Archon Online for Princes
Archon Online is the official VEKN platform for managing Vampire: The Eternal Struggle tournaments. This guide covers the organizer side: event creation, tournament cycle, finals, reports. For the player side see Archon Online for players; for the judge role see Archon Online for Judges.
To create sanctioned Constructed tournaments you must be a VEKN Prince. Non-Princes can only create Demo, Launch Party and Unsanctioned events. To become a Prince, contact your National Coordinator. Reference: How to run a V:TES tournament.
IMPORTANT
Archon is the future, but we’re not all the way there yet. The BCP Organized Play Coordinator has said the old vekn.net calendar/event system will be gradually retired and Archon should be used as much as possible. But until the archon → vekn.net sync is stable, events must be created on vekn.net and then managed on Archon. See Known bugs for documented cases.
1. Tournament states
On Archon every tournament moves through these states:
| State | What happens |
|---|---|
| PLANNED | Initial state. Only the organizer can register players. |
| REGISTRATION | Self-service registration open to players. |
| WAITING | Check-in open. Registered players can still self-register, but decklists are no longer editable. |
| PLAYING | Round in progress. |
| FINALS | Final in progress. |
| FINISHED | Tournament closed, winner computed automatically. |
Useful state changes to remember:
PLANNED → REGISTRATIONvia Open Registration (opens self-service signups to players).WAITING → REGISTRATIONvia Cancel Check-in (to allow decklist edits).PLAYING → REGISTRATIONafter Finish Round (to handle drops and last-minute signups before the next round).
2. Creating an event
Recommended procedure: via the VEKN calendar
VEKN recommends creating events on vekn.net → Create an Event. Once created, they appear on Archon after the daily sync. Then check on Archon that the data matches (you can edit it from the Tournament Manager anyway).
NOTE
The vekn.net → Archon sync is daily, not immediate. Create the event well in advance of registration opening.
Alternative procedure: archon.vekn.net (Create Tournament)
From the Tournaments page the Create Tournament button opens a full form (name, format, rank, proxies, multideck, decklist required, online, venue, dates, time zone, markdown description, judges and organizers). In theory the event created here syncs back to vekn.net.
WARNING
In practice the archon → vekn.net sync still has documented bugs on country, venue, proxies flag and rounds. Until further VEKN notice: always create on vekn.net and manage from Archon.
Registering new VEKN players directly from Archon
Princes and National Coordinators can create new VEKN accounts directly from Archon, without going through the VEKN admin. Useful for last-minute registrations.
NOTE
The new player record may fail to sync correctly with the VEKN registry (known cases: wrong country). If you’ll need to use it for future historical archon Excel uploads, double-check with your NC.
3. Tournament Manager
When you open an event you organize, a Tournament Manager button appears (players only see the registration view). From here you manage the entire tournament cycle.
Info tab
Lets you edit event data (venue, description, times, etc.) at any time.
Registration tab — Check-in
Shows the list of registered players (including drops). At start time, open the check-in and enter the players actually present.
Three actions for each player:
- info: accesses sanctions and decklist. With check-in open you cannot update the decklist even though the command appears active.
- check-in: includes the player in the round.
- drop: drops the player from the tournament.
NOTE
Distinct from Drop: the Check out action (judge-only) marks a temporary absence for one or more rounds (a player stepping away without dropping). Allows re-check-in next round. The Drop button is permanent withdrawal; for temporary check-out coordinate with a judge.
Global commands:
- Check everyone in: checks in all registered players at once.
- Cancel Check-in: closes the check-in (back to
REGISTRATION). Required to allow decklist edits; reopen the check-in afterwards. - Register / New Member: last-minute player registration (requires a VEKN ID, or creates a new one).
- Start Round: starts the round, generates tables and seatings.
Round tab — round management
During the round, players see their own table on their devices. The organizer sees the full table list.
- pencil: enter the player’s score (0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, 4, 5 VP).
- info: sanctions, view decklist.
- Alter Seating: change round seatings. Poorly tested feature: use only in exceptional cases.
- Finish Round: closes the round. All tables must be Finished; to validate an irregular score before closing, see Override on irregular table score below.
