DBA Terrain Type - Arable

Compulsory: BUA, plough,

Option: river, difficult hill, gentle hill, wood, enclosure, road, waterway, scrub, boggy.

Gentle Hill

These are a single thickness (2mm) of floor cover material, painted and flocked with electrostatic grass. I prefer the grass over the use of turf to cover my terrain as this has proven resistant to constant usage. Regarding the size of hills, I found it convenient to have one large (3BW x 6BW) and several smaller hills (3BW x 4BW) available for games. 

Difficult Hill

These are made from the same material as described above, but with two pieces glued together. If the upper piece reduced by a ½ BW this will keep figures from toppling over and function as the area from which bow may shoot from, see p. 10, paragraph 3, Distant Shooting. Apply glue along the outer edge of the underside as this will avoid shrinkage and your hill curling. 

Difficult hill .

I have constructed a duplicate and painted these for use in European and dryer climes; the latter have electrostatic grass sprinkled over them, then painted an earth colour and later dry-brushed. I find this technique enhances the ‘arid’ look. The large rock formations (sculpted from pink foam) help identify these as difficult hills rather than raised gentle hills.

Difficult hill for arid landscapes

Wood

I made two sets of templates so wood can be used in for European or arid climates. From our game experience we found the smaller wood far more effective than a large one; during the placement of terrain there is less chance of discarding a wood.

Wood in dry locations can have their templates treated in the same manner as described in the section Difficult Hills. The trees (2 or 3) are mounted on triangular or oval shaped bases made of 1.2mm thick triplex. I found it expedient to paint the bases dark brown so fir trees may be used for both climate regions. 

Wood (trees fixed three to a base)

Enclosure

Enclosures have fencing, hedges or ditches to mark its boundaries. These are considered rough going and mine have hedges which can be removed. The same template can serve as scrub, marsh, boggy ground by simple placement of the appropriate scatter on top. See page – Scatter Material. 

Enclosure with hedges and gate

If you prefer stones mounted on thin strips, then I recommend these have measurements of ½ BW x 2BW which can easily conform to any curvature of your template.

Road and Rivers

These are constructed from the same material as used for hills; 2mm thick floor covering. The pieces are 1BW wide as per specification, so the actual road and water surface will be slightly less. I prefer a length of 5BW for both as this will allow roads to meet BUA if placed away from a board edge and with the use of small curved sections (2BW) you can simulate a river meandering around hills and wood. The small curved sections are useful, so you may want to produce enough to use a full length of river. As our boards are 80cm square this would allow the placement of 120cm of either road or river.

Road and river

Waterway

This feature is covered in detail under Littoral features. 

Waterway

Plough
These plough are the result of several variations. The field is produced by Busch and is packaged as one large sheet roughly 20cm x 21cm. This is enough to cut into small pieces and glue to the standard template after it has been painted an earth colour. Pictured here are two versions of grain fields. BUA (built up areas)

Plough.

BUA (built up areas)
Of the four types listed in the rule book, City, Fort, Hamlet and Edifice, we prefer to use the hamlet option. A hamlet does not require a garrison but is considered rough going and would reduce movement for troops other than 'fast' types. The construction of the buildings can be followed here.

BUA (hamlet)
Pictured above in the section 'road and river' you will note the advantage of basing structures apart from its template; these can be swapped with others of another architectural style or era. 

Next: Forest

DBA Terrain Type - Forest

Compulsory: Wood,

Option: river, marsh, gentle hill, wood, BUA.

Wood

The collection of wood progressed through three different modifications. The original set were HO scale with four or five trees fixed to a base. With more experience using 3.0, we decided to construct smaller templates to serve as terrain features including those used for wood. All the HO scale trees were replaced with trees half their height with two or three trees fixed per base. The reduction in size resulted in less storage space; from three boxes to half of one.

In addition to the fir trees I have also purchased deciduous types to have the game board reflect other geographical locations. The extra trees fixed to bases could also serve as scatter to place along BUA, rivers or road. Their placement will enhance the photos taken during a game.

Bases are 1.2 mm thick and cut to either an oval or triangular shape. The edges are sanded and after gluing the trees, the base is painted dark brown. The trees are usually dark green and have a shine to them. To change this, white glue is brushed on to the trees which are then flocked with mid-green turf (Woodland Scenics or Busch). 

Wood.

River

Construction of rivers can be found at the page titled Arable. I will mention that rivers can cross features except hills, dunes, oasis and BUA; therefore, you can produce a few more smaller wood templates to as to have a river coursing its way through it.

River coursing through two wood.

Marsh

For a marsh, I use the same template sizes and shape. What colour should these be painted is a matter of taste, but I have prefer and earth – near mud colour. The grass scatter material I place on top are fixed to clear acetate bases, 1mm thick. The grass (12mm) is self-adhesive manufactured by Leadbear of Australia. 

Marsh intersected by a river. 

Gentle Hill

Although we use an 80cm x 80cm board it is very rare that we must discard a piece due to a quadrant lacking enough space for its placement. As a rule we have constructed enough small features that also include a gentle hill.

BUA

Most of the armies having forest as home terrain are barbarian; Early German, Burgundian (5^th c. AD), Prussian and Lithuanian are a few examples. It would therefore be reasonable to see either an edifice (sacred grove) or a hamlet as a BUA. I do have a stone circle which has a generic look to it, though circular thatched roof huts would not look out of place either. These can be constructed from pink foam and shaped with a modelling knife. Walls and roof would be covered with Milliput, scored and later painted. These should be based with enough space to place a bit of wattle fencing. 

Hamlet structures showing an early medieval architecture. 

Next: Hilly

DBA Terrain Type - Hilly

Compulsory: Difficult hill

Option: river, wood, BUA, road.

Difficult Hill

Difficult hills, like a few other terrain features, progressed through a series of modifications before reaching a final result. My initial hills were 40mm thick pink foam material, painted and flocked with electrostatic grass; ideal for the gunpowder era, these quickly demonstrated their impractical side for ancients. To improve on the layer-cake look, I scored the hills to create slopes so elements could freely be placed without their tipping over. This worked relatively well, but had the consequence of reducing the upper area to one base width.

The final model is the result comes from gluing two ‘gentle’ hill pieces together, painted an earth colour and finally covered with grass. I modelled some rock outcroppings to define them as difficult hills. Without the outcroppings, these could serve as gentle hills to vary the height, but what is more important are the different sets of rock formations and colour of the hills. These have been duplicated this set to serve for green or arid climate zones. 

Difficult hill.

River

Construction of river sections can be found at the page labelled arable terrain. If plans are to use both a road and river, it may prove useful to construct a section with a bridge or ford. These need not be elaborate, but even a simple construction can convey the general idea of an unobstructed passage of a river.    

Two wood intersected by a river. 

Wood

These are covered in detail under arable terrain, but I would add a preference for fir trees for dry climates over conifer trees. Having both in your terrain collection will prove useful as the number of armies and their location grows. 

Wood.

BUA

These may be constructed on top of a hill for which I have one in the collection; this is modelled after a well known village located in the Caucasus. I have classed this as a ‘fort’ as historically, the inhabitants formed their own defence force to beat off nomadic tribesmen that forced the Caspian Gates. 

BUA - Armenian or Georgian village.

Road

Apart from Roman roads which would be strait, ancient tracks should have a number or bends to avoid terrain features. The construction of roads therefore, follows a similar pattern as the construction of river sections. The finished pieces should also match BUA templates as these may be joined together for a game. 

Next: Steppe

DBA Terrain Type - Steppe

Compulsory: Gentle hill

Option: river, rocky, scrub, gully, BUA.

Gentle Hill

We generally associate nomadic horsemen as having ‘steppe’ for home terrain, but the Meroitic Kush is a departure from that preconception. As I have both in my collection, I wanted the game table to reflect different geographical locations; the grasslands north of the Black Sea for my Huns, Alans and Sarmatians and the regions which are home to the Meroitic Kushite. 

Gentle hill held by Meroitic Kushites.

The terrain pieces for the grassland areas are the same as those used for arable, so they will not be covered here in any detail. I found it useful to add a few pieces of scatter (rock or scrub) atop a gentle hill; this gives uniformity to the game board and looks nice in the photos.

River

From the rule book, rivers must not exceed 1 ½ the length of a board. For our purposes, that would equate to 120 cm of length having enough sections to wind back on itself, thus creating an extra obstacle.  River section specifications you will find covered in detail on the page – arable.

River after a period of drought.

Rocky

The templates for rocky or scrub are kidney or elliptical in shape. These are ideal terrain for psiloi and therefore are not more than 3BW across, as this can easily be traversed by fast troops. The rocks placed as scatter material are sculpted from leftover pink foam, glued to small triplex bases and covered with white glue and sand. 

Rocky ground.

Scrub

Similar in construction as rocky ground, the scrub uses clump foliage which is readily available from model train shops. Busch and Heki are good manufactures of scenic material and on the other side of the pond, you have Woodland Scenics. The bases are covered with pieces from a scouring pad to give the scrub some height; the material is teased or stretched out before gluing. This is glued and covered with clump foliage. After this sets, the piece is given a thin coat of white glue to further strengthen the bond.

Scrub feature set in Kush.

Note; Both rocky and scrub can be crossed by rivers, so cutting templates for these you may want to have smaller pieces that can be placed on either side of a river.

Gully

I made two of these of different sizes. Painted brown, the gully interior was randomly coated with white glue and sprinkled over with sand; this was painted and dry brushed to blend with the floor of the gully. At the gully’s upper edge, I followed a similar process but used electrostatic grass. Dry-brushing the grass gave it an appearance of dried grass and to add the illusion of depth, I painted the gully wall a darker shade of earth. 

Gully.

BUA

To be honest, I have not used a BUA with a steppe army. Any foot troops accompanying a nomadic horse army would make use of rocky or scrub ground with possible a river as terrain options. These features do not hinder a general’s command distance as a BUA would and are a haven for light troops.

BUA (Kushite hamlet). 

Next: Dry

DBA Terrain Type - Dry

Compulsory: rocky or scrub

Option: dune, difficult hill, oasis, BUA.

Rocky

My recent project, the collecting Muslim armies of the 8^th and 9^th century AD, I have realized that without exception these all have ‘dry’ geography as home terrain. Despite both the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates occupied a similar home, only the Abbasid may use ‘arable’. This means other Muslim armies have rocky or scrub as compulsory terrain and a number of BAD GOING terrains. Their construction can be found at the previous pages. If you wish to broaden the variety of rocky ground you might consider painting black rock as would be found in volcanic areas. 

Rocky ground.

Scrub

The long dried grass (12mm) I use is from Leadbear of Australia. These are self-adhesive pieces and easy to work with. Fixed to small kidney shaped bases the outer edges are coated with a mix of white glue and sand. This is later painted an earth colour and dry-brushed. 

Scrub (dry grass). 

Dune

I have three of these of different sizes so players may have a choice. These are painted a desert colour so there will be no mistaking them as anything else but dune. 

Dune.

Difficult hill

I have described the construction of these at another page, but would only add, if fighting takes place in a volcanic region, then the hills should also have black rock formations. 

Difficult hill.

Oasis

Any one of the pieces serving as dune can be quickly made an oasis with the addition of palm trees and a waterhole. The palm trees are ‘cake decoration’ manufactured in China. The fronds are dry-brushed yellow and later given a wash of mid-green. The trunk is similarly treated, but with mid-grey and both operations serve to tone down the glossy appearance. The water hole and palm trees can be removed during play and to economise construction, you can use a dune template to serve for an oasis. 

Oasis.

BUA

These dwellings were made after the release of version 2.0. I still use them and they have been re-based with a walled enclosure added. I can use one or all three depending on the size of the BUA template. Adding palm trees or scrub will also enhance their look.

