Tournament of Armies II

Event Overview

The Barony of Lions Gate invites all disciplines, Heavy, Rapier, Combat Archery, Arts and Science, Heraldry and Bardic, to a TOURNAMENT OF ARMIES, from July 30th through August 2nd.

Sharpen your swords and your wits, string your bows, and be ready to display your martial prowess and declaim your glory before all.

Combatants shall be tested through two days of War Escalation on a field of Forest, Open Plain, Bog, Obstacle, Ravine and much more. Every kill counts, and points shall be gained and used to acquire advantages in battle.

On Saturday, small units wage and absorb opponents through Skirmish, Challenge and Scenario, until there are only 4 armies left on the field, commanded by 4 Warlords. On Sunday, the remaining Warlords will Wage and Challenge in battles most glorious until there remain only 2 Armies on the field, who will then engage in furious Push Battle for the right to call themselves Warlord.

Knights, Champions, Sergeants and Squires - be ready, with your brothers, to lead battle units to vie for supremacy! Heavy Fighters, Rapier Fighters, Combat Archers: ready yourselves for cat and mouse games of hunt and be hunted in forest and field.

But wait! There's more!

Target archers string your bows, Arts and Sciences Devisors sharpen your wit. There will be competitions for both all weekend and the results will also have a direct effect on the Warlords success, or failure on the Warfield.

Rapier and Cut and Thrust tournaments!

We have several A&S competitions planned, one of which shall be a siege competition. Details of the A&S competitions will be published on the Event Website very soon.

The University of Tir Righ will be in session. If you would like to teach a class please contact the TUTR!

Rules of Engagement

First, there is only room for 16 Warlords, so register early. The only limitation to registering your army is that the Warlord must be an Armoured Combatant.

Next, as a prospective Warlord understand that you need a well rounded army to be successful, even more this year than last! All the disciplines can earn points and “Boons” that are important when it comes to advantages and challenging your opponents.

There are two kinds of points – the initial points everyone starts with and use to field their army, and the points earned by the armies that can later be used to their advantage. A good way to understand building armies is to think about fielding points, not people. As Warlord you field 10 points in Heavy, 4 in Rapier, etc. So that means you can switch things up from scenario to scenario.

Armoured

As a Warlord or member of a Warband you will start as a small unit built on 10 points.

• Knights cost 2 points
• All others cost 1 point

Fighting will be all day Saturday with the teams gradually fighting through a snowball tournament to form four large groups be the end of day on Saturday. Sunday starts early and will be the day our Warlord is decided.

There will be both Points Rounds and Challenge Rounds.

Points rounds are where Warlord earn points to be used for advantages in battle and for control of Challenges. Challenge rounds are where units merge and the armies grow.

Target Archery

Archer forces will be built on 4 points.

• Grey Goose Shaft cost 2 points
• All others cost 1 point

You will have individual shoots as well as team shoots. Our Archery MIC has many fun and challenging shoots in mind.

Archers will earn Boon's for their Warlords. These Boons will have a direct effect on your Warlord while they are in battle.

Rapier

Rapier forces will be built on 4 points.

• White Scarves cost 2 points
• All others cost 1 point

Be prepared to battle all over the site and bring back victories to your Warlord.

Rapier fighters will earn Boon's for their Warlords. These Boons will have a direct effect on your Warlord while they are in battle.

Rapier combatants will snowball into larger armies then be broken down into smaller units again. Rapier will also start with the Counting Coup scenario as described in the Armoured section.

Arts and Sciences

Competition 1

To be completed in 2 of three forms:

The Warlords team of Devisors will be asked to prepare two projects. One from each of the three categories listed below.

Research: This would be an academic paper proving the knowledge of the Devisor / Devisors.

Static: This would be a constructed item/s that shows the skill and mastery of a Devisor / Devisors. Minimum of One page documentation required.

Dynamic: This would be a display of ability by the Devisor / Devisors. It can include the static display and or a demonstration of what is in the research paper. Minimum of One page documentation required.

Inspiration for this A&S competition: Medicine, Cartography, Swords to Ploughshares,Terror, Espionage, Poison, Alchemy, Navigation, Heraldry, Military Strategy, Military Tactics, Siege Weapons, Siege Defence, Castles, Heroines, Tyrants, Spoils of War Military Formations, Evolution of Weapons, Technological Advances, Obsolescence of Weapons, Politics, Armour, Transportation, Honour, Chivalry, Dishonour, Crusades, Disease, Communication, Siege, Famous Battles ,Alliances, 'What if' ... at a famous battle, Heroes, Legions, Warrior Kings and/or Queens, Word Fame, Legends, Tournaments, Judicial Duels, Formal Dress/Attire, Intimidation, Treaties And?..........

Competition 2

Facilitated by Facilitated by Dame Elena, Listmistress

Warlords must provide a vessel to hold their coins that can be held/stored at the list table. The 'coin holder' should be easily identifiable and of a period construction. This is where the lists will be putting your Warlords' coins as they are earned. This will speed up the process between skirmishes.

