Warhammer 101-Becoming a better General: Terrain

Many of us want to be a great general.  In our quest to become Napoleon we sometimes will go down a dark path of WAAC gaming (win at all costs).

While this article will not help you become a little French dictator (though everyone should know by now that Napoleon was actually a very average five seven) it will help you to be better at Warhammer.

Today's article will focus on terrain.  I will point out that I have decided to separate Warhammer Fantasy and 40k into different posts.  This is on Warhammer Fantasy. 

Terrain is all the stuff on your table that keep it from being just a green (or whatever color you go with) table.  It can be

Hills

 Forests

Swamps

And weird Warhammer wackiness

My first piece of advice is simple.  Know the terrain rules. 

Sadly, most players view the terrain rules as something to glance at and nothing more.  To an average commander terrain is something to be avoided as a nuisance.

A wise commander knows better.  Just by knowing how terrain works you will give yourself the advantage. 

Learn the terrain rules!  Got that?  Don't feel overwhelmed, you just need to know the essentials.  You don't need to know the exact rules for a charnel pit but you should know forests are mysterious and are dangerous terrain for cavalry, chariots, monstrous cavalry, and fliers using a flying move. 

Next, insist that you use the rulebook mandated D6 + 4 pieces of terrain (pg. 142).  Be aggressive with your terrain placement by looking for advantages you can use.  Do they have a gun line?  Use forests to block their lines of fire (especially in the center, force their shooters to one flank or another).  A wise general will look for any advantage and terrain placement is one of those advantages. 

Here are a few helpful hints:

Units cannot claim rank bonus nor can they be steadfast if they are even partially in a river.  Have trouble with big units of infantry then this can help.

Units with most (over half) of their models in a forest cannot be steadfast unless they are skirmishers or lone characters on foot who are always stubborn in forests. 

Fun tactic: Use a fighting hero and give him the Armor of Silvered Steel (or your armies equivalent) and place him in a forest to ambush a big unit of infantry.  As long as he is in the forest he is stubborn holding your foes unit in place until you can dispatch it (or ignore it all together).

Obstacles like walls not only protect you from shooting but can also swing close combat in your favor by making your troops more difficult to hit.

Charging down a hill gives you a +1 to your combat resolution.

Terrain is your friend!  Learn the rules and watch your game improve.

See you next time!