DnD terrain ideas?

[hulkster]

im a relatively new DM for a group of guys i have together playing dnd.  we have played 4 times so far and having a good time.  if you play dnd at all you know that the 4e rules put a lot more emphasis on playing with miniatures.  im not an old school dnd player so im not all against playing with miniatures and having 3d terrain and stuff, but im not wanting to go all overboard and turn dnd into a boardgame (i.e. heroscape, heroquest, advanced heroquest or descent).  anyway, right now, im using a large dry erase board to draw battle grids when encounters come up, and stuff like that and its working okay but 3d terrain would be cool.

ive got some props to use that ive gathered from other games like heroscape (trees, castle walls, etc) and from heroquest (doors, treasure chests, minis, furniture).  but im just wondering what you dnd players use for terrain?  i know i could spend a fortune and buy premade dungeons but i dont want to do that.  and i know about worldworksgames.com as ive built their stuff in the past for heroclix.

anyway....any suggestions on terrain?  im just looking for a way to enhance the game.

[knave]

Use a large battlemat and draw what you need. Props; tables, chairs, ships, wagons etc are always a cool bonus.

You can also buy the farm sets of toys that are kinda like army men but have animals, trees fences and such. Another option is to print stuff out in color and laminate it. The pre made dungeon tiles don't seem worth it.

Be creative and try stuff out. Use what works for your group.

I've always wondered how many RPG players we have on the board?

[hulkster]

the dry erase board is magnetic and i bought some magnetic strips to stick on the bottom of stuff.  but im not sure what i want to do. 

[SavannahLion]

the dry erase board is magnetic and i bought some magnetic strips to stick on the bottom of stuff.  but im not sure what i want to do. 

4e rules require miniatures??? Crap. There's a couple of gals that want to get together and play DnD. I haven't played DnD since sometime in pre-1990.

Well.... what about scale model railroad materials?

There's an awful lot of people out there always on the lookout for building their tables on the cheap and still get the realism they're looking for. Check out their forums or webpages for tips you can adapt to your needs. For example, I spotted one tutorial that shows how to make tall field grass using old leftover brown rope, a little bit of glue and a can of green spray paint. If you have a cat, you have a ready source of rope.

[hulkster]

4e rules require miniatures??? Crap. There's a couple of gals that want to get together and play DnD. I haven't played DnD since sometime in pre-1990.

they aren't REQUIRED....i mean, nothing in dnd is really required other than a pencil, a character sheet and some dice.  but the use of minis are strongly encouraged.  ive played dnd the old school way with just your imagination and the only time a map or visual aid was drawn was when there were so many monsters that you couldnt keep track of them all.  i didnt really like it that way when i played it...so im in favor of the minis.

the way i run my games are that i told my players to go out and find a Reaper Mini that best fits their character.  i let them borrow my paints and paint them up.  for our game sessions, i put the dry erase board out on the table, and i use it when they enter into an encounter or to keep notes (compass, map, items of note, initiative order, if they are poisoned or whatever).  but im having trouble describing the area they are in, ill draw a rough image of it Pictionary style and better describe it.  but minis and a battle grid make movement and strategy so much easier to figure out.

[knave]

Draw a permanant 1x1 grid on the whiteboard (use a Thin sharpie). Or if you don't want to do that get a sheet of thin plexi for your grid. Hopfully your magnets will work through the plastic. I really think a battlemat is the way to go. If you want more realism use "colored" wet erase pens instead of just black. In RPG's the scenery changes too much to use much wargame style Terrain.

[SavannahLion]

Well, To each their own but I don't much subscribe to the idea very much. One of the biggest appeals of DnD back when was it's extreme portability and (relative) ease of introduction. About the biggest investment I ever made for the game was to buy two sets of dice.

In any case, I guess DnD is succumbing to the money hungry tactics Hasbro seems to be pushing on all of their franchises.

[hulkster]

Well, To each their own but I don't much subscribe to the idea very much. One of the biggest appeals of DnD back when was it's extreme portability and (relative) ease of introduction. About the biggest investment I ever made for the game was to buy two sets of dice.

In any case, I guess DnD is succumbing to the money hungry tactics Hasbro seems to be pushing on all of their franchises.

one of the guys in my group is an old school dnd player and i actually called him yesterday and asked his opinion about all of this.  he said that he liked the idea of having minis to represent your character and the monsters, but mainly just to resolve the arguments like "well i said i was in front of this monster not behind him"  "no you werent!"  etc etc.  he also said that for line of sight and knowing whether or not you have combat advantage or cover or whatever....he said that the minis and grid really help.

on that same note, i asked about if certain terrain pieces enhanced the gameplay, or just took away from the imaginative part of the game.  he felt that it more took away than enhanced. 

at this point im kinda on both sides of the fence.  i'm a big fan of miniature stuff in general.  hence the reason why i love heroquest and heroscape.  any game that uses mini's and mini terrain and stuff (regardless if the game is crap or not) just looks cool to me.  so part of me is thinking "it would LOOK so cool to have a big forest landscape and it would enhance the EXPERIENCE".  but then the other part of me is thinking "well it would take away from the gameplay because the players would be so focused on what they were seeing...that they wouldnt be trying to use their imagination and come up with alternatives.".

ah.....

