mac1504
Explorer
Just recently our group finished P1 Trollhaunt Warrens, and we began a few sessions ago the lead in to P2 DemonQueen's Enclave. This meant the group was heading into the Underdark. I really wanted to impress upon the group the enormity and hazards of the Underdark; which the module touches upon a bit, but did not have the impact I wanted to make.
So, I decided to build a set piece for a battle in the Underdark.
![Overhead_Cave_View2.jpg Overhead_Cave_View2.jpg](https://www.enworld.org/data/attachments/7/7783-7c24fcf12f0c2699c9fc1ad69ea18ebe.jpg)
The idea was to make a cavern with a lake of lava at the bottom. The encounter was going to be Salamanders allied with an Eye of Flame Beholder (catching on to a theme yet?
) I wanted to create several routes for the group to debate upon, and perhaps even split up the party to tackle. They could see to the other side a tunnel that led out of the cavern (sorry, I don't have any pictures from that angle).
![image012.jpg image012.jpg](https://www.enworld.org/data/attachments/7/7562-1b49c71e65c5159bc1a464035f503f1c.jpg)
The largest obstacle I encountered in building the piece was laying a grid over it for 4e combat. I built another piece for the heroic tier of the campaign we're playing (started with H1 Keep on the Shadowfell), and with that piece I was able to build in dungeon stones to accommodate movement, spell and weapon ranges. For this one, I just couldn't come up with anything that wouldn't ruin the aesthetics of the piece. Luckily our group had been working toward making a mobile projector map solution, and our intrepid engineer of the group managed to make a jib that worked perfectly. With the projector overhead, I was able to project a 1" grid onto the piece. It worked even better than I had expected.
![image016.jpg image016.jpg](https://www.enworld.org/data/attachments/7/7604-7a94d28e8f5acb448a297f09dcc04380.jpg)
![image019.jpg image019.jpg](https://www.enworld.org/data/attachments/7/7670-68356d7c26a785b81f036e3a83b17f4a.jpg)
![image004.jpg image004.jpg](https://www.enworld.org/data/attachments/7/7710-157c55ae83bf9e8c44cbc87feccc4d17.jpg)
So, I decided to build a set piece for a battle in the Underdark.
![Overhead_Cave_View2.jpg Overhead_Cave_View2.jpg](https://www.enworld.org/data/attachments/7/7783-7c24fcf12f0c2699c9fc1ad69ea18ebe.jpg)
The idea was to make a cavern with a lake of lava at the bottom. The encounter was going to be Salamanders allied with an Eye of Flame Beholder (catching on to a theme yet?
![image012.jpg image012.jpg](https://www.enworld.org/data/attachments/7/7562-1b49c71e65c5159bc1a464035f503f1c.jpg)
The largest obstacle I encountered in building the piece was laying a grid over it for 4e combat. I built another piece for the heroic tier of the campaign we're playing (started with H1 Keep on the Shadowfell), and with that piece I was able to build in dungeon stones to accommodate movement, spell and weapon ranges. For this one, I just couldn't come up with anything that wouldn't ruin the aesthetics of the piece. Luckily our group had been working toward making a mobile projector map solution, and our intrepid engineer of the group managed to make a jib that worked perfectly. With the projector overhead, I was able to project a 1" grid onto the piece. It worked even better than I had expected.
![image016.jpg image016.jpg](https://www.enworld.org/data/attachments/7/7604-7a94d28e8f5acb448a297f09dcc04380.jpg)
![image019.jpg image019.jpg](https://www.enworld.org/data/attachments/7/7670-68356d7c26a785b81f036e3a83b17f4a.jpg)
![image004.jpg image004.jpg](https://www.enworld.org/data/attachments/7/7710-157c55ae83bf9e8c44cbc87feccc4d17.jpg)
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