Dear Portuguese and allies:

One of the most savoury moments in our History happened in 1488 when seafarer Bartolomeu Dias successfully passed through Cape of Good Hope and earned access to the Orient through sea…but no one is telling how!

Before that time, that place was known as Cape of Storms as no ship has managed to cross it and live to tell the story: word spread there was a terrible monster named Adamastor, who sank all daring ships, living at the site.

But Bartolomeu had a bold plan: instead of panicking and trying to outrun the beast, he and his crew would entertain it throughout their passage!

Thus, besides his trusted crew of sailors, he gathered a numerous and highly skilled crew of players and performers for a never seen show on sea: Blood Bowl matches, music, cheerleaders, wizards, all on boats!

Now we have two versions of what happened: reports from Bartolomeu’s diary boast about himself personally dialoguing with Adamastor, sharing ale, betting on matches and it’s occurrences, while cheerleaders danced, music was played nonstop and the wizards used all their resources on astonishing light shows was key to their successful passage!

On the other hand, letters from sailors report Adamastor was never seen on that day, the sun was clear and the sea was boring flat. The passage was done without any points worth of mention except for Dwarves drinking all the ale, Orcs eating all the food, the unrivalled lack of higiene from the Nurgle, the challenge of separating the Werewolves from the Skeletons and the cheerleaders being the ugliest women they ever saw on their lives…

The version you want to believe is entirely up to you but I sure do prefer the first one!

To celebrate this, I open the doors of my Palace for a weekend of pure Blood Bowl, inviting all coaches around the globe to join the Portuguese on this unique event. Just like Bartolomeu, bring your most cunning team and good spirit for this occasion – because if your prefer the sailors’ boring version, don’t bother to come!

Marquês de Fronteira
Lisbon, 17th November, 2024