Thursday 30 October 2014

A little Halloween treat...

As some of you might know, a couple of years back I made a creepy map of several barrows/burial-mounds for the Into the Wilderness range ...and released it as a little Halloween Special.


Well, since it's that time of year again, I thought that I'd make the map available as a FREE download until the end of the month ...and all you need to do to get it, is click on THIS link (which will automatically put it in your basket for $0).

But that's not all ...and as a little added bonus, I thought I would draw the interior of the barrow at the bottom of that map (i.e. the one with an obvious entrance) - which will no doubt have something creepy lurking inside...
 
(note that you can also download a pdf 'battlemap' version HERE)

Hope you like 'em!

Monday 27 October 2014

Making Sacks & Barrels...

It would seem that creating new stuff for the 2.5D dungeon is becoming a bit of a regular thing for me ...so I'm guessing that you're fairly familiar with the concept by now ...so lets get straight to it.

As normal, the first thing you'll need to do (if you're going to have a go at making a few of these yourself) is print off THIS pdf file.


Click HERE to download the pdf



MAKING THE SACKS

For each sack you'll need a 2" (50mm) square piece of the 'sack texture' (provided in the pdf) and a similar sized piece of scrap paper.


* * *

Next, crumple the 'sack texture' (to give it more of a cloth-like appearance) and scrunch the scrap paper into a tight bean-like shape (as shown below).


 * * *

Then apply some glue to the back of the textured paper (I'm using a normal glue-stick for this) and place the scrunched-up 'bean' roughly two thirds of the way down the paper.



* * *

Next, fold the textured paper over the 'bean' and press the overlapping pieces together. Then, once the glue is dry, cut the sack to the size you require.


* * *

And if the edges of the sack are looking a little too neat and tidy, simply crumple them up a little bit.



ASSEMBLING THE BARRELS

For the main part of each barrel I'm using a piece of toilet/kitchen roll tube that has been cut to 2½" (approx 63mm) long, by 7/8" (approx 22mm) wide.

I also mark a line 1 and 7/8" (approx 48mm) from one end of the piece as shown below.


(note that I like to use a toilet/kitchen roll tube as it's already curved to begin with - which makes the next step a little easier)

* * *

For the next step you'll need to slowly bend the piece around something round (like a pen or a thin tube) - so that it forms a tighter circle. Then, using the line you drew previously as a guide for how much of the cardboard you want to overlap, glue the two ends together.


* * *

Next, cut out a piece of the 'barrel texture' (provided in the pdf) large enough to wrap around the circumference of the cardboard tube, and glue it in place.

 
* * *

To create a lid for the barrel, simply glue some of the plain wood texture (provided in the pdf) to a piece of thin cardboard (that of a breakfast cereal box will suffice) and cut it to size.

 
(note that I like to cut the lid slightly larger than it needs to be at first, and then trim it down a bit at a time, so that it eventually fits nice and snugly in place)

* * *

To finish things off, just fit the lid inside the barrel (as shown below) and drop a little white/PVA glue inside to secure it in place.


* * *

Once that's done, you can use each barrel and sack as individual pieces or (as I prefer), glue several of them to a floor tile (mounted on thin cardboard) and use them as area terrain.


Note that the pdf also contains a texture for the inside of the barrel (as can be seen on the barrel on the right) to allow you to produce a few empty barrels - for a little added variety.


Monday 20 October 2014

Rubble in the Dungeon...

So, my foray into the world of 2.5d dungeons continues ...and this time I thought I'd try something a little different:


As you can see, I've managed to create a nice little rubble pile (that can also be used to represent a collapsed passage) using just paper, cardboard, and a little bit of glue.

And although it looks a little complicated, it's really quite easy to make ...so if you'd like to have a go at making a few of your own, here's how I went about it...

INSTRUCTIONS

As always, the first thing you'll need to do is download and print out the pdf file that I've created for this piece.
Click HERE to download the file.

Once you've done that, simply glue one of the floor tiles to a piece of thin (single corrugated) cardboard, and cut it to size.


