Graph Paper Games

Last Christmas, I was given a 3D printer as a present and began immediately building the type of gaming items I used to use Hirst Arts molds to create: terrain for wargaming and modular dungeons for roleplaying games.  When I researched the topic, going online and talking to friends, I found first one company, then a second who provided the "patterns" for making modular dungeons. The first was Fat Dragon Games , which makes not only files for modular dungeons but also fantasy buildings, the odd sci-fi terrain pieces, and most recently a huge batch of fantasy monsters to be printed out on your printer.  In addition, the owner of the company, Tom Tullis, created a huge support network through social media and YouTube on maintaining and getting the most out of your printer, tips and tricks, painting guides, etc.  Recently FDG participated in a great Humble Bundle charity program where you could buy a significant amount of their product for a ridiculously low price, of all o...

I finished the second part of my fieldstone modular dungeon, made with Hirst Arts blocks.  The second part includes four 15' hallways (one square=five feet) six 10' hallways four doorways three pillars two 30' by 30' rooms two 20' by 20' rooms with two entrances--one with the entrances on opposite walls, the other on adjacent walls The idea behind the second phase was to obviously add some much-needed variety to the first part of the dungeon, and some larger rooms that accommodate a normal-sized adventuring party better.  Next up is the three layers of painting.

Phase Two of my fieldstone modular dungeon project basically adds more rooms with more options, as well as some shorter hallway pieces and some doorways.  I've finished constructing the four rooms in Phase Two. Two 20' by 20' rooms, with two exits, one with the exits on opposite walls, the other adjacent. Two 30' by 30' rooms.  The recesses in the room on the right will have small pedestals in them, to be added later after painting. I'm almost out of plaster, so I'll need to order more before I can too much farther.  Comments welcome!

I've finished the highlight coat on the pieces of the first phase of my fieldstone modular dungeon.  The highlight layer changes the appearance pretty significantly. I used the pieces in level one of my "Down Among the Dead Men" D&D Megadungeon campaign, and they worked pretty well.  You can't do super-elaborate layouts with the pieces, but it's only the first phase. One possible configuration So what's next in Phase 2?  Primarily building up the number and variety of rooms available.  Here's the list: Two 20' by 20' rooms, one with two doors on opposite sides and the other with two doors on two adjacent sides Four 15' hallway pieces Four additional corner pieces Six 10' hallway pieces Two 30' by 30' rooms Six modular doors I've already begun building the Phase 2 pieces, so updates should be forthcoming.

Last night I got the first phase of my fieldstone modular dungeon painted with its mid-tone color, "Gleaming Tan" by Valspar.  The lighter color really makes a difference.  There is just one more layer of paint after this one--a highlight layer of bone white. I've already begun work building the second phase of the dungeon--mostly larger rooms with more options. Comments welcome!

I have all the pieces from Phase One of the fieldstone modular dungeon painted with the darkest basecoat.  The pieces will have three layers: a dark layer painted over the entire thing ("Cowboy Boots" from Valspar), a terracotta-colored main layer that shows the dark color in the crevices, and a bone-colored highlight layer.

In the past, I have built a modular dungeon, which for those who don't know is a terrain collection used to depict a stereotypical dungeon layout for a fantasy roleplaying game.  I use pieces cast from Hirst Arts molds.  My previous one was primarily done with the Smooth Floor Tile and Wizard Wall molds, and was composed of small pieces that required a lot of assembling.  That almost took up too much time and stalled gameplay. I decided that I would build another dungeon, one that was less flexible than the gothic modular one, but easier to set up during the game.  I also decided I would use a different mold series from Hirst Arts.  I went with the "fieldstone" series of molds, which are on oldie but a goodie when it comes to Hirst Arts.  The accessories are not as detailed or numerous as the gothic line, but look good and are easy to cast. In planning the project, I went with phases of development, with the idea that I could expand the series in steps...

I had a quiet evening and used the time to add a few more pieces to my modular dungeon. So here is how it looks with a few other pieces, just set up on my small table.

So I'm doing some recovering from a medical problem right now, a recovery that is keeping my activities pretty low key, so I decided to stick to the easy and gentle work of making more pieces for my two modular dungeons (the gothic and the cavern). Click on the pics for enlargements. More wall pieces to help delineate rooms.  Generic cavern floor pieces.  I personally love the look of these once they are painted up.  I think they are beautiful. Comments welcome!

Made with Hirst Arts bricks I had not realized it had been over a year since I had built anything for my modular dungeon, but after making countless configurations I realized I really needed some doorways to help keep things easy to understand.  I also had a few long walls laying about, so I decided to put everything together and paint them. Gnolls everywhere! Here's a look at what I can do with me current pieces.  Not a huge area, but still interesting looking.  I am thinking that I want to do some more of the flat tiles, and then add to the decor.

As I mentioned over at my other blog, it once again got very cold and very snowy here--perfect weather to polish off a few projects that have been sitting around.  I've been slowly building up a modular dungeon using Hirst Arts blocks, and I finished off a few Gothic Arena wall sections that can be used to spice up the flat floor tiles. I think they add a lot of versatility to my modular dungeon, as you can see. 

I made five 4" by 4" dungeon tiles, which is 80 square inches, almost twice my usual batch of tiles.  When added to what I've done already, this is how big a single room I can make: 14 by 14 squares, with four squares to spare.  That's a pretty big room (70 feet to a side).  If I wanted to mix it up, I could build something like this: I'm probably going to take a little break from this project.  It has turned out well, but until I'm closer to doing a fantasy game I'm going to focus on the games I'm actually doing. Speaking of which, it's game night tonight...

I continue to plug along on this project, in hopes of one day having a pretty flexible dungeon layout.  Here's the third round of tiles and what I can make with them.

I made another round of simple Hirst Arts/Taskboard floor tiles for my "when am I ever going to use this?" modular dungeon. It doesn't look like much since it is virtually identical to the previous batch, but when you put the two together, you can get this... A 40' by 50' room.  Or you can make something a little more interesting like this... Also included in that picture is the second of my Reaper Bones set that I have painted up, a harpy. I'm continuing to make progress on a project that doesn't really seem to have a specific goals.  But I'm enjoying the work, and every now and then think about a fantasy game again. Editor's note: to the one who will ask--I did file this post while on vacation.  I took the photos in advance and loaded them up in a draft.  So don't worry--I'm relaxing!

So in my last post I mentioned I was putting together some simple pieces to use as a modular dungeon made from Hirst Arts and Taskboard .  Here are the pieces, having been sprayed with black primer. Now I paint the pieces using cheap house paint purchased at a local hardware store.  After the paint dries, I hit it with a coat of matte sealant, just to help prevent chipping. Then, because I'm ridiculously anal sometimes, I cut pieces of foam sheets, the kind you can buy very inexpensively at a craft store, into small pads that will do under each floor tile section so the taskboard doesn't flake away.  Each foam pad is cut slightly smaller than the tile so it doesn't stick out. Here's a final photo of my first batch of floor tiles, just enough to make a classic 30' by 30' room!

I hop around a great deal from project to project.  One I've been thinking about for a while is doing yet another modular dungeon using Hirst Arts bricks and Taskboard bases.  Unlike some my previous one, I thought I would not encumber myself with walls, which both limit the use of tiles but also block player's views.  I don't really have a plan here, I thought I would just build it up and see where it goes.