While I'm not the primary Heroclix envoy, I do referee some of the events while Mike is away, and I am the primary referee for Horrorclix. So I want to talk a little bit about what I think Fellowship means, and what criteria I use for awarding it. Mike may feel differently about some of this, so what I'm writing here should only be taken as *my* opinion on things, not the official policy of all referees at Hero HQ.
Simply put, Fellowship is about playing in a way that's fun for *everyone* present, not just playing to win.
There's nothing wrong with winning, mind. But if you're squeezing every last possible bit of advantage out of the rules and what your opponent is doing in order to win, especially if it makes the game annoying for the other player, then you're not playing the spirit of fellowship.
Also, don't come into the game and ask the Judge if you can have fellowship -- it feels like you're begging for prizes, and isn't dignified, or in the spirit of the game.
Keep in mind that who DOES get fellowship is entirely the call of the judge. Telling your opponnent "ooo, with a team like that, or if you act like that, you won't get fellowship" is rude and unnecessary, and a guarantee that you won't be getting fellowship yourself. Now, if you had a really fun time playing against someone and thought that he or she was a really good sport about things, then by all means let the judge know, but don't think that this immediately means that your opponent is guaranteed the fellowship prize as a result.
Good things to do: - Lend your opponent dice, object tokens, action tokens, and other such materials that are needed. - Arrive early, with a team already built, and fill out your card quickly and neatly. - Be clear with your opponent about what you're doing in the game, and make sure that when dice are being rolled, that everyone involved is paying attention and knows what the dice being rolled are for. - Be courteous, and keep your volume down. - Remind your opponent of rules/powers/etc. that your opponent has forgotten, even if it doesn't benefit you. For example, "I just damaged your Mystic, you're supposed to tell me to take one click of damage now." or "Are you using Ranged Combat Expert on this attack? You didn't say, but if you do, you'd do two more points of damage to me." - Use object tokens that are easy to see and understand. The best way to do this is to use two different color of tokens, so that it's easier to tell which turn a token was placed (switching back and forth between colors each turn), but that's not mandatory. - Thank your opponent for a fun game after you're finished. If you win, be a gracious winner and refrain from bragging. If you lose, don't fuss and complain about it. If you think something wrong happenned (cheating, a rules misunderstanding, etc.) that would've changed the result, you should be asking the judge about it IMMEDIATELY, not waiting until after the game was done and then only complaining after it's too late. - Asking politely before you pick up another player's figures.
Things NOT to do: - Trash talk. "I'm so going to kick your butt." "Your team is so cheesy and cheap, why are you playing that?" "Do you have any idea what you're doing?" Anything like this is rude, and could get you kicked out of the store. - Bending the rules. For example, while the rules do say that you have the right to use your opponent's dice (which is done to prevent cheating with loaded dice), demanding to do so for no other reason than to annoy or upset your opponent is rude. If you don't have your own dice, ask your opponent politely if you can borrow some of his. If you really think your opponent is using loaded dice, call the judge over and let him deal with it. - Stalling. Each round only takes 50 minutes. While strategy decisions can be hard to decide on, it's no fun for people if you spend ten minutes every time your turn comes up just staring at the board. Also, it can be seen as cheating if you're clearly trying to "run out the clock" and win on points. By that same token, don't get out of control and accuse your opponent of stalling if he doesn't move immediately or as fast as you'd like. If you really think that your opponent is stalling, call over the judge and quietly explain your concerns. Screaming out "YOU'RE STALLING!" just annoys everyone. - Being loud. There are other people playing too, and customers in the store. Keep your volume down, you don't have to shout, even if you're arguing about rules. - Obey the Judge. If you ask the judge to make a ruling, and then he does, DO NOT KEEP ARGUING WITH HIM. Once the judge rules, the ruling is final. Complaining about it because you didn't get your way just slows down the game, annoys everyone, and makes you look like a brat.
Remember, people are here to have fun. If people don't play in the spirit of fellowship, people will stop coming to the store to play, and then you'll have no one to play against. So play nice, play fair, and play for fun. This isn't the NFL, you're not going to lose a million dollars if you lose an event.
A good "rule of thumb" - if your opponent enjoyed playing against you, even if you won, then you are Fellowship-worthy. Asking about if you qualify for it or predicting who will get it, is not.
Come prepared. You know that you will need a pen/pencil, die, markers, a team ready to go. Bring those things every week.
Here is a quote from a Wizkids employee early on in the tournament scene:
"The Fellowship prize should be awarded to the player who best exhibits the qualities of sportsmanship and fair play in the tournament. These players are Fellowship contenders: the player who helps others with advice on formations or deployment, offering tips between rounds or giving their opponent the benefit of the doubt; the player who explains his strategy to his opponent after the match so that he’ll know how to counter it the next time; the defeated combatant who grins and compliments the victor on a battle well-fought."
