Duelists' Convocation Official Vampire: The Eternal Struggle Tournament Rules Jan. 9 1995 A. Deck Construction 1. Vampire: The Eternal Struggle tournament decks may be built using cards from the Jyhad, Vampire: The Eternal Struggle and Dark Sovereigns card sets. Cards from new releases may not be inlcluded in sanctioned tournament play until thirty (30) days following the retail release date. You may place up to four of the same card (by card title) in your library. If you use cards from more than one set, read the rules on marked decks (Section 5). OPTIONAL RULE: Prior to the beginning of a sanctioned tournament, the Judge may declare that players who build decks from cards from both Jyhad and Vampire: The Eternal Struggle sets should ensure that between forty and sixty percent of their library should be from the Jyhad set. The tournament coordinator must announce and advertise use of this rule prior to the start of the tournament. 2. The crypt must contain a minimum of 12 (twelve) vampire cards. The crypt can be made up of vampires from the Jyhad or Vampire: The Eternal Struggle card sets, but not both. There is no maximum on the number of vampires that can be in your crypt. The library can contain a minimum of 60 (sixty) cards and maximum of 90 (ninety) cards total. 3. The Restricted List: No more than 6 (six) of each of the cards on the Restricted List is allowed in aVampire: The Eternal Struggle tournament deck. If more than 6 (six) of any individual card from the Restricted List is found in a player's deck, that will be interpreted by the Judge as a Declaration of Forfeiture. The Restricted List may be modified by the Director of the Duelists' Convocation as necessary. The Restricted List is as follows: Vampire: The Eternal Struggle Restricted List * Ancilla Empowerment * Conservitive Agitation * Domain Challenge * Earth Meld * Fifth Tradition: Hospitality * Form of Mist * Freak Drive * Kine Resources Contested * Majesty * Parity Shift * Sabbat Threat 4. The Banned List: The following cards are banned from tournament play: * Cunctator Motion * High Stakes * Rowan Ring * Stake * Playing For Keeps (Dark Sovereigns) (The Wooden Stake card from Vampire: The Eternal Struggle is permissible.) Some cards on the Banned List are not allowed because they clearly state that they are only usable if playing for ante. Wagering an ante is not required in a Vampire: The Eternal Struggle tournament (see General Floor Rules, rule #C2). Any future cards that make the same statement will subsequently be banned. This list may be modified by the Director of the Duelists' Convocation as necessary. 5. Marked Decks If a contestant, referee, or Judge has reason to believe another contestant has marked his or her deck, the referee or Judge may inspect the deck. If any of the deck stacking restrictions described below are breached, this is considered a Declaration of Forfeiture, and the contestant will be removed from the tournament. * All library cards from the Jyhad or Vampire: The Eternal Struggle card sets must be of sufficiently mixed card types (e.g., All the Jyhad library cards in your deck cannot consist of master cards and Dominate cards. Instead, your master and Dominate cards must appear with both Jyhad backs and Vampire: The Eternal Struggle backs or your Jyhad cards must include at least three different card types). * All your crypt cards must either have backs that read Jyhad or backs that read Vampire: The Eternal Struggle. They cannot have both. B. Adjudication and Playing Areas 1. Vampire: The Eternal Struggle tournaments will be presided over by a Judge, who may be assisted by as many Assistant Referees as necessary. NEITHER THE JUDGE NOR THE ASSISTANT REFEREES MAY PLAY IN A TOURNAMENT THAT HE OR SHE IS ADJUDICATING. A Judge may be required to interpret rules, interpret a Declaration of Forfeiture (see Closing, rule #G2 ), or make any other adjudication as necessary during the tournament. The Judge is also responsible for maintaining the tournament records. Assistant Referees will aid by answering rules questions on the floor, assisting with matching players for a new round, and making themselves available to the Judge for any other assistance they may require. In necessary cases, the Judge may overrule any decision made by an Assistant Referee. The decision of the Judge is always final. 2. A "table" is defined as a playing area where four or five players are competing in a game of Vampire: The Eternal Struggle in a Vampire: The Eternal Struggle tournament. 3. A Vampire: The Eternal Struggle tournament must have a minimum of 12 (twelve) players, and a minimum of 3 (three) tables per round (excluding finals). Each table must have a minimum of 4 (four) players at the start of the game. 4. An index card (or reasonable facsimile) will be prepared for each player in the tournament with that player's name and other tournament information. Cards will be shuffled and grouped randomly before tables are assigned in each round of the tournament (excluding finals). Alternatively, tournaments may use a computerized system for generating random groupings for each round, provided that the Judge can keep accurate records of each player's points throughout the tournament. 