Arena of Death; BoLS Edition. Rules and Sign-Up

[Hive Mind]

Ok, so I'm going to be running a head-to-head knockout tournament featuring 16 HQs battling to the death.

The Rules

All normal 40k rules apply except as detailed below. In case of disputes FAQ rulings are to be treated as authoritative. If there is no FAQ ruling on the issue, I decide how the rules work.

It should be noted at this stage that the following heavily (and I do mean heavily) borrows from the rules that Brother Tyler posted over at Bolter and Chainsword ([url]http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/index.php?showtopic=30536[/url]) and that I was inspired to do this originally by a thread started here in the lounge by Bedroom General.

Combatants

Combatants must be a HQ character from any Codex. No characters from any other source will be allowed. The character must be legal within its army list restrictions and requirements and may not be worth more than 150 pts. I will check your point totals but if you spot something that I've missed do speak up. If your point total is over you'll be given a chance to rectify it. If you fail to do so your character will be disqualified and either a replacement will be found or whichever opponent you draw will get a bye. NO CHANGES CAN BE MADE TO CHARACTERS ONCE THEY HAVE BEEN ENTERED. For clarity, do not edit your posts entering a character. You may only have a single model; command squads, retinues, wolves, thralls, etc. are not allowed. No vehicles or mounts are allowed. This includes Space Marine Bikes, jump packs, Juggernauts of Khorne, etc. No special characters will be allowed. Other than these restrictions, you are free to choose as you like.

Post your entrants in this format;

Name; ie. Brother-Captain Morkul
Type; ie. Brother-Captain
Codex; ie. Grey Knights
Wargear; ie. Terminator Armour, Nemesis Force Sword, Storm Bolter etc. etc.

Make sure you list your wargear accurately. If it's not listed, it can't be used. Entrants are on a first come, first served basis though if you've posted an entrant in Bedroom General's thread I will reserve a place for you unless you tell me you don't want it.

NB. If you've already posted an entrant in Bedroom General's thread then please just re-post it here using the format above.

Starting the Tournament

Characters will be randomly seeded 1-16 by using a random number generator site. 1 will fight 16, 2 will fight 15, 3 will fight 14 etc. After each fight the winning character will advance to the next bracket so the winner of 1 v 16 will fight the winner of 2 v 15 and so on until only one character is left standing. Surviving characters will reinstated to their full stat-line after each fight so a three wound model that loses two wounds in round one and advance to round two will begin the duel in round two with three wounds again.

Starting the Fight

Two models enter; one model leaves. Both models set up 6" apart. There is no cover or terrain! The Arena is featureless and empty and goes on into infinity!

Shooting & Charging

BOTH characters will get a chance to shoot from 6" range - who goes first will be determined by a D6 roll - before they engage in HTH combat. After that combat is as normal (by Initiative), except that in the first round of combat both characters will count as charging. In the event of a tie (mutual simultaneous death), the victory will go to the one who has scored the highest number of wounds, including overkill.

The Hand of God

In the Arena of Death; I AM GOD. I will decide rules disputes if there is no official answer to them. I roll the dice and I post the results. This ensures the impartiality of the fight. It goes without saying that I will not be entering a character into the tournament. I will be using Vassal and will post screenshots of each battle along with the text box detailing exactly what dice were rolled and what the results of those rolls were. I'll even do a nice little write up of the fight. I'll do my utmost to post at least one duel per day but I'm a student and my workload is erratic so there may be days when there is no duel and days when there are as many as BOLS's rules on photo posting will allow.

There Can be Only One

No two entrants can be the same. There can be two Archons for example, but there cannot be two Archons with the same wargear. If you want to enter a character and there is already an identical example of that character, tough. You'll have to come up with something else. I'd prefer to have a wide selection of characters but I won't press the issue.

[Hive Mind]

The Participants

Lord Sandwich - Archon Stabby McSlashy von Pøkey-Stikk, Archon, C: DE, Huskblade, Shadow Field, Combat Drugs, Blast Pistol

Old Paladin - Megaboss IronGutz FaceBusta, Warboss, C: Orks, Cybork Body, Mega-Armour, Kombi-Rokkit, Ammo Runt, Attack Squig

Luke Licens - Shas'O'Yeaahh of Ku'Layd Sept, Shas'O, C: Tau, XV-8 Battlesuit, Burst Cannon, Fusion Blaster, Shield Generator, Stimulant Injector , Iridium Armour, Hard-Wired Multi-Tracker

Uncle Nutsy - Archon Screwball McD-bag, Archon, C: DE, Electrocorrosive Whip, Blast Pistol, Ghostplate Armour, Shadowfield, Combat Drugs

pendragon38 - Filman - Master of the Forge, C: SM, Artificer Armour, Servo-Harness, Combi-Melta, Digital Weapons, Thunder Hammer.

