Inducements for the long haul

[mattgslater]

We're hammering out the rules for inducements in a fixed league: we play a scheduled regular season, followed by a double-elimination playoff. There is no elimination in the regular season; it's played strictly for seeding in the playoffs. Effectively, you have 12 games to build before the games really start to count. So inducements that increase your chances of winning now aren't as helpful as they are in the format they were designed for, especially if they sap SPP off your team. Moreover, inducements around here seem to lead to a special sort of acrimony.

How would you structure inducements if your objective were to help the weaker teams improve down the road, instead of leveling the playing field for the match in question? MVPs? Money? My first instinct is to do away with Stars, but frankly I don't like that. Increasing the price of Stars?

What about this?

Unlimited MVPs @ 50k x total number of MVPs (including the basic one), cumulative (1st is 100k, 2nd is 150 for a total 250, 3rd 200 for 450 total, 4th 250 for 700 total, etc).
0-1 Side Bet @ 100k: 1d3x10k winnings if you win
0-1 Short Term Investment @ 100k: roll 1d6 after match: on a 1-3 win result x 10k.
0-2 Extra Training
0-2 Bribe
0-1 Wandering Apothecary
0-1 Star @ (2008)+50k
Unlimited unskilled Mercenaries @ +20k (base cost +50k)
0-1 "Ringer" off Waiver Wire (viewtopic.php?t=27112) @ TV add +50k +10k x Star Player Rank (sum is a line item on Waiver Wire)

Any pitfalls you can think of that I need to be aware of? Is it likely that I'm not seeing something important?

[Jural]

I have always liked the idea of an insurance policy, maybe a 5-100k investment, limit of 2? Basically, the idea is that if any player on your team is retired in the postgame of the match (dead, or a serious injury after which the coach decides to cut him) then he is replaced by a rookie version of the same player type for free.

I find that what really hurts young teams is that once they spend enough to get their core, a bad game sets them back too much, and mercenary blitzers, blockers, and throwers simply aren't good enough.

The problem? A TV 2100000 team playing a TV 2000000 team should not get access to this benefit... So maybe the inducement should be worth 250k and allow up to 3 replacements?

[mattgslater]

Remember, we play a fixed league. The only way a 1.2M team could face a 2M team is if the 1.2M team just absolutely got mulched in the previous game, like to the tune of at least 500k lost TV. That's possible, but it's a) an outlier by any stretch, b) just about begs a struggling team to even be possible (you'd need a big head start to get 800k inducements even if the previous game was a whopping), and c) is almost certainly indicative of several SI'ed players, who will be back.

Maybe I should make the MVPs 0-2 at 150k each? Or make extra MVPs a cumulative 100k (100 for 1, 300 for 2, 600 for 3)? That way, you'd really need to get mulched to get 3 MVPs, and you'd essentially be lining up for a massive thrashing in exchange.

[Jural]

Remember, we play a fixed league...

With a full reset at the end of every season? In that case, I wouldn't want to include any teambuilding options personally, a team with a bunch of MNG players (Wood Elves?) could end up with quite a few extra dollars or MVP's...

I still like some form of insurance- it's really the investments which get taken away from you which cause cash problems in BB, and cash problems are some of the biggest reasons for not being competitive. After 20 games, I think cash problems work themselves out, but after 12 games, the odd death and a string of low winnings rolls can really hose you!

[mattgslater]

Maybe the answer is in fixing winnings? Or greatly downgrading inducements and applying a "giant killer" bonus in cash and maybe an MVP for beating a much higher-ranked team?

[SorroW]

About "fixing" winnings.
We usually do winnings with d4+2 instead of the d6. Works like a charm, just a little way to remove the 2 lowest winnings rolls!

About the MVP.

In the OP you have a MVP suggestion, and in the last a thought about getting more MVPs on a win. Wouldn't it be a good idea to mix the two together?

You spend inducement to gain more MVPs and if you win you get more.

Or simply reintroduce the handicap list with extra MVPs and maybe turn the cards into extra money.

[mattgslater]

Hmmm... what about this?

Inducements are taken in the post-match sequence of the match before instead of hiring Journeymen. Instead of using your opponent's TV, use the following.

1,100,000 GC, plus
40,000 GC • match week (# games already played, including this one), plus
20,000 GC • # losses your team has, plus
10,000 GC • # draws your team has, plus
10,000 GC • your Fan Factor, plus
50,000 GC • (11 minus # of available players)

Or, if you'd rather think of it this way, it's the same thing mathematically:
1,100,000 GC, plus
40,000 GC • # wins your team has, plus
50,000 GC • # draws your team has, plus
60,000 GC • # losses your team has, plus
10,000 GC • your Fan Factor, plus
50,000 GC • (11 minus # of available players)

If your TV is less than this, you may take inducements up to this total, except Star Players and Mercenaries. Star Players are 0-1 but are otherwise unchanged, and Mercenaries are 50k+base cost for rookies (so 20k more than LRB5). Veteran Mercenaries aren't available, but "Free Agents" can be taken off the Waiver Wire (rookie "Mercs" are really FAs also) at Value + Signing Bonus, which is 50k plus Star Player Rank.

