Gauntlet
2016-11-09, 07:11 AM
Guild Ball (steamforged.com/guildball)
Guild Ball is a miniatures game vaguely reminiscent of Blood Bowl, Warmachine and Malifaux, based on 'Mob Football'. In the game, each player controls a team of 6 players (one Captain, four Players, one Mascot) in an attempt to reach a number of points (normally 12) before the opponent. Scoring a goal is worth 4 points, and taking out an enemy player is worth 2 points. The game is played with alternating model activations, and uses two separate resource mechanics. Also, the models are extremely pretty and you only need to paint six models for a team to get started. There are paper dolls available on the website to try the game out with, also.
All the rules and player stats for Guild Ball are available for free on the Guild Ball website (steamforged.com/guildball).
Influence plays similarly to Focus in Warmachine - it is the primary currency of the game, which is spent to perform actions. One influence can buy a single attack, allow a model to Sprint (moving further than a Jog, which is free), pass the ball, or use a special ability. Each model generates a number of influence points each turn, and has a maximum number of influence it can be assigned from the team's pool. Models generate and are allocated influence at the start of each turn, before the first player is activated.
Momentum is a separate resource which is used to represent the ebb and flow of the game, as opposed to the relatively static influence generation. It must be spent to make a shot on goal, and also allows players to 'take a breather' to heal themselves or others, or on 'Bonus Time!' to roll an additional die when attempting a kick or attack. Unspent momentum adds to the roll to determine what player goes first each turn. Momentum is generated when making successful passes of the ball, and when attacking enemy models under certain circumstances.
Playbooks are used to determine the results of attacks. When attacking an enemy, a model rolls a dicepool based on their TAC (attack) stat, and compare the results to the target's DEF stat, before subtracting one success for each point of armor the target has (usually 0-1, sometimes 2 or 3). Each successful die afterwards unlocks one 'column' on the model's playbook. This is on a model's stat card and varies a lot - every player has 1 damage on the first column, but other possible results include pushing the enemy, allowing the attacker to dodge, knocking the enemy down and tackling the ball from them.
Character Plays are abilities players have which can be activated by spending influence - some character plays can also be triggered from a model's playbook (and some are only available in the playbook). These allow models to affect others at range, buff allies or themselves, or change the game in other ways. To determine whether a character play is successful against an enemy, you roll a dicepool equal to the play's INF cost against the target's defense stat - meaning that more expensive abilities are more likely to hit, and higher cost isn't always a downside. Some plays will also place AOE markers on the board which have an effect until the end of the turn - all effects wear off at the end of the turn except for Conditions.
Conditions are effects like "Knocked Down", "Burning" and so on which apply until they are removed. Models can remove all conditions on them by spending a point of Momentum as if healing (or two points, if it's a different model's activation currently). Knockdown can also be removed by forfeiting movement. Conditions have a variety of effects ranging from damage (Bleed, Poison, Fire) to reduced mobility (Fire, Snared). They are the only effects which don't go away at the end of the turn.
Taken Out models are removed from the pitch when they lose their last hitpoint (or are pushed off the pitch!). They return to play at the start of the next turn, but not on full health - so positioning them too agressively can get them taken out again for more VPs. Models can't be removed permanently, although until recently a team's Mascot didn't return to the pitch when Taken Out
Guild Ball is set in the Empire of Free Cities, which is a low-magic fantasy medieval setting. The Century Wars just recently ended and the great Guilds of the nations are consolidating their power and brokering deals between themselves. Guild Ball is used to keep the populace happy, and also as a method of settling disputes between Guilds and as a show of power - richer, more established guilds can afford the best training facilities, players and stadiums and so the Guild Ball standings are a sign of which Guild is in the ascendancy.
The Butchers' Guild is one of the oldest and most well established Guilds. They are brutal and dangerous, although they do play some football as well as just putting knives in people. The old captain, Ox, has disappeared and been replaced by Fillet, which has caused an internal power struggle to begin between Fillet and Ox's old teammates. The players are universally capable of inflicting severe damage on the enemy, and are generally fast and okay at kicking the ball. They do, however, have something of a problem taking beatings in return, and prefer to take enemies out before they can fight back, then put the ball into the goal at their leisure afterwards.