Bedroom General - ? - Chaos Lord, C:CSM, Terminator Armour, Pair of Lightning Claws, Mark of Nurgle

Slug - Lord Slug, Chaos Lord, C: CSM, Terminator Armour, Twin-Linked Bolter, Mark of Slaanesh, Daemon Weapon

JxKxR - Mr. Terrible, Chaos Sorcerer, C: CSM, Power Armour, Bolt Pistol, Force Weapon, Gift of Chaos, Mark of Nurgle

GM Rex Nihilo - Brotherhood Champion Montaine Mannaes, Brotherhood Champion, C: GK, Artificer Armour, Storm Bolter w/ Psy Bolts, Anointed Blade, Frag and Krak Grenades, Psych-out Grenades, Iron Halo, Empyrean Brain Mines

CrimsonTurkey - Werner, Tyranid Prime, C; Tyranids, Pair of Boneswords, Scything Talons, Adrenal Glands, Toxin Sacs, Regeneration

Night System - Erythropoiesis, Librarian, C: BA, Bolt Pistol, Force Weapon, Frag + Krak grenades, Power Armour, Psychic Hood, Epistolary Upgrade, Sanguine Sword & Might of Heroes

celestialatc - Vergelding, Brother-Captain, C: GK, Terminator Armour, Nemesis Force Sword, Storm Bolter, Frag, Krak, Psyk-Out Grenades, Iron Halo

fuzzbuket - Fred the 3rd, Farseer, C; Eldar, Spirit Stones, Runes of Warding , Runes of Witnessing, Mind War, Fortune.

Turner - Cobra Commander - Lord Commissar, C: IG, Carapace Armour, Plasma Pistol, Power Fist, Frag and Krak Grenades, Refractor Field

The Twilight Fade - Creeping Death, Necron Lord, C: Necrons, Warscythe, Resurrection Orb

Random - Geoff, Herald of Nurgle, C: CD, Plaguesword, Noxious Touch, Breath of Chaos

[Slug]

Name:Lord Slug.
Unit: Chaos Lord.
Codex: Chaos Space Marines.
Wargear: Terminator Armor, Mark of Slaanesh, Daemon Weapon.

[JxKxR]

Name: Mr. Terrible
Unit: Chaos Sorcerer
Codex: Chaos Space Marines
Warger: Gift of Chaos, Mark of Nurgle

[DrWobbles]

150 point limit? This is featherweight class.

[Old_Paladin]

Dang, no bike... ok then;

Name: MegaBoss Irongutz FaceBusta
Type: Warboss
Codex: Orks
Wargear: Mega-armour (includes power klaw), attack squig, cybork body, kombi-rokkit, ammo runt.

[GM Rex Nihilo]

Name: Brotherhood Champion Montaine Mannaes
Type: Brotherhood Champion
Codex: Grey Knights
Wargear: Artificer Armour, Storm Bolter w Psy Bolts, Annointed blade, frag and krak Grenades, Psych-out grenades, Iron halo, Empyrean Brain mines

115 points

[CrimsonTurkey]

Name; Werner
Type; Tyranid Prime
Codex; Tyranid
Wargear; Pair of boneswords, scything talons, adrenal glands, toxin sacs, regeneration

I must always present a tyranid, even when the odd are against me (5th edition). I've been playing 'nids since warriors had rabbit teeth and I'm a bit loyal.

[Lord Sandwich]

Name: Archon Stabby McSlashy von Pøkey-Stikk
Type: Archon
Codex: Dark Eldar
Wargear: huskblade, shadowfield, combat drugs, blast pistol/soul-trap (see below).

Question for our most honorable Hive Mind: Marines are not designed for comboing HQ power that builds over several turns. In fact only really Dark Eldar and Space Wolves have HQs that legitimately get better over time. Therefore I have two questions:

1) Do pain tokens carry over between battles? I am leaning towards no on this one.
2) Do souls caught in the soul-trap carry over between battles? I personally feel that this one should definitely be a no (multiple rounds of Strength 10 = über-stilton), but for future reference/other aspiring Archons would like this one answered.
3) Does the shadowfield regenerate between rounds? I feel like this should be a yes personally. I also feel like whatever the answer, only EITHER 2) or 3) should be allowed, not both.

If 2) is a no, then consider the Archon armed with a blast pistol. If the soul-trap does go through, then obviously consider him armed with the soul-trap.

[Hive Mind]

1) Do pain tokens carry over between battles? I am leaning towards no on this one.
2) Do souls caught in the soul-trap carry over between battles? I personally feel that this one should definitely be a no (multiple rounds of Strength 10 = über-stilton), but for future reference/other aspiring Archons would like this one answered.
3) Does the shadowfield regenerate between rounds? I feel like this should be a yes personally. I also feel like whatever the answer, only EITHER 2) or 3) should be allowed, not both.

Good questions. I agree with your gut feelings;

1. No.
2. No.
3. Yes. Each duel is effectively a new game so the Shadow Field will work as outlined in Codex Dark Eldar.