Talk Fantasy Football

I know there's some FAQ somewhere that's got exactly this info in it, but I've spent various parts of the last couple of days scouring around the BloodBowl'd regions of the web and haven't found it yet.

Last I played was just after 3rd edition, and despite the fantastically massive piles of fun we had, my gaming group left and so did the Blood Bowl. Now I'm looking to get into the PBeM world, but I've got no idea where to start. Games Workshop's BloodBowl links all go to 404's (isn't that depressing), and all of the community info I can find pretty much assumes you already know which side of your snotling the Bovril goes on, so to speak.

So I'm basically asking for a quick rundown of where the game is at. What's BB2K1? Is that 4th edition? What's the LivingRules pdf I just downloaded? Is that more authoritative? What version(s) of the rules are assumed in PBeM games, generally? How do I get into the loop on rules updates, like the Annuals and what not?

And please, no RTFM's. There is no M. I looked. I looked so hard I had Google sweating, and I know Chet is (or was) in a band named Mobius and they're looking for a bassist

th0th wrote: Now I'm looking to get into the PBeM world, but I've got no idea where to start. Games Workshop's BloodBowl links all go to 404's (isn't that depressing), and all of the community info I can find pretty much assumes you already know which side of your snotling the Bovril goes on, so to speak.

So I'm basically asking for a quick rundown of where the game is at. What's BB2K1? Is that 4th edition? What's the LivingRules pdf I just downloaded? Is that more authoritative? What version(s) of the rules are assumed in PBeM games, generally? How do I get into the loop on rules updates, like the Annuals and what not?

Galak's MBBL site is pretty authoritive, contains Ronald's Pbem tool and is the largest Pbem league in the world:
http://www.midgardbb.com/

Dangerous Dave also runs a Pbem League, the RABBL:
http://www.dn-allen.supanet.com/RABBL.html

Forget 4th edition, it has since been pulled. 2k1 is actually the 2001 Rules Review, and the official current ruleset. The Living Rulebook should be all you need. The idea is that it's updated yearly after the annual rules review, which is due every October. The Annual contains both the 2k1 Rules Review and some experimental rules, and is available through MO if your local store hasn't got it.
Incidently the Living Rulebook has not been up long, and contains the usual famed GW typos. I hope you didn't print it out yet, version 1.1 is due to go up today!
HTH!

th0th wrote:I know there's some FAQ somewhere that's got exactly this info in it, but I've spent various parts of the last couple of days scouring around the BloodBowl'd regions of the web and haven't found it yet.

Google must be slipping ... last I knew typing PBeM Blood Bowl would nail my web site as one of the primary hits. Also there is a PBeM discussion forum here on TalkBB ... the 2 best topics were:
PBeM for Idiots: viewtopic.php?t=435
Chet's Basic Guide to Using the PBeM Software: viewtopic.php?t=457

th0th wrote: So I'm basically asking for a quick rundown of where the game is at.

Official source of the software and the instructions for using it are at:
http://www.geocities.com/rlokers
An unofficial source if you want the latest Beta version and picture archives, check out: http://www.midgardbb.com/MBBL/MBBLRules.html

th0th wrote: What's BB2K1? Is that 4th edition? What's the LivingRules pdf I just downloaded? Is that more authoritative?

The Living Rules pdf is the authoritative rulebook for the current rules of Blood Bowl ... its getting a revamp to fix some major typos today.

th0th wrote: What version(s) of the rules are assumed in PBeM games, generally?

Depends .... the game was programmed to play fully with 3rd edition rules, the rules from the Living Rulebook (BB2k1), a mix of the two, or with other net variants/house rules ... so it will play whatever you and your opponent want to. If you want to use official leagues as your base for this ... here's that info currently:

Play-By-eMail Blood Bowl League (PBeMBBL) run by Juergen Unfried since May 28, 1998.
22 coaches from 11 countries running 47 teams with an unlimited playing time limit using 3rd edition and some Citadel Journal or Compendium article house rules.

Midgard Blood Bowl League II (MBBL2) run by Tom Anders since June 10, 2001.
50 coaches from 14 countries running 80 teams with a 4 week playing time limit using BB2k1 Rules Review and several house rules for new teams, skills, and players.

Midgard Blood Bowl League (MBBL) run by Tom Anders since March 24, 2002.
26 coaches from 8 countries running 26 teams with a 4 week playing time limit using BB2k1 Rules Review and no house rules.

Really 'Ard Blood Bowl League (RABBL) run by David Allen since April 3, 2002.
16 coaches from 6 countries playing a different race and team every round to test overall coaching skill with a 3 week playing time limit using BB2k1 Rules Review and a couple of house rules.

th0th wrote: How do I get into the loop on rules updates, like the Annuals and what not?

Check here regularly for new posts ... this is the most friendly active forum on the net.

th0th wrote: And please, no RTFM's. There is no M. I looked. I looked so hard I had Google sweating, and I know Chet is (or was) in a band named Mobius and they're looking for a bassist

Don't even know what a RTFM is ... so hope I didn't give you one ..

As a wrap-up here are the links that could be important to you on your PBeM quest:

Ronald's Blood Bowl Tool
http://www.geocities.com/rlokers
Halfling Scribe http://www.bbowl.purespace.de/scribe
The Blood Bowl Team Editor http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Ca ... amedit.htm
TeamTracker
http://www.blood-bowl/MBBL2/teamtracker-v252.zip
TalkBloodBowl PBeM discussion group
http://www.talkbloodbowl.com
PBeMBBL
http://www.mycgiserver.com/~VikingCGI/pbembbl/index.jsp
MBBL and MBBL2
http://www.midgardbb.com
RABBL
http://www.dn-allen.supanet.com/RABBL.html

By some coincidence, I'm wearing my Mobius t-shirt right now

-Chet