INDUSTRIAL AND GOTHIC TERRAIN

Quite awhile ago I bookmarked links to a cool website that offers pictures and ideas about building industrial and gothic terrain for games like Warhammer 40k and WARMACHINE.

Check it out, because there's some cool stuff on there.

THIS IS NOT "SEX IN THE CITY" III

Page 77 of Remix describes three different types of terrain: open, rough, and impassable.

• Open terrain in urban fighting would include any section of smooth, even ground. Examples of this type of terrain would be uncluttered streets, flat rooftops, and suspended walkways.
• Rough terrain in cityscape environment would be sections of rubble, ruins, waterways, vats, sewers, and rooftops with mazes of pipes.
• Impassable terrain in a cityfight includes cliff faces, some structures, and other natural or man-made features that completely prohibt movement.

Although there is no hard, solid facts on what is “large” or “small” terrain in a game of WARMACHINE, there are guidelines for League games that provide sizes and shapes for certain kinds of terrain. The only key is that all players agree on the terrain to be used, and that the terrain isn't designed to purposely aid or penalize a certain player.

While we're at it, we might as well discuss Obstacles and Obstructions. More information about both of these may be found on pages 77-78 of Remix. Simply put, these are two different types of terrain that affect movement.

• An obstacle is up to 1” tall. An advancing or running model can climb upon, across, or over by spending 2” of movement. If the obstacle is at least 1” thick as well, a model cn stand on top of the obstacle as well. (I immeadiately think of Allister Caine standing on a crumbling stone wall, popping off shots at enemy troopers.)
• An obstruction is any terrain feature greater than 1” tall such as a building, water tank, or large pipeline.

Elevation in cityscape games is handled the same way as in a normal game of WARMACHINE as described on page 78 of Remix.

Hazards are handled in the same manner as described on page 78 of Remix.

THIS IS NOT "SEX IN THE CITY" II

Urban combat in Warmachine is all about Buildings and Structures. It's about snipers and close quarters fighting. And when you decide to set up a game using a city theme there are four types of Buildings/Structures that you will be using:

• FOOT PRINT: A footprint is the ruins of a destroyed building that really has no walls remaining and basically is just a rough terrain template with rubble and the smashed remains of inner or outer walls.
• COMPLETE: A complete building/structure is an intact building that has either one story or multiple stories with a rooftop. These buildings make cityscape fighting interesting because they sometimes block LOS and allow for models to enter them to gain cover. Also, rooftop combat can be fun and exciting. Decided ahead of time if complete building may be entered or not. If they may be entered, build them with removable tops to allow models to be moved in and out easily.
• PARTIAL: A partial building is a typical ruined or damaged building that only has part of its walls and a partial roof. These buildings may have been burned out, bombed, or otherwise suffered collapse during combat.
• FLATS: Flats can only be used in special situations with certain tables or board. I have used flats when I have butted a table up against a wall, or when the building is on an extreme edge of a game board. A flat building has a front, but has no rear of the building. These are usually used as backdrop buildings in model railroads. This link shows a good example of a flat. Notice the front is detailed and the back is open.

No matter what kinds of buildings you choose to use, remember that you should build them with game play in mind. Allow for walkways, stairs, and windows where models can enter and exit the buildings ... but whatever you do make sure that you have fun playing out some of the cool scenes from Legends in your cityscape battles.

THIS IS NOT "SEX IN THE CITY"

This is WARMACHINE in the city...

So you're into the fluff from Legends and you want to do some urban combat gaming. Excellent. The first step is to understand how an IK city might be layed out and growing. Remember that railways are an important mode of transport for both supplies and persons. Before you start to build your city, you might want to consider that the railroad is a key feature of the urban setting in IK. Cities usually grow from the inside out along transportation lines. Also, the buildings will likely be brick structures in which external walls bear the building's weight. That's why you won't find many super tall buildings in most IK artwork. Mills, factories, warehouses, and tenemants will be found alongside the railways that link the cities together.

So the question is if you want to include a railway in your urban setting or not. I choose "yes." Modelling railways can be challenging and fun.

What do you think?