Override on irregular table score
The Override button (judges only) validates a non-standard score. Typical case: a player disqualified mid-round and VP not summing to 5 by regulation. It applies to a single table, taking round, table and a mandatory reason. Who issued it is tracked. To revoke it, use the trash icon on the row.
In medium/large tournaments the override is issued by the judge. In small tournaments where you are both Prince and judge, you apply it yourself — see the Judge guide.
After Finish Round you go back to REGISTRATION: drop anyone leaving, reopen check-in and repeat the cycle until rounds are over.
TIP
Automatic no-show drop: since v0.51 players registered but absent at check-in are dropped automatically. No need to drop them one by one.
Offline mode
Archon supports an offline mode to run a tournament from a venue with no reliable connectivity: events are stored locally and synced when connectivity comes back. Offline mode can be deactivated by any judge once back online — you don’t need to be the Prince who created the event.
4. Sanctions
From the i (info) card — accessible from Registration and Round — you reach the player sanctions module. Archon defines four levels, cumulative by severity and tracking:
| Level | Effect | Recording |
|---|---|---|
CAUTION | Informational only, a verbal warning to the player. | Not recorded in the VEKN database (informal notice). |
WARNING | Formal warning. | Recorded on the public VEKN profile, visible to anyone. |
GAME_LOSS | Forced loss for the player at the current table. Always paired with a WARNING. | Recorded on the public VEKN profile (the WARNING is too). |
DISQUALIFICATION | Removes the player from the tournament (possibly “without prize” in severe cases). | Recorded on the public VEKN profile. |
Sanctions can be categorized (category field):
DECK_PROBLEM— decklist issue.PROCEDURAL_ERRORS— procedural errors.CARD_DRAWING— card drawing problems.MARKED_CARDS— marked cards.SLOW_PLAY— slow play.UNSPORTSMANLIKE_CONDUCT— unsporting behaviour.CHEATING— fraudulent behaviour.
A judge can remove a previously applied sanction by clicking the trash icon next to it — useful for mistakes or for sanctions applied pending clarifications that turn out fine.
IMPORTANT
DISQUALIFICATION ≠ Drop. To remove a player from the tournament for disciplinary reasons, use the DISQUALIFICATION sanction, not the Drop button. Drop is a neutral player or logistic action; disqualification stays on the VEKN history and carries weight at future events.
The usual workflow: the Judge verifies and proposes the sanction, the Prince records it (in small tournaments the Prince may also be the judge). For the judge role detail see Archon Online for Judges.
5. Finals
After the last round, the final happens in two explicit steps:
- Seed Finals — the system computes finalist seeding based on results. Verify that all finalists are present; drop anyone missing before seeding.
- Seat Finals — finalists pick their seat at the table in seed order (VEKN rule: top seed picks last). Archon collects the choices.
Breaking ties between finalists
When two or more players have identical GW/VP/TP, their rows in the Seed Finals modal are highlighted yellow and the Toss button (coin icon) becomes enabled. The numeric Toss field next to each tied player is not the die-roll result but the post-tiebreak ordinal: 1 = best seed, 2 = next, and so on.
Two ways to assign it:
- Toss — Archon randomizes the values for the tied group itself. Quick if you don’t have dice handy.
- Manual: do a physical roll (die, coin) between the players involved and enter
1for the toss winner,2for the next, etc. This is the “official” at-table procedure, aligned with the VEKN tournament rules, section 3.1 (“any fair random method”).
IMPORTANT
The field accepts 0–5 but what matters is only the relative ordering inside the tied group: lowest value gets the best seed. You don’t need to map the die result (d6 = 4) onto the field — just give 1 to whoever rolled best.
After the final, record the result and close the tournament: Archon computes the winner and final standings automatically and tries to sync with vekn.net.
Useful pages to share with players:
- Public tournament view:
archon.vekn.net/tournament/<uuid>/display.html - Organizer console (private):
archon.vekn.net/tournament/<uuid>/console.html
6. VEKN timing and formats
From the official VEKN rulebook:
- VEKN sanction: request the sanction at least 28 days before the event.
