Announcing The Hunter's Red October 2014 Tournament!

Good morning gamers,

It is my great pleasure to announce the third annual THRO tournament! The purpose of this tournament, like previous THROs, is to try new things and to bring fun armies (very little, if any, prestige attached). The tournament will be held at Patrick Henry College on October 25, 2014. For this year's tournament, we're experimenting with a few new things: doubles play within brackets, scenarios not commonly found in other TMAT tournaments, and non-board-specific scenario play (more on what this is later). Without further ado, here are (in my typical style) the Ten Commandments of the Tournament (Rules):

1) Thou Shalt Understand The Canon

The ruleset from the One Rulebook (ORB) and warbands sourcebooks will preside over this tournament, as well as the "House Rules" section on the TMAT website. Errata and FAQs on the GW website for the sourcebooks and rulebooks (both the ORB and the new Hobbit rulebook) will apply, so far as they explain the sources above or explain scenario scoring rules. When in doubt, the ORB reigns supreme.

2) Thou Shalt Fight Thy "Equals"

This years tournament is a "doubles" tournament, with the teammates of each pair playing in different brackets. To determine which player is in a "high" or "low" bracket, each player's army list will be scored using Glenstorm's recently released K-Comp system. The player with the higher Comp score (softer list) on each team will face the players with the higher comp score on their respective teams. Similarly, players with lower comp scores (harder lists) will play each other.

3) Thou Shalt Honor Thy Lists And Alliances

All armies shall be worth no more than 600 points (with a 3-point grace limit) and a maximum of 60 units. Any army using the adapted Legions of Middle Earth rules (instead of the new Warband schema) must include at least two heroes cumulatively worth at least 200 points. In order to encourage "themed" alliances, if the armies submitted by a team are staunch allies (for good/good pairings, such as Rohan and Gondor), desperate allies (for evil/evil pairings, such as The Eastern Kingdoms and Mordor), or the arch-nemesis of the other army (for good/evil pairings, such as Rohan and Isengard) in the Tolkien books/movies, an additional 0.25 battle points will be awarded to each player, improving their final score.

Once a list is submitted on this blog, it may not be edited based on the opponents it faces. The army brought to the tournament must reflect the army lists provided on this blog. For the purposes of this tournament, the only "proxying" that will be allowed is equipment choices on a model - e.g. if you own a Celeborn model without armor, he may take heavy armor in his equipment choices. Players are encouraged, however, to convert their models to have the equipment specified in their army list. Units must also be painted with a least a base coat and one other color in order to be accepted at the tournament.

In addition, the player submitting the army list must have played at least three games with this list (or the units in it) prior to the tournament (including, but not limited to, previous TMAT tournaments). As time limits will be a constraint in this tournament (see Commandment 7 below), it is important that each player is familiar with his list in order to reduce unnecessary delays.

4) Thou Shalt Know The Scenarios

This tournament allows all players to bring an army of Good or Evil and play against any other players - Good armies may face other Good armies and Evil armies may face other Evil armies. All tables in a given round will play the same scenario, with a different scenario being used each round. After each scenario is scored, the following Battle Points will be awarded:

• Major victory (10 pts): awarded if one army scores at least twice as many scenario points as his opponent.
• Minor victory (8 pts): awarded if one army scores more scenario points but less than twice as many points as his opponent.
• Draw (6 pts): awarded if an army scores the same number of scenario points as his opponent.
• Minor loss (4 pts): awarded if an army's opponent receives a minor victory.
• Major loss (2 pts): awarded if an army's opponent receives a major victory.

This tournament will be different from other tournaments in a key way: all tables in a given round will have the same scenario active. All tables will have terrain appropriately placed for all of the scenarios that could be played, with their priority of use for the tournament provided as follows:

