Dominions 3: The Awakening/Terrain

Terrain plays a major role in Dominions. The type of terrain in a province dictates the amount fo gold and resources that might be available there, it affects the (random) magic sites that may appear in the province as well as the likelihood and number of such sites, it affects the supplies that are available to passing armies, and it affects the performance of troops in battles that take place in the province.

Terrain Types
There can be many different terrain types in a given province. For instance, there can be both Mountains and Waste in a province, or even Farmlands and Waste. Some terrain types are mutually exclusive however, like Swamp and Sea.

Plains
The "Plains" terrain type is not actually listed in Dominions 3 like it was in the previous Dominions games. If a provinces has no other terrain type, it is assumed to be "Plains".

Farmland
Farmland provinces are usally well populated and give you much gold and population (tax base, blood slaves). The chance of finding a magic site is very low in Farmland provinces.

Swamp
Units without the "Swamp Survival" ability get penaltys for moving throug swamp provinces (strategic movement reduced to 1, except flying units). Units with swamp survival fight better in swamps than other units (see table below). The chance to find a magic site in a swamp province is better than in a farmland province.

Waste
Units without the "Waste Survival" ability get penaltys for moving throug waste provinces (strategic movement reduced to 1, except flying units). The chance to find a magic site in a waste province is better than in a farmland province.

Site Likelihood
Magic sites are more likely to be found in some provinces and less likely to be found in others.

In general, Mountain and Forest terrain will contain more magic sites while Farmland will contain fewer.

Gem Types
Beyond the overall chance of finding a site of any kind in a province, the type of terrain in a province affects the likelihood of certain magic sites over other sites. For instance, you are more likely to find a site that provides Nature gems in a forest province than a Waste province.

Combat Effects
Certain terrain types will adversely affect units if they do not have a countering property. For instance, units without the Swamp Survival skill suffer from increased endurance penalties when fighting in Swampy terrain.