Conquest 2014 Bolt Action Player Pack

"The Field Of Dreams"

LRDG Bolt ActionTournament 

·      Date for list submission 5th April 2014

·      19th-20th April at Melbourne High School, Forest Hill, South Yarra, Victoria, 3141

·      All current army books may be used. This means that the main rule book lists and outdated PDF lists may not be used.

·      Conquest Bolt Action will be 5 rounds

·      Cost of entry will be $50 paid to Conquest.

·      The main TO will be Brad Morin, with some admin also being done by the LRDG crew.

·      Conquest is a large gaming convention that covers everything from LARPing to war gaming. Though catering is not provided there are many food outlets nearby. Melbourne High School is also very close to public transport (train, tram and bus) in a central location near to the CBD.

Sponsors:

We at the LRDG, would like to thank our major sponsors for this event. Ian from War and Peace Games has once again generously provided prize support this tournament.  As the Australian distributor of Warlord games products they have a great selection of product AND have a super friendly and helpful staff that love to "talk shop."  Give em a call or check them out online:

02 4353 4043 

http://www.warandpeacegames.com.au

We would also like to express our thanks to Warlord games for writing such a great game system (Bolt Action) and for also providing great prize support for our first event.  Thanks guys!!!

http://www.warlordgames.com

Timetable:

Saturday
Sign-in	8:30
Game 1	9:00-11:30
Lunch	11:30-12:15
Game 2	12:15-2:45
Game 3	3:15-5:45

Sunday
Sign in	10:00
Game 1	10:30-1:00
Lunch	1:00-:1:45
Game 2	1:45-4:15
Awards	4:45-5:15

You will need:

·               Warlord order dice

·               3 objective markers between 30mm and 50mm in diameter

·               Tape measure

·               Rulebook and relevant army book

·               FAQ for Bolt Action

·               Pin markers

·               Pen and paper

·               5 Print outs of your army list

·               Dice bag

Venue:

Conquest gaming convention, Melbourne High School, Forest Hill, South Yarra, 3141.

Forces:

Players must use a 1,000 requisition point force, consisting of one or more generic Reinforced Platoons, as presented in the Bolt Action rulebook (page 124). These forces must be selected using one of the ‘Armies of’ books or official PDFs. See Composition section below.

NOTE: Players should use only the generic reinforced platoons, not theatre selectors.

Army Lists:

The players must write down the army list they are going to use for the duration of the entire tournament. Each player must submit a copy of their list to the Tournament Organiser Brad Morin via whatisabattle@gmail.com by 5th April 2014 midnight. The army list is public and the opponent can always look at it and ask you questions about your force. The same list must be used for all games. See Composition section below.

Special characters will NOT be used.

Games:

Players are given 2 hours and 30 minutes in which to complete their games. There is a break of at least 15 minutes between games to allow the TOs to enter scores and prepare for the next round.

The first round will be a random draw. If you are drawn with a regular gaming partner speak to the TO who will try to match you up with another player. An effort will be made to match Axis against Allies in the first round. Games 2-3 will be run using a "Swiss Chess" system; you will never play the same opponent twice. In the first round players may choose to grudge another player. If the player accepts the grudge then both players will be matched in the first round.

Before each game you should exchange names and army lists with your opponent. You should also provide an opportunity for your opponent to ask about any of the special rules for your army. After this has been done take discuss the terrain on the table to confirm how each piece will be played.

Play the game in good spirit, and do not stall for time. Any person deemed stalling for time to avoid a loss or cement a win will be penalised heavily. Games must be finished on or before the two and a half hour deadline; warnings will be given for 30 minutes, 15 minutes and 5 minutes. If necessary, you may have to calculate victory conditions / victory points from the end of an earlier turn than the one prescribed to end the game, but you cannot run overtime. Please play briskly and remind your opponent if they are taking too long. This is to ensure that we can enter all results and determine the next round so that we do not fall behind schedule. If a player is consistently failing to finish games they will be deducted 3 points for each game that they did not finish, this will be enforced consistently. We strongly encourage players to take lists that they can finish games with. If you are concerned that you may not be able to finish games please consider taking a list with a moderate number of order dice or models.

Rules Disputes:

All rules disputes should be resolved in one of three ways. Either look in the appropriate rulebook, roll a D6 for it, or ask a TO. The TO will either show you the relevant passage in the appropriate rulebook, or ask you to roll a D6 for it. Just because you disagree on a rule does not mean your opponent is a bad sport. It is in the way they handle the dispute, and accepts if they are wrong, that you can see their bulging sportsmanship. Many people have different interpretations or house rules that are not used at tournaments, and these will be resolved as stated above. The TO's word is final, and arguing after a decision has been made may incur penalties.

