Check Out This Redbrand Hideout From LOST MINE OF PHANDELVER Made With DWARVEN FORGE!

Warning: spoilers ahead! If you've got the D&D 5th Edition Starter Set, you'll be familiar with the starter adventure, Lost Mine of Phandelver. John Forrest created the hideout of some of the villains using Dwarven Forge scenery pieces, and the result was gorgeous. If you are likely to play through Lost Mine of Phandelver, don't click through to the pretty pictures (although they're not that spoilerific); but if you're not, or if you already have, or if you're the DM, then by all means take a look!

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[Zaukrie]

Very nice. I need to start posting my dozens of pictures like this. Super easy and cheap to make foam based terrain.

 

[itsmarkda]

Oh. Oh, my God. That is amazing. Great job.

 

[Nilbog]

This looks awesome, I love Dwarven forge, but alas here in the UK its so expensive, and i don't think there are many alternatives here

 

[Curmudjinn]

I had a DM years ago that used Dwarven Forge setups for nearly every dungeon. At that time, the miniatures in no way were properly sized for the scale of the tiles and it was hard to keep some parties in their stated square. They look great but I was never a big fan of using them for my own games, as I tried to get away from grid combat. Now, for a game of Mordheim or another fantasy wargame, they would be great.

 

[Barantor]

Hirst Arts is fantastic but has a high start up cost and takes a bunch of time to make the pieces. http://stores.castlekits.com/ seems like a good way to go if you want lots of different pieces without the investment in molds, vibrating table, compound, etc.

The time you have to invest in it is what lowers the cost. Molds cost around $30 and the compound can be gotten in bulk to make a lot for only a bit. Vibrating table is nice, but you don't have to buy it again. It is a big investment in time though and that is the kicker if you don't want to pay a lot more per tile.

 

[Psikerlord#]

For 4e I wouldve been like - awesome!!

for 5e however my feeling is - ... hmm lots of set up time. And I can imagine it better without tiles.

 

[chriton227]

I like the look of the Dwarven Forge setups, but after investing a fair amount into a couple sets it hasn't made it to the table in years. I don't have the space to preconstruct the setups on the table (we play at the dining room table), and I found that it just took too much time to build the setups on the fly. My group also got really annoyed at dealing with the half and quarter squares left by the walls. After using Dwarven Forge for half a dozen or so sessions, we went back to the trusty old Chessex battlemat and wet-erase markers. I have messed around with some 3d cardstock terrain (World Works Games and Fat Dragon), I found that to be a bit more usable since the lighter weight made it easier to preconstruct in sections and place them on the table as needed, but it was still a big time investment to figure out which pieces I would need, print, and construct them.

 

[Shasarak]

That looks really nice - if only it came with Fog of War.

 

[Grand DM]

That looks really nice - if only it came with Fog of War.

I use cut out pieces of everything from black construction paper to felt to accomplish this.

 

[SkidAce]

We use cardboard style set pieces for the big finale, and on-going locations, like the home town inn or their flying ship.

Otherwise, as [MENTION=33263]chriton227[/MENTION] said, Chessex battlemap and wet erase.