Terrain - Battlefield setups...

[Denzark]

Hello peeps

A frustrating problem. A friend and I are both going to Heat 1 Throne of Skulls next month. So we have been play-testing our armies at least once and sometimes twice a week (not including 2 weeks where the opposition got caned so quickly we could get another game in!).

So, 6' x 4'. However, what is getting harder is setting up terrain. Whilst i have a good selection, getting some variation is hard. Yes I have gone through numerous of my White Dwarfs back to WD87. But it's starting to get frustrating - there is only 2 set up in the Main Rules.

So, has anyone got access to a website or anything with actual layouts for 6' x 4'? One constraint would be that whilst I have a few trees, they are not decently based so continuosly fall over so would rather have less rather than more?

Any suggestions would be well received, not cities of death but just vanilla 40K.

Ta Ta

[Lerra]

We have the same problem with our forest terrain (removable trees that fall over). So we use the base for the forest and put one tree on it, and call it area terrain. We know that the area terrain "forest" consists of many trees of the height of that one tree, so LoS isn't difficult, and the trees don't get constantly taken out by tyranids or kroot (who love to kill trees with their spiky bits).

[Churlton]

I understand you,

Playing with different styles/mixes/types of terrain really affects the dynamics of an army and that is before you factor in the missions and setups.

Tournament play usually (in my experience) is pre-prepared , staic, and generally themed across the table.

I would say that often there is a progression of types eg (left to right) buildings, hills then woods, or something like that.
They tend to be evocative and narrative playing areas, with some tables set up to be very challenging with the types and concentration, down to very challenging due to the sparseness of the board. There is no cut and dry layout.

May I suggest that:
approx 25% of the table contains cover/terrain (maybe 6-8 pieces), spread them out before you roll for mission/setup). then scatter dice to increase variation (at 1 or 2 d6).

Set up set pieces that you know would not be convenient for your army ... to test your capabilities. In the tourney You will not guarantee that you land on a table that suits your army.

The idea of arrea terrain without the filler (ie 1 tree on a base to indicate a wood is great) or paper template craters or such will increase your terrain types.

A a start.

[entendre_entendre]

yeah the 25% of the table is standard, but if you're preparing for a tourney, play with differing amounts of terrain. one game go w/ 25%, then 15%, then a cramped CoD table with 50%, etc. this will give you all kinds of scenarios to play with. if u want random set up, every time you place a piece of terrain, roll a scatter die & move the piece D6 inches in that direction. provides a random terrain set up. if you wanted to take a step back, you could consult the 3rd ed. rulebook for the random terrain generator.
as for trees, you could just cut up aquarium plants & glue 'em to washers then put them on a base, that way you could move 'em whenever you wanted. makes a cool jungle

[DarkLink]

Yeah, fill up one quarter of the table (roughly), then distribute as you see fit. This gets you about the right amount of terrain.

Secondly, put terrain where it will affect the battle. LOS blocking terrain does you no good if it is so far back in one corner that nothing can hide behind it. You want several large, LOS blocking terrain pieces, each far enough away from the edge that you can get a vehicle behind it. Similarly, place a hill behind raised terrain. Hills don't do much good if there's open ground all around it, but if the hill lets you look over a nearby wall, that increases your tactical options.

[imperialsavant]

Hello peeps

A frustrating problem. ***SNIP
Any suggestions would be well received, not cities of death but just vanilla 40K.

Ta Ta

;) One good source of Terrain that is different is an Aquarium supply shop.
Our club brought Rock Ridges & Alien looking plastic plants etc that really add character to the Table.
If cost is a factor just go find some large Rocks from the Garden or some other source & cut some vegetation to suit.

Browse some of the White Dwarf Bat Raps for ideas for set up.

[Denzark]

Guys thanks for the replies.

I am not explaining my self very well. I don't want to know how to make or where to get terrain. I don't want to know how much to use. I just want example battlefields I can copy - ie this hill goes here, that bunker goes there.

Think of the battle report graphics in WD. You know the set up pic where all the units are on turn one? Well take off the unti graphics and this is what I want - examples!

Thank you for any more help you can give

[Majorcrash]

In most battles played with our club, despite the army we place anywhere from 7-12 terrain pieces. Most are 6" diameter or larger. Los blocking terrain is about 1/4 and then a 1/4 of move restrictive terrain. We kinda use a fromula from BFG. Of rolling for quadrants and placing terrain in turn. Thus there would be six "Quadrants" ( Yes I think the correct term is sextants but I hated math 30 years ago and cant remember) with a roll of a d3+1, for each section. After table is set we the roll for sides. This causes both player to try an make each area as fair as possible.

[Culven]

I'm not sure how much use 40K battlefiled maps will really be for you when you are practising for a tournament. The organizers won't be using any set rules for terrain placement. Instead, they will either set up the table before any games (using whatever whimsical layout they see fit) or they will have the plaers set up terrain. While the terrain pieces may all fit within a theme for a specific table, it is equally likely that there will just be a collection of pieces that the group has available. The ratios of terraiin types will also vary. The end result is an unpredictable combination of pieces and placement (unless there is a need for specific pieces in certain locations due to mission requirements).

If you really want to try something where the players don't have as much control over the terrain, try just grabbing pieces as you fill the table quarter without considering type or theme. Then place everything in turns. Once this is done, roll a D6 and the scatter die for each piece so that it is shifted from where the player "wanted" it to be located.

[Denzark]

[QUOTE=Culven;22325]I'm not sure how much use 40K battlefiled maps will really be for you when you are practising for a tournament.


Because I can come up with every sort of possible random terrain generation tables from 5 editions of 40K - We just want to use other peoples layouts to save time - I am running out of ideas!!!

[Drunkencorgimaster]

I think you should pick one corner of the table and pile all your terrain pieces up in it. Just stack them on top of each other. Trees on buildings, ponds, on hills, etc. Make a big pile, about 2-3 feet high. Then call that stack unpassable terrain. Make the rest of the table dangerous terrain and play on the floor.