5. For each round, players will be randomly assigned in groups of five. In the likely event that the number of players is not evenly divisible by five, players should be assigned in groups of four and five; most groups should consist of five players. 6. Each table has five positions (numbered one through five) arranged clockwise around the table. The first player assigned to a table occupies position one, the second player occupies position two, and so on. When play begins for the round, the player in position one plays first (with one transfer allowed), followed by the player in position two (with two transfers allowed), and so forth. At tables with only four players, simply ignore the empty position for turn rotation. C. General Floor Rules 1. Players must use the same deck they have at the beginning of the tournament throughout the tournament. Changing or altering a tournament deck during the tournament may be interpreted by the Judge as a Declaration of Forfeiture. 2. Players are not required to wager ante during the tournament. Players may play for real ante, provided that all participants at the table give their consent, though this agreement does not allow the inclusion of banned ante cards in a tournament deck. Ante cards won in a tournament must be kept separate from the tournament deck and may not be used in the tournament in any capacity. If the loss of ante cards from a player's deck reduces the deck below 60 (sixty) cards, the player no longer has a legal tournament deck and will be removed from the tournament. 3. The use of plastic card sleeves or other protective devices on any player's cards will only be allowed if all players at the table agree to allow them in the round. If any player(s) at the table do not wish card sleeves to be used in the round for any reason, all sleeves must be removed from all decks at that table for the duration of the round. 4. The use of "proxy" cards in the tournament deck is not allowed. A proxy card is one that has been placed into the deck to represent another card the player doesn't want to play with for one reason or another; i.e. using a card with the words "Aaron's Feeding Razor" written on it because the player doesn't want to play with his actual Aaron's Feeding Razor. 5. Players must keep the cards in their hand above the level of the playing surface at all times. If a player is in violation, the Judge may issue a warning to the player or interpret the violation as a Declaration of Forfeiture (at the Judge's discretion). 6. Players may not have any outside assistance (i.e., coaching) during a match. If a player is in violation, the Judge may issue a warning to the player or interpret the violation as a Declaration of Forfeiture (at the Judge's discretion). 7. Unsportsmanlike conduct will not be tolerated at a tournament. Players, Judges, and Assistant Referees will conduct themselves in a polite, respectable, and sportsmanlike manner. Any player who is excessively belligerent, argumentative, hostile, or unsportsmanlike may receive a warning or have this behavior interpreted as a Declaration of Forfeiture (at the Judge's discretion). 8. Players must take their turns in a timely fashion. While taking time to think through a situation is acceptable, stalling for time is not. If the Judge feels that a player is stalling to take advantage of a time limit, the Judge may issue a warning or interpret the stalling as a Declaration of Forfeiture (at the Judge's discretion). D. Scoring 1. One player at each table will be appointed as that table's scorekeeper by a tournament official. At the conclusion of each round, a tournament official will collect the scores for that table from the scorekeeper and register the standings with the Judge. 2. There are three different types of points used in a Vampire: The Eternal Struggle tournament. They are listed here in descending order of importance. Victory points are awarded when a player's prey is ousted and when a player survives a round. Tournament points are awarded based on a player's table ranking at the end of a round. Blood points are awarded based on the amount of blood a player controls at the end of a round. Victory points are the primary indicator, with tournament points and blood points used as the first-degree and second-degree tie-breakers. 3. A player receives 1 (one) victory point each time he or she ousts his or her prey during the game. A player receives an additional half victory point if he or she has not been ousted by the end of the round, unless one player is the last one surviving at the table, in which case, that player gets a full victory point (as outlined in the Vampire: The Eternal Struggle rules). Players are then ranked at their table from First to Fifth (i.e., the player with the most victory points places First). 