For his first Blood Bowl story, David Guymer returns to the skaven with A Last Sniff of Glory, a tale of determination, desperation and performance-enhancing drug abuse. Ageing Skavenblight Scramblers star player Rurrk is long past his prime, but when the opportunity to rekindle his waning career presents itself he throws everything he has left into a final attempt to regain the adulation of the crowd that he craves so much. Facing up against an old rival, he uses everything at his disposal to ensure his place in the team’s starting lineup in spite of failing health and an ailing body.
On the surface a typically daft Blood Bowl story with all the usual casual violence and bizarrely entertaining sports-Warhammer crossover, there’s actually an unexpected depth here. Rurrk is like a weird verminous version of the ageing, last-chance sports hero, his psychotic on-pitch brutality touchingly contrasted by a sense of almost painful nostalgia, emphasised by the brief career (and life) span of the average skaven. Guymer throws in plenty of old-Warhammer skaven touches including amusing references to Skavenblight’s Blood Bowl heritage, and while some TV-style interludes work better after a second reading, overall the story flows nicely and comes together into a satisfying whole. Another enjoyable Blood Bowl story.
