Season Five

season FIVE
An expansion by Jake Thornton

A Taste of the Xtreme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Ram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Rolling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
New Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Runaround . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Quick Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Exhibition Matches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Shock Collar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Brewed in a Vat – Customised Mutant Teams . . . . . . . 7 Shove . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Building Bots – Customised Robot Teams . . . . . . . . .10 Stretch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
We Can Rebuild Him . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Tail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Free Agents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Taking a Dive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Jetari Training Drones. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Threatening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Avaran Treebeast. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Tongue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Pusk Rampager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Trail Blazer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Nameless Bloodsucker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Vlorox Spinpede . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 In the Locker Room . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Yndij Reaver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Teams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
Zee Buccaneer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Long Rock Lifers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
New Abilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 Bremlin Nebulas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
360 Vision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Kovoss Kryptics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Alert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Ro-Tek Brutes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Backstab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 MVPs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
Duck and Weave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Kailasa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Fragile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 ‘Brickbat’ Vognar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Long Arms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 ‘Dead Man’ Davitz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Pile-Driver. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Brute Force . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Poison Blade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

credits
Concept & Game Design: Painting: Chris Webb, Dave Neild, Golem Painting Studio
Jake Thornton ([Link]) Photography: Ben Sandum
Background: James M Hewitt, Greg D Smith Layout and Graphic Design: Sean Turtle
Cover Art: Luigi Terzi. ([Link]) & Chris Webb
Logo: Georges Clarenko. Playtesting: Pete Fullergreen, Lee Montgomery, Ben
Internal Art: Heath Foley, Luigi Terzi Moorhouse, Jeff Shortland, Rob Taylor

Sculptors: Russ Charles, Grégory Clavilier, Dave Kidd, Derek

Miller, MKUltra Studio, Bob Naismith, Steve Saunders, Ben
Skinner, Luigi Terzi, Rémy Tremblay

DreadBall is © Copyright Mantic Games 2015. All rights in the design, text, graphics and other material in this publication and its selection or
arrangement is copyright of Mantic Entertainment Ltd., or has been granted for use by other third parties. This includes images, text, graphics, corporate
logos and emblems. Reproduction is prohibited. Introduction 1
 Contents
A taste of the extreme
Hi there, and welcome back to another thrilling season of the
galaxy’s favourite sport. If you can tear yourself away from
your ice cream for a moment I am here to bring you all the
latest news from the world of DreadBall.
This new Season marks an important change in the history you can build in a workshop or grow in vats! Whatever your
of the game. Never before has the DGB deliberately looked desired combination of abilities, they can be built or grown
at their illegal cousin for ideas, and now they have, we’ve to order. If you have the credits, that is.
got them in droves!
Of course, this doesn’t detract from the rough and ready
Season 5 allows you to take a whole range of amazing new appeal of the Convicts or the dangerous grace of the Kalyshi;
teams to the arena, and not just any old teams. These aren’t it just offers a wealth of new opportunities and choice. So
just players you can pick from a line-up, they are players which one will you lead on to the pitch next?

2 DreadBall The Futuristic Sports Game

Arena Xtreme Teams
Season 4 saw the DGB make some of the most fundamental losing. What the DGB were going to do was steal the essence
changes ever to the galaxy’s greatest sport™. But the crowds of the main groups of ‘Xtreme’ players and form them into
are fickle, and the next big thing is always needed to keep recognisable teams. Perhaps this would satisfy the fans
those seats filled and those sponsors happy. As all of the past enough to drag them away from the underground arenas
spectacles of sports-entertainment violence began to lose where they could get beaten or arrested. Give them a safe
their shine and become part of the established framework, way to rebel in the comfort of the main arena. Somewhere
the governing body cast around for new ideas. Incorporation near the hotdog stands and beer, and away from the
of giant arenas and the additional personnel and pitch- dangerous low-life that hang about Xtreme games, waiting
side equipment required for the various changes had been for wealthier citizens to fleece of their credits, or their lives.
incredibly expensive. What the DGB needed now was a
These “Xtreme” teams are, therefore, cleaned up, sanitised
spectacle that was cost-effective as well as crowd-pleasing.
versions of the real thing, with carefully torn and dirtied
The solution was so obvious once it had been suggested that costumes to give them the air of lovable rogues. They are
the DGB board was aghast that they had not thought of it presented as the bad guys of the pantomime, and booed by
before. The growing popularity of DreadBall Xtreme has the crowds. In short, they put on an act.
been a thorn in the DreadBall Governing Body’s side for some
Underneath the stage makeup they are professional
years. They tried banning it, bribing the Sponsors, pushing
DreadBall players through and through and will give any of
laws through the legislature to make it illegal and none of
the big names a run for their money. As is common in the
it worked. Whatever they did the game just grew more and
world of entertainment of which DreadBall is a part, there is
more popular. In the end they decided that if they couldn’t
a universe of difference between the advert and the reality.
beat them, then they’d just steal their thunder. As much as
they could. The fans were delighted to see these ‘illicit’ teams take to the
pitch, and the ‘storylines’ that their presence allowed took off
So, Digby decided to allow Xtreme teams into the main arena.
in a big way, with feuds that lit up the stadiums and the pay-
Well, sort of. In reality there was no way that the criminal
per-view figures. A whole new era of DreadBall was born. Of
Sponsors were going to be allowed into the main leagues.
course, these tales of rivalry and fallout between the teams
They’d cost Digby too much, and that would be too much like
were not always so carefully scripted…

When the Long Rock Lifers made their debut appearance half time, with the score at 5pts in favour of the Lifers, the
playing the Trontek 29ers, the setup was simple. The DGB were ready to pull the plug and save themselves from
cheerleading team of the 29ers would be ‘kidnapped’ prior to further embarrassment.
the game by the dastardly Lifers’ head coach and then vids of
Then they looked at the viewing figures.
their torment would be broadcast over the big screens at key
points in the game to distract the 29ers players. They would It turned out that however well their script had seemed
eventually overcome this disadvantage and clinch the game in to them, the crowds – and more importantly the vidscreen
the dying seconds, before heroically saving the cheerleaders viewers across the GCPS – were enthralled with this new style
to the roar of the crowd. of match where it seemed anything could and would happen.
By the end of the game – which came a mere three rushes
The first issue came when the Lifers’ ‘head coach’ decided
after the half time break – the match had become the third
that it might be more fun to just get the ladies drunk and
most watched in DreadBall history. By the following week, its
have a party. The shots that were broadcast through the
highlights reel was the most watched vid on every network.
stadium of the increasingly intoxicated group and their
bizarre antics actually did serve to distract the players The DGB learned the most important lesson possible that day
and coaching staff of the 29ers, and their plays became – scripted violence and sport was no match for the genuine
increasingly erratic. Coupled with this, the Lifers players got chaos that could ensue if they just turned loose the ‘Xtreme’
rather carried away and started actually playing, running teams and let them make it up as they went along. They’ve
rings around the increasingly bewildered 29ers players. By never looked back.

Introduction 3
 “…I firmly believe that the DGB has finally gone too far in its self-serving drive to create more spectacle at the expense
of the very sport that it purports to govern. I have been an avid fan, follower and commentator of DreadBall since its very
inception, and I can only imagine that the great Jesus Ortiz has either been frozen out of the picture altogether, or has
simply taken leave of his senses. First we had ‘ultimate’ games, where up to six teams would compete in vastly expensive
and seldom used arenas. Then there was that whole nonsense when the fans took to the pitch, and now we have this –
proposals to let mutants, modified robots and even criminals into the league to play. Exhibition matches with players from
all different races and types thrown together in some kind of grown up version of the old playground ‘who would win in a
fight between’ game is the final straw. This is no longer the sport I loved, and I firmly believe that the DGB will see their
fanbase drop off in huge numbers. The people aren’t stupid – they can see past all this ridiculous window dressing and
they will vote with their wallets. Mark my words, this is the beginning of the end for the galaxy’s greatest sport™ or I will
eat my own arm.”

