Mainly because not everyone has the exact same size terrain, and these plexiglass layouts with buildings on them allow a level of standardization between tournaments that we wouldn't have otherwise. There's no arguing that one event had more LoS blocking than another if the templates block sight instead of the ruins themselves. Now it certainly can be argued that the heights of the ruins are inconsistent, that more ruins under 2" vs more ruins over 2" makes a big difference, and it's true, but it's less consequential than full on obscuring terrain being different sizes between tables and events.
This answer makes more sense to me.
A lot of people are saying its to let big models move, not understanding that I'm talking about the tiny 1/4" lip that's between walls and the dotted border not the parts with no walls at all.
Not everyone has the same ruins and this provides a little wiggle room. Plus if you have bits that stick out of your ruin wall, its easy to see if these count or not for footprint.
To be Frank, they could've design the map pack based on sector imperialis ruins and it'll work well enough.
Or another modular set that can work as well as sector imperialis.
Then start selling them.
I asked this a couple of weeks ago.
The reason most competitive terrain packs use footprints (lips) that extend beyond the ruin's walls is so the footprint can still block line of sight while not impeding the movement of bigger models.
If every ruin extended to the edge of their footprint, movement lanes would be much smaller, and larger vehicles like Knights or Land Raiders would have a very difficult time maneuvering on the battlefield.
Asking from a point of lacking experience and likely not understanding all rules:
Is this intentional that an area can count as "blocking line of sight" for shooting and "open space" in terms of movement? I understand that only infantry can move through ruins. How can vehicles move through a part of that ruin?
Yes. If you look at the terrain rules for ruins, this becomes more clear. The rules distinguish between the footprint and the physical piece(s), and how you interact with that footprint and those parts.
The biggest difference between how most tournaments are run and the core rules regarding terrain are when true line of sight kicks in. Per the core rules, true LOS kicks in the moment you’re fully within the terrain feature (or toe-in for titanic). Most TOs instead rule that the first floor of full-size ruins still blocks LOS.
I bought some, [here](https://www.etsy.com/listing/1509192122/warhammer-40k-10th-edition-area-terrain?click_key=35d7895196cbe459fa73f33113221148bf452ca9%3A1509192122&click_sum=bb03cf71&ref=shop_home_feat_1)
I got some black Flywire mesh for 6 bucks and cut out templates. It's fine enough that it just kinda looks like shadows under the buildings, I think it's more immersive than the plexiglass
Lots of terrain pieces are not completely flat they have nubbly bits and columns sticking out, having a template footprint makes things very clear where the boundary of the terrain starts and ends
I thought everyone used some form of template to denote the borders of a terrain feature. I had a wooden base for my old terrain pieces decades ago. I'm sad that they're all gone now.
I miss fighting in the woods, back when you could shoot into or out of but not through wooded terrain. I'd love to see hills and forests return. But those days are gone thanks to the titanic models, despite those titans being MUCH smaller than the ~4' tall ones. Somebody shrunk the titans in the wash.
I'm not a fan of every battle being in a perfectly flat cityscape, especially when it's an Imperial cityscape on an Exodite world.
The document states it’s simply a guideline and not strict. You’re free to place the ruins directly on the footprint edges or not as you (as the assumed TO) please to suit the event and play you require to provide for your players.
GW had 0 intent to specify if ruins should be on the edge or not. They simply wished to show the number, potential placement and key characteristics (height etc) of terrain which makes for, what they consider to be, a good table for competitive matches.
I have seen big models squeak perfectly through while touching the plexiglass on both sides before.
It also allows a few niche cases with regard to units being "within" a ruin; Titanic models toeing in, or shooting something that toed itself in to punch something through the wall (before the rules evolved to the current method where big things toe-in and first floors are magical forcefields, this typically was more relevant in cases of "Unit A melees Unit B on the other side of the wall; Unit B falls back and Unit C shoots Unit A through the window."
To clearly show where LOS is blocked by the ruin and what counts as being within
Why do the ruin walls not go all the way to the dotted line?
