Difficult Terrain defines environmental impediments, such as dense foliage, deep mud, or heavy rubble, that occupy a fixed footprint within the Play Area. These features do not inherently obstruct Line Of Sight or prohibit movement entirely, but they impose numerical penalties that hinder a Unit's capacity to navigate the environment. Traversal of these zones requires a higher expenditure of movement allowance, making them a primary tactical consideration during the Activation Phase.
- Any Unit Base that moves into or through the boundary of Difficult Terrain must subtract 2 inches from its maximum Move Stat. This penalty is applied as soon as any portion of a Unit Base overlaps or crosses the terrain boundary. This reduction is applicable to all Action resolutions involving movement, including standard Move Actions, Dash resolution, and Charge resolution.
- When resolving a Charge Action that intersects the boundary, the Unit must possess sufficient movement allowance remaining after the penalty calculation to establish physical Base Contact with the Target Unit. If the Unit cannot establish contact due to the adjusted distance, the movement terminates at the limit of the Unit's modified distance.
- Specific Unit properties provide mechanical immunity to these movement penalties. Units possessing the Hover or Walker Subclass, or those categorized as the Aerial Unit Type, ignore ground-level obstructions and traverse the footprint at their standard speed. Additionally, Units possessing the Unhindered Keyword are exempt from the movement reduction associated with Difficult Terrain traversal.