BUA (desert dwellings).

The BUA template can also double for rocky ground or scrub.

Next: Tropical

DBA Terrain Type - Tropical

Compulsory: Woods

Option: river, marsh, gully, BUA, enclosure, road, wood.

Wood

Tropical forest regions do not consist solely of palm trees, but in this case I did want my tropical board to look distinct. These plastic palm trees are ‘cake decorations’ manufactured in China. Placing two pieces per base, these were glued and covered with Milliput and later textured with a coating of white glue and sand. Earlier models had other plastic vegetation fixed to a much larger base but lacking adequate storage these quickly became broken and disused. 

Wood (tropical setting).

Extra foliage is based separately can be placed about the wood’s template as scatter material to be removed during play. This has the added benefit of being placed elsewhere on the table; as scrub or villages. 

River

Extra foliage can be scattered along the banks of a river which would make for some interesting photos. 

River with foliage placed along banks.

Marsh

Marsh has been covered earlier here. 

Long Grass scatter can replace the scrub pictured here.

Gully

This piece was originally made for steppe terrain, but with the addition of scatter material fits in well with my tropical terrain. 

Gully with foliage placed along lip. 

BUA

I had planned an edifice and hamlet for my tropical board. The Hindu temple picture that would serve for my edifice and the hamlet would have structures made to represent bamboo huts with thatched roofs. When completed, this page will be updated and photos added.

Enclosure

In the DBA 3.0 rule book, section Battlefield Terrain, rice paddies were described as ‘enclosures’ having paddy bunds. Pictured here are a number of examples: Paddy bunds.

Rice paddy.

The rice paddy is made from a clear sheet of acetate (1mm thick) with its underside painted brown and green in a mottled fashion. The edges of the upper surface are covered with white glue and covered with electrostatic grass.     

Road

Roads and  its construction have been covered here. 

Next: Littoral

DBA Terrain Type - Littoral

Compulsory: Waterway

Option: either difficult hill or marsh, either wood or dune, BUA, road, river.

Waterway

This is one terrain feature that has made several transformations before reaching its final form as seen in the photos. The first model was one piece produced for DBA 2.2 which measured 24” or 60 cm in length.

With the release of DBA 3.0, the waterway grew with the increase size of board (80 cm). The longer piece had its bank covered by grass, in some places adding an extra 2BW. Unfortunately, the grass extensions curled which required constant bending to lie flat. 

Waterway bordered by scrub

The final waterway is 4BW wide and consists of two 40 cm sections. Grass areas are now replaced by dune or beach areas which can have scatter material (long grass) placed on them.  Covering the beach areas with scrub and trees, the waterway can represent major river, such as, the Rhine or Danube. Its construction can be read here.

Either difficult hill or marsh, either wood or dune

The number of littoral armies has increased over the year and all come from diverse climate regions; the Early Germans of the Rhine, Carthaginians, Early Muslim North Africa and the Zanj of Southern Iraq. 

Difficult hill. 

Wood and marsh.

Selecting terrain features for use with a particular army should be done with a bit of logic. The marshlands of Southern Iraq would make use of marsh and dune than difficult hill and wood. Conversely, Early Germans would be at home with a waterway with a number of difficult hill or wood on its game board and difficult hill and dune for North Africa.

BUA

At the moment I have a number of architectural styles that make up a hamlet; these are Roman style buildings, Arab dwellings or thatched roof huts. From a game perspective, there is a preference for hamlets as these are ‘rough going’ features; a haven for ‘fast’ troop types. As game experience increases other BUA types, such as a city or edifice, may find a place on the game board. 

BUA (hamlet).

Road and River

The construction of these has been covered in detail under 'arable'. On a side note, rivers have not been used with a waterway for the standard game as this would greatly slow the game down; having said that, the Battle of Issus (333 BC) was fought over such a field. This might be better played as a BBDBA option.

Next: Scatter Material