On terrain, part 3

Yesterday I rambled on incessantly about what units/periods work best on an open field gaming table, where scenery is scarce. Rather than slowly build up the terrain, today I'm going to jump to the other extreme, where there's little of the table that isn't covered in terrain. There's a huge middle ground, where most games will fit, and most games tables too.

Hyper-dense Terrain

This extreme of terrain is something most associated with small skirmish level games, like Games Workshop's Necromunda, Space Hulk, Shadow War and Kill Team, and other games that limit floorspace to a much smaller table than most company level games require. Infinity is also famous for dense terrain, but the actual density seems to vary between Europe and the America. For the purposes of this article, when i talk about hyper-dense terrain, I'm referring to the density of terrain in an American game of Infinity.

I have always liked the challenge of a table absolutely crammed with terrain. Perhaps, in part, growing up with games like Space Crusade, Heroquest, Space Hulk, Dungeonquest and Warlock of Firetop Mountain, and with the cramped conditions normal in most RPG campaign packs of the era when I used such, has left its mark. Perhaps, even, it's why the first miniatures I'm producing are trenches.

To clarify what I mean by hyper dense terrain, i mean fighting within dense city centres, within buildings, where most of the action is on a room-by-room basis, or within trenches and similar, where there's little room to manoeuvre, severely limited line of sight and numerous blind corners.

World War One is famed for its largely static nature, and the massive loss of life. Together, these make it unpopular for gaming, since games involving shooting each other from trenches will take a long time to get anywhere, and advancing on a dug-in opponent is just asking for slaughter. That being said, once fighting forces get into the enemy trenches, or the fighting in the tunnels underground, was vicious and intense. In these circumstances, everything is up for grabs, and the game becomes truly exciting. (Yes, for all i disagree with so much about the Great War, i feel that the gaming opportunities it provides are drastically under utilised.)

In dense terrain, range is of little use. Most games, sensibly, have rules that prevent shooting at units that aren't the closest. As such, pistols can be very useful, as can weapons with a bonus for shorter range (Rapid Fire weapons in 40k, for example). In dense terrain, it's unlikely you'll ever be shooting beyond 12"/30cm, so any range beyond that is often wasted. The obvious exception is weapons and models that have rules allowing them to target specific types of unit, even if they aren't the closest, such as snipers targeting characters in the back field, or anti-materiel weapons targeting armour. The chances of a whole unit getting an opportunity to fire at rifle range is slim, and most who do will leave themselves open to huge volumes of return fire.

In the Great War, the western allies (France, Belgium, the British Empire and the USA), discovered this when things started moving. As a result, squads who were expected to be first into enemy trenches or buildings took to having at least one man with either a shotgun or a flamethrower. In fact, the shotgun proved so effective that dedicated "trench guns" were developed, essentially a smooth bore shotgun, with the barrel reduced, often with a bayonet or axe permanently attached. These led to the German Empire decrying their use as war crimes, while they continued to use mustard gas and such.

The shotguns found in most games set 1910 on aren't the shotguns used in hunting so much as these modified trench guns. A lot of armed forces and security forces still deploy such short, close range shotguns, often as a secondary weapon, for circumstances where fighting gets up close and personal. In room-by-room operations, the shorter body of a trench gun, with minimal if any stock, makes it much more versatile than a full length rifle.

Basically, when terrain gets dense, if you can take shotguns instead of rifles, do. If you can't, but can take pistols, they'll do a similar job. Flamethrowers and similar weapons that affect an area or automatically hit a number of models are a godsend, not least because your opponent will need to be almost within their range before they can really start shooting.

If you want to take snipers or anti-materiel rifles, try to get as much range as you can, and get them into the best firing position available. Since your small arms fire will generally be focused on enemy who are up-close, you opponent may get complacent and leave a key support character or armoured vehicle sitting out in the open, because the focus of the fighting is far closer to your line. This is precisely what sniper special rules are intended for: while the world is exploding around them, with short-range firefights swaying back and forth across their sights, a sniper will be waiting for the perfect shot, often at the furthest possible range. (Yes, i like snipers, and use a lot of them.)

When it comes to the units themselves, mobility is vital, for the most part. Whereas in open field armour and cavalry excel because they can move so freely, in dense terrain you want infantry, lots and lots of infantry. That's not to say that you can't or shouldn't take vehicles and cavalry, but you need to be selective. If you're taking tanks, either equip them with anti-materiel weapons and get them well dug-in, such as in the ground floor of a ruin, with an infantry bodyguard, or use them as a mobile support element, advancing with your infantry, providing mutual support. Light vehicles will often be great in dense terrain, if the terrain is suitable: jeeps and motorcycles can hurtle through city streets doing drive-by shootings at choice targets, but, if the fighting gets into denser terrain, they're sitting ducks for snipers and such.

When selecting your infantry for any fight it's important to have a clearly defined purpose for each squad, whether that's to lead a charge or to sit back and shoot for as long as they can. When you're fighting in dense terrain, this is even more the case. On a basic level, you don't want to be moving your snipers and heavy weapons, so their units, where applicable need to have longer range, wherever possible, so that you can keep them at a safe distance from the enemy while not having to divert their fire to ordinary soldiers, if better targets are available. Anything that doesn't have a heavy weapon should be highly mobile, and capable of doing a lot of damage at close range or in hand to hand combat.

