Lion/Dragon Rampant setting-up terrain need help.

[Stéphane]

I have playing my first test of Dragon Rampant this day. But, I was afraid when I did set-up the terrain. I found nothing about that in the core rules.

However, my opponent had an open field army when I had for myself rather an army for the combats in rough terrain. What we should have done? Putting lot of large terrain pieces for my benefit or only few little ones for the benefit of my opponent? I had found nothing about that in the rules.

So, I ask how do you resolve these problems ?

Thanks in advance for yours answers.

[guitarheroandy]

Compromise - some nice open spaces and some rough ground spread evenly over the table. Then dice for table edge.
Or dice for the number of pieces of terrain and use scatter dice to randomise location.

It's not difficult to do...

Dragon Rampant is a game where the players are meant to take responsibility for this kind of thing, designing the table layout to enable both of them to enjoy the game. It's not about maximising what happens so that you guarantee a win - that's not the spirit of the game.

Have fun...

[Charlie_]

How about if one player sets out the terrain, and then lets the other player choose which table edge they want?

Or the terrain could be set up and then each each piece moved a random distance in a random direction.

The terrain pieces could be randomly generated from what you have available.

You could both gather together all your terrain, decide on a maximum number of terrain pieces allowed, and both sketch out a map for your preferred setup. Then roll off - the winner gets to use their setup. If this seems unfair, the other player could perhaps have the opportunity of 'scattering' one or more pieces, or could choose one piece to remove from their opponents map....

You could sketch out several terrain set-up maps together, than randomly select one (and roll off for table edges).

You could have a friend decide it for you!


All sorts of interesting ways it could be done. All the above methods could be combined in various ways.

[SotF]

Not necessarily for Lion/Dragon Rampant, but an easy way to get it would be to have each player roll a die and have that many pieces to place with another roll for additional pieces of linear pieces such as roads, rivers, walls, and the like...or just as many as you needed.

[jon_1066]

First off some of the scenarios call for more terrain than others - so be swayed by that to begin with. 

Next try to set up something that looks "realistic".  I hate the "you plonk three pieces each with no relation to anything" method.  So if you have a village then make it a village with a cluster of a few houses, some walls and hedges, perhaps an orchard with open fields around it and a road leading through it.  Place it in the center if you are defending the indefensible or to one side if it is a pitched battle (anchoring one of the flanks)

Try to make it interesting and relevant to the scenario.  So if it is a pitched battle between armies then they would generally meet in open terrain.  If the defender is trying to hold a defensive position then give them that to defend. 

If it favours one side too much then the attacker may refuse to give battle so try to make it balanced.

[pocoloco]

First off some of the scenarios call for more terrain than others - so be swayed by that to begin with. 

Next try to set up something that looks "realistic".  I hate the "you plonk three pieces each with no relation to anything" method.  So if you have a village then make it a village with a cluster of a few houses, some walls and hedges, perhaps an orchard with open fields around it and a road leading through it.  Place it in the center if you are defending the indefensible or to one side if it is a pitched battle (anchoring one of the flanks)

Try to make it interesting and relevant to the scenario.  So if it is a pitched battle between armies then they would generally meet in open terrain.  If the defender is trying to hold a defensive position then give them that to defend. 

If it favours one side too much then the attacker may refuse to give battle so try to make it balanced.

Excellent input! 

[Stéphane]

Thanks for your answer but in fact I had hoping that I had missing somthing when I had reading the rules.
I can find plenty of process to place the battlefield but I am surprised that it is not in the rules actually.

I've playing the scenery where my opponent must cross all the table. So, If I have placed some piece of terrain in the middle of the way that he should did taken, that was good for me and very bad for him.
In final way, we have decided that, if he had a good reason to cross very quickly the battlefield, he did be on a road or free way. We have decided that it was no sense if there was something in the middle of his way. If it was the case, my army did should be placed in the middle and not on the sides like in ambush and not a stop battle.
But it is a logic maybe not shared by all.

I had hoped have some explanations about that in the set-up. It had be more simple for our first game if I had not passed so much time to trying to found some help in the core rules.

It is not a problem of optimisation, just an help for the set-up. Not even any indication in the rules. You can understand that I had think this is so strange. And I don't talk about my confidence to read english correctly is shaken .

So I will come back to DBM's rules for finding a way to put some terrains on my battlefield

[jon_1066]

Thanks for your answer but in fact I had hoping that I had missing somthing when I had reading the rules.
I can find plenty of process to place the battlefield but I am surprised that it is not in the rules actually.

I've playing the scenery where my opponent must cross all the table. So, If I have placed some piece of terrain in the middle of the way that he should did taken, that was good for me and very bad for him.
In final way, we have decided that, if he had a good reason to cross very quickly the battlefield, he did be on a road or free way. We have decided that it was no sense if there was something in the middle of his way. If it was the case, my army did should be placed in the middle and not on the sides like in ambush and not a stop battle.
But it is a logic maybe not shared by all.

I had hoped have some explanations about that in the set-up. It had be more simple for our first game if I had not passed so much time to trying to found some help in the core rules.

It is not a problem of optimisation, just an help for the set-up. Not even any indication in the rules. You can understand that I had think this is so strange. And I don't talk about my confidence to read english correctly is shaken .

So I will come back to DBM's rules for finding a way to put some terrains on my battlefield

Well the obvious thing to do is set up the terrain after you choose a scenario but before you choose sides.  That way you wont know if you are the attacker or defender therefore there is no temptation to favour one over the other.

A similar thing applies to the selection of your forces.  You do it before you determine the scenario so you can't take the perfect troops for the task at hand.

[dbsubashi]

Lion Rampant allows the attacker to change out 6 points of models to help succeed in the mission. Lots of woods? Pull out those mounted men-at-arms and put in some Fierce Foot and Bidowers...

[aircav]

Have a look at this on the lion rampant forum

http://duxrampant.yuku.com/topic/727/Casual-Terrain-Set-Up-Rules#.WCbpfbTfWhA