Indur Dawndeath wrote:But how are you using the battlefield traits?
Generally, they are simply there as an aide memoir to my initial description as in the heat of battle players can forget details. I let the players use them for their characters as they see fit:
1) This can be simply to add descriptive elements to when they are describing their actions
2) Using them to 'hang' bonus success dice off that they obtained from preliminary rolls or other such special circumstances
3) Exploiting them for strategic or mechanical advantage
4) Or just to understand the 'lay of the land' within a fight
Each Battle Map itself has different uses depending on the scene. In addition to the above it can:
5) Lay out the different locales within a battle as per the examples above and hightlight any specific restrictions/etc as to how characters move between them - eg, the sloping terrain on the Warg Ambush map above
6) Draw out any specific rules - eg, the Villagers 'pools' in each location of the settlement map were used as additional bonus dice for those locations when the players narrated the villagers supporting them. Also something like a round count is useful to play out in the open (eg, "we must hold this ground until dawn!") if its something the PCs would be aware of; it adds to the tension. These additional rules could also draw on how the locations within the map interact - eg, a crevise could create a bottle-neck allowing more PCs than is usual to adopt a Rearward Stance for the path beyond the crevise as long as it has a PCs in Defensive Stance holding the ground against opponents.
7) Importantly, I also try and include elements that draw out the narrative behind the combat. In the example of the settlement this isn't really needed as the narrative is pretty obvious (ie, defend the village) but for the Warg Ambush there were some elements that could be gleaned if the PCs directly protected the children (ie, they weren't the real target of the attack)
I'm sure there are other uses for it but mainly it's for providing support to help the players and bringing variety to such encounters.
Indur Dawndeath wrote:I was thinking to prepare a fight in the Gundabad pass, as the players return with the Hill-men children, in Nightmare of Angmar. So they have the children to protect, the ice and the cold, and ofcourse jagged rocks and dangerous crevices to mind! There should be a place where the children are better protected, some skill roll to get them there... And a place, higher ground, where the archer is protected and warriors have an advantage, but the children are exposed there.
Please guide me, so I can set this up
Sounds like you have the basics right there. I don't have my books to hand so can't reference the adventure in Ruins of the North but if I was creating a 'battle map' for the above:
1) Pick out a nice piece of art that represented either the location of some narrative element of the scene
2) Over the illustration draw out the locations, arranging them in a logical order as to their relation to each other
3) Identify/list out any rules as to how PCs can move between each location. Even though this feels like LM-specific information I add it to my maps so that (a) I don't forget and (b) I think that PCs would have a good idea of how difficult something can be to negotiate. Obviously you may disagree and leave such information off of your maps, or maybe just some of it - ie, keep the obvious but don't disclose everything
4) For each location, add a number of descriptive traits to it. These can simply be evocative so that players can draw on them for colour when describing their actions or they can servce more of a mechanical purpose - eg, something like "high ground" could be used by an archer to attack opponents with a mechanical advantage of -2 to their target's TN. So when creating them, try and think how a player could use them and go with a mix of traits - eg, one or two that you just think or evocative and then one or two more to hang mechanical advantages off. No need to play hard and fast with that though - it can be just as much fun to go with traits that you just believe are evocative and fire your imagination and then get totally surprised by how your players use them!
5) Add any other specific rules you want to use within the scene and don't mind sharing with the players - eg, other NPCs that need protecting within a specific locale, a combat round count, etc.
These are all just ideas, no hard and fast rules. If you use this, don't feel like you have to all the time or in the same way. I create these to support my players and our enjoyment of the game - if it isn't doing that for you, then stop!
Hope that all helps.