Blood Bowl: Teamnames

Now, who doesn't know that, the magic of something new. You put yourself in the position of a rising team manager, who has come to an unexpected blessing of wealth in the shape of a million gold pieces, recruiting a team from a bunch psychos...er...I mean players and then this - how should the team be called? Well, since a good team name adds a lot to the feel of the game, and BB lives on much larger parts of the fluff than most coaches believe, I'm here to provide a little help and share a few words on different styles of teamnames.

Regional references in „first names“

Many teams prefer to identify themselves with their place of origin or the place where they return between major events. The place isn`t chosen randomly at this point. The integration of a location in the name inofficially rather corresponds to a ranking. Here are some examples of this:

Reikland Reavers:

As a multiple winner of the Blood Bowl and numerous other tournaments, they have a name associated with a large region, the Reikland. Their legendary coach, Blitz Bombardi, is constantly keeping an eye on recruitment and has transformed the team into one of the best and most famous teams in the Old World. Legendary players like Griff Oberwald and Siggi the Zug hail from this team.

Tlanxla Javelins:

In one of the larger cities of the western continent, the Javelins have bashed up the Minor tournaments and created a proper history for Tlanxla. Their success also justifies the mention of one of the largest cities in the region. However, they are always one step away from the best teams.

Bohsenfeld Ravens:

An insignificant small town in the heart of Ostland with its own Blood Bowl team, that's something! At least that's what Bohsenfeld's inhabitants think, and the inclusion of the name of the city reflects this connection to the place. However, the success of the team is as insignificant as the city itself. So the name reflects the rank of the team in the general Blood Bowl setting.

Shieldway Butchers:

Where exactly the Shieldway street lies, nobody knows except for the inhabitants of the street itself. It is utterly meaningless for any other place, except for one - here in this street the Ogre team of the Butchers was founded. Naturally the locals are very proud of that fact and like to see their team show where it comes from.

Here are a couple of other examples for regional names, for teams from Arabia or Khemri:

Nehekhara Monarchs

Khemri City Chiefs

Bel Aliad Steeds

Monolith Dustwalkers

 

Background-related names:

While the mention of the location in the team name reflects its status in the Blood Bowl scene, names related to the background of a particular place or person indicate how it is incorporated into the team.

I also address something here that many coaches are unaware of - Blood Bowl takes the background of the Warhammer universe and distorts it in a mostly comedic way. So, when I approach the names of a team and I refer them to a specific location on the map, in many cases I consult the Warhammer background and briefly review the history of that spot. Here's an example:

Taking a look at the map of Khemri, I noticed some of the bigger cities. Numas offered a very interesting background. According to it, the undead live in a symbiosis with resettled people from Arabia. They virtually protect each other and after death, people are resurrected by the Death-priests. They literally remain under the rule of their former masters for eternity. Thus, several names came to my mind:

 

Numas Protectors (as the living and the undead protect each other)

Scarabs of Numas (as it is known as the city of Scarabs)

Numas Everlords (as the rulers are the same forever)

 

Here are some more background-related examples:

Altdorf Emperors

Middenheim Wolves

Chrace Wildcats

Sartosa Swashbucklers

 

However, this is not the only way to include the background in the name. Another variation is to mirror the individual history of the team in the name. For example, a team from Middenheim could always be travelling the world by horse due to a superstition. Or the team owner of the team from Sartosa could be a successful inventor. They could be called like this:

Middenheim Horsemen

Sartosa Inventors

 

There is even a third way to give the name more depth from it's background. Namely, to incorporate the name of a person or significant event that had a great impact on the team or its history. For example, there could be a legend about how a handful of riders successfully defended the surrounding settlements around Middenheim against a horde of bandits. The inventor of the team from Sartosa could also come from a long line of inventors, who all owned this team in their time. The first of this ancestral line could have been the inventor and captain of a high seas force called Captain Insano. The names for the teams thus emerge from the background story:

Legendary Horsemen

Insano`s Inventors

 

As you see, thinking about the background of your own team makes sense and contributes significantly to the atmosphere of the game. Also, your style of play will probably change a bit in favor of the background and not in favor of efficiency at some point. Incidentally this is a pretty straightforward way to play a campaign in Blood Bowl, but I'll talk about that opic another time.

 

Racespecific and generic names:

The third method of naming is the use of racespecific and generic names. As I mentioned earlier, Blood Bowl broadly follows the background of the Warhammer universe. The people of this world are usually provided with certain characteristics, which distinguish them clearly from the other fantasy races. The Empire reflects the destiny of the human race to survive under the most adverse circumstances. Tileans are characterized by city-states and mercenary behaivior. Bretonians polarize through knightly values. Orcs enjoy good fighting, Dwarves are stoic and inventive, Dark Elves show a certain tendency for sadism and so on.

 

It is obvious that the step from background-inspired names to racespecific names is not that big. Nevertheless, there is a difference, because the racespecific names should underline the characteristic of a race in particular. This can be represented for example by the way of life of the people in the name, or also by a deity, which is worshiped only by the appropriate group.

 

Examples for racespecific names:

Bretonians: Paravon Knights, Bretonian Saints

Orcs:  Gitz of Mork, Gork`s Broozers, Iron Boars

Norsca: Se of Claws Pirates, Aesling Gods, Stormriders, Berserkers

Ogre Kingdoms: Mawfathers, Titanslayers, Maneaters

Chaosdwarves: Demonbinders, Enslavers

 

Many of the racespecific names work well in conjunction with a typical location. This is not a must, but reinforces the impression of the commonly known characteristics.

Let's briefly talk about the generic names and its reason for being. Many generic terms already appear in the racespecific names. This is not surprising because generic names are composed of a wealth of different terms. In this section I want to discuss very typical generic terms. These have the ability to be fit for almost any team. The easiest way to choose a generic team name is to select the name of an animal and its subspecies, as these can be easily transferred to many teams races.

Examples for generic names:

Arachnids: Scorpions, Spiders

Birds: Eagles, Falcons, Hawks

Cats: Wildcats, Lions, Tigers, Panthers, Jaguars

Horse: Mustangs, Steeds

Other animals: Serpents, Bulls, Pigs, Boars, Bears, Squirrels

 

Examples for teams with generic names:

Mootland Squirrels

Paravon Steeds

Skarbrand Pigs

Zhar Naggrund Bulls

 

Examples of good usability of generic names:

Mootland Pigs

Paravon Squirrels

Skarbrand Bulls

Zhar Naggrund Steeds

 

As you can see, this is one of the easiest ways to name your team and as we approach the name from the background, the generic team name starts at the other end of the spectrum where the background is still growing.

Certainly, there are more ways to approach the name of a team, these are just the best known ones and always better than an entirely nameless team. You always have to keep in mind that a well thought-out name can be a decisive atmosphere driver and that it is a respectful way of dealing with your fellow players. After all, some of them might be more on the creative side of things.

Does your team have a special name or story about how it got its name? Let us know!

 

Greetings from the Chaosbunker

Dino