Wargaming: I started building (crappy) terrain!

Just a short update and post. What I've been up to the last few days has been war gaming terrain and this mark my first serious attempt at terrain-making. Previously all I had ever painted and built were miniatures. These rocky formations are shamelessly stolen inspired by the work of Black Magic Crafts. It consist of layers of foam material hot glued together on a base of either foam or cardboard, with broken and cracked cork added to make dry, desert-like terrain. My favorite are the two smaller pieces of scatter terrain made from wooden hexagon, inspired by the Giant's Causeway in Ireland.

One Page Rules: Scenic Insanity

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.

Grimdark Future: 'Fluffy' Prime Brothers Lists, Part 2

A continuation of the last post, with Primaris Space Marine-themed lists for Grimdark Future.

Blood Angels: Reivers Assault

Not even Primaris retcon could truly
undo their struggle and greatness.

Detachment: Blood Brothers

The introduction of the Primaris Space Marines raise an interesting question about the nature and the future of the Blood Angels. The Ninth Legion was defined by a particularly odd yet potent gene seed which could transform even the dregs of humanity into beings of angelic beauty and deadly ferocity. The Blood Angels have always been defined by their lineage and curse, first as corpse-eating ghouls with a blood thirst during the Great Crusade and later as cursed with the genetic memories of Sanguinius. To be a Blood Angel (and all their descendants) is to be both blessed and cursed; blessed with great vitality, beauty, a long lifespan (even by Space Marine standards) and potentially even great psychic potential of some rumors are believed. The downside is the risk of losing oneself and becoming a maddened, blood-craving monster. Primaris Space Marines, when introduced, were said to lack gene seed defects.

While this is no longer completely true it now raises a different questions. If one goes by the idea they are flawless then it weaken the struggle of the Blood Angels. If they retain the same flaws, then it mean Cawl's work failed. Or, perhaps, is the Blood Angel nature just fundamentally dualistic? Is the Imperium (and the audience) looking at Sanguinius' sons the wrong way? Are our strengths and flaws intertwined and something we must manage and accept as a fundamental part of who we are without letting them consume us? Almost got philosophical there, lets go back to space pew pew and little plastic dudes.

Captain Chaplain [1] (135pts)

Energy Hammer & Flamethrower Pistol

War Chant

+Furious

Psychic [1] (155pts)

Energy Sword & Flamethrower Pistol

Psychic (2)

+Furious

Assault Squad [5] x2 (470pts)

1x Plasma Pistol & CCW

4x Pistols & CCW

Veteran Infantry

+Furious

Raider Squad [10] x2 (1060pts)

8x Heavy Pistol & CCW

2x Heavy Pistol and Energy Hammer

Orbital Deployment (Ambush)

Jetpack Squad [3] x2 (370pts)

+Furious

Heavy Anti-Grav Destroyer Tank [1] (790pts)

+Very Fast

Tactics: The Primaris list isn't very melee-oriented by Space Marines standards. They are also quite lacking in 'normal' jump pack troops, which changes the Blood Angels playstyle quite a bit. Instead, the role of Ambush cqc troops is taken by the Raiders Reivers, who can chew through soft infantry quite easily while the jump pack role is taken by the more range-oriented Jetpack squads. One of the two veteran Assault squads can be mounted inside the Grav-tank. They are identical so it depend if either the Chaplain or the Librarian is more needed at the frontline.

Dark Angels: Deathwing Reborn

Not gonna lie these looks pretty
decent.

Detachment: Dark Brothers

Introduced in 9th edition, the Bladeguard Veterans are the first 'true' veteran units of the Primaris army list, not counting veteran version of the Intercessor. Where the previous Primaris wore simplistic, even modern-looking power armor, the Bladeguards have reversed this trend by returning to the gothic knight theme and flowing tabards. Their baroque armor and shields are relics, although how exactly that works when most Primaris gear is relatively new is unclear. Perhaps these were pre-existing chapter relics reforged and reshaped to fit the new size of the bearers? There is some interesting lore there but Games Workshop hasn't really done much about it.