At the end of each match, compare TVs, including any inducements selected. The lower-ranked team gains one Giant Killer point for every full 100k difference. The winning team gains one Giant Killer point (this replaces the bonus to Winnings). Then spend Giant Killer points as desired, limit once each.
1 point: Do not roll for Fan Factor change.
1 point: Roll twice for Fan Factor change.
1 point: Roll 1d8 for Winnings instead of 1d6.
1 point: Roll extra d6 for Winnings, take high roll.
1 point: +1 Winnings.
2 points: +1 MVP.
3 points: +1d6 Winnings.

This way, sucky teams will be able to account for their situation, and inducements will function more as a safety net than as a field-leveler. So the best teams will consistently face somewhat-inferior opposition, but the opponent will get a benefit for winning.

[mattgslater]

Example: a High Elf team and a Dwarf team face off in week 4. At 1.1M in the first match, each takes a very different tack. The High Elves build up to TV 1.52M in the first three matches, but the Dwarfs lose a couple players and have bad Winnings rolls, and end up only at 10 players and 970k TV going into the third match.

The Elves (3-0, FF3) have a target TV of 1.1M+3(40k)+30k, or 1.25M. They are comfortably above this and get no inducements.

The Dwarfs (1-2, FF1) have a target TV of 1.1M+3(40k)+2(20k)+1(10k)+50k for having only 10 players, for a total of (110+12+4+1+5)10k or 1.32M. So they receive (1.32M-970k) = 350k inducements. If they want to get a "Journeyman" they have to induce him at 120k, leaving them with 230k for inducements. This could be Flint and a Bribe, Grim, a rookie Deathroller, a pair of TRRs, another Merc Longbeard and a Wandering Apoth, or a trip to the Waiver Wire.

After the match, the Dwarfs (20-point underdogs) will get their choice of an effective +2 on the Winnings roll or a bonus MVP if they lose, and if they win they can pick between a bonus MVP and +1 Winnings or just +1d6 Winnings. If the Elves win, they get +1 Winnings or something like it, and if they lose they get nothing.

If the Dwarfs save 100k on inducements, they'll be 30-point 'dogs and probably will have a hard time winning the game. But even if they lose, in that case, they can take the +1d6 winnings!

This does give a bonus to a team that just has a missing player... but we've generally played with the house-rule that only rostered players are eligible for MVPs; if we dump that rule, how close does that come to accounting for it? I don't want to play with fractions of the value of a missing player... but I also don't mind the idea of a little compensation for teams that get beat up a lot, as suffering a lot of casualties often goes hand-in-hand with losing or being ill-positioned for the playoffs.

[Jural]

Ouch, don't get rid of journeymen! In our group's experience, 11 players is a baseline for a competitive game, and should be assured in all cases.

Also, I'm a bit confused about your league. It's a 10 game season, then a playoff, then every team retires and rookie teams start again? Is that right?

[mattgslater]

Sort of. 12 games, then a single/double-elim seeded postseason, then reset. Teams can take a few players over, but for the most part new teams start with the same TV every season. Wins in the regular season only matter for seeding.

I have a few coaches who positively hate the Journeyman rule. It's totally irrational, but if I want them in my league I have to find an alternative. If I find a way to put in Journeymen without calling them Journeymen, I solve my problem. That's what the 50k per man down bit is about: essentially, it ensures that nobody will have to play with fewer than 11, but it doesn't come out and say so.

[mattgslater]

Remember also that teams are built on 1.1M. If you're seriously concerned about starting a match down men, hire an extra guy. Looking at the calculation, I think the Target TV should be simpler.

I've been thinking about a rule that says "-1 Giant Killer for each total 100k in Treasury." That would keep people from stockpiling cash.

Maybe I should bring rookie Mercs back down to base cost +30k... I've also thought about making the target TV based strictly on match #.

What about this for Target TV?

Match 1: 1.1M
Matches 2-3: 1.2M
Matches 4-5: 1.3M
Match 6: 2.0M *
Matches 7-8: 1.5M
Matches 9-11: 1.6M
Match 12: None! **
Postseason: Opponent's TV

* Match 6 is a conference sort-em-out, where the top team will battle the second team, and the third the fourth, in each conference (the Agile Football Conference and the Nasty Football Conference). So the big jump in minimum TV is intended to add a sense of flair to the game.

**Match 12 is a Bowl Game against what should be a comparable opponent (same rank, other conference). After Match 11 is a bye week (the end-of-season party), so the only players who will miss the match are the ones who have died or been cut.