Extract from interview with Francis Pirstok, published in Final Rush Magazine, one week before the beginning of the
new season.

“Dear Francis

Would you like fries with that arm?

J.O”

Open letter from Jesus Ortiz to Francis Pirstok, published in Final Rush Magazine after publication of the week one viewing
figures for the new season.

4 DreadBall Season Five

NEW RULES
New Rules 5
 Exhibition Matches

Exhibition Matches have grown in popularity over the years additional rules for coaching staff, cheerleaders and new
and now form a major part of the sport’s promotional work. teams from Seasons 2, 3 and 4. Coaching dice and cards are
Digby uses exhibition matches to raise funds for charities, bought as they are in leagues (see page 61 of the main rules).
to showcase rising stars within the game, and to test out
new teams to see how the audience reacts. It is the most One unusual option for Exhibition Matches is the ability to pick
deliberately populist and customer-centric part of the DGB’s your players from a variety of different teams. You can even
plans. As fans leave matches they are likely to be asked to take build yourself a mutant or robot or two to mix in with other,
part in surveys, offered prizes for their opinions and generally more normal, players. This flexibility is a very potent tool for
bribed or cajoled into giving up their views for research that a Coach, perhaps too potent, and this may be why the DGB
genuinely does affect the future of the game. DGB takes its restrict it to one-off matches rather than allow it in leagues.
customers very seriously. Perhaps also it is the similarity to the way Xtreme teams are
organised which sets the DGB so strongly against it. Despite
With the popularity of DreadBall Xtreme, the exhibition this, for the limited purposes of an Exhibition Match, it does
matches have recently been filled with almost convicts and provide a dramatic spectacle for the crowds and you may
sort of aliens to test the waters of opinion. They have been a want to experiment with it in your matches. Quite apart from
big hit. anything else, understanding how an opposing player works,
their advantages and disadvantages, helps you to play against
If you want to play your own exhibition matches then simply them when your league team next meets them. And what
follow the guidelines laid out on page 50 of the main rules. better way to understand a player than have them on your
Teams for exhibition matches also have access to all the team for a match?

6 DreadBall Season Five

BREWED IN A VAT
Since time immemorial people have wanted to be stronger, Recent changes in the law have brought some of this
faster or simply better. Some tried fad diets, rigorous exercise, technology back a little closer to the mainstream. Now, under
brain training or meditation. Still others turned to science for strict guidelines, certain cosmetic and elective changes are
the answer. For generations, learned men and women have allowed. Now children can be designed for height, intelligence,
strived to understand the body in all its intricacies so that they hair colour, or any other feature. Now those Coaches with
could manipulate the most basic of life’s building blocks. It took enough cash can create exactly the players they need.
centuries of endeavour, but in the end the scientists finally
achieved their goal. Within their grasp was the means to create The process begins with a basic human template. This is
any form of life they chose and to manipulate it in any way. the most easily grown and most easily manipulated. That
Naturally, it was banned almost immediately. is the reference point. This can then be modified by adding
different limbs, head or legs depending on the intended
However, once something has been invented it is very hard to role the player will take. Any parts that are not upgraded
uninvent it again, and backstreet “mutie parlours” began to will remain outwardly human, though there may be internal
spring up on the dangerous planets at the edge of civilised space. improvements as well. Whether the end result is still human
Rumours abounded about slaves being brewed in vats for the or not is the matter of some debate.
sex trade or the asteroid mines – willing drones who cared about
nothing except fulfilling their designated role. In some ways, the
perfect citizens.

New Rules 7
 Breeding a Better Player
It is a matter of some amazement to the other
civilised races of the galaxy that the human race
makes distinctions between ‘pure bred’ and
‘mutated’ humans. No other race has so readily
embraced the ability to adjust and modify their own
characteristics to best suit environment, vocation,
or simple personal whim. Indeed, it is the opinion
of several of the more radical thinkers amongst
the Kalyshi that it is this willingness to ‘mongrelise’
themselves that has led to humanity being the
fastest growing species in the galaxy.

Technology that could enhance any particular

physical or mental aspect of a human being from
birth was commonplace even before the McKinley
drive first pushed humanity to the farthest reaches
of the galaxy, and has only been refined ever since.
In the polite society of the inner Sphere, it is an act
viewed with immense distaste to debase one’s gene
pool in this way. Further out, in an environment
where life is harsh and work difficult to come by, men
and women will happily have their children modified
in whatever way is necessary and affordable in order
to be better equipped for whatever life confronts
them. It was only a matter of time before someone
realised the potential applications for DreadBall.

Initially, the DGB banned such artificially modified

players, claiming that it was an ethics issue which
diluted the sport. However, as time went on and
‘mutant rights’ became a more pressing issue, they
found themselves increasingly unpopular for this
stance. Eventually, it was decided that enhanced
players could compete, so long as the enhancements
that they were given were fitted to one particular
role, thus preventing the creation of a team of ‘super
players’ which could dominate in every position on
the pitch. Unfortunately (or not dependent on your
point of view) the DGB neglected to regulate the
source of the enhancements. This led to some very
unusual combinations of body parts and inter species
experimentation from all the races involved in the
game. Still, it brings the fans in…

8 DreadBall Season Five

PERFECTION BY DESIGN
In game, a Coach can create the player(s) they
want by using the following system.

th

ur
ng

tes
mo
ve

ee

st
il l
re
Importantly, the crowd is expecting to see a

Mo

No
Sp

Co
Sk

Ar
St
team of mutants, and you can’t disappoint the Guard 5 4+ 4+ 4+ 4+ 11mc
crowd. For this reasons, whatever combinations
Upgraded
you choose for your players, you must always Upgrade type Stat/Ability changes Cost
body part
make sure that: Grogan Threatening 4
Head
Nameless Alert 1

* Each player has at least one upgraded body Tentacle Gotcha! 4

part. Arm(s) Teraton 3+ Strength, Keeper 8

Z’zor claw 3+ Strength 3
Enhanced muscle
* No two players in the team have exactly the density
Grizzled 4
same set of upgrades. Internal
Skeletal
Can’t Feel A Thing 3
reinforcement

Start by choosing the player role you want to

create. Read through the options for that role
listed in the upgrade tables over the next few
h

ur
gt

pages, and choose which you want to add to the

d

tes
mo
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ve

ee

st
ill
re
Mo

No
Sp

Co
Sk

Ar
St

player. Each upgrade is listed with the cost in

Megacredits that will be required to use it. The
Jack 5 4+ 4+ 4+ 4+ 7mc

total cost of each player modified will be the

Upgraded
Upgrade type Stat/Ability changes Cost
normal baseline cost of that player, plus the body part

cost of any upgrades taken. That player’s stat Head Compound eyes 360 Vision 2

line will be the basic stat line listed for that role, Arm(s) Z’zor blade A Safe Pair Of Hands 2
Move 6,
modified by their upgrades. Torso & Legs Yndij
Duck & Weave
5

Kraaw wings Jump 2

Additional
Each part (head, arms, etc) may only be Sphyr tail Tail 2
upgraded once. This includes Internal and Enhanced twitch
Stretch 2
Internal response
Additional upgrades.
Accelerated regen Quick Recovery 3

When you upgrade a body part you should

change the player’s model accordingly. This
gives a great opportunity to have some fun with
h

ur
gt

tes

your models, and really create some bizarre

mo
n
ve

ee

st
ill
re
Mo

No
Sp

Co
Sk

Ar
St

and memorable characters for your collection.

