Greetings Hivers!
It's been quite a while since my last post so I thought I'd get my lazy arse in gear and share my latest terrain tile with you.
I decided to re-purpose some of my old 40k terrain for this tile. It was just sat in a box taking up space with no practical use other than as a reminder of how I used to enjoy playing 40k. It seemed a shame not to use it as its Grimdark features scream Imperial World....which puts it right at home in Necromunda.
We've played a lot of games of Necromunda over the last three years and our knowledge of terrain layout has improved considerably with that experience.
GW's current terrain kits are all stunning pieces of scenery but whether one opts for Sector Mechanicus, Zone Mortalis or Sector Imperialis (40k battlefield buildings) they are all 2.5" or 5" in height. Five inches is great for putting your hands underneath but it favours shooting gangs over Close Combat gangs too much. Three inch levels are a lot more versatile in our experience, so when the opportunity arise to choose a height, we will always plump for 3". That's not to say we don't have 5" high terrain pieces, we do, but we like a mix of heights for game play.....and because it makes our corner of the underhive look and feel like a sprawling, eclectic landscape.
Ladders, stairs, elevators and walkways are also incredibly important in Necromunda and I always try to add as many ways as possible to reach a level....there's nothing worse than having a ganger with a long rifle impossible to get at because there is only one way to reach them.....
...and it's the various platforms and floors that take Necromunda to a different level....groan 😉
The first level can be reached by ladders.....
...or by ceremonial stairway.
For the maw I used a couple of Sector Imperialis columns, these are so easy to put together compared to the older 40k terrain and they add some great character and a nice bit of variety.
The tunnel was made from the doors that came in the 2017 Necromunda Underhive box...
I'm happy with how this tile turned out and it's sure to play a significant part in our ongoing adventures in the Underhive.
Until next time....may the Hive Spirits watch over you 😉
The height discussion is very interesting. Good information (and great terrain too).
ReplyDeleteThanks Skerples.
DeleteThe different heights aspect is one of Necromunda's strengths compared to many other games but, just like everything else in 'Munda it can be tricky to balance the impact on game play.
The 5" high walkways and platforms look great but holding such a position can dominate the gameplay it bit too easily a lot of the time. There's usually only a couple of ways to reach such a position which is quite a crucial advantage on its own.
If you add to that advantage that a ganger would need to be directly next to the access point (such as a ladder) and the average movement is 5" then they need to move 6" just to climb the ladder and step onto the platform, negating any possibility of them shooting. Even getting a charge off is difficult as the average charge range is 6" to 8", so an opponent only has to stay just over 3" from the ladder and they're safe (versatile weapons aside). We've found 3" and 4" platforms to be much better for gameplay.
That said my tables have levels that are 1.5", 2", 2.5", 3", 4", 5" & 6"....we even have levels that are 1" below ground level.
To quote Aphra Behn "variety is the soul of pleasure!" ;)
Very cool, very thematic terrain piece! Congrats on the results.
ReplyDeleteThanks DAM
DeleteLovely work!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely agree with you on height advantage. A possible balance I find is making sure high points have very little cover to hide behind and nowhere to get too far from edges (so around 2" wide max), so there's always a good chance of a sharp drop if someone does hit you! Not a hard counter to it, but a fun one at least.
Cheers matey!
ReplyDeleteOh I agree that there are things to counter the advantage such as narrow platforms or knockback weapons. Usually though, if a ganger is on a 5" platform and he's targeted by a ganger on the ground floor he'll be at least -1 to hit because of the angle.
We've found that 3" buildings, platforms or walkways help to mitigate this advantage somewhat, so while we use plenty of 5" high platforms, etc. we prefer to have more 3" platforms in play to help balance things out.
Thanks for popping by and taking the time to comment, it's much appreciated.
Oh, that's quite a piece! :O
ReplyDeleteI love it!
Gracia's Suber 😁
DeleteThe gate looks like it is decomposing rather than just crumbling into ruin. There's a definite whiff of Chaos about this.
ReplyDeleteHa ha, I was going for an aged portentousness (I've been listening to a lot of Horrorbabble just lately) unveiled by the hive quake but decomposing will do.
ReplyDeleteAs for a whiff of chaos, only time will tell....