THRONE OF
SKULLS
MIDDLE-EARTH ™
THRONE OF SKULLS RULES PACK
This tournament has been carefully crafted to present a format that appeals to the
broadest variety of players possible. This event pack provides information to prepare
for Middle-earth™ Strategy Battle Game matched play events at Warhammer World.
Each player will need to demonstrate astute knowledge of the game, make sound
tactical decisions and select appropriate units to win their games. In addition, our
events are a celebration of the hobby, so an attitude overflowing with good cheer,
sincerity and positivity is essential for those of you looking to have a great time
rolling dice in the world of Middle-earth™.
Jump to:
1.0 Event Essentials
2.0 Army Construction and Painting
3.0 The Players Code and Policies
4.0 Tournament Format
5.0 Painting Competitions and the Green
Dragon Inn™ Pub Quiz
6.0 Health and Safety
1.0 EVENT ESSENTIALS
Event Date: Saturday 30th November and Sunday 1st December 2024
System: Middle-earth™ Strategy Battle Game - Matched Play
Army Size: 1000 points
Board Size: 6ft x 4 ft
Scenarios: Randomly determined from the 18 matched play Scenarios
found on pages 11 - 29 of the Middle-earth™ Matched Play
Guide
Number of Games: Five
Scoring: ‘Throne of Skulls’ - Final Rank determined by 50% Tournament
Points, 25% Favourite Game votes received, 25% Favourite
Army votes received. See Section 4.1 Scoring for more details.
Publications in use: Middle-earth™ Strategy Battle Game Rules Manual, Middle-
earth™ Strategy Battle Game Matched Play Guide, Armies of the
Lord of the Rings™, Armies of the Hobbit™, all current Middle-
earth™ Strategy Battle Game Supplements and all up-to-date
FAQs and Errata. Publications released up to one week prior to
the event may also be used
Meals: Lunch will be provided both days.
Other Activities: Painting competition, Saturday night entertainment and free
exhibition entry
Tools of War: Attendees are expected to bring their army, dice, a tape
measure and all relevant rules publications. If you are using any
electronic devices to carry your official rules references, please
ensure they are charged and available for reference at all times.
2.0 ARMY CONSTRUCTION AND PAINTING
2.1 Army Construction
For this event you will need a 1000 point Good or Evil army adhering to the Matched Play
rules found on pages 133 – 143 of the Middle-earth™ Strategy Battle Game Rules Manual. For
this event there is no limit on the number of warbands your army can include, nor is there
a limit on the number of army lists your force can be drawn from, as long as your army is
composed entirely of Good or Evil models.
2.2 Army Rosters
Once you are happy with your army, you must record it on an army roster. All text must be
clearly readable for us and your opponent to check. You will need to hand one copy of your
army roster in at registration, and have at least one other copy to give to your opponent before
each game. You must use the same army roster for each game, and all choices available to you
must be noted down on your army roster. Remember that your roster must include things like
the army list each warband is chosen from, wargear, break point, and note who the leader of
your army is.
2.3 Modelling and Painting
Playing exciting, atmospheric games with finely detailed, painted miniatures is intrinsic to
the Warhammer experience. Painting your miniatures, taking them from bare plastic to fully
realised warriors, is also one of the most satisfying parts of the Warhammer hobby.
With this in mind, all miniatures in your collection must be Games Workshop or Forge World
miniatures (excluding basing or scratchbuilt components), and be fully assembled and painted
to a Battle Ready standard. Battle Ready models have their main areas coloured and a simple
finish on their bases. Check out our Battle Ready tutorials for inspiration or head to your local
Warhammer store where the friendly staff can help you find the paints you need and answer
your questions. Below are some examples of models painted to a Battle Ready standard.
Each model must accurately represent its entry on your Army Roster. Many players “scratch
build” or heavily convert elements of their model collection. For the sake of fairness, any
conversion should be comparable in size to the most current version of the model they
represent. You may not gain a benefit from converted models, but may incur penalties.
For any converted or scratch built models, you must seek permission from whworldevents@
[Link] including photos of the models in question where possible, at least two weeks
before the event.
If you do not obtain permission for conversions before this date, you run the risk of them
being removed from play, or incurring score penalties.