Scoring:

Conquest Bolt Action will use a system of scoring that you may not have encountered in other BA events.

Parts of the tournament will be run as peer based scoring - score sheets will be provided and must be filled out after each battle. Breakdown of scores will be 100 points for battle, 20 for painting, 25 for sportsmanship and 30 for army composition and, for a total of 175). You should ideally be getting full sports and painting marks.

The player with the most points (battle, paint, sport, theme and comp combined) at the end of the tournament is the winner!

Victory points:

Each game there will be a possible 20 victory points. Up to 15 victory points are scored based on winning or losing the game:

Major Victory:	15
Minor Victory:	10
Draw:	6
Minor Loss:	5
Major Loss:	0

There are 5 more ‘BONUS’ battle points up for grabs in each scenario. These are:

• War of attrition. This victory point is gained by killing more points than your opponent (NOTE: not number of units, but total points of vanquished foes).
• Control the lines of supply. At the end of the game there are no enemy units in your deployment zone (all units are valid excluding transports).
• Bite and hold. You have a unit (not a transport) in your enemy’s deployment area.
• First over the top. You kill your enemy’s designated command unit (NOTE: if there are two command models of equal rank – the opposing player has two 1^st Lieutenants that are veteran for example – the opponent should allocate a ‘commander’ of their force if this is not done by the player at the start of the game the first one killed is the commander)
• Lead from the rear. Your designated command model is still alive at the end of the game.

Painting: 

Armies that are completely painted will be awarded 20 bonus points at the start of the tournament. If the army has any unpainted models in it, it will receive 0 points. This is effectively a Yes or No question - there are no partial rewards. Models must be painted to a basic standard, displaying at least 3 different colours, and the bases must be completed with appropriate material.

After the first game players should set up their armies on the table they're on for judging in the Players' Choice painting competition. After the lunch break each player votes for their first, second and third favourite armies. Unlike the bonus points mentioned above, this vote has no bearing on the overall result of the tournament, but will be used to select the winner of the Best Army prize at the end of the tournament.

Models: 

Models to be used in the tournament must visibly represent what they're meant to be .This doesn't mean you have to use the exact existing Warlord miniatures for a given unit, but opponents should not be confused as to what is what and the models should be WWII. If you have any queries about whether something would be acceptable, feel free to contact us.

Infantry should be between 25/28mm and vehicles can range from 1/56 – 1/48 in scale.

Sportsmanship: 

At the end of each game, you will be required to complete a questionnaire about your opponent. The 5 questions are listed below, and each will be worth one point (so 5 Sportsmanship points are available per round and 15 total for the tournament). Questions will be answered with a simple YES or NO:

1)   My opponent remained friendly throughout the game.

2)   My opponent had a clear army list and answered any questions that I had about their army clearly.

3)   My opponent and I sorted out rules questions amicably.

4)   My opponent played fast enough, but did not rush me.

5)   My opponent's movement, line of sight decisions and dice rolls were all clear and were not rushed, obscured or otherwise ‘dodgy’.

After the last game of the tournament, players will be asked to nominate 3 opponents for the Best Sportsman award (ranked in descending order). These marks will have no bearing on the overall winner; they are only used to select the winner of the Best Sportsman award.

Composition:

We expect all players to be of the maturity and calibre of gamer that they know what is acceptable and what is not. We, the judges, like armies that have a good solid troops core, as well as a great theme that is within the BA ethos. We also acknowledge that with such a young game people may still be experiment or try out new list options. Don’t hesitate to contact the TOs regarding your list if you have any questions before submission.

A panel of judges will give your army list a score out of 30, to reflect how powerful it is. The more powerful, the lower the score. This is to ensure that no matter how hard or soft your army is, you will have a chance of winning the event. At the end of the midway point of the event (between rounds 3 and 4) half of your composition score will be added to your score, the other half will be added at the end of the tournament. This is to stop people getting particularly large jumps at the end of the tournament and to ensure that the top contenders for the event are playing against one another.

“There will be no guidelines given for what constitutes a ‘standard’ tournament list, and this is deliberately left up to the judgment of the panel. This is because players often use guidelines as a basis for disagreeing with the score they receive. Regardless of how biased you think the judges are, they are guaranteed to be less biased than the owner of the list, and hence their decision will not be argued. The panel consists of some of the most experienced Bolt Action players and have the best idea as to what a standard tournament list is.” - Thank you to Chris “Egg” Cousin’s for your 2011 Empire in Flames players pack, from which this was shamelessly plagiarised.

