So, after being inspired by the latest artisan contests, I’m thinking that this year will be the year of terrain. So, I thought I’d access the CDO brain-trust and try to get some good descriptons of how members envision the ‘Dark Lands’.
For geographic features, I see waterfalls, rivers and lakes of lava, occasional water features, jagged rocks thrusting out of the ground.
However, when it comes to plant life, I see strange mutated-looking scrub and bushes, mushrooms, and patches of grayish-green grasses. Maybe the occasional dead tree - maybe a ‘pertified forest’ would look good.
Anybody else have any descriptions of the ‘Dark Lands’ features they’d care to share? Thanks for your input!
Now, I know tumbleweeds what tumbleweeds look like - they blow through town here all the time - but by ‘spike bushes’… would that look like some kind of corrupted rose bush (which could look cool, AND add a bit of colour)… or maybe a type of cactus?
And by magma geezers - you mean really, really old magma golems? (hahahahha)
Hmmm. I guess that would be ‘Flora of the Dark Lands’. Heh.
I like the idea of a petrified forest. Would the remains of a ‘logged’ forest be appropriate? How about a mangrove swamp, but with polluted, stagnant water and deformed trees?
Also, can anyone come up with an idea for something which would provide a little bit of colour? Maybe some strange-looking flower patches, or weird-looking gourds growing on vines?
very nice suggestions you guys have here. one thing I felt like I had to mention though is I wouldn’t expect any mushrooms at all as the lava would make the air far too dry for any mushrooms to grow.
Speaking of spike bushes and tumble weeds… what about a tumbling spike weed? It could move randomly at the beginning of each player’s turn, maybe just roll a scatter die and 2D6" or something? If it goes off the board it could re-enter at the opposite edge or something… but if it hits a unit it takes a hit. Could make for some interesting games in the Dark Lands ;) Bwa haha!!!
Another important factor is that the Dark Lands are shrouded in smoke and ash, so it’s always gloomy. But being so close to the mountains I could imagine there are times that the ash clouds part and more sun streams in. If you think of volcanic places like Hawaii, volcanic ash is a fantastic place for some kinds of plants to grow… so maybe even a piece of terrain that is based on a lava flow with some new plants growing up from it.
entrances to mines or skaven tunnels that seem randomly placed might be a good bit too. They could effectively be impassable terrain, as it would be easy to model an opening to such an underground locale in a big outcropping of jagged rocks in the middle of a flat ash landscape.
Lots of smashed and ruined things would be good too, just to hit home the impression that the land is an unforgiving and hostile place. Could be obliterated towers or buildings from ancient times, could be smashed warmachines from some long forgotten army that met a cruel end… lots of ideas.
Anyway, these are some of the ideas I had for my on-going terrain project.
Oooo - randomly moving spikey bushes! That’s cool! And, if they come into contact with a ‘lava’ feature, they could become… ‘Flaming spikey tumbleweeds!’
@pyro -thanks for the link - there was one good idea there - ‘Mutant Goose Barnacles’. Place beside/in a water feature, and troops nearby could be attacked! Also an idea for a ‘giant barnacle’ aquaculture farm. Hmmm. I wonder if they’d eat gnoblar?
As far as foliage, I was looking at my squash vines in my garden (also, being harvest season, I’ve been eating them whenever possible!), and thought something like that could be interesting: Squash can be shaped in crazy and interesting ways ( http://www.istockphoto.com/file_closeup/food-and-drink/fruits-and-vegetables/4516409-autumn-harvest.php?id=4516409 ) , and the large leaves which are close to the ground would capture a lot of sunlight, and also prevent evaporation of ground water by shading the earth beneath them. Some are also covered in tiny spines.
Nice! Thanks for giving me some ideas which could result in something a lot more interesting than a ‘Dark Lands’ representation that looks like a gravel pit or a chunk of driveway. That’s great!
Also… what about the different types of cactus - maybe looking like a sea urchin? That might be an interesting feature to take the place of a stand of trees, etc…
Big Hats and moving spikey plants reminded me of this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UYMlV7kSZU
cornixt
And holy crow... one of the recommended videos finally pointed me to where Selv's avatar came from.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9dbAQJIu1o&feature=fvw
Big Hats and moving spikey plants reminded me of this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UYMlV7kSZU
cornixt
And holy crow... one of the recommended videos finally pointed me to where Selv's avatar came from.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9dbAQJIu1o&feature=fvw
Nicodemus
Have you never seen that show? I watched it all the time when I was younger...