Striker 5 4+ 4+ 4+ 5+ 11mc
Internal upgrades of course do not require
modelling, but you can have a lot of fun trying Upgraded
Upgrade type Stat/Ability changes Cost
body part
to decide how best to portray them on your
Judwan Alert 1
players. Head
Asterian Taking a Dive 4
Arm(s) Judwan Long Arms 4
The following upgrades are available. You
Additional Veer-myn tail Tail 2
cannot mix options from different roles on the Augmented focus 3+ Skill 4
same player – even the DGB has limits! Internal Accelerated
Move 6 3
metabolism

New Rules 9
 BUILDING BOTS
For those who lack the stomach or the funds to engage The Mechanics of Perfection
in biological manipulation and mutation, and all of the A Coach can create one or more different types of robot
troubling side effects and potential mistakes, there are player using the following steps.
always the cheaper and easier options of customisation
available to robots. 1. Decide on the role you want the robot to play in by
selecting its Basic Coding. You will see that this will
Long before humans learned how to tinker with their restrict some options later.
own inner workings they were building artificial copies
of themselves. The crude beginnings eventually led to 2. Choose one option from each of: locomotion, chassis, and
extraordinarily skilled machines that are often more capable head – these will help to make the player unique.
than the humans who built them.
3. Select 2 arms – one for each side as you might expect.
Robot teams are of course a regular feature of the DreadBall Though robots can theoretically have as many as they
leagues and have been for some time. However, these teams like, the DGB limits modifications to two to keep things
usually tend to be standardised factory line assemblies – reasonably fair (and sane!)
uniform chassis with identical features and capabilities that
are designed to switch between roles and be reasonably 4. Finally, if you choose, you may add as much optional
competent at each one. Sometimes however a coach will programming as you like, subject to the restrictions on
want to take a more bespoke approach, sacrificing the player type that each one comes with. These will help to
usual versatility of robot players for the opportunity to individualise each player further.
create tailor-made machines to fulfil each role on the pitch
perfectly. It’s a gamble, but one that several coaches with The cost of each player is worked out as you go along as follows:
slightly deeper pockets than the average have taken with no
small degree of success. * If a new part adds or improves a stat or ability then you
must pay for it.
* If a new part does not add or improve a stat or ability then
you get it for free.

By the time you have added the cost of the last programming
option you select you will have calculated the total cost of
the robot.

A robot’s final stat line is made up of the stats and abilities

listed in the separate parts. If the same stat is listed for two
different parts, keep the better value. For example, if part A
says Strength 3+ and part B says Strength 4+ then use 3+.
All other stats and abilities attached to both parts are used.
There is no benefit for having the same ability twice.

The model parts for the robot player can be assembled in the
same order as you make the choices, below. Of course, this
gives a great opportunity for you to get really creative with
your models.

10 DreadBall Season Five

Basic Coding
At the very core of a DreadBall robot is its role coding. This defines its physical build quality and parameters as well as its tactical
outlook and basic strategy software suite.

Type Role Stat/Ability changes Cost

Guard Guard Guard role bonuses 4mc
Jack Jack Jack role bonuses 2mc
Striker Striker Striker role bonuses 4mc

Locomotion
There are of course many ways in which a robot may get about, from wheels to multi jointed legs. Differences tend to be more
pronounced in form rather than function, but a canny coach knows the choice can be crucial.

Type Role Stat/Ability changes Cost

Quad wheels Any Move 5, Speed 5+, Steady 4mc

Monowheel Any Move 6, Speed 5+ 4mc

Quad legs Any Move 4, Speed 5+, Steady 2mc

Bird leg Jack or Striker Move 6, Speed 5+, Duck & Weave 6mc

Armoured legs Jack or Guard Move 5, Speed 5+ 3mc

New Rules 11
 Chassis
The Chassis is where most of the mechanics and electronic control systems of a robot are housed, and it will consequently tend to
be the densest and most well protected part of the machine, regardless of role. Further modifications are then made to tailor the
robot to its position, making it fast, strong or agile enough to fulfil its duties on the pitch.

Type Role Stat/Ability changes Cost

Body Any Strength 4+ 2mc

A

Body Jack or Strength 5+, Speed 4+ 3mc

B Striker

Body Any Strength 5+ 1mc

C

Body Jack or Strength 4+, Can’t Feel A Thing 5mc

D Guard

Head
Speed of reaction and Skill is not so much a physical thing as a programming refinement, and this is traditionally housed in the
head. This may seem like a throwback to the humans who built it, but in fact it is a practical decision. Shortening the distance that
information needs to travel between sensors and processing has two main advantages. Firstly, it cuts down the chance of damage
interfering with the information flow as there is less cabling to interrupt. Secondly, a shorter physical distance to travel means less
wiring to travel through, and this can reduce the response time by milliseconds. Sometimes milliseconds count.

Type Role Stat/Ability changes Cost

Cranehead Jack or Guard Skill 5+, Gotcha! 5mc

Quadeye Any Skill 4+, Speed 4+ 4mc

Radar Jack or Striker Skill 3+, Fragile 5mc

Slim Any Skill 4+ 2mc

Tank Jack or Guard Skill 5+ 1mc

12 DreadBall Season Five

Arms
Mortal players are restricted to what training, drugs or the compatibility of tissue will grant them in terms of arm strength and
dexterity. Robots have no such restriction, and the variety of arms available help to really tailor each one into a perfect player.
From delicate manipulators designed to perfectly catch a fast thrown ball to the brute force of hammers and rams to smash
opponents out of the way, it is here that the true nature of a robot may quickly be discerned.

Choose two from the following list. A Jack must take at least one of the arms marked with an asterisk.

Type Role Stat/Ability changes Cost

Wrecking ball Jack or Guard Strength 3+ 5mc

Air cannon Jack or Guard Shove 2mc

Grab Jack or Guard Gotcha! 5mc

Hammer Jack or Guard Pile Driver 3mc

Ram Jack or Guard Strength 4+, Shove 5mc

Hand* Any Skill 4+ 2mc

Launcher* Jack or Striker Long Arms 3mc

Claw* Any Skill 4+ 2mc

Glove* Jack or Striker A Safe Pair Of Hands 2mc

Note that Long Arms is allowed to robots with Launchers even though the ability is normally restricted to Judwan players.

New Rules 13
 Programming
Once a robot has been assembled, its performance can be slightly tweaked by adding new software to alter the way it uses
that body. This ranges from different ways to allocate and use its available power to upgraded awareness of opposing player’s
likely trajectories.

Type Role Stat/Ability changes Cost

Damage control Any Quick Recovery 4mc
Tactics Upgrade Jack Run Interference 2mc
Situational awareness Jack or Striker Alert 1mc
Motion focus Any Stretch 2mc

Robot Armour
This is not an option, but a reflection of the player’s role on the pitch. Guards have the heaviest armour, followed by Jacks and finally
Strikers. The protective value of the armour for each role is fixed by strict regulations from the DGB, though the exact shape is not.

The value of a robot’s armour in the game is based on his role. See page 36 of the main rules.

In modelling terms, you should use whatever looks appropriate for your model. You also need the different roles to be obvious.
As a guideline, you could try using the armoured shoulders and extra chest plates for a Guard, just the shoulders for a Jack and
neither for a Striker.

14 DreadBall Season Five

WE CAN
We Can REBUILD
Rebuild Him HIM
DreadBall is a natural crucible, which moulds those who
survive its rigours into better, faster, stronger players.
Veterans of the game will tend to excel in their chosen
role – Guards with phenomenal strength and power,
Strikers with balletic grace and timing and Jacks who are
just great all-rounders. This is all well and good, but it is a
process which takes time and faith – a corporate sponsor
may not have the credits to risk a lengthy investment in a
player with great potential who may then end up having
their career ended by some catastrophic injury. These
sponsors occasionally decide not to wait – after all, why
take all that long term risk to invest in a player who may
one day be great, when you can simply modify one anyway
to enhance them?

Any player from a team other than Mutant or Mechanite

can have a single robotic or mutant part grafted onto
them. This is an expensive process as you’re modifying a
finished being rather than making them from scratch. The
surgeons have to take care not to damage the player in
other ways by mistake, and all this additional monitoring
and staff doesn’t come cheap. However, it is very fast.
Simply pay the amount for the improvement between
matches and the player is ready to take to the field without
missing a game.

The minimum base cost for such an improvement is 6mc,

regardless of what it actually does. Upgrades or parts
which already list a cost of more than 6mc are charged as
normal. This amount is added to the cost of the player.

