When I say "Scorched Earth" what do you think of?

[MatthewJHanson]

This is RPG related, and I'll explain more later. First I just want to get people's reaction to the phrase "Scorched Earth." What does that make you think of?

 

[Hand of Evil]

To destory everything, to give nothing to a foe. Not a place to hide, not food to eat, not people to kill, to leave the land barren and wasted.

 

[SuperZero]

Post-apocalyptic, a world destroyed by fire or heat. Possibly due to warfare, or something natural.
That's my first thought.

I don't think that's actually correct, though, is it?
Destroying everything, to make sure the opposition is completely eradicated, and not caring about collateral damage. That's what I think of next.

 

[pauljathome]

To destory everything, to give nothing to a foe. Not a place to hide, not food to eat, not people to kill, to leave the land barren and wasted.

Pretty much exactly this. Usually used in the context of a military retreat from an enemy in a war. Often (but not always) the earth being scorched actually belongs to the homeland of the side retreating.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Yup, notable exceptions to the above would be like what Rome did to Carthage and what Sherman did to Georgia.

 

[BriarMonkey]

Simply, it's a military mechanism by which you destroy any resources you can't take with you so as to deprive the enemy any use of those resources.

 

[eferiev]

It makes me think of the retreating Russians burning their wheat fields to sabotage Napoloen's eastward advance in 1812 - he had planned on "living off the land".

 

[Ed_Laprade]

To destory everything, to give nothing to a foe. Not a place to hide, not food to eat, not people to kill, to leave the land barren and wasted.

This.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Twilight 2000.

 

[Janx]

Scorched Earth
an artillery game on the PC where tanks would set angle and power and launch attacks at other tanks on the screen and earn money to buy bigger and better munitions.

Now available in a java applet:
http://www.scorch2000.com/