Dungeons & Dragons Tomb of Annihilation Tomb and Traps set!

I'm delving more into formal reviews of my beloved Wizards of the Coast Dungeons & Dragons miniatures and products here on creative Dungeoneering, and wanted to start with a recent acquisition to the collection, the Tomb of Annihilation Tomb and Traps set.

Being a big fan of the original Advanced Dungeons & Dragons module S1, Tomb of Horrors, and having never delved into Tomb of Annihilation yet, this set by Wizards of the Coast held much more nostalgic value. But one thing I love in miniature form is terrain....lots and lots of terrain! From it's old-school gaming artwork to the famous "Demon Mouth" of Acererak's tomb, The Tomb of Horrors is an iconic Dungeon I have always dreamed of replicating on my own table. 

The box set can be purchased from various online and retail outlets, but we're fans of supporting the folks over at Miniature Market where this set can be purchased for $65 US. 

(https://www.miniaturemarket.com/wzk72873.html) 

The sculpts on the various pieces are surprisingly well done, and with a bit of time and just a small amount of extra work (if even needed) they could be brought up to an even greater level of detail. The sheer variety available for using these for various dungeons and tombs is hard to imagine, with everything from blade traps, spike pits, flame spouts, and even small rubble and gold piles to add flavor to any dungeon or table top terrain outside of this specific game. 

All the pieces are of a strong, well-made plastic poly carbonate finish with a strong durability. I was impressed by the seams and welds of the plastic on the little details too; things like the way the reflective surface of the portal is set into the frame of the doorway, the solid fixture of the flame spouts into the tile, and even the details and durability of the carved demon face. 

The crowning piece for me personally is of course the Demon mouth, set into a stone finished wall. the finish is good, albeit maybe just a tiny bit too shiny for being an old dusty tomb statue. This is the icon of the Tomb of Horrors, and without giving too much detail away, has created far too many TPK's (total party kills) throughout the history of this module! Great fun, and an icon of vintage dungeon crawl role-playing. 

The 4 flame spouts and 4 blade trap tiles are well made and will be great fun, to use in multiple dungeons and settings as well. Finish is good on both, but a bit glossy on the spikes/stalagmites/blades of the spike tiles. Seeing these in a dark, tomb-like setting however makes more sense, and I've grown to actually like the slightly black gloss finish. 

I'm thinking of double damage here: Spike trap with a slithering Black Pudding swirling about between....talk about total party kill...

The spike pit tile and boulder pile tile were somewhat less impressive, and in need of a bit of dry-brushing or additive coloring to bring out the highlights and depth. I love what Wizards has done with the "depth" on the spike pit, but the flat matte coloring makes it tough to see.

Highlighting these presents a plus and a minus however from a collection standpoint: To edge and paint would make them truly, better pieces, but takes away from their original out-of-thebox state...the clash between Creative Dungeoneer and Collector...




The sarcophagus of Acererak and the portal are both solid and well made, but like the spike pit, the  sarcophagus is somewhat lacking in detail, and could sue a nice brownish-black wash to bring out the edge highlights and side-hyroglyphics.













The other small details, and I do mean SMALL, are outstanding but it will take an extremely well-organized Dungeon Master to keep track of these items including the four potion bottles, the sword, shield, scrolls, and skull of Acererak.

The details and clever design for bringing the campaign to life are incredible, but even as organized and meticulous as I am over my D&D mini collection, I worry about losing these before they get any tabletop time.




All in all this is an outstanding set by Wizards of the Coast, and brings to life both vintage-styled nostalgia and modular usability for great dungeon terrain!
This will surely be featured in some of creative Dungeoneerings upcoming Game Tales.

Where the Whales Go To Die! Part 2!!!