The Fishermen's Guild is the other old and longstanding institution. Unlike the Butchers, they are very much all about the scoring game, using their bigger players and long spears to keep the enemy at bay while they dodge around and score goals. They are pretty unimpressive in a fight, although their now-returned peg-legged captain Corsair can hold his own in a battle pretty well. The previous captain, Shark, is a superstar striker who scores goals like no other. They have fallen off in political strength a little recently, after Ox murdered their Magistrate for an in-game attack on one of the Butchers before disappearing.
The Masons' Guild made a lot of profit from the Century Wars, and even more rebuilding afterwards. Their Guild Ball team is very versatile, with a defensive focus and plenty of armour. Their Captain Honour is a Century War veteran and strategic expert - however she was recently badly injured and replaced by Hammer, who is more of a direct fighter. Both captains are capable of both playing the ball well and taking players out as needed.
The Brewers' Guild is sometimes seen as nothing more than a collection of thugs and gangsters, and it's true that they have a lot of underworld ties, and the Guild's leadership frequently changes in bloody coups. On the pitch, however, they are some of the toughest fighters out there - mostly on the slower side, but generally both dangerous and hard to take out. They are very strong particularly when ganging up on an enemy and shoving the boot in, and great at knocking the enemy down to keep them nearby. Tapper, the old captain, has recently been more contested by Esters.
The Engineers' Guild are relatively new on the block, and made plenty of money to establish themselves when building both infrastructure and siege equipment. They have a lot of ranged capability, particularly with their crossbow-armed captain Ballista, and are also quite durable. Recently, they have gained more of a focus on creating mechanical automatons, courtesy of the new guild leader, Pin Vice.
The Alchemists' Guild are dangerous, volatile and unpredictable. Very much your standard crazed medieval alchemists, they create toxins, gases and explosions both on and off the pitch. Midas, their original captain, is a glory hog using Guild Ball as a political tool - though his personal inventions in transmutation are impressive. Recently they have moved away from Midas and into the control of Smoke, who favours a tricky style of play focused on outmaneuvering the enemy and covering most of the pitch in fire, poison or both.
The Morticians' Guild is seen as somewhat creepy, shadowy and suspicious, but they have been around forever and have great political clout. The captain, Obulus, is also an important power player in not-football related politics, and has deals all over the place - sometimes being replaced on the pitch by his student, Scalpel. The team is great at controlling the enemy, beating them back and grinding out a victory by holding on to the ball and refusing to die.
The Hunters' Guild is seen as a bunch of backwater strangers, and only recently became competitive in the Guild Ball leagues. They are dangerous fighters, and very capable of taking out anyone who gets caught in their snares and traps. They are led on the pitch by Theron, a veteran of the war and experienced hunter and archer. The Hunters aren't great at football but they are very good at slowing the enemy down, taking their plan apart and then cutting them to pieces.
The Union is more of a criminal organization than a guild. They facilitate a lot of the backroom bribes and shadow games that go on behind every game of Guild Ball, and Union players can make appearances on any team in the leagues. When they represent themselves, though, they are a group of highly skilled and versatily players, though somewhat lacking in synergy compared to others. The pirate captain Blackheart was originally their leader, but he has since been usurped by one of his lackeys, the murderous thug Rage. Rage's takeover has cost the Union some of their clout, though, and now they do a lot less politicking and a lot more just getting paid to fight people.
Currently, Season 2 of Guild Ball is coming to a close, and with Season 3 we will be seeing a full rules rework, new releases, and two new guilds - the Farmers' Guild, and one other as yet unnamed. Recently we've been seeing reworked player cards released every day, including some changes to the core rules also - it's looking like a very exciting time to be playing.
So, do any of you guys play the game? Keeping up with the new season's spoilers? Anyone thinking of jumping in in the future - after all, with the release of the new Kick Off! boxed set it'll be easier than ever to get started.
