So I am a huge fan of The DM's Craft YouTube videos and the DM Scotty Crafts n Games
Facebook group, and can't say enough good things about the folks you'll run into over there.
What an amazing group of talented, inspiring, and sincerely uplifting people. Go check them out here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/dmscottyscraftsngames/
And subscribe to The DM's Craft, Scotty's fantastic tutorials, found here:https://www.youtube.com/user/theDMsCraft
So one thing I've heard DM scotty say that I really like, is to have terrain focused on "playability." Here at Creative Dungeoneering, I love creating other worlds even more than playability, but for some pieces, they both work wonders.
And such is the sad, creepy, and quite bubblingly-terrific tale of our recent acid pool creation!
Now...to be fair, this was created a while ago, but it was perfected this past week with one of my very favorite forms of Craft Alchemy (I should copyright that name!!!)...
NO! Those aren't dice you see in his hand (actually they are....), but the perfect blend of bubbling, acidic, character-eating (in the game only) froth can be achieved with the double-whammy power of the following components:
Now I've done a tutorial on these two before (see the post on Gelatinous cubes and the nostalgia of the Water Weird http://creativedungeoneering.blogspot.com/2015/03/gelatinous-cubes-and-nostalgia-of-water.html
BUT, I have never really used them in a painted scheme before, so this was a new attempt at creating texture and versatility.
After creating the tile from standard black foam core (this was done by carving into the paper backing of the foam core but leaving the paper intact on the top), I sprayed the surface with a standard textured spray paint (stone gray) and proceeded to fill the pre-carved pool cavity with plain, clear hot glue.
The pool itself was carved into the foam, but not all the way through, leaving a thin but sturdy layer of foam beneath to support the weight of the hot glue. I also ran hot glue along a few of the pre-carved cracks to give the impression that the acid in this dungeon tile was bubbling through. I also added over the final dry stone texture, small read of purple.
Why purple?
Because I am a huge fan of modular, and mostly, "store-able" terrain. I don't have a ton of storage space devoted to my gaming area, and since I own two sets of the fantastic, Gale force 9, Dungeons & Dragons Caverns of the Underdark 3D Adventure Set terrain, I wanted this piece to go with it.
The Stalagmites for the Underdark set come in a pre-painted purplish hue, with the tips and the adjoining pools and crystals done in a magnificent amethyst tone. By adding a small bit of "cave alge" to the edges of my tile, I could easily transition from one area of the cavern to the next, and maintain a sense of visual flow and realistic geological coloring.
Once the glue was set into the pool, I immediately set to adding gorilla glue. This CAN NOT be overstated enough. I use High-Temperature glue most of the time, but have found that all temperature glue works well too. But before that glue dries, and while it is still warm, add drops of Gorilla glue over the top in a nice clear and thick layer. More Gorilla glue for more bubbles, less, for less. You will not see this foam up right away. In fact, it takes far longer than one would think. But over many minutes, and usually a day, the foaming action can grow to almost out-of-control proportions. If it does, however, it cuts away easily with a simple exact knife when dry too.
The final effect, after painting, is a very textured, and foaming consistency. One very crucial key here though is sealant.
To keep the bubbles formed, and keep the paint glossy and nasty (in this case) looking, I use a small bit of basic sealant.
NOT spray sealant, which seems to have a horrible effect for some reason, deteriorating and dissolving the consistency of the texture and paint, but actual brush on sealant by Minwax. I prefer the small can of fast-drying Polyurethane, in the clear gloss, as I use this primarily for wet surfaces and moist looking areas. This also tends to leave, when added in heavy amounts, a bit of a greenish film to it, adding only more to the look of charred, melted toxins bubbling and frothing about.
Stay tuned to Creative Dungeoneering for some amazing new highlights we have coming up!
We will soon be opening our official Creative Dungeoneering Etsy shop, our YouTube channel with all kinds of random fantasy, craft, and geek related posts, and of course,
the Creative Dungeoneering Facebook page!
As always, you can email us direct at creativedungeoneering@gmail.com.
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