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Liber Arbites

Tournament Organizer’s Handbook

For the

Warhammer 40,000 CCG

2001,2002 Sabertooth Games

 Introduction
Welcome, Arbitrator. You have chosen to join the esteemed ranks of the Adeptus
Arbites. This handbook will give you the tools you need to run successful Warhammer
40,000 CCG events. It also outlines your rights and responsibilities in the Astronomican.

Qualifications

To become an Arbitrator, you must meet the following requirements:

q You must attain rank 4 or higher in the Astronomican

q You must be at least 16 years old
q You must fill out the application form

You should receive word from us within 3-5 business days on the status of your
application. Once you are accepted, your Astronomican account will be upgraded with
the ability to plan and report tournaments.

To maintain your status, all you have to do is plan one or more events every 3 months. If
3 months lapse and you haven’t planned an event, you must re-apply using the process
above.

Privileges

As an Arbitrator, you get the ability to plan and run tournaments, then report them. Your
players get 10 points for each game they play in the tourney, so there is a big reason for
them to attend your events. You can even play in your own tournaments using the three-
judge system outlined below to earn points yourself!

No privilege is without responsibility, however. Each player in your tournaments will get
the opportunity to give feedback on your performance. A high feedback rating will bring
you praise and esteem, but let your rating drop low enough and you may find yourself
locked deep within Oberon’s Penitorium!

Responsibilities

Being an Arbitrator is a responsibility not to be undertaken lightly. If you abuse this

system, not only will your account be banned, but you may make things harder for the
rest of the Arbitrators. Bottom line: be a good cop!

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 Planning Tournaments
The Astronomican allows Arbitrators to post future tournaments on the website. Players
can click “tournament locator” to see a list of upcoming events in their area. Players also
have the option of receiving an email whenever a tournament is scheduled in their area.

You must plan your tournaments at least 14 days in advance. You may not schedule
more than two tournaments to occur in a single 24- hour day.

Scheduling a Tournament

After logging on, click “plan tournament.” You will then need to enter the tournament
information:

q Tournament name
q Start date (must be at least 14 days later)
q Start time
q End date (not required)
q End time (not required)
q Address
q Phone number (not required)
q General Information (Entry fee, prizes, house rules, etc.)

Click “save” and the tournament is entered into the database, and any players that have
chosen to be notified will be sent an email.

Reporting Tournaments
These games are worth 10 points each, by far the fastest way of earning points. To report
a tournament, there must be at least 6 players.

The tournament reporting system assumes that you have already run the tournament and
have all of the results. It does not currently provide round pairings or instructions on how
to run the tournament itself.

You should report the tournament results within 72 hours of the tournament’s
completion. If you will be unable to comply with this, you should add this to your
tournament’s description.

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To report the results of a tournament, log on to the Astronomican. Click the
“Tournament Results” link. Then click on the tournament you wish to report. You will
then be asked for the following information:

q Date of tournament (stores may report tournaments that are up to 14 days old)
q Number of players (you must have at least 6 players for the tournament)
q Number of standard rounds
q Number of final rounds (i.e. “top 8” single elimination rounds. These are
optional)

This system mainly supports “Swiss” style tournaments, as these have proven to be the
most popular with the players. You can also run any style of tournament that has rounds,
such as single- or double-elimination.

After entering the basic tournament info, click “next” and enter the player information.
This includes:

q Player’s username
q Player’s faction

Once the player list is entered, click “next.” This will bring you to a player’s page to
enter that player’s results for each round as follows:

q Opponent (this is a drop down menu, so you won’t have to type a player’s
username over and over)
q Round results (Win, lose or bye)

Once you have entered the results for each round, click “save” and move on to the next
player. Once all the players have been entered, the tournament results are saved

Unregistered Players

Sometimes, players who have not yet registered will want to earn points for tournament
games. This is most likely when they first buy the product. When you report a new
player’s game, just use that player’s email address for their username, and the player will
receive the points. They do not need to re-register; they only need to confirm their email
address.

