Terrain : What do you use?

[Djeta Thernadier]

This might have been posted before, but lately MojoGM & I have been looking at different ways to make the terrain and dungeons in our game look more interesting. Since the various accessories and terrain that are actually marketed as gaming accessories tend to be really expensive (IMHO) we have had to get a little creative and I wanted to share with you what we use, as well as ask what , if anything, do you use to spice up the worlds your minis exists in.

One very good way to get a lot of cool looking terrain is to visit Petco, Petsmart or your local aquarium/reptile dealer. Tons upon tons of every size , reasonably priced and realistic looking caves, ground terrain, fortresses, cliffs, moss etc. Not only are they very cool looking but they are usually to scale and very well built since they are meant to withstand either being put under salt water or climbed all over by lizards. Check both the fish and reptile sections, as we've found that there tends to be different stuff in each section. Dept. Stores with fish or lizards sections are probably even cheaper.

Other things we've used :

Craft stores. Cheap, real looking trees, ground, unfinished wooden things that are to scale (barrels, barns, mini bales of hay, moss, grass, dollhouse furniture, beads to be "jewels" etc.). I got a couple of cool unfinished wooden buildings that look like either barns or farmhouses for 99 cents each at Michaels Arts and Crafts. Also, right now they are selling their 'Halloween Town' village and some of the accessories for this are creepy looking trees that look like they should be in a swamp in a fantasy forest somewhere.

Lego. Can be used to build just about anything. Also sometimes comes with things like Lego sized chalices, animals, chairs etc.

Tube o' Critters. Mostly horses. These are those 2-5 dollar plastic cases or tubes filled with small plastic animals.

Megablocks Dragons. Similar to Lego only with a fantasy theme. Has cool, hilly terrain and lots of medieval wall and fortress pieces as well as weapons & dragons (albeit huge ones).

Playmobil Knights (good walls) and Imaginex Castle (ditto) are good as well.

So what do you use?

 

[Maerdwyn]

I defnitely make use of the various "village" lines available at craft stores - althou I usually need to mount a penny on the base of the trees in order to make them stand up.

One trick I discovered when we changed from carpet to wood floors is that carpet padding makes great hills. The studd uder out carpets was about 3/4" thick, very firm, foam rubber. It held regular green spray paint well, and could be flocked, is suppose, but I didn't go that far. It was easy to cut the stuff into irregular shapes which stack to make terraced hills of various heights. The foam was firm enough that it didn't compress, except under the weight of my largest dragon models.

I also use cardboard foldups - I had Campaign Cartographer, and their Dioramas expansion lets you design and print foldup models. I've done everything from a big castle complex to a single chariot mini for a warpriest dwarf in the party.

 

[diaglo]

try these freebies:

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/fpm/archive

 

[Maerdwyn]

try these freebies:

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/fpm/archive

Hadn't checked that page in a while and had forgotten about it - thanks dialgo

 

[Aeolius]

One very good way to get a lot of cool looking terrain is to visit Petco, Petsmart or your local aquarium/reptile dealer. Tons upon tons of every size , reasonably priced and realistic looking caves, ground terrain, fortresses, cliffs, moss etc.

The problem is that the new minis float

 

[Wraithdrit]

The new hit in 3d gaming terrain, IMO, is Mage Knight Dungeons 3D. It costa about $30 for 36 floor pieces (on scale for 10x10 squares) and 24 wall pieces. Oh yeah, and you get 8 doors of two different varieties. I bought a pack, one of my players bought a pack and I feel pretty set for dungeon terrain. I may pick up a third pack, just for more walls. Right now my campaign is in natural caverns, and that is making for some seriously whacky room shapes, and disconnected rooms. In a 'tightly packed' dungeon, you would have even better time setting things up (as one wall pieces can be used for either side of a wall... ).

So anyways thats what I am using. If you are crafty, you might want to check out www.HirstArts.com.

 

[Bagpuss]

When roleplaying terrain wise I tend to use a Battlemat, dry wipe markers and my imagination.

When I'm wargaming then I use all sorts of fantastic terrain, model trees, resin buildings to stuff scratch build with plaster bandage and wire, or expanded polystyrene and textured paint.

A lot of the time we don't even use figures and the battlemat when roleplaying. Wargaming we use gloriously detailed painted armies.

Roleplaying for me is about imagination, social interaction, heroics, none of which needs models which only detract from the imagination aspect I find. Wargaming is tactical combat moving little figures around. I like to keep the two seperate.

 

[Hackenslash]

Papier Mache....I think I spelled that right.

Hello,

Our group does not use mini's for DnD as we are old school 1st edition players and use our minds to depict scenarios etc...we tend to find that it's quicker this way and combat flows faster etc...However we do use mini's for our other gaming sessions that require them to play the game. I have created several of my own buildings and small forts using a mixture of Polystyrene and Papier Mache(Flower,Water or a Diluted Weak Paper Glue solution and Shredded Newspaper...mulched and then formed how you wish and left to dry, then painted accordingly.) and have had some very good results. If you can get hold of some Plaster of Paris even better. Painting afterwards can be a chore but it does pay off. Cereal Boxes, Washing Up Liquid containers and practically anything else that has cardboard and/or plastic in it has been used by myself and my friends to create various different building concepts and such. Landscaping is more difficult as it's pretty hard to make a tree but it can be done with Straws,dried grass, brown paint and some glue. I have actually made my own base for battle etc but it's not very good and a bit dated now. But I used an old Wooden Door and sanded it down then painted it Blue and bought some green felt and tacked it over the top leaving appropriate spacings for "Water" etc...Luckily the Door was quite plain and not too many nooks and crannys so it was pretty flat and not too featured. For elevation, if I wanted a hill for instance I would use some planks of wood stacked on top of each other and then covered with green felt, tacked down accordingly to make a stepping effect. Then I would add the scenery already pre created or maybe even bought if I was feeling extravagant. So there you have it, lots of things can be made from household items or things you would normally throw out with hardly any expense at all. Keep on Gamin'

 

[Wombat]

Don't bother, really.

A few pen marks when they are necessary.

I mean, I LEFT miniatures gaming back in the '70s. I have no desire to go back to it.

I leave all this to my brother and his Seven Years War battles...