j
Cardboard Collector
Posts: 25
|
Post by j on Sept 28, 2016 22:21:27 GMT
After over 250 hours and 2 years playing the Lost Mine of Phandelver, it looks like we will be heading more inland for the Princes of the Apocalypse. I decided to start with the main city of Red Larch (2-3mm scale map). I let my players use pins to plant building/location flags into it as they discover areas. Likewise, we use map pins to represent PC and NPC locations. You can see pins in play in this post: Lost Mine of PhandelverHere is the start, placing over 100+ Monopoly houses and hotels to roughly match the great Mike Schley's map from the campaign book. And, here is what the map looks like finished up, ready for the table. I need to be table-ready in about 2 months time, so time to get crafting.
|
|
|
Post by kgstanley81 on Sept 28, 2016 22:30:12 GMT
Your maps are awesome
|
|
|
Post by voodoo on Oct 2, 2016 3:49:16 GMT
Jiminy Christmas! how did you do the texture in the first pic? is that layered styro with some kind of modelling paste or caulking? very cool.
|
|
|
Post by stroezie on Oct 2, 2016 5:41:51 GMT
Awesomesause!!!
Really diggin' this!
I've been thinking of doing something similar in 6mm so this is very inspirational for me.
I'd like to second the request for a bit more info on how you did the contouring and texturing of the board.
PS: Your players are d@#g lucky to have you for a GM.
|
|
j
Cardboard Collector
Posts: 25
|
Post by j on Oct 2, 2016 16:26:57 GMT
Awesomesause!!! Really diggin' this! I've been thinking of doing something similar in 6mm so this is very inspirational for me. I'd like to second the request for a bit more info on how you did the contouring and texturing of the board. PS: Your players are d@#g lucky to have you for a GM. It's pretty much what you would expect. 2-inch compressed foam with some layers of foam or cardboard on top. I did carve into the 2-inch foam as well (roads & features). For smooth contours, I bevel cut the edges of foam (no paper) and fill seams with lightweight Spackle/Joint Compound to blend in. Where I don't care as much, I just smooth out with a bit of Spackle. These areas are more ledge-like and I apply some bushes or heavier flock. I do mix in some construction sand and water into the Spackle while applying it for texture and spreading ease. The map weighs about 5lbs (36" x 24") which I have to be conscious of because I travel to my game group. I do like the 6mm scale, but its hard to find plenty of cheap & varied houses/buildings to match that scale without spending a lot. The Game of Life houses would work as-is for it though. I find that sprinkling in those are large buildings (at 2mm) seems to work best for me cost wise. I also didn't want to get into carving my own since I don't have that kind of patience.
|
|
|
Post by DnDPaladin on Oct 3, 2016 18:07:16 GMT
2 years for phandelver... gosh we finished that story in like 5 weeks. thats a lot of time between sessions.
awesome maps as always truly great visuals for players.
|
|
milojaggerson
Paint Manipulator
Laying tile on the floors...
Posts: 161
|
Post by milojaggerson on Oct 14, 2016 14:08:58 GMT
Tremendous and awesome! Kudos - You really captured the flavor the the original Schley map. I want to go out and make some 3mm maps now. Inspiring!
|
|
j
Cardboard Collector
Posts: 25
|
Post by j on Mar 11, 2017 6:24:28 GMT
|
|
|
Post by tauster on Mar 11, 2017 9:02:03 GMT
oh... ...wow. WOW! These maps are so cool it almost hurts to look at them! I started to a regional map for Dragon Rock, an asteroid city (similar to Spelljammer's Rock of Bral). However the asteroid in question is 10 miles long and the cardboard model I made is 0.6 m long, meaning that a house that's 10m square would be 0.6mm on each side. That's less than a pinhead. Even a field with 100m to each side would be just 6x6 mm. Resizing the asteroid isn't an option, and neither is making a 6m long model. Would be cool though... So I'm stuck for years at that problem: How to texture and paint a to-scale map of a large city surrounded by fields and woods, on a model that's too small. One way would be to start with all the geographic and natural features and when that is done, add the city by making tiny dots for buildings. I guess I could always make maps from the main parts of the city later, if I feel like it and there's enough campaign time spent there to justify the effort...
|
|
|
Post by Sam on Mar 11, 2017 12:19:59 GMT
Hi. Your work is beautifully. Don't think of an area as a one, and done. Any natural shelter is going to be found and re-populated by another creature or band of creatures. Sometimes it will happen quickly. I had a party that cleared a small cavern of different monsters four times, because it was re-occupied while they were off in another area. A wandering monster list can be useful for deciding what creatures may move into a nice cozy cave when it is abandoned. There are almost always some orcs, ogres, trolls, hill giants and other such beasts looking for places to expand and grow. Giant beavers can dam up a stream, lizardmen can move into a local swamp. etc.
