Jump to content

GW Terrain - what do we want, what's reasonable?


Recommended Posts

14 hours ago, amysrevenge said:

This is a question that has been tumbling around in my head for a while.  It's a two parter (shocking, based on the thread title).

a) What sort of fancy GW terrain would I like to see?

b) Is what I want a reasonable thing to ask/expect/hope for?

 

The easy answer to a) is:  terrain sets for entire tables, themed to specific realms and/or factions.  An entire table worth of Aqshy terrain, and an entire table of Ghyran terrain,  and an entire table of Hysh terrain, and...  Also and entire table worth of Bonesplitters terrain, and an entire table worth of Fyreslayers terrain, and...

The answer to b) is not one I like to think about.  As the answer is clearly "no, are you crazy?".  6 or 8 different terrain things, times 8 realms, equals 50-ish individual pieces of terrain just for the realms.  Ain't nobody got the resources for developing that, and even then other than TOs, who is going to buy all that?

You can expect a "realm of battle" pack like the Blasted Hallowheart. A pack with more massive terrain with a 60-78£ seems something we can hope for (in the hallowheart theme or in another theme). IF games workshop put is focus on the destruction alliance until the end of 2018, I would love to see a Ghur "realm of battle" pack with boneyards terrains hinting at some of the creatures of the lore.

 Another fancy terrain i would like to see would be a windmill or another recognizable building twitched/infused by some death/malign magic (something with an eldritch vibe) which can stand between the actual mausoleum and warscryer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 62
  • Created
  • Last Reply

For me terrain comes in three categories (and of course things overlap). (note all this is excluding adding terrain rules) 
1. Scenic, stuff like the warscryer citadel are amazing looking. But nobody's placing two on the table and it's very much down to taste. I personally think it's too much so i'm never buying it. Things like the Azyrite ruins look dope. But the pieces with open windows have (close to no) gameplay impact. Doesn't block line of sight and models can walk through and around with so little penalty that it will rarely impact the game. 
2. LoS and Movement blocking terrain. These pieces are amazing to have in excess. We created very simple rocky walls 1,5" wide and about 10" high. We use between 6 and 12 pieces on the table. Randomizing the placement. It creates choke points, firing lanes and really improves the game. (the palisade endless spell is a good example of that)
3. Big footprint. Pieces with a big footprint that do or do not block line of sight are a very good addition as well. It means extra thought in the movement of your units is needed. We often replace a 2 walls (see 2) with a lake. We don't allow movement through it, but it has a small island in the middle so flyers can go across or land in the middle. That piece adds different challenges and opportunities and really makes you think two three turns ahead. 

The way I see it GW has some amazing pieces of terrain but even if you buy a lot of the scenic pieces you can't really tell a different story by combining them than an Azyrite ruin. And the impact on gameplay is minimal in my opinion. 

I would rather GW make generic or realm themed pieces of terrain in the category 2 and 3 first. That I would buy! Then I can build different tables with terrain that actually forces you to make actual tactical choices. The way GW is on point design wise the last couple of years I have no doubt that they could come up with amazing things! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Do we not have any rumours for December box sets yet?  I was sure the big xmas-special sets had been released for independent retailer pre-order by this time last year?  I picked up the Ruins of Elexia set last year which retailed at £90 and was a good start on AoS terrain, you cant even fill out an armies basic battle-line requirements for that price.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd very much like for them to continue developing the Azyrite ruins kits. Having modular pieces that we can play around with is excellent but also offers us the chance to theme terrain to suit our collections. To theme these to realms they could then offer packs like the creeping vines to represent each of the realms somewhat. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I reckon go weirder. The Age of Hobby guys are heading in the right direction. Strange constructs, fantastical landscapes. Push the boat out.

 

Metal_Spires_Group_Square_Large.jpg.5a3beb68ce33c1bc578e5c15220691be.jpg

 

 

For myself, I just won a FAT mat in a twitter comp (broken coast) and since it is all sandy and stuff I'm gonna combine the Azyrite Ruins, Gloomtide Shipwreck and The Hobbit Goblin Town, mix it with some aquarium plants and sandy rock spires for a piratey, tropical mayan coast type thing. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

220573362_Azyriteruins.jpg.eec89f930a6c9f34322a47d559163c76.jpgHere is a piece I was working on recently. I don't think I've shown it here before. I am slowly attempting to work up to a board full with ruined pieces representing a fallen city from the Age of Myth. They also have to store really easily so basically they are all going to be simple corner pieces that can pack together really well in a small box. My local game-store doesn't mind us storing terrain there but in an effort to be as efficient and still have a great looking table I've decided on the l-shape approach. I kept the bottom level with the solid wall pieces to block LOS as best as possible. I just need GW to bring out the rest of the Azyrite ruins and I'll get busy making more pieces.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would like some terrain that isn't ruins. Most things we get are ruined walls, buildings, broken temples. I want some towns, operating temples etc.

Hundreds of years are passing between each Age, and each realm is easily as big as the old world. Not everything everywhere should be a ruin. At the end of the day there are inhabitants of the realms who don't fight, who must own farms etc.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, Bosmer Nightblade said:

I would like some terrain that isn't ruins. Most things we get are ruined walls, buildings, broken temples. I want some towns, operating temples etc.

The problem with big buildings is that they don't function well in the game. They take up a large space and you usually can't move inside them except to garrison them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Lord Panther said:

I reckon go weirder. The Age of Hobby guys are heading in the right direction. Strange constructs, fantastical landscapes. Push the boat out.