An upgrade changes the player’s stat(s) to those of the

new part, regardless of whether these are better or worse
than the player’s original values. Any abilities associated
with the new part are added to the player’s profile if he
doesn’t have them already.

New Rules 15
16 DreadBall The Futuristic Sports Game
FREE Agents
MVPs are all very well, but those exceptional individuals who
rise above their fellows on the pitch and in the hearts and Dice roll Free Agent
minds of the fans are expensive and rare. The Xtreme game 1 Convict Jack

by its very nature tends to breed even fewer of these types of 2 Kalyshi Jack

individual, and instead makes extensive use of ‘Free Agents’. 3 Convict Striker
4 Kalyshi Striker
These individuals essentially tend to be those not suited to
5 Vat-brewed Jack. Roll a second dice to see which
a team game – perhaps they are very different from their upgrades they have:
fellows, or maybe they just aren’t bright or sociable enough 1-2: Compound eyes and an enhanced twitch response.
to get together in the numbers required – but they can still 3: Z’zor blade.
make valuable additions to an established team. 4-5: Spyhr tail and accelerated regen.
6: Yndij torso and legs with Kraaw wings.

The branching out of the DGB leagues into their own sanitised 6 Robot Jack (quad wheels, chassis C, slim head, claw
and ram arms, no additional programs).
version of the Xtreme game gave these free agents the
opportunity of exercising their skills in an arena less likely
to be imminently terminal, and they have seized on this Dice roll Free Agent
gratefully. Not every Yndij wants to fight for the rebellion, 1 Jetari Training Drone (player’s choice of Brawler or
Thrower)
and not every coach can afford the latest and shiniest robots
2 Avaran Treebeast
to make up the team numbers. Free Agents are a relatively
3 Nameless Bloodsucker
new addition to the arenas of the GCPS, but they have been 4 Pusk Rampager
rapidly taken to the hearts of the fans and coaches alike. 5 Vlorox Spinpede
6 2 Zee Buccaneers* or Yndij Reaver (player’s choice)
The Underdog rules remain as stated on page 54 of the main
rulebook with the addition of the following two tables. When * Even as Free Agents,*Zees
Even as Free
travel Agents, Zees travel in packs
in packs
a Coach rolls for a Free Agent they may choose to roll on
either the table in the main rulebook, or one of those from the
Season books. They must decide which table to use before the
dice are rolled.

The Rules 17
 Jetari Training Drones
Jetari GL14 “Brawler” Jetari SL22 “Thrower”

”I call it the ex-wife, because if it hits you, ”Perhaps we should adjust it a little further”
it’ll empty your pockets in medical bills Unattributed quote heard after an incident in which an
quicker than my Sherona did.” SL22 threw a ball through a fellow team member.
‘Lucky’ Logan commenting on the introduction of the
GL14 into the regular leagues. The SL22 is another old workhorse from the Jetari
Corporation that was given new life on the Xtreme circuit as
Sponsors in Xtreme have been making use of these training a makeshift Striker that didn’t die quite as quickly. Solidly
drones as cheap Guards for some time. Though basic, and put together, and with a reasonable level of accuracy, it can
not as advanced as the current gen, the GL14 still packs fill in the gap for those coaches who favour an aggressive
a punch, and used correctly can be a great threat. The build for their tailor-made players but still need someone to
widening of the entry requirements to draw in fresh teams actually throw the ball.
has meant that the GL14 has become of great use in the DGB
now as well. If a coach can only afford to tailor make three Like the GL14’s, some of the SL22’s which have found
or four robots for example, he will often make them strikers, their way into the DGB are former Xtreme players, though
figuring that for less creds he can fill out the rest of the given their slightly less robust build and the nature of their
team with GL14’s, which are solid and dependable enough to position, it seems likely that many are as much ex-Xtreme
serve as Guards while their fancier counterparts get on with players as the Long Rock Lifers are ex-convicts…
the business of scoring.

Some GL14’s have made the transition from Xtreme in a

very literal sense, as evidenced by the dents, scratches and
blood that may be seen on their chassis. These players are
particularly popular with the fans, though less so with the
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players who have to face them…

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Jetari GL14 Brawler Guard 4 3+ 4+ 5+ 3+ Grizzled, Can’t Feel A Thing

Jetari SL22 Thrower Striker 5 5+ 4+ 3+ 4+ 360 Vision,
A Safe Pair Of Hands

18 DreadBall Season Five

Avaran Treebeast
“Why don’t you make like a tree and lea-”
Last intelligible words of ‘Cocky’ Cam Andersen, before he was thrown across an arena by a Treebeast.

Though they are large and ponderous physically, the prehensile tongues of
Avaran Treebeasts make them very capable Jacks in any situation. The reach
the tongue gives them, combined with their solid bulk, means that they are
able to respond accordingly over a wide area to any attack, and to pummel
any defence which underestimates them or is too busy concentrating on
the Strikers.

In the DGB, the fans love them – they introduce an interesting, if unpredictable
sense of acrobatics to the standard DreadBall excitement, at least for the
players who face them.
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Avaran Treebeast Jack 3 3+ 5+ 4+ 4+ Tongue, Can’t Feel A Thing

New Rules 19
 Pusk Rampager
“Like a fleshy wrecking ball with teeth and legs”
Early description of a Pusk

Pusks are indigenous to many planets – almost as if they were

left there by some ancient race seeding the galaxy with them for
some unknown purpose. Brutish, bestial and entirely impossible
to communicate with, they are nonetheless dangerous apex
predators on many of the worlds they inhabit. In DreadBall, they
are somewhere halfway between entertaining and terrifying, able
to swiftly demolish a defensive line but then given to either start
trying to eat it or the crowd rather than actually follow up.
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Pusk Rampager Guard 4 4+ 4+ 6+ 4+ Ram, Quick Recovery

20 DreadBall Season Five

Nameless Bloodsucker
“They’re wonderful guest players. I always find the changing rooms
and treatment areas are spotless after they play.”
Coach Bran Graston on why he likes to regularly play Bloodsucker Free Agents in his lineup.

For a long time, the Yxaal were not even considered to play in the DGB leagues.
Fantastically agile and entertaining to watch they may be, but their habit of draining
the vital fluids of anyone foolish enough to get trapped by them was not something
even DreadBall fans wanted to see – at least not on a regular basis.

Still, all things must change. It turns out that these so-called ‘bloodsuckers’ are
the latest craze amongst the younger generation of DreadBall fans, with some
even writing some fairly disturbing fan letters and blogs which suggest that they
would be quite happy to become an Yxaal’s next victim. Whatever the reasoning
might be, it seems that Yxaal free agents are here to stay for the moment.
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Nameless Jack 6 4+ 3+ 5+ 4+ Steady, Poison Blade

Bloodsucker

New Rules 21
 Vlorox Spinpede
“Dumber than a bag of dumb stuff hit
with a dumb stick and thrown out of a
moving car onto a big old hard pile of
dumb.”
Colour Commentator Chad ‘The Rapier’ Walloson on
Vlorox Spinpedes.

In their search for cheap and expendable meat for

games, the Sponsors of Xtreme found the Spinpede
– a harmless if not very bright creature that could
be trained to literally curl up around a ball and roll
towards the strike zone (and then probably try to
eat the wiring there). The DGB has allowed some
of the more notable examples of these free agents
(i.e. the ones that stopped eating a strike zone long
enough to avoid being killed) to progress into the
Leagues – if nothing else, they can be amusing to
watch.
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Vlorox Spinpede Striker 4 3+ 5+ 4+ 4+ Rolling, Can’t Feel A Thing

22 DreadBall Season Five

Yndij Reaver
“He’s not a real Yndij, it’s just some guy in a
costume.”
extract from final interview with colour commentator Josh Traskson
before his mysterious disappearance

Yndij is a word that the corporations coined, and not one that
the Yndij themselves seem to care much for. It implies a certain
uniformity which the people themselves do not display. Some
fight for the Rebs. Others earn a crust as mercs. Some just try
and make an honest living doing whatever shekwork they can get
in the GCPS. And some play DreadBall. Being naturally athletic
and nimble, they tend to be very good at it, which is why the DGB
welcomes them with open arms.
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Yndij Reaver Striker 6 4+ 3+ 4+ 5+ Jump, Backflip, Duck &

Weave

New Rules 23
 Zee Buccaneer
“There isn’t even any point nailing stuff down
– they just think of the nails as extra reward.” ”
Casual slur often heard in polite society when discussing Zees

Being as fractious and mischievous as they naturally are, it is no surprise that many Zees are
drawn to lives of crime, petty and otherwise. Though there several Zee teams in the leagues,
the Free Agents are a whole different matter. These are an example of what happens to Zees
who are not under direct and constant control, and as it turns out, they make surprisingly
good additions to most teams.

