Having recently revived an interest in Hero Quest, I've used my prior painting experience to work on dungeon tiled boards. Although I appreciate the fact that there are some extraordinarily good boards which may be downloaded and printed out, as a miniatures gamer, I've always preferred three dimensional game play. I suspect that this may be one reason why I was drawn to Hero's Quest when I bought my first set back in '92.
In thinking about dungeon tile design, it has occurred to me that all three dimensional models fall into two categories: Specialized or generic. Specialized boards are custom designed to fit one purpose while generic boards may be adapted for a variety of settings.
For example, pictured below are some pictures of a "swamp" board.
Although this board has a nice "wow" factor, it can only be used as a swamp board. If as the dungeon master, I were to use it for another module, there's a good chance that one (or more) players would comment on this. "Oh ... we've seen this before. Keep your eyes open for the carnivorous frogs!" Zargon will show you carnivorous frogs you pompous dwarf. DIE! DIE! DIE! (maniacal laughter) ...
NOTE 1: Special game rules for this board are that players may only have full movement on the gray dungeon tiles. The brown tiles are mud and each time a player moves across a mud tile he/she has to roll a D & D 4 sided die to see how many movement points this will cost. Having wide splayed feet, the frogs have no problems with scampering across the mud.
NOTE 2: Some of the greenery on this board came from recycled green scrubbing pads. I found that when these kitchen pads wear out, they peel off in layers. Rather than throw them away, I re-purposed them as swamp plants!
While specialized dungeon tiles can be a lot of fun to make, I prefer using generic boards because they may easily be re-purposed for other modules.
Pictured below is one of my larger generic boards.
To make this particular board more interesting, I included some "pits" which I've used for customized inserts.
With the inclusion of a crypt, some tombstones, and a rusted iron fence, I now have a graveyard. A player who opened the crypt would find a staircase leading down to the dungeon.
Here's a closeup of the ghost in the back of the cemetery.
I combined this graveyard with a customized board that connected to the back of the cemetery. This board also has a decaying a crypt at the top of small hill.
Here is the same generic game board again. I switched out the crypt, the fencing, and the gravestones for a 4 sided fresco on a stone column. I also added a stone altar. In the background are some Greek columns. By the power of Zargon, the graveyard has been transformed into a temple!
by the way: I got the Greek columns from a garage sale. The woman who sold me the columns told me that when she put them in her aquarium, the paint flaked off and killed her fish. I bought the columns on the cheap, repainted them, and am using them for a DIY Hero Quest module.
Getting back to the generic game board. Here is the same board which has now been configured as a library. The 4 sided fresco was switched out for a two sided bookcase. Does the bookcase lead a lower level of the dungeon? Zargon's lips are sealed.
As a dungeon master, I think it's always fun to have some larger dungeon boards.
At the same yard sale where I bought the Greek columns, I got a plastic bucket filled with 1 inch square plastic tiles. In a future post, I'll write (and post pictures) of how I used these tiles with cake board, primer, and textured paint to create various sized rooms and corridors.
David