So I originally wrote about a project a while back that I started titled Where the Whales Go To Die, based off one of my favorite movies, The Island at the Top of the World. (http://creativedungeoneering.blogspot.com/2016/03/where-whales-go-to-die.html)

This was a fantastic movie done by Disney back in 1974 with a lot of advanced special effects for it's time, but it really captured a love for all things "arctic" and especially, for classic adventure, travel, mountaineering, and even Vikings and 'Killer' whales.
I never did a follow-up to this project though to show the finished product, which I think turned out not half-bad!

I started with a toy Orca, and wanting to give the illusion of it coming out of the water, cut it in half. I created the base with a thick card-stock base and a platform of sculpted hot glue. This is done by allowing the applied hot glue to cool just slightly while sculpting the glue into the shaping desired.

After I started to get the base shaped right, I sunk the Orca's top half into the base, and continued to apply. This next crucial step is what really creates the sense of 'frothing foam.'
Wanting to replicate the scene from Island at the Top of the world where the Orca's that guard "The Place where the Whales go to die" is covered with an icy foam and misty cold arctic water, I added a dab of Gorilla glue to the still warm hot glue.
The chemical reaction between these two creates a beautiful (if not slightly over-abundant and out-of-control if not watched!) foam. This created a textured foaming circle of splash around the base of the whale as it crests out of the water, just as in the attacking scene from the film.




Loving these beautiful creatures I feel it imperative to emphasize here that these are designed for fictional table-top roleplaying of course, and that there are no recorded attacks of Orca's guarding "the Place where Whales go to Die" (that I am aware of).


(See a brief sample of it from the original film here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bh lOekZYMk-

Following the same technique for the fluke, allowed me to both create either a ridiculously large single whale (unlikely) or two whales that could technically be used for an ocean-based encounter simultaneously.

A similar base structure, and frothing technique was used allowing two natural encounters to be created from one single miniature.






Creating the underside of the whale was a bit more tricky as I wanted them to look natural (no "made in China" lettering" and yet scarred up and aged, like ancient creatures of legend. Matching the coloring of the white was tough, but adding a "gloss" look of being 'wet' was even tougher without the plastic looking too shiny.





       

All in all one of my favorite custom-made pieces. This has yet to eb entered into a contest as many of my other Creative Dungeoneering pieces have, but will likely be competing in a custom-made category this year at the SaltCon gaming convention:

http://saltcon.com

Stonework Steeps!

I know I know....."modular modular modular."
I preach that all the time.

But the versatility, storability, mobility, and playability of modular pieces is just SO much fun, and they are a constant challenge to create.
Plus, when your imagination varies from a love of all things D&D to the carnage of Warhammer 40K, having pieces that can work for both saves a bit in the "Gaming Terrain Finance" department too.

So this weeks project was creating a sense of muddler stone columns, but made to look like natural rock. I wanted these to be able to be used in various forms of terrain. anything from mountain to forest to underground cavern settings (although the end result, while nice, does slightly limit  the potential use (in my own opinion) to underground cavern settings).

I started with my standard building material, hardened, paper-backed foam core or gator board (see the previous Creative Dungeoneering post on the Battle board made from this here:
http://creativedungeoneering.blogspot.com/2018/01/battle-board.html)

I shaped these with a thick and rough pair of scissors and then smoothed the edges with a soft sanding block, before gluing them together in equal-sized stacks with standard pva glue.

Once done, I added layers of paint over the black foam core and paper backing in the following order:

• Primer gray-standard gray primer spray
• light gunmetal gray: any med-to dark shade of stone gray would work (or red, brown, etc).
• soft gray: I used a softer, almost white gray here, dry brushed over the top to create edge highlights and give the stone a worn texture. The same would apply here though for other shades of red, browns and whites.  

Once the stone work was completed I added a thin layer of pva glue to the top, and created a flocked top layer using standard flocking materials. Green hobby store grass material (think train building sets or model diorama terrain) works well, but I also use a mature of old pencil shavings, pva glue, and a light dab of green food coloring and paint and mix until dry. This gives some texture and depth too (more on this in the next post on Aspen trees and natural terrain).