(Note that these 2x2 tiles measure slightly less that 2" per side - to enable them to fit in the 2" wide passages a little easier)

MAKING THE BOULDERS

To make the boulders, the first step is to scrunch up a few pieces of scrap paper into vague rock-like shapes as shown below.


(note that I try to keep the bottom reasonably flat - to make gluing them to the floor tile a little easier)

* * *

Then, cut out a piece of the rock texture (supplied in the pdf) large enough to wrap around one of the rocks, and crumple it up - to give it a nice uneven texture.



* * *

Next, apply plenty of glue to the back of the paper, and wrap it around the 'rock' like you would if you were wrapping an oddly shaped parcel (try to do this so that the edges of the paper end up on the bottom of the rock).


Left: an upside down rock with the texture paper being glued in place.
Right: a finished rock (turned the right way up).

* * *

It's also worth noting that if you end up with any little off-cuts (which you most probably will), you can fold/scrunch these up to make little stones.



MAKING THE BEAMS

For the wooden beams, simply cut out a few different size/thickness pieces of cardboard, and enough of the wood texture (provided in the pdf) to wrap around them...


...then cut, fold, and glue the paper in place around each piece.



PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

Once you've got several rocks and beams finished, it's just a matter of deciding where you want to place all your little bits and pieces...


...and glue them all in place.



* * *

And that, as they say, is that! :)


Note that if you've not been keeping up with my recent 2.5D dungeon posts, then here's a few links to some of the other stuff I've been creating (with step by step instructions about how I made the various pieces):

Thursday 16 October 2014

Tombs in the 2.5D Dungeon

If you've been following me on the blog (or via the various social networks) recently, you'll probably be familiar with the 2.5D dungeon I've been creating (based on DM Scotty's 2.5D method).

If not, I've covered how I made the dungeon tiles HERE ...and then went on to demonstrate how I made a couple of decorative pillars HERE.

So, now that you're up to speed, here's a quick look at how I've been making a few stone sarcophagi to accompany the set...

* * *

Note that if you're going to try this yourself, the first thing you'll need to do is download the (free) pdf file that can be found HERE.

* * *

For each sarcophagus you'll need to cut out two pieces of cardboard (one for the lid, and one for the base).

The piece for the lid will need to be 1" wide by 1¾" long (to match the size of the image provided in the pdf), and the base will need to be a little smaller (in this example I'm using a piece  ¾" wide by 1½" long).

(in this example I'm using double-corrugated cardboard, but foamboard would probably be a better option)

* * *

Next, you'll need to print the pdf file that I've provided (see above), and simply cut out the sarcophagus image and a section of the plain stone texture (note that these should be big enough to overlap the cardboard by half an inch in each direction).

(in this example I've cut out all of the 'tomb' pattern, and a 1¾" x 2 ½" section of the 'stone' pattern)

* * *

Now, to make sure the tomb lid is glued to the cardboard in the correct position, I like to cut out the various 'tabs' before I glue it in place...



...which makes it easier to align the corners of the printout to the corners of the cardboard (as shown below).

(note that dimension 'a' should be no larger than the thickness of the cardboard/foamboard you are using).

* * *

For the base of the tomb there's no need to be so precise (as it's just a plain stone texture), and so you can glue the cardboard to the centre of the printout first, and then cut out the 'tabs' as required.



* * *

Then, simply fold the tabs around the cardboard and glue them in place ...which should leave you with the two completed halves of the sarcophagus...



...which just need to be glued one on top of the other...



...and there you have it :)

***

Like the pillars, these pieces don't look particularly impressive on their own - but when you combine them with a few of the 2.5D dungeon tiles, they make for a rather nice layout...


...and with halloween fast approaching, what better time is there for sending your players off to investigate a haunted mausoleum or two :)

Thursday 2 October 2014

Dungeon Monthly (October 2014)

It would seem that another month has come and gone ...and that means that it's time for another dungeon map...


 ...and only two more to go before this year's project comes to an end.

* * *

Note that unlabelled versions for all of these 'dungeon-monthly' maps can be found in the following G+ albums: