Kickstarter Has anyone seen this D&D terrain Kickstarter?

Howard Greenspan · May 21, 2019

https://www.kickstarter.com/project...dandd-world-builder?ref=799386&token=1e13da4e

THoughts? looks pretty cool?

Morrus · May 21, 2019

Has anyone seen this D&D terrain Kickstarter?

I’ll move this to the promotions forum for you. Good luck with the Kickstarter!

Sacrosanct · May 21, 2019

Well, I'm sure you think it's pretty cool since you're the creator of it

Actually, it is kinda cool....Kinda like what I've been doing all this time with my old Heroscape game (obviously more limited than what you're doing). Good luck!

Howard Greenspan · May 21, 2019

Im actually not the creator of it, three of my employees created it

they are huge D and D players and have been working on it for over a year.. Its been a huge baby of them . But I apologize for not disclosing...

I am trying to help the kickstarter as I love their invention, and they want it funded by my company and when they come up with it I said to them lets try a kickstarter, so cant believe after a year plus its finally launched. They definitely impressed me.. 1:30 is our inhouse launch party lol. Product was brought to GAMA and other places, and people were so excited as nothing like it apparently... But alas you never know the effect of all promotion in getting word out until time, so I definitely appreciate as does the team, any help in promotion, sharing links etc...

MNblockhead · May 22, 2019

Well, this is the first terrain product that has me considering buying it since I went to a horizontal digital display.

Generally, I only buy "dressing" pieces or creature miniatures, since all my battlemaps are digital.

When I was really into physical terrain, most 3-D products turned me off. Way too expensive and often not convenient for use at the table. I instead would make my own using DM's Craft (DM Scotty) 2.5 D terrain instruction videos.

What excites me about this product is:

the price. $65 for 175 PAINTED pieces‽ Wow!
durability. Made of ABS these can be dumped into a bin for easy storage without worrying about ruining them (except maybe the paint job).
the snap system. Need to see how well this actually works in practice, but looking at the videos, it seems I could keep my creations in another room and easily walk it to the table when the time comes.
good for kids. Unlike many TTRPG physical products, this is something that even small kids could play with and enjoy, so they could get a lot of use in a home with gaming parents and young children. Get these instead of legos!

What I'm not sure about:

the aesthetics. These have a toy/Lego aesthetic. On the one hand you don't have the evocative art of a great digital battle map or dwarven forge pieces. On the other hand, they are more reusable because they let you use your imagination to fill in the details. They are like the 3D version of the old blue-scale maps in 1e days.

What doesn't excite me:

No fog of war. This is an issue with any physical terrain. And you'll most likely use this for set pieces where FOW isn't applicable.
Ease of play. While the surfaces and some of the pieces to allow you to use minis with things like ladders are nice touches, this is still 3D terrain. I can see it being difficult to see everything. You'll likely need to be standing while using it. Which is not necessarily a bad thing.

All things considered, I've decided to back it at the advanced navigator's set.

Morrus · May 22, 2019

I always love the idea of 3D terrain, but transporting it and setting it up always puts me off the idea. It looks lovely, and I’m sure it really adds to the game, but the logistics of it!

Howard Greenspan · May 22, 2019

Good comments.. the designers added very late in the process baseplates to connect everything. THe model featured they built and hand painted. I'm more into painted pieces, though I can see people wanting to customize themselves.

I dont think it would be designed to transport , though I guess if you built each base plate up, and then brought each to your game it would work. The locking mechanism to each other and the board is amazingly tight. We actually shipped that model to GAMA lol and it survived going from CT to Las Vegas.. Shocked!

I know at the office the guys have a weekly game and they play on their own painted version of it. the 3-D aspects don't impact the sturdiness of the pieces as the effects are flat to make std minis stand upright and securely.

We are actually working on a series of really affordable D&D minis, but that wont be out until later in the year, and most likely will be a kickstarter as well. The early 3-D prints are amazing.

Thanks for your comments. We actually listen to everything, as this set was a conglomeration of easily 50 fans and our internal staff over past 18 months..

MNblockhead · May 23, 2019

Interested in learning more about the minis. I've gone to mostly 2D card-stock minis as I can print out and cut out (using a Silhouette paper cutter) everything I need the night before. I did back the most recent bones Kickstarter, but now that I have to paint them...ugh. Also storing painted minis is an entire additional cost.

If there were something similar in quality and durability as Wizkids minis, but at a lower price and buy what you want (rather than blind blister packs), I'd jump on it.