Chapter Three:

The Battlefield

For thousands of years, climate and terrain have played critical roles in the development of military tactics and the evolution of the battle. In flat, open lands, cavalry became the dominant force on the battlefield because the terrain favored mobility. But even the best horsemen lose most of their mobility in heavy forest, swamp, or rugged mountains. The commander who learns to use the terrain to his advantage becomes a formidable enemy.

In many AD&D games, the battlefield itself is often ignored or portrayed in a colorless, abstract manner. This chapter explores the various types of battlefields and their characteristics, with two goals in mind: creating more scenic and visual sites for your PCs’ heroic encounters, and providing players and Dungeon Masters with another level of battlefield detail to reward quick thinking and sound tactics.

The first section of this chapter, Battlefields, discusses sites common to adventurers in role-playing situations and defines battlefield characteristics and terrain. Settings ranging from ice plains to tropical jungles are all included. The second part of this chapter, the Battlefield Generation System, provides the DM with an easy way to quickly create a complete battlefield for any encounter. The last part of this chapter is Combat Under Unusual Conditions and deals with a variety of strange situations.

Table of Contents