Travelling Terrain Kit (for fantasy RPGs)

As I’ve mentioned in a few other places, I’ve recently started playing at the FLGS again (Asgard Games in Walsall) ...and even though I’m just a player in a game at the moment, it’s inevitable that I’ll start running a few sessions there at some point.

Furthermore, in a recent interview-type-thing I did over on AJ Pickett’s channel (HERE is the link if you want to check it out), I was asked if I have some sort of ‘game night kit’ that I take with me when gaming away from home (and/or what do I consider ‘essential items’ to have in such a kit). 

So, in answer to AJs question (and also because it’s something I might need in the near future) – here is a little travelling GM’s kit that I’ve put together:

And, as you can see, it really isn’t that large… it’s just something I can keep at the bottom of my backpack/rucksack (alongside a simple one-page-dungeon) – so that I’m ready to run a game at a moment’s notice (should the need arise :) ).

Giant Spider Accessories / Scatter-terrain

 Just a quick post to say that I've got another video out...

...and that the pdf file can be found HERE.

Hope you like it!

Gravestones (print & paste terrain)

If you follow the YouTube channel, you'll have seen that I've just released a new episode in my terrain building series...

...and (like it says in the title) in this one, I've been making some gravestones.

Anyway, like most of the things I make, I've been meaning to have a go at something like this for a while now (the to-do list seems to get longer rather than shorter) - and in an attempt to make this blog post a bit more interesting than 'here is a new video and and new pdf' ...I thought I'd share some of my early sketches and prototypes again.

So, as is often the case, the process usually starts with a few basic sketches (just to kinda 'record' the idea - as I sometimes have periods where I'm coming up with idea after idea, and I can't possibly make them all at once - so it's good to get something sketched out so that I can remind myself about it later :) ).

Then I'll normally make a few prototypes with some scrap card and the like... just to test out the idea, and make sure that the size of everything looks about right.

Once I'm happy with that, I'll usually get the basic shapes drawn in inkscape...

 ...and then I'll start adding all the details in photoshop...

...which eventually leads to the finished 'product' (for want of a better word):

And, like I say in the video, I think these work really well with the trees that I made in the swamp/marsh video (Ep.73).

Anyway, as always, you can get the pdf file for these over on DriveThruRPG, and (as I also say in the video) if you're a Patreon supporter or YouTube member, then look out for the relevant post if you want me to make a custom gravestone with one of your character's/NPC's name on it :)

A new Sci-Fi episode AND a quick look at some ‘War On Terra’ miniatures

As you might have seen, I’ve just released a new sci-fi episode over on YouTube (if you’re new here, then I make ‘print & paste’ terrain tutorials for use in various miniatures games)…

...and in this latest episode I’ve been making some more stuff for the sci-fi range - i.e. bunks & lockers (note that you can get the pdf file HERE if you want to make some yourself – just put a zero in the little ‘pay-what-you-want’ box if you want to grab it for free ;) ).

Anyway, at the end of that video you’ll see some miniatures that were sent to me (for free) from AWA Game Design.

Now, these mini’s are from their War on Terra game (they have a kickstarter running for it at the moment), and they arrived in this rather nice looking box...

 

...which contained a whole host of goodies.

 

And one of the first things I noticed is that they have some left-handed models – which is a nice touch.

And, as you can see, the assembly of the models is pretty straight forward – and while their isn’t a great deal of poseability, there is enough... as some of the models come with multiple arm options, and the arms themselves can be swapped around between models to change things up a bit (i.e. they all appear to be interchangeable - which is nice).

Now, the miniatures that I received look to be 3D resin prints (I’m not sure if the mini’s you get with the kickstarter will be cast, or printed, or something else entirely) – but this was my first time working with 3D prints… and I didn’t have any issues assembling or painting them…

...though I will say that there were some visible print lines on a couple of the models – the most noticeable being on the chest circle of the guy second from the left - though if I were a smarter person I could have just run a file over that, and that would have got rid of it (and I’m not really sure why I didn’t do that to be honest… oh well :) ).

And as far as scale goes… they are on the larger end of the spectrum – and to illustrate that, here’s a picture of one of their tesla marines standing next to a GW primaris marine...

 

...and while I personally would have liked them to be a bit smaller (so I can use them in other games – alongside some of the other sci-fi mini’s I already own), I expect that will be a non-issue for most folks (doubly so if you’re only using them as intended – i.e. for the War on Terra game).

But yeah, I’m happy with how they’ve turned out. I mean, I’ve gone with a pretty basic colour scheme, and they still look pretty good I think (as I’ve said before, I do prefer painting miniatures that are not overburdened with too much unnecessary clutter – and these fit that bill).

I’m also wondering if, since all of the human sub-factions have their own circular emblem/iconography, I wonder if they have plans to release some of those as little pieces that can be glued into the circle of the chest plate (as I think that would be rather cool).

