TOURNAMENT PACK
Welcome to Lord of the Fading Suns, an un-official tournament for A Call to Arms: Noble Armada, the game of space combat in the Fading Suns universe. Even if you do not attend the tournament itself, you are welcome to use these rules as guidelines for your own tournaments at clubs and conventions.
Tournament Overview
Each entrant will compete in four games. After each game, you will record your results and inform the Tournament Co-ordinator before the next round of games is due to start. Your opponent in the first game of the tournament will be determined randomly. The three subsequent games will match players according to how well they did in their previous games, pairing off the two current highest scoring players with each other, then the next two highest scoring, and so on. However, you will never play the same opponent twice during the tournament.
Every game will be played on a 6’ by 4’ table with fixed stellar debris. Players must provide all other materials for their games. You must also bring along a copy of the A Call to Arms: Noble Armada rulebook, as well as rules updates that are relevant to your fleet. Rules updates from our web site may be printed out.
You Will Need
You must bring the following items with you on the day of the tournament.
• The A Call to Arms: Noble Armada Rule Book, Signs & Portents 91 & 92, Fleets of the fading suns preview.
• Miniatures to represent your fleet – these must be painted Noble Armada ships
• Two copies of your Fleet Roster
• This tournament pack
• Pen, paper and dice
• Tape Measure
Tournament Schedule
Start End Schedule
9:00 9:30 Entry, Registration and Shopping!
9:30 11:30 First Game
11:45 13:45 Second Game
13:45 14:15 Lunch, Regale people with game stories
14:15 16:15 Third Game
16:30 18:30 Fourth Game
18:30 19:00 Awards Ceremony, Shopping, Regale people with game stories
22:00 Doors Close
Winning and Losing
Throughout the tournament, you will earn points in various categories. The winner of the tournament will be the player with the most points overall. In the event of a tie, the player with the most Admiralship points will win.
Points will be earned as follows.
Admiralship
As you win more games throughout the tournament, you will gain Admiralship points, a reflection of your raw gaming ability. This will have the most effect on where you end up in the tournament rankings. Admiralship is scored as follows. The maximum possible score over the four games is 80 points.
Game Result Victor Vanquished
Draw 10 10
Win by less than 250 VPs 13 7
Win by 250 or more VPs 17 3
Fleet Annihilated and Win by 250 or more VPs 20 0
You will be warned ten minutes before a game must end and from this point you must finish the game with the current turn. Victory Points will be calculated from this point as normal.
The Gentleman’s Award
Things can get a little… tense during tournament games and it always pays to keep a cool head. To encourage this, players will rate each game according to how much they enjoyed it – after all, the whole point of the tournament is to have fun!
You will rate each play as Poor, Good, or Great. If you do not rate any game, it will be assumed it was a Good one. For every Good game rating you gain throughout the tournament, you will earn 2 points. Every Great game earns you 5. A poor game will earn you nothing but the added attention of the judges…
Please note that we will be keeping an eye on how players are marking each other throughout the tournament, so expect a judge to pull you to one side if you continually mark players either very well or very badly.
The maximum points available in this category is 20, though we expect every player to score at least 8. Remember, you are here to have fun!
Questions During Play
The whole point of the tournament is to play a few games, have fun and meet with other people who share a love of science fiction gaming. That said, even the most well mannered gamers can have a difference of opinion in what a rule actually means, especially when their fleet is at stake!
To avoid arguments, you are advised to consult the rulebooks during play. There is absolutely nothing wrong with politely asking your opponent to point out any given rule or statistic in order to make sure the game is being played according to the rules. If you can resolve any rules dispute between the two of you, both will enjoy the game a great deal more.
If you need to call a judge over to resolve a dispute, you are more than welcome. However, for good or ill, the judge’s decision if final. Arguing with a judge is a Bad Idea.
Tournament Fleets
Your fleet roster (of which you must bring two clear and legible copies) must list every ship within your fleet and any additional items or options that you have selected.
Your fleet must obey the following restrictions.
• Each fleet has a point’s limit of 1,250 points.
• You must have a painted miniature for every ship in your fleet.
• Players must choose fleets from the A Call to Arms: Noble Armada Rule Book, Signs & Portents 91 & 92, Fleets of the fading suns preview.
• All ships have a Crew Quality randomly generated at the start of each game. You do not retain Crew Quality scores between games. You may not ‘swap’ crews between any ships.
• You must use the same fleet list in all four games.
Scenarios
At the start of every game, you and your opponent should roll one dice between you. On the roll of a 1-3, you will play the Call to Arms scenario. On a 4-5, the scenario will be Space Superiority and on the roll of a 6, it will be Assassination. In Assassination, both players must select a ship as a target. Note that the target of an assassination is no longer a secret and is the owner’s choice if multiple ships are of the same point’s value.
Stellar Debris
Stellar Debris present on your table may not be moved. All asteroid fields are assumed to have a density of 8.
Judges
James Goodnight and James Kerr
