A Good Wall Height

[CiDevant]

I'm building some custom modular terrain and I'm stymied on what height to make my walls.  Initially I was going to make them 2" because that's the size of the World Works Games Terrain Linx patterns I'm using,  Then I realized that many models are physically taller than 2".  4" feels too high for the rules as too many models would have to start in base contact to climb 8".  Then I started thinking about the Emissaries.  How tall are they?  Anyone with experience please weigh in.  I realize I am overthinking this but with the amount of time I've already invested I'd rather not have walls that aren't really useable.  And worse, then have to do the work twice.

[Bakunin]

Are these stand alone walls or are they building walls? I'm assuming building walls, so this may not be applicable.

2.5" is what I used for my building walls, plus an inch or so for the roof. That makes each individual storey Height 2, allowing for Vantage Points and what not. As for climbing, I'd consider how easily you want stuff getting to the Vantage Point. If you want to discourage it, just leave the wall Climbable for 4-5" of movement. I would recommend adding a ladder if you wanted the roof to see play, and I don't make ladders Climbable, they're just their height to climb.

[Bengt]

I think most buildings should be Ht 3 or taller, I mean you can have some dog houses (Ht 1), small sheds (Ht 2), but the majority of buildings are considerably taller than a person. The game also plays a lot better IMO if there are plenty of pieces that no one can see over.

When it comes to scatter terrain, Ht 1, 2, and 3 walls, fences, and hedges all have their place, both from a "realism" and game play perspective.

Emissaries are Ht 3, some of the models are perhaps a bit on the tall side (especially if you count wings and similar) but game play wise they are all Ht 3. To date the Rail Golem is the only Ht 4 model.

[Caiti-Erin]

I have some hair combs I'm going to spray paint for fences. They would be about 2.5" tall. Suitable for a security fence.

For a garden wall between homes or park fence 1-2" would be heaps.

For a labrynth or castle I'd go taller.  Up to 3.5".

It is all in context!

[Ludvig]

5 hours ago, Bengt said:

Emissaries are Ht 3, some of the models are perhaps a bit on the tall side (especially if you count wings and similar) but game play wise they are all Ht 3. To date the Rail Golem is the only Ht 4 model.

Chompy begs to disagree!

Ht 3 buildings are what we usually play with. The two ht 4 models in the game can have that "advantage".

@CiDevant

 It doesn't really matter how high you make the buildings and walls, you are allowed to assign a ht stat at your own leisure and it really doesn't have to be remotely associated to the actual terrain piece. It will be more intuitive if it's closely matching but if you did some ht 2,5 buildings for example you could choose to have them be ht 2 or 3 or even 4 depending on how you want them to play. 

Ht 1 is basically just a speed bump that everyone can shoot and charge over. Ht 2 is already starting to be a chore for anyone without flight and incorporeal and really blocks off the board to normal models.

[Caiti-Erin]

My ideas are based solely on creating a believable and immersing aesthetic for a particular set of terrain.

[CiDevant]

These are going to be building walls, not free standing.  That's another project for another day.  I had kind of forgotten that terrain rules are basically a gentleman's agreement.  So the real question is how high do they need to physically be to literally fit models inside?  What is the measurement of Hoffman's avatar?  I think that's the tallest model in the game.

[Bengt]

Well several of the monsters of Malifaux wouldn't fit in normal buildings, and if you were to design all buildings to accommodate them they would look pretty weird with people sized models. Of course if you are building a cathedral or something you can get away with pretty high ceilings.

Don't have any avatars, but the Carrion Emissary is 89 mm to the wingtip, Rail Golem is only 83 mm.

[solkan]

2 hours ago, CiDevant said:

These are going to be building walls, not free standing.  That's another project for another day.  I had kind of forgotten that terrain rules are basically a gentleman's agreement.  So the real question is how high do they need to physically be to literally fit models inside?  What is the measurement of Hoffman's avatar?  I think that's the tallest model in the game.

By "modular" do you mean that you'll be able to take the buildings apart to reach the interiors?

In my limited experience, if you've got a modular building that someone enters, the rest of the building gets set aside (next to the game table, if there's room) and there's just a concerted effort to remember "This building has upper levels over there".  So in that version, the presence of craz tall models doesn't matter because you take off the roof to get inside.

Disclaimer: The non-modular (no removable sections) castle I tried to play on once was enough to convince me of the folly of the alternative.  Otherwise you're going to end up building something that looks like a dollhouse, not a building.