Oh... and, as a slight aside, I also want to point out that the box itself (which I’ve already said, is rather nice)… with a little bit of padding, it can easily accommodate the half-size trays that you can get from places like KR Multicase (because once you’ve got all this assembled and painted – you’re gonna want to keep your models safe… right?).

Anyway, if you’re interested, the War in Terra guys did an interview over on The Painting Phase channel if you want to learn a bit more about them and the game they’re producing (which is well worth a watch):

 

...plus the painting phase chats are always entertaining :)

 

So yeah, thanks for making it to the end of this article. I hope you can get some use out of the new (bunks & lockers) terrain, and feel free to check out the War on Terra* kickstarter if it looks like your kind of thing!

*note that I am not affiliated with AWA Game Design in any way, and I have not been paid to write this article (I just agreed to take a look at some of their mini’s, as I thought they looked like rather cool models :) ).

Random Dungeons (solo/co-op dungeon crawling)

 

I’ve already mentioned this in a few different places – but I thought I’d take a moment to explain an idea I’m messing around with for the (really) simple method of generating random dungeons (mainly for solo/co-op play).

Now, at the moment, I’m trying to have it be a system neutral kind of thing – though I might end up making my own basic dungeon crawler in the future… but that’s a post for another time :)

Anyway, as I say, in this article I’m going to have a go at explaining how the ‘dungeon generation’ works – just in case that is of interest to anyone (plus, it'll be something I can refer to when I release the video where I make some of the different components).

So, to begin with, you’ll need to think of a reason for your character (or group of characters) to enter the dungeon (or roll on a random table - if something like that is available to you - as I say, this system is purely for generating the dungeon). In this example Sir Karlandos has been tasked with exploring a series of ancient catacombs to retrieve an ancient artefact (note that I’m using 5E as the rule set for combat and the like in this example, and that my level 1 Paladin is being accompanied by two loyal men-at-arms – which are using the CR 1/8 ‘guard’ statblock).

 (Note that I still need to add some grass tufts to these guys)

Next, you’ll need to fill out a few charts. Basically you’ll need to decide what kind of creatures will be appearing as ‘wandering monsters,’ what kind will be found in ‘lairs’ and what types will be found in the main quest room (if you’ve played Advanced HeroQuest, a lot of this will sound very similar ;) ). Plus there’s a few other things that’ll need filling out – if you’re interested in seeing what I put together for this particular quest, you can find it HERE.

Anyway, before our brave party enter the dungeon, I’ll first need to shuffle the ‘passage’ deck – but before I do the same with the ‘room’ deck, I’ll need to remove the ‘Quest Room’ card. Then I’ll shuffle the remaining cards, and deal out three cards from the top. I’ll then shuffle the quest room into these three – and then place them at the bottom of the main deck. This means that the ‘Quest Room’ will be one of the last four rooms to be encountered (i.e. we don’t know exactly when it will appear – but it will be towards the end of the adventure).

And with that out of the way, I can place the stairway tile and the crossroads…

...and because the party can see past the junction to the north (we’ll assume north is the top of all the photographs in this example) I’ll draw a card from the passage deck and lay out the dungeon as pictured on the card... roll a d6… and place any doors (you can randomise the door placement, or just place them where it seems the most logical).

 

Turn 1: Karlandos advances to the crossroads – but doesn’t want to get too far ahead, so he waits for the men-at-arms to catch up.

I then draw a card to see what lies down the east passage and roll a d6 - resulting in a dead end with no doors. However we also need to draw a token – getting a ‘wandering monster token’...

...but in this adventure I have decided beforehand that I’ll need to have three of the same tokens in play to trigger that effect (so we’re safe for now).

Then I’ll draw another card and roll a d6 to generate the west passage... and I get a short passage with a left turn... and in that passage is a single doorway.

 

That ends the turn… and at the end of each turn the standard procedure is to draw a token...

...and this time I get a ‘blank/nothing’ result.

Turn 2: Karlandos and his men advance down the west passage and congregate outside the doorway before opening it. So, this time I draw from the room deck, and roll a d6 – which reveals a ‘special room’ with two more exits.

(Mistake number one – this card also states that I must immediately draw a token – but I didn’t spot that… oops).

Now in this example quest, I’ve kept the ‘special rooms’ rather simple (as you could probably devise a chart for all sorts of things) – and in this instance I’ve rolled a 2...

 ...which means I then roll on the ‘features’ table… another 2...

...which indicates that there are some shelves or cupboards in this room – which a character may search!

However, that’s the end of the turn – so I draw another counter (this time getting a trap token ...but as I said earlier, I’m safe at the moment, as I need to draw three of the same kind to trigger that particular event).

Turn 3: Karlandos enters the room – instructing is men to keep watch near the door. Searching the shelves he rolls as instructed on the chart, and discovers 70gp worth of gems. Not bad for the first room!

 

However, that’s all he does this turn – so we draw another counter. 

 

Turn 4: Our group of brave adventurers ‘double move' to get to the door that they saw earlier in the north passage. That’s the end of the turn… so another counter is drawn… 

...another trap counter (one more of either of the 'M' or the 'T' and I might be in trouble).