[FirstStalwart]

Hi everyone.  Saint asked me to reply to this thread.  I make a product for this very purpose.  They're called Terrain blocks.  They're one inch wooden cubes stained in grey (stone), green (woods), blue(water), white (snow), yellow (sand), red (lava), and black (general purpose).

We also make scale trees ranging in height from 2.8 inches to 4.3 inches as well as one inch by one inch by 1/8 inch tiles stained in the same colors as the blocks.  We have an Ebay store here (http://stores.shop.ebay.com/Stalwart-Enterprises__W0QQ_armrsZ1) that has pictures of our products.  I can cut you a better deal than the prices on Ebay if you would like to email me an order (Ebay really sticks it to you with fees).

I have a form email with the pricing structure so you can build your own order if you don't see what you want in the store as well.  Feel free to email me any questions at firststalwart@bellsouth.net.  Thanks.

[FirstStalwart]

"it would LOOK so cool to have a big forest landscape and it would enhance the EXPERIENCE".  but then the other part of me is thinking "well it would take away from the gameplay because the players would be so focused on what they were seeing...that they wouldnt be trying to use their imagination and come up with alternatives.".

ah.....

Hulk, think of it this way, the terrain you use (mine, your own, or someone elses) if made to scale sets the stage for the environment and forms the canvas for the picture.  Your words are the paint that makes the scene come alive and jump out at your players.  Using scale terrain with the WotC scale miniatures (keep in mind my blocks are one inch each, which is the scale five foot=1 inch) puts into GREAT perspective when the DM drops that large ogre out there and the halfling charges into battle *gulp*

[shmokes]

There's a couple of gals that want to get together and play DnD.

Hahahahaha . . . . stop it.  Oh . . . god . . . . that's some funny ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---.  Stop it.  Seriously.

[Aceldamor]

www.hirstarts.com  - build your own stuff, but it's freaking sweet!!

[FirstStalwart]

In any case, I guess DnD is succumbing to the money hungry tactics Hasbro seems to be pushing on all of their franchises.

I couldn't agree more Savannah.  I refuse to play 4E precisely because the only thing it has in common with original D&D (Back in '78 when it started) is the name.  However, that doesn't mean the older books won't work.  I suggest playing whatever your home game wants to play and move forward with that.  Ultimately, if you're having fun the game system really doesn't matter.

[hulkster]

There's a couple of gals that want to get together and play DnD.

Hahahahaha . . . . stop it.  Oh . . . god . . . . that's some funny ---Cleveland steamer---.  Stop it.  Seriously.

Yeah, I was gonna let it slide but c'mon.



Original poster - your mom called, she said it's time to go home.



(I feel sorry for the poor kid that had his wooden blocks stolen by his weird uncle)

wha?  i'm the original poster and i never said what shmokes is laughing at.   

www.hirstarts.com  - build your own stuff, but it's freaking sweet!!

those are freakin sweet....but man, $34 for a mold!  yikes!  if i had $300 to throw down without flinching then i would definitely go for it.

[knave]

In any case, I guess DnD is succumbing to the money hungry tactics Hasbro seems to be pushing on all of their franchises.

I've seen this argument many times. And While I agree on some levels...What matters is that the game is fun.

No RPG is perfect, 4e is pretty fun. You don't really Need much at all. I bought the core books because I want to support the product. But I have a handful of mini's and I don't have to buy more. As far as hobbies go I spend a lot more on Arcade parts than I do on RPG gear. To each their own. Do what it fun for your group. If that means you use that witeboard as is and drwo all over it then cool...likewise if you want to make a miniature Bonsai forest do that too.

Game on!

[SavannahLion]

There's a couple of gals that want to get together and play DnD.

Hahahahaha . . . . stop it.  Oh . . . god . . . . that's some funny ---Cleveland steamer---.  Stop it.  Seriously.

Yep, I'm a twelve year old geek living in his mother's basement just itching to impress ---uvulas--- on the internet my prowess with those of the opposite sex.

Get real.

Back to the topic at hand:

In any case, I guess DnD is succumbing to the money hungry tactics Hasbro seems to be pushing on all of their franchises.

I've seen this argument many times. And While I agree on some levels...What matters is that the game is fun.

No RPG is perfect, 4e is pretty fun. You don't really Need much at all. I bought the core books because I want to support the product. But I have a handful of mini's and I don't have to buy more. As far as hobbies go I spend a lot more on Arcade parts than I do on RPG gear. To each their own. Do what it fun for your group.

