The Reason Behind the Rhyme


Hello again! AdeptiCon is now less than six months away, and the excitement is building up both locally and globally. The emails, private messages and forum posts have been pouring in - all requesting details about this year’s Warhammer Fantasy events. How many points? Are you using a comp system? How many rounds in the Championships? What is the average airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow? Well, maybe not that last one, but you get the point. The anticipation is truly palpable, and Sigmar only knows how we will get through the next six months as waiting, painting and preparing for the three glorious days that is AdeptiCon!

With the impending launch of pre-registration less than a mere two weeks away, you will soon see what we have in store for this year’s Warhammer Fantasy events. Keep in mind that these rules will be subject to change through the 1st of February and we reserve the right to modify, update, clarify, or change event rules in the best interest of the event. The release of new army books and/or official FAQ documents in the months leading up to the event could also require changes to the event rules. Myself, Steve Leckman and Scott Tipsword (your humble Warhammer Fantasy event organizers) have given much thought and spent a great deal of time insuring that this year’s Warhammer Fantasy events go off without a hitch. We are 100% committed to providing you, the gamer, with the best tournament experience possible. So let’s get to it and cover some of the basics:

Special/Named characters and unit champions will not be allowed in any of the Warhammer Fantasy events this year. Our opinion is, and experience has shown, that these characters are not equally balanced between army books. It is our hope that as army books are updated we will see this balance restored, but for AdeptiCon 2011, they will be taking a backseat. The experienced player might recall we did in fact allow these characters and units in the Size Matters event last year. This was a point of some confusion and we ended up with a number of Championships lists that were built without the proper restrictions in mind. It is our hope that a common approach to army construction across all Warhammer Fantasy events will help alleviate this problem.

A crowd favorite from 2010, Dogs of War and Dwarfs of Chaos will be back in all their glory this year! As per the Games Workshop FAQs for Warhammer Fantasy 8th edition, Dogs of War will not be allowed in non-Dogs of War armies. For all you evil stunties out there, we will be allowing the Indy GT Dwarfs of Chaos list, as we feel it is the most complete and best supported army book for them.

The Warhammer Fantasy Championships have been the topic of choice for a majority of the questions we have received. While we had initially hoped to expand the Championships to a full five rounds this year, we have found that the average game length in a tournament setting (75 games played total at 2400 points) is still averaging over two hours. To that end, the Warhammer Fantasy Championships will remain a four (4) round event in 2011. The reason being, each point in a tournament setting is incredibly important. The 8th edition victory conditions make it possible for the tide of the battle to drastically change from turn to turn, therefore players want to finish games by their own accord and not have it dictated by the clock. To that end, the Warhammer Fantasy Championships will also be a 2200 point event this year. Why 2200 points you ask? Again, the answer is time. It has nothing to do with comp and everything to do with starting and finishing each game on time. Not only does this foster better game results, but it also allows you to enjoy those precious breaks between games. Finishing games on time gives you the chance to step away from the table, relax and take in all the other awesome things happening at the convention instead of rushing to find your next table assignment. After all, there is more to AdeptiCon than just Warhammer Fantasy! Isn’t there?

We will continue to provide more information to you as we finalize the event rules. We are more than happy to provide you with our reasoning behind any and all decisions. If you have any questions, comments or concerns regarding any decision or change that we have made to the Warhammer Fantasy events for this year, we want to hear it! This is your convention and your input is very important to us.

More to come soon! May Sigmar protect you, and may Gork (or possibly Mork) watch over your dice!

- Alex Gonzalez, WFB Coordinator

11 comments:

  1. I'm really glad that it isn't going to be a 5 round tourney this year. I was actualy thinking about not attending cause that is wwwaaayyy to long to be on my feet. But I'm glad to hear the 2200 points AND no frekin special characters. Glory be to almighty Ursun for he guides us with his claws!

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  2. Great to see you guys are making some big changes. I think it will help to be more successful as your number of attendees continues to boom. I am really looking forward to the new 40k championship - that is very exciting and something new for you guys. Adepticon is a very expensive event to attend but still well worth it.

    Now for a question - I would love to see you abbreviate your 40k FAQ. Its got good stuff but it's also got more pages than the rulebook. If you could parse it down to say 25-30 pages I think that would be awesome and a great help again as your number of attendees continues to boom.