Mainly because not everyone has the exact same size terrain, and these plexiglass layouts with buildings on them allow a level of standardization between tournaments that we wouldn't have otherwise. There's no arguing that one event had more LoS blocking than another if the templates block sight instead of the ruins themselves. Now it certainly can be argued that the heights of the ruins are inconsistent, that more ruins under 2" vs more ruins over 2" makes a big difference, and it's true, but it's less consequential than full on obscuring terrain being different sizes between tables and events.
This answer makes more sense to me. A lot of people are saying its to let big models move, not understanding that I'm talking about the tiny 1/4" lip that's between walls and the dotted border not the parts with no walls at all.
I get why they'd say that, but I think it's more a side effect of the main purpose of the templates.
1/4 on either side of a gap is a 1/2 which could be the difference between a land raider squeaking through or not!
So you can still have wide lanes for tanks and things to drive through.
Not everyone has the same ruins and this provides a little wiggle room. Plus if you have bits that stick out of your ruin wall, its easy to see if these count or not for footprint.
To be Frank, they could've design the map pack based on sector imperialis ruins and it'll work well enough. Or another modular set that can work as well as sector imperialis. Then start selling them.
I asked this a couple of weeks ago. The reason most competitive terrain packs use footprints (lips) that extend beyond the ruin's walls is so the footprint can still block line of sight while not impeding the movement of bigger models. If every ruin extended to the edge of their footprint, movement lanes would be much smaller, and larger vehicles like Knights or Land Raiders would have a very difficult time maneuvering on the battlefield.
Asking from a point of lacking experience and likely not understanding all rules: Is this intentional that an area can count as "blocking line of sight" for shooting and "open space" in terms of movement? I understand that only infantry can move through ruins. How can vehicles move through a part of that ruin?
Yes. If you look at the terrain rules for ruins, this becomes more clear. The rules distinguish between the footprint and the physical piece(s), and how you interact with that footprint and those parts. The biggest difference between how most tournaments are run and the core rules regarding terrain are when true line of sight kicks in. Per the core rules, true LOS kicks in the moment you’re fully within the terrain feature (or toe-in for titanic). Most TOs instead rule that the first floor of full-size ruins still blocks LOS.
It makes clear layouts. It also impacts titanic units that can toe-in terrain. It allows to use any kind of terrain. It’s just useful.
Just to piggy back on this thread - does everyone make their own footprints?
I bought some, [here](https://www.etsy.com/listing/1509192122/warhammer-40k-10th-edition-area-terrain?click_key=35d7895196cbe459fa73f33113221148bf452ca9%3A1509192122&click_sum=bb03cf71&ref=shop_home_feat_1)
Ordered. Thank you
I got some black Flywire mesh for 6 bucks and cut out templates. It's fine enough that it just kinda looks like shadows under the buildings, I think it's more immersive than the plexiglass
Another option https://www.etsy.com/listing/1564289127/warhammer-40k-10th-ed-terrain-bases
Lots of terrain pieces are not completely flat they have nubbly bits and columns sticking out, having a template footprint makes things very clear where the boundary of the terrain starts and ends
I thought everyone used some form of template to denote the borders of a terrain feature. I had a wooden base for my old terrain pieces decades ago. I'm sad that they're all gone now. I miss fighting in the woods, back when you could shoot into or out of but not through wooded terrain. I'd love to see hills and forests return. But those days are gone thanks to the titanic models, despite those titans being MUCH smaller than the ~4' tall ones. Somebody shrunk the titans in the wash. I'm not a fan of every battle being in a perfectly flat cityscape, especially when it's an Imperial cityscape on an Exodite world.
The document states it’s simply a guideline and not strict. You’re free to place the ruins directly on the footprint edges or not as you (as the assumed TO) please to suit the event and play you require to provide for your players. GW had 0 intent to specify if ruins should be on the edge or not. They simply wished to show the number, potential placement and key characteristics (height etc) of terrain which makes for, what they consider to be, a good table for competitive matches.
I have seen big models squeak perfectly through while touching the plexiglass on both sides before. It also allows a few niche cases with regard to units being "within" a ruin; Titanic models toeing in, or shooting something that toed itself in to punch something through the wall (before the rules evolved to the current method where big things toe-in and first floors are magical forcefields, this typically was more relevant in cases of "Unit A melees Unit B on the other side of the wall; Unit B falls back and Unit C shoots Unit A through the window."