DreadBall - The Futuristic Sports Game

Kickstarters seem to be the latest trend to take the internet by storm - there seem to be half a dozen springing up every day. For those who are unfamiliar with the concept, Kickstarter is billed simply as:

"a funding platform for creative projects"

The general idea is that individuals, a bunch of friends and even full-blown companies can start a Kickstarter to "kickstart" funding for a certain project. They pitch the idea to the masses, promise rewards in return for cold hard cash and, if they meet their funding target, they go into production. Kickstarter isn't just for wargaming-related projects, but even so there seem to be tonnes of wargaming projects running Kickstarters in an attempt to raise funds for new miniatures and games. It mostly seems to be the province of indie companies who would otherwise be unable to afford all the production costs, but every so often a big established company jumps on the bandwagon to launch a product of their own. 

I'm pretty sure most people in the wargames hobby will have heard of Mantic Games by now. You might also have heard about this new game they're launching, called DreadBall.

Now, until about a week ago, I'd not really paid much attention to either Kickstarter or Mantic Games. I'd heard plenty about both; I'd seen all the people pushing various Kickstarter projects and I'd seen people using Mantic figures for Warhammer armies and the like, but I'd not really looked into either of them for myself because I didn't see anything that immediately appealed to me.

That was until I saw DreadBall. I saw something that looked like Blood Bowl for sci-fi fans and so, being a big Blood Bowl fan, I thought "that looks cool" and went over to Kickstarter to check it out. What followed was a 48-hour long torment, as I wrestled with my conscience about whether to pledge or not. Alas, being weak-willed as I am, I gave in an signed up at the 'Keeper' ($80) level. That gets me the complete DreadBall game (two full teams, the rulebook, the pitch and all the cards, counters and dice needed) plus the RefBot figure and a signed lithoprint of the cover art. I thought it over and decided this was really the minimum level I could go in at, because I'd need the complete game (i.e. the rules, a pitch and two complete teams) in order to convince anyone to play it with me.

Since then though, I've seen the funding shoot up, I've seen the new Stretch Goals come and seen them achieved, and I've seen all the new goodies that keep getting added to the 'Striker' ($150) level. Four complete teams, ten MVP figures, freebie figures from each of the "Season 2" teams (yes, funding has reached such heights that they can already afford to produce the first DreadBall expansion...), extra accessories for the game including Hex Bases for the figures, extra counters and the like, plus a free ticket to any DreadBall event at Mantic HQ, plus a Buy One Get One Free offer for all of the Season 2 teams at 'Striker' level and above.

All goodies that, at 'Keeper', I'll be missing out on....

So now, I'm going through another wrestling match with my conscience. I probably shouldn't have pledged to just $80 (which is only about £50.....). I'll really be in trouble if I up my pledge to $150 (about £90...).

But I really, really want to!


P.S http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1744629938/dreadball-the-futuristic-sports-game

Go over and pledge some money. It looks like a very cool game, you can get loads of cool stuff for your money, and the more people who pledge, the more figures everyone gets, including me!!

The world has changed. The Storm of Chaos came and altered the face of the Empire forever. Five years later, the Fall of Middenheim and the Corruption of Carroburg left the north of the country further devastated, and at risk of seceding from the Empire as the Elves of the Laurelorn descended from the forest to wreak havoc amongst human and beast alike.  The once-peaceful city of Marienburg was transformed into a new militaristic and independent country, ready to take advantage of the Empire’s weakness in the wake of almost a decade of war.

Now, war has come to the Old World once again. Karl Franz leads his armies against the great demonic portal in the ruins of Carroburg, while his staunch ally King Louen Leoncoeur of Bretonnia leads a campaign against the newly-founded and aggressive armies of the Free State of Marienburg.

But while King Louen’s back is turned, dark forces rise in his own kingdom. Continued unrest amongst the commoners has driven them to rebellion, and with the majority of the army away, righteous fervour is sweeping the countryside like wildfire drawing more and more of the country folk in. Guided by a shadowy individual known only as the Black Knight, the rebellion is gathering strength with each passing day. 

To make matters worse, the peasant rebellion is not the only force that assails the land. Bands of savages, beasts, orcs and the like, are emerging from the forests and mountains under the loose leadership of the giant Arlukus the Mawsplitter. Accounts from the east report of mercenaries flooding through the mountain passes in great numbers, for what purpose no-one knows. Peasant tales tell of covens of sorcerers, with stories of great magical storms and terrible sounds emanating across the night sky. 

Perhaps most ominous of all, however, are the stories of the Fey. They tell of the Fey once again leaving the forest, and the peasants talk of the Wild Hunt roaming the land once again, and warn each other to bolt their doors and hold their children close against what might emerge from the woods.

Against all this there stands a Knight and his men, charged with the defence of the realm. With the King engaged in the struggle against the Free State of Marienburg, the kingdom of Bretonnia is vulnerable and defended by only those garrisons left behind, scattered across the southern dukedoms. In the forces arrayed against them, the men of Bretonnia face the greatest threat to their country yet.

Asrai.org are proud to present their sequel campaign -

Sentinels of Shadows: Unruly Alliance

~ Battles rage and rebellion is ripe across the southern dukedoms of Bretonnia as dark forces assail the country. With the King away, will you take up your arms in defence of kin and country and join the Defenders of the Realm? Will you ride with the Wild Hunt as the Fey Legion emerge from the Forest of Loren to wreak havoc amongst the lands of men? Will you ally yourself the mysterious Council of Erevos as they enact their plan for the land of Bretonnia? Will you seek your fortune as a mercenary alongside the Brazen Talons? Or will you join the hordes of Arlukus the Mawsplitter in his rampage across the country? Whichever way you decide, you control the fate of Bretonnia as you choose to either support or oppose the Peasant Rebellion that threatens the very fabric of the land.

    ~ A brand new and unique map and movement system means there is more strategy and tactical movement than ever before!

    ~ With both faction and personal resources, players can act independently or as part of a unified team. Spend your spoils to aid your faction, bribe your enemies or achieve personal glory as you choose! 

    ~ Create a unique campaign army through the new Army Doctrine upgrades system! 

    ~ The introduction of Hobby Reports, as well as the ever-popular Fluff Reports, means you don't even have to play games to participate! 

    Faction Registration begins Monday 24th September!

~ ~ ~

It's that time of year again - another nine months of work has almost reached its culmination, and the campaign team at Asrai.org are once again running an online campaign. Building on the events of our first campaign, Crossing Paths, back in October last year we've been hard at work improving every aspect of the campaign. For those people who joined in last time, many thanks and we hope to see you again this time around. For those people that didn't join in last time (why not?!), it would be great to have you! As you can see in the advert, we have even more ways for players to get involved and participate in the campaign without having to play games so there should be no reason for you not to head over to Sentinels-Campaigns.net and join in.