I've been asked by the TO of NICON (Doug) to review his player pack and let the 3++ community have a crack at it. So here's the player pack below in which I'll insert my comments in blue!
NICON 2012 Players pack 40K
Entry limits are as per the front page of the website. No link to website :(.
ARMIES
Lists
Armies are to be no larger than 1850 points. This means you may spend up to 1850 points or less, clearly specifying where points are spent, identifying any upgrades and the points paid for them.
Lists are sent to dosainsbury@gmail.com. Entry form and dollars go to the Registrar.
Lists are to be submitted in word format - maybe give an example attachment?
Lists must be in by 29th May
Be sure that the roster includes all of the models in your army, their points value, the points value of any equipment, and must specify which models are carrying the Wargear that you have purchased for them. Please make sure your list easy to read. In English and is plain.
Special Characters can be used – this overrules any Codex stipulation to gain opponent’s permission prior to the game – however you must meet all other restrictions and limitations and you cannot use them in any allied contingent.
Games will be played on standard 6’ x 4’ tables.
Armies must be painted and based. Undercoat is not acceptable. Armies are to be painted with a minimum of 3 colours. All miniatures must be WYSIWYG. Something on counts-as would be helpful.
All players are must provide a list of their army for their opponent at the beginning of each game.
All armies with a Codex published before 1st of May can be used. If you are unsure you can contact the umpire at dosainsbury@gmail.com Imperial armour units are NOT allowed
Armies are limited to one force organisation chart unless specifically allowed to use an alternative
You are encouraged to use converted Citadel miniatures to represent troop types not yet available. These must be explained to your opponent.
At the end of each game before the victory conditions are checked all unpainted models are removed from the board as casualties this may cause units to take leadership tests and fall back. I personally don't like this - painting should not impact on the actual game in any way. If the army isn't painted, they aren't eligible for prizes but at least the player isn't being slapped in the face on the tabletop.
SCORING
The following awards will be up for grabs. The number of medals that will be awarded depends on the size of each competition. Those details are on the front pages of the website
1. Overall winner (based on battle score only)
2. Second place overall (based on battle score only)
3. Third place overall (based on battle score only)
4. Best sporting player
5. Best Presented army
6. Best “Hobbyist” (based on 15% sports, 20% Paint, 20% Comp, 45% Battle Score) It has comp so ew ^^.
Mission packs will be sent out when missions are finalised. I will be play testing them thoroughly and will endeavour to make them fair for all armies. A date here would be really helpful, particularly if the missions are quite different from what the BRB uses. Personally, if the missions aren't ready, I wouldn't release the playpack as that is one of the major selling points for me to attend a tournament or not (alongside location, cost, points size and compless or not).
GAMEPLAY
The tournament is based on wins and losses.
Each mission will have a primary, secondary and tertiary objective. To win the game you need to win the primary objective, if this is a draw then the secondary mission determines the winner, if this is also a drawn then the tertiary mission determines the winner. If it is still drawn Victory Points are calculated to determine the winner. Good :).
Each secondary and tertiary objective that you win is added to your score as a tie break should multiple players finish on the same points. The secondary objectives count first, if it is still drawn then the tertiary objectives will determine the top seed.
e.g. Bob and Tim both finish on 3 Wins, Bob has won 2 secondary objectives and 1 tertiary. Tim has won 3 secondary objectives and no tertiary objectives. Tim places higher than Bob.
e.g. Charlie and Daniel both finish on No wins, No secondary objectives but Dan has claimed 4 tertiary objectives and Charlie has claimed 3. Dan places higher than Charlie.
(to determine % battle score for best “hobbyist” Primary objectives will be awarded 3pts, secondary 2pts and tertiary 1.)
Sportsmanship
Points will be awarded by players to each other at the end of each game on a ranking system of between 1 and 5. The scoring will be:
5: the game was great and you would love to play this person again; maybe not today but definitely at another tournament.
4: The usual fine game I expect to play; I’d be keen to play this person again. Rules issues were solved without any problems.
3: A couple of things didn’t quite gel. Rules problems were solved in a reasonable manner but I’m OK about playing this person again.
2: the game went ok but the opponent had a interesting playing style
("Rubber Ruler", dice etiquette etc).
1: I’d prefer not to play this person in the future. (Expect to be “chatted” about what why.)
A separate “Best Sporting Player” award will be given to the player based on a “1 vote” system taken at the end of the competition. In the event of a tie sportsmanship scores collected at the end of each game will be used to decide the tiebreaker, if it still a tie battle scores will be used as tie breaker.
Presentation / painting
Presentation
Overall army theme
Uniform paint scheme
Uniform themed bases
Unit markings/Commanders clearly represented
conversions
0 – 5 will be awarded for each category, however a max of 15pts can be scored. Total or for each individual score? Not making sense to me I'm afraid.
