Change? That sounds like effort and..

[Mike]

I like it/loathe it…

I was chatting to a mate about Burning Sands and it got me wondering in general about matching games with terrain you have.
I suspect a lot, if the not the majority of fantasy games are the traditional European style grey stone, thatched/tiled roof affair with green fields and trees and so on.

Burning Sands is very much not that I wondered if the thought of having to get a whole new set of terrain and a playing surface puts people off, or if the new thought of a brand new project counters that…

Your thoughts on having to start from scratch?

[Darkest Star Games]

I don’t see burning sands as being just for desert.  Sure, the name implies it, as does the art work and the creatures, but it isn’t constrained to any thing in particular IMO. It doesn’t have things that would ONLY work in JUST the desert and nowhere else.  I plan on using for Nordic games first, then move into the desert.  I think it can be easily used for other climates/geographies and even genres.  I mean, Burning Sands could just as easily be played in Lankhmar or Katagad as anywhere else.

There are some rules for some genres though that do require specific terrain and figures to get the right feel though.

I get excited about new projects (at first….) so for me having to make new terrain usually isn’t a big deal.  …until I lose focus.  But that’s a whole other issue!

 

"I saw this in a cartoon once, but I'm pretty sure I can do it..."

[Whirlwind]

Mike wrote:

I wondered if the thought of having to get a whole new set of terrain and a playing surface puts people off, or if the new thought of a brand new project counters that…

It puts me off.  Not necessarily forever but I think of suitable terrain as a project in its own right.  A few buildings are pretty trivial, but making suitable flora can seem daunting.  More handy guides on how to do the terrain bit in different scales relatively cheaply and quickly would help.

[Rhoderic]

Is the question about Burning Sands or miniatures gaming in general?

I suspect that most people who buy Burning Sands aren’t really on board with the notion that it’s exclusively keyed in to “desert fantasy”, so it’s a moot point for them. Just as a lot of people who get into Frostgrave seem to ignore the “frost” part of that game.

As for gaming in general, for me the allure of having many different projects – each of which has some contact surface with at least one other project – is rather the whole point of the hobby. I want to have a “world-building toolbox” of different types of terrain and miniatures from which I can mix & match pieces for different settings. Each set of terrain can be matched with multiple different sets of miniatures, and vice versa. Keeping this figurative toolbox growing (or even just the fantasy of doing that) is what gives me joy in this hobby. It’s the thought of myself sticking to just one project that dismays me. I know this from experience, having tried it several times, for several years at a time, and always having felt drained of enthusiasm at the end.

[Steve Johnson]

Most of my terrain is broadly Northern European, because that’s where most of my games are played. When I stray to say Italy of Spain, I just think of the campaign being in Spring or Autumn when it is more green etc. I don’t have the time, inclination, space nor money for bespoke terrain for various games. The only chance of something different would be the Western desert in WWII as the terrain would be largely minimal, but still an effort.

[Patrice]

Most of my terrain is for Northern Europe, green fields – which can also fit in other areas in the world, we also use some of them for Samurai Japan, etc.

I also have light brownish terrain, intended for pirate games in Saint-Domingue in the Caribbean, which can also be used for half-desert African areas, Sudan, Old West, Spain (Napoleonic or SCW) etc.

In fact, most of my 120 x 60 cm boards are greenish grass on one side, and light brown earth on the other side.

And I also have a large white cloth and some whitey hills with snow-covered pine trees for Napoleonic Russia and Pulp-ish Siberia…

http://www.argad-bzh.fr/argad/en.html
https://www.anargader.net/

[kyoteblue]

Because WW2 North Afrika is one of my favorite campaign settings I have desert terrain. But I agree Burning Sands can be played anywhere.

[MartinR]

I deliberately made all my hills rather brownish looking so I can use them with my grassy or arid terrain cloths. They also do as muddy for WW1 Western front games.

But yes, having to produce a load of new terrain would, in general, be off putting.

"Mistakes in the initial deployment cannot be rectified" - Helmuth von Moltke

[Ivan Sorensen]

Though a title like Burning Sands would certainly get me to consider adding some desert’y stuff or at least a cactus!

[Thuseld]

I think I like the challenge of terrain building. Gaming a lot of 6mm sci fi means I can make it all up, and have all kinds of wacky stuff.

Playing WW2 games is the problem. Terrain needs to have a specific look. Then what if I want to game Eastern Front?! Great, new buildings to buy and paint.

Experiments here: http://inexperiencedmodelmaker.blogspot.co.uk/

Tranquil Stars updates: https://tranquilstars.wordpress.com

[irishserb]

In general, any time I start a new project, I expect to build a lot of terrain for it.  I also usually expect that some of my existing terrain will also be used with the new project.  In my case, I have a modular system that I use, and have three basic environments, green forest, yellow desert, and a mixed jungle themed set.

With respect to fantasy, I plan to venture back into it starting this winter, and expect to build a lot of 28mm terrain pieces catering to the various races and factions.  It is possible that I will add some winter and tundra terrain for fantasy too, which would be new realms for me (in addition to the forest, desert, and jungle).  Not only does the idea of building probably at least 70, and maybe up to 200 cubic feet of terrain not put me off,  I am particularly looking forward to it.

[deephorse]

I don’t build terrain, I buy it.  It all has to fit with the European centric games that I play.  Consequently any new game or set of rules that required me to collect an entirely different set of terrain is a non-starter for me.

Play is what makes life bearable - Michael Rosen

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