For the Dark Angels, the Bladeguard Veterans are those lucky few Primaris who have made it into the 'Inner Circle' and told the truth of the Dark Angels. Inducted into the Deathwing, they break the tradition of this brotherhood by going into battle without Terminator armor. Its clear this ancient tradition is in a bit of an awkward spot until Cawl decide to find the 'enlarge' button on the Terminator STC templates. For now, Bladeguards and Gravis armor will have to suffice.

Captain Bladeguard Ancient [1] (150pts)

Plasma Pistol & Energy Sword

Combat Shield

Ancient Banner

+Grim

Captain Chaplain [1] (150pts)

Shred Pistol & Energy Sword

Combat Shield

War Chant

+Grim

Judge [1] (125pts)

+Grim

Guard Squad [6] x3 (930pts)

+Grim

Aggro Squad [6] x2 (1580pts)

Grenade Launchers

+Grim

Tactics: These aren't Terminator but they will have to do. Assign a hero to each Guard Squad, each with their own specific use. The Ancient has Fear, the Chaplain boost the melee and the Judge has a Deadly melee weapon to kill enemy heroes. This is a short range army, primarily using pistols and the longest range on a weapon is a mere 18"  on the gauntlets and grenade launchers. That mean get stuck into melee and fight to the bitter end. Shield Wall makes units harder to hit and the Aggro Squad has Tough on top of the 'Prime' rule the entire list has.

Space Wolves: The Hunt Reborn

"The Space Wolves are incredibly
uninspired." -Rogal Dorn

Armies: Prime Brothers+Wolf Brothers

If the changes to Blood Angels induced by Primaris was at risk of changing their fundamental nature and entire narrative potential, then the Space Wolves by comparison are suffering from a loss of identity when it come to their chapter organization. Space Wolves in the modern era were defined by a very unique and slightly silly concept of being organized in wolf packs which were never changed, dwindling in numbers as Space Wolves undergo casualty and changing battlefield roles as the members grew older. They began as impetuous Blood Claws (loosely speaking Assault Squads+Scouts analogs), matured into Grey Hunters (Tactical Squads) and finally became Long Fangs (Devastator Squads), with Wolf Guards as a cross between Veterans and Honor Guard. The more varied, weirder, Primaris squads completely broke this setup and Games Workshop doesn't seem like they want to bother with the older, more unique lore.

This list tries to merge the old lore's thematic with the newer Primaris units. It isn't perfect, but it may somewhat fit the Space Wolves nonetheless: veteran Intercessors would be the closest to the old Long Fangs, either in nature or simply through Long Fangs which cross the Rubicon Primaris to ascend to skubmarine Primaris status.

Captain [1] (165pts)

Precision Rifle & Energy Hammer

Precision Shots

+Counter

Raider Squad Blood Claw Reivers [10] x3 (1500pts)

8x Heavy Pistols & CCW

2x Heavy Chainsaw Sword

Grapnels (Strider)

+Counter

Prime Brothers Primaris Long Fangs [5] x2 (620pts)

1x Precision Rifle & Energy Sword

1x Heavy Machinegun

3x Precision Rifle

Veteran Infantry

+Counter

Wolves [5] x4 (680pts)

Tactics: Space Wolves are smarter than what most people think of them and this Primaris list plays up to their skills as hunters and their enhanced senses. The core of the list are Reivers with Strider, allowing the to ignore the negative effects of difficult terrain, which should be used to the Space Wolves advantaged when combined with their solid counter-charge mechanic. To dare to charge the sons of Russ should invite death and make the enemy dearly pay. The rest of the army exist to pin the enemy in place or further deny them movement. Do note that this army decides to avoid the low activation problem of Prime Brothers by fielding small wolf packs which can harass the enemy. They aren't very durable but can harass just fine.

Grimdark Future: Multi-Faction Deodorant Stick Grav-Tanks (Redux)

Still a classic.

