Creative Director
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In the Players Guide, the Heartlands are listed as pairs of terrain types (for ex,: Forest and Swamp). Does that mean that a kingdom's heartland is actually both terrain types (i.e. the kingdom can use either or both of these terrain types at the same time)? Or must the players choose just =one= of the terrains listed in their chosen pair as their kingdom's one true Heartland? The rules are not quite specific enough, per my understanding.
Until and unless I see an "official ruling" [TM], I plan to interpret the rules as implying that the kingdom's Heartland is =just one= of the relevant terrain types, not both. But I would still be grateful to hear from The Powers That Be, for an official clarification.
Thanks! ;-)
Franklin
Each choice for heartland combines two terrain features, but grants the same effect regardless.
When you choose your heartland, the hex needs to contain one of those features.
If, for example, the hex you choose has only forest terrain in it, you have to choose Forest Or Swamp as your heartland. That doesn't mean there's swamps in your heartland though, just that you have an ability boost to Culture.
If, on the other hand, the hex you choose has some forest in it, and some plains, and a river runs through the middle, and there's a significant ruin in the structure, you'd be able to choose any of the four heartlands, since there's features from all four in that hex. But it doesn't mean that your hex suddenly becomes swampy, hilly, mountainous, and/or has a large lake.
(If it needed both, the heartland entries would have read "Forest AND Swamp" or the like.
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Creative Director
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So, if I select "Forest/Swamp" then my kingdom gets to take advantage of the Heartland condition for any one hex containing EITHER forest or swamp? So be it. ;-)
(But, for the record, I was not saying the capital's hex had to CONTAIN both types. I was just wondering if the kingdom got to CLAIM both types of terrain. Which, per your reply, they can...) ^_^
Thanks!
Franklin
The only thing that a heartland grants to your kingdom is a single boost to one of the four ability scores. A kingdom ALWAYS gets one of these boosts because it has to have a Heartland, but it can't gain that boost more than once. The advantage applies to the entire kingdom, so if you take Forest/Swamp, you increase your kingdom's Culture score, and that increase is permanent and functions all the time regardless of how it's being used, in a similar way to how the boosts granted to a PC for their Background work.