   

Simple. Pretty fast, and these were made almost entirely in an evening-about 2 hours +/-. 

Effective for use in wargaming or table-top roleplaying as added terrain features, archways, gateways, columns, pillars, or even over-water type features.

There are a ton fo add-ons that could be done to these too:

• Stalagmites/stalactites from some fo the small overhanging rock edges, then done in purple (Underdark or crystal-type) hues or even painted with snow flocking to represent ice or winter terrain. 
• Extra foliage or moss on the edges
• Water-spray, or bases of hot glue and water-type features giving them the look of being suspended in or above water. 

Just great simple little pieces with a lot of creative potential. 

As for cave terrain, I intended originally to make these modular to where they could be used for an Underdark campaign as well. But I am a huge fan of the more purple-gray hues that are found in the Wizards of the Coast and Gale-Force 9 Caverns of the Underdark sets that I currently use and match terrain too (see some of the previous Creative Dungeoneering posts on these in our archives...) so it was tough to justify the purple hues needed with the green flocking. 

As much as I love modular terrain, I love making it match even more. Thus, these are primarily for "above-ground" use. 

Multi-game modular Battle Board!!!

As I've written about many times before here on Creative Dungeoneering, I'm a big fan of modular Dungeon Terrain and wargaming boards.

I like the versatility, and for my small and not-often-used-enough gaming space, the storability of it.
But with my love of a bit of Warhammer 40K, and a growing Black Templar army, I am finding need to have a more adequately sized battle board for weekend skirmishes with the despicable Tau and Ork kind kind friends and family are somewhat partial to.


Herein however, lies the catch with wargaming boards:-Too large and you spend all your time in the movement phase.
-Too small and there is no tactics, movement, or strategy (or less of it) inherently required as your into close combat before the first move. Now running Black Templars, this is perfectly fine, as this is where my little zealots excel.



But for the enjoyment of not only the other players, but also the usability of the terrain for more than just Warhammer (primarily larger-scale Dungeons & Dragons modular dungeons or outdoor wilderness miniature terrain), I needed a board with enough space that additional modular features could be added later; buildings, ruins, mountains, forests, rivers, etc.

So this means that essentially, featureless terrain needed to be included, or terrain that would likely be eventually covered by something else. I needed flat sections.
So the trick then was creating a board that could offer some creative usability but also the interest to potentially serve as a basis for future adventures, both Sci-fi and Fantasy based.

Materials:

I work in a creative department and acquire a lot of extra materials made of what, in the industry we refer to as gator board. Essentially thick foam core with heavy-weight paper backing on both sides. Most of these are done for advertising examples, wall art, photos, etc. In this case the piece I am using is roughly 48" x 48" and about 1/2" thick, with a heavy-weight photo paper on one side (a juice advertisement) and a slightly-lighter weight black paper backing, sandwiching the foam core in between.

The smaller example pictured here shows the two varying sides, but any foam core board could work. The key is the thick paper on the bottom side 'supporting' or creating a 'base' for the foam core. This could easily be replicated with even better material, such as cardboard or even wood.














 

Creating the terrain:

To start creating the terrain features on my larger piece, I used a set of odd tools including an old serrated butter knife (crucial that it be serrated), a Play-Doh putty sculpting tool, and even more odd and tricky to find, a vintage walnut cracking pick. This stainless steel tool is my go-to tool for everything from pushing glue to creating bubbles, and is featured in just about every terrain tutorial I do here on Creative Dungeoneering.

I started with simple pencil markings of a rough area where I wanted 'terrain features' like the  trench, craters, and cracks. The hardest part was resisting too much creativity. Less is more here. Remember, that open space and 'blank surface' area is going to work perfect later for adding additional modular features and using this for multiple types of terrain.

I started by scraping away the paper backing and into the foam using my trusty walnut pick, and then slowly peeling away each piece with the putty tool and knife.

