Splintered Thandar Organizer’s Guide

Overview: The Splintered Thandar tournament is a fun tournament format that utilizes cards from across Hero Realms sets. Each player will create a character and advance the character throughout the tournament while exploring the battlefields of Thandar.

This article outlines everything the organizer needs to know to prepare and run your own local Splintered Thandar event.

Advance Planning: In this section we’ll outline steps needed in the weeks ahead of the event.

• Once a date and venue are selected, you’ll want a signup page.  Google Forms, Signup Genius, or any other sort of regularly accessible and configurable sign up service should work.
• Ideally you’ll need one collection per two players, although you can make one collection stretch to four players. We’ll go into more detail on this in the next section. Encourage players to bring their collection if they have them, while simultaneously encouraging players that don’t have collections that they will be accommodated.
• Link to the Players Guide on Realms Rising to ensure players have an idea of how the tournament will work.
• Get the word out!  Fan podcasts such as Realms Rising and Sparks and Recreation are very happy to promote Hero Realms events.  Also reach out to Wise Wizard Games (Debbie@wisewizardgames.com is probably your best contact point), they will also want to promote your event on their streams and social media. Also get the word out among personal contacts and through the local game community social media.  A good old fashioned flyer in the store never fails!

Organizer Preparation: In the days prior to the event, the organizer should prepare some physical supplies to bring to the event.

• Must Have Supplies:
  • Character Sheets (plenty of extras)
  • Battlefield Sheets (13)
  • Quest & Artifact Guide Sheets 
  • Tournament app link (QR code)
  • Battlefield Randomizer Cards
  • Pencils/Pens
• Nice to Have Supplies
  • Post it notes
  • Ziploc baggies
  • Sharpie
  • Hand sanitizer/disinfectant wipes 
  • Extra Hero Realms sleeves
  • “Aged” paper to print Character Sheets and Battlefields look great and add theme to the event.
• Battlefield Preparation
  • There are 13 Battlefields and all can be prepared in advance from a single collection. 
  • For each Battlefield that involves extra cards, those cards can be set aside in a baggie labeled with a sharpie with the Battlefield name and cards’ owner’s name.
  • One set of 13 Battlefields can accommodate up to 26 players. Two sets can accommodate 52, etc.

Player Collection Preparation: Each player bringing their collection to be used during the event can spend a few minutes preparing in advance as follows:

• Market Deck: 
  • Core Set Market Deck
  • Kickstarter Promos
  • Journeys Hunters and Travelers
  • Journeys Kickstarter
  • Any other one-off market deck promos available.
  • Note: all market decks do NOT have to be the same. It’s ok to use a market deck that doesn’t include all the promos.
• Quests & Artifacts:
  • All Quests and all Artifacts (from Journeys Conquest and Discovery plus the KS Promos Quests) should be gathered together.
• Other:
  • Fire Gems
  • Zombie/Legionnaire Tokens (if KS Promos are being used)
  • Hero Realms Playmat (optional)
  • Cards should be sleeved in official Hero Realms sleeves (except cards that never enter a deck)

Character Preparation: For each class, group together the following cards.  Players who are willing to share their collection with new players can prepare these class packs in advance. Character Sheets can be used as a reference:

• Class Card Pack:
  • Character card (1)
  • All Skills, and each level 3-5 Ability, from the Ruin of Thandar Campaign Deck (12 cards total)
  • Starting Player Deck (10)
  • Treasure Cards (1 KS promo, 4 Ruin of Thandar, 2 Lost Village, 7 treasures total)
  • Magic Armor (2)
  • Health Upgrade (1)
• Ancestry
  • All Ancestries (including the KS Promo Half-Demon if available) should be set aside.
• Card Sleeves
  • All personal deck cards should be sleeved in official Hero Realms sleeves so they can be used at any table.

Day-Of Setup: Organizers should get to the venue early to prepare tables. Consider having a setup time at least a half-hour prior to the advertised event start time for all players bringing a collection to share.

• Table Setup: For every two players, you will need one table setup. Table setups include the following.
  • Playmat (optional)
  • Market Deck
  • Fire Gems
  • Quest & Artifact Guide sheet 
  • Quest stack
  • Artifact stack
  • Zombie/Legionnaire tokens (if using KS Promos in the market deck)
  • Sticky Note to identify the cards’ owner
• Battlefields Setup: Depending on the number of players, battlefields can be set up one of two ways. For a smaller group (12 or fewer), it is practical to randomize the battlefields every round. For larger groups (more than 12) it is advisable to leave the battlefields in place round to round to ease transition time.
  • Small group: Setup one area for the organizer to be based. Lay out each Battlefield with associated cards so they’re easily accessible. Battlefields will be randomly selected and distributed at the beginning of each round, then returned to the organizing area at the end of each round.
  • Large group: At the start of the event, randomly assign Battlefields to table setups. Battlefields will remain in place and players will move from table to table.

Character Creation: As players arrive, make note of their class and ancestry preference.  

• If there are not enough Class Packs and Ancestries to go around so all players can enjoy their first pick, perform a draft to select Classes and Ancestries.
• Give each player a character sheet matching their chosen Class, and ensure they have a Class Pack and Ancestry. 
• Players should mark their character sheets with their Ancestry selection and fill in the names of new personal deck and inventory cards accordingly. Whenever a Gold is replaced, cross it off the personal deck list.
• Players may select “Human”, which means no Ancestry cards.
• Newer players may be encouraged to take a more straightforward class, like Fighter or Wizard, and no Ancestry.

Round by Round: Once all players have arrived, have a character sheet, class pack including upgrades, and ancestry, and all players have been registered in the tournament app, it’s time to begin the tournament.

• Pairings: Announce each pairing and declare the battlefield that game will use.
• Level Up: Announce the upgrades available this round. Each upgrade option will be announced as either a Character Point (CP), Treasure, or Armor, or some combination.
  • Character Point – Players may spend one Character Point (CP) to upgrade one of either their Skill, Ability, or Health. Each may be upgraded twice, then may not be increased again. CP may not be spent to add a Skill or Ability.
  • Treasure – To gain a treasure, each player hands the stack of available treasures to opponent, which checks the stack against the list on the player’s character sheet, then shuffles the stack. The player draws three treasures, picks one, and returns the remaining treasures to the stack.
  • Armor – Pick one of the two available Armors.
  • Character Sheet – Players mark their character sheets with upgrades, crossing out replaced cards and checking off or circling newly chosen cards.
• Deck Check: Players should inspect their opponents’ personal deck and inventory and ensure it matches the character sheet.
• Battlefield Setup: Players should follow the Setup instructions on their Battlefield sheet.
• Quests: Players should follow the Setup instructions on their Quest and Artifact Guide sheet.
• First Player: Randomly select first player by any agreeable method.
• Market Row: Shuffle the Market Deck, then populate the market row with the top 5 cards.
• Rules Questions: Organizers should remain available for rules questions during the course of the games. If playing, then backup judges should be designated to rule on questions involving the Organizer(s).
• Record Winner: As games complete, mark winners in the tournament app.
• End of Round: Ensure players return all Quests, Artifacts, Fire Gems, Market Deck cards, and Battlefield components to the table.  Note that level up will occur at the start of the next round after pairings, players should keep their deck intact until sitting with their new opponents.

Final Thoughts and Reminders:

• Pics or it Didn’t Happen: Take lots of pictures for social media!  You don’t want to drive away regretting you didn’t take enough pictures. Trust me on this one. 🙂
• Player Decorum: Be excellent citizens of your venue. Monitor your group’s volume levels and language, and if necessary ask players to “bring it down a notch” if being too rowdy or not family friendly. The Realms community is known for being one of the best communities on the internet, let’s make sure we’re also the best, most well behaved community locally too.
• Venue Cleanup: As the organizer, take ultimate responsibility to clean up after the event. Identify trash receptacles early in the event to remind players to make use of them.  Be the last to leave and ensure all trash is removed, tables are wiped down, chairs put back, etc. Leave the place nicer than you found it. 
• Venue Support: If an FLGS is hosting, encourage players to browse the store in between rounds or afterwards and support the store with purchases. Many FLGSs will host for free or cheap, but space isn’t free to them and we should feel cheerfully obliged to spend some of our hard earned money there in support.

Document Links:

• Battlefields
• Battlefield Randomizer Cards
• Character Sheets
• Player’s Guide (printable)
• Player’s Guide (article link)
• Quest and Artifact Guide
• Splintered Thandar Flyer 
• Splintered Thandar Lore

Good luck running your Splintered Thandar event. If you have any questions, post them to the Realms Rising Discord server Splintered Thandar channel or the Hero Realms Facebook fan page.