Hobbies & Special Interest
Pact of Ruin: a Warhammer: The old world event
Full event pack here
Welcome to The Pact of Ruin: a Warhammer: The Old World two-day gaming event taking place on the 7th and 8th of March 2026. This event will feature 4 battles over two days against opponents to defend the lands of the old world, or burn them to the ground!
What will you need?
· A 2500pt Warhammer the old world army, chosen from the forces or fantasy, ravening hordes, or any pdf "legacy" armies. Note that ALL armies are "legal", including all “legacy” armies. Alternative forces in the arcane journals are also fair game, as are any armies of infamy or alternate lists released by games workshop in white dwarf or other publications. Please note that this is not a competitive or tournament event are there will be no prizes for smashing your opponent. It is likely that there will be a higher demographic of more casual players so entering the event with the idea of smashing everyone with the most tuned up army you can is not really the right approach. Please refer to the “building your army” section of this document for army composition rules
· All armies must be fully painted and based. See more below in regard to what is "fully painted and based"
· Your army list, written in a legible format, either digitally or on paper. If you use an app like battlescribe, new recruit or old world builder please ensure that you print out the list in a format that is easily legible or ensure your device is charged and accessible.
· All the dice and templates you require, including scatter and artillery dice if your army requires it or might require it (in the case of spells)
· All the books and PDFs required to play your army, and the Warhammer: the old world rulebook. If you bring a digital copy of anything please remember to bring a charger and keep your digital device charged!
· A tape measure (please note that whippy sticks shouldn't be used for measuring without your opponent’s consent. Using them as an offensive weapon is also optional and again requires the consent of the recipient of the whippy stick strike.)
·(Optional) A fluff piece for your army, this can be as long or short as you like, it's just a bit of background for your army and your characters, who they are and why they're there. Feel free to print these or hand write them in lavish, overly done medieval script.
· (Optional) A baggage train as described in the Warhammer: The old world matched play guide
· (Optional) A special feature themed to your army as described in the Warhammer: The old world matched play guide
A note on bases: base sizes won't be a problem for this event, if you have models from older editions of Warhammer fantasy then you will not be expected to rebase them. If you have built a new army and want to be able to use it in older editions and so have smaller bases, it again doesn't matter. If you have a mixture of old and new base sizes, it won't matter. If you can't seem to find a resolution or you would like to ask a question regarding base sizes, please feel free to contact me in advance or on the day. Blatant abuse of this (such as a dragon on a tiny base, or infantry on absolutely massive bases) may be met with you being asked to remove that model from the event and use another model instead. If one isn't available then you will have to play with less points or change your list. To summarise, please be sensible.
The boxout "base sizes (designers note)" on page 98 of the rulebook is to be ignored.
Note that if you have smaller base sizes you will be far more vulnerable to template weapons and effects.
If you wish to use base size adapting movement trays, please make it clear with your opponent how big your bases “should” be when it comes to base contact and templates, and stick with this throughout all of your games.
The games: each day will consist of 2 games of Warhammer: the old world against a randomly matched opponent. Each game will be a bespoke scenario unique to the event, but there will be the option to play a “standard” scenario from the main rulebook or the matched play guide if you and opponent should prefer.
"Fully painted and based"
All armies for the event are required to be fully painted and based. This doesn't mean you have to get your army to a golden demon standard or even a particularly high quality. But it will need to be done to a very basic tabletop standard. This means a few colours, no bare plastic, resin, or metal, and some form of texture, paint, or effect on the base. A sprayed basecoat and some shading/highlighting with a texture and some colour on the base is the absolute minimum requirement. If you're unsure of what this amounts to then please free to contact me at exewargaming@gmail.com or @exewargaming on Instagram to get clarification. Or put something in the watsapp group
Model requirements, proxies and counts as
There is no requirement for your models to be “GW official” for this event. Feel free to arrive with a fully 3D printed army, an army made from third party sources, or fully made with citadel plastic, resin, and metal kits. Aslong as a model is clear in what it is supposed to represent, that’s good enough. If you’ve got any doubts then feel free to contact me or put your question in the watsapp group (ideally with a picture so everyone gets to see your awesome models!). Please be prepared to explain to your opponent what everything is in the case of a more unique army (such as a particularly thematic renegade crowns or chaos daemons army)
Building your army
· All armies should be organised using a muster list of 2500pts. All army lists and armies of infamy are fair game, as are all allies and mercenaries that are normally available to your army. The additional magic items found in burning of the westerland are all available.