Guild Ball is a miniatures game vaguely reminiscent of Blood Bowl, Warmachine and Malifaux, based on 'Mob Football'. In the game, each player controls a team of 6 players (one Captain, four Players, one Mascot) in an attempt to reach a number of points (normally 12) before the opponent. Scoring a goal is worth 4 points, and taking out an enemy player is worth 2 points. The game is played with alternating model activations, and uses two separate resource mechanics. Also, the models are extremely pretty and you only need to paint six models for a team to get started. There are paper dolls available on the website to try the game out with, also.
All the rules and player stats for Guild Ball are available for free on the Guild Ball website (steamforged.com/guildball).
Influence plays similarly to Focus in Warmachine - it is the primary currency of the game, which is spent to perform actions. One influence can buy a single attack, allow a model to Sprint (moving further than a Jog, which is free), pass the ball, or use a special ability. Each model generates a number of influence points each turn, and has a maximum number of influence it can be assigned from the team's pool. Models generate and are allocated influence at the start of each turn, before the first player is activated.
Momentum is a separate resource which is used to represent the ebb and flow of the game, as opposed to the relatively static influence generation. It must be spent to make a shot on goal, and also allows players to 'take a breather' to heal themselves or others, or on 'Bonus Time!' to roll an additional die when attempting a kick or attack. Unspent momentum adds to the roll to determine what player goes first each turn. Momentum is generated when making successful passes of the ball, and when attacking enemy models under certain circumstances.
Playbooks are used to determine the results of attacks. When attacking an enemy, a model rolls a dicepool based on their TAC (attack) stat, and compare the results to the target's DEF stat, before subtracting one success for each point of armor the target has (usually 0-1, sometimes 2 or 3). Each successful die afterwards unlocks one 'column' on the model's playbook. This is on a model's stat card and varies a lot - every player has 1 damage on the first column, but other possible results include pushing the enemy, allowing the attacker to dodge, knocking the enemy down and tackling the ball from them.
Character Plays are abilities players have which can be activated by spending influence - some character plays can also be triggered from a model's playbook (and some are only available in the playbook). These allow models to affect others at range, buff allies or themselves, or change the game in other ways. To determine whether a character play is successful against an enemy, you roll a dicepool equal to the play's INF cost against the target's defense stat - meaning that more expensive abilities are more likely to hit, and higher cost isn't always a downside. Some plays will also place AOE markers on the board which have an effect until the end of the turn - all effects wear off at the end of the turn except for Conditions.
Conditions are effects like "Knocked Down", "Burning" and so on which apply until they are removed. Models can remove all conditions on them by spending a point of Momentum as if healing (or two points, if it's a different model's activation currently). Knockdown can also be removed by forfeiting movement. Conditions have a variety of effects ranging from damage (Bleed, Poison, Fire) to reduced mobility (Fire, Snared). They are the only effects which don't go away at the end of the turn.
Taken Out models are removed from the pitch when they lose their last hitpoint (or are pushed off the pitch!). They return to play at the start of the next turn, but not on full health - so positioning them too agressively can get them taken out again for more VPs. Models can't be removed permanently, although until recently a team's Mascot didn't return to the pitch when Taken Out
Guild Ball is set in the Empire of Free Cities, which is a low-magic fantasy medieval setting. The Century Wars just recently ended and the great Guilds of the nations are consolidating their power and brokering deals between themselves. Guild Ball is used to keep the populace happy, and also as a method of settling disputes between Guilds and as a show of power - richer, more established guilds can afford the best training facilities, players and stadiums and so the Guild Ball standings are a sign of which Guild is in the ascendancy.
The Butchers' Guild is one of the oldest and most well established Guilds. They are brutal and dangerous, although they do play some football as well as just putting knives in people. The old captain, Ox, has disappeared and been replaced by Fillet, which has caused an internal power struggle to begin between Fillet and Ox's old teammates. The players are universally capable of inflicting severe damage on the enemy, and are generally fast and okay at kicking the ball. They do, however, have something of a problem taking beatings in return, and prefer to take enemies out before they can fight back, then put the ball into the goal at their leisure afterwards.
