Tuesday 11 November 2014

Hiveworld terrain: ash wastes

 The heavy industry of the imperial hives has a devastating effect upon the planet's enviroment, turning the surrounding landscape into a toxicaly brutalized desert by generation after generation of uncontrolled contamination. Tribes of scavengers, mutants and worse roam those blasted lands, fighting for the scraps of the hive and the meagre reources than can be found on such an inhospitable enviroment. Worse are the rad and chem storms wich rain down from the poisonous clouds of the planet's tortured athmosfere wich are capable of melting the meat from the bones of an ogryn in a heatbeat or rip the heaviest vehicle to pieces.
 Those are the ash wastes of the imperium of man.
Sludge
The hives produce daily many tones of residues, wich the city is unable to process. This highly toxical mud is thrown out of the city by means of gargantuan pipes and into the desert. The sludge is so deep and treacherous that it's considered impassable



Mine
Even after millenia of continous exploitation of the planet's resources new veins are sometimes discovered and the huge lifter cranes raised upon mining pits that venture miles underground, next to those can be found the piles of mining slag useless for recovery which are simply dumped away near the pit.



Ash dune
The winds of the wastes blow furiously,  and their action creates dunes wich provide cover for even the biggest of machines.
The dunes are dangerous terrain,  as they tend to give way under the feet of those who tread upon them.



Toxic leak
The corrosive subproducts of the chem plants present a griveous threat to any hive, since their vapours might kill much needed labourers and their acidic propieties might eat through layer after layer of habitation levels. That is the reason for wich they are spilled into the wastes heedlesly of the harmful effects upon those who inhabit the place, this frees the hives from the dangers of toxic contamination, but also increases the number of vengeful mutants upon the surrounding area.
The toxic leak is dangerous terrain to vehicles and infantry, but war engines step upon them like they are nothing.



Drybrush effect closeup
Ash waste
And finally, what would the ash wastes be without some ashes?
The ash just prevents you from marching as the ground is loose and sinking.



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