Passage
Difficult
Can be moved through but each inch counts as 2 inches moved for any movement whilst within the Terrain element for models making a Walk, Melee, Run, or Charge.
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If Enhancing terrain has a sheer drop, this is usually Difficult terrain.
Being Pushed, Slammed or Thrown from Huge Enhancing terrain leaves a model Prone, and after any Damage Roll, the Damage is not halved.
Impassable
Cannot be moved through.
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Normal
No effect on movement.
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Ideal
While making a Walk, Run or Charge, if a model crosses Ideal Terrain at any point then it can add an extra 2” to its total move distance.
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Visibility
Clear
No effect on LoS.
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Blocking
No LoS can be drawn through any part of the Terrain element that is considered Blocking.
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If any Los is blocked to the target by Blocking terrain (assuming there is a clear LoS past the terrain) then the target benefits from Cover if it is within 1” of the terrain piece.
Obscuring
If any LoS to any part of a Target’s base is drawn through Obscuring terrain, then the Target benefits from cover if it is within 1” of the Terrain piece.
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Enhancing
Models on hilly terrain or otherwise elevated gain Reach on their Melee Weapons for Melee Exchanges where a non-Cloudwalk opponent did not begin its activation on the same terrain as they hold the high ground.
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In addition, they ignore models and terrain smaller than the Enhancing terrain for LoS (though such terrain can still provide cover if a LoS passes through them).
Size
A terrain element’s size is what is physically represented on the table - but should be agreed upon by both players before the start of the game if either player considers it likely that the Size of a particular piece of terrain might be unclear.
If players cannot agree on the size of a terrain element, by default the Size of a piece of terrain (as with models: Tiny, Small, Medium, Large or Huge) to be the Size of the smallest base it can fit on. If it is too big for a 50mm base, it is Huge.
Some Clear terrain has no Size (Water for example) and is listed as Size Zero. Given this definitive test, it should be possible to define the Size of a piece of terrain during the game, as and when it becomes relevant to gameplay.
This does not work for some elements, e.g. walls, so it is only to decide when players cannot agree on odd items of terrain. In a Tournament situation, ask the organiser.
For Blocking terrain pieces where it is intended that LoS can be drawn over them, then these should be classified as Tiny, such that it is possible to gain Cover, but LoS is not blocked.
These rules are designed to allow you to use these traits to represent any terrain collection. Walls, for example, can vary in height depending on how they have been modelled. A wall could be anywhere from a knee-high garden wall [Difficult, Blocking, Tiny] up to a formidable city wall [Difficult, Blocking, Huge].
If your bamboo forests are thick with bamboo you could make them Impassable, Blocking rather than the more sparse [Difficult, Obscuring].
Discuss the terrain with your opponent or have a good selection available so you can both choose fun and entertaining pieces for set up.
We would recommend that before a game starts, each player highlights any terrain pieces where they consider the size classification may not be totally clear, in particular, whether a terrain piece might be either Tiny or Small, or Large or Huge, and discuss and agree on this with their opponent.
Remember the rules are made to be definitive.
A simple check with a gaming laser should solve all cover and LoS issues and while they may not always make sense, based on how the model looks from a “Model’s Eye View”, remember that the static model is representing a soldier who may be actively trying to hug terrain or keep a low profile.
Terrain Pieces
Pond…Difficult, Clear, Zero Paved Road…Ideal, Clear, Zero Low Hedge…Difficult, Blocking, Tiny Wall…Impassable, Blocking, Small Statue…Impassable, Blocking, Medium Lone Tree…Impassable, Blocking, Large Hill…Normal, Enhancing, Large Bamboo Forest…Difficult, Obscuring, Huge House…Impassable, Blocking, Huge Fog…Normal, Obscuring, Huge
Some Terrain is bought as a Special Card, and these terrain types are either cards deployed on the table, or on a stated base size.
They have Visibility and Passage traits like all terrain and usually have other rules and can even have model traits.
Destructible
A model in BtB with this terrain and not in an Enemy model’s ZoC can declare a Wait Action to remove it from the Battlefield.
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Models that are Aloof, Animal, Insignificant or have a Max Ki Limit of 0 cannot perform this effect. This will not trigger effects listed on Friendly terrain.
Terrain Setup
A good table set up has at least 5-6 pieces of different terrain depending on the size of the terrain. Lots of terrain, each covering a smaller area, is better than fewer large pieces. We recommend including at least one of each of:
- Impassable, Blocking, Huge terrain, such as a boulder or house.
- Difficult, Clear, Zero terrain such as water or tilled fields
- Difficult, Obscuring, Large such as a bamboo forest Then add other items.
Impassable Terrain cannot be deployed within 2” of Scenario Objectives or other impassable terrain. Try to avoid placing it in the area of a scenario or deployment zone.
Terrain should be 2” from the edge of the table, but if you have very large items of terrain, these can often be best used by placing them half on the table rather than occupying most of the play area with them.
Other terrain can be set up as you wish but not in contact with other terrain or overlapping.
The terrain should be equally spread around the table.