WARMACHINE CLOSE QUARTERS BATTLE

Wikipedia says:

Close Quarters Battle (CQB) or close quarters combat (CQC) is a type of fighting in which small units engage the enemy with personal weapons at very short range, potentially to the point of hand-to-hand combat. In the typical CQB scenario, the attackers try a very fast, violent takeover of a vehicle or structure controlled by the defenders, who usually have no easy way to withdraw. Because enemies, hostages/civilians, and fellow operators can be closely intermingled, CQB demands a rapid assault and a precise application of lethal force. The operators need great proficiency with their weapons, but also the ability to make split-second decisions in order to avoid or limit friendly casualties. CQB is defined as a short-duration, high-intensity conflict, characterized by sudden violence at close range.
Criminals sometimes use CQB techniques, such as in an armed robbery or jailbreak, but most of the terminology comes from training used to prepare soldiers, police, and other authorities. Therefore, much CQB material is written from the perspective of the authorities who must break into the stronghold where the opposing force (opfor) have barricaded themselves.
Although there is considerable overlap, CQB is not synonymous with urban warfare, now sometimes known by the military acronyms MOUT (military operations on urban terrain), FIBUA (fighting in built-up areas) or OBUA (Operations in Built Up Areas) in the West. Urban warfare is a much larger field, including logistics and the role of crew-served weapons like heavy machine guns, mortars, and mounted grenade launchers, as well as artillery, armor, and air support. In CQB, the emphasis is on small infantry units using light, compact weapons that one man can carry and use easily in tight spaces, such as submachine guns, shotguns, pistols, and knives.

Considering the Khador and Cygnar factions alone, their units allow for use of CQB appropriate weapondry. You could easily run an entire game of WARMACHINE using only trooper models and light 'jacks that takes place inside of a building, mine, or dungeon.
This would allow for interesting scenarios and tactics.

WARMACHINE CITY FIGHTING

Wikipedia tells me the following about Urban Warfare:

Fighting in an urban landscape can offer some advantages to a weaker defending force or to guerrilla fighters. The attacking army must account for three-dimensions more often than two, and consequently expend greater amounts of manpower in order to secure a myriad of structures, ferroconcrete structures will be ruined by heavy bombardment, but it is very difficult to totally demolish such a building when it is well defended), and mountains of rubble. Examples, of this type of problem for the attacking forces include the fighting for the Red October Steel Factory during the Battle of Stalingrad, and despite heavy bombardment with artillery at point blank range (with some pieces large as 203mm howitzers), Soviet forces had to fight room by room to capture the Reichstag in 1945. It is also difficult to destroy underground or heavily fortified structures such as bunkers and utility tunnels. For example during the Battle of Budapest in 1944 fighting broke out in the sewers, as both Axis and Soviet troops used them for troops movement.

In an Iron Kingdoms setting, the same applies. As Remix explains, structures made of different materials can be easier or harder to damage during a game. There are rules that allow us to play games where models can move through and hide within structures during combat. Artillery (which is more and more available to every faction) can be used to bomb out structures and rain down indirect fire on troops without the need of direct contact. Also, the elevation rules allow us to carry out combat between forces on and in buildings, making for very cool games of WARMACHINE.

WARMACHINE URBAN COMBAT

This layout is a mishmash of a large building (Woodstone Cigars) made of foamboard with scrapbook paper for brickwork, a Lego building from a Spider-Man set, and a Hallmark Halloween building. The walls and fountain are from Department 56.

If you want to build your own structures then foamboard is the way to go. It's cheap, easy to cut, and simple to glue together. If you want to buy cheap buildings, then look at toy stores, and Goodwill stores. You can find cheap toy houses that can be painted and used for terrain. Or you can buy your own terrain from various sources like BMC, JR MINIATURES, CONFLIX, WALTHERS, PLASTICVILLE, and DEPARTMENT 56.

Legends, above any other WARMACHINE book, really brings on the urban combat environment. No open fields. No wide hills and valleys. Just narrow streets, looming buildings, and a thousand nooks and crannies for your enemies to hide.

Wikipedia says that city combat is very different from warfare in the open battlefield. Complicating factors in urban warfare include the presence of civilians and buildings of all sorts. Some civilians may be difficult to distinguish from combatants. Tactics are complicated by a crowded environment, limited line of sight and fire because of buildings, enhanced concealment and cover for defenders, below ground infrastructure, and the ease of placement of booby traps and snipers.

Games of WARMACHINE in a city can be a lot of fun as long as both players are comfortable with the changes in play style that will come with adding all the extra buildings as well as the possibility for elevated terrain features.

CYGNAR IN THE CITY

This slideshow is a collection of pictures from a friendly game we called "Cygnar in the City" which we played in June of 2007.

It's being played on a Work In Progress (WIP) modular Urban Combat Board made of 4 2x2 sections.

Enjoy.