True, the money saved by hiring them instead of more expensive players is often a
false economy – literally if they have anything to do with it – but they do tend to draw
in the younger crowds. After all, what’s not to love about a Pirate Monkey?
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Zee Buccaneer Jack 5 5+ 3+ 5+ 4+ Runaround, Duck & Weave

24 DreadBall Season Five

The mood of the crowd was an urgent, powerful emotion thinking to distract it long enough for her to struggle free.
which hung in the air, expressed in the hollering jeers of the So intent were they on freeing their star striker, they didn’t
fans, the powerful fug of hormones and sweat which hung notice the green juggernaut closing down on them until it
palpably in Kharashnya’s senses, intoxicating and bitter at the barrelled through them, scattering one to the side with a
same time. The crowd, like any other she had played before, leg hanging at an odd angle and carrying the other straight
was a beast – fickle, base, and prone to switch its attentions forwards to crush him under its weight against the arena wall.
in an eyeblink. Right now, they were all baying for her blood She was getting closer, and the Treebeast looked hungry, at
and that of her fellows. least insofar as the damned things ever looked anything at all.
She forced herself to relax in the grip, allowing her limbs to go
The scoreboard ticked over, neon figures adjusting in a limp as if overcome. The beast began dragging her forward
flicker of migraine bright motion to record the last strike as with increasing eagerness, thick, glutinous saliva dripping
the chime’s last echoes faded. They were two points ahead, from its mouth to fizzle on the neodurium tiles beneath it.
and time was short. Kharashnya licked her lips, savouring She was only going to get one chance. As she came closer,
the taste of blood from the last hit. The whole arena was tendrils reached out and the tongue began to ease its grip
moving in sluggish, lazy motions to her hyper-attuned senses, slightly. She waited as long as she dared, and then tensed
and even as the ball fired from the side, she was already and released her muscles like a coiled spring. The tongue still
in motion, languid, loping strides carrying her easily past held her loosely, but she somersaulted over the beast, feeling
the lumbering stride of the Orc who was headed for it. She hot, fetid air wash over her as she crested it with the tongue
could already see where the angle of impact would take now firmly held in her grip. While it flailed at her, she ran
the ball in its ricochet, and she pirouetted on her trailing around it twice, three times, four. Darting close enough to
heel, wrongfooting the two goblins rushing towards her and wrap its own tongue around it but far away enough to avoid
sending them crashing into each other in the space she had the thrashing tendrils, on the last pass, she risked going close
occupied mere seconds before. The ball hit the arena wall enough to spear the end of the tongue on a sharp thorn in the
with the clang of a struck bell, and whipped back to land in creature’s back.
her cupped hands as she ran, and she spared a glance back
to sneer at the goblins, still in an undignified tangle on the It toppled with a shuddering heave, and convulsed on the
neodurium and now kicking and biting at each other. It was stadium floor. She stood a second, panting, and the noise
a mistake. of the arena filtered slowly into her senses as her breathing
returned to normal. It was rising and falling in waves, a
The wind left her body as she stopped dead and without regular rhythm like a heartbeat. It took a few more moments
warning, a squeezing pressure around her abdomen dragging for the words to become clear.
her backwards, heels skidding against the pitch surface. The
ball, which had been held in a light grip in her hand, dropped “Kharashnya! Kharashnya!” over and over her name rolled
with the sudden change in momentum, rolling away from around the place, the crowd on its feet as one, shouting her
her as she was dragged. She twisted her head as much as praises to the rafters.
she was able, seeing the treebeast which had snared her, and
was now pulling her towards it. The giant maw was gaping She smiled to herself – the beast was favouring them. Time to
wetly, ready to clamp down on her when she was in range. grab that ball again and see how long it lasted.
Two of her teammates were already running for it, doubtless

New Rules 25
 New Abilities
Season 5’s player customisation rules as well as its new teams and MVPs
bring these abilities to the game. You may be familiar with some of them
from previous Season books.

360 Vision Alert

(Any Player) (Any Player)
The player has no rear arc. Everywhere counts as being to their The player is able to read the game far better than most, and
front. This replaces the diagram on page 11 of the main rules. is rarely surprised.
In effect it does not matter which direction the model faces,
though it usually looks better to turn the model as appropriate. When any opposing player moves into an adjacent hex, the Alert
player may immediately choose to turn to face them if they want
The model has 6 Threat Hexes instead of 3. See the diagram. to. Note that this turn happens before any Slam is resolved or the
opposing player moves any further. Note also that this turn does
not stop any further action by the opposition; it merely allows
the player to realign themselves.

Whilst this turning will not necessarily help a player resist a

Slam, it will place a Threat Hex on the opposition, which may
modify their chances to move further or require them to make
an Evade roll.

26 DreadBall The Futuristic Sports Game

Backstab Long Arms
(Guard or Jack) (Any Player)
The player is adept at causing maximum damage to vulnerable A player with the Long Arms rule has a maximum Throwing
areas. When the player makes a Slam against an opponent that range of 12 hexes, not 9.
does not project a Threat Hex onto the Slamming player, then
add +1 dice in addition to other modifiers. The following table replaces the one on page 38 of the main
rulebook when calculating the initial number of dice a player
with Long Arms gets for a Throw. As usual, the number of dice
Duck and Weave a Throwing player gets depends on the distance between him
(Any Player) and his target.
The player gets +1 dice on any attempts to Dodge.
* 1-4 hexes: 3 dice
* 5-8 hexes: 2 dice
Fragile * 9-12 hexes: 1 dice
(Any Player)
The player counts as rolling 1 less success on each Armour Apart from the different range bands, a Throw from a player
check. Work out the check as normal and then reduce the with Long Arms is worked out just like any other.
final total of successes by 1, to a minimum of zero.
Important note: As a concession from the DGB to the regular
teams, a player with Long Arms cannot score bonus points.
This means that the Strike Zones are always worth either 1 or
3 points, regardless of which hex within the Strike Zone the
ball is Thrown.

The Rules 27
 Pile-Driver Quick Recovery
(Any Player) (Any Player)
When a player with this ability beats an opponent with a Slam If a player is damaged and fails an Armour check then they are
then they may choose to use the following Pile-Driver result removed from the pitch. A player with Quick Recovery follows
instead. all the normal rules for damage and Armour checks with the
exception of where they are placed once a final damage value
Pile-Driver wins: the losing player is smashed to the ground of 2 or 3 has been calculated. In both these cases the damage is
in the hex they are in. The winning player is turned to face treated as if it were only 1. The effects are therefore:
the target.
0 damage: the player remains on the pitch as normal.
In addition, if the player with Pile-Driver doubles his opponent 1-3 damage: place the player in the 1 area of the Sin Bin.
then their armour check is at an additional -1 modifier. 4+ damage: the player is dead as normal. Remove them
from the game.

