Dungeonstone

Over the past 14 months, I’ve been slowly incorporating Dungeonstone into our role playing sessions, replacing handmade and Wizards-produced tiles in our more dungeon-oriented encounters.  The idea has been to create more 3d effects and to provide the feeling of walls and convey the close quarters of combat better than flat tiles.  3d terrain allows players and DMs to take advantage of corners, nooks, crannies, and to use tables, chairs, and anything else as cover, which undoubtedly makes encounters more exciting and action-packed.

Until recently, I’ve been using the resin and carbon infused diestone composite terrain unpainted, which has been fine to get the basic 3d idea across.  I have found that using the walls in various configurations yields interesting room properties and challenges for my players.  Choke points along the corners, raised platforms in the center of the room, and the narrow passageways provided by the set help evoke high intensity on the battlefield.  I’ve supplemented the terrain with my own hand-made and found additions (I’ll cover these in a follow-up post) to add additional character to our encounters.

This terrain is fully-compatible with Dwarven Forge products; I’ve mapped out a few rooms using DF’s sci-fi accessories to present futuristic dungeons full of strange equipment, and have linked Dungeonstone up to DF’s ice caverns with great success.

Now for the simple review.  This product is amazing!At $100 for a 97-piece advanced set, you’ll have enough pieces to map out a few full rooms with interesting features.  The basic set is $40 and comes with 43 pieces, enough to build one large room or a few small ones.

On top of all of this, the owner/sculptor/producer Leo is a nice guy; we’ve discussed his product and our respective campaigns at the past two OwlCons.  He’s quick to respond to questions and has a slew of tips for making the paint stand out on his models.  Paying him for his hard work and the quality of his results is only too easy; as I write this I’m considering order a few of his 4×4 and 6×6 tiles for quicker setup.

Dungeonstone is currently limited to flagstone-style dungeons; he hasn’t yet ventured into caverns or other non-standard architectures, but does have a crypt (with angled-walls, a skull-mounted wall as shown in this sample layout, and a stone sarcophagus set into a dais), wizard’s chamber (with summoning circle and rounded corners), and a working door and portcullis in his stock.

The only downside is the cost of shipping, but he takes care to wrap and pack the terrain in snug layers of paper and foam.  I’ve always purchased my Dungeonstone in person, so I can’t speak to the quality of the packing post shipping, but everything I’ve read online indicates his thorough packing stands the test of modern cargo transit.

I recommend picking up a set or two from his online store at Dungeonstone.com, or at any of the cons he frequents, including at least OwlCon and ChimaeraCon.  But get there early; I understand he sells out pretty quickly at these events.

Other dungeon terrain elements available in the Dungeonstone line include diagonal passageways, rounded corridors (my current favorite), rounded daises, and pre-made corridor intersections (3-way and 4-way).  These go a long way toward providing a flexible dungeons assembly kit.  Unfortunately, the sets don’t come with many diagonal or rounded passageways by default, but fortunately, they are available as an accessory in the online store.

My hope is that in the near future, Dungeonstone releases more large pieces to make rooms easier to assemble.  Yes, larger pieces may be more difficult to store (and perhaps they are difficult to engineer as well), but these pieces allow DMs to use the smaller pieces as room accents, nooks, and other interesting room features.  Other ideas for expanding the line include modular archways that rise up over the hallways and room intersections to added flair (I’ve hand-made a few of these using clay) and secret passageways that disguise well with standard walls.

In a future post, I’ll cover the painting, sealing, and mounting process that I’ve undertaken on my small yet growing collection of Dungeonstone.  This will cover paint selection, techniques, and other tips for making your terrain rock.


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Terrain Tiles on the Cheap

Here’s an early Xmas present from the gamers at Claw/Claw/Bite.

Wizards and others have provided cardboard cutouts to enhance the gaming experience.  This is great, but they’re pretty pricey and limited if you want a collection of tiles the represent the breadth of your imagination.  I recommend making your own, so you have more creative control over your adventures.  In a few simple steps, you can have terrain tiles in a variety of shapes and colors.

Step 1: Download Images And Print Them to Your Scale

Most standard tiles are 1″x1″, representing 5′ squares in most fantasy and sci-fi games.  There are a host of good tiles on rpgnowand elsewhere on the web, easily found with a g search.  Use a color printer, ideally one that leaves a waxy resin on the page.  This way the spray epoxy used in step 4 doesn’t warp the paper.

Step 2: Cut Images from Printouts

Use a regular pair of craft scissors, the kind they have at work, or that you can buy for a few dollars at a craft store.  Leave a few mm to a cm along every edge so you can apply a goodly amount of pressure along the edges of the images later to ensure a tight seal along the edge of the final tiles.  X-acto knives also work for this purpose; just make sure you place your work on a cutting board to avoid injury and damage to your furniture.

Step 3: Raid Your Recycle Bin For Light Cardboard

Use cereal and oatmeal boxes or any other post-consumer packaging.  Cut them at the edges so you have flat surfaces to work with.  Ask your neighbors or take home used dry food boxes from work.  Or go spend money on a thicker cardstock as others have reported online. Personally, I prefer using what I’ve already paid for, taking advantage of the second R in the reduce, reuse, recycle cycle.  If nothing else, it makes me feel less guilty about buying food that comes in a cardboard box.

Make sure you gently bend the cardboard to straighten them out before you glue the terain printouts to them; otherwise you may loosen the seal between the two.

Step 4: Spray Cardboard with Epoxy

I recommend using Elmers or 3M spray epoxies for this task.  Use these spray expoxies outdoors where there’s plenty of ventilation.  Try to use evan coats by holding the can 12″ away from the surface, and gliding across the surface quickly.  Alternately, use epoxies that come with applicators that allow you to apply an even coat of epoxy to the surface of the cardboard.

Step 5: Press Cutouts to Cardboard

Starting in the center, run your hands to the edges of the images.  This way, you avoid air pockets between the paper and the cardboard.  If you’ve kept enough of a lip around the exterior of the image, you should be able to press to the edge of the image without getting residual glue all over your hands.

Step 6: Wait Overnight

Overnight is best to ensure that the epoxy is fully dried.  These should be stored indoors to prevent air pockets due to moisture or temperature changes.  Keep these away from where you sleep, as there are epoxy aerosols and other air pollutants that leech out from the tiles.  If you do not wait long enough, the bond may not be strong enough to hold the pieces together in the long term.

Step 7: Cut off Excess Cardboard

I cut mine all the way to the edge of the image so I can place the tiles together to create larger rooms and dungeons.  They fit together pretty neatly if you make straight enough cuts.

Once this is done, you may want to touch up the edges with a marker to hide the white cardboard underneath from view when your terrain is deployed on your gaming table.

I have found that for a $10 can of spray epoxy, I easily get between 120 and 150 8×8 tiles worth of tiles in a wide assortment of styles.  I’ve put them to use in science fiction stories, Gamma World settings, and Dungeons and Dragons encounters.  This variety of tiles is a must for any storyteller who likes to mix up their adventures using a variety of terrains.

Have fun with it and make your players proud!

Note: If you use these tips, please take photos and send ‘em our way.  We love to see what other gamers are up to in their creative construction and use of terrain.


 


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