 One one corner, where the crater was at its deepest, it actually compromised the structural integrity of the photo paper beneath.
This required reinforcing the foam and strengthening up this edge corner. One fo the best things I have ever found to do this is standard Shoe Goo putty, for shoe repair.  

Once sealed up, the corner was adequately strong and the essential detail of the board was finished. But resisting adding more was a constant struggle! 

Next was measuring with actual models to ensure that the trenches and craters were adequately sized and would work for game play. 

The trenches were only about base-deep, so they didn't provide "cover" in war-game terms, but enough of a drop that they do create a terrain 'feature' which gang augmented with additional modular items such as rocks, foliage, trees, etc.

Surfacing:

For surfacing, especially for larger flat, or open areas, little works better, and faster, than standard textured spray paint. I somehow feel like I'm cheating when I do this, and it's not cheap, about $10 a can. And this board took an entire can. But it works fast, it works well, and it really looks pretty good when all is finished. 

It is also somewhat durable, textured, and easily accepts accent colors and paint finishes to add additional colors and textures, giving the surface more depth and character. 

The standard stone gray available at most craft and hobby stores is so great, in that it can, like in this application here, be used for both Sci-Fi and Fantasy based terrain and cover creating anything from a cracked alien planet to a forest floor, dungeon cavern base, or even a city scape surface. 

I used the Citadel Skulls pack to add some small individual terrain features that again, could work for just about any terrain or location other than snow or desert.

The small skulls gave the board character and a bit of mystery for war-game play but could just as easily be game hooks or dungeon dressings for fantasy and RPG use too.



I also added hues of purple to the cracks, surfacing, and edges of the holes and trench.

This served the purpose of adding a bit of character to the board and most importantly, matching with all other modular terrain I use in this same style. Again, it's all about versatility and storability.

Because I intend too sue this with fantasy table-top gaming as well, I wanted my current modular terrain to match as seamlessly as possible with the battle board, making this piece even more versatile for sue in both Warhammer and Dungeons & Dragons. I am a huge fan of the Gale Force 9 Caverns of the Underdark set, and they are done primarily in a gray-blue-purple hue.

Adding complementary colors to the Battle Board here will make this a fantastic piece when coupled with those as well, either as additions to Warhammer alien terrain, or for a D&D mega-dungeon-total-party-kill-Drow-battle-royale...
 

Back to Flannessia...

Writing and Dungeon Mastering have sways seemed to go hand in hand to me.

I write character histories. I write NPC histories.  Heck I've even written monster histories. 

Within my home brewed realms known as Flannessia (all realms conglomerated into one massive world, but I'll go into that in a bit...), I've written everything from the travels of the Silver Dragon Wizard Sfarak, to the history of the Gods of both light and shadow.

They have names, histories, spellings, traditions, customs and cultures. And a few years ago, I decided it was time to actually try to put them down into fables. I started by reading a LOT more than I already was. I read and read and read. A lot.
I took courses and read writing guides. I did hours of research. I attended workshops with great writers such as Orson Scott Card, learned tips and tricks from R.A. Salvatore, Tracy Hickman, and Brandon Sanderson. I even took a class from RPG and fiction author Robert J. Defendi, where I read the first chapter of my fantasy fiction epic Shadow Born to an audience of about 100 people.
The reaction I got was amazing. People were coming up and asking me questions, telling me how much they loved it, and that they couldn't wait to read the rest.
Robert didn't like it too well. He said he thought it was "like a piece of chocolate that was just too rich." Still not sure how I should apply that. but thats ok. It isn't for everyone. It's extremely descriptive. I want it to be immersive. and not Tolkien immersive, but REALLY immersive.

See Flannessia, is a conglomeration world.
Every realm and campaign ever created by Gygax, TSR, and Wizards of the Coast is alive and well in my world.
At the same time.
Tolkien? Yup, we have him too. Middle Earth is far to the Northwest.
C.S. Lewis? Narnia is here too. West, and slightly south. It's warmer as a general rule then Middle Earth.
Oerth or the Flaness from Greyhawk is the center of my world, mostly because I just grew up loving it.
Mystra from basic D&D, up and to the northeast.
Faerun, the Forgotten realms is central. Think the United states.

