Battlemat or Dwarven Forge?
Kaptain_Kantrip
First Post
I had the same dilemma, but mine was more about cost. DF costs a bloody fortune. No dispute it looks great and you get what you pay for, but I don't know anybody who could afford a complete set of DF. I went with a Crystal Caste Dual-Sided Square/Hex Battlemat (the largest size, and it is huge). I like the battlemat as it allows us to just draw out whatever we need and so is much faster and more precise than DF. However, my co-DM has zero artistic talent and so it doesn't look that exciting, but it is precise!
My answer:
Hirst Arts Dungeon molds...
You buy the molds and fill them with plaster some dozen times, and you have the best looking dungeon you've ever seen.
Go to his site, look at his photos and you will be convinced.
I've used Hirst Arts mold for two years, for wargaming (Mordheim & Warhammer Fantasy), and it's really great...
Hirst Arts Dungeon molds...
You buy the molds and fill them with plaster some dozen times, and you have the best looking dungeon you've ever seen.
Go to his site, look at his photos and you will be convinced.
I've used Hirst Arts mold for two years, for wargaming (Mordheim & Warhammer Fantasy), and it's really great...
Moonlion
First Post
It depends on where you're gaming. If at home, Dwarven Forge is the best, hands down. We have a lot of it.
If you game away from home, Battlemat is the way to go because hauling Dwarven Forge stuff is just way too encumbering to carry then set up then pack up. Actually it's the packing up that takes forever. But, if you're at home, that's not hardly as much a concern.
If you game away from home, Battlemat is the way to go because hauling Dwarven Forge stuff is just way too encumbering to carry then set up then pack up. Actually it's the packing up that takes forever. But, if you're at home, that's not hardly as much a concern.
Kichwas
Half-breed, still living despite WotC racism
The problem with dwarven forge is that it's all dungeons.
The DM of my current game uses them, but it's limited in where you can apply it. So a battlemat is on hand as well.
The battlemat and some markers however can fit nearly any situation. But lack the same visual appeal.
The DM of my current game uses them, but it's limited in where you can apply it. So a battlemat is on hand as well.
The battlemat and some markers however can fit nearly any situation. But lack the same visual appeal.
Bran Blackbyrd
Explorer
Horacio said:
Very interesting, Horacio. Thanks for the link.
My family has a few industrial sized rolls of blank paper here, we got them for free from some local business that didn't want them, I think. They're about four feet wide and whatever length you tear off, so I'll probably draw my floorplans on that and just put a sturdy game board underneath when I start DMing the next campaign. Instant map.
Kaptain_Kantrip
First Post
Hirst Arts looks cool but is too much work for me.
LcKedovan said:
Horacigon does it again!!!!I'm checkin that stuff out as we speak. Since you are the resident expert, can you give us some details on type of plaster, how durable it is etc. etc.?
-Will
well...
You can do it with Plaster of Paris, the typical plaster, very very cheap (let's say less than 1£/kg or 0.5£/pound). The buildings look great, but a bit fragile.
Or you can use dental plaster (you can ask your dentist about it). It's more expensive, but more durable.
More info in the Hirst Arts forums (link in his page). Will, try them, not only you you will buil wonderful dungeosn and/or buildings, it's a wonderful hobby, I've spent many hours building and painting wondeful terrain...
Bran Blackbyrd
Explorer
LcKedovan said:
Horacigon does it again!!!!
-Will
Yes, yes, do tell!
Which molds do you have, what have you built with them, and do you have any pictures?
You realize, of course, that now that you have gotten us excited, we're going to pump you for all the information we can get.
The molds are pricey, but then again, by selling you the mold, the creator is, pretty much, giving his customers the ability to turn building these models into their own personal cottage industry.
The idea being that if you are good enough at making them, you could try to sell them at your local game store to offset the price of the molds.
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