This way I don't need to put in money for man-down, and I don't have to leave the coaches to either making their own calculations or using their Excel rosters properly. At +30k for rookie mercs, a rookie merc lineman will generally cost 70k-100k. If your target TV is 1.2M in the 2nd and 3rd match and you're missing a player, you can afford a merc. If you're missing four players, you can either afford four mercs, or you could have afforded enough bench in the first place and shame on you. I guess it could kind of hurt Vampire teams a little... but in an 8-coach league with 5 rookies somehow I don't see that as a likely issue.

[mattgslater]

Edit 7 July 09:As part of the Pre-Match sequence, you calculate an Underdog Rating (UR) at opponent's TV minus your TV (after inducements), divided by 100,000 GC. You may spend two UR to draw a card.

Post-Match Sequence

1) Work out Victory Points. First, calculate your Victory Points (VP).
Won Match: +2 VP
Each point of UR: +1 VP
Bowl game: +3 VP
100k or more in Treasury: -1 VP

Then spend VP as desired:
1 VP: Roll 1d8 instead of 1d6 for Winnings
2 VP: Roll an extra d6 for Winnings, but take only one die
2 VP: Add +1 Winnings
3 VP: Add +1 MVP (all MVPs must go to different players)
3 VP: Add +1 Fan Factor, before the Fan Factor Roll
5 VP: Add +1d6 Winnings

2) Work out MVP, Star Player Points, Star Player Rolls.

3) Work out Winnings. Each coach rolls 1d6, adds his or her FAME, and adds +1 for every full 10,000 fans in attendance at the match, then multiplies the total by 10,000 GC.

4) Make purchases, select improvements, work out new TV.

5) Determine Handicap. Subtract your TV from the Target TV for the next match. Target TV is the base Week 1 TV (1.1M), plus 50,000 GC per match played, limit 1.5M.

There are four special cases:
* In the preseason, use the LRB5 rules instead.
* In the Challenge Round (Week 6), the Target TV is 2,000,000 GC!
* If the next match is a Bowl game (Week 12 of the regular season, and the final round of the tournament), there is no Target TV and there are no Inducements.
* In the postseason, Target TV is the current opponent's TV (the "Momentum Rule": you're at least as good as the last team you played).

6) Determine Inducements, if any. If you have a Handicap, you may spend its value on the Inducements listed below. You may spend Treasury directly if you like. You may use these Inducements in the next match.

Inducements
* Extra Staff. Any Coaching Staff who could be hired may be induced at Base Cost +50,000 GC each (Igor may be hired on-roster for 50,000 GC, and a Wizard for 150,000 GC).
* 0-1 Wandering Healer. You may take a single Apothecary or Igor, whichever is allowed on the team, for 100,000 GC, even if the team already has such a staffer. Pay just 50,000 GC if paid only from Treasury.
* 0-1 Extra Training. You may take one extra Team Re-Roll counter at Value + 50,000 GC.
* 0-2 Cards. I'm looking into the option of either rewriting the cards to all hover in the 100k-200k range, or just softening about half the 400k cards and putting them into one deck, as-is otherwise. Either way, they'd be 100k a draw.
* 0-1 Ringer. You may hire one Star Player. Pay the player's Inducement Cost. This does not count as your Option, though it does count against the limit of 16 players.
* Free Agents. You may induce rookies for Base Cost + 30,000 GC each, or veterans off the Waiver Wire for Signing Cost† + 30,000 GC. Any player taken this way may be hired at current value (not including any improvements earned) after the match; if not, the player goes to the Waiver Wire. Players may be taken only if the team remains legal after all Free Agent selections, not counting missing players. Players like hard money: if you pay only from Treasury, Free Agents cost only half the Base or Signing Cost, rounded up to the nearest 10,000 GC. Free Agents may earn SPP, including MVPs.

* Fill-Ins. You may pay base cost for lineman to receive a Fill-In, if the team can field no more than 11 players after all Inducements. A Fill-In is a basic (0-12 or 0-16) player, but is likely to have something wrong with him, as he has yet to make a team. Roll on the Fill-In table to see what the deal is. Fill-Ins go gaga over real gold, and if you pay only from Treasury, pay only one-third Base Cost, rounded up to the nearest 10,000 GC. You may fire a Fill-In immediately to hire another, but you must pay for any Fill-In that you roll for (fired Fill-Ins don't add to your TV for Victory Points; they just reduce your Inducement fund). Fill-Ins can't be hired permanently and don't get MVPs.
Fill-In Table (roll 1d6).
1: Shrimpy (-1 ST) 2: Blimpy (-1 AG)
3: Limpy (-1 MA) 4: Wimpy (-1 AV)
5: Gimpy (Niggling Injury) 6: Pimply (no penalty, but nobody likes him).

† Signing Cost = total player value + signing bonus. Signing bonus = 20k + 10k per Improvement. So a player with one skill is base cost + 20k for the skill, + a signing bonus of 20k+10k. Hiring him permanently would be base cost +50k, and inducing him would be 30k more, or base cost +80k, or the same as a skilled Merc in the rulebook.