The Fishermen's Guild is the other old and longstanding institution. Unlike the Butchers, they are very much all about the scoring game, using their bigger players and long spears to keep the enemy at bay while they dodge around and score goals. They are pretty unimpressive in a fight, although their now-returned peg-legged captain Corsair can hold his own in a battle pretty well. The previous captain, Shark, is a superstar striker who scores goals like no other. They have fallen off in political strength a little recently, after Ox murdered their Magistrate for an in-game attack on one of the Butchers before disappearing.
The Masons' Guild made a lot of profit from the Century Wars, and even more rebuilding afterwards. Their Guild Ball team is very versatile, with a defensive focus and plenty of armour. Their Captain Honour is a Century War veteran and strategic expert - however she was recently badly injured and replaced by Hammer, who is more of a direct fighter. Both captains are capable of both playing the ball well and taking players out as needed.
The Brewers' Guild is sometimes seen as nothing more than a collection of thugs and gangsters, and it's true that they have a lot of underworld ties, and the Guild's leadership frequently changes in bloody coups. On the pitch, however, they are some of the toughest fighters out there - mostly on the slower side, but generally both dangerous and hard to take out. They are very strong particularly when ganging up on an enemy and shoving the boot in, and great at knocking the enemy down to keep them nearby. Tapper, the old captain, has recently been more contested by Esters.
The Engineers' Guild are relatively new on the block, and made plenty of money to establish themselves when building both infrastructure and siege equipment. They have a lot of ranged capability, particularly with their crossbow-armed captain Ballista, and are also quite durable. Recently, they have gained more of a focus on creating mechanical automatons, courtesy of the new guild leader, Pin Vice.
The Alchemists' Guild are dangerous, volatile and unpredictable. Very much your standard crazed medieval alchemists, they create toxins, gases and explosions both on and off the pitch. Midas, their original captain, is a glory hog using Guild Ball as a political tool - though his personal inventions in transmutation are impressive. Recently they have moved away from Midas and into the control of Smoke, who favours a tricky style of play focused on outmaneuvering the enemy and covering most of the pitch in fire, poison or both.
The Morticians' Guild is seen as somewhat creepy, shadowy and suspicious, but they have been around forever and have great political clout. The captain, Obulus, is also an important power player in not-football related politics, and has deals all over the place - sometimes being replaced on the pitch by his student, Scalpel. The team is great at controlling the enemy, beating them back and grinding out a victory by holding on to the ball and refusing to die.
The Hunters' Guild is seen as a bunch of backwater strangers, and only recently became competitive in the Guild Ball leagues. They are dangerous fighters, and very capable of taking out anyone who gets caught in their snares and traps. They are led on the pitch by Theron, a veteran of the war and experienced hunter and archer. The Hunters aren't great at football but they are very good at slowing the enemy down, taking their plan apart and then cutting them to pieces.
The Union is more of a criminal organization than a guild. They facilitate a lot of the backroom bribes and shadow games that go on behind every game of Guild Ball, and Union players can make appearances on any team in the leagues. When they represent themselves, though, they are a group of highly skilled and versatily players, though somewhat lacking in synergy compared to others. The pirate captain Blackheart was originally their leader, but he has since been usurped by one of his lackeys, the murderous thug Rage. Rage's takeover has cost the Union some of their clout, though, and now they do a lot less politicking and a lot more just getting paid to fight people.
Currently, Season 2 of Guild Ball is coming to a close, and with Season 3 we will be seeing a full rules rework, new releases, and two new guilds - the Farmers' Guild, and one other as yet unnamed. Recently we've been seeing reworked player cards released every day, including some changes to the core rules also - it's looking like a very exciting time to be playing.
So, do any of you guys play the game? Keeping up with the new season's spoilers? Anyone thinking of jumping in in the future - after all, with the release of the new Kick Off! boxed set it'll be easier than ever to get started.