|
|
|
Post by sgtslag on Mar 11, 2017 15:15:04 GMT
I ran my campaign based in a cty for over 6 years. Could have made fantastic use out of such a map if I'd had known how to make one. Players are moving away from it now, so no point anymore. Too bad. To have had such a map would have added so much to our games... Unless they moved on and we no longer needed it. I play an open, free style, they go where they choose, when they choose to. It would be a huge gamble to make such a model, but it would be so much fun... Cheers!
|
|
|
Post by deafnala on Mar 11, 2017 15:53:12 GMT
Your terrain pieces are GORGEOUS creations. They remind me of some of the lovelier boards made for Kreigsspiel style games. VERY WELL DONE indeed!
|
|
j
Cardboard Collector
Posts: 25
|
Post by j on Mar 11, 2017 15:55:27 GMT
So I'm stuck for years at that problem: How to texture and paint a to-scale map of a large city surrounded by fields and woods, on a model that's too small. One way would be to start with all the geographic and natural features and when that is done, add the city by making tiny dots for buildings. I guess I could always make maps from the main parts of the city later, if I feel like it and there's enough campaign time spent there to justify the effort... I don't make a map if I need to scale down under a monopoly house (2-3mm) for a city map. I attempted to build a relief map where the constraint was a large picture frame I wanted to use, so the buildings had to scale down to fit inside (it was version of Forgotten Realms' Waterdeep), and ended up scraping it since too much detail was lost for what I wanted (had a braille-like effect and very abstract). Visually interesting like art, but functionally lacking for the crafting time (as you said). I decided I would one day just do city districts in a handful of frames instead to bring it up to that 2-3mm scale. Maybe a 3d printer can be used to make something more interesting, but that is a way-off for me. For this campaign, both the regional map and a city map are always on the table. When they delve into something like a cave or dungeon, I move the city map off the table, and break out 1:1 (28mm minis) tiles and terrain. So as for making city maps (quarters, districts, blocks) later on for the model makes much sense. My players really like the variety of scale. This particular campaign is layered with an ongoing sandbox homebrew world, so I expect to get at least 2-3 years of table time out of the maps, so totally justifiable.
|
|
j
Cardboard Collector
Posts: 25
|
Post by j on Mar 11, 2017 16:13:08 GMT
I ran my campaign based in a cty for over 6 years. Could have made fantastic use out of such a map if I'd had known how to make one. Players are moving away from it now, so no point anymore. Too bad. To have had such a map would have added so much to our games... Unless they moved on and we no longer needed it. I play an open, free style, they go where they choose, when they choose to. It would be a huge gamble to make such a model, but it would be so much fun... Cheers! In this campaign I gave them a building right away and jobs in the city (their backgrounds) so they have a vested interest. Railroady yes, but they loved getting their own building/hideout at level 1. We spent the first 3 levels in/around the city, so they are very invested. They will be very disappointed to not have that city map down the road. They also get mad when I am willing to rip buildings off the map due to fires or other events, which I love to do.
|
|
sgain
Cardboard Collector
Posts: 22
|
Post by sgain on Mar 12, 2017 6:45:20 GMT
this is a really cool idea! I don't know if I'd have the patience to make something like this since my group always goes 'off-map' but I'm in awe of this work.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 12, 2017 14:37:33 GMT
I am gobsmacked at how great these look and can see how they are done. Such a good idea and beautiful, even people just wandering past and looking at these with no experience of D&D will want to play.
|
|
|
Post by voodoo on Mar 12, 2017 15:28:24 GMT
I am gobsmacked at how great these look and can see how they are done. Such a good idea and beautiful, even people just wandering past and looking at these with no experience of D&D will want to play. I was thinking the same thing AJ. Great conversation starter. Hey who know maybe you can help convert the non believers that D&D is actually crazy fun to play!
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 13, 2017 8:15:45 GMT
I am gobsmacked at how great these look and can see how they are done. Such a good idea and beautiful, even people just wandering past and looking at these with no experience of D&D will want to play. I was thinking the same thing AJ. Great conversation starter. Hey who know maybe you can help convert the non believers that D&D is actually crazy fun to play! I consider it my sacred duty to do just that
|
|
|
Post by skunkape on Mar 13, 2017 20:58:50 GMT
Fantastic looking pieces! Nicely done!
|
|