Fold Up Terrain - Peoples Experiences

[TheAuldGrump]

I have recently started usin World Works fold up terrain, along with the free WotC foldups from their site.

So far I am having fun. I haven't used the dungeon terrain yet for running games, but a few weeks ago I got to play in a friend's game using them (I also helped him put the basic sections together.) And I have to say that it was a lot of fun, and pretty affordable for both the download and the index paper to print them on.

I have used the village and castle terrain, and some of the interior terrain (mostly the stairs) as well. The party took a lot longer planning things out than with just marker on a flat grid, and actually came up with a workable plan. (Words I dread: 'Let's punt!' It generally means someone will be making a new character...)

My only problem was one of the castle walls tipping over under the weight of a figure. Not collapsing, if I had glue the wall to a base there would have been no problem. And the figure was an ogre.

I found the one inch grid that World Works uses handy for D&D, but I am not sure how I would feel about them for a miniatures game like Mordheim, where being able to estimate distance is a crucial skill to learn.

And there is new stuff coming out that I am already planning on getting. (A gothic set and a sea set. I run 7th Sea and the sea set will see a lot of use... The gothic one on the other hand is just neat.)

So I give the stuff a big thumbs up.

What are other people's opinions of this kind of terrain?

The Auld Grump

 

[adwyn]

Without a doubt there can be a time for the 3D items, but there are also drawbacks to watch out for.

On the plus side they lend great visuals and help avoid confusion, especially in locations that are complex. Careful selection of structures can also be used to differentiate places. For example IMC I use the WoTC ones for a particular kingdom while the adjacent kingdom uses more Mediterannean style buildings with stucco instead of halftimber - the difference is striking.

The greatest drawback is first having the buildings you need, the second is the time to set them up. This is especially hard if your trying to conform to an existing map. The 3D models also have a habit of "migrating" across the tabletop - pennies taped to the bottom edges helps, but don't let people pick them up to inspect during an encounter. That brings up the issue of models that have moved inside - it can slow down the action to keep lifting the inn to move the more craven PC's who haven't yet joined the fight.