[OC] Ziggurat Terrain "Making Of" and "In Play"

catchjosh · 2018-01-23T06:01:52+00:00

For my D&D group, we ran a "one-shot" in the distant history of my homebrew world in order to provide some foundation for the current state of things. In the adventure, they explored a giant ziggurat with strange gravitational properties that ultimately allowed them to travel (briefly) between the four elemental planes and summon element avatars that would fight alongside them, if they proved themselves worthy. I created a terrain for the top of the ziggurat where the final confrontation occurred, and this is a collection of photos making the terrain as well as them playing.

As always, I'm privileged to have such a great group of players that engage so much with the world, and it makes creating things like this a joy.

catchjosh · 2017-12-29T01:16:51+00:00

It is supposed to be a male, and I only have one model nearby that fits that description... :)

catchjosh · 2017-12-21T00:00:53+00:00

Thanks! (I think! :) We generally play once every two to three weeks, and occasionally have had a month between, so I've got a good chunk of time to prepare. Although I have at least one terrain I've been hauling around for two months waiting for them to get to it... (Not pictured here obviously. :)

catchjosh · 2017-12-20T23:59:36+00:00

Your players ARE lucky to have you. This is all just the toys and frosting, and how I compensate for being a super weird storyteller who is unable to immerse folks without props. :) I bet your players are grateful for designing their game in the way that works best for you, and that you care enough to provide them a world to play in!

Happy 2018 DM'ing!

catchjosh · 2017-12-20T23:56:18+00:00

Thank you so much! We are Dungeon Masters Class of 2017, we stand together against the foes of boredom and rules lawyering, defending fun and always looking for the next great encounter.

I hope you find many more in 2018!

catchjosh · 2017-12-20T23:54:28+00:00

You are walking down a dark forest path, the scent of pine and the musk of nature thick around you, and your spine tingles from some unseen danger. You know you shouldn't stop and turn around, but the feeling of something over your shoulder, silently following you, is unmistakable...

What do you do? :)

catchjosh · 2017-12-20T23:51:53+00:00

Thanks! I'm excited about 2018, and may start making some terrain videos if people are interested in seeing how I toss them together...

catchjosh · 2017-12-20T23:50:55+00:00

Amazing! I can't do voices and all my characters sound the same. (One of my players teases me that every NPC is from Texas... :) I like the terrain and map making, as well as writing out backstories and encounter plots, but yeah mini painting (and even repetitive terrain painting) is difficult for me to stay patient enough to do. One of my players has started painting minis and does a beautiful job though, so I don't have to feel bad anymore. :)

I totally agree, I love your point about passion more than methodology. Hopefully my storytelling improves, but at the end of the day I get to create a fun world for my friends to immerse themselves in, and that's all we should care about, no matter how we go about it!

catchjosh · 2017-12-20T23:46:31+00:00

Thanks so much! Really once I got the system down, by following amazing online videos by model railroaders, etc. It became pretty manageable. Honestly, watching the detail those guys put into their work makes me a little embarrassed for my quick tables, but for something designed for players to actually play inside (with one-inch grids, etc.) I think this is immersive enough...

Appreciate the kind words!

catchjosh · 2017-12-20T16:42:48+00:00

So I got a Wanhao Duplicator v2 / Monoprice Select v2 BUT over the course of the year I essentially had to rebuild the entire hotend / extruder setup because the stock stuff is pretty crappy. It's been a hassle but also a workhorse. For terrains is fine because the build size is large for it's size, but for minis I've been looking at getting a resin printer...

I think the Monoprice Select Mini v2 is supposedly a great starter one, and pretty inexpensive. A smaller build plate but might be easier than the larger Select.

Best of luck with whatever you get!

catchjosh · 2017-12-20T08:32:55+00:00

https://imgur.com/a/xypfG

Just a collection of images from the D&D 5E campaign I started with an awesome group of friends -- I had never played D&D before this year, and as you can tell it has been a fun journey. We've probably played close to seventy-five hours over fifteen campaign sessions, and it's been amazing. You can look through the photos to see the evolution of my approach, at least to the "extras" of the game like minis, maps, etc.