3.0 THE PLAYERS CODE & POLICIES
At Warhammer World events we place great A Note on Active Judging.
emphasis on playing excellent games with At Warhammer World, judges are
like-minded people at the home of Games empowered to actively stop instances of
Workshop. Therefore we expect players to illegal play, with or without a player’s
play each game with a certain code of conduct specific request for intervention. If a player
to support this. When you arrive at your table has concerns at any point, they are always
for a game, greet your opponents, introduce welcome and encouraged to call a judge.
yourselves, offer them a copy of your army While we will not have judges at every
roster and start the game promptly. We then table, and we cannot stop every instance of
expect players to treat each other positively a minor misplay, our goal here is to make
and demonstrate good sportsmanship. sure all the games at Warhammer World are
enjoyable for everyone.
3.1 Judges
If you disagree on the interpretation of a rule 3.2 Conceding
in the game, we will have staff members on We expect all players to see the game
hand to help as referees. Feel free to get one through to the very end and not concede,
of us to help solve the problem. The first as doing so can impact tiebreakers and,
place we will look is the rules manual, so we ultimately, the final rankings. In the
recommend having a read yourself before unlikely event that a player does concede
calling us over. If players do require us to before the game has reached its natural
make a ruling, the referee’s decision is final. conclusion, then the players should follow
the rules presented under ‘conceding’ on
page 6 of the Middle-earth™ Strategy Battle
Game Matched Play Guide.
Of course, if you have some kind of
emergency that means you can’t proceed,
just let the event staff know right away.
4.0 TOURNAMENT FORMAT
4.1 Scoring Sportsmanship and army presentation scores
We will adjust the recommended Scoring & are calculated by voting in the following
Tiebreakers system as found in the Middle- two categories when you hand in your final
earth™ Strategy Battle Game Matched Play results at the end of the event. You get two
Guide by using a number of discretionary votes in each category, and you must vote
tiebreakers. Therefore, overall rankings will only for the players and armies you played
be decided based on the following, in order against. This is also a secret ballot, so don’t
of priority: let anyone see who you’ve voted for! Each
vote you receive counts as three points – this
• Total number of Tournament Points means you can receive a maximum of 15
plus total Sportsmanship and Army points for Favourite Game and 15 points for
Presentation Score Favourite Army. Every player must use their
• Number of Secret Objectives achieved four votes, as they are integral to the event. If
• Total number of Victory Points scored you don’t vote, then you don’t rank!
• Total number of Tournament Points
4.1.1 Favourite Game – You can vote for the
This tournament will use the Major and two opposing players you enjoyed playing
Minor Victories system to determine against the most (note that you can’t vote
Tournament Points and the Secret Objectives for the same player twice!). Maybe they
rules presented on pages 44 and 45 of displayed an excellent sporting attitude,
the Middle-earth™ Strategy Battle Game perhaps they were positive and friendly, or it
Matched Play Guide. was generally a fun and engaging game.
You will be given a scorecard when you 4.1.2 Favourite Army – You can vote for the
register for the event, and be given a round two armies you played against that you liked
result slip during each of your games. At the the look of the most (note that you can’t vote
end of each game, hand in the round result for the same army twice!) Excellent painting
slip to an event staff member, then record standards, a fantastic centrepiece model,
your result and score on your own scorecard. spectacular conversions or overall theme
At the end of the final game, you will hand may make up your mind.
in your scorecard only.
4.0 TOURNAMENT FORMAT (CONT.)
4.2 Pairings
Pairings will be determined via the recommended pairing system as found in the Middle-
earth™ Strategy Battle Game Matched Play Guide. As pairings are determined by overall rank,
there may be cases where both players are playing as either Good or Evil. In these instances,
refer to the Good vs Good and Evil vs Evil rule on page 143 of the Middle-earth™ Strategy
Battle Game Rules Manual for guidance on these situations.
