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Dwarven Forge

J

joepacelli

Well-known member
Just wanted to know if there are other fellow gamers out there that use gaming terrains.
Dwarven Forge is currently having their 5th Kickstarter of their gaming tiles and there is 1 week left for this current kickstarter.

The first 4 previous kickstarters did Dungeon Tiles, Caverns, Cities & Sewers, and then Castles.
And now they are going back to the Dungeon with plenty of new tiles.

They have
Elevations,
Terrain Trays
Curbed Dias
Burrows
Traps
LED pieces

There are plenty of pledge levels for what they are calling the Dungeon of Doom a Dungeon over 14' when fully assembled, but you don't need to get everything if you don't need it.
You can build your on pledge, and there are over 50+ Add-Ons currently covering all the different type of pieces.

Check it out and watch some of the video links they have posted
https://www.kickstarter.com/project...andcrafted-game-terrain-by-dwarve/description
 
I have some dwarven forge stuff from long ago. I now just 3d print all my terrains, I backed a couple of kick starters for DragonLock, plus Thingverse.com has a lot of free models. It's nice because I can print exactly what I need.
 
I have some but I haven't run or hosted a dungeon crawl since I got them so they just sit in their box. :(

Edit: Do not message me about this. It's not an eBay listing.
 
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Dwarven Forge is amazing. It is a testament to one man's commitment to excellence.

But it is simply not price realistic for me at least.

For the same price as one mid sized package of Dwarven Forge I got a good 3d printer and a bunch of Dragonlock files. I print what I need and paint them as I have time.
 
joepacelli said:
Check it out and watch some of the video links they have posted
https://www.kickstarter.com/project...andcrafted-game-terrain-by-dwarve/description
Click to expand...
I have allot of Dwarven forge from all previous kickstarters. This time though I am not seeing allot that I "have" to have. Allot looks similar to what I already got and with the price its hard to want to spend money when its only a little different. :(

I do love the stuff and use it often in games. It can be hard to setup on the fly except for some of the dungeon dressing pieces (tables, pillars, etc). I mostly use it for the more important fights or combats that I want to stress the terrain more. Players seem to get into making use of the terrain/effects more if they can visually see it. :)
 
I have soooo much 3d terrain. But I didn't sell a liver and instead opted for Hirst Arts. This let's me make as much terrain as I like for a much cheaper price.

But...

I have stopped playing with terrain. It was simply too restrictive at the table. Setting up was not a 5 minute affair and if the players wanted to go somewhere else it completely disrupted the flow of the game.

I have since installed a projector that points into a mirror and displays onto the table. This is much more efficient all round and just and enjoyable for the players.
 
@daplunk you actually using a Projector or a TV on the table?

Just wondering cause I setup an actual projector system 15+ years ago and eventually moved away from it. The killer for me was that sense the projector is pointing straight down at the table then your hand causes the image to be blocked when moving a miniature. The shadows are pretty big and it makes it really hard to move a miniature.

Or are you not using real miniatures and projecting characters/monsters also on the projector? I don't think I could a get away from using real miniatures at the game table.

Cost is subjective I guess cause I think it costs too much time to make and paint my own terrain. Much easier for the Dwarven Forge to show up all done and painted and ready to use. :)
 
@Shadow I'm using a projector. I plan on moving to a table eventually. We plan on moving house and there's a pre-req there for a larger gaming room. That room will one-day proudly host a custom built table with a 70" tv built into it. #dreams

I have a projector mounted onto the roof pointed into a mirror that projects onto the table. We use real miniatures and because the projection comes from directly above the shadows are not an issue. HERE's some pictures

You can see there's very little shadow.
14%2B-%2BcDHpjYZ.jpg


I will never move away from real minis. I have way too many and they are part of the hobby for me.

I agree that time was an issue with Hirst Arts. But again that's just part of the hobby and I enjoy building terrain quite a bit. I still plan on building more terrain in the future but we use it less and less for actual games now.

Pictures of terrain
Pictures of the Tomb of Horrors

5.JPG
 
daplunk said:
I have stopped playing with terrain. It was simply too restrictive at the table. Setting up was not a 5 minute affair and if the players wanted to go somewhere else it completely disrupted the flow of the game.
.
Click to expand...

This is my concern also...

I toyed with the idea of full terrain, but concern was that the table is not that big and it may slow down game play (its slow enough as it is).

I decided opting for somewhere in between, for rooms with combat, I plan on using things like boxes, pillars, tables etc, so that the guys can get a sense of where they can move and where they cannot, but rely on the old hand drawn map.
 
daplunk said:
I have a projector mounted onto the roof pointed into a mirror that projects onto the table. We use real miniatures and because the projection comes from directly above the shadows are not an issue.
Click to expand...
Pretty much exactly matches my setup. The shadows issue is when you go to "move" the miniatures as your hand/arm blocks the projector.

But I see no squares on the map in your pictures. So maybe your not doing exact square movements. When the squares are part of the image being projected it makes it hard to count them with an arm/hand in the way. :)

Things to think about. Thanks :)
 
We absolutely use the grids. Generally the players do the movement though. They just whip in make the change and whip out. We don't have any issues with the temporary shadows at all.

We're all old 40k players though so the content of playing without a grid and measuring 1 inch without the grid is somethign we are all comfortable with.
 
We use an almost identical set up to daplunk, and never have any issues with squares either. Currently considering upgrading projecter, as it was pretty transformative for us.

PS loved seeing RW being used to project the map - again pretty much exactly how we do it!
 
I would love to use 3D terrain but it's too expensive for my budget. At most I will use Fat Dragon's paper models.
 
stuartwaring said:
PS loved seeing RW being used to project the map - again pretty much exactly how we do it!
Click to expand...

It's not ;)

I hate RW for map display. The save button is an extra step I don't have time for. I use MapTool to display the map to the table.

RW is displayed to the players via this player facing screen which I use for NPCs, Monsters, Items, Locations, etc. Sometimes I put the map on there but rarely as it takes too long to update the fog.

12%2B-%2B6szpWy4.jpg
 
daplunk said:
I agree that time was an issue with Hirst Arts. But again that's just part of the hobby and I enjoy building terrain quite a bit. I still plan on building more terrain in the future but we use it less and less for actual games now.
Click to expand...
I'm impressed by the detail you got from Hirst Arts. A friend tried the molds out several years back and was very dissatisfied with the results. Are those plaster of paris or are you using some other casting material?
 
Anyone not happy with the results is doing something very wrong. Hirst molds are known for their details. Never use plaster or paris. It's weak and not as detailed. You want to use something like Hydrastone. It will give much better detail and last a toddler tantrum.
 
I look at these Hirst molds and what it takes to make them.
This is a lot of work but the end product does look nice.
It's going to be hard enough to paint the Dwarven Forge because I'm looking at the unpainted version and will have about 1500 pieces to paint
 
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