Poison Blade
(Guard or Jack) Shock Collar
When the player doubles a Slam or Slamback, the opposing (Any Player)
player makes their Armour check with +1 dice. If any damage Unlike the explosive collars worn by real convicts, Arena Xtreme
goes through the armour then add +1 to the total. teams wear the less fatal shock collar. This allows Coaches to use
them in games without ending up on the wrong side of a murder
charge.
Ram
(Guard or Jack) The Coach may activate a single Shock Collar in each of his team’s
When the player makes a Slam action their target is pushed Rushes by spending a Team Action Token. This sets off a massive
back (and the player must follow up) before the Slam is shock and a spectacular, crowd-pleasing arcing of electricity
resolved. This could result in the target player being pushed from the unfortunate wearer to anyone nearby. Every adjacent
back twice. player from either team is hit by the storm of electricity. Roll 3
dice and inflict 1 damage for each 5+. Roll up each 6 as usual. The
target cannot roll to Dodge electricity and Armour has no effect.
ROLLING Any adjacent players that remain on the pitch are knocked to
(Any Player) the ground. The wearer automatically suffers 3 damage and is
When the player takes a Sprint action they move at triple removed from the pitch to recover as usual.
their movement value instead of double. However, because
they are going so fast they may only turn once during the
whole action, and then only by a single hex side. This player Shove
may not Sprint normally. (Any Player)
If a player with this ability takes a Slam or Slamback option
against an opposing player in their Threat Hex then they may
Runaround choose to Shove them instead of rolling the test as normal.
(Any Player) Both players roll their test as normal, with the Shoving player
A single Team Action Token can buy a Run action for two getting an additional +2 modifier.
players with this ability instead of the normal one. Both
players must have this ability and they must take their actions If the opposing player wins or the result is a draw then follow the
immediately one after the other. This action counts towards normal rules. If the Shoving player wins by any amount then their
both the players’ total actions for that Rush. opponent is automatically pushed back as described on pages
35-6 of the main rules. The Shoving player must turn to face the
hex the opponent has just vacated, but may not follow up.

28 DreadBall The Futuristic Sports Game

Stretch against that player. The Coach calling Foul! must choose one
(Any Player) if several opposing players are adjacent to the falling player.
The player gets +1 dice on any attempts to Dash. Resolve this Ref check as normal. As with Dirty Tricks, the
opposing player hasn’t actually committed a foul (this time),
he is just made to look as if he has.
Tail
(Any Race with a Tail/Any Player) If the player also has the Run Interference ability then he
The player with this ability can use their tail to fend off could choose to Take a Dive as part of that because it is an
attacks from behind. Tail only affects an opponent who is action that involves movement.
standing in the player’s rear arc. A Slam or Steal attempt
against the player with Tail is at an additional -1 modifier. The player may not choose to Take a Dive if he has fallen over
for any other reason, such as failing a Dash or being Slammed.
He could, however, declare that he is Taking a Dive instead
TAKing A DIVE of making a Dash attempt whilst moving to a hex that would
(Jack or Striker) normally require one. If so, he must decide to do so before
Each player with this ability may use it once per match, and each any dice are rolled for the Dash.
team may use it a maximum of once per Rush (of either side).
If the player falls over in a hex containing a loose ball then it
Whilst taking any action that involves movement, the player scatters. This does not end the current Rush. If the player was
may decide to Take a Dive. The player chooses to deliberately carrying the ball when he Takes a Dive then the ball scatters
fall to the ground either in the hex he begins the action in, and the Rush ends.
or as he moves into a new hex. If this hex is adjacent to an
opposing player then the falling player’s Coach may call Foul!

The Rules 29
 Threatening Tongue
(Any Player) (Any Player)
The player’s Threat Hexes always modify a test (up to the The player has a prehensile tongue that can be used to act at
maximum for that test) if the modifier is listed at all. For a distance.
example, if a Threatening player Slams an opponent then that
target player will take a -1 penalty for being in the Slamming The player can Slam an opponent as normal. Alternatively, the
player’s Threat Hex. player can use its ability to Slam an opponent that is 2 hexes
away. There must be a clear path, ignoring the ball and fallen
players, to the target model in order for the Slam to be made.
The clear hex counted between the models to check this
becomes the hex from which the target is pushed back, if this
happens. This target of the Slam cannot make a Slamback
unless it also has the Tongue ability. The player can also pick
up a ball that is on the floor up to 2 hexes away. Check that
there is a clear path from the player to the ball’s hex as if it
were a 2 hex Throw. Picking up the ball is resolved as normal.

30 DreadBall The Futuristic Sports Game

Trail Blazer
(Any Player)
This is an action, completed as part of moving a player in This is modified by:
a similar way to Evade, and is done as and when necessary
during the move. It may be done as many times as is required * +1 if the player is a Guard.
in a single action. * -1 if the obstructing player is a Guard.

If a player with this ability wants to move into a hex that is Brush Aside fails: the player’s action ends. Turn the
occupied by a standing opposing non-GIANT player they may try obstructing model to face the player.
to brush them aside rather than Slamming them. This will allow
them to carry on moving rather than ending their action. Brush Aside succeeds: the player pushes the obstructing
player into a hex of the player’s choosing directly away from
You can only use Brush Aside if there is a space you can push him, and then moves to occupy the hex himself. This move is
that player into. not optional. He may then continue his action.

You cannot Brush Aside the Referee. Brush Aside doubles: the player pushes the obstructing
player into a hex of the player’s choosing directly away from
Brush Aside is a 3 dice Strength test (123). Roll separately him, and then moves to occupy the hex himself. This move
each time you need to Brush Aside. is not optional. The displaced player is knocked over. Do not
make an Armour check for the fallen player. The player may
then continue his action.

The Rules 31
 The Xtreme Xperience Starts Here
A more dastardly and dangerous collection of players never
graced the locker rooms of the DreadBall arenas. That’s the
line the promotional department takes. Cleaning staff need
security escorts, bodies have mysteriously disappeared
from recycling, and dark rituals have been reported before
matches. All nonsense.

In truth, the convicts, pirates and various other ne’er do wells

are all young and hungry players looking for their big break,
wearing strategically careworn uniforms and armour and
following meticulous scripts – or at least that was the plan.

The reality is that, given the opportunity to shine and fans

who adored them more and more with every surprise
victory, anarchic antic or bizarre promo, these players got
into character a little too well and all those scripts were
forgotten. The DGB was initially horrified, but you can’t argue
with the ratings and the fivefold increase in pay per view vid
subscriptions confirmed that they just had to step back and
let things play out as they would.

As far as the fans are concerned, the variety and bizarreness

that the new teams have brought is just what the sport
required. As for the existing teams, it has presented them
with a whole new set of challenges. Tactics and strategies
that have served them well for many seasons must now be
re-evaluated against opponents who can literally tailor their
responses. On the plus side, those with enough credits can do
tailoring of their own, with a marked increase being seen in
both biological and mechanical enhancements on young and
promising players.

The DGB have done it again, taking an evolution in the rules

and team rosters and creating a revolution for the Galaxy’s
Greatest Sport™.

32 DreadBall Season Five

IN THE LOCKER ROOM
In The Locker Room 33
 Long Rock Lifers
With their shaven heads, aggressive tattoos and shock 29ers was just the beginning, and they have become one of
collars, the Long Rock Lifers cut a mean appearance as they the fastest growing franchises in the history of the sport. The
strut into the arenas. So convincing are the uniforms and the only issue they have is consistently coming up with new and
collars (which in actual fact are 100% real) that the fans never sufficiently lurid background stories for their new recruits to
suspect the truth that they are being sold a dummy. Or maybe keep the fans happy!
they do, and they just don’t care. The most criminal act by
any of the Lifers may well be a minor public order offence Remember that you can play this team as either the Long
involving several zees and a lemon, but they have taken to Rock Lifers themselves or as another Convict team of your
their role on the pitch with gusto, quickly becoming known own. The game values will be the same for all Convict teams
as one of the most gleefully violent and destructive teams though your team will be the most wanted.
in the league. Their maiden shock victory over the Trontek

34 DreadBall Season Five

DreadBall Facts
DN-PB-8183b is an unnamed and unwanted star The CCD tried for several years to operate the facility
system near the heart of the Co-Prosperity Sphere. If without success – they simply could not persuade staff
planets ever formed there they have long since been to work there, and could not risk automating the entire
destroyed by tidal forces or collisions, leaving little but process. After a decade, the facility was abandoned.
a swathe of space debris and asteroids around a weakly It turned out to be just what the DGB was looking for.
shining star. Being of little use for resources, and Now it functions as the base for the Long Rock Lifers
therefore cheap, the Corporation Correctional Division – its out of the way location and extensive facilities
decided it was an ideal place for a maximum-security helping to perpetuate the myth of the hard-bitten
prison. The specific site chosen was a hollowed out criminals that the Lifers are supposed to be.
asteroid they called Long Rock, for obvious reasons.
It was a place that quickly acquired a reputation for
being somewhere you didn’t want to visit. For anyone.