4.3 Event Schedule
Saturday 30th November 2024 Sunday 1st December 2024
09:00 - 10:00 Registration in Bugman’s Bar 09.00 Bugman’s Bar opens
10:00 - 10:15 Events hall and store open 10.00 Events hall and stores open
and event briefing. 10.30 - 13.00 Round 4
10:15 - 12:45 Round 1 13.00 - 14.00 Lunch and the Best Army
12:45 - 13:45 Lunch and the Legends painting competition
painting competition 14.00 - 16.30 Round 5
13:45 - 16:15 Round 2 16.30 - 17.30 Break
16:15 - 16:45 Break 17.30 Award Ceremony
16:45 - 19:15 Round 3 18.00 Warhammer World closes
20:00 Stores and gaming hall close
20.30 Green Dragon Inn™ Pub Quiz
22:00 Bugman’s closes
A Note on Lateness:
Should you arrive late to Round 1 of the event, you may lose your spot to a person on the
Waitlist. Assuming your spot is still available, you will be paired with any other late arrivals
(again, where relevant) with a mandate to complete your game in the original Round time. A
subsequently incomplete game may result in point penalties.
4.0 TOURNAMENT FORMAT (CONT.)
4.4 Event Awards
The Middle-earth™ Strategy Battle Game hobby is multi-faceted; including social, gaming,
and artistic components. With that in mind we will award the following prizes:
• 1st, 2nd, 3rd - For the players who rank highest overall (see 4.1 Scoring)
• Favourite Army 1st, 2nd, 3rd - As voted by you, for the most impressive looking army.
• Best Painted Army - Judges decision
• Favourite Player - For the player with the most Favourite Opponents votes, with highest
overall ranking as the tiebreaker.
• Hero of Legend, Company of Legend and Icon of Legend - As voted by you, for the
winners of the Legends painting competition categories, as described below.
• Best in Brackets - Based on gaming scores only, for the players that score highest in the
5-0, 4-1, 3-2, 2-3, 1-4 results brackets.
5.0 PAINTING COMPETITIONS AND THE GREEN
DRAGON INN™ PUB QUIZ
5.1 Painting Competitions
During the event we will hold two painting competitions. These competitions are separate
from the Tournament score, so have no bearing on the overall rankings. They are there to
celebrate hobbyists who have gone the extra mile in their modelling and painting to create
something truly remarkable. To enter you must have done the building and painting yourself
and the models must be from the army you are using at the event.
The first competition is the Legends painting competition. This is perfect for any particular
models in your army you are most proud of. It’s an open entry, so each player may enter
model(s) of their choice from their army into each of the categories for peer judging. The
winning model from each category will win a Legend award for that player. The categories
are as follows:
• Hero of Legend includes any one model on foot or mounted on horse/ camel / Warg™ or
similar sized mount.
• Company of Legend - A single warband as described on page 134 of the Middle-earth™
Strategy Battle Game Rules Manual. You may include the warband captain if you wish.
• Icon of Legend For all monsters such as Trolls, Eagles, and Ents™ in addition to war
machines and chariots. This category is also for heroes mounted on a monster or war
machine such as Ringwraith on Fell Beast™ or Radagast™ the Brown on his sleigh.
The Events Team will nominate a shortlist for the Best Army competition. This is a
prestigious award for hobbyists who manage to achieve a truly excellent standard of hobby
consistently across their whole force. Peer judging will take place with the winner earning
the Best Army award.
The Events Team may specify additional requirements during the event for any unusual or
particularly large entries. If you have any queries regarding the competitions, feel free to
contact us before the event. Please note that to win any of our painting competitions, each
player must have built and painted the models themselves.
5.2 The Green Dragon Inn™ Pub Quiz
Once the games have come to an end on Saturday, take some time to relax with a drink in
Bugman’s Bar, telling tales of the day’s victories amongst friends, before teaming up to take
on the Green Dragon Inn™ pub quiz run by the Middle-earth™ team.
CONTACT US
If you wish to ask any questions, discuss any conversions or to
find out more about our events, please feel free to get in touch
with us via email at: whworldevents@[Link]
Catch up on all the latest Warhammer World news by finding
us on Facebook at Games Workshop: Warhammer World
For more information on our event privacy note please follow
the link provided here: Privacy Policy
© New Line Productions, Inc. All rights reserved. MIDDLE-EARTH, THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, THE
LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS, THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING and the names of the characters,
items, events and places therein are trademarks of Middle-earth Enterprises, LLC under license to New Line Productions, Inc. (S24)
© Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved. THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY, THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF
SMAUG, THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES and the names of the characters, items, events and places therein are trademarks
of Middle-earth Enterprises, LLC under license to New Line Productions, Inc. (s24)
