Mongoose Publishing Presents

Battle on the Rim ACTA Tournament Pack

October 13th, 2007

At the edge of space!

Battle on the Rim

A Call to Arms Tournament Pack
Welcome to Battle on the Rim, an official tournament for A Call to Arms second edition, the game of space combat in the Babylon 5 universe. Even if you do not attend the tournament itself, you are welcome to use these rules as guidelines for your own tournaments at clubs and conventions.

Tournament Overview
A new system, Athena 197, has been discovered on the Rim, far from known space. Its worlds are home to a variety of indigenous races, though known have achieved high technology. Unfortunately for them, their worlds are rich in Quantium-40, an ore vital for the construction of jump gates and with many governments expanding their interests throughout the Rim, this is a discovery too good to pass up. Each government has dispatched several fleets with the intention of securing a claim on Athena 197 and though each has expressed peaceful intentions for the region, many fleets have secret orders to grab the territory at any cost. The future of Athena 197 and its inhabitants is in your hands. Will you fight off the other governments and establish a rule of law, order and fairness? Will you act purely in the interests of your own people? Or will your fleet be scattered in pieces throughout space, a mere footnote in the history of great admirals and heroes?

Into The Fire

Every game will be played on a 6 by 4 table with fixed stellar debris. Players must provide all other materials for their games. You must also bring along a copies of the Call to Arms rulebook and Fleet Lists, and any rules updates that are relevant to your fleet. Rules updates from our web site or Signs & Portents may be printed out. You Will Need You must bring the following items with you on the day of the tournament. The Call to Arms rulebook and Fleet Lists, plus any relevant rules updates Your fleet, either as miniatures or counters (AoG Fleet Action miniatures are acceptable) Two copies of your Fleet Roster This tournament pack Pen, paper and dice Tape Measure Some money for food, drink and a few new A Call to Arms goodies from our store!

Playing the Games

Each entrant will compete in four games. After each game, you will record your results and inform the Tournament Co-ordinator before the next round of games is due to start. Your opponent in the first game of the tournament will be determined randomly. The three subsequent games will match players according to how well they did in their previous games, pairing off the two current highest scoring players with each other, then the next two highest scoring, and so on. However, you will never play the same opponent twice during the tournament.

Tournament Schedule
Start 9:00 9:30 11:15 12:45 13:20 15:00 16:40 17:00 End 9:30 11:00 12:45 13:15 14:50 16:30 16:50 Schedule Entry, Registration and Shopping! First Game Second Game Lunch, Hassle Mongoose Staff Third Game Fourth Game Awards Ceremony Doors Close

Winning and Losing

Throughout the tournament, you will earn points in various categories. The winner of the tournament will be the player with the most points overall. In the event of a tie, the player with the most Admiralship points will win. Points will be earned as follows.

to one side if you continually mark players either very well or very badly. The maximum points available in this category is 8, though we expect every player to score at least 4. Remember, you are here to have fun!

Questions During Play

The whole point of the tournament is to play a few games, have fun and meet with other people who share a love of A Call to Arms. That said, even the most well mannered gamers can have a difference of opinion in what a rule actually means, especially when their fleet is at stake! To avoid arguments, you are advised to consult the rulebooks during play. There is absolutely nothing wrong with politely asking your opponent to point out any given rule or statistic in order to make sure the game is being played according to the rules. If you can resolve any rules dispute between the two of you, both will enjoy the game a great deal more. If you need to call a judge over to resolve a dispute, you are more than welcome. However, for good or ill, the judges decision if final. Arguing with a judge is a Bad Idea.

Admiralship
As you win more games throughout the tournament, you will gain Admiralship points, a reflection of your raw gaming ability. This will have the most effect on where you end up in the tournament rankings. Admiralship is scored as follows. The maximum possible score over the four games is 80 points. Game Result Draw Win by less than 10 VPs Win by 10 or more VPs Win by 25 or more VPs Victor 10 13 17 20 Vanquished 10 7 3 0

Into The Fire

You will be warned ten minutes before a game must end and from this point you must finish the game with the current turn. Victory Points will be calculated from this point as normal.

Tournament Fleets
Your fleet roster (of which you must bring two clear and legible copies) must list every ship within your fleet and any additional items or options that you have selected. Your fleet must obey the following restrictions:

The Gentlemans Award

Things can get a little. . . tense during tournament games and it always pays to keep a cool head. To encourage this, players will rate each game according to how much they enjoyed it after all, the whole point of the tournament is to have fun! You will rate each game you play as Poor, Good or Great. If you do not rate any game, it will be assumed it was a Good one. For every Good game rating you gain throughout the tournament, you will earn 1 point. Every Great game earns you 2. A Poor game will earn you nothing but the added attention of the judges... Please note that we will be keeping an eye on how players are marking each other throughout the tournament, so expect a judge to pull you

Your fleet will comprise five Fleet Allocation Points at Priority Level: Raid. However, be aware of the battles you will have to fight on the day. Your fleet may have no more than eight ships. Fighters are not limited in any way. You must have a painted miniature or counter for every ship in your fleet. Agents of Gaming Fleet Action miniatures may also be used. Players must choose fleets from the Fleet Lists book. A mixed League fleet may use one Hurr Gunship, Lumati Transport and/or Ipsha War Globe. No fleets may use the Technomage Pinnace this time sorry! Earth Alliance fleets of the Third Age and Crusade Era may use the Tantalus from Signs & Portents. All ships have a Crew Quality score of 4. ISA, Gaim and Vree ships get their usual bonuses.

4. Planetfall The heaviest concentration of Quantium-40 has been located, and fleets move in to seize the prize! Whoever controls the planet at the end of the game will have gained a valuable foothold in the system, hopefully leading to outright ownership of territory after all, possession is nine tenths. . . A planet will be supplied for your table, which must be placed in the exact centre.

Experience and Folly

Your ships and crews will have a chance to grow and be refitted for war as the tournament goes on, allowing them to fight more effectively later in the day if they survive! After every scenario, you may choose one of your ships that survived the battle. You may immediately roll on the Refits table for your fleet. If none of your ships survived the battle, you do not get this bonus! After each scenario, all your ships are either replaced or repaired completely. However, if a ship that received a Refit is later destroyed, that Refit is lost as the ship will be replaced by another.

Scenarios Into The Fire

You will play four scenarios, in the following order. All fleets will comprise five Fleet Allocation Points at Priority Level: Raid, and Stellar Debris will be placed on the table for you. 1. Space Superiority An enemy fleet has been detected, and you must fight to maintain control of space, either to defend claimed territory, or as part of a devastating pre-emptive strike (you fiend). 2. Call to Arms The fighting has begun in earnest! Fleets clash in disputed space as the politicians eagerly seek an advantage from which to press their territorial claims. 3. Rescue A rival government has started to transport Quantium-40 out of the system, but its convoy suffered a brutal ambush. If you can gain control of this prize, you can start analysing which planets in the system have the richest strains of ore. Either yourself or your opponent should place a suitable objective ship in the exact centre of the table.