Without Plorka there is no team. Only an established Matriarch could have any hope of imposing order among so many amazons of different tribes.

With Bryce devising tactics and handling the business side of things, Plorka concentrates on marshalling the players... and yelling a lot.

As Matriarch, Plorka is considerably older and more stubborn than the other warrior women. What she lacks in agility, she makes up for in bloody-minded determination.

What brought her to the team in the first place? Money. Bryce promises, with great sincerity, that a strong run in the Senseless Slaughter League will have Plorka raking gold by the sackful. What's less clear is what she actually intends to do with it.

Daiane is the iconic jungle woman - dark, fierce, powerful. She arrived in the Empire after an "incident" with a Slann Mage Priest, which had caused her to be hunted by half the lizardmen in Lustria.

Daiane discovered the Yamako Tribe when Plorka bailed her out of the local gaol. She is promising to learn some basic Empire words and phrases to avoid further... misunderstandings.

Princess Lenika is heir to the throne of the "Pale Moon" amazon nation. The Pale Moons are noted for their artisan silk weavers, and tend to have lighter skin than their Lustrian counterparts.

The Pale Moon Queen was concerned that Lenika seemed a bit too pretty and delicate for her royal position, so, hearing about the new Yamako team, sent the Princess out to toughen her up.

Yamako Jade is the founder member of the tribe.

Previously she worked as a barmaid in Altdorf, before Bryce McTavish tripped over her feet and started rambling about some game called "Blood Bowl". More than a little sceptical at first, Jade agreed to watch a match, and from that point on was hooked. Blood Bowl, she claims, is a lot more fun than serving drinks, and much better paid. Jade dreams of being a superstar with crowds of adoring fans.

Yamako's name is pronounced "Zha-deh", and woe betide the commentator who gets it wrong.

Esther is the daughter of an amazon slave and an Empire soldier. The amazon blood bred true, and after an active childhood, having grown to an astonishing size, she enlisted in the militia as an archer.

Serving Karl Franz and shooting goblins in the eye, supported by your loving parents, is all well and good, but there's no harm in trying a bit of sport on the side. Esther has a year's leave from active service saved up, and is going to burn it on the Tribe.

Princess Xena is heir to the throne of the "Red Spear" amazon nation. She and Princess Lenika do not get along. In fact, they borderline hate each other, arguing constantly during training and disagreeing on even the most petty of issues.

Xena has quicker hands than anyone else on the team, and so was chosen to be the Yamako's first catcher. It is unclear what the present Red Spear Queen thinks of all this. Possibly Xena has run away from home and seeks refuge in the game.

Her spectacular debut was against La Donna Grossa in the SSL's warmup bash, where Xena caught an interception, threw two completions, scored a touchdown and killed a lineman! Lenika is simmering with jealous rage.

Yamako's string of early wins brought them into the spotlight, and dozens of women from all walks of life suddenly appeared, eager to try out for this groundbreaking Blood Bowl team.

Unfortunately, most of the hopefuls were not really amazonian in stature, and would probably be knocked over by a stiff breeze, never mind an angry orc.

Sydney Sabria was the only tryout Plorka deemed acceptable after putting the volunteers through a brisk training session. Applications have declined dramatically after two fatalities were reported on the practice pitch.