• Domination: all warbands begin within 18" of their starting corner. The game ends when one army is reduced to 25% of its starting force. Points are scored if the enemy army leader is killed (+2), if the player has the majority of models on a given objective (+1 OR +3 if the opposing player has no models on the objective), if the enemy is broken (+1 or +3 if enemy is broken and own army is not broken), and if the enemy was reduced to 25% in the last round of the game (+1).
• Special rule: this scenario will be an attempt to revamp the "Where the Wild Things Are" scenario. The three objectives that are not controlled at the start of the game will have 1-3 wild beasts occupying them (1 if a monster/hero not greater than 50 points, 2 if cavalry/wild beasts, 3 if infantry). These creatures could be (but not limited to) feral beasts like Wargs or Cave Trolls, primitive warriors like Goblins or Wild Men, or more ethereal creatures like Barrow Wights or Spectres.
• The player who brings the board may determine the equipment of the wild creatures on the map, without regard to bow limit and other related army constraints.
• Wild creatures are moved after the priority roll but before the player with priority moves (controlled by the player who lost priority).
• Wild creatures will not venture further than 6" from their lair (except to charge units that come within 12" of the lair), and will charge the nearest valid character (even if the model is owned by the player who is controlling the wild creatures).
• Any objective with at least one wild creature still alive at the end of the game does not award any points to either side. As a result, unlike past versions of "Where the Wild Things Are," there is no respawn for wild creatures in this scenario.
• Lords of Battle: All warbands/detachments are deployed within 18" of a corner. The game ends when one army is reduced to 25% of its starting force. Points are scored if the enemy army leader is killed (+2), for each wound/Fate point that are spent (+1 per; any Wound or Fate points remaining on a character when it is removed as a casualty are scored as well), if the enemy is broken (+1 or +3 if enemy is broken and own army is not broken), and if the enemy was reduced to 25% in the last round of the game (+1).
• Special rule: one hero (not each hero) who is involved in a combat where an enemy hero is slain regains a Might point previously spent in the battle. This Might point is not gained if the enemy hero is killed with archery or a magical damage spell (Sorcerous Blast, Black Dart, etc.).
• Hold Ground: All warbands/detachments roll to decide where they deploy (see the special rule). The game ends when one army is reduced to 25% of its starting force. Points are scored for each unit within 6" of the center of the center objective from the Domination game (+1/unit), if the enemy army leader is killed (+2), if the enemy is broken (+1 or +3 if enemy is broken and own army is not broken), and if the enemy was reduced to 25% in the last round of the game (+1).
• Special Rule: when rolling to deploy warbands, if the roll is a "1," all units walk onto the board edge on the first turn of the game. This roll may be improved by Might (or by Madril's special rule if it is not his own warband that rolled the 1). On a 2-3, deploy the warband/detachment within 6" of your starting board edge. On a 4-6, deploy within 12" of your starting board edge.
• The High Ground: armies roll to deploy within 6" (1-3) or 12" (4-6) of their board edge for each warband/detachment. The game ends when one army is reduced to 25% of its starting force. Points are scored for each unit in base contact with the center objective from the Domination game OR a different piece of terrain as specified by the creator of the game board and not exceeding a radius of 6" from the center of the terrain piece (+1/unit), killing the enemy army leader (+2 points), if the enemy is broken (+1 or +3 if enemy is broken and own army is not broken), and if the enemy was reduced to 25% in the last round of the game (+1).
• Special rule: During short spans in the game, mist covers the center of the map. On any turn where the roll for priority is tied, two rules are in effect: units that attempt to shoot models that are on the high ground (regardless of where they are on the map or how they are shooting) must pass an in-the-way roll on a 6 (King's Huntsmen pass on a 4+).
• To The Death: armies roll to deploy within 18" of their starting corner. The game ends when one army is reduced to 25% of its starting force. Points are scored if there is at least one friendly banner alive at the end of the game (+2), killing the enemy army leader (+2 points), if the enemy is broken (+1 or +3 if enemy is broken and own army is not broken), and if the enemy was reduced to 25% in the last round of the game (+1).
• Special rule: the center objective on the map is a seat of power. At the start of each Fight phase, determine how many units from each army are within 3" of the center of the objective: that army receives the benefit of a banner with a 6" radius from the center of the objective. The other army receives the benefit of a banner with a 3" radius from the center objective.

5) Thou Shalt Recognize Remarkable Achievements

Players may attempt to complete any of the following achievements during a game: upon completion, each will add 0.5 Battle Points. Each achievement may only be scored once per game and a max of three achievements can be scored in any game. Players will receive 2.5 Battle Points if all five are successfully scored over the course of the tournament:

Slayer of Foes: a hero kills at least 5 units, the sum of whose points is equal to or greater than his own.
Valiant Heart: any units in the army successfully pass three courage tests on the roll of a "natural 10+" (i.e. the sum of the two dice rolled for the courage test is 10 or more). These courage tests could be to charge models with terror, staying in combat after the army is broken, or because of a special rule (i.e. the Horn of Gondor rule).
Cowardly Scum: a hero fails a Courage test to remain on the field after his army is broken on the roll of "snake eyes" (sum of 2 on the dice).
Rotten Luck: a hero fails all his Fate points in a single round (minimum of 2 Fate rolls required).
Loved by the Valar: a hero successfully passes all of his Fate rolls (minimum of 2 Fate rolls required).

