is moved by
up to 3 by the attacker and loses the ball. If this
moves the model out of any control zones the
model is attacked as normal.
Advanced Rules
In order to spice up the game the players can agree
on using the following advanced rules.
Coaching Points: At the beginning of the game
and every time a goal is scored, roll one die. Both
coaches get as many coaching points as the result,
which they can spend to re-roll one die of any kind
from either coach. Any coaching points that have
not been spent by the time a new goal is scored are
immediately lost.
Random Events: At the beginning of the game
and every time a goal is scored, roll a die on this
table to get a random event. These effects only last
until a new goal is scored, and do not carry over.
Result Effect
1
Rock Thrown One randomly selected
player is immediately stunned.
2
Tremors The ball always moves +D3
when scattering.
3
Changing Weather The entire field
counts as difficult terrain.
4
Perfect Recovery Place knocked out
players within 12 of their own goal.
5
Cheering Fans All stunned players
immediately get up.
6
Blitz Players move +1 and activate
on rolls of 3+.
Player Types
Coaches must agree upon what type each player is
before the game begins.
Type
Brawl
Skill
Lineman
2
2
Notes: n/e
Type
Shooter
Notes: n/e
Brawl
1
Skill
3
Type
Brawl
Skill
Dodger
1
2
Notes: This player may move out of enemy control
zones without being attacked on a 3+.
Type
Heavy
Notes: n/e
Brawl
3
Type
Brawl
Blocker
2
Notes: This player has a 2 control zone.
Skill
1
Skill
1

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Introduction

Hello, and welcome to Deathball!

Deathball Core Rules v1.5

Taking the Ball

If at any point of a players movement it comes into

Skill 1: player takes the ball on 4+

Skill 2: player takes the ball on 3+

Skill 3: player takes the ball on 2+

Defender is 2 points higher: 6+ to tackle

Defender is 1 point higher: 5+ to tackle

Defender is equal: 4+ to tackle

Defender is 1 point lower: 3+ to tackle

Defender is 2 points lower: 2+ to tackle

-1 for every full 6 the ball has to travel

-1 for every enemy control zone the ball

Defender is 2 points higher: 6+ to hit

Defender is 1 point higher: 5+ to hit

Defender is equal: 4+ to hit

Defender is 1 point lower: 3+ to hit

Defender is 2 points lower: 2+ to hit

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