Thomas R Wylie#
Duelists' Convocation International
Vampire: The Eternal Struggle Tournament Rules
Revised October 1, 1995
Effective November 1, 1995
A. Deck Construction
1. Vampire: The Eternal Struggle tournament decks may be built using
cards from the Jyhad and Vampire: The Eternal Struggle card sets. If you
choose to use cards from both sets, between forty and sixty percent of
your library should be from the Jyhad set. If you use cards from both
sets, read the rules on marked decks (Section 5).
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 80 (eighty) cards total.
3. The Restricted List:
No more than 2 (two) of each of the cards on the Restricted List (by card
title) is allowed in a Vampire: The Eternal Struggle tournament deck. If
more than 2 (two) 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.
Vampire: The Eternal Struggle Restricted List
% Ancilla Empowerment
% Conservative 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:
If any card on the official banned list appears in a player's deck or
sideboard, it will be interpreted by the Judge as a declaration of
forfeiture. 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.
The Vampire: The Eternal Struggle Banned List
% Cunctator Motion
% High Stakes
% Rowan Ring
% Monocle of Clarity
% Stake
(The Wooden Stake card from Vampire: The Eternal Struggle is permissible.)
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.
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, ADMINISTRATOR, OR 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 = 50 pts.,
Second = 40 pts., Third = 30 pts., Fourth = 20 pts., Fifth = 10 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).
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.
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 45 Tournament points ([50+40] / 2 = 45).
Player E is clearly Third, and receives 30 Tournament points. Players C
and D tie for Fourth (Fourth and Fifth), and each receive 15 tournament
points ([20+10] / 2 = 15).
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
50 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 30 tournament points ([40+20] / 2 = 30), and player D is in Fifth
with 10 tournament points.
E. Rounds
1. Each round of the tournament is two hours long. 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 five minutes before the end of the
round, the Judge should issue a five minute warning, stating 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. The tournament consists of three initial rounds and a final round. 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.
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.
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.
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