Check
One Ring Awards rules
@ Fall of Fingolfin:
The rules set is quite obvious for most of those questions I think...
1. The entries will be accepted during the month of August, with voting taking place in the following month;
2. Dioramas are definetelly aloud and in more than one category;
3. You can enter a diorama in:
a) Open Best Terrain Piece or Diorama - You can enter either a terrain piece or a diorama themed around anything you want as long as its LOTR related;
b) One Ring Mastercraftsman - You can enter a diorama themed around a particular bunch of chapters (check the rules for this year details);
c) General Beginners Category - This is a special category and anyone entering it can enter up to three errm, entries. One single mini, one sculpt and one terrain/diorama piece.
The catch here is, anyone who is entering the Beginners category can only enter the beginner and the Mastercraftsman Categories... That means you cannot enter one of the open categories and the beginner category. Either you are a beginner or not, you cant be both.
4. Well, that really depends on what your entries are and if you consider yourself a beginner or not. If you think you are a beginner you need to click Beginner Registration so that your status can be confirmed by the staff. If you are accepted as beginner you wont be able to enter any of the Open categories. If you are not accepted as beginner, you can always enter the open categories. One word of advice to everyone: don't leave the Beginner registration for the last day! The status needs to be confirmed and that takes at least a few hours. If you leave the registration for the 23h of the last day, might be a bit tough to make it work.
5. Entries can be about anything LOTR related, from any brand, as long as they are in scale with the GW minis (25-28mm). The only themed category is the Mastercraftsman category. In this case, your entry has to be a diorama themed around a particular bunch of chapters (check the rules - link on top). You can pick any scene or whatever from those chapters and work from there...
I think I was clear enough. Please note that readind the actual rules carefully is a must for everyone who plans to enter the awards.