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Warning: alien cactus ahead. |
With a title like 'Scenic Insanity' you know these are going to be imbalanced and weird terrain rules. The name is taken from the main inspiration, a section of the same name from the original edition of Warhammer 40 000, the quite weird and whacky not-quite-there-yet
Warhammer 40 000: Rogue Trader. These terrain rules are weird, often oddly specific and designed to add additional mayhem to the table and as such are better suited to be rolled randomly for a campaign battle or a random skirmish rather than more balanced competitive play.
Scenic Insanity
After choosing the mission type/rolling for the mission but before deployment, roll on your Scenic Insanity table (more information below on how to make your own) to determine what bizarre terrain will plague your table. Then roll again to determine its placement. It is recommended that your number your 'normal' terrain then roll the appropriate dice. Then replace the terrain piece with the Scenic Insanity terrain. For added mayhem you may instead assign a number to your Objectives Markers: then place the Scenic Insanity terrain around the Marker, turning this critical point into a dangerous quagmire or worse. You can also roll for more than one terrain type, if you want.
New Rules: Unit Classification
These optional terrain rules refer to a variety of unit type, such as 'Infantry' or 'Walkers' or 'Tanks'. Now obviously to some extent figuring out what is what can be boiled down to simple logic and guess work. Still, for those who want slightly clearer rules on what type of unit is what, there are some guidelines. Of course, there are exceptions to everything. Just agree with your opponent in advance. Generally speaking, anything which is a squad of units or a hero is Infantry, unless it is mounted on a bike or something similar. Anything with Tough(6) or higher that isn't infantry is obviously a Vehicle. If the Vehicle has legs, its obviously a Walker.
Optional Rules: Saving Throws
If someone is looking for a bit of an old-school feel, then they can assign Saving Throws values to their units. Normally, terrain which requires a roll of some kind tend to simplify to a Quality roll. However, for some added imbalance and chaotic nature, you can assign some Saving Throw values to units. It should be noted that Saving Throw rules are not balanced and exist to add further randomness alongside the scenic insanity. It is very likely that some units have unfairly high saving throws in some areas. The usual rules for Age of Fantasy/Grimdark Future apply as usual, so Saving Throws are capped at a maximum of 2+ and cannot go lower than 6+.
A game need not to make use of all Saving Throw at once, as obviously the amount of special terrain in a single mission is usually just a single type of annoying Scenic Insanity. Unit saving throws are as follow:
- Reflexes: How fast a unit is at evading something. A unit's Reflexes Saving Throw is equal to 5+, modified as follow: if the unit is Fast/Very Fast (these two don't stack with each others) or Strider it gain +1 to Reflexes and if it is Slow it has -1 to its Reflexes. Non-bikes Vehicles, Monsters , Walkers and units equipped with heavier armor such as Destroyer Armor (or similar analogous gear) default to 6+.
- Toughness: How tough the unit is physically. A unit's Toughness Saving Throw is equal to its 5+, modified as follow: if the unit has Regeneration or Shield Wall (or similar defense abilities) it gain +1 to Toughness. Monsters also gain +1. If the unit has Quality 4+ or lower it has -1.
- Armor: How tough the unit's armor is against the most intense of hazards. This goes above and beyond the simple Defense saving throw and represent the worst kind of dangers which can turn even a Battle Brother into a pile of chunky salsa. A unit's Armor Saving Throw is equal to 5+, modified as follow: If the unit has Regeneration, Shield Wall or similar defensive abilities it gain +1. If the unit has Defense 3+ or lower, it has -1 to Armor saves while a unit with 2+ Defense gains +1 to its Armor Save. Vehicles default to 2+ and cannot modify this value.
- Luck: How plain lucky a unit is. A unit's Luck Saving Throw is equal to 5+, modified as follow: a Hero gain +1, as does any unit with a Veteran ability (such as Veteran Infantry). Halflings in Age of Fantasy gain +1 to their Luck, as they are lucky little bastards.
In addition to these fairly universal Saving Throws, here are a few other ideas just for fun.
- Intelligence: How smart the unit is at problem-solving and understanding the danger of their environment. Orcs/Orks would obviously be penalized with this kind of Saving Throw.
- Systems: Used as a special Saving Throw for Walkers or combat robots of some kind to resist things such as hacking or EMP.
Building Your Own Table
What types of insane and bizarre terrains you choose to use depend on your game and setting of choice. A futuristic game could be set on an alien planet inhabited by xenos scum or the choking Underhive and this would greatly affect what type of terrain is used and what form it could take, which offer different modelling opportunities. Someone who plays a more modern (yet infamous) fantasy game set in various Realms is going to have more use for more exotic, high fantasy terrain types which reflect the various locales of the Realms.