· All of the legacy army lists may be played using the Square based renegade legacy pack found at www.squarebased.com. Please make it clear to your opponents if you are choosing to use this, and if you are, then use the rules in their entirety, you can’t pick and choose!
· Skaven may also choose to use the Always strikes first unofficial skaven arcane journal for army building, which will be available on the event page.
· Grand Cathay are limited to two sky lanterns in total. This includes sky lanterns taken as character mounts or otherwise.
· Grand Cathay’s Ring of Jet magic item is not considered extremely common
· Legacy armies may be taken as an ally by any army that they themselves are able to take as an ally, if you choose to do this, use the same allegiance level as they would view the parent army if they were to ally them in. If you have any questions about this please contact me for clarification. Lizardmen may choose Grand Cathay’s Grand army list as an ally (and versa) and treat each other as distrusted allies. Skaven and Dark elves are treated as Suspicious allies by everyone, including each other.
· You may choose to build an allied contingent using the battle march rules found in Arcane Journal: War of Settra’s Fury instead of taking a normal allied contingent. This may be up the points value allowed for an allied detachment in your chosen muster list.
-There are additional rules on scoring victory points from characters with a combined profile. These are outlined in the event pack
Awards:
-Best army: There will be an award for a player voted best army. This might be painting, modelling, theme, composition or just overall coolness. Voting will take place on day 1 There will also be an award for 2nd and 3rd place
-Most sporting: there will be an award for the player voted most sporting. This will be the player who gains the most "favourite game" votes over the weekend
-Best single model: Players will vote for a favourite single model on day 2. The winner of this vote will also walk away with an award.
-Best baggage train or Special feature: Players will vote on the best baggage train or special feature. Please display these on the first day with your army
Tea, coffee, snacks, food, and amenities:
There will be tea and coffee available all day. The venue has a bar that may be open at some point during the event but don't count on it. There are ample toilet facilities on site.
You are welcome to bring your own snacks, drinks and food, but please be respectful of the venue and don't leave rubbish on the floor or the surrounding area
There are two chip shops within 5 minutes walk, a third chip shop within 10 minutes walk, 2 corner shops, a pub, and several takeaways within 5 minutes walk. There is also a large Sainsbury's 5 minutes drive up the road. Delivery services are also available in the area
UCG gaming centre is also about 3 minutes walk down the street incase you need paints, glue, or wish to pick up orders on the day or throughout the weekend. It is also open Friday evening until late for those that might wish to get a practice game in. Table space is limited so advance booking is strongly advised.
Schedule:
Both days will start at 10:00 with game 1 starting at 10:30 and running until 13:30. There will then be 45 minutes for lunch, although you can play into your lunch or stop early for food if you and your opponent want to. Once you have finished game 1, please set your armies up for best army voting. Please make a note of your best army vote.
Game 2 will start at 14:30 and run until 17:30. This is not a hard dice down on day 1 so do not feel that you have to rush if you are going to be able to pack up your stuff by 18:30. You can also leave your things at the venue but this will be entirely at your own risk.
Saturday the venue will be available until 18:30 at which time it will be locked up and those wishing to join may come to a meal at a restaurant(tbd) in Exeter. Any models or possessions left in the venue overnight are entirely at the owners own risk.
Game 3 will start at 10:30 on Sunday and run until 13:30, with 45 minutes for lunch. Once you have finished game 1, please select one of your models for the best model voting and place them on the table provided along with a piece of paper with your name. After lunch please submit your vote for best single model. Game 4 will start at 14:30 and end at 17:30. After game 4, please submit your favourite game vote.
Wrap-up and awards will be done at 17:45. After this everything will be packed away and the venue will be closed at 18:30.
Please read the event pack for all event-specific rules