Turn 5: The paladin opens the door to reveal a ‘Monster Lair’

 

So I roll on the lair table to find out what’s inside (a skeleton and a giant rat in this instance), and I roll a d6 for each of them – to see how many squares away from the door they are.

(mistake number two – monster lairs always contain at least one ‘feature’ – but I forgot to roll for one here… double oops).

I roll initiative and one of the guards heads off towards the rat, while Karlandos and the other guard take on the skeleton (and in this round of combat every character/monster hits, and deals damage).

At the end of the turn I draw a token... and it’s a trap!

That means there are now 3 trap tokens in play – so I roll on the trap table and get a result of ‘poison gas’ ...so one of our characters has triggered a trap that fills the room with noxious fumes. All of the living creatures make a saving throw – and only one guard passes – leaving everyone else (except the skeleton) with the ‘poisoned’ condition.

However, because an event was just triggered, all of the counters go back into the bag/cup (i.e. we start again from scratch each time an event is triggered - or when a ‘restock / R’ token is drawn).

Turn 6: First the giant rat is dealt with, and then the skeleton falls – though both characters fail their saving throw again, and are still poisoned.

At the end of the round we draw a counter. This time a ‘wandering monster’ again (but luckily the counters have been reset – so it’s the only one in play at the moment – phew!)

Turn 7: Deciding that it would be unwise to venture farther while two members of the group are still coughing and spluttering from the gas, they wait it out for a round (both passing their saves this turn), and Sir Karlandos heals himself for 3 points of damage.

And, at the end of the turn, another counter is drawn...

...and now there are two 'wandering monster' counters in play.

Turn 8: The door is opened – and while you would normally roll randomly to determine whether a room leads into a passage or another room, in this instance it makes sense for it to lead into another room (due to the way the passage below it has already been generated). 

This room is another lair – this time with no extra exits, two giant rats, and a coffin (as I remembered to roll on the ‘features’ table this time ;) ).

The rats win initiative, and attack the party (injuring the second guard) – but one of the rats is slain in return. 

At the end of the round we draw a token – and unfortunately it’s another ‘wandering monster’ token… and after rolling on the ‘wandering monster’ chart, we discover that a zombie has been drawn towards all the noise – and it is placed as far away from the party as possible – but within their line of sight.

 

“Sir!” exclaims one of the guards. “Sir… we have a corpse at our rear… and he’s awfully spry for a dead fellow!” 

So things are not looking too good for the party at this point – but seeing as how we just triggered another event, all the tokens are returned to the cup/bag… so at least there’s nothing to worry about for a few more round yet!

* * * 

And that’s the gist of things. Obviously, you can make the tables as complicated as you like (I’ve just used fairly basic ones here, as I wanted to keep it contained to a single page), and you can decide for yourself how many counters need to be in play to trigger a particular event (for example, in another dungeon you might need 6 tokens to trigger a trap, but only two tokens to activate a wandering monster) - but hopefully this example shows the basics of how the dungeon itself is generated.

There’s still a lot of work to do yet (and I hope to test it out in a co-op game of HeroQuest with my brother at some point) – but I think the idea itself is fairly sound, and the new tiles & doors that I’ve made are perfect for this kind of thing.

So yeah, I don’t think any of these ideas are particularly new or revolutionary – they’re just something I wanted to have a go at making myself (so that I can base it around all of the scatter terrain that I've been making these past few years) ...and so that’s exactly what I’ve been doing :)

And, if it's something that you'd like to hear more about, then please do let me know :) 

 

* * *

 

EDIT: A few things have changed since this playtest - but the basic idea is still pretty much the same.

Modular Bridges (print & paste terrain)

 So, probably around a year ago, I had the idea to make a modular bridge for the 'print & paste' terrain line...

...but, like a lot of my ideas, it got added to the to-do list and almost forgotten about (that's the main reason I make sketches nowadays - so I don't forget :) ).

Anyway, I had an idea for an encounter recently that would require a bridge - so now seemed like a good time to sit down and get it done.

So, as you can see, the initial prototypes looked promising...

 

 

...and with a little bit of tinkering, the idea took shape:

So, without further ado HERE is the link to the pay-what-you-want pdf file (if you want to have a go at making one or two yourself) and HERE is the YouTube video that shows you how to put them together.

Hope you like them!

Obelisks (print & paste terrain)

Seeing as how I usually post a few WIP images over on discord (and/or the YouTube community page) – I thought that I would try something a bit different with this latest project… and also share my progress in a YouTube ‘short’ (as can be seen HERE).

Now, I’m not sure if that kind of thing (i.e. a ‘short’ teaser video) would be of interest to people for all of my future projects – but if it is/isn’t, then it would be good to get your thoughts.

Anyway, enough of all that – the main reason I’m posting today is to say that the next video (the obelisks video) is live…

...and, as usual, you can find the (pay-what-you-want) pdf file over on DriveThruRPG. 

Hope you like ‘em!