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I plan on making some terrain for a little table I have at home so I can play warmachine at my place.

What type of terrain, and how much...does a general table have?

I am planning a few linear obstacles(fences, stone walls), some 2 level hills, and probably a building and a forest or two.

Is this enough terrain? also, what other pieces are seen around warmachine tables?

Maybe a ruined building and small pool of shallow water. You don't need much terrain, just a nice mix of features that are about the right size. Usually going over a 5" diameter circle or 4"x6" rectangle needs to be done with some planning in mind. Large forests in particular need to be avoided.

I use a combination of the following for most of my games:

3-5 walls that are the size of the ones in the book

2 hills that are 3X5

2 buildings that are 4X4 or 3X5

a few forests of different sizes.

That'll be all you need. Most tables for when I organize tournaments have 5-7 pieces

Draxos wrote:
I use a combination of the following for most of my games:

3-5 walls that are the size of the ones in the book

2 hills that are 3X5

2 buildings that are 4X4 or 3X5

a few forests of different sizes.

That'll be all you need. Most tables for when I organize tournaments have 5-7 pieces

A couple pools of shallow water in addition to what he listed woundnt be a bad idea. Also make sure the trees on your forests are removable.

I made a thread on terrain a week or two ago full of links of terrain I find suitable.

Draxos wrote:
I use a combination of the following for most of my games:

3-5 walls that are the size of the ones in the book

2 hills that are 3X5

2 buildings that are 4X4 or 3X5

a few forests of different sizes.

That'll be all you need. Most tables for when I organize tournaments have 5-7 pieces

Pretty much that, with a couple of water terrain pieces. Also, I have some little gobber tents (about 3x3 at a guess) and a couple of obelisks (about 1.5"x1.5") which I find more useful than larger houses. Larger houses (I think ours are closer to 4x5) tend to block off too much of the field, or just get put at the edges and ignored, so the smaller huts are good blocking pieces that you can play around. We also have a couple of little lookout towers that we just count as a one man hill.

From the 2013 Tournament Guidelines ("Steam Roller 2013"):

Terrain is a key element for games of WARMACHINE
and HORDES and should be relatively balanced on a table
while still presenting a choice for the player who wins the
starting roll. For example, if one side of the board contains
a forest, a hill, and a linear obstacle, the other side should
contain terrain that provides concealment, elevation, and
cover as well but may be positioned in a more advantageous
defensive position.

As a general rule, an average table should contain five to
seven pieces of terrain placed close enough to eliminate large
open areas without unduly constricting movement. The
size of terrain pieces is also important. No piece should be
insignificantly small or extremely large; terrain pieces that
range from 4˝ to 7˝ in length and width are best.
The type, number, and placement of terrain pieces are up to
the EO, but the following guidelines must be followed when
setting up tables:

Do not place terrain within deployment zone areas. This does
not apply to Advance Deployment areas.

All terrain pieces must be placed at least 3˝ away from other
terrain pieces. This includes terrain pieces or wreck markers
granted by Theme Force bonuses.

Do not place impassable terrain within zones, within 4˝ of
flags, or within 2˝ of objectives when playing scenarios that
use them. Note that all other terrain types can be placed
within these areas.

The tl:dr version is this:

Smallest Terrain Pieces: Should be around 4"x4"
Largest Terrain Piece: Should be around 7"x7"

In general don't be a dick about terrain.
In general terrain shouldn't interfere with scenarios.

Bending any of the above guidelines a little is fine, so long as they aren't clearly grossly degenerate to the game.


For personal experience:

My playgroup and I tend to find more terrain makes for a more interesting game, both visually and in terms of gameplay. I tend to find that the 7 "Pieces of Terrain" of fair size tends to feel about right though sometimes, I really wish they advocated more terrain. I think they set the limits relatively conservatively since for most people "Terrain" seems to translate as "Forest or Water". It's nice to have a few pieces of terrain that are just concealing, or just rough, or partially passable/partially impassable with funky shapes.

While lots of terrain isn't needed, it does add a lot to the game.

The typical tournament setup usually has 4-6 pieces of terrain. A couple forests and hills, some walls, maybe a pond.

You could play with denser terrain and the game would still be great.