This composition is designed specifically to accommodate the diverse range of expectations within the Australian BA community. There are no hard restrictions on list construction. Conversely players who prefer historically themed lists will less emphasis on competitiveness will be rewarded. However, lists that are deemed to go too far or contradict the spirit of the event will be asked to resubmit.

“You should be bringing an army list that YOU would be pleased to see across the table. It should contain a mix of units and unit types where possible. Balance and variety are what we would like to see in armies. However, the final decisions for composition relate purely to the efficacy of the armies, and while you can request a reason for the score you have been given, scores will NOT be altered once they have been awarded.” – Thanks Egg!

Terrain Rules: 

As per the rulebook. True line of sight.

Take time to discuss the board and terrain with your opponent before commencing the game.

Prizes:

·               1^st place (most victory points)

·               2^nd place (2^nd most victory points)

·               3^rd place (3^rd most victory points)

·               Best Painted (players choice)

·               Best Historical Theme “The Neckbeard” (players choice)

·               The Big Dawg (Top Victory Points)

·               Best Sports (players’ choice)

·               Old Rosie (if you have to ask your not a contender)

·               Wooden Spoon (the Nick Cook award)

Contact Organiser:

Brad Morin:  whatisabattle at gmail dot com

Scenarios:

Game 1 – Demolition

Your objective in demolition is to reach the enemy position and destroy it with explosives your men have been issued with. Strong enemy resistance is expected, so you must attack in force but do leave a portion of your force behind in order to defend our own artillery emplacements.

Deployment

Both players roll a die. The highest scorer picks a side of the table and places their base in their set-up zone at least six inches from the table edge. The other player then places their base in their set up zone at least six inches from his table edge, in the same way. A single objective marker is also set up in the centre of the board. The bases are placed before any troops are set up and before reserves and outflanking is nominated.

Ideally these 'bases' are represented by a model command post, but could be anything that looks like a tactically important position such as a building or hilltop etc. A base can simply be a objective marker if you wish. A recommend size is 50mmx50mm or 40mmx40mm.

Snipers / spotters / etc can use the hidden set-up rules after each side has deployed. These troops count towards the units deployed. Each side nominates up to half of their army as their starting force. Starting with the winner of the dice roll each player takes it in turns to place a unit within 12 inches of their table edge. Any units not deployed are left in reserve or out flanking.

Objective

Both sides must capture the enemy base. A base is captured if at the end of any turn, when any enemy or infantry or weapons team is within 3 inches of the bases without any friendly infantry or weapons teams models within 3 inches.

To claim the centre objective an infantry model must move within 3 inches of it without any enemy infantry being in this range. Your unit does not need to remain within 3 inches once an objective is captured. Unlike the two bases an enemy can claim the centre objective that has already been claimed by the enemy. If a friendly and enemy unit are within 3 inches of the objective at the end of the game it counts as contested and neither side can claim the victory point.

The centre objective is worth 5 VP and a captured base is worth 10 VP.

First Turn

The battle begins. All units not held in reserve are deployed at the start of the game as noted above. Reserves can enter the board from turn 2 and outflanking can enter from turn 3

Game Duration

Keep a count of how many turns have elapsed as the game is played. At the end of turn six, roll a die, on a result of one, two or three the game ends, on a roll of four, five or six play one further turn.

Victory

The winner is determined by which player has more objective points. If both players have the same number of points (0 or 10) then the game is a draw.

Game 2 – Supply Run

Supply run – scour the battlefield for supplies and hold them until transports can arrive.

Deployment           

Both players roll a die. The highest scorer decides whether to be attacker or defender. The defender picks table side. There are five objective markers to be placed.

The defender places one objective marker in the middle of the table or as close as possible to the centre. Starting with the defender, each player then takes turns to place an objectives marker no closer than 12 inches from their deployment edge and no closer than 12 inches to any other objective marker. Only infantry units can claim objectives. Objectives cannot be moved.

An objective is claimed when an infantry unit comes into contact and no enemy infantry unit is closer than three inches. Your unit does not need to remain within three inches once an objective is captured. If a friendly and enemy unit are within three inches of the objective it counts as contested and neither side can claim the victory point.