Oddly enough, I don't equate video gaming with games like DnD. Trucks to motorcycles. I guess it's pointless to really get into some deep discussion about the merits of miniatures in gaming. Just talking about DnD really makes me want to dig some of that old ---Cleveland steamer--- out and try to recall long forgotten scenarios. Holy crap, I just realized it's been twenty-some odd years since I played the game. In any case, I'll talk with the girls at work and see what they think about the mini's.

If that means you use that witeboard as is and drwo all over it then cool...likewise if you want to make a miniature Bonsai forest do that too.

Speaking of which. I recall some DnD fan modified an video projector to project a map onto a table just for that exact purpose. While that was on my mind, it occured to me that one really neat use for for this surface table would be exactly that. A dynamically changing and adjustable table.

If you're going to use miniatures, might as well go balls out.

[hulkster]

Speaking of which. I recall some DnD fan modified an video projector to project a map onto a table just for that exact purpose. While that was on my mind, it occured to me that one really neat use for for this surface table would be exactly that. A dynamically changing and adjustable table.

If you're going to use miniatures, might as well go balls out.

dude, thats more than balls out....thats first of all planting a money tree and picking its fruit every day...and thats also growing 5 sets of balls. 

maybe somethign like the eyetoy for the ps3 and that crappy card game they came out with but with dnd minis.  that would be cool. 

[hulkster]

Yep, I'm a twelve year old geek living in his mother's basement just itching to impress ---uvulas--- on the internet my prowess with those of the opposite sex.

Get real.

and if it matters...ive been happily married for 5 years with a 1 year old son.  i dont have to impress anymore, thats what college was for.   

[ark_ader]

I always liked those "Turn to page" DnD books.

Then when Teenage Mutant Turtles and Other Strangeness came out, so did the dragon dice. 

[SavannahLion]

I thought multi-sided dice were pretty stupid until I was rolling 20d6 to see if Guile's sonic boom killed the player or not.

I would think it was pretty stupid too if I had to carry around 20 dice and add all those numbers up every time I wanted to kill someone.

[Aceldamor]

I used to play the hell outa D&D. Stopped at about 3rd edition. It was great fun, with some great people.

I since moved on to Warhammer and Warhammer 40k....but damnit is it an expensive hobby.

If your interested in miniatures to use for D&D games workshop has nice figs, as well as reaper miniatures. Though they would require assembly/painting.

Seriously though, what is the point about clowning on one persons hobby when you post in a hobby dedicated to video games in giant wooden boxes. 

[shmokes]

Seriously though, what is the point about clowning on one persons hobby when you post in a hobby dedicated to video games in giant wooden boxes. 

To make myself smile.  You haven't lived till you've had fun at other someone else's expense.

[DragonMa15]

Craft stores can be your best friend.  In the wood section you will find all kinds of usuable objects.  I got buckets, barrels, square blocks, rectangles, rounds ect...  A little imagination can go along way for cheap money.  Glue a square on to a rectangle piece and you get a table.  Upside down buckets are now stools. 

The whole store is a gold mine though.  The plastic pillars from the cake section are great.  They have 1" bases and come in different sizes.  The doll house section had "leather" bound books, candle sticks, plates, bowls serving platters.  A plate or serving platter could be used as the magic shield in the treasure pile.  Rhinestones and glitter make good treasure piles.  Just take one of the flat 1" square tiles of wood and add gold glitter and a few rhinestones.  Mix a little white glue with water and pour it over the mess.  It dries clear and now you have a treasure hoard.  You can get different colored moss from the floral department and use it as any outdoor terrain.  And when done just shove it back in the bag.  bags of pebbles are good for a lot of things.  You can use the white glue and water trick here too and come up with your own dungeon tiles.  Add a pinch of the moss between the rocks to really add some great detail real easy. 
And sculpy is great stuff.  Really easy to work with, dries quickly and is easy to paint.  It can be used for anything you think deserves a little added detail.

Its also fun to burn some of the wooden pieces and keep those "damaged" pieces handy.  Really great to use with the players who think the best strategy is to throw a fireball in the room and pick off whatever is left.  Once you replace all the items in the room with burnt pieces, it really makes them wonder what they just ruined.

I can go on all day like this....
Gregg

[Aceldamor]

I've never understood why a bootleg market of Warhammer figurines never emerged.  It's not that hard to take a cast of something and duplicate it. 

Or maybe there is an underbelly of Warhammer that I've never heard about?

Honestly, I'm not sure. I have seen bootleg mini's and though they look almost perfect you can tell. I also think since a ton of the miniatures are plastic now, it leaves more room for modifying for uniqueness so you don't have the same 20 dudes in a unit that look like they've been run through a replicator.