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Guard 5 3+ 4+ 5+ 4+ x2 16mc Shock Collar, Threatening
Jack 5 4+ 4+ 4+ 4+ x3 9mc Shock Collar
Striker 5 4+ 4+ 4+ 5+ x3 11mc Shock Collar

team statlines
Extras: a Convict team starts with an Offensive Coach
(the Warden), 0 Coaching Dice and 0 DreadBall Cards.

In The Locker Room 35

 Bremlin Nebulas
Kalyshi are the closest that most humans get to even seeing eased the pain he had suffered from his leg for many years.
Asterians in the flesh, and consequently they tend to be what The Nebulas themselves are just a group of Kalyshi who were
the people of the GCPS think of as Asterians. The Bremlin bored of working the shipping lanes and decided to start
Nebulas are supposedly a band of vicious pirates who were earning a more honest – and easier – living. They were never
captured by a bounty hunter who now acts as their manager, really very vicious even in their piratical heyday, preferring
putting them forth into the arenas to earn his way and to rob automated long range bulk freighters and abandoned
allowing him a life of comfort after too many years chasing corporation outposts. Still, they look the part in the arena, and
bad guys. In actual fact, Nathaniel Strantz is simply an are always careful to play up to their bloodthirsty reputation
ex-DreadBall player from the minor leagues who sustained for the cameras.
a career ending break to his leg before he could ever make
much headway. He took the job at ‘Strancos’ because it Remember that you can play this team as either the Bremlin
offered steady pay and the opportunity to get back to the Nebulas themselves or as another Kalyshi team of your own.
game he loved, plus the DGB offered to pay for some very The game values will be the same for all Kalyshi teams though
expensive, if aesthetically awful, bionic enhancements that your team will shiver the most timbers.
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Jack 6 5+ 3+ 4+ 4+ x4 11mc Shove, Backstab

Striker 6 5+ 3+ 4+ 5+ x4 14mc Jump

team statlines
Extras: a Kalyshi team starts with 0 Coaching
Dice and 0 DreadBall Cards.

36 DreadBall Season Five

DreadBall Facts
The legend of the Bremlin Nebulas has it that exhausted all natural resources and gradually died
Strantz lured the pirates into unarmed combat after away. Strantz himself was simply looking for salvage
witnessing them massacre an entire settlement on the when he happened upon the Nebulas, and they struck
fifth sphere known as Bremlin. Having beaten them a bargain with him to take them with him. They
all, he elected to take them prisoner and force them to had been considering retiring from the piratical life
play games of Xtreme DreadBall in the hope that they for some time, and a chance encounter with a DGB
would all eventually die and he would have avenged representative on ‘research’ at a dive bar led them to
the people of Bremlin whilst making some money on conclude that a life playing DreadBall might not be so
the side. As it turned out, so ferocious were they that bad. The DGB needed Kalyshi Pirates, and the Nebulas
eventually no other sponsor would organise a match needed money and a purpose.
against them, and Strantz was forced to approach
the DGB to allow them to serve their penance in the Of course, all of this information is a closely guarded
proper leagues. secret – as far as the GCPS at large is concerned, the
Nebulas are cold blooded killers – an impression their
It is certainly true that Strantz met the Nebulas at prowess on the neodurium has done nothing to dispel.
a place called Bremlin – they had become stranded
after the freighter they had boarded had landed
there – it had been travelling for so many years that
the outpost it had been headed for had grown up,

In The Locker Room 37

 Kovoss Kryptics
When the DGB announced that they were amending the To the established teams, one team of muties is much the same
longstanding rules excluding mutant players from the leagues, as the next, and they are all a nightmare to play against. It is
the various campaigners for mutant rights celebrated their perhaps this difficulty, rather than any official policy, which
great victory. Then the Kryptics arrived and started to play, leads to the increased levels of violence used against them.
and they were all forced to have a bit of a rethink. It wasn’t just
that the only person from the team who ever gave interviews
was the head coach – a wiry, crazy looking old man with glasses
and insane hair. It wasn’t even the fact that the other teams
Picking a Team
which faced them seemed to think that entirely new levels
A mutant team does not have a fixed player roster to
of violence were acceptable. It was the fact that the players
choose from like most teams. Instead, use the rules on
themselves seemed to change so very often. True enough,
pages 10–14 to design the players you want.
it was difficult to say anything for sure in a team made up of
genetic experiments, but from week to week, the roster never You have a 100mc budget to buy as many players as you
seemed to stay the same. want for your team. You may also purchase Coaching Dice,
DreadBall cards, cheerleaders, assistant coaches and any
Persistent rumours suggest that ‘Dr’ Kain, their head coach, other standard non-player team bonuses at double their
was in the habit of recycling players who displeased him, normal cost. Note that the cost for these is also doubled
though nothing has ever been proved. Nonetheless, the if purchased between matches during a league, and that
Kryptics have perhaps one of the most conflicted fan followings these purchases add this doubled value to the team’s
of the leagues, concerned at their apparent exploitation but still Ranking. Costs for MVPs and Free Agents are not doubled.
happy to see them do well.

38 DreadBall Season Five

DreadBall Facts
The Kovoss Kryptics are named for the planet Kovoss slave workers. Naturally, all the corporations with
– an unfortunate place with a dark history, though bases in that system deny all knowledge of such
all of it urban legend rather than fact. This is exactly illegal, immoral and possibly suicidal research, but the
the sort of thing that the DGB marketing gurus rumours won’t die.
love, and they are happy to promote the more lurid
elements of the story regardless of the utter lack of Nobody denies that there is some sort of secure
corroborating evidence. research facility on Kovoss - the massive security
presence is impossible to avoid. Who it belongs to and
Kovoss, apparently, is the site of a secret mutant what they are doing there is far murkier a subject.
factory, researching the devastating Plague virus and Whatever they believe, pretty much everyone has
its many mutagenic properties. Depending on which heard the story, so it is the perfect link for the most
version of the tale you believe, they are making super famous mutant team.
soldiers, zombie assassins, or armies of mindless

Team Rule – Boiled Down

In a league, a mutant team Coach may choose to boil down any players he no longer needs, whether they are
dead or not. This is done during the step on dealing with player fatalities. Recycling living players earns the
Coach 7mc instead of the usual 5mc because their organs are more easily reusable. If he recycles dead players
then they are worth 5mc as normal.

In The Locker Room 39

 Ro-Tek Brutes
The rules allowing modifications of players did not specify
that these players must be flesh and blood, and several Picking a Team
entrepreneurial individuals took this golden opportunity to A Mechanite team does not have a fixed player roster to
spend their credits on putting together some new robot teams. choose from like most teams. Instead, use the rules on
Existing teams such as the Chromium Chargers were all well page 9 to design the players you want.
and good, but these versatile and adaptable robots were However, the small workshops and tight budgets to
expensive both to create and maintain, and suffered from being which these techs work put some limitations on what
merely good at all things instead of excelling at any one. they can turn out for a match. Much as they’d love to
Ro-tek is a conglomerate that was formed from several have a wide array of top-of-the-line specialist players,
smaller, more illicit organisations who wanted to gain they know that it’s simply beyond their means. Guards
some legitimacy from association with the DGB and all that and Strikers simply take more time and effort to build,
entailed. Their proposal was simple – put together an elite and so they inevitably have to settle for some lesser
team of specially tailored robots – or ‘mechanites’ as these players to be able to field something that actually looks
beings would come to be known, and let them wipe the floor vaguely like a team.
with the competition. The team was created far more with To reflect this, for every Guard or Striker in a
force and endurance in mind than finesses and ball skill, and Mechanite team, there must also be at least one Jack.
the ‘Brutes’ name was quickly earned several times over. During a league, a Mechanite team Coach may add a
However, the expenditure in new and replacement parts new Guard or Striker only if the total number of Guards
from all this pounding quickly mounted, and the Ro-Tek and Strikers already in the team is less than the current
board had a rethink. The new-look Brutes team that emerged number of Jacks. They can always add new Jacks.
was lethally efficient, and rapidly became one of the major When you have created your players, you have a
players in the leagues. Others followed their example, and 100mc budget to buy as many as you want for your
now there are dozens of Mechanite teams, each with their team. You may not buy Coaching Dice (Mechanites
own distinctive speciality and set of skills, being cheered on lack the appropriate team tactics software). You may
the length and breadth of the GCPS. purchase other team bonuses such as DreadBall cards,
cheerleaders, assistant coaches and so on at their
normal cost.