Judges will be the Lists Mistress and her assistants.

Competition 3

Facilitated by Master John MacAndrew

A Case of Reverse Engineering

1. Each team needs to supply a colour photocopy of a SCA time period (650 - 1650) still life painting.

2. Each team needs to provide a small amount of documentation to display their selected still life does fall within the SCA time frame. Documentation is worth 20 points.

And here comes the reverse engineering part:

3. Each team is to reproduce the still life setting it up as a display as though in preparation for the artist to paint.

Accuracy - 40 points. Complexity - 40 points. Further breakdown of judging to follow.

Competition 4

Facilitated by Shareef Musiqi al-Rashid

So you have an army, you have artisans, you have science geeks, and you have service junkies. But ... are you prepared to entertain ?

At A Tournament of Armies you can represent your warlord in three (COUNT THEM 3) different Bardic competitions:

1. Single Bardic Entry - At the Bardic Circle, combatants in the single Bardic Performance can win coins for their Warlord through wooing the populace and spectators

2. Roving Bardic Entry - This is for the Bard (Bards) who does not wish to have a stage. Rove the encampment and win favour and coins for your Warlord.

3. Group Performance - On Saturday night, compete at the Dew Droppe Inne stage in a Battle of the BARDIC SQUADRON !! That's right minimum of 5 (FIVE) people doing a group performance of no less than 5 minutes and no more than 15 minutes!! Sign up sheet with times will be at the Dew Droppe Inne starting at 7:30 pm with the first performance at 9:00pm. Group performances will win coins from the populace and extra coins for your Warlord through a popular vote at the end of the evening!

Competition 5

Facilitated by Master Uilliam MacAndrew

A Brewer’s Challenge!

Taste your wares. Ensure they are palatable and enjoyable!

Details will be made available as soon as we have them. Needless to say this will happen after the sun goes down and should be enlightening and fun!

Service

Earn points for your Warlord throughout the weekend by volunteering and helping out. Every great Warlord needs support. Help support this event and your Warlord by volunteering. If you would like to help with the site set up, or take down please contact the Event Steward.

On site during the event you can see the Event stewards, Gate, Lists / waterbearers and the MIC to help earn service points. Anyone attending the event can earn their Warlord Service points. Event Steward team and their deputies will not earn coins or boons for their Warlords.

Service/Points per Hour(Wage)

• Gate - 5
• Watch - 5
• Marshal/Waterbearing/Other - 2

Scenarios

Armoured

Day One

As a Warlord you can expect to engage in the following scenarios. The order and number of the scenarios will be determined by Don Warwick as the event unfolds. Be prepared for the following:

• Coin Round - Counting Coup

1 coin per armband brought back to Lists. Once a fighter reports to Lists they may not re-enter fray. Dead fighters do not report - any armbands on a dead fighter may be taken. Fighters left on the field after 30 minutes are dead and not counted.

30 minute time limit. A 15 minute warning will be given.

• Coin Round - Capture the Flag + Counting Coup

Each Warlord will be wearing a SPECIAL flag. Bringing a SPECIAL flag back to lists is worth 10 coins. All fighters will be wearing counting coup flags, and each is also worth 1 coin. Bonus of 1 coin per man left alive in your unit. Once a warlord reports they may not re-enter fray.

30 minute time limit. A 15 minute warning will be given.

• Merge Round - Challenge Round

No coins earned. Challenges predicated on highest coins – high coins challenge down. Winner of challenge becomes Warlord of both. Challenge Scenarios listed below.

16 Armies = 8 battles. Result – 8 Armies. Each battle's winner will get all the losers forces and remaining coins.

• Coin Round – Scenarios

Win scenario for 25 coins + 1 coin for every warrior left standing.

Low coins challenge up. 8 armies = 4 battles. No time limits.

The MIC Reserves the right to increase the number of scenarios and rounds on Day One, time dependant.

END OF DAY ONE:

There will be a meeting with all 16 original Warlords immediately after the final scenario at the Lists table. See Schedule.

Day Two

• Coins Round – Scenarios

Win scenario for 50 coins + 1 coin for every combatant left standing.

Low coins challenge up. 4 armies = 2 battles. No time limits.

• Merge Round - Challenge Round

No Coins. Challenges predicated on highest coins – high coins challenge down. Winner of challenge becomes Warlord of both. Challenge Scenarios listed below.

4 Armies = 2 battles - Result – 2 Armies. Winners get all losers forces plus their coins and boons.

• Final Scenario – Push Battle

2 final armies. Field, Bridge, Fortified High Ground, Bridge, Field. Low coins start on High Ground.

Challenge Rules and using Boons

1. Challenges occur at Lists.

2. Challenged Warlord selects the Scenario.

3. Coins may be spent Publically or in Secret but must be reported to Lists on the spot

a. The exception to this rule is Changing Starting Point (yours or your opponent’s). These may be enacted at the scenario and reported to the Marshal there.