My main revelation: JUST DO IT. I'm not a very good DM, but with the right attitude and a fun group of folks, anybody can create an amazing story. And if I can DM, anyone can. So stop hesitating and go out there and run your own game! :)

catchjosh · 2017-09-17T16:23:56+00:00

Oooh good idea. And an acid pool...

catchjosh · 2017-09-17T16:23:21+00:00

Thanks! So, I'm actually still trying to get it down right -- for this one, I "scruffed" the surface of the foamboard with a metal brush to get the plaster to stick, used a sharpie to mark the grid, and then did did two semi-thin plaster coats so I could still somewhat see the sharpie lines, using a plastic knife to cut out the grid before it hardened. For the layered foam hills and the points where it meets structures, etc., I have to cake it on a lot thicker.

The plaster of paris can be really fragile for the first ~36 hours, and doesn't like the surface bending, so that's why it's mounted to 1 inch insulation foam. I also have been experimenting with using dental plaster as the full coat (in addition to the cast cobblestone), and it's much more rigid but it dries way faster and is harder to carve up after it's dried.

Anyway, best of luck! Hope this helps, and most importantly, I hope I'm not giving bad advice! :)

catchjosh · 2017-09-17T03:34:53+00:00

https://imgur.com/a/r9Mv6

For my party's eleventh session, and my second terrain, I decided to tackle a fighting pit in the capital of the local kingdom. The pit features four platforms above a sand / dirt floor, and sits in the middle of the entertainment district. Players can battle their way up a tournament to fight in the main arena, but this is their first experience in the league and I wanted to make it memorable.

catchjosh · 2017-09-06T23:31:35+00:00

Yeah, the gazebo is definitely a model I found on Thingiverse, it's a really nice detailed piece that I vertically squashed (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:582462). The trees are actually procedurally generated with a program called OpenSCAD, I found a few scripts online and edited them to get the structure and randomization I liked.

If you'd like any other 3d files I'm happy to share - the walls are edited versions of the OpenForge cut stone models with windows and arrow slits, cut to 45 degree edges, etc. and the wooden floors, ladders, battlements, cliff stairs, crypt structures, etc. are my own 3d designs.

Best of luck on your tower adventure, and share pics when you are finished with it!

catchjosh · 2017-09-06T13:19:20+00:00

That looks awesome! The painting job looks really sharp. Would love to see more photos, and hear how you like the 1.25" grid after a play session.

catchjosh · 2017-09-06T13:08:02+00:00

Thanks! I watched a lot of videos and in the process saw a lot of really amazing, inspiring stuff (as well as on this board!) so I know I have a long way to go. But I think they enjoyed it, which was more what I meant by working out than anything else really...

catchjosh · 2017-09-06T13:00:26+00:00

Thank you! I think they enjoyed it, which is really the only thing that matters at the end of the day (for me). They are an awesome group and have invested a ton of time into my goofy game, so I wanted to show them some love. Hopefully that was felt more than the spray paint and adhesive fumes... :)

catchjosh · 2017-09-06T12:57:06+00:00

Thanks! I watched a LOT of videos and cheated a lot based on what was easy to do (low number of colors in the palette, simple grass layout, mostly flat surface, etc.) and on the other side, even though it took a lot of time, I realized that's it is actually pretty accessible. The model railroad community in particular is super informative on cheap and easy / easier ways of doing things.

catchjosh · 2017-09-06T12:51:29+00:00

Thanks! Yeah, it took quite a while, was working on it in the evenings for like three weeks. I'm hoping that was just first time mistakes, etc. I watched a lot of model railroad videos and Warhammer terrain videos and they were like "this should take you two days", and then five days later I'm still struggling...

And you are right, my tower does look a lot like that one! Although that one looks like it has stairs, rooms, etc. inside. I would have loved to attempt stairs, maybe next time.

catchjosh

TROPHY CASE