Slaughterballl

ABrutal snort tor Dark Future RPGs

By Serge Stelmack© 1995 ❖ Art by Tom Frank© 1995

"Welcome, sports fans, to another terrific

season of international Slaughcerball, brought
to you by your friends at College Sports! We
have a terrific game lined up tonight: a face-off 1
between last season's world champions the
Warsaw Teuconics, and our own Anchorage
Servants:
Chainsaws! It's anyone's game as an estimat-
ed world viewership of five hundred million
settle down' for tonight's Tokyo-hosted
match ..."
Slaughterball is a game of excessive vio-
lence and brutality, designed to be inte-
grated into dark future campaigns. Played
out between two teams, with twenty-four
players on the field, the objective of the
game is to roll, kick, throw, or carry an
armored medicine ball across the scoring
line of the opposition. There are few rules,
only very short stoppages in play, and
n ume rous injuries, all of which make
Slaughterball an immensely popular sport
in violent societies. Though the sport is
desigQed wfrh such games as Cyberpunk
l.
and Shadowrun in mind, it can be adapted
to just about any RPG in which fierce
sports are appreciated.

Field Layout And Scoring

.Slaughter.ball is played on a
diamond-shaped field, usually surfaced
with concrete or other hard substance. The
field is one hund red meters in length,
about forty meters wide at its center, and
surrounded by a three foot wall.
At the far ends of the field are scoring
lines, which are drawn ten meters from the
points of the diamond. Moving the ball
(known as the drudge) across the oppo-
nent's scoring line is one way in which
teams can score points. Another way is to
keep the drudge within "scoring circles"
located near the center of the field. The