40 DreadBall Season Five

DreadBall Facts
Though they have come a long way from their early retrieved and refitted into a new chassis. Only truly
days of picking fights with every opposing player corrupted files are disposed of, and even then, limbs,
and wholesale smashing of opponent teams into chassis and other parts will be recycled again. Unlike
the floor, the Brutes have retained their name and Mutant teams, where recycling simply means the
their fearsome reputation. They still hold the record passionless re-use of bits of flesh, this recycling carries
amongst mechanical teams for most number of a great significance in Mechanite teams and amongst
disciplinary offences in a match, a season and a league their fanbase. When HYT678-PR6, the original Brutes’
– impressive when one considers that their initial star player was mangled in an unfortunate incident
exuberant use of violence was curtailed before their with the Green Moon Smackers Guard line, it was
maiden season was half done. a matter of some celebration when his signature
hammer arm was used the following season by TRG-
Unlike other types of player, Mechanites never really AU78P to not only disable the Smackers star Guard,
leave the sport – even a Mechanite player smashed to but also smash him into the rest of the Smackers line,
pieces (for example by an angry Teraton) will still be allowing the Brutes to score the winning strike in the
able to have its internal memory banks and data core dying seconds of the final Rush

In The Locker Room 41

 Kailasa
Plays for anyone

There are Kalyshi and there are Kalyshi. Kailasa is of the

second kind, and if that has to be explained to you any further,
then you probably should avoid ever meeting her…

The Kalyshi represent a return to the old ways of the Asterians,

and Kailasa epitomises this more than most. She is an Ilanesh:
a matriarchal figure who leads her people towards a greater
purpose. Unlike her forebears, who would have ruled over worlds
and conquered civilisations, she has chosen instead to seek
glory in the DreadBall arena. Indeed, she seems to have been
the driving force behind the Kalyshi’s decision to take part in the
sport. There is presumably some greater reason for her doing
so, but whether this an intent to attack the GCPS from within or
simply a desire to show her people’s prowess is unclear. When
she plays DreadBall she is a ruthless warrior, leaving the ball to
her team-mates as she tears through opposing players with ease.
Any Kalyshi who share the arena with her are driven to greater
deeds, none wishing to be found wanting.

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Guard 6 4+ 3+ 4+ 4+ 8mc Backstab, Does This Hurt?

player statline
42 DreadBall Season Five
‘Brickbat’ Vognar
Plays for anyone

Not many DreadBall players get given a second chance. spiralled out of control and culminated in Vognar receiving a
Even fewer get a third. But then Brickbat Vognar is no lifetime ban from the sport.
ordinary player. He didn’t get that nickname for no reason
after all. But this is the new, Xtreme-flavoured DGB, and they figured
that they needed a little bit of that old Brickbat controversy
Uzud Vognar used to be a true DreadBall hero. He gave up a to really stir the pot! In his time away, Vognar has learned
life of piracy among the Marauder fleets, accepting the DGB’s several new tricks, and is quite happy to make his living as
offer of amnesty to join their first wave of Orc players, and a Free Agent, moving from one team to another, no longer
was rostered on with the Mazon Manglers. He had a promising really bothered wo he works for as long as he gets to play.
career as a Guard ahead of him, but that all changed when
he fouled Yurik “The Painmaster” Yurikson. Yurikson’s
retaliation almost a year later triggered a chain of events that
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Guard 5 3+ 4+ 5+ 4+ 10mc Lucky, Steady

player statline
In The Locker Room 43
 ‘Dead Man’ Davitz
Plays for anyone except Orx and Goblins

You can’t keep a good man down. Especially if that man’s

remains are the property of people with wealth equalled in size
only by the breathtaking absence of morals…

The Trontek 29ers have been the public face of DreadBall for as long
as anyone can remember, and each of their players is a household
name. Gregor “The Big G” Davitz, their former Head Guard, was
particularly well-known for his ability to come back from any injury.
Unfortunately there are some things that even the finest medical
technology can’t fix, as he discovered when he was dismembered
by a trio of Orcs during a grudge match against the Greenmoon
Smackers. His remains mysteriously vanished before he could be
given a proper funeral, and that was assumed to be that.

However, the rulemakers at the DGB soon discovered another

loophole in their rules about modified players – they didn’t specify
that the player had to be alive. Davitz is back, complete with
modifications that look to have been done with a great deal of
cheapness and enthusiasm but perhaps not much in the way of skill.
Still, once a fan favourite, always a fan favourite…

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player statline
44 DreadBall Season Five
In The Locker Room 45
 Brute Force
Plays for anyone

”Where you want it?” – Lydia Winger to the first and

last coach to make the mistake of underestimating
her, whilst holding his car over him in the arms of
SAMS-02

Lydia Winger grew up on a frontier outpost, where

she discovered a natural affinity for tinkering with
machines that bordered on the supernatural. She
decided to move back to civilised space when she
came across a subnet bulletin advertising an opening
as assistant to a Teraton engineer called Kraato Gon.
Lydia had met some of his people in passing when she
was growing up, and was fascinated by their advanced
technology, so she leapt at the chance. Their meeting
went incredibly well, the engineer clearly impressed
with her raw talent, and she was hired immediately.
Within a month she was acting as a test pilot for his
semi-autonomous mech-suits, deciding – against
his advice – to perform live field tests alongside his
Mechanites. The SAMS-02 “Brute Force” model was
an instant hit with DreadBall fans, and Lydia has since
been raking in some serious funding by hiring her
services to willing teams.

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Guard 5 3+ 4+ 5+ 4+ 8mc Trail Blazer

player statline
46 DreadBall Season Five
In The Locker Room 47
NEW RULES FOR
VARIABLE MEGAHEX
PITCHES

XPANSION
Forget what you think you know! The
Xcitement of Xtreme comes to the DGB!
New teams, new rules and a whole lot of fresh havoc can only mean New teams bring the Xtreme edge – or do they?
one thing – it’s new season time for the Galaxy’s Greatest Sport™
And of course, new MVPs arrive to tip the balance for whichever
The regs get relaxed for the first time ever to allow modified team can afford them.
organics, tailor-made robots and even experimental limb grafts
Tear up the rules you think you knew – this is a whole new
in the ongoing search for the perfect DreadBall player.
ball game.
Exhibition Matches allow coaches to go wild, drafting in players
A copy of the main DreadBall rulebook is required to use the
of any shape, size or species for one off matches where anything
contents of this expansion.
goes. Think you could create the perfect combination of Guards,
Jacks and Strikers? Now’s the time to prove it. Get involved and keep up to date with all the latest news and
events by visiting [Link]
Free Agents auction their arms, tentacles and teeth to the
highest bidder.

Product Code MGDBM110

DreadBall is © Copyright Mantic Games 2015. All rights in the design, text, graphics and
other material in this publication and its selection or arrangement is copyright of Mantic
Barcode 5060208867770 Entertainment Ltd., or has been granted for use by other third parties. This includes
ISBN 978-0-9928856-7-0 images, text, graphics, corporate logos and emblems. Reproduction (hur hur) is prohibited.