Snipers / spotters / etc can use the hidden set-up rules after each side has deployed. These troops count towards the half deployed. Each side nominates up to half of their army as their starting force. Starting with the defender each player takes it in turns to place a unit within 12 inches of their table edge. Any units not deployed are left in reserve or out flanking.

Game Duration

Keep a count of how many turns have elapsed as the game is played. At the end of turn six, roll a die, on a result of one, two or three the game ends, on a roll of four, five or six play one further turn.

First Turn

The battle begins. All units not held in reserve are deployed at the start of the game as noted above. Reserves can enter the board from turn 2 and outflanking can enter from turn 3 up to 12 inches in from the deployment edge.

Victory

The centre objective marker is worth two victory points. The other four objective markers are worth one victory point each. The player with most victory points wins game. (Note: vehicles immobilize count as half points, free units give no points) Difference of three points or more - major win.

Difference of two points - minor win. Difference of one point or equal - draw.

Game 3 - Clear the ridge

Clear the ridge represents a scenario where a defending force has control of a ridge, area of high ground, or any other strategically important terrain. The attacking force needs to clear this area of enemy opposition in order to take this ground, which is strategically vital for the future success of the campaign.

Deployment

Both Players roll a D6. The player that rolls the highest is the attacker and may choose which side of the table will be the attackers deployment zone. The defender deploys half their force in reserve.

The defending units that begin on the board may begin in ambush (INSERT RULEBOOK PAGE) and/or hidden setup.(PAGE) The defender may place as many units in outflank as they wish so long as half their units begin on the board and in their deployment zone.

The attacker allocates half their units for first wave. The remaining units must be placed either in reserve or outflank. The attacker gets a preparatory bombardment.

Attackers deployment
Zone 1	Zone 2	Zone 3
Defenders deployment

Turns

6

Victory

Both attacker and defender gets 5 points for each zone they control at the end of turn 6.

A zone is ‘controlled’ by the defender under two conditions; 1) uncontested control: you have one or more valid units in the zone and the attacker has none; 2) contested control: if both the attacker and defender have units in the zone the player with the most points worth of models in that zone has control.

A zone is ‘controlled’ by the attacker under one of three conditions; 1) uncontested control: as above; 2) contested control) as above; 3) no contest control: the defender has no valid units in the control zone.

Note: if both payers have units in a control zone worth equal points then neither player controls the zone. 

Note: transports cannot control zones.

Game 4 – Maximum attrition

Attacker deployment Defender deployment

Max attrition - The aim of this scenario is to kill enemy units whilst preserving your own. Each order dice represents a point.

No outflank

Victory

The player who has killed more units than the opponent wins. If they have killed the same number of units then the game is a draw. If the winning player has twice as many or more dice than the opponent the mission is a major victory.

Deployment

Both Players roll a D6. The player that rolls the highest is the attacker and may choose which side of the table will be the attackers’ deployment zone.

Defender deploys half their army on the board and the other half in reserve.

Attacker brings half of their army on in first wave half in reserve.

Neither attacker nor defender may deploy within 6 inches of the diagonal line cutting through the board. Scout units deploy as the rulebook.

Game Five – Kitty Hawk Down

Kitty Hawk Down requires that you claim an objective which will crash land onto the table at the start of turn 3.

Deployment

Both Players roll a D6. The player that rolls the highest chooses their deployment zone.

The winning player then deploys up to half of their units within 12” of the long side of the table that they have selected. The remaining units come on as a first wave unless they are held in reserve. After the first player has deployed his units the second player does the same.

Snipers / spotters / etc can use the hidden set-up rules after each side has deployed. These troops do count towards the units deployed at the start of the game.

Objective

Control the wrecked plane. To win this scenario you need to have the most infantry order dice within 6” of the objective at the end of the game.

The objective will come crashing down at the start of turn three, to determine where the objective will deploy roll a d6 on a 1-3 the objective will enter the board from the left hand side on a 4-6 the objective will deploy on the right.

To see where the objective lands roll 8D6 and move the objective along the center line of the table from the side that has been determined this many inches. When the objective lands it comes down in a blaze of glory for every unit within 6” of the objective when it lands roll a D6 and determine the impact of the hit:

1-2: The unit takes D3 Pins

3-4: Resolve a Light Mortar hit

5: Resolve a Light Howitzer hit

6: Resolve a Medium Howitzer Hit

Game duration

From turn 5 roll a dice at the end of the turn, on turn 5 the game ends on a 5up, on turn 6 on a 4up, on turn 7 it ends automatically.

Victory

The winner is the player who has the most infantry order dice within 6” of the objective.