Since the original post has been published, the game Grimdark has undergone some changes in mechanics and the point cost of certain abilities and weapons. As a result, I have decided to redo the stat blocks for the various 'Deodorant Grav Tanks' to make them more in line with recent versions of the game. For added fun, there are more variants of the Grav-Tank to make it fit other armies. The main battlefield function of the Grav Tanks are:

• Its a cheap tank, at Tough 6. It doesn't pack too many guns even when upgraded. This make it cheap both in pts cost and in real-life cost, as it doesn't require all that much to be assembled.
• Its an agile harassment unit, with a role similar to buggies or combat Jeeps. Grav-Tanks are in the same 'weight class' as an army's transport but mount one of the guns of a main battle tank.

With that in mind, here's a redo of the legendary Deodorant-pattern Grav Tank for Grimdark Future. I wasn't quite satisfied with the Ork and Tau version so these are getting a better redo some day.

Grav Tank

Factions: Battle Sisters, Dwarf Guilds, Human Defense Forces, Infected Colonies, Inquisition, Machine Cult, Machine Cult Defilers, Ratmen Clans, Rebel Guerrilla, Soul-Snatchers Cult, Vile Rattus Cult

The basic Imperial Grav-Tanks have a statline which them well-suited to a number of armies, as one can assume a variety of factions either produce and use them or, at the very least, loot them for their own purpose. These two version of the Grav-Tank are not as heavily armed as their Battle Brothers counterpart, the Attack Speeder and lack Ambush. These don't blast down from the sky or anything. They are just regular vehicles who just so happen to float rather than use tracks or wheels. Being light grav-tanks they are limited in the amount of weapons they can pile on, which also reflect the limited nature of building a model for these. Since last time, the Grav-Tank has gone down in price due to the change in points. One difference in its stat blocks is that the Machinegun upgrade now take the place of the 'main gun', limiting its extra weapons to the Storm Rifle and Hunter Missile Launcher, while its main gun has gained a few more options.

Name	Qua	Def	Equipment	Special Rules	Cost
Grav-Tank [1]	4+	2+	Machinegun (36", A3)	Fast, Impact(6), Strider, Tough(6)	150pts
Upgrade with one:
Storm Rifle (24”, A2)					+5pts
Reinforced Ram (Impact(+3))					+10pts
Hunter Missiles (48”, A1, AP(3), Deadly(3))					+30pts
Replace Machinegun:
Heavy Flamethrower (12”, A6, AP(1))					Free
Heavy Machinegun (36”, A3, AP(1))					+5pts
Laser Machinegun (36”, A3, AP(2))					+10pts
Fusion Cannon (24”,A1,AP(4),Blast(3))					+10pts
Missile Launcher – pick one to fire: HE (48”, A1, Blast(3)) AT (48”, A1, AP(3), Deadly(3))					+15pts
Laser Cannon (48”,A1,AP(4),Deadly(3))					+20pts
Upgrade with:
Forward Observer (Scout)					+5pts

Assault Grav-Tank

Factions: Battle Brothers

This type of Grav-Tank is only slightly larger and heavier than the regular Grav-Tank. It differs from its cousins, the Speeders, by its relatively lightweight construction and smaller weaponry. Much like the smaller Light Grav Tank it is a recon vehicle and lacks the ability to dive into the atmosphere. In terms of raw stats and point cost, the two are rather similar when not upgraded.

Name	Qua	Def	Equipment	Special Rules	Cost
Assault Grav-Tank [1]	3+	2+	Heavy Flamethrower (12”, A6, AP(1))	Fearless, Fast, Impact(6), Strider, Tough(6)	210pts
Upgrade with one:
Storm Rifle (24”, A2)					+5pts
Reinforced Ram (Impact(+3))					+10pts
Hunter Missiles (48”, A1, AP(3), Deadly(3))					+40pts
Replace Heavy Flamethrower:
Heavy Machinegun (36”, A3, AP(1))					+10pts
Laser Cannon (48”,A1,AP(4),Deadly(3))					+20pts
Missile Launcher – pick one to fire: HE (48”, A1, Blast(3)) AT (48”, A1, AP(3), Deadly(3))					+45pts
Upgrade with:
Forward Observer (Scout)					+5pts
For Blood Brothers: Very Fast					+15pts
For Dark Brothers: Grim					+15pts