Number of Rounds

The number of rounds in your tournament will generally depend on how many players
you have in attendance. Here are some guidelines:

6-15 4 rounds
16-32 5 rounds
33-64 6 rounds
65-128 7 rounds

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Time Limits

Each round should have some sort of time limit, to ensure that the tourney takes a
reasonable amount of time. 45 minutes is the suggested time limit. Once the time limit
has ended, call time and allow the players to complete the current battle action. After that
BA, the player with the most victory points is considered the winner. If neither player
has any victory points, record the game as a loss for both pla yers. When you report the
tournament online, report the game as a bye for both players.

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Running Tournaments
Of course, planning and reporting tournaments are the easy parts. The hard part is
actually running events.

Choosing a format

You can use any format you wish, such as single elimination or round robin, but this
document assumes you are using the Swiss format. If you intend to use a different
format, you must include details of your format when you post the tournament on the
website.

Swiss Format

In a Swiss style tournament, decide on a number of rounds, and after that number, the
player with the best win/loss record wins the tournament. The first round is paired
randomly, while in subsequent rounds, players generally play opponents with the same
win/loss record. This way, the more you win, the tougher the competition gets. If you
like, you can use the Swiss tournament tree form at the end of this handbook as a pairing
guide.

To determine a player’s standings in the tournament (like 1st , 2nd or 3rd place), use that
player’s win/loss record. If two players have the same record, use victory point totals to
break ties. After each game, each player earns victory points equal to the victory point
total of the sectors they won during the game. Players earn victory points whether they
win or lose.

If you have enough players (generally 32 or more), you might decide to end the tourney
in final rounds. You do this by taking the top 8 players after the last round of Swiss, then
running a single elimination tourney with those players to determine the overall winner.

Byes

If you have an odd number of players in your tournament, one player each round will not
have an opponent. That player gets a bye for that round. Byes count as a win towards a
player’s win/loss record, but are reported as byes one the website. Also, that player gets
40 victory points added to their total. Generally, you should give the bye to the lowest
ranking player, but you should avoid giving the same player more than one bye in a
single tournament.

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 Tournament Floor Rules
The 3-Judge Rule

This rule allows Arbitrators to play in their own tournaments. It is recommended for
tournaments with 6-24 players, as anything larger is enough work on its own.

To play in your own tournament using the 3-judge rule, nominate 2 players in the
tournament to be Assistant Arbitrators for that tournament. Their only job is to make
rules judgments in games that your are playing. You should make all other rules
judgments. The reason you need two assistant arbitrators is in case you end up playing
against one of them, and you need a judgment. In that case, the assistant not involved in
that game makes the call.

Cheating

In the Warhammer 40,000 universe, cheaters would be purified by pain. Fortunately (or
maybe unfortunately) our world is a little more forgiving. When you suspect cheating, it
is important to get as much information about the situation as possible before making a
ruling. Keep in mind 2 things: the tournament will generally grind to a halt while you
decide what to do (so don’t spend too much time deliberating), and that one or more of
the players involved may try to skew the story in their favor. Cheating is rarely a cut-
and-dried case. When you have resolved that some form of cheating has occurred, you
have four options:

q Issue a warning. Tell the player what they did wrong, and let them know that if
they do that again, they will receive a game loss. If they commit the infraction a
third time, they will be ejected from the tournament. Warnings are mostly issued
when the cheating was probably accidental, like discarding your hand and
forgetting to check for events. They can also be used for unsportsman- like
conduct.
q Issue a battle loss. The battle ends and the other player takes the sector. This
option is used when the cheating could be accidental, but gave the player a big
advantage that cannot be undone. An example would be at the end of a battle
where one player had rallied a unit several times, destroying several enemy units,
forgetting that rallying wasn’t permitted in the sector.
q Issue a game loss. The game ends, and a win is recorded for the other player.
This is a serious penalty, and should be used with care. This is used when the
cheating could be accidental, but gave the player one or more sectors. For
instance, if a player forgets to check for events at one sector and takes it, then
takes another sector by illegally rallying some units (at a sector that doesn’t allow
rallying), he or she should get a game loss.
q Eject the player from the tournament. This is the highest form of punishment,
and should only be used in rare cases. If a player is deliberately cheating, then he
or she should be ejected from the tournament. Report these cases to
chaosbane@sabertoothga mes.com, including the offending player’s user id and a
brief outline of the circumstances around the ejection.

