06.12.

2018 Blood Bowl Glossary - Warhammer Community

If you don’t know your end zones from your dugouts, this glossary will teach you all the lingo. Head on over
to BloodBowl.com for all the latest gridiron action.

Amorica
The mystical land where Blood Bowl in its original form was once played and was probably invented,
known only by its mention in the sacred book of Nuffle.

Apothecaries
A catch-all term for sideline medics, barber-surgeons and other self-proclaimed masters of anatomy who
specialise in patching up players who suffer grievous injuries. Unsurprisingly, Blood Bowl keeps them busy!

Armour
As laid out in the Nuffle Book of Amorical Football, each player who sets foot upon the sacred Gridiron
must be attired appropriately. Although the first teams wore modified battle plate, this made for some very
slow games, and in recent years great leaps have been made in constructing lightweight (but resilient) sports
armour.

Assist
The act of helping a team-mate get the boot into an opponent.

Assistant Coach
A right-hand-man (or woman, or orc…) to the head coach. Often a retired player, looking to keep one foot in
the door.

Astrogranite
A hard playing surface which was briefly popular two decades ago because playing on it hurt the players
more than their opponents.

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Ball
According to the guidelines laid down by Sacred Commissioner Roze-El, a regulation blood bowl ball must
be “one-and-a-half spans long, one span across at its mid point, and a prolate spheroid in shape”. As no one
is sure what a ‘prolate spheroid’ is, this latter part is generally held to mean ‘sort of egg-shaped, but
pointier’.

Blitzer
A player who mixes speed, agility and hitting power in equal measure, and consequently is always a fan
favourite. Often far too charismatic off-pitch for you to hate them for being so darned talented.

Blocker
The brick wall of the team. A blocker’s job is to stop the other team’s players from getting where they want
to, even if that means ripping their legs off in the process. Occasionally, a blocker will notice that the game
features a ball.

Blocking
The act of smashing into an opponent with the maximum possible force.

Blood Bowl Coin

Each game of Blood Bowl starts with a coin toss. This used to be done with any old coin, but in the early
2480s the NAF realised it had a great chance for commemorative merchandise. It wasn’t long before official
Blood Bowl coins were being manufactured in their masses, each featuring the logo of a different team,
event or player. Ironically, lots of referees are staunch traditionalists, and have carried on using whatever is in
their pocket at the time.

Bob Bifford

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Retired ogre player and commentator extraordinaire. One half of the famous presenting duo ‘Jim and Bob’.

Bribe
Bribes are heavily regulated by the Referees and Allied Rulekeepers Guild. A bribe consists of a single
payment of 100,000 gold pieces, made at least thirty minutes before kick-off to the appointed treasurer. In
exchange, the head coach may request that, at a given signal, the referee looks away from whatever is
currently happening on the pitch. Many find it a shame that such a fine tradition has had all the fun taken out
of it, but it is generally agreed that bribe regulation is a necessity.

Catcher
The mystical land where Blood Bowl in its original form was once played and was probably invented,
known only by its mention in the sacred book of Nuffle. A player who favours speed over armour, dodging
past the opposition and heading up-field as quickly as possible in the hope of catching a pass and scoring
touchdowns. Hilariously fragile, almost without exception.

Chainsaw
A brutal weapon which uses a clockwork or steam-powered motor to drive a rotating, bladed chain. It goes
without saying that the use of a chainsaw is utterly, completely against the rules, but Refs tend to wait until a
drive ends before ejecting the offending player, for fear of losing a limb or two.

Completion
A pass which is caught by another player on the same team.

Daisy Palmer’s Slow-acting Shoe Grease

This bacon-based gloop is sold through reputable houseware suppliers, and is covered in disclaimers stating
that, despite the amusing name, it should not under any circumstances be used to grease the shoes of Blood

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Bowl players, no matter how good they are at running and how much they deserve to be taken down a peg or
two. Halfling coach turned catering magnate Davvo “Daisy” Palmer has refused to comment.