1. Army has consistent feel (e.g. similar colours, units have distinct variations but overall theme the same etc) 0 - 5 points
2. The painting on the models is detailed, all models inked/highlighted (e.g. painting is uniform and neat, details such as belts, buckles, pouches etc are completed discernible shading and highlights present, the highlighting/shading is neat and clean, some evidence of blending present etc) 0 - 5 points
3. All models based and flocked 0 - 5 points This is a huge variation for such a simple construct - 0 no. 1 yes. 2 yes and extra effort has been added.
4. Character/Centrepiece models are distinctive (extra effort has been made on the character or centerpiece models to make them distinctive) 0 - 5 points
5. Some models have been modified (e.g. clear conversion work to introduce variety – includes such areas as green stuff/plasticard modifications, head swaps, arm rotations etc) 0 - 5 points
“Best Presented Army” award will be given to the player with the most votes after the Beauty Pageant on Sunday.
COMPETITION FORMAT
Games are two and a half hours long. If you are in a match where your opponent is one of the nominated “rules adjudicators,” the match will last up to 2:45. what are these? Otherwise, very nice amount of time for games, particularly with six games involved.
The competition will be six rounds long, with three rounds played on the first day and three on the second day. A Swiss-chess system will be used.
Grudge matches will be allowed in the first round. If you wish to play a grudge match the umpire needs to be notified before the event starts, the player grudged must accept the challenge. In competitive events grudging isn't the best idea - it can give people advantages over others.
Scoring sheets will be individualised and at the conclusion of the game you will write on them (in order): Your score, your opponents score, the sports score you are awarding them.
Please note that each game is 2.5 hours long. If you are a slow player don’t take an army that will take you forever to play with. If you consistently finish later or over time you may suffer a negative modifier to your overall score, this will be at my discretion. If the game does not get to turn five I WILL make a decision as to the outcome (for example of a ork player is losing a game but it only gets to turn four and I can see that in turn five he will smash the puny guard it may be called a draw) YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. I'm hesitant to say whether I like this or not - on one hand sometimes games just take forever despite both players' effort. They shouldn't at a tournament level but sometimes they do. I'd rather have a system in place which punishes players who are deliberately slow playing. Ensure attendees know slow playing will be dealt with severely and anyone who thinks they are being slow-played needs to notify a judge ASAP so the judge can watch and ensure this is not happening. This aims to remove slow-players whilst not arbitrarily changing wins/draws/losses to something that may or may not have come about if the game went on.
TERRAIN
Players are invited to provide terrain for the competition. The present 40k umpire is a firm believer in good looking tables with high quality terrain that cover a range of battlefield situations.
Each player should inform the umpire when they enrol whether they are able to provide a complete table of attractive and coherently themed terrain (including an appropriately shaded base-cloth).
Players should also inform the umpire what that terrain would include, what “theme” it represents (i.e ruined city, desert, woodlands etc.), and any significant terrain features they would wish to include (i.e., ruined buildings, empty desert, river with bridges, wooded hills, etc.).
Depending on the number and range of options put forward, the umpire will confirm with players prior to the competition as to whether their terrain is needed or not. The umpire apologises in advance if terrain is offered, but not taken up – the idea is to generate a good range of variations / themes, and this may mean the exclusion of some options. Bonus points will be granted to all of those people who are either flying or who offer terrain, even if the offer of the use of the terrain is not accepted. Rather than bonus points, just buy them a beer.
Terrain will be placed on tables by those who provide it prior to the start of the competition. This setup may be meddled with by the umpire if the umpire sees fit. This should happen not may happen. Terrain composition may also be changed by the umpire during the course of the competition, but should otherwise remain as set for each battle. This again should happen rather than may happen (some exceptions obviously). Themed terrain is great but having a table of all ruins or all plateaus which BLoS isn't how 40k is meant to be played. There needs to be a mix of terrain types so no single army is advantaged on any single board.
Players should discuss the terrain prior to battle, agreeing to what the features represent
WHAT TO BRING TO THE EVENT
Tape Measure,
Dice, Template(s)
Your army,
At least two copies of your Army Roster with VP being used I recommend one for each game so people can scribble on the armies what died, what's half strength, etc.
Rulebook and your relevant codex and FAQ/errata
Pen and paper
Superglue (because accidents do happen) (ya Vince. don't sit on a bloody fold out table when my army is sitting on it.)
Deodorant (please wargamers are smelly people... well most)
A good attitude
PLEASE NOTE
If the number of participants is odd the TO will participate in the tournament so there will be no byes. Max points will be awarded to anyone who plays against the TO. Consistent max points is fine but I'd prefer a real gumby gets in there and plays so the final tournament results are more valid.