    G

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  3. BBF - Thanks. To be honest we have made big changes every year. They are not always apparent, as the convention is a logistical beast and requires constant adaptation. This year sees more visible changes to the attendee - in particular the scoring and structure of the 40K Championships. Glad to hear you are excited about. Looking forward to seeing you in the Top 16!

    Not sure why you consider AdeptiCon a 'very expensive event'. For example, Bolter Beach will run someone $75 for 3 days of 40K. AdeptiCon runs you somewhere between $75-$100 for 3 guaranteed days of 40K, plus you get the swag bag which offsets that cost (last year there was easily over $90 worth of stuff in there). Maybe you are speaking to travel and hotel costs...but that is going to happen at any event, and the Westin at $109 a night is a steal.

    AdeptiCon is also much more than a couple of 40K events - it is the full convention experience. The vendor hall, special guests, massive prize support, demos, additional events and everything else is all stuff you have to factor into the cost of the weekend.

    On the INAT - your dislike of the document is noted, although I think you misunderstand the intention of the INAT at AdeptiCon. It isn't meant to be a first-response document that you are required to memorize. It a pre-published list of calls that will be used if/when the players cannot come to an amicable agreement. An absolute last-response document. To quote:

    The INAT FAQ is intended to ensure that all judges at a tournament are ruling the same way, not to force individual players to play their game in a way they do not enjoy. As long as both players agree on how to play their game, the rulings in the INAT FAQ should not be used. Only in the case of a dispute between two players is the INAT FAQ intended for use.

    Please remember that miniature gaming is meant to be fun. FAQs are not a replacement for common sense and good sportsmanship. Players are always expected to calmly attempt to resolve differences in opinion before consulting with a tournament judge (and therefore referencing the INAT FAQ).


    This is the core principle regarding the use of the INAT at AdeptiCon. It acts only as an arbiter when all other avenues of resolution have been exhausted.

    Our attendance numbers will be in a bit of a holding pattern for 2011. We are at the physical and theoretical maximum space in regards to 40K events and any growth we see will come from other game systems/events. So no booming this year - that has all come in the past.

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  4. Also note - the INAT is not an AdeptiCon publication. While we use it, and some staff members contribute to it, it is now a completely separate entity and requests about specific rulings, the document and its structure should be directed to: INATFAQ@dakkadakka.com.

    P.S. Sorry Fantasy people!

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  5. Thanks for the feedback Matthias. For me Adepticon has been expensive mainly because of building two new armies each to attend plus I end up spending lots of money partying there. That is not something I view as a negative so I didn't mean that as a knock. It's worth for me to have the total experience that comes in playing in three big events. I appreciate your comments regarding the FAQ and I can see why it makes sense for the staff with such a large player base. I have always been kind of a sticky on the rules in general so it's just something that sticks out to me. It's not that big a deal and has never been a problem. Maybe though if there was an abbreviated version then other large events would have more of an incentive to use it. The way things are looking Indy events are the way of the future so I think that could be a good thing for everybody. That's just my opinion.

    : )

    G

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  6. Fantasy question - what're you going to do about all the (interesting) new terrain rules? I assume it'll be fixed terrain on the table (so on rolling & repositioning), but are you going to use mysterious forests & rivers, non-normal hills, and some of the new structures?

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  7. Hi

    I just took a look at the Fantasy Team Tournament rules and here are my comments and/or questions:

    What I like:
    Thumbs up to the painting checklist.
    Thumbs up to the Battle Point Model (assuming the primers will detail the various bonuses).
    Thumbs up to sportsmanship.

    What I am indifferent to:
    No Special Characters.
    Different Contingents.

    What I am confused about:
    The theme and composition points: are you going to publish the checklist portion? If not, it might as well all be subjective because you don't publish the scoring breakdown anyway.

    For example - is an adversaries path to theme an option? It isn't for the 40K Team Tournament (which is really too bad because it greatly reduces creativity for many teams {we had to scrap out initial theme for 2011} and flexibility for teams with limited resources) so it would be good to know if we should be looking at building a completely good or evil army.

    Issues where I would appreciate further explainationa:
    1. Can you explain the rationale behind no lord choices? This is 8th edition after all and lords are a reality at all points levels.

    IF the no lords rule is firm, then I believe you need to consider the implication that this decision has on several armies in the game. Undead, which in my view are very character intensive/dependant, are effectively non-options due to a 250 point limit (25% heroes) in characters. Conversely, armies that have stellar troops become much more dangerous. The decision massively affects the balance of power across the game

    I would propose the if the No Lords rule is firm, then you should probably increase the percentage of points that are available to be spent on heroes to compensate.

