Painkillers & Slammers – The Teams of DreadBall: All-Stars
3rd Mar 2026
Ross Connell
In DreadBall: All-Stars, you'll coach a team of all-star players in explosive head-to-head matches, packed with tactics, chaos, and glory. Designed by the father of the tabletop sports genre, Jervis Johnson, veteran designer Alessio Cavatore, and acclaimed artist Stefan Kopinski, DreadBall: All-Stars is a standalone game set in the Dreadball universe.
Get notified about the launch on Kickstarter on March 17th.
The Teams of DreadBall: All-Stars
Set in a sci-fi future where mega-corporations sponsor violent sports entertainment across the galaxy, DreadBall: All-Stars represents the sport's crowning achievement and the galaxy's biggest event. Billions tune in every week to watch legends clash on the neodurium pitch. Corporations spend fortunes sponsoring teams, while fans mortgage their futures for a chance to see their heroes in action.
Tune in each week as we take a closer look at this incredible sport. This week, we're looking at two teams, the Painkillers and Slammers.
Missed our series so far?
- The History of DreadBall: All-Stars
- Jets & Juggernauts – The Teams of DreadBall: All-Stars
- Ryders & Sabrecats - The Teams of DreadBall: All-Stars
Painkillers - DreadBall: All-Stars Players
The Spiczak Corporation may have faded into obscurity, if not for the unfortunate chemical leak on Mantar. Owned by Reinhold Spiczak, it used to be a small pharmaceutical company specializing in antidotes for rare. However, while working on a cure for Cavlax Lung, an untested batch leaked into the lab. Rather than those who inhaled it, the chemical gave them temporary boosts in speed, agility and strength. Unfortunately, it also significantly increased emotions of rage and aggression.
Initially the Spiczak Corporation tried to cover up the leak and the existence of Mantar X, until Reinhold’s daughter and Chief Marketing Officer, Camellia Spiczak sensed an opportunity. What profession required super human/alien feats of agility or speed but also wasn’t concerned if you pummelled another person until they were unconscious? DreadBall, of course! Mantar X was sold as a stimulant and the DreadBall Governing Body was happy to turn a blind eye… as long as they received a cut of the profits.
Meet the Players
Project Ultra - Rumoured to be one of the first scientists exposed to Mantar X, Project Ultra has become the test subject for every new strain of Mantar X. His high pain threshold also ensures he shrugs off even the most powerful of Slams and many rivals have been surprised to see Project Ultra still standing after Slams that would typically take out an OverDrive giant.
Poison - Animals of all shapes and sizes were injected with different strengths of Mantar X. Most died or were quickly dispatched and dissected when they became too violent - but Poison was different. Yes, the drug increased its body mass and made it more vicious and prone to rip the arms off lab assistants, but it also had an unexpected side effect: increased intelligence.
Nox - Once a guard for the (in)famous Greenmoon Smackers, Grack “Hard Knocks” Hardclaw hit tough times following a particularly nasty injury that ruined his DreadBall career. After failed attempts at commentary and as a spokesperson for the doomed (and deadly) DreadMax Maxxx, Grack was offered a second chance. Simply give up his body in the name of science and test an experimental drug that could either kill him or make him one of the strongest DreadBall players around.
Tox - Nox wasn’t the only Greenmoon Smackers reject to find a home with the Painkillers. Tox was a former ‘water goblin’ for the team. Forced to lug about heavy vats of Mazonade (the Mazon-approved sports drink with only limited side effects), abused by players and shouted at by notorious Coach Brawlichick, Tox was eventually pushed too far. When he saw an ad from Spiczak looking for volunteers to test a new, experimental supplement he jumped at the opportunity.
Stinger - The official, Spiczak-approved background of Stinger is fairly straightforward. A vat of Mantar X had accidentally been leaking into a nest of insects, one drank the strange liquid and eventually Stinger hatched from a gigantic chrysalis. Rumours say Spiczak was contracted to see if Mantar X could be reformulated into a potential pesticide and Stinger was one of the first, failed test subjects. Rather than destroy the evidence and waste millions of credits, Stinger was drafted into the team.
Krakens - DreadBall: All-Stars Players
As Jon Auley-Harper, the founder of Auley-Harper Sanitation Solutions, once said: “Where there’s crap, there’s credits.”