To use an in-game example, each of the Regimental Doctrines of the Astra Militarum, from 40k, has its own flavour within dense terrain. I'll work through them in the order in the Codex.

Cadian: Born Soldiers
Cadians excel at standing still and  shooting. It's their thing. As such, they are of little use as an aggressor in dense terrain. As a defender, however, their rerolls are indispensable. Forward trenches, with the enemy approaching, heavy weapons, snipers and super-charged plasma are a perfect mix.

Catachan: Brutal Strength
Catachan are excellent troops for dense terrain, almost as if their home planet was covered in dense forest or jungle, with a bonus to Strength, meaning that they are actually better in close combat than at range against many foes, bonuses to Leadership for nearby officers, etc. Their unique order synergises with flamethrowers, so you want these guys right up in the enemy's face. These are the guys to equip with pistols, shotguns, flamers and close combat weapons and send in once the approach to the building or trenches is secure.

Valhallan: Grim Demeanour
Valhallans are great at ignoring huge casualties. They shrug off massive losses, their tanks shrug off damage, and their Stratagem recycles fallen units. If you have to advance across less dense terrain, then a wave of Valhallans is what you want. These are the guys that shield your Catachan assault force from enemy fire, and the guy that dive into the front line of trenches. They're there to just take the hits, so few upgrades are of much use, except for shotguns, pistols and flamers.

Vostroyan: Heirloom Weapons
In dense terrain, Vostroyans are quite a schizophrenic regiment. Their Doctrine gives rifles and most heavy weapons extra range, and their Stratagem adds to accuracy at range, making them perfect for the semi-static elements like snipers and lascannon. On the flipside, their Warlord Trait makes for a great close combat character, and their order allows them to fire any weapon at point blank range. The look of surprise on an opponent's face when their assault squad takes fire from 3 lascannon in the face is priceless, but this order is great with shotguns, turning them into a pair of bolt pistols in effect in close quarters. As such, Vostroyan is best paired with shotgun veterans/Hades squadrons, and with the back field campers. A 42" sniper shot can really ruin the enemy's plans. For special weapons, take plasma guns or snipers in the ordinary squads, and the boltgun for the sergeants, to make the most of the Doctrine.

Armageddon: Industrial Efficiency
Armageddon's USP is generally portrayed as armoured cavalry. Dense terrain rarely allows that to be used to full effect. However, their Doctrine makes them brilliant as a second line of attack, whether following Valhallans or covering the rear of the Catachans. An average extra 6" on Rapid Fire means that they can safely engage more efficiently. They want to avoid close combat, so you want to keep them away from potential charges, but 18" rapid fire can do oh so much damage. I'd not waste points on a heavy weapon, and for the special weapons, for the most part, take plasma guns, with bolters for officers, to maximise their output of shots. A flamer here and there won't go amiss to dissuade enemy from getting too close. Armageddon is the one time that I'd suggest leaving Veterans with lasguns, although autoguns looking nicer for an Elite unit.

Tallarn: Swift as the Wind
Apart from Vostroyan, Tallarn is my favourite of the Doctrines. Above i said that Valhallans were the troops to shield your actual attack force across the more open areas of the table. Tallarn are the alternative. Whereas Valhallans can wither immense amounts of enemy fire, Tallarn can Advance without reducing their firepower significantly. Valhallans screen the next wave by putting bodies in the way, Tallarn instead sweeps the whole detachment forward, so that your opponent has troops in their face, firing at them a lot sooner than they expected. Add in their Ambush Stratagem, that allows an element to outflank, and they can quickly prevent Deep Strike and generally get in the way. Turn 2 on and they can start clambering through buildings, threatening the carefullly placed snipers and such. Again, there's not much point in upgrades, except for special weapons, shotguns and Vox (in part so that hugely different Advance rolls don't leave your units too far from their officers, but mostly for Fire on my Position: in close quarters, this is potentially amazing).

Militarum Tempestus: Stormtroopers
Remember when I said that in the densest terrain, most firefights are at exceptionally short range? These guys excel at that. Half range or less hits allowing yet another shot, coupled with their better BS, just makes them lethal up-close. Keep as many rifles as you can, rather than pistols, and keep them mobile, if not moving. While it suffers penalties for moving, the volley guns are horribly effective, if you can mass them up (4 of them in a 10 man squad, for example).

Mordian: Parade Drill
Like Cadians, who work best stationary, Mordian's Doctrine can be very limiting. Mordian excels at formation, which is difficult in dense terrain. That being said, if you're defending a line of trenches, or are able to hug terrain, such as in a forest,  their bonuses for Ld and Overwatch are brilliant. Whatever you do, try to ensure that a unit can stay in formation, even if the formation is a curving snake up through terrain. Of particular note, their Relic effectively gives a character a storm shield, meaning that they can lead the charge, since they have a good chance of surviving Overwatch, and they don't need to worry as much about snipers. Remember, however, that officers are not part of a squad, and so it's easy to lose the benefits because the formation is interrupted by the CO.

Well, that ended up about 3 times as long as I'd expected, but, hopefully, it'll inspire some more people to try the downright dirty fun that is close quarters actions.