"Are Your Tundras And Steppes Completely Bare?" Topic

(Mainly for Prehistoric, Fantasy, Ancients, Medieval, scenarios)

Do you add bushes/shrubs, snow patches, small ponds of ice melt, exposed bedrock, or anything else to break up the look, or do you leave it all completely bare on purpose?

Is this how you imagine should be the typical look of tundra terrain?

Or would you make rockier, it more like this?

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How about your steppes? Unbroken grass?

Got photos of your terrain board to share?

Thanks

Dan
PS. In other words, what scatter or accent pieces, if any, would you add to this type of playing surface?
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There has to a collapsed Cthulhu temple.

LOL. I was expecting something natural, but heck why not!

You mean something poking through from under the "permafrost". Perhaps the top third of a giant statue that looks like this?

I was thinking something megalithic too, so why not Cthulhu, right? Perhaps instead of using my terrain mat to depict Canada, Alaska or Siberia, the mat could have a temple that is discovered after Antarctica thaws out a little. :)

Dan

A few bushes and rocks but not much else for me

Need to have something to break it up, to force players to choose tactics aside from how fast each unit can move. It also needs something to break it up to prevent cavalry from running everywhere… >;-)

I would employ rock outcroppings, mainly. Some brush, and scrub bushes would work, as well, to vary it a bit.

Keep in mind that I play "games", not "simulations", so take my comments in their proper context. Cheers!

Rocks, scrub brush, etc.

Lakes, lots of lakes. With streams between them. And marshy areas. Los of marshy areas. And rivers. Lots of rivers flow North.

Most of the time land or resources were what were fought over. Meeting engagements might have been in indefensible terrain but usually at least one side would move to someplace safer maybe with the other in pursuit. Rarely are you ever going to see a featureless area. Dips, vegetation, water, rocks should be present.

How many battles were fought on the steppes?

They would have been cavalry engagements. So, large open spaces to allow for a lot of maneuvering.

Hills (rolling) would be the main feature and Line of Sight (LOS) would be the main tactical element. (now, please show me a set of rules, not house modified, that allow for that)

Pretty much any fantasy set of rules would allow everything you listed, wmyers. The fantasy rules I have played, had no rules for setting up terrain; others I've heard about give each player an alternating turn to place terrain onto the tabletop, in their choice of location.

Can you elaborate on your point of rules not allowing for battles in rolling hills, with large open spaces allowing maneuvering? Maybe you need to find different rules to play by? Cheers!

Sgt. Slag, I meant rules that allow for Line of Sight.

As soon as a unit is moved out of line of sight it becomes invisible to the opponent.

(Yes, I guess a person could home design rules that would allow for a map, that was hidden behind a screen from the opponent, and then mark movements on there and when they become visible again, place what would be visible back on the table.)

Guys

The photos of trundra vegetation and contours that I keep finding are truly incredible. Really beyond my imagination.

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Dan
PS. I'm starting off with the Frontline Tundra neoprene mat which definitely has lots of potential:
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