- Announcement: the event must be advertised at least 28 days in advance, stating date, time and location.
- Archival: the organizer must keep a copy of the report for at least 1 year.
Who can sanction what
- VEKN Prince: all sanctioned formats (Standard Constructed, Limited, National Championship, Continental Qualifier, etc.).
- Non-Prince: only Demo, Launch Party and Unsanctioned events.
Online tournaments
To register an online tournament just check the Online tournament box in the event creation form on vekn.net. The event becomes visible on Archon by enabling the Include Online toggle.
Archon specifics for online tournaments:
- On-demand pairing: Archon generates pairings and seatings on the fly — useful for multi-session leagues. When you can, use the optimal pre-computed seating from the historical VEKN Excel sheet.
- Multideck: online formats are typically multideck (different deck per round); the VEKN Online Constructed Ranking recognizes the format.
- Standings reconciliation: Archon standings on online leagues have had historical bugs — see Known bugs and cross-check with vtes-hook.com before publishing the ranking.
Non-Archon operational aspects (Discord for registrations and voice, Lackey CCG for play) are outside the scope of this guide.
7. Known bugs and workarounds
WARNING
The list below summarizes bugs documented on the VEKN forum (Prince List and Organizational Questions) and in the vtes-biased/archon repo between November 2025 and May 2026. The situation evolves rapidly: before assuming a bug is still open, check the CHANGELOG.
Event import archon → vekn.net with wrong fields. Documented cases: country (a Hungarian event ended up in Palma de Mallorca), inverted proxies allowed, venue, rounds, limitedness. Workaround: always create the event on vekn.net, not via Create Tournament on Archon. If the bug already hit, in severe cases it’s worth deleting and recreating the event on vekn.net.
New player sync Archon → VEKN registry. When you create a new player from Archon, they may land in the registry with the wrong country. Workaround: verify with your NC before relying on the record for historical archon Excel uploads.
“Unable to finish tournament” → internal server error. When you close the tournament, Archon tries to submit results to vekn.net. If a historical archon Excel is already uploaded on the VEKN side for that event, the submit fails and Archon can’t close. Workaround: ask your National Coordinator to remove the already-uploaded archon file on vekn.net, then retry.
Finalists can’t see results after closure. Once the tournament is FINISHED, finalists don’t always see the final results from their view. Workaround: share the display.html link manually.
“Registered” count includes drops. Players who pre-register and then drop remain in the tournament’s “registered” count. Mitigation: in pre-event communications, quote the real count (registered − drop).
Decklists visible to a playing Prince. In small tournaments the Prince may also play: in that case they see opponents’ decklists. Ethical mitigation: have a non-playing judge (or a guest Prince) review the lists and note in the final report who checked them.
Irregular pairing in small tournaments. Cases reported of players who faced 6-7 different people across 2 rounds instead of the expected 8 (interpretation of the “no pair of players share a table through every single round” rule). Mitigation: when possible, review table seatings manually before Start Round.
Buggy standings on online leagues (historical). Recurring standing bugs on online tournaments. Workaround: cross-check with vtes-hook.com as fallback.
8. Post-tournament report
Once the tournament is over and data has synced with vekn.net, create the forum post in the Event Reports and TWD section and wait for approval from the National Coordinator (who has tournament organizer powers over all tournaments in their country).
Good practice: include in the post both the vekn.net event link and the Archon page archon.vekn.net/tournament/<uuid>/display.html, and — if you applied notable sanctions — the list (without sensitive personal data).
TIP
At tournament end the organizer can download a clean text file of the tournament (results, seatings, sanctions) from the Tournament Manager console. Useful as a local backup beyond the VEKN copy.
9. Bug reports and feedback
Archon Online is open-source software under active development. The official repository is github.com/vtes-biased/archon. To report bugs or UI suggestions, use the Report Issue button in the top-right corner of every page on archon.vekn.net (opens a GitHub issue; free GitHub account required).
Before reporting, check the bug isn’t already known: some are being fixed and are flagged in the Known bugs section of this guide or in the CHANGELOG.