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Common Forms of Cheating

Dice Weaving. This is the practice of having all of the high dice in a deck oriented a
different way than the rest of the cards. For instance, all the 5’s and 6’s in my deck are
positioned so the eagle on the back is upside-down compared to the rest of the cards.
When I’m deciding what action to take, and that action requires a roll, I can look at the
top of my deck to see of a 5 or 6 is on top. The penalty for this is ejection from the
tournament, as this is a blatant and deliberate attempt to cheat.

Magic Infiltration. This happens when a player sets up his or her army and
“accidentally” includes one or more cards from an adjacent sector. The penalty for this
depends on when it is caught. If it is caught before the cards in question are used or
destroyed, then issue a warning and have the player move the units back to their original
sector. If it is caught at the end of a battle, or after the cards have been used or destroyed,
then issue a battle loss.

Failure to Resolve Events. Events are somewhat rare, so players can get into the habit
of not looking for them at the end of a battle. They might discard one or more of them
when they discard their command hands at the end of a battle, forgetting to check for
them. The penalty for this infraction is a battle loss.

Forged Rank Card. If the information on a player’s rank card is found to be falsified in
any way, the player should be ejected from the tournament, and reported.

Unsportsmanlike Conduct. This includes, but is not limited to: Use of profanity,
intimidation, insulting or berating one’s opponent, use of ethnic slurs, disrupting
behavior, or violent behavior. The standard penalty for this is a warning, but in extreme
circumstances (like use of violence) ejection may be necessary.

Stalling. This is a deliberate attempt to take advantage of the round time limits.
Typically, one player will take a sector, then drag the game out as long as possible in an
attempt to win at the end of the round by having more victory points. This is a very hard
infraction to spot, as many players play very cautiously. If you are not sure if a player is
stalling, issue a warning. If you determine a player is deliberately stalling, issue a game
loss.

Minor Infractions

Players are encouraged to resolve these without your intervention, using common
sportsmanship. If a player calls you over because of a minor infraction, you should
generally issue a warning. Minor infractions include:

q Forgetting to lock a unit when shooting or assaulting

q Forgetting to discard a command card after using it
q Not drawing a command hand
q Unnecessary shuffling
q Looking at face-down cards at a sector

It should be noted that this is not a definitive list. Any attempt to gain an advantage by
breaking the rules is cheating. In the end, you must use your own judgment.
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Deck Rules

Unless you specify otherwise in your tournament description, the rules for tournament
decks are as follows:

Each deck must contain a minimum of 60 cards (NOT including the fleet card or the
sector cards) and cannot contain more than 4 copies of any one card. This means that if I
include a Miller’s Bodyguard card in my deck, I can have no more than 4 total Miller’s
Bodyguards in the deck. Also, all cards must belong to the player’s chosen race, or be
generic cards. Generic cards are cards with no race icon on the lower left side of the
card.

During a tournament, players may not add or delete cards from their deck, or change their
deck composition in any way.

If a card somehow becomes marked, issue a proxy by taking a common card and writing
the marked card’s name on it with a felt tip pen. Also, mark the proxy card’s command
line with an “X” so that it does not get inadvertently used during play. The player keeps
the marked card out to refer to it during play. Note that cards can also become marked
through common wear and tear, and should be dealt with in the same way.