That's basically what I'd like too.  For me, I would love to see some awesome unusual weird terrain.  For them, there's no IP value in developing another Watchtower or even yet another gothic Old World-style Graveyard.  But an entire Nurgle's Garden , or some crazy multi-tiered Chamon river of molten lead?  That's all theirs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

56 minutes ago, Bosmer Nightblade said:

I would like some terrain that isn't ruins. Most things we get are ruined walls, buildings, broken temples. I want some towns, operating temples etc.

Hundreds of years are passing between each Age, and each realm is easily as big as the old world. Not everything everywhere should be a ruin. At the end of the day there are inhabitants of the realms who don't fight, who must own farms etc.

I've thought about this myself as well. The counterpoint that I came up with in my internal struggle was that the buildings won't have survived the raging battle, so it makes more sense for ruins to exist on a battlefield than pristine functional buildings.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, rokapoke said:

I've thought about this myself as well. The counterpoint that I came up with in my internal struggle was that the buildings won't have survived the raging battle, so it makes more sense for ruins to exist on a battlefield than pristine functional buildings.

The battlefield is where we start. The fact that the buildings may be destroyed during the battle is something that would be reflected after we've left. So buildings in good condition as we set up should be quite common, but isn't what gw makes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, Bosmer Nightblade said:

The battlefield is where we start. The fact that the buildings may be destroyed during the battle is something that would be reflected after we've left. So buildings in good condition as we set up should be quite common, but isn't what gw makes.

Common only if each battle is the first time forces meet in a given area.  I would imagine that a farmstead on a defensible hilltop would be the focal point for dozens of battles and skirmishes over years, and would only be whole for the very first battle.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, amysrevenge said:

Common only if each battle is the first time forces meet in a given area.  I would imagine that a farmstead on a defensible hilltop would be the focal point for dozens of battles and skirmishes over years, and would only be whole for the very first battle.

 Or an invasion from a hostile force could be taking place absolutely anywhere. Specifically as we're dealing with armies that can fly/teleport/be summoned/take form from anywhere

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would love to see themed terrain that fits the aesthetic of AOS.  I am not skilled at building terrain, and I find way too many pieces of kit from third parties are too traditional fantasy/WHFB/medieval to fit my vision of AOS.  I don't think GW would ever invest the resources into, say, a box of terrain themed around a specific realm.  I hope that some third party does something like that though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I usually haven't great love for not-ruined buildings because they're big blocking blocks, mostly. I like more terrain elements that allows for my tiny plastic mans to enter and navigate them, or at the very least, to be allowed to proudly stay on top of them.

Also, I totally loved the first wave of AoS themed terrain: freaking nonsense, but it's fantasy, isn't it? I have enough of dark, gloomy, "believable" settings. Not that I dislike GoT... but AoS is the right "shade" of fantasy I appreciate atm: totally over the top, straight from the lyrics of the average power metal album!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, amysrevenge said:

Common only if each battle is the first time forces meet in a given area.  I would imagine that a farmstead on a defensible hilltop would be the focal point for dozens of battles and skirmishes over years, and would only be whole for the very first battle.

Note to self: build farm in the valley.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 7/25/2018 at 5:58 AM, Lord Panther said:

I reckon go weirder. The Age of Hobby guys are heading in the right direction. Strange constructs, fantastical landscapes. Push the boat out.

 

Metal_Spires_Group_Square_Large.jpg.5a3beb68ce33c1bc578e5c15220691be.jpg

 

 

For myself, I just won a FAT mat in a twitter comp (broken coast) and since it is all sandy and stuff I'm gonna combine the Azyrite Ruins, Gloomtide Shipwreck and The Hobbit Goblin Town, mix it with some aquarium plants and sandy rock spires for a piratey, tropical mayan coast type thing. 

Need this now. Looks like it came straight from Chamon. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Personally, I hope they reintroduce some of the old 'empire style' buildings like they now did with the Warscryer Citadel. These are all 'full buildings' as well. 

Furthermore, I'd like a fully modular set like they did for 40k with the Sector Mechanicus and now the Sector Imperialis. I think the most sensible thing is to continue with the Azyrite/Ruins theme they've been making things for.

Scenery for distinct realms is a bit unrealistic in my opinion, customizing them is more up to the individual hobbyist. I do like the faction specific scenery that interplays with gameplay like the Idoneth ship and the Nurgle trees. 

On 7/24/2018 at 8:10 PM, stato said:

What happened to the dual level Ruins of Azyr that was promised?  did i just dream that or was it a thing?

For me i want Mortal realms weird crazy stuff we can incorporate.  What about ;

  • Giant tiered interlinking cogs like they have on the realm of battle board.  
  • Rock/crystal/bone spires thrusting out of the ground.
  • Daft staircases to no-where (heaven maybe...)
  • Torn up ground that looks like the earth has peeled back from some magic cataclysm to expose a layer of skulls/lava/maggots underneath

And i want them big, like at least 1/2 as tall again as a Mawcrusher or similar, really put some Mortal realms level of scale to it.

 

6

Would like to know that as well, I distinctly remember the announcement but can't find it anywhere now... 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, EccentricCircle said:

How many retired scenery sets are there that they could easily reissue? I'd seen the citadel before it was rereleased, and the floating platform with the dragons, but weren't there other medieval style buildings at one point?

So you used to have: 

  • Sigmarite Chapel
  • WatchTower
  • Fortified Manor (Chapel+Watchtower+some walls)
  • Witchfate Tor (magic tower)
  • Dreadstone Blight (ruined tower)
  • Deathknell Watch 
  • Temple of Skulls

Think those are all of them. They all had a very 'Empire' vibe, but they would fit in excellently with the Sigmarite Mausoleum and the Warscryer Citadel. In that case we'd have two styles of Scenery, Azyrite and what I'd market as 'Shyish'

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


×
×
  • Create New...