Drive
The period of time between a kick-off and the interruption of play, either by one team scoring or the clock
running down.

Dugout

A trench-like enclosure on the sidelines of the pitch. Each team has one dugout, from which the coaching
staff shout encouragement (and expletives), the reserves cool their heels and injured players take a well-
deserved rest.

Dump-off Pass
The act of throwing the ball to a teammate just before you get blocked. (See also “Dump-off Face”, the
expression made by a player as they fling the ball over their shoulder in utter panic.)

Dungeon
The catacombs that can be found beneath most larger Blood Bowl stadiums. They are generally used for
storage, or for pulling injured players off the pitch by way of a handy trapdoor, but during Dungeonbowl
season the tunnels are cleared out and a whole different version of the sport takes place.

End Zone
At either end of the pitch is a line, the area beyond which is known as the End Zone. If a player manages to
make it into the End Zone while holding the ball, they score a point for their team! Sounds easy, but the other
team are generally pretty keen to stop it happening…

Exhibition Play
The mystical land where Blood Bowl in its original form was once played and was probably invented,
known only by its mention in the sacred book of Nuffle.

Final
The last game of a Tournament, between the two teams who have made it through the play-offs. Finals are
always grand affairs, with all of the tie-in merchandise you’d expect.

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Foul
A player who acts in an unfair manner, attempting to undermine the rules of the sport, will be called for a
Foul by the referee. Well, if the Ref sees it, that is.

Gridiron
The offical, ritually significant name for the Blood Bowl pitch. To be classed as a Gridiron, a pitch must be
built in accordance with the Nine Regulations, as laid out in the Book of Nuffle.

Hail Mary Pass

A last-ditch, down-to-the-wire attempt to get the ball up the pitch at any cost. Most players are too sensible
(or, more likely, terrified of their coach) to risk losing possession in such an obvious and flamboyant way.

Half-time
A game of Blood Bowl is divided into two halves, as per Nuffle’s holy decree. Half-time is a chance for
players to rest and recuperate, and (in bigger stadiums) for match organisers to wow the crowd with
spectacular shows.

Head Coach
Whether a charismatic leader or a stone-cold tactician, a Head Coach is responsible for running a Blood
Bowl team. It’s not an easy job – you have to have business acumen as well as the ability to think on your
feet and manage a team of frenzied nutters – but the draw of fame and fortune will always ensure there are
plenty of candidates.

Inducements
Some call them lucrative sponsorship opportunities, others bribes. In truth, anything you can tempt a rookie
team with to get them to commit to a game against a team that’s entirely likely to kill them.

Jim Johnson

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One of the greatest (un)living statisticians in the sport, and one half of the famous commentating duo ‘Jim
and Bob’. Oh, and he’s a vampire, but best not to think about that too much.

Kick-off
At the start of each drive, when the Referee blows the whistle, a member of the defence kicks the ball down
the pitch to their opponents. Kick-offs are an explosion of action, usually accompanied by a roar of approval
from the crowd (and the occasional thrown rock, but that’s hardly worth worrying about).

Lineman
Either the hard-working, under-appreciated all-rounders who form the backbone of a Blood Bowl team, or
the ones you feed to the other side’s trolls, depending on who you ask.

Long Bomb
A pass made at to a player at least 45 paces away, generally used as a last resort. Not to be confused with
“Long Bomb” Luggins, backup reserve player for the Greenfield Grasshuggers, who got his nickname
because he was also only ever used as a last resort.

Majors
A collective term for the four major open tournaments, which act as milestones in the Blood Bowl calendar:
The Blood Bowl Open, the Chaos Cup, the Dungeonbowl and the Spike! Magazine Open.

NAF
Although it’s simply known to its fans as “Blood Bowl”, the full name of everyone’s favourite sport is Nuffle
Amorical Football. The NAF was also the name of the governing body that was set up to regulate the sport,
and which published the first full set of rules in 2409. Sadly, the NAF collapsed in 2489, leading to the rise
of the Open Tournaments, but its legacy is still felt to this day.

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