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team chat can move the drudge into their
opponent's circle, and keep it there for
twenty seconds, scores.
Once a point is scored, the game is
paused while the drudge is returned to the
center of the field. This interval is known
as a "scoring break". Once it is there, play•
ers must arrange themselves on their side
of the field, and then when all are ready,
play continues.
The game progresses until one side
scores three points more. than the other.
Thus a game's score could be zero to three,
five to eight, or eleven to fourteen. If a
game is not resol"'.ed within three hours, it.
is held over to the next night when play
resumes. Technically, a single game could
go on forever, though few last longer than
two nights. ' actions of Slaughterball players, though
· Equipment
etayer equipment consists of helmets,
face masks, armored vests, elbow pads,
knee pads, groin plates, heavy boots, and
clubs. A club is a meter long solid iron pipe
two centimeters in diameter, used to beat
off opponent players or push the drudge.
All of these items are optional; some play•
ers choose to reduce their amount of gear
to be less encumbered.
Team Deployment and Organi-
zation
Each team consists of twenty-four play-
ers, with twelve on the field at any one
time. Players may not come off the field
except during a scoring break, or unless
they are seriously injured. Players that
leave due co injury may not return to play
that game.
Injured players may only be replaced
once they have left the field. Consequent•
iy, opponents will often try to ke~p wound-
ed individuals from leaving. the field by
either blocking their progress or beating
them senseless. In such situations the
injured often have to be rescued by their
teammates,· and dragged off the ·field so as
to acquire fresh players.
During a scoring break, any number of
players can be exchanged on the field.
There are no particular designations of
player type, as there is in football or hock-
ey.. Participants may play offensive or
defensive roles either as their coach assigns
111111 © 1915 -----------------------------11
them or as appropriate over the course of
play.
Due to the high turnover rate of players
through injury and death, most teams have
large numbers of supplemental players
waiting in the wings. As teams may only
consist of twenty-four players, however, an
old Slaughterball player has to be either
killed or ejected from the team before a
new one can co~e on board. This makes
Slaughterball an extremely competitive
sport, in · which new players have been
known to resort to all manner of under•
handed· actions in order to ensure their
acceptance.
Rules
There are only nine rules governing the
these are tyrannically enforced. They are as
follows:
1) Neither team may have more than
twelve players on the field at a time. If
they do, the opposing team is automatical-
ly awarded a point.
· 2) Neither team may wear the same col-
ors as the other during a game, nor may
they don false colors to confuse their oppo-
nents. Doing so results in the offending
party being benched for remainder of the
game.
3) Any player rendered unconscious on
the field may not be the further molested
by the opposing team, except in so far as
keeping their body fr6m being removed
from the field.
4) Any player killed during the game
results in a stopNge of play for the
evening. T he game is continued the next
evening, when the team of the deceased
may replace them with a new player.
5) All players are to obey the referees
completely, including not challenging any
calls made. Failure to exhibit complete
compliance with the officials results in the
game automatically being won by the
offender's opponents.
6) If the Drudge is pushed beyond the
bounds of the field, the party which carried
it out is benched for the remainder of the
game. Their absence on the field may be
replaced at the next scoring break, when
the Drudge is returned to center field.
Note: Pla:yers wiU sometimes intentionall:y
carry the Drudge off the field if it appears they
cannot otherwise get it beyond their half of the
field .. ln such cases the temporary loss of a
player may be worth the return of the Drudge
to center field.
7) If more than twelve members of a
team are taken off the field due to injury,
the game is called for the night and
resumed the following evening.
8) NQ offensive cyberware is to be
employed during the game. The'use of any
cyber weaponry results in an automatic vic-
tory for the offending team's opposition,
9) No player may carry onto the field
any items beyond the standardized equip-
ment of the sport. Additionally, no item
beyond the standard equipment may be
deployed upon the field in any manner.
The penalty for doing so is a point to the
opposing team. A stoppage in play will also
occur while· the item(s) are removed from
the field.
Slaughterball Tournaments
Many nations in the dark future partici-
. pate in Slaughterball, and compete for the
coveted world tide. Due to the simplicity
of the game, the rules and playing fields are
identical internationally.
The Slaughterball season lasts eight
months. The first four of these consist of
national championships, in which teams
from various cities in a particular country
vie to see who shall have the honor of rep-
resenting the nation in the world champi•
onship. These are run by having each team
play sixteen others. If the nation does not
possess sixteen teams, sixteen games are
played by pitting teams against one anoth•
er at random.
The team with the highest number of
wins is declared national champion, unless
their total is equal to that of another
team(s). In the event of a tie, the teams
meet in sudden-death elimination play-
offs.
Once the national teams are deter-
mined; the remaining four months of the
season consists of international games.
These are run the same as the national
ones.
Sll1111t1rballl
Sample Teams and Players
The Melbourne Marauders
Nation: Australia
. Championship Wins: Australian
National' Champions 2013, ·1s, 16, 19 &
20; World Champions 2016 & 19
Scoring Average: 8 pts. per game
Scoring Ratio: 70% field goals, 30% cir-
cle goals
Player T umover: 1 .per two games • 20%
deaths
The Marauders are by far the most pop•
ular of the Australian teams, having taken
five out of the eight national ch ampi-
onships since the Australian parl·iament ·
legalized Slaughterball in 2013. Known for
their sadistic demeanors and dirty tricks,
the Marauders are always highly entertain-
ing to watch.
Led by Captain George "Boxer" Bloom,
a veteran of both the Philippine war and
four Slaughterball seasons, the Marauders
0
have a relatively low turnover rate due to
their high standards. More than half the
members have martial arts mastery or spe-
cial forces training; the remaining members
are either decorated ex-service men or
hardened criminals. .
Whatever their origins, all team mem-
bers employ dirty tactics, which they coor- .
dinate for maximum effectiveness. The
sheer diabolic inventiveness of this highly
feared team have made them world cham-
62 ---------------------------1111■111·1-1
pion in both 2016 and 2019, with only a
narrow loss to the Moscow Czars in 2020. ·
The Miami Gators
Nation: United States of America
Championship Wins: U.S. National
Champions 2017 and 2020; World Cham-
pions 2017
Scoring Average: 5 pts. per game
Scoring Ratio: 10% field goals, 90% cir;
de goals
Player Turnover: 1 peF-four games -
10% deaths
Composed of giants, the Miami Gators
have found their formula for success in
sheer muscle mass. With the smallest
member of the team coming in at a hefty
6'3", 240 lbs, the Gators dwarf the players
of most other Slaughterball teams.
The tactics ·of this team of titans are
simple: quick wins through sheer ·b rute
force. Taking possession of the Drudge, the
Gators fo1T11 a defensive phalanx about it,
escorting the player with the drudge down
the field to the scoring circle. Predictable,
brutish,. and blunt are words useful .in
describing this team, and ones for which
they make no apologies.
With one of the lowest turnover rates
in the world, the Miami Gators are com-
posed of some of the most solid and brutal-
ly tough players ever to step onto the·
Slaughterball field..
Petera Fett - Star Player
Nationality: Australian
Team: Melbourne Marauders
Championships: Australian National
Champions 2019 and 2020; World Cham-
pions 2019 · Chicago Hurricanes, but was traded to the
Career Point Total: Zero
Career Kills: Three
A petite 5'3", 115 lb blonde, Fett
doesn't look as ifshe'd last ten seconds in a ·
serious Slaughterball game. Not only has
she survived two seasons with the Mel-
bourne Marauders, 'however, but she was
voted most valuable play~.r by the Aus-
tralian Slaughterball League.
A black belt in Tae Kwon Do, Fett
d.elivers devastating kicks to opponents,
while dodging their attacks with her supe-
rior rdlexes. Nicknamed "Mosquito" by
her fellows, Fett mercilessly harasses oppos-
ing team members while the rest of the
Marauders rally for possession of the
Drudge.
Players facing off with the Marauders
.are sorely te·m pted to tum their backs on
what they often consider to be only an irri-
tant, but for more than a few that mistake
has cost them their careers, and, in three
cases, their lives. Fe~t has no qualms about·
attacking an opponent from behind, and
her deadly -kicks can snap bone dangerously
easily. ·
On the field Fett goes unarmed and
unarmored, preferring co remain as mobile
as possible. She typically holds the position
at center field to maintain lots of room· to
maneuver, tripping up breakaway players or
·crippling stray opponents.
John Armstrong - Star Player
Nationality: American \,
Team: Miami Gators
Championships: U.S. Na.t ional Cham-
pions 2017 and 2020; World Champions
2017
Career Point T ocal: Forty
Career Kills: Twelve
A colossus of a man, John Armstrong is
an Olympic silver medal wrescler. Hailed as
one of the strongest men who h~s ever
lived, John stands a towering 6'9" in
height, and weighs more than 300 pounds.
Combine that with his 2% body fat rating
_and you begin to get some idea of just how
devastating a player he can be. 1
Five years as a Slaughterball player,
Armstrong was originally a player for the
Miami Gators just in time for the 2017 sea-
son. Alongside his titanic companions,
Armstrong battled his way to victory in the
World Championships, scoring the win-
ning field point in the final game against
the Berlin Panzers.
A brutal giant, both merciless and certi•
fiably psychotic, Armstrong has twelve
kills to his record, all of which made the
error of attempting to wrestle the Drudge
from his possession. It is the only most
admirably brave or exceptionally stupid
players that dare to take on this leviathan
single-handedly. a .