Tournament Director's Note: kudo points in previous tournaments were always based on subjectivity - is Gimli or Boromir performing something awesome by slaying three D6 warriors without paying any Might points or is that standard fair for such a mighty hero? The kudos for this tournament are designed to be hard to achieve (though not unrealistic) but quantifiable to remove some of this subjectivity. They are also thematic: the "slayer of foes" is the traditional "I can kill my points worth of units" deed, the Valiant Heart/Cowardly Scum rules reward very successful (or very unsuccessful) Courage rolls, and Rotten Luck/Loved by the Valar reward overwhelmingly awful/incredible Fate rolls made by models with more than 1 Fate point (needs to be hard to get, guys).

6) Thou Shalt Attempt To Keep Thy Oaths

For each game, after deployment, select 1 Oath not previously sworn and announce it to your opponent. If both players achieve their oath, each scores 1 Battle Point; if neither player achieves their oath, each scores 0 Battle Points; if only one player achieves his oath, that player scores 2 Battle Points.

Blood-sworn Enemy: Choose an enemy hero - he is your arch enemy and they must die before the end of the game
Future King: Your army leader must continue to lead his force at the end of the game, neither slain nor "heroically departed".
Chivalry in Battle: Your army leader must fight the enemy leader in close combat for at least one round and survive. Your army leader may not use the shielding rules in this effort.
Line in the Sand: Nominate a piece of terrain within 12" of your opponent's board edge (or place a marker if there is no suitable terrain). Your leader must end its move within 3" of it at least once during the game.
Battle Prowess: Your army leader must kill more models than your opponent's army leader.

7) Thou Shalt Not Take All Day

All games will have a maximum time cap of 90 minutes. Time will be displayed visually for all games and will only be stopped in the event of a "red flag" being thrown. A red flag will be thrown when two players cannot agree on a rule (line of sight, special rules for a unit, etc.), in which case all fights will stop and the other competitors will mediate what the proper ruling is. If a resolution is still not met due to an even number of players voting evenly on the issue, a dice will be cast by one of the competitors not playing in that particular game to determine what the rule is for that game. Should the time limit elapse without the victory conditions being met, the current round will be played and then the game will end. Any player found intentionally stalling the game to make time run out will be awarded a major loss as indicated in Rule 4 above. Between rounds there will be 15 minutes to finish the round, determine the standings, move to the next table, and answer "the call of the wild."

8) Thou Shalt Fight In Middle-Earth

Players who have built terrain for a particular themed board (Dwarf Hold, Shire market, etc.) are encouraged to bring their boards to be used in the tournament. All boards must include a piece of terrain in the center of the map to represent the Hold Ground (and High Ground, unless a different piece of terrain is used) objective and for other "objectives" of approximately 6" in diameter for the Domination game. Players should use their best judgment when building their maps to ensure that armies are able to maneuver the map within the time constraints (e.g. having too many walls, doors that must be battered down, difficult terrain, etc. can make a game more tedious than interesting). If more boards are supplied than are needed for the tournament, priority will be given to those posted first.

9) Thou Shalt Be Gentlemen

Players must be courteous to their opponents and play these games in the spirit of good fun. Should a player conduct himself in a manner which destroys the fun atmosphere of the tournament, a red flag will be thrown and depending on the severity of the infraction, the player may be issued a warning against future infraction, forfeit the game, or be dismissed from the tournament.

10) Thou Shalt Not Be Late



Players who are bringing terrain to the tournament must arrive by 9:15am to set up the tables and register their armies. All other players must arrive by 9:30am in order to get preliminary check-in requirements, set up their armies at their tables, and fellowship with other players. All armies need to have a sheet of paper that provides their complete army list (with profiles), along with necessary unit-count information (total units in the army, how many units are to be lost when the army is broken, and how many units must be lost to be reduced to 25%). The tournament will follow this schedule:

• 10:00am - 11:30am - ROUND 1 (Domination)
• 11:45am - 12:30pm - Lunch
• 12:30pm - 2:00pm - ROUND 2 (Lords of Battle)
• 2:00pm - 3:30pm - ROUND 3 (Hold Ground)
• 3:30pm - 4:30pm - Tournament Score Summary and Clean-Up

Looking forward to see the armies that participate!

Tiberius