Rapier

Boons won in Rapier are awarded immediately to the Armoured Warlord. When Rapier units merge the winning unit does NOT also absorb the Boons or coins.

Rapier Fighters earn two different types of Boons:

• Time Penalty: Warlord plays this before the lay on of their skirmish. The Time Boon played forces the opponent Warlords' army to start on their knee's for 5 (five) seconds. Multiple Time Boons may be played at once.
• Movement: By playing the Movement Boon Warlords may move their starting location for Challenge rounds by 1 (one) location. May move forward or backwards, may not pass opposing army.

All Rapier Scenarios will be resolved on DAY ONE, however, if there are enough rapier forces present to warrant it, the final Push Battle will be resolved on DAY 2 before the Heavy Forces fight.

See Armoured Scenarios.

Target Archery

Boons won in Archery are awarded immediately to the Armoured Warlord. When Archery Companies merge the winning company does NOT absorb the Boons or coins.

Archers earn a specific Boon:

• Negative Regeneration: Archers; a volleys of arrows, painting the sky black, wiping out countless numbers on the opposing force. Archers earn Negative regenerations. These Boons, once played will immediately remove a Regeneration Flag off a member of the opposing force at random (Marshals random grabbing of a regeneration flags). Must be used at Lists, before the scenario starts.

All Archery Scenarios will be resolved on DAY ONE.

Specific Archery Scenarios yet to be determined.

Event Highlights and Personal Memories

One of the many propaganda posters for ToA 2

One of the more memorable things for me, even before the event began, was some of the demotivational posters we put up on Facebook to hype up the event to one another. It was hard not to get excited, since even the non-fighters could contribute to victory by earning points, and I'm not much into fighting these days.
Then the site flooded a week before ToA. Parts were underwater, and the rest were dominated by some kind of uber-mosquito that swarmed out of the stagnant water like a biblical plague. The Event Steward team managed to find another site, which was where we had Sealion War the previous year. The rest of the event seemed to go off without a hitch, so I have much grattitude to the Stewards and their mad skills.
I took up my target bow and won several boons for my Warlord, Baroness Margaret of Lions Gate. The archery was very entertaining and challenging! Everything from animal shoots, a clout shoot, a castle loop shoot and an advancing shoot (where the archers had to jog up to closer and closer lines). That, combined with the drumming, dancing and awesome atmosphere near the Drakkar's pavilion pretty much sealed this as a regular event for me.

-Rashid al-Qasim, 12 August 2011

Event Info

Date

July 29-August 1, 2011

Event Steward & Staff

• Event Steward: HL Callen Drakkar
• Deputy Event Steward & Merchant Coordinator: Lady Johanna van der Velde
• Co-Event Steward & Marshal In Charge: Don Warwick Drakkar

Site Fees

Pre-registered:

• Adult $20
• Youth (13 - 18) $10
• Children 12 and Under Free
• Family Cap $40

At Gate:

• Adult $25
• Adult day fee $15
• Youth (13 - 18) $10
• Children 12 and Under Free
• Family Cap $50

$5 NMS will is in effect, please make cheques payable to "Barony of Lions Gate"

Location

Name: Island 22 Equestrian Site 45695 Cartmell Road Chilliwack, BC

Island 22, unfortunately, has been rendered unusable due to flooding and a previously conquering army of mosquitoes.

Aldergrove Lake Park has been confirmed for our new site.

Aldergrove Bowl at the Aldergrove Lake Park

501 Lefeuvre Road,

Abbotsford, B.C.

Gate will open at 10 AM on Friday July 29th.

Warlords come early to set up your camp and train with your warriors through the day (please provide your own marshals for Friday).

Yes, the scenarios will have to change. Yes, the bards do go on (and on, and on, and on... sheesh). Yes, the artisans may again request the chance to fling a chicken at you in the name of science. Yes, you will have fun.

No, you don't need to bring a pickle barrel full of Deep Woods OFF! We would rather you were swarmed by your enemies than by mosquitoes.

Directions to Site

From West:

1. Merge onto BC-1 E - 45.7 km
2. Take exit 73 for 264 street/BC-13 S toward Aldergrove - 600 m
3. Follow signs for 264 Street S - 71 m
4. Turn left onto 264 St/Aldergrove-Bellingham Hwy/BC-13 S - 4.4 km
5. Turn left onto Fraser Hwy (signs for British Columbia 1Alternate E/Aldergrove) - 3.2 km
6. Turn right onto Lefeuvre Rd - 5.1 km
7. Turn right -Destination will be on the left

From East:

1. Merge onto BC-1 W 5.0 km
2. Take exit 87 for Clearbrook Road - 290 m
3. Turn right onto Clearbrook Rd - 2.6 km
4. Turn right onto Huntingdon Rd - 8.1 km
5. Turn left onto Lefeuvre Rd - 550 m
6. Turn right - Destination will be on the left