Auley-Harper Sanitation Solutions isn’t the most glamorous corporation in the DBA, particularly compared to the glitz of RBN or the hi-tech propulsion innovations of McKinley. However, it’s arguably one of the most well-known. In the First Sphere, most apartments come equipped with an Auley-Harper Sanitary Reclamation Unit, which turns biological waste into vitamin-rich livestock feed that’s shipped around the galaxy. As a sidenote, Jon Auley-Harper was a devout vegan.
Meanwhile, in the Outer Spheres, Auley-Harper engineers are often called upon to set up waste disposal systems for the temporary hab blocks used by corporate workers. Depending upon the system, this can be a dangerous job and you’ll find that most Auley-Harper contractors are just as handy with a laser rifle as they are with a multi-wrench.
Although Jon Auley-Harper was happy with his 'crappy life', future members of the Auley-Harper family have been less enthusiastic about the joys of sewage. With their vast riches built up across multiple generations, many of the Auley-Harper dynasty have dabbled in various side projects. The most successful spin-off from the Auley-Harper legacy has been the Krakens. Created by Mimi Auley-Harper in an attempt to “get the Auley-Harper name out of the gutter”, the Krakens’ penchant for only drafting the more unusual DreadBall players has made them a fan favourite.
Meet the Players
Kroaker - A former player for The Unincorporated, when Kroaker first joined the DreadBall leagues - fresh from taking part in black ops missions on behalf of the Rebs - she was keen to drive home a message of rebellion. According to her numerous media interviews, corporations were vampires that were sucking the lifeblood from the galaxy. But as Kroaker’s fame grew, so did the temptations. Over time, she could be seen wearing the latest astro sneakers from Nuke, drinking DreadMax Zero Max, or listening to Matsudo-pop on her state-of-the-art Chromium neural-pods. Now she plays for any team that can fund her increasingly lavish lifestyle.
Reek Reek ‘Payback’ Rolat - was once up there with the likes of Lucky Logan in terms of celebrity. Although on the pitch, ‘Payback’ was infamous for exacting brutal revenge on anyone who dared to slam him, off the pitch, it soon became apparent he wasn’t paying back the numerous gambling debts he had accrued. After the banking corporations complained to the DreadBall Governing Body, they were forced to issue sanctions against Reek that almost stopped him from playing. Thankfully, Auley-Harper stepped in to pay off his debts, provided Reek signed an exclusivity contract to play only for the Krakens.
Dribbler - It is somewhat ironic that Dribbler was once employed as a body double for Schnorkel the Avenger during the filming of Schnorkel the Avenger: The Movie, considering that Schnorkel has persistently insisted he is the last of his kind. In scenes recreating famous DreadBall matches that Schnorkel had played in, it quickly became apparent that Dribbler could take a hit and remain standing. Although Schnorkel the Avenger: The Movie bombed upon its release - particularly on Schnorkel’s home planet - behind-the-scenes footage leaked, demonstrating Dribbler’s incredible resilience.
Deadeye - The Krakens are famous for giving a second chance to those more unfortunate DreadBall players who have hit hard times. For ‘Deadeye’ - so-called because of their incredible accuracy when it came to passing - it came following a successful stint as a Striker for the Cathulian Irregulars. With their fame on the rise, Deadeye partnered with Ichthyic Cosmetics to launch a new range of tentacle moisturisers. After pumping billions of credits into the development of the range, Deadeye was left on the brink of bankruptcy when Ichthyic was exposed as nothing more than a shell company of disgraced bio-engineering firm, Miasmal Industries. Auley-Harper swooped in to launch Tendriluxe, in exchange for Deadeye joining the Krakens.
Snappa - Classified somewhat dismissively as an 'Ultragator' by overworked GCPS xeno-biologists, Snappa was discovered by Auley-Harper contractors collecting scrap in the underground sanitation systems of the supposedly uninhabited Indecon II. Despite his fearsome appearance, Snappa seemed docile and initially became a sort of mascot for the Krakens. It was during a half-time entertainment show that Snappa was given the opportunity to play a mini game of DreadBall and wowed the crowds with his apparent natural proficiency for the sport. Auley-Harper immediately promoted him from mascot to star striker, much to the delight of fans. Meanwhile, Snappa is happy to grin his toothy smile and wave for the holo-cams, all the time secretly reporting news from the inner Spheres back to his home system of Ca’Sau, ready for the invasion to begin.
