Hey everyone! please check out our terrain maps at the bottom of this article. We have several events we are running locally and we needed some maps so people can set up their games and get playing. We have converted those into downloadable and printable cards so you can freely use them at home or for your own events!
We would just like to talk a little about the methodology in creating the maps to hopefully answer any questions that may pop up, but if you do have any please let us know, as we want to make something that works for us, our players and hopefully you.
Why maps and not player placed terrain?
“No one should win because they got to place a hill where they wanted at the start of the game”
We think it’s not ideal to force terrain placement to be a player’s choice. In the past, we have seen that abused in so many other systems. Placing terrain tactically so that your opponent can’t charge you or move towards parts of the board and moving all of the terrain to the sides to create an open field for shooting armies being some examples that can really favour an army. Tactically it’s a skill people can use, but losing because you are bad at terrain placement and not Warhammer seems an additional burden I would not like to add for players. Maps create a consistent, simple and fair state for experienced and new players alike.
Additional Benefit:
It saves time setting up the terrain at the beginning of the game so you can quickly get playing.
Why Standardised terrain?
“No army or player should be impacted by just turning up to the table”
Terrain across venues, events and in your house are not consistent. Some game stores may have similar pieces but you are likely to have a varied experience playing at one event to the next . With maps, a Tournament organiser (or your friend) can mitigate the effect terrain like that can have. You won’t turn up to an event that has only impassible terrain making it hard for units to manoeuvre or a field of forests shutting down your shooting.
Also it seems unreasonable for tournament organisers to spend lots of money and time on terrain without some idea of what a map or series of maps may look like, how much terrain they might need and what form it takes. As an event organiser I’m also in this position, so wanted to know what I needed too, so therefore made some maps to hopefully help myself, you and tournament organisers alike.
Why isn’t there lots of terrain?
“If there is too much terrain, units will struggle to manoeuvre. If there is too little, the battlefield will be sparse and uninteresting.”
A direct quote from the Rulebook
OId World is played with sometimes very difficult to move units on trays. Large impactful pieces, with enough room to manoeuvre them fulfils all the necessary requirements I want out of the game. Aesthetically pleasing tables without an overbearing amount of terrain.
Why the 3 variations?
“Variety makes the game cooler”
You’ll notice in the pack of maps we’ve provided 3 variations of each terrain layout. Having variations means that you can drastically change how one mission will be played, either with repeat play or across events. For instance, you could dictate round 1 and 5 of an event have the same mission but modify them with different terrain layouts. It also means there isn’t a best fit for one army which could allow that army to become dominant. I often use certain missions at events to curtail over-performing armies. Also it’s just cool to have variety! In addition it allows me to run the Terrain Picking System at my events to create player agency, which I’ll explain below!
What is the Terrain Picking System?
“Create engaging and fair maps through player agency”
Even when we pick maps we might negatively affect some armies. Let’s say as a tournament organiser I pick Terrain Layout A for a mission and it’s hard for Dwarfs to do well on it. I’ve now affected players wanting to play an army they love, which is always something I strive to avoid. So instead I propose the T.P.S.. The system works by both players rolling a dice at the beginning of the game before terrain is set up but after you explain armies, as this may affect your decision. The loser vetoes one of the three terrain maps. The winner then chooses the one of the two remaining maps and terrain is set up.
This hopefully removes the worst terrain layout for the dice roll loser or removes the best for the dice roll winner (my preference is no one is happy haha!)
What size should the terrain be?
“Use what you have and have fun”
Being conscious of local store owners, people at home and tournament organisers already having terrain they own I wouldn’t like to dictate what size terrain should be.
Personally, we use these sizes of terrain though, if you’d like a bit of a guide:
- The large pieces are 10” x 10”
- The medium pieces are 10” X 5”
- The small pieces are 5” x 5”
