Gnomes frankly have a tough time winning a game of Blood Bowl – but bringing along a Treeman is a great way to close the height gap. And the strength gap. And the skill gap. These mighty arboreal players give the Gnomes half a shot against most serious teams.
Gnomes are something of an enigma in the world of Blood Bowl, with many fans having dismissed their existence almost entirely. While their tactics, and woodland creatures, are somewhat unorthodox, Gnomes are quite fond of the game. While individual players are hardly paragons of athleticism, their mastery of magical illusions and the befriending of forest beasts gives them certain advantages not enjoyed by less gloriously bearded teams.
Gnome teams play Blood Bowl on pitches deep within their mysterious forests, in clearings between the trees. These aren't just your regular run-of-the-mill forests, though – magic hangs in the air, and all manner of creatures, both fey and mundane, come out of hiding to watch their Gnome friends play Blood Bowl!
Even with their magical illusions, Gnome teams will need all the luck they can get in games of Blood Bowl, which is where these themed dice come in.
Deep in the dank heart of the old forests, mischievous woodland creatures frolic, prance, and beat each other to a pulp playing the age-old game of Blood Bowl. This issue's guest editor, Davide Mirrorfoot, reveals just a few of the secrets of Gnome teams.
The Tauros Venator is an all-terrain vehicle, favoured by the Palanite Enforcers as a rapid interceptor ideal for policing the vital ridgeways that criss-cross Necromunda's ash wastes. The Enforcers only have a limited presence beyond the hive cities, so these swift but well-armed vehicles are vital for traversing the outlands at speed and bringing brutal justice to those who would threaten wealthy guild convoys or respectable hiver travellers.
Few things are simple on Necromunda. Gangers thought lost in battle sometimes resurface later, seemingly back from the dead. Mysterious figures rise to plague an area, taunting the local gangs and working towards their own agenda. Settlements grow, falter, or change as the tides of fate shift. One thing is certain in the underhive – there’s never a dull moment.
The Adeptus Mechanicus march to war as a disturbing fusion of flesh and machine, ruling Tech-Priests and fanatical cyborg followers raising modified voices in binharic praise of the Machine God. Purge Corps Deltic-9 are equipped to scour the contamination of enemy presence from locations of strategic or exploratory importance, employing cybernetic speed and terrifying weapons. Cavalry and winged Pteraxii unleash gouts of purging flame, before radioactive Skitarii bring up the rear to reclaim whatever remains.
A Sydonian Skatros is a sinister cybernetic sentinel, stoic and unmoving until the moment an enemy strays into range of their huge rifle. Mechanical, stilt-like limbs allow them to traverse hazardous terrain and survey the environment, shrouded by a smog of incense-exhaust. With protocol-driven precision and an advanced scanner known as the achillan eye, they lock on to their foes’ weakpoints and unleash pinpoint fire that sows panic and agony – all the better for eroding enemy morale.
The Adeptus Mechanicus are the fanatical worshippers of the Machine God of Mars. For thousands of years the robed priests of the Machine Cult have presided over the fabrication, maintenance, and preservation of Humanity’s surviving technological wonders with reverence and ritual. Led by Tech-Priests whose weak organic flesh has been replaced with metallic augmentations, their armies fight to defend forge worlds and strike out across the galaxy in search of ancient archeotech.
The Tech-Priests of Mars march forth at the head of cybernetic legions, protected by barely understood relics of a bygone era, and wielding devastating and bizarre weapons to obliterate their foes.
Ash Wastes Arachni-rigs – known to House Van Saar as Arachnika Ash-jumpers – are armoured exoskeletons designed to traverse Necromunda’s rugged surface. Jump jets allow them to boost over obstacles, leap free of trouble, or unexpectedly drop in amongst their foes. Heavy weapons and surprising mobility make Ash-jumpers a match for rival vehicles and Nomad war parties, as they carve through Cargo-8 trains with laser and plasma blasts, clear rough terrain with flamers and rad guns, and snag targets with harpoons.