Some players prefer to use card sleeves to protect their cards during play. The only thing
you need to look out for are marked cards. If a player has marked sleeves (with small
creases, smudges, etc.) tell the player to replace the marked sleeve with an unmarked one,
or de-sleeve the entire deck.

If the sleeve includes any manufacturer markings on it, the cards should be inserted into
the sleeves in such a way as to position the marking on the same part of every card in the
deck. It is recommended that manufacturer markings should be on the card backs instead
of the card fronts, so they do not obscure critical parts of the card, like the die number.

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 Appendix 1: Current Card Errata
The following cards have been errata’d to read as follows:

Boss Zagstruk : His second ability should be a reaction (i.e. prefaced with an “R:”)

Chaos Obliterators : Its ability should read: “T: This unit gets +d6 firepower. If you roll
a 6 while using this ability, and this unit is shooting, rally this unit.”

Chaos Thunderhawk : This card’s command line is missing the last sentence. It should
read: “BA: Infiltrate one of your face up units from another sector. Your enemy may do
the same. If they do, lock one enemy unit."

Chaplain Darmus : The first ability should read: “BA Lock, (2+): Charge 2 of your ready
assault units.

Plague Marines: The command line should read: “After you destroy an enemy unit by
shooting or assaulting, take another BA.” Also, the artist that did this piece was Michael
Phillippi.

Rangers : The second ability should read: “T (6+): This unit gets +4 firepower. If this unit
is shooting, Rally this unit. Once per BA.”

SGT Ragnar’s Squad: The command line should read: “BA Lock one of your troop
capacity units, (3+): Rally all of your infantry units.”

Sneaky Gits : This unit should not have the “Line” keyword. It is therefore not a legal
target for its own ability.

Tzeentch Pink Horrors : Their "+d6 firepower" ability should have the "Once per BA"
restriction.

Vampire Raider: The command line should read: “R (5+): After a charging unit is
destroyed, charge one of your assault units.”

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 Appendix 2: Using the tournament tracking sheets
The following two sheets are provided to assist you in running tournaments, and record
the results in a convenient manner for reporting.

The Sign-up Sheet

Use this form to record the user id’s and races of your players, as well as the results of
each round. Since the results line is too small to write the opponent’s user id in, just use
the opponent’s number, which is just to the left of their name.

Example: Captain Miller just played his first round against Lukeout and won. The
Arbitrator enters the results as follows:

Round 1
# User ID Race Opp. Res. VP’s
1 Captain Miller CH 2 W 43
2 Lukeout OR 1 L 11

Keeping track of victory points is a useful way of breaking ties. If two players are tied
for 1st place, add those player’s victory point totals up. The player with the higher victory
point total is the winner. If you use this method, remember to award 40 VP’s to any
player that gets a bye.

When you are done with the tournament, you will have all the results, in the order they
are asked for on the site.

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The Swiss Pairing Tree

This is a tool to help you pair players with the same record in each round. At the
beginning of the tourney, write all the player numbers in the top (Level 1) box. Pair them
using any random method you wish. Record pairings by circling each number and
drawing a line between paired players. As results get reported to you, write the winner’s
number in the level under and to the right of the round 1 box, and the loser’s number
below and to the left. In subsequent rounds, only pair players that are in the same box. If
there are an uneven number of players in a level, pair the odd player with a player from a
higher level. If you have an uneven number of players, then one player each round gets a
bye. A bye is counted just like a win, so that player’s number goes to the level underneath
and to the right of their current level. It is important that no player receives more than 1
bye per tournament.

When pairing, try to be random, but you should also avoid pairing the same players more
than once in the tournament. The tree is not a hard-and fast- rule, it is meant to help you
pair your rounds.

Example: The first round has just been completed. The tree looks like this:

Level 1
1 4 7
2 5 8
3 6

Level 2 Level 3
5 2 1 6
3 8 4 7

Winners always go right, loser goes left.

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