Here are three sample tables of Scenic Insanity, using a simple d6 to roll which is picked.
D6 | The Underhive | Demonic World | Realm of Fire |
1 | Spawning Nest of hungry Underhive vermin | Spawning Nest of unspeakable creatures | Slippery Terrain in the form of hardened glass |
2 | Explosive Terrain of flammable barrels | Large Spikes of jagged demonic altars | Morpho Rocks of magically infused volcanic rock |
3 |
Slippery Terrain of garbage piles |
Morpho Rocks of unstable reality |
Explosive Terrain of unusual glowing crystals |
4 |
5 |
Rust Hazard from toxic vents |
Warping Field of pure demonic energies |
Boiling Terrain of superheated lava and/or mud |
6 |
Exotic Dangerous Terrain
This is the catch-all category for Dangerous Terrain which is often specific to one unit type when it come to its dangers. The forms it take are quite endless in the variety of insanities and the dangers they offer:
- Spawning Nests: Exotic alien monsters breed or nest here and this piece of terrain represent either their den or some sort of spawning pool. Spawning Nests is Dangerous Terrain for Infantry and requires a Toughness Saving Throw to avoid being eaten alive. Vehicles can just crush through the nest unimpeded.
- Slippery Terrain: Glass planes? Strange alien mucus? Fungal growths? Not only is this terrain slippery/difficult to navigate but a fall may spell doom. This terrain is Dangerous Terrain for Infantry and requires a Reflexes Saving Throw to not die.
- Large Spikes: These spikes are large and noticeable enough for infantry to avoid, but is Dangerous Terrain for Vehicles and Walkers and requires a Reflexes Saving Throw less they take damage.
- Rust Hazard: There's some strange, toxic nonsense here which can severely eat through something's armor. Rust Hazard is Dangerous Terrain which affect Vehicles and Walkers and requires an Armor Saving Throw to not take damage. However, each time they pass the Saving Throw they get -1 to their Defense for the rest of the battle.
- Morpho Rocks: Morpho rocks appear stable but in truth they are a strange and exotic substance which distort and warp, flowing like liquid when applied pressure to. Morpho Rock is too fluid to even evade and requires a Luck Saving Throw. Infantry which fails this save are lost, instantly killed while Vehicles become trapped and must make a Saving Throw each turn: on a success they free themselves. Vehicles which are anti-gravity can traverse it as Difficult Terrain as if they lacked Strider.
Boiling Terrain
This terrain is dangerous and takes the form of something like lava, thermal discharges, strange alien primordial soups or geothermal vents. The release of the burning air is particularly dangerous to any living creature which isn't native to it. Boiling Terrain is
Dangerous Terrain to Infantry and requires the usual Dangerous Terrain test. Alternatively, it can require an
Armor Saving Throw. In addition to its base danger, there is a one in six chance that the Boiling Terrain might suddenly have a build up and release its deadly content. Each turn, roll a d6. On a roll of 1, the Boiling Terrain violently explodes and all units in a 2d6+6" radius around and inside the piece of terrain must test dangerous terrain as it rain hot boiling mess on everyone and everything. Following this explosion the terrain behave as it normally does and will not explode for the rest of the match.
Explosive Terrain
By itself, Explosive Terrain isn't dangerous. If left alone it will generally not be a threat. However, should fighting occur around or inside it, then it risk going up in flames and taking the lives of those fighting in such a risky area. The most common form of Explosive Terrain are combustible materials of some kind, such as gas tanks or reactors. However it can also include exotic alien plants. When a unit shoots at/from inside Explosive Terrain, there is a one in six chance that it will explode. An explosion of this terrain generate automatic hits (how many depend on how large the terrain piece) with AP0, which hit everything in a 2d6+6" radius.
Warping Field
The influence of interdimensional forces and/or disgusting toxins are incredibly strong here. Those exposed to such nightmares will find their flesh twisting and reshaping in extremely unnatural ways. Any Infantry unit which enter this Difficult Terrain has a one in six chance/must make a
Luck Saving Throw each turn to be mutated into some sort of monstrosity which lose all reason and attack its team mates without mercy. Failure turns the unit into a Demon Spawn (see the Havoc army lists) which operates under the AI rules and is hostile to both players. The AI rules for One Page Rules can be found here.
If playing with squads, then the squad must make an immediate morale or become instantly routed as the fear, confusion and madness which follows (as well as the violence of it all) makes the squad run with its tail between its legs as one or more of their former team mates has become a ravenous beast.