2026 Proposed Amendments - #7.4 - Terrain Table

Started by lionheartrjc, August 31, 2025, 08:53:48 PM

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lionheartrjc

The new terrain table introduces the following changes:
a. Rough going has been simplified into one terrain type, replacing rocky ground, brush, ploughed fields, tall crops and boundaried fields.
b. Dead ground/gully/gorge. Replaces the existing gully and wadi terrain types.  These are good/rough and difficult going versions that each affect visibility at their edges to 2BW.
c. Fort. Replaces town.  Provides both cover and with the boundary treated as barricades. Limited to a single piece that may be chosen only by the defender but must be touching the defender's rear table edge and may not be placed in the central terrain zone.
d. Settlements.  Replaces village, orchard and vineyards. In Standard and Coastal territory types then may be selected by both players. In other territory types, limited to a single piece selected by the defender.  Counts as cover when within or shooting through. Restricts visibility of infantry to 4BW.
e. Forest.  Only skirmishing infantry may shoot from within a forest.  Counts as cover.
f. Coastal dunes.  Difficult terrain, reducing visibility to 2BW.  No dice roll for sector.  Must be placed touching a deep water flank specified as a sea (invader specifies).  Player may still make a roll to move, still touching the sea, or remove the feature as normal.
The aim is to provide some interesting choices with terrain selection.

Rino

Éléphants and camels were immune to a certain number of terrain.

I noted it was still the case for camels.
What about elephant?

nikgaukroger

They have been removed as a simplification. Where elephants treated types of rough as good the result of the change is to slow elephants by 1 BW as they are still not affected by rough. For the ones that were difficult treated as rough these types have changed and we feel that they should not be exceptions any more (so again a bit of simplification).
"The Roman Empire was not murdered and nor did it die a natural death; it accidentally committed suicide."

Roger

#3
Seriously these guys are slowed by Orchards or Vineyards???
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/t52xufcLTAw
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/XOy6eoSlOfQ

Roger

#4
Rough going has been simplified into one terrain type, replacing rocky ground, brush, ploughed fields, tall crops and boundaried fields.
This removes some interesting terrain choices, each of which has advantages and disadvantages, that army generals take into consideration, for deploying their troops
Hardly " providing some interesting choices with terrain selection."

Roger

#5
Fort. Replaces town.  Provides both cover and with the boundary treated as barricades. Limited to a single piece that may be chosen only by the defender but must be touching the defender's rear table edge and may not be placed in the central terrain zone.

This is completly counter intuitive, if you have a "Fort" you dont automatically stick it out on your flank??? touching the rear edge has some merit if you are a defender, and if your a commader you would stick your camp in there!!

Roger

#6
Settlements.  Replaces village, orchard and vineyards. In Standard and Coastal territory types then may be selected by both players. In other territory types, limited to a single piece selected by the defender.  Counts as cover when within or shooting through. Restricts visibility of infantry to 4BW.

Again see my previous comment reference Elephants but equally doesnt seem like "The aim is to provide some interesting choices with terrain selection."

Roger

#7
Simplification is not a useful target in isolation, simplifying technically complexity may be ie mixed flank and frontal attacks, but simplification for its own sake just brings mediocracy, eventually you can reduce the game to 1x 6 sided dice per tug, the winner is who rolls the biggest total!!!

Currently these changes lose 8 distinct terrain and tactical choices with two catchalls, that arn't even remotely linked? why would a orchard have the same characteristics as a village, and we gain coastal dunes, an oversight I have been pointing out for years, hardly qualifying "to provide some interesting choices with terrain selection"

Overall its seems you are undervaluing the terrain battle, for example, as an attacker, you give the opponent a Town or Village, it could be guaranteed to attract troops to defend it or maybe your plan is to split a battle field to your advantage, or even provide a salient for breaking though enemy lines. endless uses for using terrain to win your battle, there are myriad examples of battles won because of clever or unusual use of terrain.

lionheartrjc

#8
Quote from: Roger on September 15, 2025, 11:01:40 AMSeriously these guys are slowed by Orchards or Vineyards???
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/t52xufcLTAw
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/XOy6eoSlOfQ

A single elephant probably not.  A formation of elephants accompanied by escorts.
That said, I guess they probably should move the same speed as loose or skirmishing infantry.  Perhaps change their maximum movement distance to 3 BW in difficult going?
EDITED: (My mistake, thanks to Bahdabum for pointing it out).

steads



craig.w

Quote from: Roger on September 15, 2025, 11:29:03 AMSimplification is not a useful target in isolation, simplifying technically complexity may be ie mixed flank and frontal attacks, but simplification for its own sake just brings mediocracy, eventually you can reduce the game to 1x 6 sided dice per tug, the winner is who rolls the biggest total!!!

Currently these changes lose 8 distinct terrain and tactical choices with two catchalls, that arn't even remotely linked? why would a orchard have the same characteristics as a village, and we gain coastal dunes, an oversight I have been pointing out for years, hardly qualifying "to provide some interesting choices with terrain selection"

Overall its seems you are undervaluing the terrain battle, for example, as an attacker, you give the opponent a Town or Village, it could be guaranteed to attract troops to defend it or maybe your plan is to split a battle field to your advantage, or even provide a salient for breaking though enemy lines. endless uses for using terrain to win your battle, there are myriad examples of battles won because of clever or unusual use of terrain.
I don't really see the point of merging all these different pieces, seems more boring and less interesting. Just lots of rough going. Change for the sake of change...

Roger

Quote from: lionheartrjc on September 15, 2025, 12:14:57 PM
Quote from: Roger on September 15, 2025, 11:01:40 AMSeriously these guys are slowed by Orchards or Vineyards???
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/t52xufcLTAw
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/XOy6eoSlOfQ

A single elephant probably not.  A formation of elephants accompanied by escorts.
That said, I guess they probably should move the same speed as loose or skirmishing infantry.  Perhaps change their maximum movement distance to 3 BW in difficult going?
EDITED: (My mistake, thanks to Bahdabum for pointing it out).
There is probably an argument for Elephants accompanied by archers to be slowed to loose speeds, and to cut off the argument about Mounted archers, would it be realistic to assume the extra weight slows them to loose?


lionheartrjc

Quote from: steads on September 17, 2025, 12:48:12 PM
Quote from: badhabum on September 16, 2025, 03:00:59 PM
Quote from: steads on September 16, 2025, 10:33:55 AMWhere is this new table?

https://mortem-et-gloriam.co.uk/meg/2026-competition-amendments/
This has 2 links to the PBS table but no working links to the new terrain definitions.
Works correctly for me.  Anybody else had a problem downloading the new (proposed) terrain definitions?
(Steve, if you still have an issue and are the only one - I can email them directly to you).

Richard