    2. The points level chosen per team. I understand that 1000 points is your traditional points limit, but the move to percentages makes this choice more important than in the past. By chosing 1000 points, you draw an odd line for what rare choices are available to players. Hell pit abominations, hydras, varghulfs are units that can be taken. Treemen and Steamtanks are out. This hardly seems fair.

    I would suggest that you move the points value up to 1200 points per player. This would mean that all rare choices are available to all armies. Given how fast the game plays now, time should not be an issue for most games.

    Cheers,
    Nate Stevens

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  8. I'll let the WFB guys chime in about the those events, but just as a side note: there is nothing in the Warhammer 40K Team Tournament rules that prohibit misaligned armies. You can field Chaos and Imperials in the same Team if you wish.

    The Team Tournament is meant to reside within the supported background of the 40,000 universe, not be just another competition.

    The only penalties you incur in a Hybrid Team are the limitations on Special Characters and the risk of losing 25 points from the Overall Team Theme section. All the other Theme points have been specifically designed to deal purely with the execution and depth of an idea (no matter how crazy), not strict allegiances or fluff.

    Plenty of options left wide open for Hybrid Teams including their own award category.

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  9. To answer the questions regarding the terrain rules, all terrain will be fixed. All hills will be normal hills, buildings will be normal buildings, all forests are considered mysterious, and other pieces of terrain will be ruled on based on what we have for each terrain set.

    To answer Mr. Stevens' questions:
    The different contingents bonus is for using two different army books, regardless of the army books. You just need to abide by the rules for allies in the main rulebook. We are working on a theme/comp checklist for the tournament, we will post it when we are done. The rationale behind no lord choices is to help steer the Team Tournament back towards a more friendly environment and much less cutthroat and WAAC. We do understand the implications with certain armies, and its not that we are not understanding of concerns for those armies, but we cannot apply rules to one army and not enforce it across others. We have always done 1000 points per contingent, and at this point, we will be continuing to do so. If after this year we decide to change it, we will. Does it allow some big Rare choices and disallow others? Yes, but if we were to move it up to your suggested level, two Skaven players could field 4 Doomwheels, which hardly seems fair based on that army book. Its all subjective, regardless of your standpoint. I played two team practice games myself today, and I must admit it plays just fine. Game length is still about the same time in a tournament setting, given the need and opportunity for players to score every point possible.

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  10. Hi

    @ Matthias - I know that a 40K team can go in any direction they want, but a potential 25 point hit for not falling into Imperial/Chaos/Mono-Xenos is a big deal if you are looking to repeat as Overall Champions (which we are). I totally agree that the team event should reside within the 40K Universe, I just wish there was a little more flexibility within the hybrid catagory to delve into some obscure part of fluff - and I mean actual 40K cannon, not something I made up that could fit. This would allow for some really awesome moments in the fluff to be brought to light.

    @ Alex - I don't think I was clear on the different contingent point - indifferent means I am fine with it there, but I would also be fine with it if it wasn't there. The same is true with special characters. These rules makes no difference to my enjoyment of the event.

    Fair enough I support regarding your other formatting decisions - it is your event afterall. I just thought I would share my initial reactions to the rules. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts behind them. Dialogue is good.

    My only counter-point to your assertion that I implied that undead should get an exception to character limit would be that I would apply a shift in hero allowance to all armies, and not just to a few. Now I am not say that you should simply change it to 50% heroes (25% lord + 25% heroes = 50% charcacters in a normal game) as that would definitely go against your desire to produce a more friendly environment (which is definitely a valid goal). However, an increase for everyone to 35% or 40% would greatly improve the viability of the undead (truly need the magic) and ogres (can only fit the single mandatory Bruiser in at the current limit) in particular. I see at least 3/15 armies that are critically impaired by this decision which is a high percentage in my subjective opinion.

    Finally, can you drop a hint as to whether an adversaries themed force is just as viable thematically as an allied one? My partner and I want to start planning.

    Thanks,
    Nate

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  11. Theme is what you make it in this game. Traitor Empire turning to Chaos, enslaved Dwarfs working for Dark Elves, Dark Elves & High Elves fighting Demons for survival before going back to killing each other. If you have a good story behind it, do it.
    -Alex

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