4. Tournament points are awarded each round as follows: First = 60 pts., Second = 48 pts., Third = 36 pts., Fourth = 24 pts., Fifth = 12 pts., provided that table had five players at the beginning of the round. If the table had four players, they are ranked as First, Second, Fourth, and Fifth -the third place slot is taken by the "table bye" (an empty position). If more than one player is tied for a certain table ranking, average the tournament points contended (see Scoring Examples below). Scoring Examples: a. Example 1: Five players are at the table. Players A and B each ousted one prey and survived the round. Players C and D were the unfortunates ousted by A and B, and they did not oust any prey. Player E ousted no one, but survived the round. Players A and B each receive one- and-one-half victory points (one oust plus survival each), player E receives one-half (for surviving), and players C and D receive no victory points. Players A and B tie for First (which really means First and Second), so they each receive 54 Tournament points ([60+48] / 2 = 54). Player E is clearly Third, and receives 36 Tournament points. Players C and D tie for Fourth (Fourth and Fifth), and each receive 18 tournament points ([24+12] / 2 = 18). b. Example 2: Four players are at the table. Player A ousts one prey and survives the round. Neither player B nor C ousted prey, but both survived. Player D was player A's victim. Player A receives one- and-one-half victory points, players B and C each get one-half of a point, and player D gets no points. Player A is clearly First, receiving 60 tournament points. Players B and C tie for Second (which is really Second and Fourth -remember that Third goes to the "table bye") and each receives 36 tournament points ([48+24 / 2 = 36]), and player D is in Fifth with 12 tournament points. 5. Additionally, at the end of the round, each player must count the number of blood points he or she has left: each player adds all of the blood left in his or her blood pool to the amount of blood on all of the active vampires he or she controls. Players report this number to the scorekeeper, who verifies that the count is accurate. In some cases, blood points may be used as a second-degree tie-breaker, though this may be rare. E. Rounds 1. Each round of the tournament must have a time limit declared by the Judge, with a minimum time limit of 2 (two) hours. The tournament coordinator must announce and advertise this time limit prior to the tournament. During the first twenty minutes, officials record any scoring from the previous round and reassign players to new matches; this is followed by a playing period of one hour and forty minutes. All players begin play at the same time. If all of the twenty minute set-up time isn't used, the remainder of the time may be added to the playing period. At the one hour and fifty-five minute mark, the Judge should issue a warning that only five minutes of playing time remain in the round. 2. All play from a round will cease immediately when the Judge announces that the round is over. Players in mid-turn will be permitted to complete that turn before scores are calculated, up to a maximum time of one minute. "A player in mid-turn" is defined as a someone who has finished untapping all of his or her cards in play that could be untapped at that time during his or her turn. 3. Each tournament must consist of a number of rounds determined by the Judge, with a minimum of 3 (three) rounds. The five players with the highest total victory points from all three rounds advance to the final round. In a tie, the player with more tournament points from prior rounds advances to the final (first degree tie-breaker). If players are still tied, the player with the largest total blood pool from prior rounds advances (second degree tie-breaker). Finalists will be rated First through Fifth by victory points. Ties are resolved as above. F. Finals 1. Table positions are not assigned in the final round. Instead, the first finalist has his or her choice of position, then the second finalist, and so on. Play for the final round commences normally. 2. At the conclusion of the final round, the player with the most victory points from the final round alone is the winner of the tournament, with other players ranked accordingly by victory points. In case of ties, blood points from the final round alone are used as the tie-breaker. G. Closing 1. Failure to adhere to the above rules, or any other rules specific to a particular tournament, may be interpreted by the Judge as a Declaration of Forfeiture. Only the Judge may make an interpretation of a Declaration of Forfeiture. This is a more pleasant way of stating that if a player breaks the rules, the Judge will remove that player from the tournament. 2. Rules note: The Director of the Duelists' Convocation reserves the exclusive right to add, delete, alter, transmute, switch, revise in second edition, seduce, blood bond, Dominate, Obfuscate, vote in or out with any Primogen, Prince, or Justicar that ever has been or ever will be printed, or in any other way change these or any other official Duelists' Convocation rules, in whole or in part, with or without notice, at any time that it is deemed necessary or desirable. This right is non-negotiable.