The point is this. I am not trying to re-create Tolkien. He has a world. I am trying to create a mythology for all of them.
What if all of these mysterious realms were all part of the same world? What of players could seamlessly move between realms, from Middle Earth to Hogwarts and back to Narnia via the Sword Coast?
Why not?

thats the world where Shadow born is based. And it feels good to finally, after a long break, be back in the writing seat. It feels good to be back in this land.
I hope I soon get to share it with others.

Where the Whales Go to Die!

Best. Movie. Ever.

Ok...maybe not "EVER"...but I LOVED this movie as a kid. And it was old when I saw it.
Island at the Top of the World. 1974 I believe. Adventure/steampunk/victorian explorers meet arctic Vikings and a lost colony.

Not sure why this movie captivated me so much. But it do so to the point that even years later, when I was serving in the US Coast Guard, I could not wait to get stationed up in the Arctic. And I loved every minute of it. Around every desolate mountain and snow capped peak was a Viking colony just waiting to be discovered. The "feeling of being watched" was constant in the arctic mountains, and the way the fog rolled in over the snow and tundra made for a mystical, imaginative land.

Now, in the movie poster artwork, notice the "Killer" Whales chomping at the boats in the lower right corner. In the movie, the mythical graveyard of whales, or "the place where the whales go to die" was a mythical boneyard filled with a Victorian era treasure trove of whale oil and ivory. But it was guarded by the Hunters, Orca's that would attack any that attempted to reach it. This scene depicted here actually never even happened, as the heroes ended up floating away on an iceberg not a boat. and of course if you look to your left, you'll see the Walt disney classical depiction of the "horned helm viking with a medieval era hilted sword" yet in the movie itself, the costuming wasn't nearly as grandiose, and actually followed historical Norse clothing much closer.

but until yesterday, I never contemplated throwing these mythical "Hunters" into game play...
I picked up this toy Orca at a thrift store yesterday for $.50. He was just about the right scale for standard table-top RPG 28mm miniatures.

 He showed a good amount of markings, which actually, if you've ever seen Orca's in the wild, they tend to have a lot of. I think with a  bit of work I could make this work to my advantage in increasing the realism here too.

The first step was to cut that fin off. I needed him jumping out and poised for a potential crash down onto either icebergs or a small boat. 

This was actually quite a bit more difficult than one would imagine. Cutting through this thick Sea World Toy rubber was harder than getting their Executives to stop breeding in captivity. Ok, maybe not that hard, but tough. Once I got the rubber cut through, I needed to even out the tail and main body sections to allow even molding with the water base I will be creating.






Nothing a bit of creative fiddling can't clean up. I found a nice sharp exact knife, albeit one with a large enough handle area to really dig into the rubber worked well enough. The Tail would be used in the same way to imply one Orca rising out if the water in attack, and a second, always just right behind as it descended into the depths again. The next part, and possibly the trickiest, would be to get the right size "water base" for him.

I typically use a thick black foam for most of my Dungeoneering work because I tend to acquire a lot of it. I work in a creative field and we utilize a lot of this material for signage, advertising pieces, etc.

Often referred to as "Gatorboard" or "foam-core," this thick, heavy, and durable black foam works outstanding for everything from buildings to boulders to bases.




When it came time to mold the base and model, the heavy weight of the rubber upper body, which makes for a solid, fantastic miniature, was too heavy and too angled as the Orca is rising up and breaching the surface of the water, that heavy weight pieces were used to hold in place.

Two small anvils worked well to allow the model to begin the drying process. The rubber was simply adhered to the foam base with standard black epoxy glue, and allowed to dry overnight. A similar process will take place with the tail.


In Part 2, tail gluing, water surface painting, and texture prep.